-0- A touch of light -0-

A breath of magic

Breathing through me to stay alive

A touch of darkness

Breathing magic

-0- This is all I have inside -0-

This is where it all begins

Battles won and wars waging

This is were our journey ends

Tell me, what flag will you be waving?

0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0

"Kairi?"

Silently, as the wind tossed her hair about, the red head turned to her friend. Yuna stood, timid, concerned. Solemn, strong, Kairi turned, her blue eyes wide in determination.

"Crive is gone, and Tidu is looking for the others" Yuna whispered. "He's going to lead them here"

"Good" Kairi murmured. "That must be Cid's ship on the horizon"

Yuna spun about, and sure enough, flying towards them was a large cargo ship called the Shera. Left in the care of his allies on Gaia, the Shera was Cid's greatest and favorite ship, named after his wife – (yes, his wife) – who lived in the mountains of Gaia. Tidu opened his eyes, looking back to Kairi – for some reason, his eyelids were black, and a circle of black went around his eyes.

"Not everyone is on the ship. Some of the nobodies have been captured by Crive, and some of the others are fighting their way out of the falling Never world – I can save them. But you'll have to get the nobodies free."

Kairi nodded, stepping down the cliff, the light behind her making her look faraway, entrancing.

"Go, Tidu, and good luck" She whispered, looking to him. The dark angel, bathed in light, was also very beautiful. As his eyes flickered, and he looked out to the horizon, he nodded.

"I'll return as soon as possible." He whispered.

With a booming flap of his black wings, the boy took to flight, rising high into the clouds, flying with great speed towards the white speck on the horizon that looked almost like an atomic bomb explosion.

"Good luck" Yuna whispered, watching as the Shera landed at the base of the cliff. Immediately, she ran forward to greet the others, and Kairi stood solemn watching her go.

Far down the cliff, she heard voices of greeting – sad, regretful, and pained. Far away from them, Kairi turned and looked to the light, letting it blind her eyes as she stepped up to the cliff were the doorway was, just behind the Keyblade.

Her fingers touched the metal softly gently she dragged them across, as to remember every detail. A whisper touched her mind like a far off voice.

The keyblade disappeared into a cloud of yellow.

Down the cliff, Yuna bowed as Leon stepped off with a woman by his side. A long scar went down her cheek, and she looked determined, and strong.

"Where is Sora?" Rinoa asked beside Leon as she walked down. Shaking his head, Leon turned to her.

"He's gone" Leon whispered.

Behind him down stepped Cloud, Tifa, and Cid, all dark, and reverent followed by Aerith, the King, Donald, and Goofy, both of whom were wiping tears from their cheeks. Vincent looked, if possible, darker than usual.

"What do we do, sir?" Aerith whispered head down.

"I'm not sure" He turned to look at Yuna, and nodded to her.

"Guys" Cloud murmured, nodding towards the cliff. Everyone looked up to see Kairi, staring at her open palm.

"Kairi?" Aerith asked, coming forward urgently, and Tifa followed. Both concerned and affectionate, they stood beside her, hands on her shoulder.

"The keyblade… it was here" Kairi whispered, looking at her palm. "I touched it, and it disappeared."

Goofy and Donald shared a look, coming forward.

"Kairi!"

The girl looked back to the ship as the last passenger ran off, crazed and urgent. He bolted past the others, and at the sight of him, Kairi gasped and ran forward.

"Riku!" The two rushed to each other, Kairi falling into his arms. Sobbing quietly, she held to his chest as Riku rubbed her head gently, a tear trailing his cheek.

"What do we do?" The King asked, looking up to Leon. "Only the true keyblade can open the door to Light."

"I know" Leon whispered. "Sora was our only hope"

As she cried, Kairi listened to them. Leaning up a bit, she looked at her open palm again.

"Riku" She whispered desperately. "Do you trust me?"

"With my life" He murmured with a small smile. "My lady"

Aerith and Tifa looked on in wonder. What was going through the red head's mind? What was she thinking? As Kairi turned back to the bright light, she stretched out her arm, reaching out for something.

"Kairi?" Cloud asked, stepping forward a bit in concern. His hand never left the hilt of his sword.

Her hand began to glow. Everyone watched in awe and amazement as a hilt appeared in her hand, and instead of her own keyblade appearing, the true Kingdom Key fell into her hand, as Kairi smiled down reverently on it.

"The last person who touched this was…" Smiling, Kairi let her thoughts wander for a moment more as Riku stared on in disbelief.

"Whoa!" Yuna whispered. "What did I miss?"

"Kairi… is the keyblade master?" Vincent muttered.

"Temporary" She told them, chuckling a little. She turned to face everyone.

"All right, here's what we have to do" She began.

As of right now, our group has been split into three. Some of us are still in the World that Never Was, which is falling apart as we speak. Only a moment ago, I sent Tidu there to save our comrades.

"Ah!" Demyx yelped, leaping aside as glass shattered from one of the city towers as they ran by. The tower began to collapse, falling over into the abyss as Saix led the group towards Memory's Skyscraper.

"Watch out!" Kakashi yelled as the ground ruptured and they leapt away. Everyone crossed, and as the last three leapt, Roxas looked to his comrades.

Demyx held him as they ran, and Axel was beside him when they leapt over the chasm.

"He's dead" Roxas muttered vehemently.

"Who?" Demyx asked, confused.

"…Sora"

Eyes wide, Demyx looked at the boy in shock as they landed on the other side, ceasing to run.

"Don't tell them yet" Roxas whispered, eyes dark and to the ground. "We need to be safe"

"Come on!" Axel roared, urging them forward. Coughing up a bit of blood, Roxas nodded for Demyx to continue, and with a sad look to the ground, Demyx leapt, running ahead.

To both of their surprise, the ground suddenly vanished beneath them, disappearing into the chasm below as the city fell apart. Demyx groaned, reaching forward to grab the edge, but the edge itself began to disappear as well.

"We're not gonna make it!" Demyx shouted, grimacing as they began to fall back.

Thinking quickly, Roxas removed Demyx's arm from his shoulder, fell back a bit, and then kicked Demyx's back. The boy yelped, flying forward, rolling across the ground, and landing face first.

"Owiee!" The boy complained, but the others ignored him as Axel looked wide eyed to the chasm Roxas was disappearing into.

"Roxas!" The man roared, feeling helpless as his feet stepped forward, yet he held himself back.

"What can I do?" He whispered. Then, with a grimace, Axel roared, running forward towards the chasm. Realizing what was happening, everyone slid to a halt.

"Axel!" Mitsuka roared. Saix's mouth dropped at the sight he was seeing.

As Axel leapt off the cliff, yelling loudly over the incredible noise, his hand reached towards the hand of his partner. Roxas watched in disbelief as Axel flew down towards him, determined, smirking proudly. Black blood flying about them, Roxas lifted his hand in pain, groaning, his eyesight fading. He reached with all his might, only hoping Axel and he could get out of the situation alive.

"Axel!" Demyx yelled, concerned as he hovered over the edge, backing away as it shrank.

"We have to leave" Gai murmured, sighing.

"No" Kakashi muttered. "No one gets left behind." Gai noticed his friend's intensity. With a chuckle and a shrug, Gai nodded, and the two shared a glance.

Demyx gasped as both ninja leapt ahead of them, into the chasm. As Axel reached for Roxas, smirking, they pulled from their pouches thin lines.

"Hey, Roxas" Axel called as he took hold of his friend's hand. "Have you ever wanted to fly?"

(you are the one)

With that, Axel spun, sending Roxas flying into the air. As he fell into the chasm, the burning light from below burning his skin, Axel wondered – was this what it was like to fade into light?"

(who will save the prince)

He did not feel the tight wires wrapping around his body, just enough to catch, not enough to chop him into pieces.

Above, Demyx watched Roxas fly over his head, and frantically he waved his arms, eager to catch the boy. Gai flew over his head, and caught Roxas, which was a good thing since Demyx might've slapped him a couple of times in his attempt.

Kakashi leapt out of the chasm, a burned and beat up Axel in his arms. He too, was a bit burned by the volcanic light of the chasm.

"Run!" He shouted, and everyone listened.

(You know even people who don't have a clue bout Naruto love Gai and Kakashi now! Hehe!)

Tidu will help them. The second group is a group of captives and refugees, in a castle where our enemy has housed himself. He goes by the name Crive, and holds most of Organization XIII captive. With them is Rikku, Paine, Ariel, Yuffie, and … Sora's sister, Aisu.

We need to send a group to help them, and get them over here.

"Will she be all right?" Aisu whispered her cheeks red, her eyes stony.

Aisu looked across the room to Rikku, bandaged yet weak and leaning against the wall. Paine and Yuffie sighed as one, as Paine nodded hopefully. Her hands were covered in blood, and coarse.

"With rest, she'll be all right"

"Thank goodness" The three girls smiled as the eldest one spoke; Ariel had not moved from her place next to her sleeping husband, but she was watching the girls with a smile.

Suddenly, her eyes went wide, surprised, and in pain. Her hand twitched, rushing to her stomach, and she doubled over.

"Ariel?" Yuffie asked, running over to her. Paine and Aisu followed, concerned.

"Oh my gosh" Yuffie whispered in horror; hand over her mouth as she watched the mother to be.

Ariel's veins were pulsating beneath her skin, but they were not a human color, but were turning dark, black, unnatural, and the woman screamed as she clutched her stomach.

Aisu's eyes fell to the ground beneath Ariel as the other two bent down to her.

"Guys?" Aisu whispered, pointing. The other girls looked.

Ariel was sitting in a growing puddle of water. Her dress was wet, and she screamed again as the black color rose to her neck.

"Ariel" Yuffie gasped.

"She's in labor" Paine muttered. "And we don't have Vexen's medicine!"

The last group is us.

Kairi looked to all her friends.

"Cloud, Leon, you two go to the base and get the others. We'll leave the others to Tidu, everyone else; we need to split as well."

"What are we doing?" Tifa asked.

"Some of us will go inside. Some of us will stay here. Crive is sure to come back, and with help." Kairi told them, looking over the group.

"Crive?" Leon whispered. Everyone turned to him. "I knew a boy by that name, when I was young and living here. He was a psycho."

"Well your Crive and that Crive sure have that in common" Yuna muttered under her breath. Aerith giggled.

Kairi gave a small smile.

Suddenly, Vincent turned and looked away to the horizon. "Your psycho is here." He muttered vehemently, pulling his mighty weapon Cerberus from its holster. Sure enough, rising towards them from the horizon was an army of heartless. At its head was a blonde man with a black symbol of the Heartless carved onto his upper shoulder.

"Freak" Riku muttered. Kairi looked to him, then back to the army.

"Kairi" Goofy whispered. The red head turned to him. "I know that Sora and Donald and I have done a lot together, and fought side by side, but in his heart, the first person he thinks of is you. You, Sora, and Riku started this battle.

Turning to her, Goofy looked at her with soft eyes. "You, Sora, and Riku should finish it."

With that, Goofy dropped something into Kairi's hands that brought tears to her eyes. "His Ultima weapon." She whispered, fingering the keychain.

"The King should go with you" Donald told them, looking back to his leader. The king sighed, looking with sad eyes to Riku and Kairi. Stepping up, he bowed.

"I'll accompany you if you'll have me… Princess" Mickey whispered. Smiling, Kairi bowed.

"Of course, you're majesty."

"Go" Leon muttered, summoning his blade. He looked to Cloud. "Cloud and I will get the others. Go"

"We can handle these bums" Tifa cheered, punching her open palm.

"Take care of yourselves" Aerith told them, bending down to Kairi's level to smile.

"Heh, and don't you dare follow Sora, I wanna see the both of you good and alive when this is all over!" Cid ordered, puffing on his cigarette. "Y'all kids might as well know now; I expect grandkids!"

Both Riku and Kairi laughed. "You too King" Cid told the small leader with a nod of his head. "You come back safe, hear?"

"Yes, sir!" The king joked.

"Now go" Vincent muttered. Those were his only words.

Riku took hold of Kairi's hand. "Come on, let's go… find Sora"

"Yeah" Kairi nodded, looking to the king. He smiled, and the three of them stepped up to the gate. It shone and shimmered, awaiting them.

"Well, are you ready to step into the light?" The King smiled, running up with his key in hand.

"I'm ready to follow Sora" Kairi murmured softly, letting her hand slip through the door. Riku smirked with a chuckle, and reached out as well.

"Kids" Mickey smiled, laughing a little. "What'll we do with them, Ansem?" He murmured, running after his young companions.

The three faded into light.

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"Whelp, there go the heroes" Goofy chuckled.

"Shut up, you big palooka, we've got bad guys to fight!" Donald hit Goofy's foot with the end of his staff.

"Aerith!" Leon called. "Take the ship into the air we'll need you for healing!"

"Leon!" Cloud called as he ran down the cliff.

"Coming!" The man yelled, rushing after him as they ran towards Castle Oblivion.

"Squall"

Hearing his name, the man slid to a halt, looking over his shoulder slightly. He knew Rinoa stood there behind him, biting her lip, nervous. Looking at him with wondrous, wanting eyes, she whispered.

"Goodbye"

His eyes fell, and he chuckled. "Well then…" Leon sighed, turning to look towards the rising sun. "Goodbye"

With that, he and Cloud were gone.

"There go more heroes" Goofy sighed. Donald edged up next to him as the Shera flew into the air.

"So, how're we gonna beat the bag guys if all the heroes are gone?" Goofy sighed, lifting his shield to cover the lower part of his face.

"We can't… we can't rely on Sora forever." Donald whispered sadly. Both stood silent watching the heartless advance. Ahead of them on his chariot, Crive oozed confidence and darkness.

"I think we can always rely on him" Goofy smiled. "But this one we can handle on our own. Let's give him a break, okay?"

Smiling, Donald looked up at his partner. "Yeah" He whispered. "Let's go!"

"Charge!" Cid roared, raising his battle staff with a large grin. Rinoa watched him and all of them with a strange fascination, watching the best friends of the lover she'd long missed.

"Heh" Tifa grinned. Looking over her shoulder, she nodded towards Vincent, her eyes shining.

"Good luck, Tifa" Vincent murmured, his red cape blowing in the wind.

"Don't need luck" She proclaimed. "Not against this loser" Grinning proudly, she raised her fist.

"Let's do Sora proud!" Tifa cheered a tear in her eye.

"Yeah" Yuna whispered smiling.

"Didn't you hear me, pansies?!" Cid chortled, raising his staff and pointing towards the onslaught of heartless. "Charge!"

As the airship lifted into the air, Mari looked down on them. "Go for it!" She cheered as they disappeared into the clouds.

Behind them, the light flickered and danced, as they all raced down the cliff side, weapons and arms raised, hearts flying high, ready to fight as the last hope of a universe falling into darkness.

You can do it!

Help us!

Please, do it for us!

Beat that creep!

Voices flowing around them from everywhere; perhaps they were not fighting alone, yet fighting side by side with all the people of all the worlds. There were only seven of them against the darkness, with more on the way; thousands were in the stands, asleep under the blanket of the universe, letting their thoughts roam free. Some, our heroes knew – some where souls from far reaches, who perhaps would never have the pleasure of truly meeting them.

But for that night, they were one.