To his left and his right, Sora saw all of Main Street had been completely dipped into shadow. Within this large shadow were dozens of little creatures with yellow eyes scurrying about. Within this shadow were dozens of little scurrying creatures, all of which looked as though they were ready to tear apart his flesh and use his bones for toothpicks if given the chance.

Sora looked out at them with reprehension. He was much too calm now to be in straight-out frantics, now had time to ponder over the rest of the world. Once these things got out of Disneyland, what would happen then? Would they spread well beyond Japan? Maybe even take over the United States? China? And if they went from one nation to another, would there be anyway of stopping them?

He was never the type to jump ahead to end of the world conspiracies, but now here he was. Pondering if the end of the world was upon him and if he seriously needed to reconsider those Christian protesters outside of Comicket.

After seeing what they had done to a place that had once been so childish and carefree, he knew perfectly well that they were able to take out huge masses of people without much effort at all. If said people were to have guns, would it even matter? Would they be sucked away into the blackness regardless?

One of his new least favorite sights was that of the Mickey Mouse Theatre, where guests could run into to see the old Mickey Mouse cartoons on display. Now there were huge dark spires sticking out of what was once a bright and colorful structure. The Mickey Mouse of the illustration had been replaced with one of the creatures from the street. Sora briefly wondered how such a thing could occur. How they could actually manipulate scenery around them and not merely destroy.

The whole of Main Street, the path to a kingdom of synthetic magic and enchantment, had now transformed into a place of gothic horror. If it weren't for the threat of impending doom, he might have thought it was the most awesome things he had ever seen. If it were something some artist did on the Internet representing 'The Death of Disney', he would have likely favorited their work and left glowing comments.

None of it felt real, but yet he would have to cope with it. There went his childhood. Dead as a doornail.

It was a miracle that his girlfriend was not.

He looked up, briefly, at his two protectors. Their eyes were closed as their hands were clasped around each other, and from their blade wielding hands were clasped their weapons of choice. From these blades an energy poured out into the shield, becoming stronger and stronger with every inch they progressed.

Sora was wrapped within a bubble of pure kinetic green. Now they were floating down the middle of a place he had once called his place of work, towards a future that he knew nothing about.

His two heroes looked absolutely nothing like he or Kairi. They looked like the kinds of heroes that would leap around and show off their perfect hair in the pages of a comic book. The sort of thing that shouldn't exist in reality because no people that perfect should ever be allowed to live. The man in front of him displayed stylishly disshelved hair that looked as though it stuck out in every direction imaginable, but yet was the sort of things girls would sigh and swoon over. It flipped the bird to gravity, completely defying all laws of physics. Sora noted that it was the sort of thing most girls would probably go weak in the knees over. He would have to ask Kairi once she came to.

If she came to.

And if she did, he wasn't likely to tell her just how stunningly hot he thought his current heroine was. She looked as though she was in her early thirties, her figure was simply to die for her. And her red waist length hair was perfectly manicured, unlike Kairi's short black hair. Not to mention that her anatomy seemed, much like the man's hair, against everything he knew about reality.

And yet, despite seeming to be created from the dreams and wishes of otaku nationwide, they were now the defenders of his and Kairi's life.

His heart ached as he was brought back down to the girl that laid in his arms, her eyes completely closed. She felt cold, like her blood had frozen up in her veins.

Just moment's ago, Sora had poured his heart out to her. Telling her all of the things that he had wished he could have told her before. Of course, he would have never gotten around to it if it wasn't for the fact that she was dying, but this didn't make it any less genuine. Because now, an important friend that he hoped would become an important lover was slipping away from him.

And he was completely powerless to stop it.

It was at this moment that he realized how fragile they both looked within this scenario. When cartoon meets reality, normal people begin to resemble ants underneath a magnifying glass. There was no way that he would ever measure up to the sheer power and confidence which his rescuers demonstrated, nor would Kairi ever compare to the sheer beauty and calm which this new mysterious woman displayed.

"We are getting close to our ship," the woman spoke. Not even opening her eyes for a single moment. She was completely in her own zone. "Will that help?" Sora asked.

"It is better than nothing," she replied. "Look at her closely. Do you see any signs of corruption."

"Corruption?"

"Little signs. Like black veins. Scaling of the skin."

Sora scanned her quickly. "I don't see anything."

The woman smiled from ear to ear. "She is pure." The statement ringed like bells, tickling at his heart.

Sora decided that there would be no more questions. They took a right up to the Tomorrowland area. Where Main Street was a glorified version of 1950's America in its prime, Tomorrowland was a representation of what humanity hoped to achieve someday. Sora always felt like there was something a little bit off about its representation of what tomorrow had instore. It looked more like a sanitized G-rated 'NO SMOKING' version of the city from Blade Runner to him. There was hardly a sharp edge, and the technology which the attractions displayed was nothing more than eye candy without any actual roots in science, all the way down to there being a Star Wars themed ride in the form of Star Tours.

Which was, ironically, also one of Sora's favorites.

As they moved underneath the archway which separated Tomorrowland from the other themed areas, one thing struck Sora as significantly odd. Absolutely nothing was affected the same way it had been in Main Street. There was not a touch of goth anywhere, and the creepy monsters were nowhere in sight. It was almost as though Tomorrowland was some sort of safe zone which couldn't be touched.

They floated into the world of neon lights and bright flashing colors. Of pop culture inspired space vehicles and Mickey Mouse infused 'innoventions'.

(Which was actually a mash-up of the words 'innovate' and 'invention'. Sora thought this was the stupidest phrase he had ever heard.)

"It may look fine up ahead," the woman opened her eyes. "But remember, they are still on our tail."

Sora looked behind him, and low and behold she hadn't been telling a fib. In fact, all of the forces which he had found so haunting before were now all amassed mere feet away from their protective bubble. "It's almost as though they're waiting for an opportunity," Sora said.
"Bingo," the man answered. "Once we show even the slightest sign of tiring out, they can break in and completely trample us. But as long as we stay confident and have faith in each other, there is no way that could happen!"

He sounded like a Saturday morning superhero. Someone who was going to spout the meaning of friendship and how you can overcome anything if you just believe hard enough.

Which, in Sora's occasionally twisted mind, immediately made him think of Hiroshima. Being friends with the Nazis and trying to be an all-mighty Empire by 'believing enough' sure didn't work out for Japan back in the day. The world wasn't that black and white. You just can't believe in something enough and everything comes up roses and candy canes.

Or at least, that's what Sora had believed.

The woman shook her head, not seeming to be embarrassed or even turned off from her partners blatant display of optimism. "If you really want to protect her, you can't be weak," she followed up. "It is as simple as that." Somehow, when she said it, it seemed less cheesy. It was less Flash Gordon and more Sailor Moon.

Sora preferred the latter.

"What am I supposed to do?" Sora was sure just as soon as the shield came down, he was going to become a quivering mess. Almost every nerve in his body was going to want to run towards the hills where the things that wanted to suck out his soul couldn't get him.

"Have courage and faith," the woman said. "If you have that, all the rest will follow."

The man grinned. "Sorry, we're kind of just positive people."

"It's easy when you're being protected."

"You can say that again, Kairi."

He caught it again. They were saying it again. Why the hell?

"Why are you using our names like that, anyways?" Sora couldn't help but look just a little bit baffled, with his eyebrows furrowed in pseudo-concentration. "It just doesn't make any sense."

They both breathed in and out in unison. It creeped him out. "We are from another world," the woman responded without looking behind her. "A world very different from this one. But on that world, we were you. A version of you. It's… complicated."

"So you are like from…" Sora tried to wrap his mind around the concept. "From another dimension or something?"

"You could say that," the man gulped. He was clearly made uncomfortable by the change in the conversation. "We were born on a little island when we were teenagers. But the Heartless ripped us away from that world. And that's why we have sworn ourselves to protecting other places in similar plights."

Heartless? Other worlds? World destruction? His theories about the world ending weren't as crazy as he had thought. Pretty soon, the whole of Earth was going to collapse in on itself. He could feel it.

"We will go into specifics later," the woman closed her eyes again. "For now, watch her. Channel everything you have left into her."

The bubble stopped in front of the entrance of the Star Wars attraction, which had been cleverly titled Star Tours. The reason why the ride had quickly become a favorite with Sora was that it took the rider well beyond the gates of Disneyland and into the uncharted star systems of his favorite movie universe.

He knew by the age of six that it was all just a motion simulator synced with a gimmicky first-person film, but it didn't diminish that feeling of being somewhere else. Everytime he exited the ride vehicle, he had always wished that he would actually end up on the Forest Moon of Endor. That he wouldn't be stuck on the planet Earth anymore, and he could sing the 'Nub Nub' song with the Ewoks.

The rampaging terror behind him didn't take away from seeing the space station waiting que for the last time. He could remember being intimidated by it from the outside. As a child, it really did look as though you were entering some sort of intergalactic space agency and they were going to shoot you out into the cosmos. It was all illusion, but it was a powerful one. It was a fantasy that he liked to revisit over and over again.

He remembered how hot the line was as it cris-crossed for what seemed to be forever outside of the show building. But once inside, it was all air-conditioned magic. He was greeted by his good friends C3-PO and R2-D2, which made him happier than anything had before.

He was so thankful that they were real. That he could visit them anytime he wanted to as long as he willing to wait in line all over again.

Luckily, the power wasn't out, and it looked exactly as he always remembered it.

"Sora!" A squawking voice broke Sora's daydreaming. "Hey Sora! Do you copy!" He knew that voice. But it couldn't be who he thought it was. Could it?
The man reached into his pocket and revealed a small walkie-talkie like device. It was yellow and blue, which Sora didn't think was terribly appropriate for someone on a mission. It was like carrying around a giant target next to your ear. "We're here in front of the ride. But the Heartless are coming up behind us. We don't have much time."

There was much screaming and screeching from the other side of the radio, and the man frowned. It didn't sound good. "We have a giant one right on us! Sora, we're gonna have to crash!"

"Copy. Be careful!"

"Can't afford to be!"

All of the static and yelling stopped as the first in the horde of shadowy creatures came running up to the shield. With its claw, it attempted to make its way inside.

Sora could scarcely believe that the creatures had already covered everything behind him. He grasped Kairi's shoulders tightly, bringing her close to him. "When your world was destroyed…" He tried to think of anything that would be able to distract him. "Was it like this?"

"No," the man shook his head as he turned his back to the ride. "This is worse." It was the most morose Sora had seen him all throughout the night. He thought something about the radio conversation must have turned him sour.

The woman pulled out her blade and brandished it like a warrior prepared to battle. Bringing it close to her face and pointing it. "But there is a lot more of us now then there was then," her voice seemed less stressed than his. Like she had run this scenario through. "No worries. Donald will pull through. We just have to survive until then."

They were finally in front of the shield, throwing themselves towards it one after another. At first, they were shocked backwards from the electric energy of the shield. But then, the group parted.

"Uh-oh," Sora breathed. "The big bad?"

"How did you guess?" The man groaned and brandished his own blade.

From the part in the crowd, there appeared a figure of immense size and weight. Every step it took seemed to make the ground from underneath the shield shake. It wore armor that could only be described as rotten black ivory, which covered it from head to toe. Sora was certain the only thing that could be seen of his true physical being were his blood red eyes which cut through the night like sirens.

With one swipe of its log sized arm, the only thing protecting Sora from the outside world collapsed. The skittering noises of the crowd were deafening.

His feet were slammed against the ground, while Kairi who still rested in his arm was still in a deep state of sleep.

"It's down!" the man cried as he gripped down on his blade.

The woman walked beside Sora as he began to tremble. The reality of his situation had shot through his ears and down into his soul. He was powerless among a sea of things far eviler than any storybook villans. They were the real thing.

If he were to write a dictionary, they would be right next to the definition of 'pissed-my-pants-scary'.

The woman's hand rested on his shoulder. He was surprised that they had not struck yet. That they seemed to wait for his heroes to make the first move. "No matter what happens, you must stay with her. She'll look after you."

He watched his two protectors step forward into the darkness, which had become more and more menacing by the second. They strode side by side, beacons of order within the chaos.

The creatures squealed forward with such ferocity that it took everything Sora had to keep his hands on Kairi and not use them as giant ear-muffs. As he watched, they rushed the two heroes one after another, but everytime their efforts were met with the end of a keysword.

Sora gazed like a child watching a matinee serial. Completely riveted, but yet disconnected. All attentions seemed to be pointed towards the action, and he and his girlfriend were managing to be on the sidelines without so much as another scratch. A small bubble had been cast upon them, but Sora had neither seen when or where it had been cast.

Then, something happened which reminded him of why he didn't believe in only the power of friendship.

Regardless of how much confidence they had walking in, and how gallantly they had fought the first few waves of creatures, they were now at a disadvantage. The Heartless, as he had learned their names were, had taken to a new tactic. Jumping over their heads, and knocking them down to the ground. Once this had proven to be effective, what were before two heroes who seemed capable of doing anything, now looked as defenseless as he and Kairi.

The shadows swarmed over them. They scratched and kicked and punched, making a sport of them.

There was no more snappy dialogue. No more banter that was telling him that everything was going to be alright. What was happening now was all too real. But no matter what he thought in his mind, he could not do a thing. He had nothing that he could fight back with. And he just sat in the corner quietly as he held Kairi in his arms, the darkness swallowing what hope he had left.

"You can't have her!" He screamed helplessly, his voice cracking. "She's the only perfect person I know!"

With this outcry, they turned to face him. He knew what was coming next. They were going to do what had been done to the others. If they were merciful, he would just get sucked up into nothingness. If they were going to have their fun, he was likely to have the skin peeled from his flesh.

They scratched at his shield and bellowed like possessed roaches. There was nothing left for him to do.

"She hadn't seen Roger Rabbit, dammnit!" It was the most childish final words he could have ever thought of. A childish end to a childish life.

Her eyes opened.

Sora would have cheered with happiness. He would have taken her completely in his arms if he wasn't so certain that they were soon to die. Instead, he merely gaped as she laid in his arms, not able to say much of anything.

She stood up without even so much of an acknowledgement, her eyes focused only on the hordes in front of her. While Sora continued to quiver with the fear which his current predicament had bestowed, she seemed as though she was rising above the fear which her adversaries spread.

Sora was reminded, though it was hardly the time to be thinking of such things, of a lyric from a song. 'Very different from the rest of us is Belle.'

She leapt out of the shield, and began swinging her newly acquired blade from left to right in broad strokes. He reached out to her, but he was not able to move. He wished he could help her, but as five creatures managed to burst his bubble, the sounds brought him back down to a quivering mess.

All that he could think about was Kairi.

"Sora," she whimpered. The sound of her voice was in complete contrast to her actions. "I don't know what's going on? Where are we? What are these things?!"

"T-There's…" This was it. He could feel himself rising up. For her sake. "…There are two people out there! They saved you, they saved me! They're buried!"

She looked out into the sea of dark bodies, her eyes squinting in concentration. "I can see them."

"How can yo-"

She began to walk forward. "They're dying." She slashed to both sides of her, walking within the ocean of darkness. Somehow, and Sora could not explain this nor justify it with his own eyes, the creatures were bouncing off of her as if from an invisible force.

His Kairi had suddenly become the same breed of Saturdary morning superhero as the others.

Right as they had discovered that there was a vulnerable young man in their midst, those which had skidded off of Kairi began to swarm towards him. Their yellow teeth bared, ready for his tender flesh. Sora flung his arms outwards, shielding himself from the sight.

"Protect him!" Kairi screamed, and the bubble which had been burst came roaring back to life. Kairi's eyes were on him, and yet her blade slashed at the crowds around her. Sora could scarcely believe it.

'She's a total badass!'

If he were to die at that moment, he would have died with a random rush of geeky delirium. Being able to kill as many of these creatures as she was while keeping both of her feet firmly placed on the ground was beyond impressive.

"Wipe away!" She cried out into the sky.

The clouds began to swirl, and Sora felt a sharp chill. A wind strong enough to be associated with a historical storm swept by them. Kairi kept her balance, unaffected by the strength of her own spell. The same could not be said for the Heartless, which were blown away like so much rubbish.

The bodies of their saviors which had once been obscured by the Heartless were now clear as day. Their eyes remained open, and their bodies were still in working order despite two large wounds on the man's abdomen. He bled profusely, as the ground beneath him turned a dark red.

"Oh thank god," the woman breathed as she attempted to get her footing. She wobbled awkwardly. "Thank god, thank god, thank god."

There was a bellowing growl as the forces began to remass themselves. Kairi ran forward, attempting to pull the man back up to his feet. But he seemed to be knocked completely unconscious. The woman's knuckles were white as she gripped down on her blade, still not seeming to find her balance.

"We're crashing!" A familiar voice came through the radio. "We're going down!"

From above them, a ship became uncloaked and shimmered within the moonlight.

Sora was briefly distracted by the ship as it had suddenly emerged from the sky. It had reminded him of another one of his great loves. The feeling of unconditional admiration he had for a certain television program known as Star Trek. And right in front of him, was a ship he was certain could take on the Enterprise in a battle. Its wings were large enough to have swiped through all of Main Street all on their own, and though it had an unorthodox color scheme that reminded Sora of Lego blocks that had been randomly glued together, it was still an impressive sight to behold.

And he was able to bear witness as it became a smoldering wreck right on top of another of his childhood admirations. In the blink of an eye, the ship went from being in the sky to smashing right down into Star Tours.

Sora imagined the twisted and charred remains of C3-PO and R2-D2 within the rubble, crying out for anyone within ear shout, and then going silent with their programming.

No more rides to the Forest Moon of Endor.

"Get in the ship," the woman commanded. "Now!"

It wasn't too hard to get to the thing. It was about as large as the building which it had destroyed. As Sora approached, he noticed that his bubble of protection was still around him. This filled him with a little more confidence as he began to run. Once again, he had become nearly invisible to their attackers. Now that the two girls were in control, he could slip by and find himself a nice place to hide.

As he approached the ship, not properly able to bask in its glory, a ramp popped open underneath its nose. Running up the ramp, Sora didn't stop to turn towards the fight in progress. He could only imagine Kairi and other Kairi fighting side by side, their man melting beauty and strength sparking all around the unconscious form of another him that looked nothing like him.

Sora briefly thought of the most terrible thing that could possibly happen. That right after Kairi had become a 'total hottie badass' (which was the best way his vocabulary could wrap around her sudden transformation), he would lose her all over again. She would just become swallowed up like before, and this time she wouldn't swim back up. She would be drowning along with the others, and he would be the only one left.
But if he did help, he would just get in the way.

The ramp closed behind him. Between the two of them, he realized that his Kairi had the strongest spirit. He was just a coward trying to pass off being a nice person. Just like everyone else he ever knew.

Except for her.

Sora felt the ship lift off. His guilt-ridden mind wasn't able to appreciate the colorful red and blue hallway with the green railing. Nor the yellow lights which was just a topping on the whole cavity-inducing cake.

He was only rocked back to reality when the ship suddenly lurched to the right, and his chest slammed into the railing. He cried out in pain as he pulled himself up. His stomach was disagreeing with him.

"Come into the cockpit, quick! Third door on the right!" The ship lurched down suddenly, but Sora was able to keep himself steady with the rail. His stomach was not fairing as well.

The yellow lights suddenly went out, and Sora couldn't make his left from his right. "Move forward and listen to the sound of my voice." Sora pulled himself along, waiting for the familiar voice in the intercom to tell him otherwise. "Good, now step through the door on your right." He did so, and the door opened automatically with a 'pssssh'.

The lights in this room were still operational, revealing perhaps the strangest thing that Sora had ever seen. Even more strange than seeing his workplace destroyed in a single evening.

Inside of this command bay were two of his favorite animals in the whole world.

On the chair in the middle, which Sora assumed was the captain's chair, was none other than a duck. A cartoonish duck who existed in bright colors that almost looked like celluloid. Large eyes that would be impossible in the real world, and a range of expression that would make any child under the age of eight giggle with glee.

"Goofy, there's another one on us! Quick, before it eats the engine!" The squawking gravely voice. The way in which he pounded his fist against the arm of his chair. There was no way that it could have happened, but yet it did.

Sora was looking at Donald Duck, complete with short-temper and all the quirky expressions he had come to know from hours of watching cartoons instead of doing homework.

To the duck's right was none other than Goofy, an anthropomorphic dog. Though Sora had never quite seen much of a dog-like resemblance in him, it was what all of his friends in school had told him, and so he rolled with it. And now, this cartoon dog was sitting in a comfy chair that looked as though it would fit in Buck Roger's living room, staring at a holographic monitor which flickered in and out of vision with every bump of the ship. His hands shook as he moved a steering wheel which, from the indications shown on the monitor, was to control the direction of the ships guns and not the direction the ship was actually taking.

The display in front of Donald showed the menace which they were firing at. A giant black bat-like creature with talons that could tear through the hull of the ship like cardboard.

Sora barely noticed it. He was still in shock that he was flying in a ship piloted by Donald Duck and Goofy. They had men in thick mascot costumes dressed up like them in the park all of the time. They were two of Disney's biggest cartoon stars. He would have never thought that they could actually exist.

There was no way they could be real. There was no way they could have crashed into the Star Wars ride.

His Star Wars ride. He would never see it again.

X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X

"I don't have any magic left," the woman spoke as she continued to slash into the mob. She was beginning to hunch over like she was preparing to meet the pavement with exhaustion. "Do you know how to heal?"

Kairi's heart was hammering away in her chest as she slashed and hacked away at the creatures that were around. She felt different than she had before, and somehow this terrified her more than anything. Suddenly there was a self-assurance in her ability that had not existed before. She didn't know how to use a sword. Even though she could beat Sora to a pulp any day of the week, she was almost certain that if she were to meet someone like Jet Lee, she would no doubt lost with quite a bit of smarts.

And yet, here she was. She had now become an elite.

"HEAL!" She cried as a green mist surrounded them. And now, Kairi herself felt an air of exhaustion. Like a giant weight had been dropped right on her back.

"Careful," the woman told her. "If you use up that much magic, you'll end up like me. Barely able to keep your back straight." She rammed her blade through three of the creatures at once. "He's still not moving. Bring your blade close to mine."

They lifted both of their blades up at the same time as the woman cried out into the sky "PROTECT!" Instead of wrapping around them, the shell crackled and popped around the man, leaving them both exposed to the hordes around them.

For a moment, Kairi let the sudden surprise of the spell take over her. "Excuse me? I have my own life to save!" Though her cohort looked worn down, she couldn't contain it. "You don't zap my energy and do whatever you want with it! I have someone I need to look after too!"

"He's safe now. Mine isn't." She braced herself like a shield in front of her lover, her blade twirling about like a dancer on a stage. "When you get the chance, you can run."

She had never seen someone become this protective before. She didn't even think that she could be so protective of Sora.

Or at least, she had almost been sure of that. As much as she cared for him, she had never realized the extent until she had been swept from her princess float and had been dragged down with the Heartless.

After that, she could not remember what had happened. But after she had awoken, all she could think about was Sora. Somehow, their connection had deepened. It was stronger than it was before.

What she saw in front of her was a woman who would put her life on the line for her loved one. This was something she had never thought herself strong enough to do. Even if this woman turned into a crippled ripped-up quivering mess, she would still try and carry her man out of the nightmare they both found themselves.

They were a dynamic couple, and Kairi could feel the love that they had for each other wash over her surroundings. It was strange, where even in a life or death situation, this woman could find some sort of power in protecting the one she cared about the most.

She had never met anyone like her.

Rage turned to love, and Kairi's resolve turned.

The battle waged for what felt like an eternity, but what was truthfully only a minute. The two keyblade wielders protecting the fallen while one by one the creatures attempted to break through his shield.

Kairi had seen it waver once or twice while the Heartless pounced, but she blocked it from her mind. If she were to start thinking negatively again, she might end up losing everything for this woman.

Even while their energy had been completely zapped, and Kairi's muscles screamed through her arms, she fought the good fight. She was risking her life for someone else. Someone she barely even knew.

But she knew what she was feeling. She understood her pain. Kairi had almost lost everything, and she wouldn't wish that on anyone.
Finally, the ship swooped down as the remains of a great beast came crashing down on the already flattened tomb of Star Tours. Its ramp opened as the ship hovered mere inches from the ground. "We're clear," came the squawking voice. "Get inside, before they come back!"

The next few moments happened as though on fastforward. The shield broke, and the Heartless swarmed all around the motionless body of the person she swore to protect. For her rescuer's sake, she swore that she would protect him.

Now she knew that she had no strength left.

"Kairi!" She knew that voice. Her heart leapt at it. Sora was on the ship, and he was calling to her. "Kairi, come on!"

"Leave!" The woman ordered as she attempted to pry the creatures from his body. "This is my fight. Go with your own!" Kairi cold swear that there were tears in her eyes. "GO!"

She remembered what it felt like to be completely hopeless. To have absolutely nothing else in which you were good at. To take your place as a pretty figure-head for some company, and then suddenly have her life almost snuffed out without a warning.

If it weren't for the two of them, she wouldn't even be alive. She would have been just another number to add to the body count of The Great Main Street Massacre.

And, as quickly as the shield had shattered, the woman was ripped back to the ground. No matter how hard she fought, she was stuck to the pavement like a mouse caught in a trap. She was going to die next to her partner, fighting till her last breath.

She was going to die unless someone stepped up.

"Cover me!" Kairi called out as she mustered everything she had left. With little bit of reserve energy that she had, she swung into anyone who would do her heroes harm.

"You're nuts! You can't just work your way all the way through all of that. It will snatch you up an-"

She phased Sora out as she continued to hack her way through. She felt as though she were at the very breaking point. Like every cell in her body might just explode if she pushed herself any further. And yet, every time she pushed further, she found her threshold wasn't as low as she had imagined. That with every moment she felt weaker, she was actually growing stronger.

Kairi refused to be deterred. Not by death. Not by anything.

She breathed heavy with each swing. She looked down at her feet to see if there was anything left of them. Anything left of her saviors. Any sign at all that they hadn't been completely devoured.

A beam of blue light came from the ship in the sky. "Donald Duck to Heartless! Three laser cannon sundaes coming right up!" She did not hear him. All she did was hack.

Hack and slash. Hack and slash. Hack and slash. Hack and slash.

The ache was growing in her fore arms. Her legs felt like they were close to snapping. This was it.

Then suddenly, she saw it. A leg! The woman's leg. "YES!"

"Fire everything we've got, Goofy!" Two blue beams and one dark red beam shot down into the horde, loosening them up enough to reveal enough of the woman's lower body for Kairi to pull her out.

Though it seemed truly crazy, she grabbed both legs up to her chest and tugged as hard as she could. There was no budging. She heaved again, and still nothing.

"Use your sword!"

This time it was Sora. And this time, she heard him loud and clear.

She slashed where the rest of the woman's body would have been, cutting her lose from the now weakened mob. She fell to the pavement in front of her, eyes wide open. "S-Sora," she coughed. "Please, I have to get him. I have to save him."

Kairi looked back out. The creatures were beginning to remobilize. While moments ago they were docile, they were now squirming with violent jerks.

"Get on!" Donald's voice roared over the commotion. "If we don't leave now, we never will!"

She nodded, and made her way towards the ramp. If she just got her up, they would be fine. If he was able to save her, her efforts would not have been in vain.

Kairi dragged her towards the ramp, seeing the life completely leave her eyes. Though she was conscious, she was no longer feeling. Everything which Kairi had idolized was gone.

She had just lost everything in her world. For that moment, she was nothing. She had become hollow. "I can't…" she heard her moan. "I won't!" She squirmed out of Kairi's grip and began crawling back to the horde with her blade in hand. "I have to go back…"

She should have known that she wouldn't be able to drag her conscious. It was a stupid idea from the very beginning. One of the very worst that she had ever had. She had seen the passion which had burned in the woman's eyes, and she knew very well that she would put herself through hell before giving up.

Kairi could feel the seconds slip by her. As much as she didn't want anybody to be left behind, she knew perfectly well what the consequences of not meeting a deadline were. If she didn't start making her way back now, she could be putting more lives in danger than just merely her own.

She would be putting Sora's life on the line.

And she knew perfectly well that it was never a good idea to bring more bodies to the bon-fire. And so, without another moment of hesitation, she brought the butt end of her blade down on the other Kairi's head, and heaved her onto the ramp.

She didn't have time to explain this to the voices in the sky. It was the only way. And even though she was straining to pull her back to the ship, even dragging her up the ramp, it was better than her not going back to the ship at all. To die on the ground, all of her strength and goodwill gone to complete waste.

"We're good to good," Donald squealed. "Prepare for warp!" All of the lights on the outside of the ship had gone out, and with one final heave, Kairi managed to get herself and the woman inside.

Then came the sweetest voice she had ever heard.

"You can be so stupid sometimes!" Sora came scrambling up to her, wrapping her in a potentially rib shattering hug. "My brave brave stupid girl!

'Had all of that really just happened?' Kairi wondered to herself. 'Did I really fight all of those things myself? Had I really just saved this woman? Had I jus-' Tears rolled down her face as she choked back one large sob.

The ships lights went out. "Sora…" He was kissing all over her face like a puppy who had been reunited with its owner.

"Yeah?"

She sniffled. "L-Let's watch Roger Rabbit."

Donald's voice echoed through the halls. "PREPARE FOR WARP IN FIVE…FOUR…THREE…TWO…ONE!"

Their stomachs lurched as the whole cabin shook.

By the end of the countdown, they were far away from Japan. Far away from the Earth. Far away from everything they had ever known.

Yet, they had never been closer. As they held each other, they embraced the future.

X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X

Woah, that was a long break, wasn't it? Well, I've been busy, you know…

…busy having fun!

Seriously though, this chapter was a pain in the neck. I was never quite sure what kind of at one it should have or where I should even begin to wrap up this meaty little 'introduction' I've got going. There was a lot going on in this chapter (I ended up cutting a lot because it started to feel a tad too self-serving), and there was a very real possibility that I was going to lose the characters I was building in all of the fireworks and Heartless battles.

Also, stuff happened to Sora. Not our Sora, but the other Sora. Which is actually 'kind of' original Sora. It's complicated. But anyways, stuff happened to 'that Sora'. Maybe next chapter we'll end up seeing some real fallouts about that. How is Kairi going to deal with her decisions? How is Sora going to deal with being a total wuss without a keyblade? How are Donald and Goofy going to manage being one Sora poorer? And most important of all, where the hell is Stitch?!

Next chapter will introduce our very first Disney world. Yay! Because that always leads to pointless filler, right?...

I'll never tell. Hope you enjoyed! Leave back feedback in the comments below. Let me know what you thought was rad and what totally sucked. I wanna know it all.