Chapter 5: Night of Fate

Later that day, in the sunset, the group was found by the Paopu tree, as always. And as always, Sora and Kairi sat on the tree, while Riku leaned against it. Namine sat on the ground next to Riku, drawing. Sora was staring off into space, too preoccupied with something else. Kairi stared out at the ocean. Riku had his eyes fixed on something on the horizon, something that bothered him. Namine was (as previously mentioned) drawing, and thus staring at the piece of paper with deep concentration.

"Do you guys think-" Kairi began, but paused for a second. "Do you think we've grown apart, lately?" she asked. Riku turned to look at her.

"What do you mean by that?" he asked slowly.

"I… I don't know," Kairi sighed. "It's just… So much is changing. I don't like it."

Riku glanced past her at Sora, who he knew she was mainly referring too. He didn't even seem to notice she had spoken. "Well… what do you expect me to do about it?"

She laughed, leaning towards him, teasing: "Well, maybe if you'd stop holding a grudge against Sora!"

"Wh- I don't hold grudges!" Riku protested.

Kairi snorted. Namine giggled, though she quickly covered it with her hand.

Both Riku and Kairi turned to look at her, but she continued drawing as if she had done nothing.

"Well, not anymore…" Riku grumbled.

"Hmm." Kairi hummed thoughtfully.

Namine continued to smile behind her notebook, unseen by everyone else. She wasn't sure why she had even laughed in the first place. But when Riku had said that he didn't hold grudges, she had found it funny. She didn't know why. She had only known Riku for a few months, how in the worlds could she have known different? She blinked and rubbed her eyes, tired of staring at the picture for so long. She had nearly finished it anyway. She turned to look at Riku, who was talking with Kairi. She looked past them at Sora, who was seemed to be lost in thought.

"Is he okay?" she asked. Riku turned to look at her, and she nodded towards Sora.

"Ask if he's okay," Riku said to Kairi. She turned to Sora.

"You alright?" she asked

Sora jumped, startled. "Yeah, fine," he said quite quickly. They all stared at him, not believing him. "Don't look at me like that! I'm fine!" he turned away.

Kairi turned to Riku, who shrugged.

The sun had gone almost completely down by now. "We should head back home" Kairi said after a moment. They all agreed and got up, heading back towards the dock. Sora started lagging behind. "You coming Sora?" Riku called over his shoulder, after Sora had stopped completely.

Sora, who was staring at one particular spot, six words echoing in his mind, didn't respond for a second. Then, without turning, he called back: "Yeah, in a second."

Riku continued on, only to be stopped again when Namine tugged on his shirt.

"Riku, I want you to look at this," she said, handing him her sketchbook. He looked at the picture it was open to and paused. It was hard to see in the last dim light of the sun and the moonlight.

They were all in what seemed to be Riku's secret place. On the far side there was a door, which was thrown wide open, and a strong wind seemed to be rushing out. Sora stood in the middle of that wind, almost as if refusing to move. He held a Keyblade in one hand, and was using his free hand to block his face.

Riku ran his finger over the Keyblade, curious. But that wasn't the most curious part. Off to one side, either asleep or unconscious, lay Kairi. And on the other side, was Riku, standing protectively in front of Namine and reaching out towards Sora.

"What is this?" he asked.

"I've been drawing pictures like this for a while now" Namine replied. "I don't know why, but I can't help thinking that they all mean something."

Riku shrugged, handing the notebook back to her. "Mean what?"

"I don't know. But keep it in mind. It might be important." The look on her face was serious, and she really seemed quite sure about this. He nodded.

"I will"

They continued walking, not even noticing that Sora had disappeared. They were all in their boats, about to leave, when there was a loud noise, and the islands shook. Clouds filled the sky, appearing from nowhere.

Riku jumped out of his boat and onto the dock, taking off at a dead run.

The islands almost seemed to crumble beneath his feet.

"Sora!" he shouted, trying to locate him.

He found Sora rather quickly, for Sora seemed to be at the center of the destruction.

"What are you doing!" Riku shouted "Get out of there!"

"The door has opened!" Sora replied, voice almost giddy with excitement.

"What are you talking about?" Riku asked. "Can't you see what's happening?"

"Yes! I can! We can finally get to the outside world, Riku!"

"But the islands are falling apart!" Riku said "You'd leave your home in ruins for THIS!"

Sora laughed. "Riku, this may be our only chance. We have to take it! Once we step through, we may never be able to come back, but we can't let fear stop us." He stared up at the growing storm. "I'm not afraid of the darkness!"

Sora turned to Riku, a very odd look in his eyes. "Come with me Riku," he said, voice quieter than before. Darkness started to seep up from the cracks beneath his feet, snaking its way up his legs.

"I'm not leaving without Namine," Riku declared.

Sora's eyes formed a glare. "It's always her first, isn't it?" he asked quietly, voice cold and angry. The darkness slowly wrapped around him completely.

"Sora!" Riku gasped, but it was too late. His friend had been engulfed in the darkness.

There was silence for a second, only the sound of the wind remained. The wind was blowing hard, stripping chunks of the island away and sending them flying through the sky. Pieces of wood and tree leaves also were blown past. There were cracks in the ground everywhere, and the ocean seemed to have disappeared, as had the island with the paopu tree.

"What's happened?" Kairi shouted, running up, Namine at her heals. "Where's Sora?"

"Gone." Riku replied. "He's gone. We've lost him."

"Where'd he go?" Kairi asked frantically.

Riku shook his head.

"Riku!" Namine gasped, pointing. Riku turned, blade already in his hand, and quickly attacked the Heartless that stood behind him. The Heartless disappeared in a puff of black smoke, but others soon started appearing.

"Get out of here, quick!" Riku called over his shoulder.

The girls took two steps back, and then stopped.

"Go where?" Kairi asked quietly. Riku paused, thinking about that, but was quickly distracted by another Heartless. He turned to look at her after a moment. He was still ready to attack, his body poised to fight, but his eyes showed something different. He knew there was no point in fighting. They had nowhere to run.

He turned away, Heartless again grabbing his attention.

Kairi backed up a few paces, slowly making her way to the edge of the island unknowingly. The island was slowly shrinking too, due to the intense wind that was constantly tearing it apart. The ground suddenly gave way beneath her feet, and she stumbled back, a large chunk of island falling beneath her. She screamed.

"Kairi!" Namine called, reaching out. It was too late. Kairi was gone.

Riku had turned a second later, and now saw Namine standing there, staring in shock. She backed away from the edge slowly. She turned quite suddenly, and ran to Riku, throwing her arms around him. Riku held her for a second, before letting go and taking her hand.

"C'mon" he said, starting to run. "They won't do much damage by themselves," he nodded towards a Heartless. "You only need to worry when they attack in groups. Let me know if they get to close."

Namine nodded. Riku cast his gaze to the sky, where it was more than just clouds. A large sphere, red at the center and black at the edges, with winds blowing around it, hung in the sky. It acted as a black hole, sucking everything in. Namine tugged him to a stop. He had nearly run off of the edge. He turned, shocked.

The islands had been reduced to a single landmass, not very wide. Only a single tree stood, and scattered pieces of wood lay about. More and more rubble flew by in the wind, only to be sucked up by the black hole.

A horde of Heartless stood in front of them, taking up nearly the entire landmass. Riku started attacking, getting rid of as many as he could. It was a bit difficult, for Namine refused to let go of his hand. But he didn't really need to bother. Before long, the Heartless were being picked up by the wind and blown into the black hole, which was pulling things in faster than before.

Realizing what was happing, Riku lunged forward and grabbed onto a piece of wood that refused to be budge and held on tightly. It wasn't going to be enough. The black hole was pulling stronger now, eager to eat up every last bit of the islands that remained. Namine gasped, the black hole sucking her in, and the winds trying to separate them.

Their eyes met for a split second as their hands slowly slipped apart.

"I'll find you!" Riku called. He couldn't hold on to her any longer. She slipped out of his grasp, and on instinct he tried to reach out and grab hold of her hand again. But he knew it was too late. He had lost her too.

He turned to the piece of wood he was holding onto, the only thing anchoring him to this world. Then, of his own free will, he let go.