Alright, we're finally at the home stretch!
I just wanted to get the final confrontation over with, so that I can wrap up Tainted Hearts. However, like I did with my previous stories, I do intend to have epilogues put in to let you know what's coming up next - as well as what additions will be made in the next story.
And believe me, I tried my damnest to put in some detail as to what the hell is going on in this department and to throw all the final world and boss battle into one package so that you, my dear reviewers, favoriters, and followers, can still enjoy this as I draw this storyline to a close and begin plans for the next round.
Just in case you're curious as to what's coming, the next one is Chained Hearts: the chronicle of Chain of Memories (see what I did there?).
Anyways, without further ado, I hope you guys enjoy!
I own nothing of Kingdom Hearts except my OCs.
Read, leave me a review, but no flames.
Chapter 21: The Battle to Seal the Door
When the gummi ship at last arrived, Luna and Sora looked around at the uncanny setting ahead of them. Upon arriving at the entry point, they could see what appeared to be small broken pieces of land scattered across a wide, watery yet stilled sea stretching for miles; up ahead appeared to be broken platforms lingering in the air, and the sky an unsettling brighter purple color as something swirled in the air miles from their view.
"Gawrsh, is that all that's left of the worlds taken by the Heartless?" Goofy asked.
"Those worlds will be restored if we beat Ansem, right?" Sora recapped to make sure.
"You betcha!" Donald assured him.
"That's what we were told," Luna recalled.
"Yeah, well, you guys remember what the kicker is, don't ya?" Medea reminded them.
Sora knew what she meant. "Yeah, if we do beat him and all these worlds become restored and disconnected, what's gonna happen to this place? And to us?"
That stumped the duck a little. "Well, uh…"
"This is a Heartless world, so maybe it'll just disappear," Goofy speculated.
That got Sora and Luna very terrified when they heard that, almost assuming that they wouldn't make it out alive.
"But no worries," the knight continued in reassurance, "Even if this place goes poof, our hearts ain't going nowhere. I'm sure we'll find our pals again. Yup, I just know that we will."
Sora nodded, his confidence boosted. "Yeah, you're right."
"We have to do this. We have a promise to keep," Luna agreed as she her hands clenched. "We have to get them back…I don't want to lose another friend."
However, given how they arrived at the world where Ansem has chosen to make his lodgings, the Heartless that thrive in the place would not let up on the party from the moment they stepped outside of the entry point. There were even more Heartless running amok, trying their hardest to make traversing across the surreal world a lot more difficult than it already was back when they visited previous worlds; but that didn't necessarily mean the creatures became a lot more difficult to deal with, though, as most of the Heartless that they had to deal with felt like little more than child's play – but even so, they had to continually stay on their toes when going up against the tougher foes, especially those occasional behemoths that tried to be a threat like its predecessor to no avail.
By the time they reached a new section of the uncanny world, they found themselves inside a crooked crevasse covered in jagged crystals and laser threads crisscrossing every which way along the walls, leading down a path further into the unknown.
"I wonder where that Ansem feller is." Goofy wondered.
"Dive into the most dangerous place, and we'll find him!" Donald suggested.
"But we shouldn't be too careless if we're going to do that," Luna warned cautiously, "There might be more Heartless that would try to stop us from progressing."
"Then we'll just have to stick together as much as we can," Sora agreed, "until we find where he's hiding."
"No promises that he'll just let us walk right through his front door, wherever the hell it might be," Medea said sarcastically.
Cautiously trekking through the creepy path down the ravine, the party managed to finally reach the bottom to find a wispy pool of light swirling around. Not left with other options but to continue, they stepped right into it – only to find themselves on a strange platform with what looked like a pillar of flame streaming in the center.
"What is this place?" Luna asked.
Mostly out of curiosity, Sora inspected the fire pillar and peeked through it to find something eerily familiar waiting on the other side if he had stepped through.
"Hey, this leads to one of the worlds we've already been to," Sora noticed when he stepped out of it, "Or at least a projection of one of the worlds."
"He probably wanted to impede us from following by setting those up," Medea retorted.
"But what if it's supposed to unlock the path further in?" Donald reasoned with her, "By severing the ties, we'll be able to keep going."
"Maybe…but it would be a lot of work," Luna partly agreed.
Fortunately for them, it wasn't too much work after all; given how much they had developed while exploring the worlds they'd seen, it was mostly a breeze working through the Heartless that they had previously fought against, and they were able to get past the obstacle in almost no time at all.
But after doing so, they found themselves in what looked to be a section of a laboratory, but the only thing that stood there was a machine with an inscription laid out in front of it:
'Ones born of the heart and darkness, devoid of hearts, ravage all worlds and bring desolation.
Seize all hearts and consummate the great heart.
All hearts to be one, one heart to encompass all.
Realize the destiny: the realm of Kingdom Hearts. The great darkness sealed within the great heart.
Progeny of darkness, come back to the eternal darkness.
For the light of the heart shall unseal the path.
Seven hearts, one Keyhole, one key to the door.
The door of darkness, tied by two keys.
The door of darkness to seal the light.
None shall pass but the shadows, returning to the darkness.
Ones born of the heart and darkness, hunger for every heart until the dark door opens.'
After reading this, Sora couldn't help shaking his head. "This guy has quite a one-track mind, doesn't he?"
"Ansem is wrong about the darkness," Luna agreed, "and about everyone in the worlds."
"Well, once we find him, we'll just beat his ass until he realizes who can use that thing he's obsessed with better than him," Medea opted to offer a consolation.
Once they left the laboratory terminus, they found themselves on another platform, but this time there was only a hole, left wide open for them to jump in; but there was something rather uncanny about it, what with the swirls of wind emerging from the hole and a sinister dark energy lurking deep down below.
"What d'ya suppose is down there?" Goofy wondered.
"Whatever it is, I don't like it," Donald admitted, unease creeping out.
"I sense something powerful down there," Luna said as a chill ran down her spine. "But…it's different from Ansem and Maleficent."
"Another Heartless?" Sora asked.
"I doubt it," Medea replied on Luna's behalf.
Jumping down the hole brought them into an eerie abyss, nothing surrounding them except for what felt like a blank nightly sky with vaporous clouds swirling around the area. At first glance, they could make out what appeared to be nothing more than an oddly shaped mountain…that is, until it 'opened up' to reveal that it was actually a colossal, black horned creature with giant bat-like wings that spread out wide enough to almost reach the boundaries of the grounds. Needless to say, it was not impressed to find intruders in its domain.
"What is that?!" Sora exclaimed in shock.
"I don't know. I've never seen such a gigantic creature like that," Luna replied, eyes widened at the terrifying sight.
"Yeah, well, get ready," Medea interrupted them as she readied her claws, "because this monster's not gonna let us off that easily."
And she certainly wasn't kidding about that, because the devilish creature attacked them first with a fire breath that could give the witch a run for her money, forcing them to stay on the move until they found an opening. Sora, Goofy, and Medea took the initial charge and took on the demon head-on while Luna and Donald hung back a little to keep their defenses up before trying to pelt it with magic and Shadow Hands in tandem with their comrades' attacks.
But the demon had a few tricks up its sleeves to keep the party from gaining too many advantages: when the more physical fighters of the team got too close too much, it would summon a pillar of flame around it for protection; if that wasn't bad enough, sometimes it would summon homing wisps of fire to pursue all of them or use its mighty wings to send a gust of gales at them to throw off their balance in the air.
"Wow, that thing really hates us," Sora said with sarcasm as he recovered from the gales.
"I don't want to know why," Luna admitted as a Hand rose to hold her firmly.
It took a lot of work on everyone's part, but when they finally vanquished the fiend that tried to destroy the intruders, they found that the pit he made his domain in revealed a pathway further down into the dark realm.
"That's our ticket down," Medea commented.
"Let's hurry, and finish the job!" Donald urged as he started to fly down.
After traversing down the pit, the party found themselves in another location – but this time, they ended up meeting with more Heartless out to try and stop them from coming any closer. Inside that cramped space, hordes of the creatures tried to make a last ditch effort to hinder them and take them out; but thanks to the combined efforts of everyone involved, they successfully opened up another pathway into the realm to find themselves face-to-face with a door that would lead them somewhere…but no one knows where it would take them from this point on.
"Looks like we're almost there," Goofy said.
Sora and Luna started looking around as they neared the door, curious and confused.
"What's wrong?" Donald asked, concerned for them.
"Do you guys hear something?" Sora asked as he looked around more.
"I hear it, too," Luna said as she stopped. "Listen…"
Careful. This is the last haven you'll find here. Beyond, there is no light to protect you. But don't be afraid. Your heart is the mightiest weapons of all. Remember, you are the one who will open the door to the light.
Goofy and Donald tried to listen, but they didn't notice a thing.
"I don't hear anything," Donald answered.
Medea had something to say, though. "I heard it, alright. Hard to tell whether it was a dude or a lady, though."
Sora was baffled at this. "Strange…That voice was so familiar. Maybe it's just my imagination."
Luna was about to think that herself, but when Sora opened the door and they started to pass through it, she heard the voice again…but this time it was addressed to her.
Be strong, child of the shadows. Though your adversary is no different from you in power, only you know how to use it to aid the light.
"Something wrong, Luna?" Medea asked her.
"I heard it again…" Luna replied slowly. "I think someone is trying to give assurance."
"Who knows? But we'll find out once we find that creep," her guardian shrugged as she kept moving.
When they all passed through the door, a bright light momentarily blinded them as they stepped out…to find themselves on a sandy beach surrounded by ocean water, with trees behind them and wooden planks and ramps leading to different levels of ground. Sora and Luna were shocked upon recognizing the familiar landmarks around them.
"Is this…Is this my island?" Sora gasped, dumbfounded at the sight.
"Sora…it's the island we were on," Luna confirmed in shock, "That night, when the darkness came, and swallowed it all."
Medea looked around warily. "I don't like the looks of this. Ansem's gotta be around here somewhere, I'm sure of it."
"Let's look around," Donald suggested to them, "starting with that opening up there."
That sounded like a good place to start, if only to confirm whether they really were on the island or it was just an illusion. But not long after all of them were about to step through the tunnel leading to what was the Secret Place, Ansem's voice could be heard.
"This world has been connected."
Goofy turned around to watch the islet disappear from sight, startling him. "What was that?"
"Tied to the darkness…soon to be completely eclipsed."
All around them, the trees started to vanish from where they normally stood, and then the blue ocean turned into an eerie purple color.
"There is so much to learn…You understand so little."
A rumbling sound could be heard around them, sending the party on edge for whatever trouble might be coming.
"A meaningless effort. One who knows nothing can understand nothing."
When the rumbling subsided, the party jolted in horror at the changes around the island; dark branches were sprouting from where the trees should've been and the shores looked ready to completely crack apart at any moment. But what Sora and Luna saw made them uneasy: a familiar form of their friend, in the dark armor he was seen wearing when they had confronted twice before. But was it really him?
"Sora…?" Luna couldn't form the question she wanted to.
"C'mon, Luna, we'd better get down there," Sora urged her as he started to jump down.
As the two of them hurried ahead to investigate, they heard Ansem's voice again. "Take a look at this tiny place. To the heart seeking freedom this island is a prison surrounded by water. And so this boy sought out to escape from his prison. He sought a way to cross over into other worlds. And he opened his heart to darkness."
On alert, Sora and Luna watched as 'Riku' slowly turned around – only to change from the boy they knew into that of the hateful man Ansem, the monster responsible for their friend's suffering.
"Riku!" Sora tried to call out.
"No…!" Luna choked from horror.
"Don't bother. Your voices can no longer reach him where he is," Ansem scoffed at their attempts. "His heart belongs again to darkness. All worlds began in darkness, and all so end. The heart is no different. Darkness sprouts within it, it grows, consumes it. Such is its nature." He suddenly reappeared behind the party, startling them. "In the end, every heart returns to the darkness whence it came. You see, darkness is the heart's true essence."
"That's not true! The heart may be weak," Sora objected boldly, calling him out on his ranting. "And sometimes it may even give in. But I've learned that deep down, there's a light that never goes out!"
Ansem was unimpressed at this. "So, you've come this far and still you understand nothing. Every light must fade, every heart return to darkness!"
"Oh, shut up, old man! You've been hiding in the shadows for too long!" Medea snapped at him, readying her claws for attack.
"You give Riku back to me…or I will make you wish you never emerged from the darkness you obsess over so much!" Luna threatened him as she summoned her Shadow Hands, eager to punish the man who haunted her.
If dealing with Maleficent was annoying enough, the battle against Ansem was on the level of irritating. Aside from the energy projectiles he would shoot out, his guardian would persistently protect him from any direct assaults that most of the party would attempt to do against him – a huge problem on Sora and Goofy's part. Only Medea had the strength to at least try to throw off the Heartless Guardian's defenses for a brief period of time, and even then the defenses were tough to push through.
"Is that all you can do against me?" Ansem mocked them smugly. "You're ignorant fools, all of you."
"Oh, yeah? Well, Luna and I have been through enough hell to know your mentality is screwed as hell!" Medea rebuked harshly as she wrestled the Guardian. "And don't spew crap about us having darkness in our hearts, because I'll just tell you again that we don't follow your twisted expectations!"
"Yeah, and that gives you no right to speak the same to us!" Sora agreed as he charged forward.
As the fight went on, they could tell that Ansem is changing his tune when he threw up an electrical barrier that messed up their frontal attack and would sometimes use gravity spells to force them on the ground, hindering their attempts to jump at him for a brief moment.
Luna, being the Shadow Mage that she is, noticed that her Hands' attempts to lay a hand on Ansem would cause the Guardian to swipe at each tendril that came close and he didn't hesitate to close the distance between them when he unleashed the fiend against her directly. Donald tries to keep it away with his magic until Sora or Medea could do something about it, but even then it was no cakewalk multitasking against their adversary.
"Whatever happened to that frightened child who would cower when left alone?" Ansem could be heard taunting the girl. "After nine years of hiding, you should still fear me."
Luna wasn't taking the bait. "I was afraid…and there are things I still things I still fear. But in your case, you only made me angry because you endangered another person I cared about! I will get Riku back, even if it means having to destroy you to do that!"
"And I'm gonna make sure that we do get Riku back, together!" Sora declared.
After taking and dealing a lot of punishment in the fight, it seemed like Ansem had vanished – but they knew better than to assume it's already over. More so since, after he had seemingly vanished, quakes were felt as the island suddenly started to split apart, leaving a wide open hole with the same substance seen throughout their traversal through the lair of the Heartless wide open to enter. Ansem was waiting in there, daring them to try and give pursuit…most likely to get even with them for resisting him.
However, as they gave chase to Ansem, it was abruptly discovered that Goofy and Donald had – once again – been blocked off by an invisible barrier not long after Sora and the girls have jumped right into the makeshift arena. It didn't help in the slightest that the three were greeted by a familiar adversary from some time before…the Darkside.
"Oh, please, is that the best he can throw at us?" Medea asked sarcastically.
"Sora, you remember what we did when we first fought that monster?" Luna checked to make certain.
"Yep. Just like last time," Sora replied confidently, "This'll be easy!"
True to their suspicions, the fight against Darkside was a lot easier than the first time they fought it personally; after all they've gone through, it was a walk in the park to take it down without having to worry about the little spawns it tried to unleashed.
But then, Ansem returned to the fray and he was not going to make this easy for them. Aside from the usual tricks he pulled on them during their first round with him, he also took liberties to send his Guardian forth to try and detain one of them in order to prevent them from attacking him any more than they already have.
"Get off!" Sora demanded as he forced it off him one time.
But then things got more hectic when Ansem had his Guardian strike at them from below their feet, forcing the party to stay on the move and not get caught within its radius. Sora didn't have too much trouble staying on the move thanks to his mobility advantage, but Luna was forced to either go on the defensive with her Shadow Hands or have Medea counter its approach from above so as to prevent a sneak attack from hindering her effectively.
After a hard-fought battle, just when it seemed like they were done with him, the environment suddenly changed around them…
.
.
.
.
…And the whole party found themselves floating in the midst of a vast, seemingly endless dark abyss with no means of escape and nowhere else to go. But if that's the case, then where was Ansem? And for that matter, how are they going to get out of this one?
"What's this?" Doanld wanted to know.
"Behold the endless abyss! Within it lies the heart of all worlds: Kingdom Hearts!" Ansem boasted from the shadows. "Look as hard as you are able. You'll not find even the smallest glimmer of light. From the dark depths are all hearts born. Even yours. Darkness conquers all worlds!"
When everyone turned around, they were utterly stunned to find Ansem – but not in the way that they had expected. Although he was undoubtedly there, he was attached to what looked like an enormous, grotesquely biological airship with a hideous face at the front of the vessel, the core of the being protected by a barrier that seemed to be impenetrable; at the top is what almost looked like Ansem's Guardian, but it had been reformed as part of the ship (and its level of grotesque cranked up to eleven in its appearance) and is partly attached to Ansem himself via what looked to be chords fixed to his back.
Just when it couldn't get any worse, a dark vortex suddenly appeared and started sucking in Donald, Goofy, and Medea, preventing them from helping their comrades. Sora and Luna, on the other hand, were forcefully dropped from where they were standing in suspension, about to fall straight into the abyss with no chances on recovery.
But just when it seemed like they were done for, they each heard a voice familiar only to them…
Sora heard Riku's voice calling him out: "Giving up already? C'mon, Sora. I thought you and Luna were stronger than that."
Luna, however, heard the voice of her lost brother urging her: "You have to stand up, Luna. You have the shadows as your weapons, remember?"
A new confidence brimming through every fiber of their being, the two immediately recovered their footing as Sora flew high up while Luna summoned a Shadow Hand from the dark and used it to elevate back up to her friend's level. They felt ready to finally put a stop to Ansem once and for all.
"Sora, we have to get out friends back," Luna suggested urgently, "We need all the help we can get."
"I think I know how we can do that," Sora had an idea, "but I'm gonna need your help on this."
Initially, Sora took the charge directly, in which Ansem noticed what he was doing and started to attack him with his double-bladed staff; to make the matter more annoying, he had laser rays sent out to try and knock him out of the sky. Unbeknownst to him, though, he didn't realize that this was a gambit Sora used so that Luna can use her Shadow Hands to block off the beams that shot out towards him, which she used to full effectiveness so that Sora can continue the assault without too much harm sent his way.
But it didn't take long for Ansem to realize what was going on, and he was irritated to know that he was being thwarted like that.
"You reckless child! How can you still fight as you are, while trapped in the abyss?" he demanded angrily, directing his rage at her.
Luna just looked at him like he's an idiot. "I thought you knew. I'm a Shadow Mage. I use the shadows as my weapons. Does it matter where I can use it?"
Thanks to the distraction, this allowed Sora to land a powerful blow against him, forcing him to retreat into a cocoon protected by the emblem of the Heartless. But upon his retreat, a dark vortex formed nearby the barrier protecting the hideous core of the airship; this was their only chance for the two to find their partners and retrieve them in order to turn the tides in their favor once and for all. Upon entering, the first partner they found in the middle of the dark was Luna's Shadow Guardian, fighting off the hordes of Heartless by herself.
"What took you two so damn long?" Medea demanded to know.
Sora ignored her irritation. "Nice to see you, too, Medea. Let's hurry and fight our way out so we can get Donald and Goofy."
"We'd better be quick about it if we want them back," Luna added as she braced herself.
Working together, Sora and Luna helped Medea clear out the hordes of Heartless from the area until the force that kept the Shadow Guardian trapped inside finally dispersed, allowing them to escape out and return to the monstrous airship. Now, what to do to reach the rest of their friends…
The sound of something shooting out towards them answered that question, coming from the airship's creepy tendrils.
"I guess that jackass doesn't want us to win," Medea growled in frustration.
"Yeah, well, he's got another thing coming," Sora said as he moved ahead. "We're not gonna let that freaky thing stop us!"
"I agree. Let's keep going," Luna agreed wholeheartedly.
With Medea's assistance on their plate, the next thing they had to deal with is the extra defenses Ansem set up when he formed into that giant monster vessel – particularly the small tendril-like critters that acted like the artillery units. Granted, they didn't have to destroy all of the ones they could reach, but they weren't to take any chances of those annoying pests continuing to hinder their battle. When enough of them were demolished by their teamed effort, another dark portal formed near the airship – which meant that another one of their friends is in there, in need of help getting out of there. And lo and behold, they were in the darkness again to find Goofy.
"Sora! Luna! You made it!" Goofy cheered, happy to see them.
"Goofy, are you okay?" Luna asked.
"Sorry we're late," Sora apologized, "We were a little busy."
Now that Goofy is back in the team, the four worked their way through the hordes the knight was dealing with until they were thrown back out to find themselves facing off against the giant, grotesque face in front of the malicious vessel. And, boy, did somebody have something to say about it…
"That's a face only a Heartless fanboy could ever love," Medea said sarcastically.
"Watch out, you guys!" Sora warned, "It's not gonna make things easy for us."
And guess what? It certainly didn't. Despite being only a gigantic face for a ship, it certainly had a few tricks hidden somewhere; not only did it have its own little artillery to support it from below, but the fiend had a tendency to shoot out energy projectiles from above and bursts of magic energy, trying to gun them down at every opportunity.
"Medea, see if you can get rid of the tendrils down below," Luna ordered. "Sora and I will deal with that hideous décor at the top."
"You got it!" Medea agreed as she flew down to divert attention.
Since size doesn't mean there's a huge advantage, Sora and Luna were able to keep themselves on the move as they beat against the giant face with the combined force of the keyblade and the Shadow Hands whilst avoiding the projectiles fired at them. At the same time, Medea had just wrapped up clearing the area below when the face, upon its defeat, opened its mouth to reveal another dark portal – meaning that one more partner needs a rescue, and upon entering, it's no surprise that the last comrade they located was Donald.
"What kept you guys?" Donald wanted to know.
"We had to round up the others," Luna explained simply.
"We can debate about pacing once we deal with these cretins," Medea interrupted urgently.
Now that everyone is back together again – for real – they quickly wiped the floor with the Heartless in the area until they were forced out into the open again, causing the face of the vessel to explode, leaving nothing left but the body of the ship. Now all that needed to be done is to force Ansem out of hiding. But how are they going to do that…?
"Is that creep still cowering behind his shield?" Medea groaned irritably.
"How are we gonna force him out?" Donald asked.
But then Luna noticed something on the ship. "Look over there!"
Right where Luna was pointing, everyone watched as the barriers that protected the core of the vessel dissipated, fully exposing the central part of the monstrous airship. That could only mean that it's the one key component stabilizing the ship while in midflight.
That's when Sora had an idea. "Here's the plan: take out the core, and deal with anything else that's left on that freaky craft!"
"Great! Once we're done, let's show that Ansem freak we'll be the ones kicking him out of the park!" Medea said, eager to get even.
At this point, they've gotten used to the fact that as intimidating and freaky as the ship is to see, it's rather pathetic that Ansem never thought about setting up better defenses for his intended transport. And it really didn't help in the slightest that once everyone got back together, the team successfully coordinated their battle tactics and completely destroyed both the remaining artillery defenses around the central region and the core of the vessel itself like they were tearing through wet paper.
But the good news is, with everything on the vessel out of commission, the protective barrier that Ansem hid himself behind dispelled, forcing him to leave the cocoon and meet his adversaries again – and boy, he got a shock when he found that the party had come back together after all the trouble he went through to separate them.
"Hello again, sir," Luna deadpanned, not waiting for an answer. "Did you enjoy your nap?"
"Nice one," Donald said, liking that comment.
From there on in, the final battle against Ansem proved to be both a little easier with the entire team back together and a little more challenging because he would stop at nothing until the opposition is gone for good. He pretty much used the same bladed staff attacks and annoying lasers against them like he did when it was just Sora and Luna, but this time he has another trick up his sleeve: with the Guardian behind him, energy was charged up by the creature itself, which in turn sent out bunches of energy projectiles right at them in an attempt to pick them off all at once.
Thankfully, Donald made sure the party was kept alive when it came to the annoying lasers and the charge attack being used against them; in the meantime, Sora, Goofy and Medea took the lead by assaulting both master and fiend simultaneously head-on while Luna switched between her physical strikes and her magic to keep Ansem's attacks at bay until an opening can be found on him.
Before long, from the moment both Keyblade wielder and Shadow Mage successfully landed the finishing blow on him, the fiendish airship began to sputter and explode from its inability to sustain itself after taking brutal beatings from all over the place. In no time at all, Ansem was also caught in the explosion, until there was nothing left of the monstrous vessel that would've been unleashed if given the chance.
Sora took a moment to catch his breath. "Well, guess that takes care of him…"
"Sora! Look over there!" Luna called out abruptly.
Turning to Luna, he followed where her finger was pointing at and – to the surprise of everyone else – they saw from afar a giant white door standing tall and proud in the middle of the dark abyss. Is that the door to Kingdom Hearts that Ansem was talking about? If that's the case, then that means there's just one last thing to do…
"C'mon, we gotta get to the door!" Goofy exclaimed.
"Yeah, before we get into any more trouble than we already did," Sora agreed.
But before they can proceed to the door, they were greeted once more by Ansem yet again; but even though he is back to his normal appearance from their first meeting with him, it was easily noticeable that he took quite a beating from all of them, and his struggling to keep afloat in midair is a sure sign is a sure sign that he's practically on his last legs.
Medea grew irritated at this. "Seriously?! Don't you know when to quit?"
"It is futile. The Keyblade alone cannot seal the door to darkness," Ansem declared, ignoring her. He turned towards the door as though appealing to it. "Kingdom Hearts! Fill me with the power of darkness…"
Everybody turned to watch the door slowly open itself, causing mists of black to start leaking out of the cracks.
But Ansem wouldn't let up on his obsession. "Supreme darkness…"
"Oh, shut up! Someone's gonna get bored of your repetition if you keep this up!" Medea groaned angrily.
"You're wrong. I know now, without a doubt," Sora objected to him, "Kingdom Hearts…is light!"
Then, true to Sora's word, a flash of light suddenly emerged from the door, bathing the vicinity in a bright, warming glow that was rather difficult to keep a focus on for too long. For Ansem, he was not only stunned to find the light blinding his sight, but he felt his remaining strength rapidly slipping away from him as he is forced to disappear in the face of the shining force that is breaking him into oblivion.
"Wha…Light…" He could barely squeeze the words out. "But why…"
"It is simple: you focused on one element for too long," Luna answered, "and it made you blind to the potential of its opposite. You will never understand that, because you are not like me."
Within the increasing brightness, Ansem finally vanished, leaving no trace of him. Once the flash at last subsided, this gave the party the chance to hurry down there and close the door before the already troublesome situation got any worse.
"Come on!" Sora called as he started pushing.
Donald and Goofy began to heave the left door while Sora teamed up with Medea to move the other door; Luna, using her Shadow Hands, commanded them to provide more force against the door in order to try and hasten the progress. But when Goofy peeked inside to see if there are any problems, he suddenly became shocked.
"Stop staring and keep pushing!" Donald demanded.
But when the duck checked to see what the matter was, he was horrified to find what the problem actually was.
"The Heartless?!" they both cried out in panic.
Medea noticed this, too, and started to push harder. "Then let's hurry the hell up and shut this damn door already!"
Unfortunately, Sora and Luna found themselves struggling to keep up as they the task much too difficult to handle on their own.
"I can't…" Sora gasped in exhaustion.
"We need help…" Luna began to cry. "It's not enough…"
But then, just when it seemed things were not going to proceed as they should, another hand reached out and started to pull from the other side of the door.
"Don't give up! Come on, you two! Together, we can do it!"
Immediately, Sora and Luna shifted their gaze to find Riku right there, helping them seal the door. He is alive after all!
Now Sora was more determined than ever. "Okay!"
With his help, progress on the door proved to be much easier for them; but there was still the matter of the Heartless lurking right behind it. In fact, it almost seemed like two giant Heartless were about to attack Riku, but then…
Without warning, both of them were swiftly eliminated without a problem. Curious as to what was going on, Donald and Goofy peeked inside once more and – to their surprise – they noticed from a distance a familiar silhouette of a small, mouse-like figure atop the creepy platforms standing on the other side.
"Your Majesty!" they cried out in joy.
It was King Mickey, without a shadow of a doubt. He pulled out a keyblade of his own, ready to use it when needed to.
"Now, Sora, Luna! Let's close this door for good!" he called out from afar.
"Let's close it, quick!" Donald ordered as he resumed his business.
"But…" Sora was about to protest.
"What about…" Luna had trouble forming the words.
"Don't worry. There will always be a door to the light," Mickey reassured them, letting them know that things will be okay.
But Medea had other ideas at the moment. "Yo, Luna! If you wanna talk with your boyfriend, it's now or never! Hurry, before this damn door is closed for good!"
Initially stunned at Medea's brazen demands, Luna quickly realized what she meant: this is her only chance to speak with Riku again before they cut off the Heartless from breaking through the door. But why would her Guardian let her do this now?
"Medea…why?" she asked in confusion.
"What, do you think I can't push this thing on my own?" her guardian insisted strongly, "Go on! I can manage by myself over here! Now get crackin' already!"
Hastily dispelling her Shadow Hands, Luna hurried as close to the cracks as she could while Medea helped Sora keep up the pace; not wanting to miss her last chance to see him, she used a smaller Hand to reach out towards Riku and get his attention.
"Riku! I'm so sorry about this," Luna called out to him, "I should've told you before…about what happened before the island was lost. That man – who I am sure was Ansem – I think he figured out I was hiding amongst you guys for nine whole years. If I had only told you what I just witnessed, none of this would've happened to you."
Riku, hearing her, held out a hand to her and held her real hand tightly in comfort. "It's okay, Luna. It's my fault for not listening to you. You warned me about how you lost your brother and old friends of yours years ago, and warned me of what horrors you witnessed that broke you. You warned me…and I didn't take you seriously! I almost lost you the moment he took control of my body, and tried to get rid of you and Kairi. I couldn't…I just couldn't let that happen!"
Luna couldn't help starting to cry after hearing all of this; now she understood why Riku intervened when Ansem threatened her and Kairi's life. He couldn't bear the thought of losing either one of them after having grown up with them all those years ago. Worse still, he must've realized who was really haunting his beloved's memory even after she had successfully recovered from her mental breakdown. And now, here he is, saved from being forever lost and making his first step into repenting for the wrongs he brought upon his cherished friends after being separated for so long. But does he really mean to let himself be trapped on the other side for the greater good?
It distressed her to be separated from him. "Will I…Will I ever be able to find you again, Riku? Once this door closes…"
A gentle touch on her cheek spoke volumes on what he knew.
But Riku gave her a reassuring smile. "I'll be fine, Luna. Don't worry about me. I'll find a way back to you, I promise."
"Luna! We almost got it closed!" Medea shouted across from her. "Let's wrap this up!"
She quickly knew what this meant: the door is about to close and now she must part from Riku for a while. Left with no other choice, she backed away from the cracks and let her friends continue their job to complete the mission. As it came closer to being shut, she and Sora were able to catch one last glimpse of their friend as he looked at him confidently despite knowing that it'll be a long while before they can reunite him again.
"Sora, take care of her," Riku said towards Sora, the latter knowing he meant Kairi. He then looked to Luna. "I'll come back to you. You'll see."
Finally, with the combined efforts on both sides, the door was at last sealed shut with no chance for the Heartless to leak out. Sora moved back, and raised his Keyblade into the air as a light energy formed onto the tip of the blade. Luna watched as enormous streams of light flowed forth from the bottom of the door and poured out into the open, meaning that Mickey must be using his own keyblade to lock it from the other side in order to complete the seal. Then, within mere moments, the door itself disintegrated until there was nothing left of it except for the small path that once led to the door to Kingdom Hearts itself.
It hurt Luna to know that after all the perils and adventures they've been through, they haven't been able to bring all their friends back together so they could go back home to the islands together. How were they going to explain to Kairi about this?
But then Sora put a hand to her shoulder, getting her attention and assuring her that everything will be okay.
"We'll see him again. Just you wait," Sora consoled her, "One day, you'll be the first to run up to Riku and welcome him back like he was only gone yesterday."
Luna shook her head and let out a little giggle at that. "Oh, Sora…you know I have to wait for a sign."
"Hey, what the hell is Kairi doing here?" Medea interrupted them as she looked out a certain direction.
Both turned around in confusion at what she meant – until the both of them saw Kairi at the end of the pathway behind them, baffled as to what she was doing here in the first place. Without hesitation, Sora and Luna hurried over to her in hopes of catching up to her before anything else happened after all the trouble they've gone through. But the small traces of sand under her feet was a sure sign that the restoration is about to begin, and they don't have much before she is separated from them as well.
"Kairi!" Sora shouted as Luna called out, "Sis?"
Their voices caught Kairi's attention as she saw them hurry to catch up to her, but it was proving difficult with the sand shifting beneath her.
"Sora! Luna!" she called out to them.
The ground shook underneath her as she moved further and further away from the two of them, with Sora barely able to grip her fingers as Luna struggled to reach out to her.
"Kairi, remember what you said before?" Sora asked her, "I'm always with you, too. I'll come back to you. I promise!"
"Sis, if you see Hiroshi and Yoko again," Luna requested hurriedly, "please let them know that I'll be alright…and that I miss them!"
Kairi realized at this point that they wouldn't be able to return together anytime soon, but a strong faith surged through her as she started losing her reach.
"I know you will!" she called out to them, "And I'll let them know you'll be fine!"
At last, Sora lost his grip on her and Luna lost her only chance to hold her foster sister again for a long while. As heartbreaking as it was, at least it gave them some comfort knowing that Kairi is safe from harm and that the worlds are finally coming back together after all the hell that the monstrous Ansem had raised ever since the Heartless invaded the realms. The only question that remains: what will it now take to return home again, now that the door is sealed shut?