A/N: 6.12.11: I will probably come back and add more to this chapter due to how pitifully short it is. I'd also like to that with a few chapters back... But not now. For now, I just added a little more.

Old note: Hello, guys! Updates are going to probably take a little bit longer because I am sick and my teachers keep throwing stupid stuff at me. Oh, right, and then there's the fact that I have some stuff going on in my personal life, but I'll try my hardest to get chapters up! Fuyu now owns Axel. He doesn't like it and you might not like it, but she does. Anyway, I'm glad to see my fanfic is getting more popular even though I only have two reviewers. :P I'm also glad to hear that my grammar mistakes aren't that bad. My stupid teachers from other years told me a comma goes wherever you need a breath, so now I'm screwed up. xD On to the chapter!

"This is repetitive," noted Roxas as he slashed down at what seemed like the hundredth Heartless. Naminé, without a means of defending herself, was hiding behind a tree and wishing more than anything that she could wield some sort of weapon, too. She watched the others fighting, and nearly everyone seemed to be doing well... aside from Keira, who was staring up at a tree and swearing. Riku was quite nearby, keeping the Heartless away from the distracted girl.

In her excitement from the battle, she had thrown Shadow Heart upward and gotten it lodged in a tree. "Oh, that's just great." Once she reached the tree, she began to climb, but Cloud stopped her.

He looked at her like she was crazy. "What are you doing?"

"Keyblade. Up there." She pointed to the middle of the tree.

"Keira, you can call it back." He remembered her calling Shadow Heart back numerous times and fixed an expectant stare at her as red crept into her cheeks.

"Oh! I knew that." She released the tree's trunk, held her hand out before her, and Shadow Heart reappeared. "Thanks, Cloud." The red was still very visible in her cheeks as she ran off to fight. Cloud shook his head, smiling very faintly as he took down yet another Nobody.

Riku smirked at her. "So, they give keyblades to just about anyone these days, huh?" Still embarrassed, she simply elected to ignore him as she blocked an Assault Rider's pole. It dawned upon her, as the Heartless attempted to run her through with its weapon again, that she probably should have been fighting one of the new Nobodies or Soldier Heartless. The Assault Rider spun its pole as it dashed at her, knocking her clear off of her feet and into Riku, who easily caught her with his free hand. He set her on the ground before rushing at the Heartless with that amazing speed of his, ducking the pole as it was stabbed downward, and slashing his keyblade into it. It only took him a few strikes to destroy the Heartless, and Keira found herself watching the entire thing with her mouth hanging open. 'Will I ever be that good?'

Sora's eyes scanned the area and fell upon Kairi, who was kneeling on the ground and panting. He quickly fled to her side and knelt down, mumbling, Curaga." Green tendrils wrapped around Kairi's wounds and healed them instantly.

"Thanks, Sora." She kissed his cheek as he nodded, both of them wearing light blushes as he helped her stand. They stood, surrounded by Heartless and Nobodies, back to back and tried to lessen the amount of enemies.

"These guys are stupid," Riku informed Mickey as he joined him, "But I think that their hearts have been taken over by the darkness." They had beaten up the goons (quite easily, too) and were now in the process of deciding what to do with them.

The King shook his head. "These fellas are aiding Maleficent anyway; we've gotta get rid of 'em."

This did not seem to bother Riku in the least. "Yeah, I got it." He slashed Way to Dawn at the group until they disappeared into a cloud of darkness.

"Big mouths, small brains, classic," remarked Tifa as she approached Riku and Mickey from behind.

Mickey looked around, astonished at the sight of numerous Heartless and Nobodies still dancing around the area. "The Heartless and Nobodies still aren't goin' away?"

Tifa shook her head. "Nope. Then again, the Heartless and Nobodies may have never been listening to those guys in the first place; Maleficent probably told them to come with them."

"Welp, at least they can't get any more numerous for the time being," mumbled Mickey as he rubbed the back of his head. "Let's get rid of the rest of 'em."

Axel gazed at the area around him after finishing off a few Nobodies. No new ones were approaching him, which seemed quite strange. It did not take him long to notice, out of the corner of his eye, that Naminé was being closely followed by several Nobodies. "Shit!" He cursed, willing his body to move fast as he lunged at the creatures and destroyed them. Naminé whirled around, terribly surprised.

"T-thank you, Axel." She breathed, her hand clutching her chest.

Axel ruffled her hair, surprising her more than the creeping Nobodies had. "No problem, anything for my old friend, and best friend's girlfriend." He grinned as Naminé blushed and Roxas threw him a look from across the field. The other 'Nobody' joined them.

"You okay?" He asked, though she wondered how much he meant physically versus mentally.

"I'm fine," replied Naminé, blush still on her cheeks.

Roxas smiled. "Good."

"That's all of them, fellas." King Mickey announced from the center of the clearing. Sure enough, they had finally managed to clear the area.

"Aw, but that was too easy," complained Keira.

"If you're not throwing your Keyblades into trees, you mean?" snorted Riku, causing Keira to blush for a second time.

"It was an accident!" She insisted, following Riku.

He waved his hand, "Sure, sure."

XxX

Not too long after the fact, the group had made it out of the forest and to the castle's gates. Unsurprisingly, the gates had been broken down and it looked like there had been a fight in the courtyard - with many casualties. Keira looked skyward, trying to keep her gaze away from the ground and, at the same time, avoid stepping on the dead. All of her embarrassment faded, her face feeling the polar opposite from when Riku had been teasing her. 'You can't ever forget that war means death.' She reminded herself as they quickly moved out of the area.

There appeared to be even more bodies inside of the castle. All of the fallen were bloodied but most of them had blood on their chest, yet the bodies were still very much there which must have meant that the Heartless somehow fought the urge to steal their hearts... though that did not make much sense. Keira dared herself to look down for just a moment when she felt pressure on her arm. Tifa was hauling her by one arm while Cloud was pulling her by the other. Her heart fluttered a little, and she managed a small, relieved smile as her gaze returned to the tall, ornate ceiling.

Near the front of the group, Roxas had his arm around Naminé's waist, towing her so that she did not have to steer herself, while Sora had his arm around Kairi's shoulders. "How do we know where to look, your Majesty?" quacked Donald when they reached a landing where many sets of stairs branched off.

"Hmm. Good question, Donald." He agreed, turning to the keyblade wielders. "Welp? Do you fellas sense anything at all?" Kairi, Keira, Riku Sora, and Roxas nodded.

"There." They pointed to an old door at the end of the hallway on the second level. The King nodded and headed toward it without questioning their judgement. Behind the door was a tall spiral staircase.

"Watch me fall," sighed Keira.

Tifa laughed. "Why do you think we're holding you by the arms?" She asked with a playful smile.

The staircase was much longer than it appeared, and it took nearly twenty minutes to reach the top, which led to another door, an empty bedroom. In the center of the room was a very welcoming canopy bed with an adjacent fireplace. There was only one window inside, but it made up for this by being quite large in size. "Yes!" The girls did not spare any second thoughts to what danger could be lurking or whose bed they were getting into as they launched themselves into the room first and flopped onto the bed.

As soon as they touched the scarlet comforter, Kairi and Keira were yanked back into standing positions by the force of their keyblades. They turned in the direction of the glossy oak headboard, glowing with the shape of a keyhole. Naminé, the only one on the bed, turned toward it as she also noticed the keyhole.

"Naminé, move over." Roxas gently pulled her from the very comfortable bed and to his side as Riku and Sora joined the girls, holding out their keyblades. Four beams of light shot out from each keyblade and into the keyhole, but, even then, they could feel that they were...

"Too late," Maleficent's voice came from behind them. She looked awfully proud of herself, standing by the fireplace, with her staff in one hand and an unconscious woman slumped in the other. Diablo sat on her shoulder, cawing gleefully. The figure draped over Maleficent's arm was none other than the princess of the Enchanted Dominion, Aurora.

"Maleficent!" yelled Sora, turning from the bed and running at the witch as fast as his legs would carry. He jumped and swung down, but his keyblade only hit the floor, Maleficent already gone.

So she had only appeared to show off her prize. "Just remember what you are risking by allowing Kairi and Keira to travel alongside you," her disembodied voice echoed through the room. It was not an unusual or unconsidered thought, but it was one that the group had tried not to think about. Philip's weak form crawled into the room, momentarily putting of their discussion.

"She's taken... Aurora." He muttered angrily, though he knew he did not need to, as he used the doorway to stand. He looked around at the group, sighing at the knowledge that he could not be angry with them. If it was anyone's fault, it was his own. "Please. Please. Rescue Aurora before that evil witch gets the chance to do anything to her."

A/N: Short chappie. Next time we're heading to either Atlantica or somewhere else that I totally forgot. I finished this place up pretty soon only because I wasn't too sure of what to do in the first place. They were gonna fight Maleficent at first, but it was just more convenient this way.

One thing, the reason Kairi kisses Sora doesn't have to be romantic. It might just be friendly. So, I'm clearing that up, just in case. Of course might is the key word here. See you next time!