A/N: FINALLY FINISHED THIS CHAPTER! It took some time, but now it is up! More chapters should be coming faster now that this one is done! Hope everyone enjoys! R&R!

Now, onto the story! Chapter 10: Castle Oblivion, Pt. 4: Ven!

I hate traveling through portals… I said to myself. Chaos and Cosmos both laughed. Ha ha, very funny…

The three of us stepped out of the portal and onto an invisible floor, about fifteen feet from the station platform.

As we looked upon the platform, Kairi gasped; Aqua clinched her teeth; I just stared in awe. The platform was completely covered in a barrier of darkness.

"SORA!" Kairi shouted. She started towards the platform. "SORA!"

"Kairi, wait!" Aqua grabbed her arm. "You can't. If you touch that barrier, it won't end well."

"Then what do we do? We have to help Sora!"

"I agree, but we need to think about this for a—"

"I can warp the barrier into letting us in," I interrupted. Both girls just stared. "What?"

"How?" they asked, simultaneously.

I summoned Chaos to my left hand. "I have a Keyblade of Darkness." Both gave me blank stares. Will this really work?

I'm unsure, Chaos replied. Darkness, just like light, is categorized into two fields: positive and negative. The negative energy radiating out of that is extremely high. You haven't had time to fully master the balance between Darkness and Light, so I'm not really sure. The negative energy might overtake the positive energy.

Great… I pointed Chaos towards the barrier. If, for some reason, I die, I will come back and haunt your ass… Chaos just shrugged and chuckled.

Focusing my energy into the Keyblade, a beam of light shot out and struck the barrier. The feeling was…strange. I could see everything that was happening inside: Sora had cuts and bruises covering his body; the Shadow Vanitas was closing in on the final attack. It was now or never.

Then the negative energy began to course up the beam of light and into my Keyblade. I could feel my body going numb. There wasn't any pain, but rather a feeling of peace; if I were to give in, I could just float forever in a realm of darkness with no worries whatsoever. I began to cave, began to strain off the path. I could vaguely hear Kairi and Aqua talking to me. Whatever they were saying, however, I wasn't able to make out. I just wanted to give in, take the easy road and just be done.

That's when someone grabbed the Keyblade, placing their hand over mine. The easy road isn't for you, my friend. I heard a voice say. I came to and, by sheer will, forced the negative energy to leave my body and travel back to where it came from.

As it did, the barrier began to warp and a small opening was created.

I released the technique, completely out of breath.

"You did it!" Kairi shouted. "Now we—"

"RUN!" I shouted. The girls looked confused, till they noticed that the opening was closing.

Kairi ran ahead, while Aqua ran with me, making sure I would make it. Luckily, we weren't that far.

Making it through the barrier with plenty of time to spare, fell to one knee as I tried to catch my breath. I motioned for the girls to head onwards. Reluctant at first, they finally gave in.

That was damn close… I stated.

But impressive, Chaos said. How did you…?

I don't know, I answered. I just heard a voice telling me…

…can't remember? Cosmos asked. I sent her a telepathic nod. Not surprised. It was a semi-traumatic event. I didn't comment. I'm gonna restore some of the energy you lost. You should feel better in a few minutes.

I said thanks, then took a deep breath and let it out. I wasn't real sure what had just happened. Truth be told, I thought it was Chaos who was talking to me. But, the more I thought about it, the more it sounded like him. Like Zane.

I shook off the feeling. "Now isn't the time," I said to myself. "I've gotta catch up with the others."

It wasn't but five seconds later that I could feel my energy returning to me. I didn't feel as good as I had, but I did feel better. I ran onwards, through what seemed like an endless blanket of darkness. From the looks of it, the barrier was extremely thick and I just penetrated the first level.

After a good five minutes of running, I stopped. "I need light," I stated. Summoning Cosmos in my hand, I could feel the negative energy surrounding me begin to disburse. "Didn't think it'd be that easy, to be honest."

Light, when positive, can penetrate even the most negative of darkness, Cosmos said. Soon, a path should show you the way.

Sure enough, it wasn't long before the darkness surrounding me began to mold and manipulate to create a path for me.

I ran down that path, keeping my sight forward. Soon I saw what every person in the movies usually seen when in a dark tunnel, the light at the end.

As I neared it, I could hear Aqua and Kairi. The voices were low, but got higher. Soon, I could make out what they were saying.

"Sora, hang in there!" Kairi was shouting.

"Damn you Vanitas!" Aqua whaled.

I pushed through to the light, summoning Chaos as I did. I charged forward towards the shadow at, what seemed like the perfect moment: the Shadow was busy with Aqua, their Keyblades clashing. My sneak attack was perfect: As Aqua had the Shadow busy, I struck at him from behind, twisting around so both blades struck from left to right, like swinging two baseball bats with each hand.

What I wasn't expecting: the damn thing's speed. Right before my attack connected, he vanished. Somehow, Kairi saw this and shot a beam of energy at Aqua to put up a shield.

I used the shield to my advantage, pushing myself backwards. Aqua and I both took defensive stances as we started scanning the area.

"Damn, he's fast," I commented.

"No…duh…" I heard Sora remark. From the sounds of it, he was close to collapsing.

Aqua and I began moving closer to him, keeping our eyes and ears open. As we neared Sora, I felt my foot hit something. Looking down, my eyes got wide: there was a large crack in the station.

This place represents Sora's heart, I spoke to the twins, so if it is destroyed…

Sora's heart will shatter, and the pieces will scatter, Cosmos said, poetically.

Really, poetry? Chaos asked.

Yes, poetry, Cosmos answered.

Before you two start arguing, I interrupted, do you care to help me out?

They both became silent.

The hell are you two doing? I finally asked, two minutes later.

I'm trying to sense the Shadow's presence inside the barrier walls, Chaos replied.

While I'm scanning the area within the barrier, waiting for it to make the next move, Cosmos finished.

You'll be able to alert me before it strikes? They nodded.

I looked back at Sora, who was pretty banged up. Kairi was doing her best to heal him and keep an eye out, but, no matter how hard she tried, she wasn't able to really heal him. Whatever created those wounds couldn't be heal with simple healing magic.

Your left! Cosmos and Chaos shouted. I turned and raised my Keyblade just in time to block. The force from the impact was so strong, I was pushed back about a foot or so.

The Shadow seemed stunned. From its reaction, it hadn't been expecting me to block.

"Take this!" I shouted, jabbing with Cosmos. The creature took note and sped away, using me as a something to rebound off of.

"Damn it…" I gritted my teeth. "He's so damn fast… How the hell are we supposed to keep up?"

"I don't know…" Aqua said, looking over at Kairi and Sora.

I followed her lead. He's fading fast; any suggestions?

Defeat the shadow, Chaos said.

No shit, Sherlock! Cosmos screamed.

Guys, can we focus on what's at hand here? I was getting irritated. There has to be a way to stop that thing…

"Sora, please!" Kairi begged. Aqua and I looked over to see Sora, trying to stand, with his Keyblade in hand. "You can't—"

Behind Kairi! Cosmos shouted.

"Kairi, look out!" I shouted.

"Reflect!" Aqua cast, placing a barrier around Kairi and Sora. The creature hit it full force, then bounced off, landing in front of Aqua. "You're mine!" She struck at it, but she just wasn't fast enough as her Keyblade struck the ground. The shadow, somehow, mended with the ground and fled back to the darkness.

"Damnit!" She started to strike her Keyblade against the ground.

I ran over and stopped it from colliding. "Easy, Aqua."

She looked at me, fear in her eyes. "What do we do?"

I looked down at the ground. "I don't—" Something caught my eye. "What the…?"

Aqua looked down as well. "How can this be?"

From above!

"Up there!" I shouted, pointing Cosmos upward. It glowed and a barrier formed around us. The Shadow landed on top and a beam of light, from where Aqua had accidently struck the ground, shot up and hit the Shadow. It screeched in pain. "What the…?"

"It's him…" Sora said, barely standing next to me. He was breathing very heavily. I released Chaos and took hold of him. "Thanks." I nodded.

"Him…?" Kairi asked. She was on the other side of Sora, making sure he could keep his balance. "You mean…"

"Ven…" Aqua whispered. I could tell she was on the verge of tears

Sora nodded. "Almost twelve years ago, Ven called out to me. He needed a place to rest, a heart he could trust. He chose me, for whatever reason. And, now, it is time I release him. Or, rather, for him to let me go." Sora took a few steps forward. With is Keyblade in hand, he pointed it downward. A beam of light shot out, hitting the crack.

Sora moved backwards as light began to pour out from the crack. Another beam of light shot out, this one piercing the dark barrier that surrounded Sora's heart. The cries of the Shadow could be heard. His power was diminishing. As the light show faded, Sora's platform began to heal; and so did Sora.

The creature was now exposed, and Sora was fully healed.

"Only one thing left to do," Sora said. He pointed his Keyblade in the direction of the Shadow. Shooting out a beam of light, Sora smiled. "We'll do this together!" As the attack struck, the creature held its own. Sora's attack wasn't strong enough.

"Wait for it…" he said, still smiling.

Sure enough, a few seconds later, a beam of light from the opposite direction hit the Shadow from behind. It screeched in pain as the combine attacks ripped through the creature and connected.

An explosion of light followed, and the Shadow was no more. From a distance, someone could be seen wielding a Keyblade. We all stood there in awe. Well, all except for Sora; he just smiled.

"We'll greet you soon!" he shouted. He turned to look at us. "Ready to go?"

A bright light followed swallowed us. Before I even realized it, we were standing in the Chamber of Waking.

"Good morning, everyone," someone said, still sounding sleepy.

Turning around, we saw who was talking.

Running forward, Aqua put her arms out in front to hug someone. Tears were flowing down her cheeks. "VEN!" She cried. She grabbed him in a tight squeeze, not wanting to ever let go.

Ven smiled as he hugged her back, tears forming in his eyes as well. "Aqua..."