HHHHH OK SO UHHHH THIS CHAPTER KINDA WRECKED ME EMOTIONALLY A LITTLE. And by a little i mean a LOT. So I gotta put the usual warning of self-harm/suicide mention in here. Nothing too grisly, but the themes of this one are... well they are a lot. Even so, this is a chapter I've had in my head ever since starting Keys, it's so hard to believe we're actually here at the beginning of the end! So, if you've stuck with me for this long, I just wanna say, this one's for you. Let's get started...


Chapter 64: Face My Fears

Watch me cry all my tears

They spend their last night on the play island.

They can't bear to take the boats back to the mainland, can't bear to say good night and mean goodbye. They can't bear to part ways with each other when they know they might only have so much time left to see each other, to talk to each other, to hold each other. To be together.

So there they linger as night fully emerges. They stroll across the shadowy sands, hand in hand, their hearts light and heavy all at once. They wander into the secret place and find the carvings they made as children, including one that had been torn asunder by a certain set of claws. They reassure him when he recants in shame at destroying such an innocent mural, and from there they waste no time fixing it, correcting it, improving it. In its newly-drawn state, there are no claw marks, there is no faded passage of time, there isn't just two of them sharing a paopu anymore. Now, it represents what's already come to pass instead of a mere dream of the future. Now, it stands as a monument to the eternal promise all three of them have shared. A promise they can only hope will stand strong to see them through the incredible cataclysm to come.

They take to lying side by side on the shore, under the bright stars and full moon above. Sleep doesn't come right away, so they spend the idle hours talking and laughing and reminiscing on simpler times. They speak little of the future, not wanting to focus on the fear permeating so many of their hopes for it. So they reflect on the past while dwelling firmly in the present, all three of them wishing the same thing all the while: that they could freeze this moment and live in it forever. That time doesn't have to march on as swiftly as it so often does.

But for that moment, they have each other. And with all that stands before them, all that they know they're about to face in just a few hours' time… that's enough. So they lie in each other's arms, warm and secure and mostly content as they fall asleep the same way they fell in love with one another: slowly, and then all at once.

Or at least… two of them do.

Sora is more than used to going without sleep by now thanks to the weeks he'd spent depriving himself of it to avoid nightmares alone. He hasn't had to worry about those nightmares since he's been back among the lights for reasons he doesn't quite understand–for all he knows, it could simply be his master trying to lull him into a false sense of security. But ever since he returned to his friends, his sleep has been largely unbothered and peaceful… except for tonight. Because how could he possibly sleep on the last night of freedom he'll ever get to see? How could he possibly sleep when the final few hours he'll ever spend with the two people he loves most are so quickly slipping away?

He can't help but wonder what they'll think of him after tomorrow. After what he plans on doing, the betrayal he plans on enacting against them for the sake of their safety. They'd welcomed him back with open arms and endless kindness, gave him food and comfort and affection and everything else he'd been missing for so very long. They plan to venture bravely into battle tomorrow, determined to do whatever it takes to set his weak and withered heart free. And how does he plan on repaying all of that? By running straight into the hands of the enemies they're striving to save him from, of course.

After all of the secrets he's kept from them before, how fitting that he only has one left to harbor now. How even more fitting that such a secret centers around the final sacrifice he has left to make. But if that sacrifice can ensure that they'll all live, that they'll all survive the surging storm that's set to batter every single world surrounding them… if they can hold on to who they are even when he won't be able to, it'll be more than worth it in his eyes. Even if it means he has to stand alongside those he hates, if he has to oppose those he loves, if he has to be whatever it is his master wants to make him into…. he'll gladly do it all.

If everything he has, everything he is, is the price he must pay… then he'll gladly pay it. For Ventus and Aqua and Terra. For Roxas and Axel and Xion and Naminé. For Donald and Goofy and Mickey. For the two people sleeping soundly on either side of him… for Riku and Kairi most of all. Anything for them. Everything for them.

And tomorrow… that's exactly what he plans to give.

That tomorrow arrives far too quickly. As soon as the first light of dawn begins to fill the skies above the island, Sora's heart wavers with fear and grief. He's running out of time, and yet there's still so much he wants to tell them, so much he wants to do. But instead… everything goes unspoken, undone, as he pretends to be asleep when he feels Riku begin to stir beside him. He rests in the middle, Riku's arm wrapped around his shoulder while Kairi's hands rest lightly on his chest. They're so comfortably, wonderfully close, as if they just fit together in every sense of the word. If it were up to Sora, they'd stay just like this forever, but of course, he never gets to have his way for long. Because as Riku fully awakens with a quiet yawn, he can feel Kairi start to do the same on his other side. He keeps his eyes closed and breathing calm to feign sleep, and in doing so, he just so happens to overhear a conversation he's not meant to be a part of.

"You awake?" Kairi whispers, and at first, Sora thinks the question is for him. Until Riku answers a moment or two later.

"Yeah," he says, his voice equally soft. Vulnerable. "Are you ready for today?"

"...No," Kairi answers honestly. "What about you?"

"...I guess I have no choice but to be." There's a hint of a laugh in Riku's tone, but there's not an ounce of levity in it. "Kairi, if… i-if something happens to me, I want you to-"

"No," Kairi staunchly cuts him off, her voice trembling. Sora feels her gently reach over him, likely to take Riku's hand. "Nothing's going to happen to you, or to any of us. We'll all survive and see this through. We have to–for him."

Riku says nothing for a long time after this. Sora can't help but wonder if he harbors the same kind of doubts he's been having for the past several days now, the unspoken fear that they won't be enough to stop the Organization after all. He wants to believe in his friends, he so deeply does with every ounce of his heart, and yet… he knows his Organization just as well. He knows his master, and he knows how determined, how deadset he is on getting his long sought-after prize, his coveted thirteenth vessel. And he knows that his master will do anything to get that vessel… and destroy anything or anyone who tries to get in his way.

Which is why Sora intends to see to it that no one does. To make sure that none of his friends are caught in the crossfire. To become the loyal little vessel his master expects him to be, no matter how much he desperately doesn't want to. No matter how much he wishes he could be literally anything else.

When Riku finally does speak again, his voice is so soft that even Sora, only a few inches away from him, can barely hear it. "What if… what if it doesn't work?" he asks nervously. "What if, even after we defeat Xehanort, he's still…?"

He trails off, but Sora can easily tell what he might've said. The tangible fear, the very real possibility that even if they manage to take his master down, he still remains a monster until the day he dies. That the darkness suffocating his heart continues to strangle it, dooming him to continue his constant decay into nothing more than a distant shadow of whoever he used to be. That there really might be no way to actually fix this, that there really is nothing that can be done to save him, to free him after all.

It's a grim, haunting reality… but by all accounts, it's a reality that Sora has long-since accepted. The only future he knows he'll get to have, one that isn't even really much of a future at all. A future that even still, his friends still want to rescue him from. Even if some of them must certainly know by now that they can't.

"...Then we'll find another way," Kairi responds after a pregnant pause. "Whatever it takes… no matter how long it takes. And even then, even if we still can't undo this…" Sora resists the urge to draw in an unsteady breath when he feels Kairi lay her hand upon his chest once more, her feather-light touch sending a spark of welcome warmth through his entire body. "At least he'll still be here with us. And that's more than good enough for me."

"Me too," Riku sighs contentedly. Sora isn't able to stop himself from echoing that sigh when Riku reaches over to brush a few stray strands of hair out of his face. "Oh? You awake?" he asks, and for as much as he wishes he could keep pretending, keep eavesdropping, Sora realizes that the jig is up.

"Mm…" he fakes a tired groan, trying to put on the air that he'd slept the night through when he hadn't gotten so much as a second. "I am now thanks to you…"

"Sorry," Riku chuckles. Sora opens his eyes to see his smirk, still so handsome even despite the scar marring his otherwise sharp and pleasant features. He's still trying to train himself to not feel that burning guilt in his gut whenever he looks at the jagged lines tracing down from his now blind eye. Sometimes, it works, but more often than not it doesn't. And whenever it doesn't, he finds that he has to force himself to look away from something that he'd used to be able to stare at for hours. Away from one of the two things he loves looking at the most.

"Did you sleep ok?" Kairi asks, offering him a gentle smile when he glances her way.

"Uh… yeah," Sora lies, letting out a genuine yawn. "I'm still a little tired though…"

"I'm sure your mom will let you go back to bed for a bit," Kairi smirks as she sits up and offers a hand to help him do the same. "Do you want us to take you back to the main island? We're supposed to meet up with the others in a few hours, but-"

"N-no, it's ok," Sora shakes his head, a sudden burst of anxiety splitting through him. With his final few hours of freedom fleeing far too fast, he knows he wants to spend every last second he has left with them. Seconds he hopes to hold onto even far after he has nothing left. "I… actually wanted to see you guys off, if that's ok…"

Riku and Kairi exchange something of a weary glance but they still smile all the same as they both extend their hands to help him stand. "Of course it is," Riku says. It isn't lost on Sora how his voice wavers just a little, how his remaining eye seems almost wet. How Kairi wrings her hands nervously the moment she pulls them back, how she bites lightly on her lip in a way that no one would notice unless they were looking for it. Sora doesn't speak to any of it, but he can tell, just by how they both fall into silence as they start to make their preparations for the battle ahead of them that they're uneasy. Unsettled. Afraid, even. And really, why wouldn't they be? They're about to go into the fight of their lives, a fight against twelve of the most dangerous foes any of them have ever faced. Riku may be the leader of the lights, Kairi may be a Princess of Heart, but at the end of the day, they're both only human, both only so young, both caught up in something so much larger than themselves. Both caught up in a mess that Sora feels so unbearably guilty for starting, in a fight he hates that they have to go to in his stead.

Most of their supplies rest with the other lights, so there's little the pair needs to do in the way of packing for their trip. They spend some time taking stock of their magic and their weapons, making sure they're at peak performance for the arduous clash to come. For the most part, Sora simply stands by and says nothing, knowing their preparations likely won't mean much. Not when he hopes to put a stop to this battle far before it can even begin. Not if he succeeds in saving the lives of everyone who's trying to save his.

"Well, I think we're just about ready," Riku concludes about an hour or so later. "Are you all set here, Sora?"

"Y-yeah, of course," Sora replies with a strained, forced smile. "Once you guys head out, I'm gonna head home. Uh… Mom's probably wondering where I've been all night anyway." He winces when he says this, knowing he's going to keep her wondering when he leaves again. When he vanishes without a trace, without even saying goodbye. When he leaves her all alone all over again.

"This should only take a few days, at most," Kairi says as she takes one of his hands. Sora stares at the contrast between them dejectedly, only vaguely remembering when his hand had been more human to match hers. Vaguely remembering when he used to be able to consider himself a human at all instead of the mismatched amalgamation of so many different things he is now. "If we don't come back by then… just be patient with us. Because we will come back."

"And once we do," Riku adds as he takes Sora's other hand. "...Well, I think you already know by now."

"...Yeah," Sora swallows hard as he struggles to take on a smile to match the radiant, hopeful one Riku and Kairi both share. As he struggles to lie straight to their faces about something he doesn't believe in, something he's never been able to believe in, no matter how hard he's tried. "I… I'll be, uh… 'free'."

"You sound worried…" Kairi notes, gripping his hand a bit tighter. "You don't have to be. We're going to do this, and it's going to work. Trust us."

"I do…" Sora nods, wishing he meant it. Wishing that he could just have as much faith in them as he does affection. Wishing he could simply leave this in their hands and wait for his heart to be liberated, his life to be saved. And yet… "Just… please don't forget," he hesitates, but pulls both of their hands a bit closer to his heart all the same. "I love you both… I always have and… no matter what might happen next… I always will…"

"We know," Riku says, opening his arms out to both Sora and Kairi alike. "Don't you forget that we feel the exact same way."

"We know you've been having a hard time believing you deserve to be loved," Kairi steps forward, encouraging him to do the same as she invites him into her and Riku's embrace. "But you do… And we do love you, Sora," she smiles over at him as he slowly joins their hug. "Nothing could ever, ever change that."

"...Even if it doesn't work?" Sora dares to ask, his mind still lightly lingering on what he'd overheard earlier. "Even if… I stay like this… forever?"

"Sora…" Riku holds him a bit tighter upon hearing the shame slipping into his voice. "You know that what you look like doesn't matter to us."

"That's… not what I…" Sora trails off, shuddering on a sob. He doesn't know how to explain himself without letting the truth flow out, without telling him exactly what he plans to do. Without breaking down and begging them to forgive him before he inevitably breaks both of their hearts. "...Never mind," he concedes as he leans into both of them a bit more.

"Sora…?" Kairi asks, frowning. "Is everything ok?"

He fails to hold even more of his pressing tears back, his heart aching more and more with each moment he's losing. With every single second so quickly slipping away from him. "I just… I'm, uh… gonna miss you both… so much…" he whispers, and that isn't a lie. For every day for the rest of whatever his life is about to become, he'll miss them, he'll always want to be with them, he'll never stop wishing it all could have been so much different. Wishing that he didn't have to tear himself away from them even though he knows he has no other choice.

"We'll miss you too," Kairi comforts, clearly not getting the deeper meaning behind what he just said. "But we won't be gone for long."

"And in the meantime, you'll be safe here," Riku vows kindly, obliviously. "Once this is over, he won't be able to hurt you anymore. We'll make sure no one will ever again…"

There's a certain edge in Riku's voice, a certain hint of anger that Sora can't help but notice. He knows that anger is meant for his master, that it burns hot and bright and violent toward the man who has taken so much from them all. If only that anger alone were enough to truly stop his sadistic schemes once and for all, if only that anger were enough to win an entire war when little else can.

Sora doesn't have it in his heart to say much more to them. Instead, he lets himself remain in their embrace, savoring their touch, their warmth, their love. The three of them cling onto each other for quite some time, dreading the moment they'll inevitably have to let go, the moment they'll have to part ways, the moment they'll have to face whatever fate may bring.

That moment arrives far sooner than they want it to when Riku slowly releases his hold first. Kairi hesitantly follows, leaving Sora standing largely alone to watch her summon a light gate into existence. She exchanges a nod with Riku, noble resolve filling them both as they prepare to unite with the rest of their team. Even so, they both spare another moment to turn back to Sora, to instill him with even just a fraction of the hope they're clinging so desperately onto, hope that he so clearly needs right now.

"I wish we could be here the moment we defeat him, to see the second you're finally set free," Riku says wistfully. "But I guess we'll have to settle for celebrating with you when we get back."

"You better get ready, Sora," Kairi teases wryly. "Because once this is through, we're gonna throw the biggest and best party you've ever seen. It'll even put your welcome back party to shame."

"Heh, I don't think that'll be too hard when you think about who crashed that one…" Sora half-jokes. He's trying so hard to let his final few moments with them be pleasant and lighthearted, but his smile is still far too quick to slip when he glances away. "Uh… I guess this is goodbye, huh?"

"No, it isn't," Riku corrects.

"It's more of a… see you soon… ok?" Kairi says, her smile soft and sweet.

It's enough to bring tears back to Sora's eyes as he nods absently, his mother's words echoing softly inside his mind: "But of the things you let go, you'd be surprised what makes its way back to you…" He's letting them go, that much is clear. He's letting everything he has, everything he's ever wanted, every last dream he's ever had disappear into the darkness. But even still he stubbornly finds room to hope that they might find him again after today. That the two people he loves so very much might someday make their way back to him. That they might someday forgive him for what he's about to do.

He knows it won't happen, none of it will… But it's still a lovely thought all the same.

"Y-yeah…" he says softly, brokenly. "See you… soon…" And he will, but not in the way they're hoping for, not in the way they're expecting. They'll see him again and when they do… it'll be the last time they likely ever will.

With nothing left to say and nothing left to do, Riku and Kairi begin to step forward toward the light gate, toward the other guardians of light, toward the battle that will determine everything. Sora can only watch, his heart heavy as they disappear into that light, sending him back one final set of adoring smiles and affectionate waves. Neither of which he can bear to return as they vanish, before they leave him alone with little else but his thoughts… and his plan.

The shore is quiet, engulfed in the warmth of the bright morning sun overhead. But for his part, Sora feels cold as he stands there, staring out across the sea he's always known, the sea he'll certainly never see again after today. He shouldn't be doing this, he knows he shouldn't be. He should be following Riku's instructions, taking a boat back to the main island, heading home and staying safe and sound by his mother's side. By all accounts, he doesn't want to do this… but really, what other choice does he have now? This is exactly what he always figured would happen since any of this began, the end of the road he'd been on since day one. The only future he'll ever get to see, exactly as his master had said.

But for as awful as that future seems, at least he can take solace that it'll all actually mean something. That through his sacrifice, so many others might be saved. He knows he can't rescue all of his friends across all of the worlds he's been to, but at least those closest to his heart will survive. He wonders if perhaps if he finds favor with his master, if he obediently follows his every demand, if he can convince his master to spare his mother too. He figures that's probably a longshot given his master's lack of empathy and mercy, but he's willing to try all the same. It's the least he can do to repay her for the grief he's no doubt about to put her through all over again.

His sights remain on the sea as he thinks of her. He knows he should go back to at least give her one last goodbye, to allow her some kind of closure before he walks out of her life forever. But he knows that if he even hinted at what he's planning, she'd be livid; in fact, he's certain she'd do everything in her power to keep him from leaving again. Which is exactly why Sora knows he can't return to her, he can't let her know anything about this. He can't even tell her how sorry he is for everything, for never being around, for leaving her all alone, for being such a disappointment of a son from the very start. Because as it stands every word of it will forever remain unsaid, left to fade away with every last trace of the life he's about to leave behind forever.

"...I'm sorry, Mom…" he still whispers a sad apology to her all the same, knowing it means nothing, knowing she won't even hear it. Knowing that it won't do a thing to fill in the agonizing hole that's already starting to tear its way through his heart.

He shouldn't stall any longer–waiting will only make this even more difficult than it already is. Besides, if he really wants his plan to succeed, he needs to arrive early. Before a single Keyblade can be swung, before any of the lights can risk getting hurt. Before his master can destroy any lives other than his own. Even still, he lingers for a moment longer to look around the peaceful, beautiful islands he's always called home, wishing he could stay for one more day, one more hour, one more moment. And of course, knowing that he can't, that after he leaves, he'll probably never step foot on these shores again.

He offers his home and everyone on it a silent farewell as he slowly raises his hand. A dark corridor blooms into existence on his command, and though he's never been great at getting them to take him to where he wants to go, he has a feeling this one will. That it'll take him to somewhere so far away, to a desolate graveyard, a broken battlefield. To his friends and to his Organization. To his master… and to whatever fate that master has in store for him.

Each step carries a different emotion as he slowly approaches that portal. Fear, despair, hope, remorse, all mingle together into an unpleasant cocktail that's nearly enough to make Sora sick to his stomach. But he stays his course all the same, pushing all thoughts out of his head of what he's leaving behind, of what he's about to give up. Instead, he thinks solely of his friends, of Riku and Kairi and of the beautiful promise they'd made the previous night. It's a promise he knows he won't be able to keep, but he still holds it in his heart along with the love he feels for them both. The very same love that prompts him to step through that dark corridor, love that drives into crossing the threshold from his past into his future, love that pushes him over the edge into a deep dive into the unknown.

Love… that will last even long after the darkness has devoured him completely.


Every last one of the guardians of light are solemn and mostly silent as they all meet at the Mysterious Tower. They have a short briefing with Yen Sid to review their strategy before they all set out on the same Gummi Ship, their destination more than clear. Once they arrive in the space surrounding the Keyblade Graveyard, those set to embark into battle take time to say their farewells to those staying behind. Donald and Goofy bid Mickey a fond goodbye, though they get more than a little emotional when they plead with him to do all he can to set Sora free. Axel and Xion have plenty of hugs to spare for Roxas, mingled with tearful teasing for him to return safely. Terra tries and almost succeeds in holding back his own tears as he holds Ven and Aqua close, offering them both all of the love and hope he has to give. Riku and Kairi are largely left to themselves amidst this, having already said goodbye to the missing piece of their own trio back on the islands. Even so, Naminé approaches them, wishing them both the best of luck and voicing her belief that they will win this. A belief that some of them only wish they could share when it comes to what's ahead of them.

There's an aura of unspoken anxiety between the six that descend into the graveyard. Its dry, brittle landscape is largely lost on all of them as they travel through one of its towering canyons toward where they can only assume the Organization will be waiting. They haven't issued any proper invitation to their foes, but certainly, Xehanort won't be able to resist the opportunity to kick his coveted clash off. Though of course, they'll only give him that clash if he agrees to their demands, if he gives them back what he's stolen from them. If he finally sets his thirteenth vessel's heart free.

"Remember what we talked about," Riku keeps his voice low as he leads the way into a vast clearing. It's surrounded by withered, ancient Keyblades on all sides, a testament to the hundreds of lives that were lost here centuries ago. They can only hope they aren't foreshadowing any more might meet the same fate today. "I'll do the talking. Don't fight them unless they give us no other options. And don't let them see how you're really feeling. They're masters at taking your emotions and manipulating you through them. You can't let them manipulate you. We're in control of this; not them. Don't forget that."

The others largely nod in agreement with such stern instructions. In fact, the only one who lightly dissents is Roxas, as he lets out something of a disgruntled huff and glares away from their leader. His confidence in this so-called plan is shaky at best, nonexistent at worst. He's more than prepared to watch it crash and burn, and the moment he does, he fully intends to do exactly what he told Sora he would if he ever confronted Xehanort face-to-face. To make that miserable monster of a man pay for every last atrocity he's committed against his somebody, to make him pay for even so much as looking at Sora to begin with.

Surprisingly, Ventus echoes hints of that righteous anger, though he's much more willing to stick with the plan. This is a delicate situation, but even then, he has plenty of worries about what might happen. His former master isn't one to compromise, and for as determined as he is to claim Sora as his own, there's a very high chance this could all go wrong. And if it does… there's no telling what could happen. There's no telling how any of this might end. There's no telling if they'll somehow find success… or fail in every last meaning of the word.

For their part, Aqua and Mickey devoutly trust Riku's plan. As his unofficial second and third in command, they support his endeavor as best they can. The king strides alongside his young friend with ample pride for his steady leadership, especially in the midst of such an incredibly difficult situation. Aqua shares that pride, but concern mixes with it as she studies his severe expression. When she'd first met him, Riku had been but a child, a sweet and innocent boy without a single care in the world. But now, he's been hardened by battle, through bloodshed and pain. He's at the head of a decisive charge that even she would struggle to lead, if she's being perfectly honest with herself. And as much as she respects him for that, she only hopes that, if they all survive this, he'll still manage to emerge from it with some shred of who he used to be intact. That he'll still be able to recover from not just the scars torn across his face, but the scars upon his heart as well.

As the group comes to a stop in the center of the flat field, Kairi slowly intertwines her hand in Riku's. They exchange only a glance, not speaking a word as they nod, as they both push the last of their heavy nerves away. Now isn't the time to drown in fear, it's the time to face those fears head-on. It's the time to put an end to this, to stop their foes in their tracks. It's time to finally set Sora free, to make sure his mind, his heart, his life itself will last… even if not all of theirs do.

Surprisingly, they aren't kept waiting for their enemies for long. As a cloud of dust clears from the far side of the graveyard, they can see twelve dark silhouettes begin to approach from across the horizon. The moment they can clearly make out their leader from a distance, Roxas, Ventus, and Kairi all act on impulsive emotion and step forward, each of them prepared to summon their Keyblades on sheer fury alone. At least until Riku raises a hand to stop them. "Not yet," he commands quietly, sternly. Even so, he focuses a piercing, vicious glare at the master in question, hating him and what he's done to Sora with every last fiber of his being.

While most of the other Organization members are hooded, their leading ensemble stands apart. Ansem, Xemnas, Young Xehanort, and the elderly master himself stop at the head of the group. Broad, practically smug smiles rest on all of their faces, as if each of them is confident that they've already won before the battle has even begun. It makes most of the lights uneasy, but they resolve not to show it, not to let their enemies know just how terrified each of them truly are.

"Greetings, guardians of light," Xehanort speaks first, his voice calm and smooth as it carries across the wide gap standing between both sides. "I believe you are harboring something that rightfully belongs to me."

That simple snide remark alone is enough to set just about every one of the lights off. Riku can tell that's exactly what Xehanort wanted it to accomplish as he has to raise his arm once more to silently order Roxas and Ven to stand down again. In their stead, he speaks up, forcing his voice to be as steady and strong as possibly, forcing whatever courage he still has to guide him through this, no matter how nerve wrecking it all might be. "Xehanort. We're here to-"

"I'm well aware why you've all come here, boy," the master's smile falls into a haughty sneer. "Just as much as I am aware why you have come to confront us shorthanded."

A few of the lights exchange apprehensive glances at this, briefly wondering if their careful measures to keep their plans concealed had all been in vain. Riku worries the same, but he doesn't speak to it, instead countering with a cool-headed observation of his own. "It looks like you're short a member too."

"Indeed," Xehanort smiles, as if amused by that fact. "But I can't imagine we'll stay that way for too much longer. Our thirteenth will play his part, as will each and every one of you in the great war that's to come."

"He's not 'your thirteenth', you old-" Roxas' harsh rebuttal is stopped by Aqua before it can get too far. Riku breathes a sigh of relief before sparing a disapproving glance over his shoulder at the other boy. For as much as he respects his surprising dedication to Sora, he can't say he appreciates how willing he is to show it at perhaps the absolute worst time.

"Speaking of that war," Riku takes a small step forward. "We've come to make a deal with you."

The three superiors surrounding Xehanort almost laugh when they hear this, and the master himself smiles just a bit wider, his hands held behind his back as he nods encouragingly. "Go on…"

"For a Keyblade War to happen, you need a clash between seven lights and thirteen darknesses, right?" Riku asks, clenching his hands into fists at his sides to keep them from shaking. "Well, right now, there's only six of us and twelve on your side. We have more than enough Keyblade wielders we could call in to join the fight to bring our number up to seven. But not a single one of them is going to come."

"Unless…?" Xehanort asks, raising an eyebrow knowingly.

"Unless…" Riku swallows hard, knowing this is the crux of it all. That this is the moment that will either bring his plan together… or tear it apart at the seams. "Unless you release Sora's heart from your control and restore him to the way he used to be. Then, and only then, will we give you the clash you want to have."

Xehanort pauses for a moment or two, almost seeming to consider these terms… until he laughs. It's about the response Riku had been expecting–he'd figured from the start that the elderly master wouldn't take their proposal seriously. Which is why he spares a discreet glance back at Kairi to confirm that their back up plan is still underway. She nods as she keeps one of her hands held securely behind her back, light magic converging around it as she concocts a powerful spell, one that she'll likely have to use sooner rather than later with the way things are going.

"Foolish child," Xehanort says, still grinning twistedly. "What has happened to Sora cannot be undone. I am guiding him to his destiny, and in doing so, I have recreated him into something far more useful than a mere tool for the light. Whether you accept it, whether he accepts it for himself, he is now what he has always been meant to be: he is mine."

By now, almost all of the lights are struggling to maintain their composure. Aqua nearly calls upon her Keyblade, though Ven, Roxas, and Mickey already have summoned their own. Kairi would do the same if not for the spell that requires all of her focus, but she watches as Riku finally brings out Braveheart, aiming its tip directly at their most hated foe. "I don't think you heard me," his voice is raw and rigid, intense fury brewing barely under the surface of it. "Let Sora go or your Keyblade War won't happen–today, or any other day. If you don't give us what we want, then we'll make sure you never get what you want. It's up to you, 'master'."

Xehanort's calculated grin doesn't fade at this ultimatum, and Riku hates that. Hates that he can't get under this awful man's skin the same way he can get under all of theirs. Hates that there's essentially nothing he can do to take this manipulative monster down a peg like he deserves. "You are correct," Xehanort surprisingly concedes. "A Keyblade War is not destined to dawn on this day. It cannot and shall not come to pass until the final Key to the Kingdom has finally been forged. Until the Kingdom itself is ready to be claimed."

A few of the lights exchange a confused glance at this, unsure of what he means by that last statement in particular. Even so, Riku tenses, realizing just how badly his plan is truly going, just how much he should have seen this coming from the beginning. Xehanort won't budge, he let Sora go, he won't set his heart free, he won't agree to their terms; the exchange isn't enough, what he's offering the master obviously isn't worth giving up his long-awaited final vessel for. So what is? What could possibly be enough to make Xehanort surrender his most precious prize? What else has he been after all along?

The answer hits him in an instant, and before he can even think better of it, it comes pouring out of his mouth in a desperate flood he can't control. "If you release Sora's heart, we'll let you have every last one of the thirteen Keys!" he exclaims in something of an unkempt panic. The reaction from the rest of his team is immediate, a ripple of alarmed dissent rushing through them the second they hear the Keys mentioned.

"Riku!" Aqua and Mickey both scold as Kairi lets out a stunned gasp. Roxas and Ven remain silent, neither of them opposing the idea, though neither of them agree with it either. Because in the end, it's almost an impossible decision for any of them to make. It all comes down to what's more important: saving the life of someone they all love so dearly… or saving every last world from utter annihilation.

An impossible decision indeed… one that their leader has, by all accounts, already made for them.

"You would gamble the very Keys to Kingdom Hearts itself in exchange for such a simple-minded, fragile child?" Xehanort asks, a hint of dry mocking in his tone. "In that case, you're even more pathetic than I thought. I grow weary of this aimless bartering. You're wasting our time and yours with this mindless charade. The remaining Keys will fall into our hands whether you deliver them to us or not. As will our thirteenth vessel." He pauses, just for a moment as he looks somewhere in the distance beyond the lights before him, as he senses something he's been eagerly anticipating since this encounter began. "Speaking of my thirteenth… it appears he has arrived right on time."

Confusion spreads among the lights as they all slowly follow the master's gaze. But that confusion swiftly shifts into shock as soon as they hear a familiar voice begin to rise over the wastelands, as soon as they see a familiar figure emerge from the canyon behind them. As soon as they see the very last person they wanted to come here rushing straight into the center of it all.

"Stop!" Sora yells, running as fast as his legs can carry him. He tries not to look at the stunned faces of his friends as he presses past them, focusing instead on his master as he stops a few feet in front of the lights, his arms spread wide to protect them. His resolve to save them burning far brighter than whatever fear he might be feeling to be standing here in the first place.

"Sora!" Kairi exclaims, letting out a sharp shriek as her focus is abruptly broken. As a result, her magic falters, the spell she'd been working on practically since they arrived bursting out of existence altogether, the spell that could have been their saving grace if not for the unexpected wrench Sora's just thrown into it all.

"What are you doing here?!" Riku shouts, distraught. "You were supposed to stay back on the islands!"

"I-I know," Sora glances back at them guiltily. "But I just… I had to-"

"Welcome, my thirteenth." The sound of his master's voice alone makes him feel like the ground has been swept right out from under him. He turns against his will to face the man who's all but destroyed his life, the man he'll have to answer to for whatever's left of it. And despite the horror dawning in his paled, anxious expression, a smile, cruel and cunning, is what rests on his master's as he continues his falsely cordial greeting. "We've been expecting you."

His master doesn't even have to order him to step forward. Sora does so entirely on his own accord, on his own will. In fact, he all but runs to his master, dropping down to his knees as he digs his claws into the dry earth below him, and bows his head low in respect. "M-master…" he begins, his voice feeble and frightened. "P-please, I-"

He's cut off when he hears an enraged shout echoing from behind him. He briefly glances back to see Roxas rushing forward, Oathkeeper and Oblivion at the ready as he makes a mad dash straight for Xehanort. The master doesn't so much as move to counteract it; Ansem and Xemnas do instead as they both raise their hands, heavy waves of raw darkness pouring from them. That wave strikes Roxas before he can even get close, knocking him back toward the other lights brutally. Aqua and Mickey tend to the minor wounds he sustains when he lands, but before he even does, Sora panics as he turns back to his master, not even making an effort to hide his distress.

"Don't hurt them!" he pleas, looking up at his master, struggling to breathe as his heart surges with pain. "I'll do whatever you want, just don't-"

"Sora!" Riku cuts in as he takes another step forward. His expression is rife with anger, his single teal eye burning bright and bitter, his hand gripping Braveheart so tightly the entire Keyblade itself shakes. As he glances back to meet such a severe look, Sora honestly can't decide who he's more afraid of right now: his master or his best friend. "Get out of here. Now."

Sora doesn't even get a chance to say a word before his master speaks in his stead. "If you couldn't get him to stay, what makes you think you can convince him to leave?" Xehanort asks, his smile gone as he eyes Riku critically. "You've known him your whole life; certainly you must have anticipated this. Sora doesn't follow orders, none except for mine. You're a pitiful excuse for a leader, boy. A true leader controls his pawns with an iron grip. A true leader…" he pauses, reaching down to forcibly guide Sora's gaze away from his former leader, up to his new master instead. "Is one who can turn even the most rebellious of infidels into the most reliable of assets…"

Sora can only vaguely hear the lights protest behind him, their fearful, fretful cries begging him to try to escape his master's hold. But even if he could, he knows he wouldn't. Not when he knows this is where he needs to be, even if this is the last place he wants to be. "Master…" he keeps his voice low, not wanting the lights to hear. But of course, they all still hear him all the same. "Please… listen to me. I'm ready to be part of the Organization now, I promise you I am! I'll do whatever you say, I'll be whatever you want me to be. I won't run, I won't fight, I'll be the most obedient vessel you could ever want, just… please… please don't hurt my–t-the guardians of light. If you let them walk away from this… t-then I'll follow you… anywhere you want to lead me. I mean it. I promise."

"What?" Sora finally shudders out a sob when he overhears Kairi's voice behind him. He can't bear to face her, he can't even imagine the look on her face, on any of their faces now that they know the truth. "That's why you came here? To give yourself up?!"

"For all of us?" Mickey adds fretfully. "Aw, Sora, that's… you… ya can't-"

"You can't do that!" Roxas finishes where the king isn't able to. "How many times do we have to tell you?! You can't keep trying to sacrifice yourself for everyone else!"

"We came here to save you, Sora, not the other way around," Aqua says, much more calmly, but the fear in her expression is clear. "So please… just let us."

"Just trust us," Ventus coaxes desperately. "We will find a way to save you, you know that! You don't have to do this!"

Sora doesn't look back at any of them as he offers his simple, quiet, tearful response. "Yes… I do." He looks back up at his master, who's taken to studying him carefully as he stands over him, as if he's less of a person and more of an exhibit or an experiment instead. And as far as his master is concerned, that's probably exactly how he sees him. "S-so," he swiftly wipes his tears away as he continues to bargain with the man who holds almost complete control over his life. "Do we have a deal, master?"

A strange burst of relief swells through him when he sees his master smile almost kindly. He even goes as far as to extend a hand down toward him, and as he takes it, as his master places a firm hand upon shoulder, Sora almost thinks this has worked after all. That in just a few mere words, in an exchange of something that matters so little to him when compared to what he'd secured, he really has saved his most beloved friends after all. Until…

"If I recall correctly, you made a similar 'deal' with one of your superiors not so long ago," Xehanort says, his voice quiet and cold. "With terms quite similar to this one: the safety of the guardians of light in exchange for the final few Keys. I allowed it, thinking that you would keep your word with something so valuable to you on the line. But when none of those Keys came into my possession, I realized that I had made a mistake I won't be repeating here. Clearly, Sora, you're not to be trusted. Even when those you love most are at stake, you never seem to mean what you say."

"W-what…?" Sora blinks, trying to make sense of everything he'd just heard. "But… no, I… t-this time will be different, I promise it will be, I-"

He's forced into silence when his master raises a hand to stop him. "You possess a unique talent for manipulation, my thirteenth, I will say that much. But what you forget is that I can see straight through to the depths of your heart." Sora winches when his master skims the fingertips of his free hand directly over his heart, a sharp spark of almost unbearable pain shooting through it from his touch alone. "I know you, child, far better than you even seem to know yourself. And I know that you will never stop lying if it means you get what you desire. You've lied to your friends, to your family, to those you claim to 'love' more than your very own life. But you will not lie to me, Sora." His master's golden eyes are ablaze to the point that Sora feels like they're scorching him straight through his soul. He shivers as his master tightens his grip on his shoulder, as he leans in a bit closer to make sure his final vessel hears every last word. "Your loyalty to me will not be bought; it must be genuine. But it cannot be genuine until the final obstacle standing between you and I is removed. Until the last ties still tethering you to the light are cut completely."

Sora shakes his head as he draws in an unsteady breath. "I-I… I don't understand…" he whispers as worry begins to grip his heart like a vice. "What are you going to do?"

Xehanort finally smiles again, a sickening grin that sends an all new wave of terror crashing through Sora when he hears what he has to say next. "What I must to ensure that you belong wholly, unequivocally to me," he says simply, vaguely, sadistically. "So to answer your question, my apologies, my thirteenth… but I don't make deals with my slaves."

And with those few words alone… Sora can feel his entire plan fall to pieces all around him. His eyes are wide, his heart hammering as his master slowly turns him around so he can face the lights once more. By now, they've huddled together to try and come up with some sort of spur of the moment idea to save Sora, an idea he already knows won't work, especially not when his master leans down to whisper in his ear once more. "Return to them, my boy," he instructs, his very voice like poison pouring dread into his vessel's veins. "Stand with your beloved friends one final time… and watch as each and every one of them dies because of you."

Without another word, his master disappears, taking almost every last member of his Organization with him. And yet, Sora remains where he stands, barely able to breathe, barely able to think, completely unable to warn his friends of what's coming. Even as a massive tide of sheer, deadly darkness rises high above his head.

The lights see it too, and Riku is the first to press forward, his former anger forgotten as he realizes he has only one mission now, the very same mission he's had since the very start. To keep Sora safe, nothing less, and nothing more.

"Come on!" Riku yells, grabbing Sora by the wrist as he stands, petrified while watching the tidal wave of Heartless gathering next to him. Sora's legs don't work correctly amidst his shock as he stumbles after Riku, as he essentially pulls him back over to the rest of the lights. The others are already running, knowing they're ill-equipped to face such a massive horde of monsters on their own. But they don't get far before another wave completely rises over the entrance to the canyon, what might've been a safe haven, their only way to really escape, unless…

"Kairi! Light gate! Now!" Riku orders, still gripping Sora's wrist like a vice.

"I'm trying!" Kairi shouts back over the rising din. Her hand twitches as light sparks from it, but it doesn't form into anything tangible, anything that could get them out of the sudden danger surrounding them on all sides. "B-but I can't–i-it's not-" she cuts herself off, her magic continuing to waver amidst her panic, panic that surges every time she much as looks at Sora, every time she remembers that he only came here because he didn't believe in them, he didn't trust they'd be enough to save them. He didn't think they'd keep their promise, so he decided to break his own instead.

"We'll just have to fight our way through!" Mickey shouts, already tearing his Keyblade into the horde. "Look alive, everybody!"

"Stand together!" Aqua adds as she slices her weapon through a handful of Heartless. "Don't let them separate us!"

Ven and Roxas nod their agreement as they rush into the fray, Keyblades and magic already flying to wear the monsters surrounding them down. Kairi quickly realizes she's not likely to summon a light gate with her magic as frayed as it currently is, so she joins them in tearing away at the wall of darkness, hoping that they'll be able to break through it before it devours them all completely.

Sora watches as the others fight, his body still stiff, his mind still reeling with panic from everything his master had said. He's only briefly brought out of it when Riku grabs his shoulder, forcing his attention toward him. "Sora, what were you thinking?!" he asks hotly, but the distress in his expression is clear. "We told you to stay home; why couldn't you just listen for a change?!"

Sora draws in a sharp breath to answer, but no words come out. He chokes up, shaking his head as he tries to come up with some kind of sensible excuse for what he's done, but of course, not a single one comes to him. Mostly because there is no sense in him coming here, it didn't accomplish a single thing; in fact the only thing he has succeeded in doing is the exact opposite of what he wanted. Instead of saving his friends from certain destruction, his reckless attempt at sacrificing himself has only ended up pushing them all even closer towards it.

When Sora provides no answer, Riku lets out a disgruntled huff, glancing around to take stock of their increasingly worsening situation. "We've got to get you out of here before Xehanort has a chance to come back…" he mutters before he turns to the rest of his team. "Everyone! Get in close! We'll strike it together to try and break through!"

The others agree with this plan as they form a single line to square off against the encroaching darkness. Riku steps forward to join them, only for Sora to finally break out of his shock to reach out and hold him back. "W-wait! I want to help!" he insists, trying to summon his Keyblade. Because really, after bringing such a destructive torrent upon them, the least he can do is join them in fending it off.

But for his part, Riku rejects that offer as he pulls his arm away. "Haven't you already done enough?" he asks coldly, his stern glare issuing the unspoken order for him to stay put. Sora's heart sinks as he watches him walk away, but he still works on calling the Kingdom Key forth all the same, he still strives to do whatever he can to keep them all safe. Yet despite his best efforts, whether it's his master's power or his own unshakable fear keeping it away, his weapon won't appear, even his magic won't work. And as he stands there watching his friends struggle against the darkness he brought upon them, Sora realizes all too quickly: there's nothing he can do to save them from it.

Nothing he can do to save them… and nothing he can do to save himself.

Even so, for their part, the lights stand strong against the massive tide, at least at first. Aqua bombards it with spell after spell, while Roxas uses both of his Keyblades to deftly tear through the countless creatures, hoping to create an opening. Kairi and Ventus are more on the defensive, casting healing magic wherever needed while also taking plenty of swings of their own when they can. Riku and Mickey are largely at the front of the charge, however, with heavy strikes meant to take out numerous Heartless at a time. And yet, for as many as they defeat, even more rush in to take their place, filling in any gaps that they could possibly use as a means of escape. They're well aware that the Organization is probably watching this entire battle from a safe distance, waiting for them to fall so they can sweep in to claim their ultimate prize. But for as precious as that 'prize' is to each of them, they refuse to let this be the end.

And yet, no matter how hard they fight to forestall it… that end still comes all the same.

Just as fatigue starts to set in among the lights, the darkened horde suddenly begins to pull back. While the wall behind them still remains intact, what stands before them swiftly starts changing shape, to the point that they can start to see a few sizable gaps opening up where there were none seconds ago. "Is it… giving up?" Ventus asks warily.

"No," Aqua counters, her grip on her Keyblade tensing as her focus remains on the mounting horde. "It's getting bigger."

And indeed it is. The already immense dredge of Heartless seems to multiply tenfold as it reforms itself into a towering tornado, the dusky skies surrounding it turning pitch black to further blind them. Kairi casts a light spell around the tip of her Keyblade to give them some semblance of light to go off of, but it isn't much compared to the incredible surge of darkness surrounding them in every direction.

"What are we supposed to do now?!" Roxas shouts over the thundering storm of Heartless.

Riku hesitates for a moment as he asks himself the same question. Briefly, he glances back to Sora, defenseless and frightened as he watches his friends try and fail to face something so unstoppable. Fortunately though, they're not alone in this fight, something that Riku remembers when he thinks about the ship still drifting in the space just beyond this war-battered world. About their friends who stand ready and waiting to join this fight, to hopefully turn the tide just in the nick of time.

"Mickey!" he calls, taking out another swath of Heartless as the king does the same. "Call the others! We need back up!"

"Right!" Mickey agrees as he hastily pulls out his Gummiphone. However, before he can so much as dial up any of the other lights, the sinister swarm suddenly shifts, almost as if it can tell what the king is about to do. A heavy tendril composed of several hundred squirming Heartless lashes out from the rest of the horde, launching itself right at Mickey. With the king, and all of the other lights as distracted as they are, none of them see it. None of them, save for the only one of them forced to stand on the sidelines of it all.

"Your majesty!" Sora calls in apt alarm. "Look out!"

"Huh?" Mickey glances up from his phone just a second too late. In the end, Sora's warning means little as the monstrous tendril crashes squarely into the king, sweeping him clean off his feet. He drops his Gummiphone and his Keyblade alike as he's dragged into the thick of the storm, his startled cry cut off the second he disappears into the darkness completely.

"Oh no!" Ventus gasps, horrified. Aqua, on the other hand, doesn't take time to react. Instead, she acts, charging forward with an enraged shout in the hopes of rescuing her longtime friend. She drills her Keyblade straight into the base of the cyclone, powerful magic swirling around it as it obliterates Heartless at a rapid pace. But as preoccupied in her rage as she is, Aqua doesn't see another swath of darkness squirming out from the ground just below her feet. In fact, she doesn't notice it at all until it coils around her ankle and harshly knocks her to the ground.

"Aqua!" Ven cries when he sees the darkness pulling her toward it. He abandons his Keyblade as he hurries to her, grabbing ahold of both of her hands just in time. "H-hold on!" he pleas, though she refuses to lock her hands around his wrists like he's already done for hers. She refuses to let him fall victim to the same fate she's clearly about to. "Just hold on, Aqua, please!"

"Ven…" Aqua catches his attention, her heart breaking when she sees tears starting to fill his eyes. "I-I…" She trails off, wanting to say so much, but having not a single second for any of it. Instead, all she can do is accept what will certainly be her demise as she's yanked back into the storm. And with Ventus still holding onto her for dear life, there's nothing she can do to keep him from being dragged right along into death with her.

While Riku, Kairi, and Roxas draw in a shared, shocked gasp at the sudden loss of two of their team members at once, Sora's reaction is far more visceral. "Stop!" he screams, not to the demon tide, but to his master, knowing he'll hear him. And all the while knowing that he won't listen, that he won't do a single thing to stop this madness, that he won't rest until every last thing his thirteenth vessel loves has been viciously torn away from him.

"I've had enough of this!" Roxas seethes as he raises both of his Keyblades high. "Light!" he yells, pouring all of the magic he still has in him into a single, monumental spell. That spell explodes from both of his weapons, casting a wide radius of light to drive the Heartless back, and in the process, hopefully rescue their fallen friends from it. And indeed, it does push the shadowy beasts back, though only for the briefest of moments. Because when the spell ends and the light inevitably fades, they return with a vengeance, angrier and even more bloodthirsty than they'd been before. Incensed by Roxas' attempt at destroying them, they all converge upon him, slamming down into him hard enough to send both Oathkeeper and Oblivion flying. Roxas' scream is drowned out by Sora's as he watches his nobody be so quickly consumed. As he loses someone else he cares so much about, all because of his own foolishness, his own folly, his own existence as a whole.

"R-Riku!" Kairi shouts, aptly afraid as she realizes only three of them are left. "What do we do?! E-everyone else is… t-they're…" She cuts herself off with a pained sob, one that Sora shares as he struggles to even remain standing amidst his mounting grief. Riku, on the other hand, doesn't let himself drown in that same kind of despair. Mostly because he doesn't want to believe what his heart already knows to be true. That their friends are gone, that they've already lost this battle. That there's nothing more they can do.

"W-we… I…" he stammers, at a loss for words, a loss for anything really. He has no more plans, no more strategies, nothing that could get them out of this. Even calling upon the other lights would be a waste at this point–lest they all lose their lives alongside the others. He can no longer hold back tears of his own as he looks between his two best friends, knowing that all three of them are doomed in such very different ways. That he and Kairi will die… and while Sora will live, his life might as well be forfeit all the same for what it's about to turn into. Which means, as it all comes crashing down, as their equally awful fates finally fully sink in, there's only one thing Riku can say. "I don't know…"

"What?" Kairi asks, not hearing him over the raging torrent.

"I don't know!" Riku snaps angrily, tearfully. And he hates that, he hates it so very much. He hates that he hadn't come up with a better plan, he hates that Xehanort had already outmatched them far before they'd even step foot here. He hates that he'd ever dared to hope that they could do this, he hates that he and his friends had been the ones to bear such an impossible burden. And most of all… he hates that he couldn't stop any of this, that he couldn't save any of them, that he couldn't protect what matters most in any way that ever actually mattered. "I… I'm…"

"...Riku…" Kairi steps closer to him, wanting to offer him and Sora both some kind of comfort in their final moments together. But she isn't even able to get close before the darkness finally targets her. She hears it roaring toward her, spinning around with a startled gasp as she summons sheer, raw light from her palm. The Heartless recoil, but only for a split second before they maneuver around her magic, snatching her up in mere seconds. She struggles against its hold as she sees Sora running toward her out of the corner of her eye. He extends a hand out to her, shouting her name, his expression filled with terror and heartbreak alike. He almost reaches her, almost takes ahold of her hand to pull her out of it, to save her where he couldn't save any of the others. But in the end… in those final moments… her fingers only lightly skim the tips of his claws. In the end, he can only watch as he narrowly misses her, he can only watch as the shadows steal her away from him forever.

He can only watch… before half of his heart shatters altogether.

His scream is deafening as he collapses to his knees, his claws digging into his hair as he cries up to the blackened heavens above. Riku is shell shocked as he stares at the space in the wall of Heartless that Kairi had disappeared into, to the point that he almost doesn't move out of the way of the spirelike spikes that shoot up out of the ground in response to Sora's despair. Those spikes split out violently all around him, yet even still, they don't even manage to thin demon tide out at all. Nothing does, and Riku is quite convinced nothing can. Just as nothing can ever hope to repair the gaping, agonizing hole now left in both his and Sora's hearts over what had just been taken from them. Over the bright, bold, and beautiful light that had so suddenly been snuffed out right before their very eyes.

Riku turns to face him, tears silently streaking down his own cheeks, a stark contrast to the heavy, practically painful sobs tearing their way out of Sora. He sits on all fours, his voice hitching between weeping and screaming, his claws digging deep into the cracked earth below him. Spikes continue darting out around him, to the point that Riku has to weave his way between them to approach him. "S-Sora…" he says weakly as he carefully leans down in front of him.

"This is all my fault!" Sora abruptly shouts, his voice raw and ragged, yet it still carries over the darkened storm all the same. "E-everyone… Aqua, Ven, Roxas, the king… e-even Kairi…" He buries his face into his hands as he says her name, the image of her face in those last few seconds before she'd been taken away seared into his mind. The last glimpse of her he'll ever get to see. "They're all gone and it's all because of me! I came here so I could protect all of you, b-but I couldn't even do that right! I should be the one who's dead instead of any of them!" His claws grip the edges of his throat; Riku starts when he sees their tips slowly starting to draw blood as he digs in.

"S-stop," Riku grabs his hand, but Sora pulls it away, his breathing sharp and short as he grips his chest in anguish.

"If I'd just died all the times I'd wanted to, none of this would be happening!" he screams mournfully, angrily. "They'd all be alive and safe!"

"But… you wouldn't-"

"I don't care!" Sora cuts him off sharply. "I don't want to live like this! I don't want to live anymore at all! I don't deserve to–why would anybody who's as stupid and dangerous and worthless as me deserve anything?!"

The second his final word comes out, he's suddenly pulled forward, not by the demon tide, but by Riku. He grips the sides of his face tenderly, not hesitating even a second before he pushes his lips tightly against Sora's. He's shocked by the sudden kiss, their first full one, if his memory serves correctly. And what a place for it to happen, what a moment for what's supposed to be such a special thing to be shared. In a literal graveyard, mere moments after the deaths of so many people they held so dear.

Sora gasps when Riku pulls away seconds later, both of their faces hot as he struggles to make sense of it all. "R-Riku, what-"

"I love you," Riku keeps his hold on his face, his words coming out quick and desperate. "I love you so much, Sora. You aren't worthless, you're perfect. You're wrong when you say you don't deserve anything–you deserve everything. You deserve to be happy and free and-" He stops himself on a sob, his hands shaking as he slowly pulls them away from Sora. He takes in a deep breath, steadying himself as he rises to stand, Braveheart flashing back into his hand as he turns to face the sinister storm once more. "And I'm going to make sure you can be both of those things. No matter what."

Sora stays in place, still on his knees as he watches Riku step forward toward the horde of monsters before them. He plants his feet firmly into the ground, raises his Keyblade high and keeps his focus solely on the shadows as they reel back, preparing to come in for a devastating assault. But it's an assault Riku is ready to take head on, for the sake of the friends he's so suddenly lost… and the only one that remains to protect. And if he falls just like the rest of them… well, at least his final act will be the most worthwhile thing he can think of. At least he'll die trying to save someone he's always loved so deeply for as long as he can remember.

"R-Riku…" Sora chokes, his voice small and shaky. Riku doesn't look back at him, his expression hardened as he stands his ground against the twisted tide. They strike him directly, but he doesn't falter, letting out a fierce battle cry as he slams the edge of his blade into the surging swarm.

"Riku!" Sora cries, extending a trembling hand toward him when he notices several of the Heartless swiftly push past him. He begs his body to react, to stand, to summon his Keyblade, to fight by Riku's side. But the weight of his grief, his fear, his own crushingly heavy heart keeps him grounded, helpless, useless. Just like he always is.

Riku's shout pitches higher as he continues raging against the full force of the twisting tide. His muscles burn, his energy strains, but he doesn't let up, not even for a second. He can't let up, because if he falls, then so does everything else. If he dies, then in some different way entirely, Sora will too.

His knees buckle as he feels himself being pushed back. His arms start to shake, his Keyblade starting to feel heavier and heavier by the second as his strength begins to fail him. He can feel several of their shadowy hands begin to pull upon him, eager to claim another heart within their destructive darkness. Despite his best efforts, he's losing this battle, just like he has been since it began. He's losing everything, and though he knows it's selfish, though he knows he shouldn't… there's still one thing he has left to hold onto before it's taken away from him too.

"Sora!" he yells, abruptly spinning around to face him. He's vaguely aware that he's crying again, but he doesn't care as he lets his Keyblade fall to the ground, as he runs across the short distance to bridge the gap between them. As he begs fate itself to let him hold him one last time, to let him kiss him one last time, to simply let him be with him one last time.

But fate's already been endlessly cruel to them all this day. Why wouldn't it continue to be that and then some?

He's only inches away when the darkness engulfs him. So very close, yet so incredibly far as he's consumed by the same vicious force that so swiftly struck down the rest of his team. Sora can only watch as it overwhelms Riku, as the shadows wash over him, as they obliterate the very first friend he ever had.

And yet, he doesn't even have time to come to terms with that before the twister makes a mad dash towards him next. He's only able to let out a small gasp as he braces himself for the impact and yet… it never comes. Instead, the tide swells straight past him, not a single Heartless touching him in the process. As it does, the wave of shadows suddenly disperses altogether, Heartless vanishing into thin air almost as quickly as they had appeared, darkness fading as the sky brightens and color returns to a world bled dry of it. And as the storm clears, all that remains is silence, thick and suffocating.

Silence… and one single, sorrowful survivor.

He doesn't know how long he sits there; it could be minutes, it could be hours, it could be days for all he cares. But what he does know is that whatever's left of his heart has been stolen in the very same tide that stole his friends away from him. The very same tide that stole both of the loves of his life and left him with nothing in their place.

And it starts to sink in, it all becomes far too much to take. His grief, initially silent and brewing just beneath the surface, dramatically swells until it can no longer be contained. His scream echoes across the entire graveyard, spikes spreading out over practically every inch of it in response to his despair. They pierce through canyon walls, rise high into the dry, arid air, uproot Keyblades that have been planted deep in the earth for ages. And surprisingly enough, even the sky itself seems to react to his misery as dark clouds soon start to roll in. The Keyblade Graveyard has been bone-dry for centuries, but suddenly a drizzle of rain begins to fall upon it, a drizzle that soon turns into a downpour that turns the dusty ground into thick mud as it splashes down upon the spaces between the shimmering spikes dotting the landscape. He doesn't notice any of it, however, as he continues screaming until he simply can't anymore. Until his voice breaks, until he sinks even further to the ground, until he succumbs to a grief so great it can't be spoken, to a pain that goes on and on and on.

They're gone. They're gone. They're gone. That's the thought that continues to echo through his mind as his sobs come out quietly and miserably. He pulls something out of his pocket and holds it close to his chest as he practically curls in on himself, his face wrenched in a kind of agony he's never felt before. A kind of agony that far surpasses any he's ever felt.

They're gone, in a moment, an instant really. Gone before he had a chance to say goodbye to any of them. He always thought he'd be torn away from them, but he could have never imagined it'd be the other way around. He could have never known they'd be the ones torn away from him. He'll never get to never get to share another smile with Mickey or Aqua, never get to thank Roxas and Ventus for everything they've done for him. He'll never get to bask in the light of the love Riku and Kairi shared for him, never get to hold their hands or see their faces or hear their voices. He'll never get to know any shred of happiness ever again. And why should he after what he's done? Why should he after being the sole reason that happiness had been snuffed out in the first place?

They're gone, and for what? They dreamed and fought so hard for a better tomorrow… a tomorrow that now, will never come. They sacrificed everything they had to give for such an unworthy cause, for someone who had only ever lied to them, ran from them, hurt them. They gave their lives so that his might be saved… even if that life means nothing without any of them in it.

They're gone, but perhaps they might have lived if he had just listened. If he had stuck to their plan, if he had stayed behind after all. If he had just let himself believe in them like they always used to believe in him. But instead, he'd so foolishly come running headfirst into danger, straight into the trap his master had already set for him. Instead, he'd arrived and, in his own haste and fear, had practically pried open the floodgates that led to their untimely demise. Instead, he'd shown up and had only stood by and watched as each and every one of them met their gruesome ends. In many ways, it's as if he'd essentially condemned them all to death himself, just six more lives to add to the count of those he's killed, six more lives he can never bring back, no matter how sorry he might be for ending them in the first place.

They're gone… and yet here he remains, alive and well, literally untouched by the cataclysm that had claimed each of their lives. Here he remains, wishing that it had swept him up along with them, wishing that it had killed him too so he could still be with them, if not in life, then at least in death. Here he remains, his heart decimated, his life lying in ruins all around him. Here he remains as he realizes that he's exactly what he's always hated being, how he always feared he'd end up.

Here he remains… and he's utterly, unquestionably, agonizingly alone.

He doesn't know where the other lights are, if they're even safe at all. If he's being perfectly honest with himself, they're just about the last people he wants to see right now. Because as soon as they find out what he's done, the deaths he's caused, there's no doubt that'll finally be enough to get them to hate him like they should have all along. It'll finally be enough to convince them that a murderer, a monster like him has no place with them, no place anywhere, really, except…

Except

He hadn't noticed them approaching from the far side of the graveyard. In fact, he doesn't even hear their footsteps splashing through the mud until they're only a few feet away from him. Even then, he doesn't glance up at them as he remains lying where he is, his back turned to them, his hands pressed tight against his chest, his tears flowing freely, his sadness unceasing.

"Poor thing…" he hears Young Xehanort's voice first, a hint of what almost sounds like sympathy upon it. "It seems that you have lost your light. But mourn not, my thirteenth. For what you are about to gain in its place is much more valuable by far."

Sora tries to hate him for that remark alone, and on many levels, he succeeds. But that hatred is so swiftly overtaken by despair that it doesn't even register in his mind to say a single cutting word back in response. It doesn't even register that his master is the one he should be blaming for what he's just lost instead of himself.

"Certainly, you must have known this was always how this was going to end," Ansem speaks next, lacking any of the sparse kindness, genuine or otherwise, that his master had used. "But believe it or not, it's for the best. Your 'friends' tried to steer you away from your true destiny. Now that they no longer stand to hold you back, we are free to guide you to where–to who you have always been meant to be."

"You seek belonging," Xemnas says smoothly, alluringly. Comfortingly. "You feel such sorrow now, but its sting needn't last. We can give you purpose, Sora. We will give you everything you could ever need."

He isn't ordered to rise and turn to face them, but he can feel the soft tug on his heart forcing him to do so anyway. He slowly sits up, his breathing still unsteady as he comes to sit on his knees again, his head bowed as he only briefly glances up at the trio that's come to meet him. His elderly master is strangely absent–a mystery Sora can't even be bothered with trying to figure out at a moment like this. The three who are here remain perfectly dry under a cover of solidified darkness acting as something of an umbrella; as he catches sight of it, only then does Sora realize he's soaked to the bone, that he's covered in mud, that it's even raining at all. Not that any of it matters, not that anything at all matters anymore.

"The time has come, my thirteenth," Young Xehanort smiles cordially, warmly, almost. "You're finally ready to take your place among your true family." He extends a gloved hand out to Sora as his smile widens ever so slightly. "Come with us, Sora… and you will never be alone again…"

What his master is offering him is more than clear. It's an invitation he's insincerely sought after before, thinking it would give him the shelter and safety he once so sorely needed. But now… now he's been presented with something so much different. Now, he's being promised something he needs far more than either of those things. Now, he's being promised something that, after what he'd just lost, he's hard pressed to turn down.

His superiors are right, this was always meant to happen all along, wasn't it? Wasn't this always the end of the path he'd been put on? Wasn't this always going to be his final fate from the start? Wasn't he always going to wind up here, pulled onto the other side whether he wants to be or not? So what's the point in putting it off any longer? What's the point in waiting for what certainly must be his destiny? What's the point in trying to fight when he has no reason left to resist, nothing left to keep him bound to the light, nothing left to live for at all?

Nothing… but his Organization, nothing but his master.

His master has a plan for him, he has a purpose and a place for him. His master can fix him even now that he's been so badly broken. His master can make him whole again, even now that he's been completely torn apart. His master can ensure that he'll never know such crushing, crippling loneliness ever again.

He knows this won't heal him, nothing will. Nothing under the sun of any world will ever be able to ease the pain he's feeling even a little bit. He also knows this won't make anything in his already ruined life better; if anything, it's all bound to get so much worse from here. But after what he's done, the damage he's caused, the deaths that have happened here solely because of him… Sora can't help but think that this is exactly what he deserves.

He swallows hard as he slowly starts to raise his hand, shaking uncontrollably as he brings it up to meet his master's. He hesitates for just a moment, knowing the line he's about to cross, knowing there will be no coming back from this. He wonders what they'd think if they could see this, what they'd say if they saw him giving up so easily. But then he remembers that they can't see this, that none of them will never see anything again. He remembers that they're dead, and that he's the one to blame. And on that thought alone, he slips his hand into his master's awaiting one–

And at long last, he accepts the role he was always meant to play.

"Your Organization welcomes you, my thirteenth," Young Xehanort says as he gently helps Sora stand. "It's time for you to come home."

Sora can only nod glumly, his gaze falling to the muddy ground. The rain doesn't stop as he begins to follow his master and his superiors toward the dark corridor one of them summoned, toward the beginning of the rest of his life, whatever that might look like now. But as he leaves the shattered remains of his old life behind, he decides to drop one of the final pieces he still has of it in the place where it had all gone so wrong. He lets the trinket slip out of his hand, unseen by his master and his superiors as they continue to guide him onward. It splashes unceremoniously onto the wet ground, a small speck of color amidst once-brittle brown. A small, largely meaningless monument to what had been taken from him, to the end of the love he once used to know.

But as he approaches the dark corridor ahead, what he doesn't see, what even his master doesn't see… is the one lone figure who has been watching everything from afar. One lone figure, who realizes that not everything about this situation is exactly as it seems.

Sora hangs his head in shame as he continues to follow his leaders, tears streaking silently down his cheeks all the while. This morning, he'd woken up between the two people he adored most, on the peaceful, beautiful islands he'd once called home. Tonight, he'll fall asleep in a castle, surrounded by twelve people who all hate him, twelve people he absolutely hates in return. Twelve people who will now have to suffice to replace the friends he no longer has, the family he'll never be able to see again. Twelve people who are likely already preparing to 'welcome' him to his new home, his new position, his new horrible lot in life. A lot he chose, and a lot he never once had any kind of choice in, all at the exact same time.

He stops only for a moment before passing through the threshold into the darkness. He glances at his master, who simply nods, still smiling all the while, issuing the unspoken command to proceed. To venture into the shadows, to embrace the darkness inside and out, to become someone entirely, unrecognizably new. And so, with nothing left to live for and nothing left to lose… that's exactly what Sora does.

The Organization, his Organization, awaits.


Welp :3 Guess we finally got to the point of this story that you all have probably been waiting for. Let me tell you, 65 chapters to get there sure was a ride. But what still lies ahead is... well its gonna be gut punch after gut punch so prepare yourselves for it. Even so, I'm SO excited to finally be here in the endgame. Excited and... very emotional, Keys is my baby and I'll be so sad when I finish it. But since we're getting so close (twelve chapters to the end to be exact) please let me know how you're feeling in the REVIEWS! Until next time!