A/N: The story is coming to an end pretty quick. I hope you all have enjoyed it so far!

Lies Bring Us Closer

Chapter 15: Cyclone

"Where am I?"

"Where is Roxas?"

The darkness was impenetrable. Kairi felt blind as she wandered desperately searching for something familiar. She felt the cold emptiness inside of her swelling up as she stumbled deeper and deeper into the darkness. She was beginning to forget everything as she trudged along. Memories were escaping her, faces of friends were a blur, and current events were non-existent. Her eyes were empty. Her complexion was drained. Her mouth twitched. The only name that remained on her tongue was Roxas.

Constantly she cried, "Roxas…Where is Roxas?" Her pleas were never met with an answer.

With hands spread out in front of her she cautiously continued to drift around. She lost her footing and fell. The ground around her turned to swirling, purple liquid that threatened to pull her into its deepest depths. Kairi screamed instinctively as she fought to stay. She reached for something, anything with desperation.

She felt something solid reach out for her. She quickly took the chance and was pulled out of the darkness. She fell against her savior and found the feeling familiar. Kairi felt as though she was leaning against another human being. With all her might she tried to discern the features of the person, but she couldn't see.

"Who are you?" she struggled to ask.

"It's better that you don't remember, I won't be here for long, Kairi. I have to get you out of here," the voice replied. It was familiar to her, but she couldn't remember who it belonged to.

"Where are we going?" she asked as she felt herself be pulled through the thickening darkness.

"To where the light is," was the simple reply. Somehow that answer calmed her, even though she didn't understand what the person meant.

The journey felt long to her. The longer they traveled the more lost Kairi felt. She could feel something eating at her. Her skin was already producing goosebumps and she had a slight tremble as she was dragged along.

"We're almost there, Kairi. Hang on," the voice ordered.

"I don't know…if I can," she weakly replied. Her mind felt as though it was beginning to slip away. Her thoughts were disordered.

Finally, in the distance she began to see a brightness coming toward her. She assumed this was the 'light' the stranger spoke of. As her vision began to recover she saw that the light was growing stronger and larger. The darkness around her was disappearing. Warmth was returning to her body as she was pulled into the powerful illumination.

The stranger ceased. "Stay here," the voice ordered.

Kairi fell to her knees from exhaustion. She closed her eyes and opened them repeatedly trying to clear her vision. It was still weak, but growing stronger. She was beginning to remember who she was and what had happened to her. The memories were faint, but growing stronger with each passing moment. Once she felt ready, she stood up. "Where am I?" she asked.

"Kingdom Hearts," the stranger replied, "Your heart has been separated from your body and we must unite the two again."

"I don't understand," Kairi mumbled in confusion.

The voice laughed, "I'm sorry, I don't have time to elaborate on the subject. You might have too many memories by that time."

"Too many memories…? What?" Kairi managed to utter. The figure was becoming clearer to her now. She could make out a blonde head of hair and a dark outfit, but she still had no idea who she was talking to.

"Take this," the voice ordered gently. The person swiftly placed something in Kairi's hand that she couldn't identify. "It will protect you when the time comes," the stranger explained.

She could feel something metallic and key-shaped in her grasp, but she couldn't remember what it was called. "How will I know when the time comes?" she asked curiously as she swung the strange object around.

She could make out a smile on the stranger's face, along with a pair of blue eyes. "You'll know," was all the person said.

"Why are you so familiar to me? Why can't I remember who you are?" Kairi demanded with a frown, "You seem so distant…yet so close."

"Forget about me, Kairi. After this moment, you'll never see me again as I am," the stranger advised.

For some reason, Kairi felt upset. She could feel the tears beginning to swell in her eyes. "W-What do you mean," she stuttered unhappily, "I want to see you…I-I want to be with you."

The stranger pulled Kairi into a hug. "Our time will come one day, Kairi. Until then, live your life to the fullest," he whispered. Kairi wrapped her arms around the strange boy desperately, yet she still didn't understand why she did.

"My chest hurts," she weakly sputtered as the tears continued to fall.

"It's because you're sad. You'll get to feel emotions still…I couldn't let you become a nobody," the stranger explained sadly, "You'll be whole."

Kairi swiftly pulled away from the embrace. "I'll never be whole if you're not with me," she boldly declared. She stared at the stranger like one stares at a lover. "I know who you are now…Roxas," she breathed.

"Goodbye, Kairi," he whispered. He kissed her on the cheek and Kairi's world suddenly disappeared right before her eyes.

Silence. Silence is sweet. Silence is golden. Or at least that's what most say.

Silence was her greeting; a cold greeting. Her eyes opened and she felt the light drizzle falling on her skin. She felt hazy as she struggled to her feet. She looked around and saw that no one was there. All that was left were dark marks on the ground and a starless sky. Even the castle itself seemed to be slipping away.

"Where'd everyone go?" Kairi mumbled as she strained to try to catch a glimpse of anyone. She was alone. She sighed. "Well, I can either go back in there or try to find a way out of here…I might as well leave," she thought out loud. She ran down the rest of the transparent bridge toward the skyscraper city.

The rain was heavier there, but not by much. She continued to run until she found herself at the base of a large, bright skyscraper. She stared at it in awe. She couldn't help, but feel a sense of nostalgia even though she'd never been there. She didn't know what was tugging at her. Kairi inhaled and began to walk away.

"Where do you think you're going?"

She paused. She recognized that voice all too well. She looked over her shoulder and saw that it was none other than Saix. "What do you want now?" Kairi dared to ask, "Your Kingdom Hearts isn't even in the sky anymore."

Saix smirked. "I can easily begin the process of creating a new one with more hearts," he answered coyly.

"Well, you can leave me and any other princess out of that process," Kairi scoffed, "I'm leaving."

"No, Kingdom Hearts will always need a pure heart to truly be complete so I intend to keep you here until that day comes," Saix threatened. He summoned his claymore and pointed it toward Kairi. "You can come quietly or I can use force."

Kairi took a step back. "I'm not going anywhere with you!" she cried. She quickly turned and ran toward the inner streets of the city with no idea where she was going. Saix pursued her with his claymore in hand.

She screamed as he swung trying to hit her. She barely managed to escape each hit. He lifted the claymore above his head and jumped swung where she was standing. Kairi screamed and leapt out of the way just in time. She landed against one of the walls and felt a shortness of breath. Saix smirked as he slowly closed in on her. "No one's here to save you now, princess. Roxas can't help you where he is now," he chuckled evilly.

Kairi growled, "Don't you dare mention Roxas!" She suddenly felt a tingling in her hand. She looked down and saw Roxas's keyblade in her hand. She stared at it in disbelief.

"Ha! You think you're going to stop me with that keyblade?"

Everything felt strange in her senses. Her heartbeat was loud. Her body tensed and her breath slowed. She couldn't fight the sensation; she had this strong, undeniable urge to grab the blade and fight. But she couldn't help but panic because she didn't know how to fight. She'd never lifted a keyblade in her life.

"Kairi, you have to fight!"

She heard his voice in her head. It was Roxas. She growled in frustration. Saix swung at her and she quickly blocked his attack. She held her ground as she managed to stand to her feet. "I will fight you and I'm going to get away from here!" Kairi shouted angrily. Saix only chuckled and the battle commenced.

Saix's powerful swings were almost too much for Kairi to handle, but she managed to keep her stance as she maintained her defense. Saix growled, "You can't keep playing the defense forever!" His hits became harder and Kairi could almost feel something in the air. It was like he was gathering power and that made her fearful. Still, she continued to block and dodge where she could. Until the climax came. Saix glowed red and his claymore grew in size. Kairi screamed as he released an onslaught of fierce blows that she had no other choice but to run from.

"Kairi!" he shouted.

"Roxas!" Kairi screamed desperately. She continued to run until she found herself cornered. Her life flashed before her eyes. She saw the weapon rise from the ground and she braced herself for impact. She closed her eyes and turned her head away defensively. She waited…but she felt nothing. Could it be the blow was so powerful it killed her painlessly? She opened her eyes and was surprised to see someone in front of her. She saw brown hair, a black outfit, yellow shoes, and tanned skin. It was Sora who had come to rescue her. "Sora," she whispered in disbelief.

"Don't worry, Kairi. I won't let anything happen to you," Sora swore, "Just stand back and let me and Riku take from here." He managed to give her a grin before he was absorbed into the heat of battle. Riku was at his side. Kairi watched from the sidelines; the keyblade was gone. It played out in front of her so quickly. Sora and Riku easily took down Saix, it didn't matter that he had entered his berserker mode they were an unstoppable team. The last blow was dealt and Saix disappeared in black.

She saw the relief grace their faces as they made their way over to Kairi. "We were worried when we didn't see you where we left you," Riku explained, "And then we heard your screams so we hurried to where you were. Looks like you put up quite a fight."

She shrugged. "I didn't do any damage or anything," she answered quietly, "I was just trying to get away."

"I'm just glad you're okay, Kairi. I didn't think you'd ever open your eyes again," Sora said endearingly. Kairi just smiled. "We can take you home now," he added quietly."

"Are you going to stay with me?" Kairi asked hopefully, "The battle's over."

Sora rubbed the back of his neck. "Not quite, just because Xemnas and Saix are gone doesn't mean the rest of those Organization members won't try to build another Kingdom Hearts," Sora explained, "Riku and I will still have to be away for a while, but I promise we'll come back as soon as we can, Kairi."

Kairi suddenly felt overwhelmed. "W-What?" she stammered emotionally. She suddenly burst into tears as she fell to her knees. Sora wrapped his arms around her and held her tightly. Riku walked away muttering something about alerting the king on Kairi's progress. They were alone, which was something Kairi had wanted for so long. She thought maybe Sora would stay with her and he might one day be able to fill the void that Roxas left. But he was leaving her as well, again. Kairi was going to be truly alone again, and she couldn't handle that realization.

"Kairi, please don't cry. I'll come back to you, I promise," Sora whispered into her ear.

Kairi pushed him away and turned away. "That's just an empty promise. You didn't come back for years! So why should I believe you now?" Kairi asked angrily, "I refuse to be alone again!"

"It's too dangerous for you to come with me. If it wasn't, you know I'd take you with me, Kairi. I care about you," Sora tried to explain, "Please try and understand that I don't want anything happening to you." He attempted to place his hands on her shoulders, but she once again pulled away. "Kairi," he begged.

She stood up and backed away. "No, Sora. You caring about me isn't enough anymore! I loved you! But you never felt the same, did you? You never really loved me," Kairi cried as the tears continued to flow down her face.

Sora growled in frustration. He grabbed Kairi's arms and looked her in the eyes. "Kairi! I've always loved you! I've loved you since the day we met and I've never stopped since. I'm sorry the keyblade chose me and I'm sorry I can't be around like you need me to be! It's just the burden I have to bear!" he cried as the tears began to fall from his eyes, "But please, never doubt me. I want to be with you, Kairi. And one day we will be able to be together, just not now."

"But how can I trust you? Roxas was always with me and I knew he wanted a future with me, but I don't know how I can ever begin to trust what you say to me," Kairi admittedly sadly.

"I'll write, Kairi. Everyday until you get sick of me," Sora joked as a tear slid from his eye, "I promise to try and visit occasionally too."

"Swear it!" Kairi cried before she fell into his arms and cried into his chest. The hole in her heart was immense. She didn't believe she would ever get past this. How could she let Roxas go?