Sora and I scaled the castle, continually fighting off Nobodies and Heartless. I felt adrenaline and magical energy coursing through my veins, not at all faltering before any foes in our wake. With each floor we ascended to, I could feel my heart pumping harder.
Something big was up ahead. And we would need to be prepared for such a fight.
"You ready?" Sora asked in the midst of cleaving through the midsection of a Nobody.
I smiled back at Sora and nodded, slicing through a Nobody flanking him from behind.
The two of us dashed up several stairways and through hallways, our surroundings effectively becoming a blur as the countless Heartless and Nobodies turned to dust before they could even strike. After what felt like a few minutes of this, the two of us made it to a wide, spacious room, the pale white ground seeming to glow beneath us. Our surroundings returned to focus as it felt like the world's once lightning-quick pace slowed to a screeching halt.
I then noticed something quite peculiar. Nobodies and Heartless were no longer appearing in the massive droves that they had once attacked us in. For the first time since setting foot in this castle, Sora and I felt alone.
Yet, something felt oddly amiss.
"I think I know what's about to happen here..." Sora whispered to me, clutching his Keyblade at his side as he slowly crept forward, and I followed behind at the same pace. The two of us made it to the center of the room, until suddenly a huge, amorphous shadow appeared beneath us on the floor.
"Look out!" Sora shouted. The two of us jumped back as immediately, a towering, hulking Nobody rose up from the ground. Its arms had to have had the length and width of tree trunks, and its large head seemed to sneer at us condescendingly. "Ready when you are!" He said, his clothes suddenly transforming into a white outfit, his final form. I nodded in return, and without warning, my clothes opposite to his! I hadn't yet seen this outfit and was not yet familiar with its powers, but I knew it had to be something of immense power. Another Keyblade formed in my other hand, but before I could get a good feel for it, the Nobody dropped both of its gigantic arms to its sides.
Sora and I weaved out of the way of the attack, the imposing figure's arms just barely grazing my side. As the Nobody left its arms on the ground, Sora began to repeatedly hack and slash at the Nobody's right arm continuously. In seconds, the Nobody whisked its arm to the side and launched him backward, toward the wall.
"Sora!" I called out, the lumbering Nobody looking back down at me. I held a tight grip on the handle of my Keyblades as it brought its left arm back up and slammed it down onto my position, and in turn I held aloft both Keyblades to block its strike. I planted my feet firmly onto the ground as I fought back against the Nobody's brute force, my arms and legs quivering as they tensed up fighting back. I had used up a lot of my energy fighting against the Nobodies and Heartless from before, and my rush of adrenaline was beginning to take a toll on me. I would not last much longer at this rate...
Sora...
I closed my eyes as sweat poured down my head, my strength beginning to crumble beneath the titanic Nobody's power. All I could think of was Sora's bright, radiant face. His glimmering eyes, his warm smile. That soft voice which spoke straight to my heart. "Sora..." I whispered, suddenly catching a second wind. My muscles tightened up once more as I pushed back with enough force to parry away the Nobody's arm. The Nobody stepped back as its arm flailed to the side, leaving its midsection wide open. In its moment of vulnerability, I jumped upward and dashed toward its chest, slashing at it multiple times with both Keyblades. It let out a painful screech as it then disappeared into a shadow on the ground once more as I fell feet-first onto the floor.
I turned around to see the Nobody rising back up from behind me, though this time at a much greater distance. I pointed my right Keyblade at the beastly Nobody as three bolts of magic energy fired out at its head. It raised its arms up to hold its head as I dashed toward the monstrous Nobody, ready to strike with both Keyblades. Unfortunately, before I could reach it, it seemed to realign itself and pulled its arm back. Before I could react, it brought its arm forward in a heavy punching attack, and I was just about to collide face-first into its massive fist.
"No..." I whispered, my eyes widening as I anticipated just what was about to happen. A blow like this... it would be too much for me to take at once. I closed my eyes, ready to take whatever anguishing strike this Nobody had in store for me. Then, as if in a flash of light-
"Amara!" I heard Sora call out from behind. My eyes jolted open to see Sora's Keyblade launching toward the Nobody's gigantic arm like a discus, slicing through it before it could strike me.
"Sora!" I called out, a smile spreading across my face involuntarily. My heart was still pounding like a hammer, but I still took a breath of relief as I saw what had happened before my eyes.
"Let's finish this, together!" Sora said to me, standing by my side and holding both Keyblades. I nodded in return, doing the same. The two of us dashed toward the huge Nobody at a blinding speed, the monstrous being raising up both its arms again. "Go for the head, I've got the body!" Sora called out.
"Got it!" I replied as Sora burst ahead, weaving around its arms and striking at its midsection. As the Nobody was preoccupied with fighting Sora, I jumped upward and glided toward its head, and sliced across its neck with both Keyblades simultaneously, as if a pair of scissors. The Nobody let out another agonized screech as it then turned to a gray mist, its presence disappearing from the room.
I landed back on my feet as Sora and I returned to our normal outfits. He turned to me with the biggest smile and I take a deep breath. I know this isn't the end, we had so much more to go, and this fight took out more than I imagine. "Lets catch our breaths before moving forward." I say walking over to Sora. He nodded and looked around as the aura in the massive room dissipated.
Just before reaching me Sora's eyes widen and I turned to see what had shocked him. No Way... on the balcony there fighting her hardest was Kairi. I felt a sting in my heart. Sora raised his hands up taking small steps forward. "Kai...ri?" He rushed out of the room to the balcony and I followed relentlessly. I know what's coming, and I couldn't stop him. I raised my hand up clenching the front of my shirt, my heart pounding out of control. We opened the door to find a worn out Kairi, her hand coming up above her head and swinging down on the Heartless in front of her.
She took a deep breath and stood up straight. Sora looked at her and there was a gleam on his face, like a look I've never seen before. I didn't... more like I couldn't stop clenching my chest. She looked over at us and she smiled then looked ahead of her and we followed her gaze there stood a man in an organization cloak. He started to run and Kairi reached her hand out. "Riku wait."
"Riku..." Sora's head whipped over to look at the man. I knew it was him, and I knew what was coming. The emotion in the air was suffocating, I leaned over the railing and fell to the floor. I had become invisible, but I don't blame Sora, he hadn't seen his friends in such a long time. I know what that feels like, and thoughts of Miharu and Tohru were in my mind.
I look up and Kairi lunged into Sora's arms. My heart felt like it was breaking into a million pieces, but I can't be upset because I knew this day would come. He wrapped his arms around her and held her tight. "Sora..."
"Kairi..." I've known for years. I've known that Sora and I... our feelings... my feelings they weren't real, and no matter how much I wanted to deny our hearts, I was still selfish and fell anyway. I know my place isn't here. I know that Sora and I... A tear rushed down my cheek, and I steadily get to my feet. I look over at Riku who is staring at me. I turned my head away, and clenched the railing.
They were busy with each other that I didn't even realize my feet had started to move, and that they were slowly leaving my line of vision. Before I knew it I had broken into a sprint, and I was standing back at the entrance of the Castle. When did I get... I looked down my outfit fading back to it's original form. My heart was acting on its own, and I had used my fast form and ran all the way back through the catacombs of the castle. I fell to my knees and my tears, pouring out now. I take a minute to catch my breath and looked back at the castle.
He is where he belongs, and things were back on track for him. I get to my feet, and smiled half halfheartedly. "You're back... and you have your friends again." I turned back forward running to one of the mini gummies. "We were never meant to be... anyway." I flicked a switched and heard the hum of the Gummi coming to life. "Now... I have to return to where I belong... Goodbye..." I sat down and begin to fly towards twilight town. I reached town and sat in the quiet for a second. Sora. I shake my head and smack my face.
"This isn't my reality..." I put my hands down and tried to smile through the pains.
"You're right." My heart sank and I slowly turned around...