It was dark.

It may have been dark, but it was safe.

All the windows were barred, covered outside by debris, and the only door was shut tight, locked, and held down by mountains of rubble. They were trapped, safe, yet trapped within a realm that was falling apart, with most of their party wounded.

"We made it" Kakashi muttered, falling to his knees with the injured Axel on his back. Black blood was covering both of them, and Axel had fallen unconscious. Gently, the ninja set the boy on his stomach, concern in his eyes.

"What happens now?" Demyx whispered, his tone low, sorrowful.

"Where are the kids?" Gai asked, concerned.

"Back here!"

Suddenly, from behind the staircase in the tower, the children all ran, Naruto eagerly in front. "You won't believe what we've learned."

"Yeah" Sakura nodded. "It's really strange"

"But we're stuck in the middle of it" Sasuke sighed, his eyes wandering.

"I brought them here I thought it would be safe" Mitsuka stepped out of the shadows, and Saix smiled at the sight of his sister. She saw him, running up to support him. "Saix! Are you all right?"

"Be fine" He muttered, sliding to the ground.

"Everyone's wounded" Sakura sighed, glancing about.

"We must take care of them!" Lee declared, cracking his knuckles.

"I agree, for once" Sasuke muttered.

"Heh" Orpheus, leaning against the nearby wall, smirked. "I'll be fine."

"No" Zexion muttered frankly. Blinking, Orpheus frowned, pouting.

"Come on, let's get you over here, Demyx" Kakashi helped the boy lie on a blanket they'd spread for him, and began removing his cloak.

"Saix, let me take care of you, okay?" Mitsuka begged.

Rolling his eyes, Saix attempted to walk on his own, but faltered. "See you need help!" Mitsuka insisted.

"Guys" Roxas whispered.

"Ah!" Kakashi clicked his tongue when Demyx gasped.

"You'll be fine" He told him.

"Stay still" Zexion ordered, trying to piece Orpheus together.

"You don't know what you're doing"

"I'm a scientist, I always know what I'm doing"

"Guys!"

Suddenly, everyone snapped to attention, surprised at the sudden fierceness of Roxas' voice. He stood in the center of the room, fists clenched,

"Roxas, you need to rest, are you okay?" Mitsuka asked him, concerned.

"Roxas?" Axel muttered in his sleep, tossing about as his burned back was treated. The boy grimaced, in terrible pain.

"He's dead" Roxas whispered. Everyone became silent. Leaning against the wall, Demyx let a single tear roll down his cheek, eyes down and sullen. Kakashi watched him as slowly, like a growing tsunami, the boy sniffled, leaned forward, began to sob.

"He's dead" Roxas muttered, biting his lip until it bled. "Sora's dead"

"Sora?" Saix whispered, shocked so that he fell to his knees. Mitsuka's hand flew to her mouth.

In the center of what was the Dark City, the Memory's Skyscraper stood, the last testament to the great world, surrounded by debris and rubble, and within, total silence rained but for the intense sobbing and screaming Demyx simply couldn't hold back.

"Sora!"

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

All was silent but for quiet whispers. The wounded rested, deep in thought, drifting far away, and the young and restless paced, pondered, told stories of what they'd learned during their stay in the dark realm. Naruto, frowning, paced back and forth, unable to be quiet, yet silent in respect.

Sasuke too, showed his respect, a rare gift; when Mitsuka built a small shrine made of a candle and a few flowers, Sasuke was one of the first to bow in respect and pray. And though each prayed a different prayer from a different religion, and few truly ever even knew the boy who'd died, they all prayed with solemn, respectful hearts.

Sasuke sat, silent, in the candlelight of the shrine. A bit behind him, Sakura stood, watching him and Mitsuka speak in quiet whispers, lost in her own thoughts.

"The boy you told us about… the one with the key" Sasuke whispered.

"Yes, he is the one who is dead" Mitsuka muttered, her voice low and hoarse. Sakura flinched behind her at the sad tone of her voice.

"So, the hero guy is gone?" Naruto walked up, hands in his pocket, his voice low as well. Only able to nod, Mitsuka sniffled as the tears came again, holding her hands tightly.

A hand came to her shoulder. Zexion stood beside her, his eyes flickering between anger and pain, back and forth like waves as the girl looked up to him for comfort. Bending to her level, Zexion held her as she cried, rocking her back and forth.

In the other room behind them, Kakashi watched with somber eyes, sitting tiredly next to his patient as he himself was treated for the burns he'd received. Gai frowned as he listened to the crying.

"I hate to hear a young woman cry" He muttered, tying the bandage.

"So do I" Kakashi sighed, looking up to the roof.

To everyone's surprise, as Mitsuka cried, a voice joined her, a soft lullaby. It was gentle and smooth, and not great singing, yet very refreshing, and nice.

"Yondeiru Mune no Dokoka Okude,

Itsumo Kokoro Odoru Yume wo Mitai,

Kanashimi wa Kazoekirenai kedo,

Sono Mukou de Kitto Anata ni Aeru,",

"Zexion?" Demyx whispered, his voice hoarse, his eyes tired as he looked up to the man who was singing the quiet lullaby.

"Kurikaesu Ayamachi no Sonotabi Hito wa

Tada Aoi Sora no Aosa wo Shiru

Hateshinaku Michi wa Tsuzuite Mieru keredo

Kono Ryoute wa Hikari wo Dakeru"

Zexion patted the girl's head as she quieted, slowly the song down, ready to end it. He repeated what he had sung, yet in a language everyone could understand.

"Somewhere, a voice calls, in the depths of my heart" He began. "May I always be dreaming, the dreams that move my heart. So many tears of sadness, uncountable through and through, I know on the other side of them I'll find you."

"La la la, lalalala, la la la…"

"Every time we fall down to the ground we look up to the blue sky above" His voice went a tad higher, as Demyx nodded in tune, humming the score that would've gone with the song. "We wake to its blueness, as for the first time. Though the road is long and lonely and the end far away, out of sight, I can with these two arms embrace the light."

"Beautiful" Sakura whispered as Zexion stood with Mitsuka in his arms as she slowly nodded off.

"It's a lullaby that was sung to me as a child, back home." Zexion explained, setting the girl next to her brother.

"Yeah" Demyx nodded. "Me too" Taking in a breath, he sang a bit of it, his voice much sweeter and higher than Zexion's. "No need to search outside, nor sail across the sea,

Cause here shining inside me, it's right here inside me. I've found a brightness, it's always with me."

"It's nice" Sakura told them. Lee sniffled, wiping his eyes.

"Someone's coming" Kakashi muttered, leaping up.

The door began to quake. Those who could, stood up, preparing, ready to attack. Naruto growled, swinging his fist towards the door. In a matter of seconds, the door burst open.

"Hurry" Tidu muttered, striding in bravely, his wings held high above him. Gasping, Naruto, and many others in the room fell flat on their behinds. "We need you, now"

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

The ground rumbled beneath them, small rocks vibrating due to the vibrations in the earth. As it trembled and fell about, a shadow slowly grew over it, looming above, until it swooped down, a physical thing, eyes yellow as it crawled over the dark ground. Mouth wide, the creature paused only for a second, before suddenly, almost like it was jolted out of a cannon, the Heartless raced forward with its companions.

"Tifa, behind you!"

With a quick leap, Yuna spun through the air, her staff making quick work of the oncoming heartless. Smirking, Tifa nodded her thanks, turning her attention to two black beings leaping at her. With a roundhouse kick, both were destroyed, and from her kick, Tifa spun and leapt into a right hook, taking out a heartless headed towards Donald and Goofy.

"Watch out!" Goofy roared, letting loose his shield to shave off the heads of a line of heartless, and Donald followed suit with a few lightning spells.

"Come on!" Cid roared, lifting his fist. "We're cutting through them!"

"All right!" Tifa cheered, and in celebration, she stomped a heartless into the ground.

"Yes, yet Crive is rushing towards the Gate" Vincent seethed, hunched over the ground. With a bounding leap, he crossed the entire battlefield, leaping up the cliff side.

Above, Crive was racing across the ground, smirking broadly as he came closer to his goal. Two large tattoos were on his face now, in the yellow and black colors of the Heartless.

Down below, Rinoa used her disk like weapon that was attached to her wrist to chop off some of the heartless. Dashing behind her, Cid leapt through the flock, hacking here and there, letting off curses and cheers.

"Look!" Yuna pointed towards the sky as she swept heartless out of her way. "It's Tidu!"

Sure enough, on the horizon floated a boy with black wings, and along the ground beside him ran a few able warriors.

"Less than I thought would help us" Tifa side.

"The others must be with Aerith on the ship, injured probably" Yuna determined.

"Who the hell are they?" Cid spat, looking at the strange newcomers with their friends.

Zexion, Tidu, and Roxas were the only people they knew who were running down to fight, but along with them was Orpheus, Gai, and the four ninja children.

"Well, damn, a robot, an ugly freak, and four little kiddies" Cid joked, looking over them. "I feel safe already!"

Chuckling, Tifa shook her head. "Be nice Cid"

As he sliced through a couple of enemies, Cid howled with laughter.

"Not on the battlefield, honey!" With that, he leapt back into the fray with a Yee hah!

"There they are!" Roxas cried, his voice dark.

"What the hell! Damn! They're surrounded!" Naruto cried out.

"Thank you for stating the obvious" Zexion remarked, immediately leaping down into the battle. Naruto's jaw dropped, and a vein grew on his forehead.

"Hey! Jerk! Shut up! Hey, don't leave, I'm not done with you!" With that, Naruto ran rampant after Zexion, shouting profanities and complaints.

Sasuke rolled his eyes. "Dobe" he cursed, calling Naruto a foul name, before leaping down into the battle, pulling a large shuriken from his sack.

Stepping forward, Roxas stumbled a bit. "Don't push it" Orpheus told him as the others all leapt into the battle.

"I could tell you the same" Roxas spat, his eyes fading in and out. Sighing, Orpheus scanned the area. His sharp eyes pinpointed with computer accuracy his target; Crive, leaping along the rocks, dodging Vincent's well aimed shots.

"There you are, slime" Orpheus spat, leaping into the fray. Roxas watched him go, feeling rain pelt his skin as the sky began to cry.

"Sora" Roxas whispered, looking to the sky. "Why are you crying?

Naze hitogoe, sora?

(Why cry, sky?)

When he spoke, the rain seemed to fall stronger, faster. Letting it pelt him, blood falling down his skin, Roxas lifted his arms. "We fight for you, and for everyone we love. We refuse to die, or to fall. So why do you cry? Do you already miss us?"

Looking back to the battle, Roxas' eyes were dark and determined. "Don't cry. It'll all be over soon"

Roaring loudly Roxas raced into the fray with power and sped he didn't know he had, as lightning struck down and thunder rolled through the sky. Lifting both his summoned keyblades, he sliced and diced his way through the onslaught of heartless, diving into the battle, aiming for its center, where Donald and Goofy stood, back to back.

Slicing through, Roxas slid to a stop beside them for a blink of an eye. Turning to them, for just a moment, he spoke. "Don't let them touch the light" he told them, before disappearing in a blur of black and racing through the crowd, cutting heartless down.

Donald watched him go in shock.

"Come on!" Goofy woke him up, and the two kept casting spells and tossing shields.

Crive slid to a halt on the cliff, smirking at the bloody, walking corpse before him. "Orpheus" He smirked, taking in the look of his creation and servant. The man was bleeding, the skin around his eye peeling off to reveal metal, and silver components. Frowning, Orpheus bent low, a hand in front forming a palm; he was ready to fight.

"Oh ho" Crive smirked, his hand flicking back to the sword at his belt. "So it begins"

Suddenly, a bullet sliced through Crive's shoulder, and Vincent flew down from the sky, landing next to Orpheus with his gun aimed at Crive.

"Go" Orpheus murmured. "He's mine"

Without another word, Vincent flitted away into the crowd of black below.

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

"Ariel!" Racing down the hallways, Cloud and Leon slid to a stop ahead of the screaming woman who was clutching her stomach. Yuffie stood, concerned and scared.

"She's not gonna make it, we need her medicine."

"Wait!"

"Victoria?" Paine muttered, standing. "You left"

"I came back when I felt her. I think I can undo what my dad did, but I'll need Cloud's help." She whispered, looking about as if she felt danger.

"My help?" Cloud whispered. Victoria nodded.

"You've used computers, you were part of SOLDIER." Cloud's eyes flickered at the mention.

"All right" Setting his sword back in its sheath, he stepped up to the girl. "Tell me what to do"

"The computer lab is back there" Paine told them, nodding down the hall. "You can probably do something from there"

Nodding, Cloud spun about and raced down the hall as quickly as he could. Leon bent down next to Ariel, taking hold of her hand.

"Ariel" He whispered sweetly, caressing her hand. "It'll be all right, hold on"

With tears in her panic stricken eyes, she nodded, biting her lip. "Vexen…"

"He'll be right here, soon" Yuffie whispered, smiling.

"Demyx is all right" Leon whispered to her faintly. She looked up, eyes wide, and smiled a bit wider.

"Whoa! This baby's coming fast; that's a contraction!" Yuffie proclaimed.

"The first of many" Paine muttered, wiping sweat from Ariel's brow as she breathed heavily. In the back of the room, Aisu watched helplessly.

"Call for Tidu, he has the cure" Leon told her. The girl stared at him, confused, scared. Standing, the man walked towards her, placing a hand on her shoulder.

"It'll be all right" He whispered. "Please, go get Tidu, quickly."

Looking to the ground, Aisu nodded. Without another word, she sped about and ran down the hall, rushing towards the nearby battlefield.

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

Passing through the strange, cold light, the air became moist, the ground cold as their feet hit it. Blinking, Kairi opened her eyes, a bit dazed as she looked about.

The three stood at the edge of a metal pathway, large, and on both sides, from a long line trailing the railing on the sides, waterfalls fell thousands of feet into the mist. Skyscrapers towered over them on all sides for miles, a wide, vast city that faded into the distance.

A small sign named the area into which they'd entered. It was a language neither Kairi nor Riku could read, but the King, from his extensive studies, could recognize and understand the words.

"Wyhyngyht" The king whispered in the foreign tongue. "It's Al Bhed for Zanarkand."

"And below it, it says?" Riku asked, pointing to the lower letters.

"Vummuf drec bydr du imdesyda Natasbdeuh. Ubah dra tunn du Mekrd. Vrem, rht fydlr ymm vyta yfyo." Mickey whispered, his throat dry. "Follow this path to ultimate Redemption. Open the door to Light."

"Fail, and watch all fade away."