Wave after wave heartless poured from the cracked portal, the group continued to destroy every single one that poured out. What seemed like hours the portal appeared to be sated, and without wasting a moment, the group took the brief respite to release the princesses of heart that were sealed away in what seemed to be incubators.
"Everyone is alright, right?" Sora asked as he looked at the group of women.
"Yes," the group of women replied together.
"Good!" Sora replied with a large ear to ear smile.
"Sora…where is Mitsu? She's not here," Yuna mentioned as she glanced around to see if she may have missed the blue-haired teen.
"She is…where is she?" Ashe questioned as well. Sora remained silent as he looked away from the women.
"She's…in trouble but fear not ladies we are on our way to rescue her," Shige replied.
"What kind of trouble?" Aerith questioned as she looked at the group.
"…It's best we not talk about it here," Riku replied.
Aerith glanced at Riku and then to Shige and the others. Again the heavyweight of guilt washed over him, none of the women needed to say a word, their silent uncertain looks told him more than enough. They served as another reminder of what he had done and what he had lost. As they released the princesses Riku profusely apologized to all of them.
"I'm...sorry," Riku said as he looked away from the auburn-haired woman.
"I know...I'm sure with time it'll be alright but the one you should be apologizing to is Mitsu," Aerith said as she looked to the other women, they nodded in agreement.
"Thank you," Riku replied quietly Shige stood next to him.
"You won't get off that easily with me kid," Shige scoffed as he stood next to Yasuto. Riku glanced at the man and turned his attention to Sora who had been silent as they freed the princesses.
"What is it?" Riku asked the smiling boy. Sora shook his head and only smiled. Unbeknownst to him, Eiko watched his every movement.
"Do you ladies know anything about that portal in there?" Yasuto asked as he studied the nearly shattered portal. The portal itself was shaped like a doorway and had some color to it before Mitsu released her heart, the energy that permeated from the sudden release caused the portal to crack and nearly shattered.
"It was created by the light in our hearts…but it's been damaged," Garnet began as she studied the portal.
"It's really unstable...if things would have turned out the way they wanted it to...I believe it would have taken you to the door to Kingdom Hearts," Yuna replied.
"I know it looks as if it is beyond repair but if we were to go through this...do you have any idea where this would go?" Yasuto questioned.
"There's no telling where it would take you," the woman known as Rinoa spoke up. "It doesn't look stable enough,"
"How unstable…like dangerous unstable?" Sora asked.
"The obsidian color itself should tell you how unstable this portal is," Ashe commented.
"No kidding," Shige agreed. "You're not thinking about going in there are you Yasu?"
"We can't leave this portal open. It's another gateway for the heartless to travel through," Yasuto explained. "We'll just have to risk it," Yasuto sighed as he continued to study the portal.
"Oh, one more question…do you ladies know anything about the eighth princess or perhaps the legendary keyblade wielder?" Yasuto asked as he turned to face the women. He could see the women glance at one another to see who would speak first.
"I don't know much...but I think my father may have met them many years ago," Yuna began.
"Really?" Shige asked surprised at her statement. "So they are real and not just some made-up fantasy for keyblade masters to aspire to,"
Yuna nodded as she looked to the other women.
"Unfortunately I am afraid I do not know much about the eighth princess but I have heard tales of the dual keyblade wielder," Ashe commented.
"Eiko...do you think the Summoners would have known about either of them?" Garnet turned to Eiko.
"Oh yeah, probably, I'm sure there might be something along the Eidolon wall or in parts of Madain Sari I can't reach,"
"I see, I am afraid I do not know much about either tale...my life was not of a Summoner," Garnet replied as she turned to Yasuto.
"The Eidolon Wall?" Riku questioned.
"It's where the Summoners kept a record of the summons…myths and legends so to speak..." Eiko trailed off.
"Oh! I think I remember something…my mother used to tell me the story before bed…" Aerith started, everyone turned their attention to the auburn-haired woman.
"I only remember parts of what my mother told me," Aerith smiled.
"It's ok...we don't know much so anything would help," Yasuto nodded, Aerith sighed softly.
"My mother spoke of a girl who was a princess but everyone had forgotten she was a princess, she was just a normal girl but there was something special about her, her heart emitted no light nor darkness and yet she held more power than one princess of heart," Aerith began.
"The world forgot she was a princess?" Sora questioned visibly confused at the statement.
"Hmmm...that's all I can remember. It was such a long time ago," Aerith sighed.
"The Princess the world forgot," Shige commented quietly.
"I think I may know something about the dual keyblade wielder…but not much though," Rinoa began.
"Please continue," Yasuto nodded.
"I think...the dual keyblade wielder would have been touched by the light and darkness in order to be able to wield two keyblades. One of light, one of darkness," Rinoa began. "Some say they were the keeper of Kingdom Hearts,"
"Oh! Mitsu has two keyblade sometimes!" Sora spoke up. "One of them is black and the other is white...I think she used the white one mostly,"
"You're right Sora," Yasuto nodded as he remembered the two keyblades that appeared when they had first encountered the two teens. At first, he didn't understand the meaning of two keyblade wielders or the reasoning of why she had two, he and Shige were there to follow the orders that King Mamoru had given them and now they were in a completely different mess.
"If that is the case your friend could very well be incarnate of the dual keyblade wielder...especially since they were lost years ago," Ashe spoke up.
"The watcher of Kingdom Hearts…" Riku said quietly.
Sora pursed his lips together in thought, what the two women had explained sounded like Mitsu and her ability to wield two keyblades but what about the necklace she wore that adsorbed particles of light and darkness? He had nearly forgotten about it until the two women had both mentioned light and darkness, unsure of what to say he remained silent.
"Let me guess…," Eiko began as she suddenly smacked Shige in the back of the knee, the man's knee buckled for a split second, "You lost her didn't you?" Eiko sneered.
Shige looked down at the girl confused as to why she attacked him but remained silent as if to confirm the girl's statement.
"Figures you guys would do something like that," Eiko sighed.
"Don't be so mean Eiko…" Garnet replied.
"Look don't worry we're gonna get her back," Sora replied with a cheesy smile.
"I'm sure you will. She seemed like a good friend," Yuna smiled
"Of course," Sora replied.
"At least that's what you can do for her Sora since you did not return to help," Ashe added.
"It's not my fault! I wanted to help—" Sora started.
"I'm sorry your majesty, we were caught up in other problems that we couldn't avoid," Yasuto replied.
"It's quite alright. The rule of Cerun overrides that anyways," Ashe replied with a curt nod
"Hello, ladies…I hope that none of you are hurt. It was not our intention to hurt any of you,"
Riku quickly turned around to see the last person he expected to see, Sin. The women tensed as the dark ominous energy coated the chamber and nearly overtook them.
"Sin…" Riku hissed.
"It's you again…I thought we were done with you," Shige growled.
"I apologize…it takes a lot more than you and his little key blade to deal with me," Sin replied.
Shige and Yasuto had dealt with the man all while Sora dealt with Riku in the beginning, They didn't expect to see him return so soon and yet they knew in the back of their mind that he would show himself again. The man stood unscathed and unbothered by the previous fight, his arms were folded behind his back as he stared at the group.
"Listen, mate, you were beaten, you're done unless you want another ass-kicking I'm for it," Shige smirked as he cracked his knuckles. Sin tilted his head and smirked.
"You knew this was going to happen…didn't you?" Riku growled as he looked at Sin.
"Perhaps but you got what you wanted, didn't you?" Sin asked simply
"At the cost of the person I care about the most!" Riku shouted as his once black key blade appeared in his hand completely transformed.
The once curved wing at the tip of the keyblade was now straight, the guard was seemingly composed of one angelic wing and one demonic wing a symbol of light and dark within him, Mitsu and his heart combined.
"tsk tsk…that's such a frail-looking key blade...you had the power you sought. Just admit you were too weak to grasp it and take control of it." Sin began. "You lost everything, you lost power, you lost the girl," Sin continued to provoke Riku.
"Shut up!" Riku shouted in a fit of anger.
"Riku…" Sora placed a hand on his friend's shoulder to calm him.
"Yes. Get angry, show me that you're not a worthless boy I thought you were," Sin hissed as dark energy began to spiral around him.
"Where is she?" Riku shouted as he pointed his key blade at the man.
"Tell us or we'll beat it out of you," Sora added as he too pointed his key blade at the man. The man sneered at the two teens as he held out his hands as an invitation for them to attack him.
"The hard way it is!" Riku shouted and charged at Sin. Sora charged right after his friend into battle.
"You're gonna tell us where she is!" Sora shouted as he swung his key blade.
"Well shit…they have balls," Shige commented as he took a step forward as he adjusted his gloves.
"Shige don't," Yasuto said as he placed his hand on his shoulder.
"What do you mean don't?" Shige asked confused.
"This…isn't our fight…"Yasuto replied
"But what about Mitsu—" Shige started.
"I'm sure you felt the emotion coming from Riku…even if you don't like him because he's trying to regain dignity back for causing all of this" Yasuto replied.
"Are you –" Shige started but stopped as he saw the serious expression on his comrade's face.
"I'm sure you'd want to do that same, actually you would do exactly the same thing he is doing," Yasuto commented. Shige shrugged Yasuto's hand from his shoulder and frowned.
"Don't you tell me, he and I are the same cause we aren't," Shige said firmly.
Sin easily dodged all the attacks the two teens dealt tohim, Sora suddenly jumped back and threw his key blade at the man, Sin parried the blade and the follow-up attack from Riku. Riku swiped at the man and as quickly as Riku swiped Sin had the teen's arm twisted behind his back.
"There was a fine line and you crossed it. All of this is your fault, it's your fault you lost the girl" Sin whispered harshly into Riku's ear as he held his arm behind his back. A frustrated noise escaped Riku's throat as he attempted to struggle out of the man's grasp.
"Riku! Let him go!" Sora shouted as fire and lightning began to swirl around the teen as he prepared a magic attack. Sin immediately turned around to face Sora and used Riku as his shield.
"You caused all of this only to let it slip through your fingers," Sin continued in Riku's ear as he watched Sora in front of them. Sora's royal blue eyes focused on Riku and then to the man behind him the magic around Sora seemed to die down but Sora held his stance.
"No! I am...going to fix...all of this!" Riku shouted as he painfully twisted and tossed Sin over his shoulder. Without a word Sora unleashed the magic spell he held around him, fire and lighting crashed into the man and engulfed him in the tumultuous concoction of magic the teen created.
"Did we—" Sora started when Sin's coat fell to the ground.
"He was playing with us…" Riku trailed off as he looked at the man dressed in black leather.
Suddenly Sora was thrown back into the two men and toppled them to the ground, Riku charged at Sin again.
"Sorry guys and thanks," Sora said as he quickly scrambled to his feet and joined his friend in the heat of the battle.
"For fuck's sake," Shige scoffed as he sat up. Yasuto stood and began to dust himself, he glimpsed over his shoulder to see heartless as they formed behind them.
"Looks like we have something to do Shige. Look lively," Yasuto commented. Shige glanced over his shoulder and quickly stood.
"Good! I was getting bored," Shige cracked his neck as he prepared for battle.
"You're never going to keep her…she will always slip through your fingers," Sin hissed. Riku blocked Sin's purple energy blade and promptly headbutted the man.
"Shut up!" Riku shouted.
Sora attacked from behind Sin as Riku attacked from the front, despite being outnumbered Sin managed to block the attack from behind but not from the front. The man grunted as he stumbled back from the blow.
"Where is she?!" Sora shouted as he swiped at the man again, Sin caught Sora's blade and prepared to strike him when Riku grabbed the man's arm and painfully twisted it behind his back.
"Sora!" Riku nodded.
"Right!" Sora shouted and suddenly head-butted the man as Riku kneed him in the back. Sora yanked his key blade from the man and vertically swiped.
"It's over!" Sora shouted.
"…You think you've won…it's just starting…" Sin panted as he fell to his knees, defeated.
"Where is she?" Riku asked his key blade pointed at Sin, Sora stood beside him as he too pointed his key blade at the defeated man.
"…End…of…the world…" Sin whispered as he collapsed to the ground. Within seconds the man's body began to split and peel away into dark energy.
"Did he say…the end of the world?" Shige asked and Yasuto nodded silently.
Riku looked down at his key blade and then to his hands, Sora looked at his friend who smiled despite all of what he had done. Again, the realization of what he had done had hit him right after they defeated Sin. All of the worlds he exposed to the darkness and heartless, the princesses, lost his heart and lost the one he wanted to see the most, Mitsu.
Sora watched as his friend's face contorted in anguish, he was at a loss of what he could do to help alleviate the sorrow the teen had. They had all struggled to get to this point and had nearly succumbed to the darkness but once Sora knew that his best friend had been controlled by the darkness, he jumped to the aid of his friend.
Regardless of what would happen to him.
"Riku…" Sora started as he placed a hand on his shoulder.
"Sora...I'm...sorry...I'm so sorry," Riku replied quietly.
"Riku it's ok. You're my best friend there was no way I could just let you be controlled by the darkness. Besides..." Sora trailed off as a large grin spread across his face. "We'll find Mitsu, don't you worry about it,"
"I…" Riku began as he looked at Sora. Sora grinned from ear to ear as the teen looked at him, with a small sigh Riku nodded hesitantly and ignored the questions that were just at the tip of his tongue.
What if they weren't able to find her?
What is she was unable to get her heart back?
What if she had turned into heartless like Sora did before?
These questions plagued Riku as he looked at his friend smiling in front of him.
"He doesn't know…" Riku thought to himself.
"Sora," Yasuto called out to him.
"Yeah?" Sora replied as he turned to look away from Riku and towards the two men, Riku turned his attention to the men too. continued to look at Riku, he nodded once again. Riku nodded again as well. The two teens turned their attention to the two men that stood in front of the now blue iridescent portal, the two nodded to each other once again before they joined the men by the portal.
Immediately they could see and sense that something was different about the portal, it felt completely different than before. They had been too busy with Sin to notice the change in the portal but now it only fueled their curiosity
"What happened to it? It feels different..." Sora trailed off.
"The color is different, it's completely blue...is it even a portal now?" Shige asked.
"This...isn't the same," Riku commented. Riku watched as Yasuto reached out to touch the portal, his gloved hand disappeared into the blue portal. Shige smacked the man's shoulder, Yasuto pulled his arm back and noticed blue energy the spun around it before disappeared.
"It went somewhere...but where is the question?" Yasuto asked as he shook his hand to dissipate the whips of blue energy from his hands.
"How about you stick your head in there hm? Since you got balls," Shige huffed. Yasuto glared at the taller man next to him.
"I'll go," Sora said with a nod and jumped into the portal before anyone could stop him.
"Sora!" Yasuto and Shige shouted, without hesitation, Riku jumped in after him.
"These kids I tell you…" Shige commented and also stepped into the portal, Yasuto sighed and also entered the portal.
The land was desolate, barren, empty and the ground was littered with key blades, all different. Some looked ancient whereas some look recent, the light that the wielder once had nearly faded. A strong breeze blew over them picking up the dust of the land, and as quickly as it started it stopped.
The group looked around the barren land in confusion and awe, neither of them had traveled to a place like this before.
"Woah...a-are all of these Key blades?" Sora asked shocked.
"What is this place?" Yasuto said as he looked around.
"So many key blades…" Riku commented as he too looked around.
"Almost…like a graveyard…" Shige commented.
"That's really creepy…this place…I don't like this place…" Sora commented.
"A keyblade graveyard…" Yasuto thought to himself.
"Look…there's a door…it must be the origin of the portal," Shige pointed out the white door at the end of the path.
"Let's go…" Sora trailed off quietly as he began to quickly make his way towards the door.
As the group approached the white door, they realized that the door had been placed in the middle of four paths each going different ways further into the desolate region.
"Four paths…" Riku commented as he looked around
"This really is a keyblade graveyard...is this...where the key blade war happened?" Shige commented to himself as he scanned the area and turned to Yasuto.
"Sora—" Yasuto started.
"I'm ready..." Sora replied as his key blade appeared in his hand. He stole a quick glance around the area before he turned his attention back to the door and pointed his key blade to the door.
"This place…" Riku said as he looked around.
The white door dissipated into white light and revealed a keyblade, a black and white frail-looking key blade.
"A keyblade?" Yasuto said as the door faded completely."Was this door hiding the key blade or?"
"Or...did the door take form the key blade?" Shige added.
"Wait...isn't this the keyblade that Mitsu used?" Sora blurted out.