Disclaimer: Not mine, yay!

Chapter 32- The Night of Neverland

Sora awoke to find himself on the deck of the pirate ship. It was dark. Carefully, he got up and looked around. The ship was eerily quiet apart from the soft sounds of the ship creaking in the sway of the sea. 'Where is everyone?' Sora asked himself. 'Where's Donald, and Goofy… and Iji! I gotta find her!'

"I didn't think you'd come, Sora."

Sora gasped.

Riku smirked. "Good to see you again."

Sora glared at him. "Where are Donald and Goofy? And where is Iji?! Tell me right now, Riku!"

The silver haired boy ignored the question. "Are they really that important to you? More important than old friends? Instead of worrying about them, you should be asking… about her."

Riku moved aside to reveal a red haired girl.

"Kairi!" shouted Sora happily at the sight of her.

Riku stepped back in front of her. "That's right. While you were off goofing around, I finally found her."

Sora went to run up the stairs, only to discover a group of pirate-looking Heartless guarding the way. He pulled out his Keyblade.

A man in a red overcoat appeared on the deck above. He waved the hook attached to the end of his hand at him. "Not so fast! There will be no shenanigans aboard my vessel, boy!"

Sora growled in frustration and turned back to Riku. "Riku, why are you siding with the Heartless?"

The older boy smirked again. "The Heartless obey me now, Sora… Now I have nothing to fear."

Sora exploded with anger. Riku had no idea what was happening to him. "You're stupid! Sooner or later they'll swallow your Heart!"

Riku laughed back at him. "Not a chance. My Heart's too strong!"

"Riku…" Sora said. There was pity in his tone.

Riku continued with his speech. "I've picked up a few other tricks as well. Like this, for instance…" Riku's hand glowed green as he waved it over the floor. A dark hole appeared in the deck and a shadow slowly ascended from within it. The creature looked up with glowing yellow eyes.

Sora stepped back in disbelief. It looked just like him, a complete opposite, a Shadow Sora.

Riku smiled at Sora slyly. "You thought you had her all to yourself, didn't you, Sora?"

Sora blinked. "Huh? Who?"

Riku glared at him. "Iji, you idiot! Well not anymore. She's back with me again."

Sora clenched his fist. "You can't do that! I'm supposed to be helping her find her memories!"

Riku turned his back to his former friend. "You have a choice, Sora. You can either choose Iji, or you can choose Kairi. Here, have some time to think about it."

A trap door opened below Sora, sending him plummeting downwards.

Riku picked up Kairi and headed towards a door. He glanced at Captain Hook. "Let's get under way, already. And keep Sora away from Iji and Kairi until we're ready to land." He left the Captain to his own devices.

The pirate growled as the door shut. "That scurvy brat thinks he can order me around!"

Behind him, a plump man in a white and blue approached. "What shall we do, Cap'n Hook?"

"Nothing!" Hook threw his arms up into the air. "The hold is crawling with Heartless! Let them keep an eye on the brats."

"Um, but Cap'n, you-know-who is also down…"

Hook put his hook up to stop him and cupped his only hand to his ear. "Shh… Did you head Smee? Oh, that dreadful sound!"

Smee went over to the side to peer into the ocean. "No, Cap'n."

The Captain grabbed Smee up and shook him. "Are you quite sure? Did I imagine it? Oh, my poor nerves!" He dropped Smee onto the floor and went off to his cabin.

*****

"Let me out of here!" yelled a girl's voice.

Riku touched the cabin door, feeling the beating of fists that hit themselves against it. "Iji?"

The noise stopped. "Riku…? Is that you? Oh, please say it's you!"

"Yeah, it's me. Can I come in?"

"Yes, of course! I really want to see you."

Slowly, Riku opened the door and entered. Iji was standing in the middle of the room. She was soaked in sweat from hammering on the door so hard. Her silvery-blonde hair had lost its hair band, leaving her hair hanging limply around her. "You look a mess," commented Riku.

Iji laughed and smiled at him. "Well, duh! I've been trying to get out of here for ages now!"

Riku felt his heart give a flutter. He didn't care what she looked like at the moment. All that mattered was that they were together again. Riku went over to one of the hammocks and sat down on it. Iji joined him, sitting down and resting her head on his shoulder.

"I missed you a lot." sighed Iji. "I miss our adventures and our sparring matches together."

Riku smiled. "Me too,"

Iji's face fell. "Riku… Why'd you make me go back to Hollow Bastion?"

"I just… didn't want you to get more hurt." Riku thought back to the memories of the Keyhole at the Beast's castle. "You turned to the darkness, just like me. I couldn't stand the sight of you going through what I'm going through. It's too painful. I want you to stay as you."

Iji stayed quiet for a few minutes. She thought about what she had said about not trusting Riku ever again and shook her head. 'No… he is a good guy. I was just angry then. I can trust him.' Iji glanced up at Riku. He smiled and she felt her heart flutter. Her thoughts turned to Sora. What would he say if he knew how much she loved Riku? Sora was a friend though, nothing more, and Iji was sure that he loved Kairi. He had helped to get back a few of her memories, but she still knew that if she looked back into the darkness, more answers would be given than the ones given in the light.

Riku placed his hand in Iji's. He stared deep into her eyes. "I wish that we weren't on different sides. I wish everything could be the same and that we could be together... I… I love you, Iji."

Iji felt herself be drawn into Riku's eyes. They were so full of love and kindness. Other people may not have been able to see it, but she could. She had a decision to make. She could either be with the one she loved, or she could leave him behind and never see him again. The heartbreak was too much. She smiled at Riku and drew closer to him. "I'll grant your wish. Because… I love you too."

Before Riku knew what was happening, he felt a pair of passionate warm lips place themselves on his own. The vision of Iji dying at the hands of a Heartless passed through his mind. And then… something else.

*****

He was standing in a land surrounded by darkness. There was chaos all around him, but he couldn't see it. Only hear the sorrowful cries of people dying. The ground was wet and smelt of blood. Above him there was a ball of light, a miniature sun that glowed with the essence of light itself. There was a sound of a clinking chain. Riku looked behind him. There, Iji stared up at the light. She shaded her magenta eyes from the glare as if it burned her. In her hand was the Keyblade.

"No, don't do it! It's all we have left!" sobbed a child's voice from the darkness. "Don't destroy the Great Light!"

"Our suffering must end." Iji replied with blank eyes. She stuck the Keyblade into the light.

Hundreds of children's voice cried in grief. The Great Light broke apart and disintegrated. Shards of the light flew out into the darkness. Iji stood in the middle, her head bowed.

"The Heartless have won. I can go in peace now." She looked up again to where the Great Light had been. Her eyes slowly turned into black pits of emptiness. A pair of raven coloured wings sprouted from her back. As she spread them, a multitude of small hands grasped onto them.

"Not yet. You still have one last thing to do."

*****

'Iji! No!' shouted Talara in Iji's mind. 'Don't make the light your enemy! Hold onto me!'

'I can't hold it back… I'm sorry…' panted Menel in a strained voice.

'I want to be with Riku… I have to follow him down his path. And maybe I can even bring him back.'

Riku ended the kiss abruptly and opened his eyes. He immediately looked straight into Iji's. They were black. Even the whites of her eyeballs had become dark. Tiny flecks of white were all that was left in one of her eyes. Feathers brushed against Riku's arm, causing him to look at Iji's wings. They too had become completely black apart from one solitary white feather at the tip of her wing.

Riku pushed her away, fear and shock overcoming him. "Iji?! What did you do?"

Iji smiled at him. "I'm coming with you. We don't have to be alone any longer." Exhaustedly, she fell into his lap.

Tears ran down Riku's face and he ran his fingers through her hair. It felt like silk in his hand. "You didn't have to, not for me." Gently, Riku picked Iji up in his arms and took her up to the Captain's study via ladder. Just as he opened the trapdoor, there were sounds of yelling in the next cabin. "Sora…" Riku growled.

Captain Hook confronted Riku as he emerged. "So? What about Wendy?"

Riku shook his head and placed Iji on the bed.

"What? So Wendy's not one of the chosen ones?" Hook looked irritated.

Riku pushed some hair out of his face. "There are seven, supposedly, and Maleficent says she's not one of them. Hoist anchor, ASAP. Leave all the dead weight behind, including Wendy."

"After all the trouble of capturing her? And why those seven? What is Maleficent planning anyway?"

"Who knows." He shrugged. "As long as it means getting Kairi's heart back, I couldn't care less."

"You're wasting your time!" Hook sneered. "The Heartless have devoured that girl's Heart. I'll stake me other hand it's lost forever."

"I will find it no matter what." Riku glared.

Smee snuck up to whisper in his captain's ear. The pirate yelled furiously.

"Blast that Peter Pan! All right then,! Bring the hostage to me cabin, Smee! Hop to it!" Hook raised an eyebrow at Iji. "What about her?"

"I'm keeping an eye on her." Riku reassured him. He bent down and roused Iji. "Let's go outside. We can look at the stars."

*****

Peter Pan blinked as Tinkerbell whirled around his head. "What is it, Tink?"

The Pixie flew up to a grate above the kitchen and pointed.

"Peter? Peter Pan?" asked a curious voice. A brunette appeared at the grate.

"Wendy!" exclaimed Peter happily.

Wendy looked up briefly then back down. There was fear on her face. "Please hurry! The pirates are coming!"

"What?! I'll be right up there! Just hold on!" Peter flew back to the door.

Sora stepped forward so Wendy could see him. "Wendy?"

Wendy noticed him. "Yes?"

"Are there any other girls up there with you?" Sora asked.

"Oh, why yes, there's one. She has red hair. But she seems to be asleep. She hasn't budged an inch." she explained while glancing beside her. "I did hear some voices from the next cabin before too, but now they're gone."

Suddenly a hand fell down onto the grate. Sora smiled and tried to reach for it. "Kairi!"

The door in Wendy's cabin creaked open. The girl gave a sharp yell as she was pulled away. Kairi's hand was dragged away from the grate.

"Wendy!" shouted Peter. He turned to the others. "Quick, let's get up there!"

'I wonder where Iji is…?' Sora thought as he ran out the door.