-1A/N: Thanks for all the reviews! Keep 'em coming! I love getting feedback!

Light

A funny thing, darkness is… As it takes over your senses and controls your thoughts and actions… It's powerful, yet peaceful, almost. Serene. A sense of letting go… Freedom. But at what cost? The price is steep… complete and utter separation from light. From hope. From love… Love. No… that is not something easily sacrificed. As powerful as darkness is… none is more so than love.

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"What do you mean the King isn't here?!" Sora paced back and forth, his face buried in his hands. The audience chamber was, as usual, very large and very quiet.

"Just that! He isn't here…" Queen Minnie replied softly. "His departure yesterday was impromptu and sudden."

Sora groaned and shook his head back and forth in disbelief. I knew it! I knew he was hiding something. This is bad… very bad…

"I'm sorry Sora," the Queen empathized. "…but he did leave something for you."

Sora pulled his face out of his hands, exchanged a brief frown with Kairi and looked at the Queen in confusion, "What do you mean?"

"Well, I'm not sure how he knew that you would be coming… but…" she hesitated briefly before motioning to the large door at the end of the room. "Well, come with me. It's in his desk in the library." Sora shrugged his shoulders and he and Kairi followed the Queen down the hall to the library.

Being in Disney Castle again felt strange… yet comforting. Sora smiled as the memories of his last visit flooded his thoughts while they made their way towards the library.

--------------------------------FLASHBACK-----------------------------

"Man! Can you believe they're throwing us a party?!" Riku beamed, throwing his arms around his two best friends. The large garden outside the gummi hanger was packed with all the inhabitants of Disney Castle as the trio made their way across the long red carpet that lead through the garden. It was obvious the King had a bigger event planned than he had originally told them.

Sora blushed brilliantly at hearing his name cheered loudly from the crowd. "Can I have your autograph?" children ran up to him eagerly, pens and papers leading their way. He, of course, gratefully obliged. Never in his wildest dreams did he think that he would ever hear those words addressed to him! "Wow! Is that your girlfriend?"

Those words he wasn't exactly prepared for either. "Huh? What? N-no…" If at all possible, Sora's blush deepened as the little girl in front of him beamed from ear to ear. Kairi stole a sideways smile at Sora as he handed the little girl her autograph. "Kairi and I…" he said, glancing at the redhead, "we're uh… we're just friends…" He finished with his classic cheesy smile, his hands behind his head, and his cheeks a rosy crimson.

"Well… she's very pretty…" the little girl whispered before running to go show her mother his signature.

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"Sora?" Kairi looked at him concerned, "You okay?"

"Huh?" Sora's memories were interrupted and he found himself already sitting in an easy chair in the library.

"The Queen asked you if you remembered anything about the Cornerstone of Light…"

Sora shook his head slightly and smiled. "Oh, sorry… yeah… the Cornerstone of Light… It's what protects the castle from darkness, right?"

The queen nodded. "Yes. It is…" she sat down behind the large desk in the middle of the room and pulled open the top drawer. "The King put the Cornerstone here all those years ago when the castle was first built, to block out the darkness. Do you understand, Sora?"

"Umm, yeah… I guess. Your Majesty, what exactly is it the King left for me?"

The Queen pulled out a small parchment of cloth that was folded in a way that looked like something was wrapped inside of it. "As you know, Sora, light is the only thing that can truly dispel darkness. In the brightness of light, darkness can not exist." She slowly began pulling the flaps of the package open. She hesitated so that only the last flap lay covering the gift. "You may want to shield your eyes at first…"

With that, Sora and Kairi both shrugged at each other and used their hands as visors over their eyes, watching intently as the Queen pulled back the last flap.

Immediately a brilliant white light flooded around them, illuminating every corner and crevice of the room. Sora squinted hard against the glare and threw his other hand up in front of his have to shield his eyes from the blinding radiance. The light slowly began to dim until the room was back to normal. Sora withdrew his hands from his face and looked at the desk.

Sitting in the cloth was a small white orb. The queen gathered it up in the cloth and handed it to Sora. "Sora, this orb is made from the same material that the Cornerstone of Light is made from…" Sora nodded as he took the orb carefully. "I'm not sure how you'll use it, but the King wanted you to have it. He said that when the time came, you would know what to do with it."

"Thank you, uh, Your Majesty." Sora gently wrapped the orb back in the soft cloth and carefully put it in his pocket. As he zipped the pocket closed a thought suddenly occurred to him…Riku! "Um, Your Majesty… You wouldn't happen to know if Riku is with the King… do you?"

The Queen's smile faded as she pondered his question. "Sora… Riku was here, for a while. But that was a couple of months ago and he only stayed for a few days with Chip and Dale worked on his gummi ship."

"Oh…" Sora couldn't hide his disappointment and Kairi put a reassuring hand on his shoulder to comfort him.

"Sora, don't worry. I know, together, we will find Riku." Kairi smiled as she stood up, turning her attention to the Queen. "However, Your Majesty, if you don't mind… I am very tired and---"

"Oh! Yes, of course dear! My apologies!" Queen Minnie picked up the receiver on the desk. "Daisy, could you please show Kairi and Sora to their rooms… Thank you." She smiled and replaced the receiver, "I hope you don't mind, you'll be staying in the same rooms as before…"

"Not at all." Sora and Kairi both answered as the door opened and Daisy appeared to escort them to their rooms.

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Kairi smiled faintly as she closed the door to her room. It was just as she remembered it, luxurious, but not overdone. She stretched her arms over her head in a long yawn, relieving some of the stiffness in her muscles. The large four poster bed at the far end of the room called her name intently. She briefly entertained the idea of just collapsing under the satin sheets and forfeiting her battle with the sleep nagging at the back of her eyelids. However, she quickly decided that a hot shower would do wonders for her sore muscles.

She quickly undressed and started the shower in the large adjoining bathroom. As she stood under the falling water, letting it beat down on her shoulders and roll down her back, her mind wandered. Saying that she was just worried about Sora was probably the understatement of the century. Her encounters with darkness were limited, but she could easily sense a dark change in Sora. Hell, anyone who know him could see it… The Queen had obviously been concerned. Growing up, she and Sora had always been inseparable, but a dark disconnection had begun to eat away at their relationship as Sora slowly distanced himself from her. Of course, there were still brief moments when she could still see the brightness in his eyes and the warmth in his smile, but those moments were few and far between and were heavily outweighed with days of somberness and hazy isolation. Why won't he just let me in? What is he trying to hide?

She sighed heavily as she watched the water swirling down the drain at her feet. Funny… she wished that washing away Sora's troubles was as easy as that… just let them all go down the drain, never to be seen again. Then things could go back to the way they were… Riku could come home, Sora would be his old goofy self again, and Kairi would have them back. But things will never be the same again… she realized sadly as she shut the water off.

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Sora sat on the railing of the balcony, quietly watching the sun setting behind the castle walls. If there was one thing that he could never see enough of, it was sunsets… All the worlds he had visited had a unique and different sunset, each one as amazing as the next. So beautiful and so mesmerizing. The natural transition from day to night… from light to dark… He smirked at the irony, who would have thought I would ever had something in common with a sunset?

Ever since accepting his fate as the Keyblade Master, things had come more easily to him. And after all he had been through, it really took a lot to surprise him these days… But summoning that dark keyblade… now that was unexpected. He inhaled deeply as he willed the darkness to pool in his palm and morph into the shape of the keyblade. A keyblade that unlocks people's hearts… He stretched the weapon out in front of him, admiring it. The suns colorful rays gleamed off the black blade and he could literally feel the power emanating off of it and coursing through his arm. No doubt, it felt good… But why would this keyblade choose me…

He shuddered as he thought about his fight the shadowed figure on the gummi ship earlier. What does that mean, being born from the darkness in my heart? I'm the Keyblade Master! I'm not supposed to have any darkness in my heart!" Even as he thought it, he knew how absurd it sounded. Of course he had darkness in his heart… He had spent that past two and half years of his life killing mindless creatures in constant contact with darkness, why wouldn't some of the darkness latch itself onto him? If murder doesn't put darkness in your heart, then what the hell does…

But that thing… that shadow… He hated the way it had mocked him, willing him to give into his anger and kill it. After all, it would have been easy… the Oathkeeper was right at its throat. All it would have taken it one slice…

But Kairi had asked him to stop. Why he actually listened to her was still a mystery to him. But in the end, she had asked him to stop… and the shadow had gotten away. He frowned as he dismissed the keyblade in a cloud of smoke. Immediately he felt the strength of the weapon dissipate and he instantly missed its power. No wonder Riku gave into the darkness… He sighed as he watched the dim outline of the gardens below him dissolve as night enveloped the castle.

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A/N: Okay, so I realize that this chapter was pretty dull and all… I promise more action in the next! I also realize that I promised longer chapters… Well, this one took me all week to get out and I'm ready to friggin update! So get over it…. : )

I'm trying to work Riku more into the story, but I'm struggling with how to do that. If anyone has any suggestions, let me hear them!

BTW, if you like my story, I STRONGLY suggest reading "Fall Back" by Brightshadow 5. It's also about Sora battling his darkness and it is truly brilliant!! ; )