The Lost World pt.2

"Oof!"

Sora landed with a thump, face first in the dust. He yelped as something heavy fell on top of him, knocking the wind out of him. Sora bucked whatever it was off of him and rolled over onto his feet, summoning Fenrir.

"Ow! Dammit Sora!" snapped Riku, rubbing his back where it had hit the ground after Sora had flung him. Sora blinked and then dismissed Fenrir, rubbing the back of his head sheepishly.

"Oh, sorry Riku. Hehe...." he trailed off at the absolutely murderous look his friend was giving him.

If looks could kill....

Tell me about it.

"Ugh, whatever. Where are we?" asked Riku, leaping to his feet. Sora frowned and observed his surroundings.

The landscape was very similar to what they had just been transported from. Flat, barren and scarred by war. The area looked slightly more burned out then the previous one, with giant bombed out craters and deep furrows with dark red marks all over the surrounding area. In the distance, a large ridge could be seen, the tip of a palace like structure just poking over it. Behind the two boys was the large cliff that they had seen at their previous location, but it was much closer than it had been before and there were no holes dotting the cliff face.

"I think we got teleported to the other side of that cliff," commented Riku dryly, observing the large castle hanging precariously at the edge of the cliff. It had been on his left side before he'd been teleported; now it was on his right.

Sora didn't say anything; he was still observing the surrounding landscape with narrowed eyes.

This landscape was similar to the one that he had seen in his dream with Fawn, the only difference being that in the dream, the area Sora had seen had been in between the ridge and palace, where as now, he was in between the ridge and the cliff. The area was mostly the same though, war-torn and sad, with a few crumbling buildings here and there.

The two boys stood in silence for several long minutes, taking in the grimness of the landscape.

"We should try to get back to Kairi and the others," said Riku finally, looking up at the sky in an aloof manner. At Kairi's name, Sora immediately snapped back to attention.

"Huh? Oh, yeah, Kairi. Right. We should try to find them. Our best bet I guess would be to go to the other side of the Cliff....it'll take a long time though...."

Riku sighed. Delays. And he really didn't want to stay here any longer than he had to.

In truth, the Dark warrior was surprised. He had been expecting some sort of trap. Why suck Sora through a Dark Portal just to leave him in the middle of nowhere, with no ambush, no trap, nothing but barren wasteland? What was the point? It made no sense!

Stupid Sora, getting them sucked into such a horrible situation. Really, he could be so dumb....it was a wonder that he was allowed within five feet of a weapon as magnificent as the Keyblade...

"Riku...."

Riku turned to face his friend, face impassive. "Yes Sora?"

Sora had an odd look on his face, slightly dazed, and very confused. "I...I don't...I feel weird..." he said with a giggle.

Uh-oh, I smell a Succubus... said Roxas from within Sora's mind.

I know...ugh Roxas, it's already starting! What should I do?

Just, um, think of Kai-...oh, um, never mind. I guess that won't work anymore.

..........No....it will still work. I still love her, even...if...

Um, right. Okay, just remember, this chick is definitely not telling you something. We can't trust her.

...Okay, I'll try. Can you help me Roxas? I really need to keep a level head here, and she...

Say no more, fair Other. As I am too strong to succumb to the Succubus's dirty tactics, I shall gladly help you, who is extremely susceptible, to evade them.

.....Thank you?

As if right on cue, a dark portal opened.

Fawn stepped out.

Sora had to fight back a smile as he saw her, trying to concentrate on all his suspicions surrounding her, and the fact that Kairi, whether she loved him or not, was somewhere in this horrid land without him there to protect her. It was hard though, Fawn's intoxicating golden eyes were staring right at him, hope and triumph in her gaze. She was wearing a long sleeved black shirt that fell to her knees. The shoulders were bare and the sleeves were reinforced with some kind of leather. She was also wearing long dark gray pants made of the same kind of leather. A silver tiara sat in her mass of wild hair, looking very out of place in the black forest.

Riku tensed, his green eyes narrowing at the sight of the Princess. There was no mistaking the Dark waves floating off the girl, the cruel intent behind her seemingly genuine smile. She was a creature of Darkness, there was no mistaking it. What was Sora thinking, coming all this way to help her?

"Sora," she whispered, walking forward hesitantly. "I can't believe you came."

Sora took an eager step towards her...

Kairi!

... before stopping dead in his tracks.

"I promised I'd help you didn't I," he said gruffly, looking at his feet. Fawn seemed startled by his gruffness, and her eyes narrowed for a second, anger flashing across her face. Then, it was gone, replaced by a look of hurt.

"Y-yes, you did," she said meekly. "But...do you really want to? Because if you don't, you should leave. My people are at war, and if you aren't completely committed to help them then you'll just get in the way!" she said, her temper flaring up unexpectedly.

Sora looked like someone had stabbed him. He ran towards Fawn, not stopping until there were only a few inches between them.

"Fawn," he said seriously, "I do want to help you, so much it scares me, but you're hiding so much...there's so much you're not telling me...I want to help you, but I need to trust you first, and I can't do that if you're keeping secrets."

Riku's eyes widened in surprise. Was Sora actually being...serious? Huh. Would wonders never cease.

Fawn blinked and blushed at the close proximity with the brunette. "You're right," she said, looking away, "I have been hiding a lot. And if I want you to fight for me, I should be straight with you," the Dark Princess looked back up at Sora. "So, please come back with me to Lacio Della Luna...the Palace of the Moon. It's my home...my base of operations. I can explain everything to you there," she said, reaching up with one hand to gently touch Sora's cheek. Unconsciously, Sora leaned in to the touch, his eyes half closing as he and Fawn got closer and closer....

"AHEM."

Sora jerked backed from Fawn as Riku's loud cough startled him. Fawn blinked and turned her head towards the silver-haired warrior, looking extremely irritated.

And this is why I wanted Sora to come alone, she thought irritably, outside influences weaken my power. Of course, even if this silver-haired nuisance wasn't here, I'd still have to deal with Roxas....

"I'm sorry, Fawn, but Sora and I can't go with you just yet. You see, we have some comrades that we were separated from, and it's sort of necessary for us to find them before we do anything else. So sorry, but you'll have to wait," said Riku coldly, his green eyes smouldering as he locked gazes with the Dark Princess. Fawn was almost shaking with rage, surprised by Riku's brazen impertinence.

How...how dare he? Come here and ruin all my carefully laid out plans...damn him!

"Uh, yeah. Sorry Fawn, I know you're land's in trouble, but our friends are lost in an unfamiliar landscape. And besides, they came to help you as well! Wouldn't it be better if we were all together?" said Sora, feeling slightly sheepish that he had forgotten about his other friends, even for just a moment. Fawn looked at Sora, her lips pursed as she calculated.

This is troublesome...it took all that effort to separate them and now they're rushing back together....delays. Obviously, just separating them won't be enough. I'll have to eliminate those troublesome variables before they can mess up my plans any further. But how to do it and still retain Sora's trust...

Suddenly, Sora doubled over, clutching his chest in pain.

"Sora!" cried Riku and Fawn at the same time, shooting each other a glare as they rushed to the brunette's side.

Sora clutched his chest, eyes screwed shut.

Nnghh....Kairi!

Oh man, the girls are in serious trouble...I feel like I'm being ripped in two!

We-We've got to-got to go-to th-them!

Y-yeah, right now!

Still wincing, Sora straightened up, blinking his eyes.

"Are you alright Sora?!" demanded Fawn, her voice shrill with alarm. Riku glared at the raven-haired girl before turning back to his friend. "What happened Sora?" he asked, moving so that he was closer to his friend.

"Kairi," gasped Sora, "She's in trouble."

Fawn recoiled as if someone had slapped her and her hands curled into fists.

Kairi....she growled, another inconvenience.

"Kairi?" said Riku in surprise. "How do you know?" Sora glared at his friend, eyes like chips of ice. "I know," he growled. Riku took a step back in surprise and his eyes narrowed, but he said nothing.

Sora turned around looking to where the castle hung on the edge of the cliff precariously. There were bright flashes of light exploding in the castle and some chunks were falling of the sides.

"There," he breathed, summoning Fenrir, "We need to go there."

Fawn's eyes narrowed and she looked up at the castle.

There? How unusual....and convenient. The little bitch must have run into a member of the Dark Order. With any luck they'll kill her. I'll have to stop Sora from getting there before they do...well, that's easily done.

Fawn half-shut her eyes and lifted her hands barely, concentrating hard.

Riku whirled around as he felt a fierce Dark presence emanating from the girl. He advanced upon her angrily. "What are you doing?!" he snarled, raising Way to Dawn. Fawn's eyes snapped open and she took a startled step back. "Wh-what do you...there's something coming!" she cried, pointing behind the silver haired teenager. Riku whirled around in time to see a Shadow Wolf leaping at him, teeth bared and eyes glowing.

"Damn it!" swore Riku, whacking it away with Way to Dawn. Fawn had to conceal a smile as she put on a mask of horror. She hadn't summoned as many as she wanted to, that stupid gray-haired bimbo had stopped her, but still nine wolves were still a fair amount to deal with. Especially when they were Shadow Wolves who couldn't die by conventional means. And even better, the Light bitch wasn't here to vaporize them!

It was really hard to hold back a smile.

"Shit!" swore Sora as he slashed through two wolves, yelping in pain as a wolf slashed at his shoulder.

"Sora!" cried Fawn, running to his side.

Don't injure Sora, just keep him busy. Rip the silver one to shreds though. She commanded, sending a mental order to each of her Shadow Wolves. At the same time, she drew a dagger from its sheath on her leg and began stabbing at her own wolves beside Sora.

Riku and Sora both swore as they fought the wolves, Sora casting anxious looks towards the castle as the painful twinges in his chest continued.

Kairi....

xoxoxoxoxoxo

"AHHHHH!"

Kairi screamed as Scura Nila slashed across her back. She dropped to her knees and barely dodged Scura Kasumi as it flew at her other side. The Princess scrambled to her feet and leapt back, breathing heavily.

Myris smiled. It sure had been unexpected, meeting the Princess here. Koru had said that he had chewed her up pretty badly (in a long speech about how good her blood was) and he had been a bit surprised to see her in such good shape so soon after the battle.

Myris and Koru had been patrolling the castle, as was their duty to the Dark Lord. He was planning to move his base of operations to this castle that had been abandoned for decades, deemed to old and unfit to serve a use for the aristocratic Moon Warriors. While he was preparing for the move, Myris and Koru had been assigned to make sure the castle was clear of any unwanted people. It was their primary mission. It wasn't one of extreme importance, and Myris was often taken off of this mission to go on others, such as the (failed) raid on Destiny Islands, but guarding the castle was the thing that Myris did the most. It bothered the Dark Prince, as he knew that the Dark Lord put him here mostly to keep him out of the way. He didn't trust the former Moon Warrior completely, and likely never would.

Myris smiled as he easily blocked a Light Firaga and sent Nila ripping across Kairi's front, ripping her dress from the right hem to just under her chest. Kairi screamed and fell back, clutching her body as tears squeezed out from her eyes.

Myris sighed and retracted Scura Kasumi back into its gun form.

When Koru had sensed intruders in the castle, he had been hoping for a bit of excitement. Finding a duck, a dog, and a girl hadn't really met his expectations. Koru had been torn between wanting to finish his battle with Kairi (and her delicious blood), or getting back at the bipedal dog for sending him flying the last time they'd met. Myris hadn't particularly wanted to battle two creatures that looked like they'd walked out of a children's fairytale (even if he did have a score to settle with that damn duck, who had sent him to some desert where he'd been captured by a blue coloured floating freak who hadn't stopped talking and using magic to conjure up the most ridiculous things. He' barely escaped with his sanity intact.) and opted to battle the Princess himself, pushing her through a Dark Portal and separating her from her friends. He didn't like Princesses all the much, as the one he'd grown up with had been a disproportionate bitch.

Kairi staggered to her feet, raising Blossoming Light with shaking hands. Her hair had fallen out of her pony tail and she was covered in long slashes. She hadn't been fighting Myris long, and already was severely wounded, barely able to stand. Kairi could see how he had given Riku so much trouble; she hadn't even been able to lay a single blow on him. A few grazes with some Light Firagas, but for the most part, Myris was emerging from this battle unscathed.

"F-firaga!" stammered Kairi, firing a shot of Light-charged fire at the prince. Myris stifled another sigh and wacked it away with the Kasumi, lazily firing a shot of dark magic at the Princess. Kairi raised Blossoming Light and deflected part of the blast, but part of it hit her square in the chest. Kairi's eyes widened and her mouth opened in a soundless scream.

Kairi was a Princess of Heart, a young woman of pure Light. Extreme darkness made her wince, travelling through Corridors of Darkness made her sick, getting hit in the chest with a bullet of pure Dark Energy put her through more agony then she could possibly fathom.

Kairi fell to her knees, Blossoming Light falling to her side. She stayed in that position, eyes wide and mouth open, without moving.

Myris blinked and sighed. Really, now she was catatonic? This hadn't been as entertaining as he'd hoped. He'd have much rather faced that silver-haired fellow, the unsymmetrical one with the homicidal clones. He, at least, put up a good fight. Myris retracted Scura Nila back into its gun form and sheathed both guns within his cloak. The Prince began to walk away, still muttering about how unsatisfying the battle was.

Slowly, Kairi's eyes and mouth closed. Shaking, she picked up Blossoming Light and rose to her feet. Tears were streaming down her face and she was shaking uncontrollably, but she pointed her weapon at the retreating prince, barely able to hold it up. Her arm and hand began to glow red hot, and the Keyblade followed suit, light radiating from them. Her eyes squeezed shut, Kairi took a deep breath.

"LIGHT!"

Myris didn't have time to turn around before a powerful blast of pure Light hit him square in the back.

"AHHHHHHHHHHH!"

Myris fell to his knees, howling in pain. His back felt like it was on fire, and the flame was spreading. Pain stretching to his arms, legs, head...

The prince's entire body was enveloped in white fire, burning his arms, legs, back, front, neck and face. Myris screamed, arching his back in pain as the light ate away at his body.

Slowly, the flames died done, leaving a badly burned teenager in their wake. Myris's cloak had been all but burned away, and the back of his shirt had a large hole in it that revealed red and blistered skin. His sleeves and bandages were gone, his arms red and smoking. His neck was covered in blisters, with skin peeling away from the bottom half of his face. His pants were covered in holes, with bright red skin showing through.

The light blast had been large, hitting the walls and floor after hitting Myris. Cracks appeared all over, and an unsettling splintering sound echoed throughout the room.

The Prince gasped, and clenched his fists, before leaping to his feet, body smouldering, light coloured smoke wafting from him in waves.

Kairi collapsed onto her hands and knees, sobbing uncontrollably. In her head, Namine was crying, crying out for Roxas. Kairi didn't try to stop her. The redhead had been calling to Sora for awhile. She had felt it, felt her heart cry out to his. Was he coming? She couldn't tell through the haze of pain.

"I'll kill you! You stupid bitch!" cried Myris, Darkness rolling off his body in waves, causing Kairi to once again cry out in pain.

Myris withdrew Scura Nila and Scura Kasumi, releasing the weapons into their sword forms, the two of them radiating with Darkness as he staggered towards the Princess. Kairi took in a shaky breath and got to her feet, holding up Blossoming Light, the keyblade glowing with Light. Tears and blood continued to roll down her face, her whole body continuing to shake as she faced down the Dark Prince.

Myris raised his weapons and charged.

Biting back a scream of pain, Kairi raised her own weapon and charged.

Darkness and Light met.

BOOM.

xoxoxoxoxoxo

Donald ducked as Koru leapt at him, claws outstretched. He rolled onto his back and sent a powerful thundaga straight up, catching the wolf right through the chest. Koru howled and fell onto his side, fur smouldering.

The Lupisomra wasn't badly hurt. His long brown had been fur burnt away to blackened spikes in some places, and blood dripped from his jaws where Goofy had hit him in the face one too many times, but other than that, the wolf was relatively unscathed.

Goofy and Donald also appeared to not have many injuries, but that was only due to the large number of Curagas that the Duck had cast. In reality, the two of them were dead tired. Donald had tried to cast a Transportaga on the wolf, but Koru was fast. He dodged all of the duck's attempts, and most of his magic attacks. Magic wasn't affective in battling a creature such as Koru. He was too fast. And close combat was a bad idea, as getting anywhere near his fearsome jaws and claws was suicide. Donald and Goofy would have been dead long ago if not for the protection magic and healing that Donald kept casting.

Donald squawked as he narrowly missed Koru's claws, losing several tail feathers in the process. Goofy ran up and attempted to hit the wolf with his shield, but Koru leapt nimbly out of the way.

"So boring. I want blood! I wanna fight the Princess! She was delicious!" said the wolf with a pout, wincing as a Firaga from Donald grazed his shoulder. He looked up to where stairs led from the main hall of the castle, to an upper room, where Myris and Kairi were fighting. Myris had transported the two of them there, not wanting Koru to 'screw up' their fight.

Koru pouted again, dodging a blizzaga and ducking under Goofy's shield.

This fight was so bor-

BOOM!!

Donald, Goofy and Koru were knocked off their feet as the entire castle shook. Dark and Light energy crashed into the room from the upper floor, causing all three of the animals to cry out in pain. The walls cracked and the floor split in two. The right side of the castle began shifting to the side, where it hung precariously off the cliff. Large panels of stone began falling from the upper floor, and an entire section fell from the top, plunging through all the floors to reveal a hole that extended all the way to the top tower.

Donald squawked in horror and lifted a large chunk of rock off of Goofy. Casting a quick Curaga and helping his friend to his feet.

Nearby, Koru, was struggling to get out of a pile of rubble. Shaking mortar off of his head, he looked to the crumbling staircase in horror. "Master Myris!" he cried, running to the stairs.

"Gawrsh! What's going on! Why is the castle collapsing?" said Goofy, rubbing his head.

"I don't care why it's collapsing! We've got to get out of here!" cried Donald, secretly glad that their battle with Koru had been halted. Goofy held Donald back. "What about Miss Kairi?" he asked, looking up through the holes in the ceiling. All that could be seen was a large mass of Light, with a haze of Darkness just visible on the other side of it.

Donald hesitated, and looked at the crumbling stairs.

"I'll get Kairi."

Donald and Goofy whirled around and their eyes widened.

"Sora!" cried Goofy happily, running towards his friend for a hug.

"Kairi's up there?" asked Sora urgently, stopping the bipedal dog dead in his tracks. Goofy scratched his head sheepishly, realizing that this wasn't the time for hugs.

"Uh, yeah. She's upstairs. She was fighting that Prince, the one Riku was fighting," said Donald. Sora's eyes widened and he dashed for the crumbling stairs.

"Donald! Goofy! Get out of here! I'll get Kairi!" he cried, running for the stairs. Donald and Goofy hesitated, but then they looked at each other and nodded.

"Alright Sora! We'll be waiting outside!" cried Donald as he and Goofy ran for the exit.

Sora paused in his dash for the stairs, looking at the unstable steps grimly. The steps were on the right side of the castle and that entire section was slanted horribly, hanging apart from the rest of the castle by a momentous crack in the middle of the floor.

Sora gritted his teeth at the obstacle and then blinked as something hit his head. He looked up irritably and his eyes widened as he stared up at a very large hole, leading straight up.

xoxoxoxoxoxo

Kairi coughed as she struggled to get to her feet, fighting the waves of unconsciousness that were lapping at her mind.

Kai.....ri......

Namine's voice seemed to come from far away, echoing eerily in the Princess's mind. Kairi shuddered, staring dazedly into the mass of Darkness before her.

The Darkness was spread thin, appearing only as a wispy gray cloud. Surrounding the Darkness like a barrier was light, containing the area in a cocoon.

Though Kairi couldn't tell at the moment, most of the room had been blown away. The entire top of the castle was collapsing and the walls were all but gone. The floor was cracking and breaking away in sections, falling down into the rooms below. But Kairi didn't know any of that. The cocoon of Light and the haze of Darkness obscure her view of everything around her, and al that the Princess knew at that moment was pain.

Suddenly, Kairi felt a familiar warm feeling explode in her chest, momentarily banishing the pain and causing her to look up with hope shining in her tired blue eyes.

"Sora!" she gasped, lurching to her feet unsteadily. She staggered forward, tears of happiness flowing down her cheeks at the prospect of reuniting with her hero.

Kairi walked unsteadily forward, not paying attention to where she was going. As it were, she stepped over a hole several times, but the cocoon of Light around the room prevented her from falling through.

Sora, she thought in her mind, oh Sora, I'm so weak, I need you. I hate it, but I need you. I need you so much it hurts. Sora, Sora, I'm so sorry I need you so much. I'm so sorry that I hurt you, that I rejected you, but still I need you. I'm selfish, I'm worthless, I shouldn't be a Princess of Heart, but I need you!

Kairi's breath caught in her throat as she saw a figure ahead of her, shrouded in the Darkness.

"Sora?" she whispered, barely able to contain the joy in her voice. The figure moved forward a few steps, close enough that Kairi could see his face.

Her eyes widened in horror.

"Not quite," purred Myris, releasing Scura Nila into its whip form and sending it straight at Kairi's chest.

Kairi didn't have time to react, her brain was made sluggish by pain and fatigue and she barely registered the spiked weapon heading straight for her.

All she had time to do was close her eyes.

Kairi waited for the impact, all the time feeling the warm feeling in her chest increase.

Sora, I'm sorry, she thought sadly, I couldn't stay strong for you. I couldn't hold on for you. I was weak.

That's when she heard Myris's voice exclaim in absolute fury:

"Oh, F**K"

Kairi's eyes flew open.

She screamed.

In front of her was the point of Scura Nila, with one spike visible and mere inches away from the Princess.

The rest of the weapon was buried inside Sora.

The Keyblade Master let out a gurgle as blood bubbled up inside his mouth. He fell to the side, not reaching the floor as he was propped up by the blades of Scura Nila that were protruding from the left side of his body. The blades slid across the blood soaked floor and Sora hit the ground with a thump and a moan.

Kairi looked at the brunette in horror, barely registering what she was seeing. In her mind, Namine was screaming and screaming and screaming out to Roxas, begging for a response. All the Nobody got was a blurred message of pure agony.

Still cursing, Myris pulled on Nila's chain yanking the spiked weapon at of Sora's body in a gruesome spray of blood and gore. Sora's pupils dilated and his mouth opened to scream, only to have the sound stopped by the blood that came bubbling out of his throat, filling his mouth and spilling down his chin/

Kairi continued to stare at Sora, watching blood pool out from his ruined chest and the light in his cerulean eyes flicker and dim. The Princess fell to her knees, shaking uncontrollably and breathing rapidly as she began to go into shock.

"No..." she whispered in horror. "No, no, no..."

Myris looked at the fallen teenager in horror, cursing the boy's bad timing. Really, WHAT THE F**K. He had just sprang up from below the cursed floor of light right into the path of Nila. He'd popped out of nowhere! How was Myris supposed to...how could he have....

The Dark Prince ground his teeth together.

The fact remained; he had mortally injured the Unlocker, a being that was of extreme importance to the Night Order.

He was going to pay hell for this.

Still cursing under his breath, Myris began stumbling away from the redhead and the brunette, his feet burning as he walked on the floor of Light, searching for an exit to the crumbling castle. Concentrating his dark energy, he sank through the barrier of light to the area below.

A large rumbling sound filled the area as the castle continued to fall apart. Kairi overbalanced and fell away from Sora as the castle shook and shifted to the right. Kairi expected to hit the ground as she toppled over, but to her horror, she fell right through.

Myris's Darkness had infected all of the Light, and the cocoon had weakened to the point where it could no longer support Kairi's weight. The Princess fell through a hole in the floor, looking up with wide, disbelieving eyes.

"SORAAAAAA!"

Tears flowed from Kairi's eyes, flying away as she fell. One hand reached up, reaching for the boy she had finally realized she loved....

"Kairi?! What happened? What's wrong? Where's Sora?" Kairi blinked, looking up dazedly. She was no longer falling, she hadn't even realized it. All she could hear was a roaring sound in her ears, and the sickening wet sound that she had heard when Myris's weapon had pierced her hero.....

"No! Nooo! Stop it! STOP IT!!!" screamed Kairi, thrashing about wildly with her palms pressed firmly to her ears.

"Kairi! Kairi what's wrong? Snap out of it dammit! You're hurting me!"

Kairi stopped thrashing about, looking up with tear blurred eyes. For the first time, she realized that she was not on the floor, but being held in someone's tan, muscular arms.

"Riku?" she whispered, pale blue eyes wide. The silver-haired warrior looked down at her concern plastered on his face.

"You fell from upstairs Kairi. What happened to you? You look...and where's Sora? He ran ahead to help you....left me to fight off all those wolves by myself might I add..."

"Sora!" cried Kairi hoarsely, clawing at Riku desperately. "You need....need to help Sora! Need to....need to...help....please, please save Sora....save my Sora...." she sobbed, looking up at her friend with pleading eyes before she finally succumbed to the dark abyss of unconsciousness.

Riku blinked and then grimaced and slowly lay Kairi on the ground. He cast a strong Reflega around her, wincing as he heard her whimper in pain at the contact with his Darkness infused magic. He then summoned a Dark Portal and gently pushed her through, confident that she'd be safe with Donald and Goofy for now, even if the Dark Bitch was with them.

Riku watched as the portal dissipated, slightly concerned that his ability to summon them had reappeared. He quickly dismissed the worry. It was probably the dark nature of Del Perso that strengthened his Dark powers. As soon as they left, he wouldn't be able to summon them anymore.

Riku shook his head and looked up to where Kairi had fallen from, sighing.

Oh Sora, what the hell have you gotten yourself into now?

xoxoxoxoxoxo

To say Fawn was pissed would be an understatement.

Her carefully laid out plans were slowly unravelling. First, Sora had disappeared, using an unfamiliar spell to disappear right under her nose. Then, she'd been forced to dispel her Shadow Wolves so that she could pursue him as quickly as possible. Then, after travelling on foot for a few minutes, Fawn had lost her patience and created a Corridor of Darkness. She had not-so-subtly left Riku behind, and had had the shock of her life when he created his own Corridor of Darkness and appeared beside her. These events, of course, had made Riku even more suspicious of her, and as a result, when they had finally reached the castle and met up with Donald and Goofy, he had 'suggested' that Fawn stay outside to discuss the position of Del Perso with the King's lieutenants. Fawn had vehemently refused, saying that she wanted to go and help Sora. Riku had coldly said that Sora didn't need her help, and that it was Kairi they were going in after. Fawn would just get in the way.

Riku had then left, leaving Fawn behind. The Dark Princess had tried to go after him, but had found her way barred by the irritating duck and moronic dog. Less than a minute later, Kairi had appeared through a Corridor of Darkness, grievously wounded. That was when Fawn got a really bad feeling and had turned to run into the crumbling castle after her Unlocker.

Then, the most unfortunate thing ever had happened.

Koru had stumbled out, limping profusely and whining for Myris. The wolf had caught their scent and run at them, intent on sinking his fangs into Kairi's 'delicious smelling blood' once more.

Goofy and Donald had immediately leapt into battle to defend the Princess of Heart and Fawn had tried to sneak away during the confusion, only to see something that stopped her dead in her tracks.

Myris, hobbling away from the castle as fast as he could, his screwed up in pain and anger. He looked so fearsome, with his clothes burnt away, skin scorched, and an absolutely murderous look on his face that Fawn's old fear of her twin resurfaced , freezing her on the spot. Fawn had stood frozen for over a minute, but she had finally come to her senses and was running towards the castle once again, cursing her brother over and over.

That's when the castle had exploded.

The walls near the top blew out, debris flying outward, perilously close to those assembled. The castle split in half, the left side collapsing in on itself, while the right side, fell off the side of the cliff in a magnificent slide of stone. A chunk of the cliff fell with the castle, sending shockwaves throughout the entire area.

Fawn, Donald, Goofy, and Koru were all knocked off their feet and Kairi let out a little cry, clutching her chest in her unconsciousness. A large sound, a deafening thunderclap, pervaded the area as the mass of falling rubble hit the ground. Everyone clapped their hands to their ears, the large sound excruciatingly painful at such a close proximity.

The crashes continued, shaking the ground, the cliff, and sounding thunderous and torturous to the ears of those nearby.

Then, finally it ended.

Fawn removed her hands from her ears and looked about. The entire area was encompassed in a haze, brought up by the large cloud of dust and dirt that had exploded upwards when the tons of stone had broken away and hit the ground. Everything was misty, and the Dark Princess couldn't help but cough as each breath brought a copious of amount of silt into her lungs.

"Gawrsh, what was that?"

"I dunno! Kairi, are you okay?"

"She's still out, but I don't think she's gotten any more hurt."

"Hey! Where'd that gosh darn wolf go?"

"Oh! He disappeared! Maybe that loud noise scared him away, hyuck!"

Fawn pressed her hands to her temples and tried to quell her growing anger.

Everything was going wrong. Sora had disappeared, and the castle he had collapsed. Fawn didn't think the fabled Keybearer was someone who could be killed so easily, but still, she was uneasy. And Myris had been there...never a good sign....

"Hey! Someone's walking towards us!"

"Is it Sora? Sora! Sora, over here!" Donald waved the figure shrouded in the haze of dust over, flapping his wings excitedly.

Riku appeared before the group, clothes torn and dirty, green eyes blurred with tears.

Fawn's eyes narrowed and she took a step forward. "Where's Sora," she growled, golden eyes flashing with impatience.

Riku swallowed, tears rolling down his cheeks.

"He-Sora's.....he's dead."

I think this is one of the most important chapters in the story, and I think it really deserves a review. Because it's like, climactic, and kind of crazy. And, c'mon. I gotta hear what you guys think about the ending. So please, REVIEW.

Next chapter will be up tomorrow, probably. Unless no one reviews. I don't usually do this, but I want at least one review before I post it.

xoxo, natcat5 ;p