Chapter Fifty Five: Last Battle -Decision-

The other side of the invisible barrier was nothing like I'd expected. Before me stood a huge, black castle, with many towers holding spiked tops. The sky was different, too... as opposed to the seemingly endless void I'd just left behind, the ground was solid, black dirt, and a full, red moon shone in the dark sky.

"Amy built all this... in five days?" I asked myself as the rest of my party went through the invisible barrier. "I see... she used the darkness."

"So... this is where the endgame takes place," Jason muttered. "Kinda dreary if you ask me."

"That red moon's freaky," Riku said. "It's really something. Even Xehanort couldn't build something of this scope in such short a time."

"It's like the apocalypse," Sora said slowly.

"The apocalypse already happened, stupid!" I said, bonking him on the head. Sora 'ow'ed, but otherwise made no mind to it.

"So... what we have to do is in there, huh?" Serenity asked. "I don't wanna go... but I have to. To prove I'm just as strong as you guys, both in body and in spirit!"

"We'll have to finish it. It's our only hope; to beat Amy and free Kingdom Hearts! We... have to!" Kairi shouted.

"Come on, guys. We're going to restore the True Light!" I shouted, charging into the door. Of course, I made sure to kick it down in typical badass fashion. The inside wasn't too different. A few crystal lamps lit up the place, and a stairway leading up to a large, grandiose door stood at the top.

I went up to open the door, but it was locked.

"What's with that? You just bust in here without anyone else?" Jason asked, slowly stepping in. "You're too reckless. Calm down."

"This door's locked," I said quickly. "We'll need something to open it... the keys. I think there are two... there are only two paths off to the side. The keys we need are no doubt along those paths."

"Then... let's go," Riku said. Our entourage set out along the left path. A few superpowered Heartless interfered, but our resolve was too strong; we wouldn't give up now. Along the winding pathways of the castle, we found a lot of rooms. Rooms with all kinds of cool crap and a ton of books that would no doubt amaze any scholar. We finally found some special chest at the top of the tower. It was made of stone.

"This must have one of the keys. I'll open it," I said, kneeling in front of the chest. "Get ready."

I opened the chest and I was sent into another realm. Everything was dark. I looked around for someone... anyone. There stood a familiar face...

"Senka," I said with a bit of disgust. "What trick is this?"

"This is no trick. You've been thrown into the darkness to fight for the Dark Stone," Senka said. "It's one of the keys to get to Amy's inner sanctum. If you want it, you'll have to fight me."

"Why?" I asked.

"That's the way it has to be," she shrugged. "I don't want to fight, either, but..."

"Senka."

"What?"

"We don't have to fight. Unless there's some sort of death seal on this realm, fighting would do nothing," I said. "Look. I know you want to atone for everything you've done. I would too. If you just give me that Dark Stone, this can end peacefully... without more bloodshed."

"But there is a death seal. Only one of us can leave here," Senka said sorrowfully. "If I die, you leave with the Dark Stone. If you die, I leave with it."

"Okay," I said, using my Demon Form. "I'll make this quick!"

A single deft stroke, and Senka was erased without a single sound.

I reappeared in the same room, reverted to my normal form and kneeling in front of the chest, which was now open. A dark-stoned tablet sat in it, and etched on that tablet were silver letters.

"What are you waiting for?" Kairi asked.

"Uh... sorry, I blanked out for a second," I lied, taking the tablet.

"What's it say?" Sora asked.

"It says 'What lies in the darkness is the sin of your past. What rests in the twilight is your heart. In the light drifts the divine judgment,'" I read.

"What the hell's that supposed to mean?" Jason asked.

"... I don't know. But it is one of the two keystones we need, so I'll just carry it with me," I muttered, going back down the stairs. I tucked it into my coat as we kept forging ahead, crossing an archway to get to the other side. It saved time, so...

We forced our way to the top of another tower, fighting super-powered Heartless along the way. This chest was white, and when I went to open it, I found myself once again in another realm. This one was snow white, posessing no spatial dimensions like before. There was someone there, though...

"Chaon," I said gravely. He was there... my first true enemy. He seemed lost, though...

"Is that you... Dark Boy? You've gotten stronger," he said, stumbling around.

Is he blind?

"What's wrong? Can't face the light?" I asked him.

"No... I was just blind. I wasn't fighting for the light..." he said, still stumbling about. "The True Light... it was never my goal. I was nothing more than a puppet of the darkness. My entire reason was to purify the land so that the darkness could simply destroy it."

"It's... Charon, I..." I started.

"You have nothing to apologize for. I would have done the same thing," he said. "Well, I suppose you're here for the Light Stone?"

"...yeah," I said.

"You know one of us has to die," he said. "So take your sword of judgment and drive it through my foul heart. It won't hurt... seeing as I don't have a soul."

"I promise I'll make this quick," I said, using my Demon Form again. I blazed and drove my sword through his heart, instantly killing him. A bright flash of light left me in the room again, kneeling before the open white chest. Inside, like I'd expected, was a white stone tablet with words writ in ebon on it.

"What are you waiting for?" Serenity asked. "Take it!"

I took it, dusting off the apparently ancient stone tablet before trying to read it.

"It says: 'In your body is the shadow of doubt. Stir the courage in your soul. Awaken the power of your heart.' These stupid tablets are so confusing..." I muttered.

"Well, we've got the two keystones. Let's go back to the entrance room," Sora said, making a bolt for the door. We all followed, slaying the Heartless that bothered us. We made it down, where the two keystones floated out of my hands and up by the door. They disappeared, leaving the door open.

"Well... here's our last battle. Is everyone ready?" I asked.

"I'm not going to falter... never again," Jason said.

"I've been hiding from the darkness for so long... I have to fight now, for myself," Serenity said.

"It's not like there's anything else to do now," Kairi said. "This is our ultimate fate. I'm ready for anything."

"I've faced my inner darkness and prevailed," Riku said. "We need to give Amy something: salvation."

"It's like I've said so many times..." Sora muttered, "no matter how deep the darkness, a light shines within."

"Come on! We're going to restore the True Light!" I shouted, turning around and running into the dark abyss...