AN: So there is absolutely no excuse for over two months of absence. To try and give you some context, I had my computer fry and had to get a new one and on top of that school and work became insane almost immediately after I got back. We had 2 of our 7 staff members leave at semester and both of their replacements joined after spring training sessions ended so we've all been working double shifts while they've been trained. Furthermore money has been tight so between all of it, well it caused an immense writer's block because I couldn't get my imagination or enthusiasm going. I'm still not utterly interested in writing to be honest just with so much else going on, but I'm hoping that sitting down and forcing a chapter out will rekindle my love for writing and maybe get me through this rough patch.

Dreams of Destiny

Blood was everywhere, darkness and hatred filled the air. The once peaceful shores of Destiny Islands were rank with misery and despair. With the arrival of Maleficent and her two lieutenants, the tide of the battle was already beginning to turn. Much of the heartless and nobody swarms had been focusing on the group of Mickey, Leon and Cloud or the pair of Riku and Kairi. With Maleficent personally occupying the attention of the first group of fighters, many of her army had instead concentrated on Riku and the far less experiences Kairi. Riku was a talented swordsman and mage, of that there was no doubt, but even he could not make up for the sheer difference in skill between he and Kairi. She had talent and potential, but she could not handle the constant barrage of attacks from all sides. Despite the fact that she was holding up admirably so far, her defenses were beginning to fail. Skill was a vital asset in battle, but nothing could replace experience and endurance. Indeed, even as Kairi's keyblade sliced through the body of a Dusk-class Nobody, a Shadow Heartless jumped her from behind. Had it not been for a well placed Dark Firaga by Riku, who spotted the Heartless at the last second, she would have likely been felled.

"You…okay…Kairi?" He gasped out in exhaustion, sweat dripped from his face and silver hair.

"I think so? Thank you so much Riku."

The fear in her eyes was easily visible, as well as the still burning determination to keep on fighting. It was aggravating to see how stubborn she was. She was not ready for a fight of this level. He had argued for her to try and fall back to protect the civilians or provide ranged support due to her magical abilities being far better than her swordsmanship but she had been firmly against any mention of not fighting again.

"Don't worry about it Kai-" His words trailed off as he saw a flash of magic on the beach front. He'd know that green magic and the evil feel of it anywhere. Maleficent had definitely entered the fight herself. He had thought he sensed her presence in the heat of the battle but never had time to check for sure. If she was here to enter the battle personally, then the risk had just multiplied several times over.

"Kairi, listen to me. Maleficent is here. You are a Princess of Heart. With her here, and Sora gone, I don't know how long we can realistically hold her off. I want you to get to the civilians and refugees. Take Cid if you can find him and get one of the Gummi ships. Get off world. If we get out, I'll find you! I promise I'll find you!"

Sputtering with indignation, the young princess took a moment before she finally managed to put together a coherent sentence: "I- You- They- You can't expect me to just leave and run away Riku! I'm not some little girl needing to be rescued anymore! I'm a keyblade wielder and I-" However her words were soon cut off as Riku grabbed her by the shoulders, blowing away an attacking nobody with a swipe of his blade before returning to face her, frustration building.

"Stop thinking about your pride! You have to do what is best for all the worlds now, not just what you want. Right now, we need you to lead the refugees! They're going to be lambs for the slaughter without someone to protect them. Our families! Our friends! Are you really going to let them die because you're too stubborn to do what you must! You want to be a Keyblade wielder, then do what you know is right!"

Even as he spoke, another large swarm of shadows and dusk were swarming the small log bridge from both sides. Finally though, Kairi's eyes softened and she nodded bitterly, causing Riku to hug her briefly before summoning a large column of darkness and firing it at the swarm blocking the way towards the rest of the island, opening a small gap for Kairi to slip through. Giving her a shove towards it, with a shove of "Now go!", Riku saw her face disappear among the sea of black bodies.

A deep sigh slipped from between his breath. The attack to give Kairi her opportunity to escape had cost him most than he would ever admit to. His muscles ached. His back was tight. His legs were on the edge of buckling from underneath him. Even keeping his eyes open seemed so utterly taxing that it was far too much of a burden to keep trying. This had to be it. He had given Kairi her chance, the last thing that he had to do before he could accept the reality of the situation. The heartless and nobody were far too many and with Maleficent here in person and Sora off on his own and quite possibly dead as well, it seemed only a matter of time before the heartless and nobody forces overwhelmed the remaining resistance fighters. Even as swarms of Samurai Nobodies dove at him, he couldn't even find the strength to summon his keyblade to defend. This battle was lost.

Flashback

"Sora…I can't" He had finally given into the weakness in his body, falling to his knees in the stange world Xemnas had brought them to for their final battle.

"Don't say another word! It's not over! It's just…not" And there was Sora, hoisting him back onto his feet and leaning him against his shoulder. How could he do this? He had to be as weak as he, Riku, was. So how could he bear a friend's weight so easily and still seem so optimistic that everything would work out? It was infuriating and comforting at the same time!

"How can you say that" Riku asked incredulously, the exhaustion of the battle with Xemnas threatening to overtake him. "Even if we could go on…Look where we are…"

"Aww…Come on Riku…You've been hanging out in darkness too long. You gotta try and think positive!"

Was it really worth the pain to keep going? Forcing himself to keep walking would only cause more pain and slow Sora down. Still…if Sora could believe… "Sora?"

"Hmm?"

"You lead"

"Got it."

End Flashback

He had depended on Sora then…and Sora had pulled through. Sora had never let him down when Riku or anyone else had depended on him. Now, when Sora was depending on him to hold the island, not to give in, he was about to let his best friend down? He had been letting people down his whole life! He had allowed darkness to gain hold so he could leave the worlds and as such, sacrificed his placed as the Keyblade Master. He then allowed Maleficent and Xehanort's Heartless to influence him into giving into the darkness. He had thrown away his friends without a care and attempted to kill Sora! Yet Sora had forgiven him without a word and saved him, never once accepting no for an answer or doubting his ability to rescue Riku or Kairi. He had surrendered his heart to save Kairi. Everyone always depended on Sora to save the day and for the first time; Sora was depending on them to give him time to do whatever King Mickey asked him to. He wouldn't let his best friend down again!

With renewed vigor, the silver-haired teen's eyes snapped open and Way to the Dawn flashed into his grip. Quicker than a blink, the attacking samurai were destroyed and within mere minutes, hundreds of heartless and nobodies had joined them in eternal nothingness. Blended energies of light and darkness erupted from his body, cracking the very ground upon which he stood. With an aura of both surging around his body, he charged towards the bridge, cutting down heartless and nobody alike with reckless abandon, the full power of the original keyblade master awakened at last. The power Terra had sensed all those years ago, the yearning desire to protect what was important, was finally apparent in full and Riku was ready to rise.

With Cloud and Sephiroth

In midair the two warriors ducked, sliced, dodged and stabbed with reckless abandon. The two no longer represented fighters as much as they did practiced acrobats. With each passing moment the edge in their war of wills would change and yet it seemed that Sephiroth's stamina never would wear down. Despite the blows he took, he never seemed to even be out of breath.

"I must admit Cloud, I don't understand you"

"There's nothing for you to understand except that you die here today!"

The silent warrior continued as if Cloud had never even spoken, "Why are you fighting here? This battle means nothing to you. You who knows only darkness. The outcome of this battle is pointless as are light and darkness. All that matters is power, and how far one will go for it. These people are beneath me and even beneath you. Look around you. That fool Maleficent clings to her own power and Mickey refuses to acknowledge the realities of war."

Even as Sephiroth spoke in his irritatingly calm voice, Cloud kept his weapon at the ready, only pausing in shock as the wooden dock suddenly vanished into nothingness, as if it were never there to begin with. "What…What's happening! What have you done Sephiroth!"

"I have done nothing. This world is destabilizing. Surely you are not so naïve as to think a world is only destroyed once the heart of it is consumed. You did not really think that the World Order that Mickey enforces is simply for amusement, did you? One or two slips will do nothing but the more the Order is disrupted, the more the worlds are put out of balance. Once the damage is too great, the world destabilizes to try to reset that balance by destroying and rebuilding itself. The process is inevitable. However, you and I, we will live on. We transcend life Cloud, our battle will always continue because it is all that is true in the universe. We are all that matters. The last of our people."

"Because you killed them you filthy animal! People idolized you! You were a hero! You think yourself some kind of deity with the right to choose who lives and who dies!"

"Yes, in these worlds that we live in, the strong control the weak and there is none stronger. I am the darkness you both refuse to let go of or embrace. The past the haunts your every move. Without me, you are nothing."

A roar of anger and Cloud charged Sephiroth once again head on, his mighty sword a flash as it came downwards.

A disappointed yet still emotionless frown lit Sephiroth's face even as he brought his broadsword up to easily parry his counterpart's attack. "Predictable. I expected better. When will you learn to use the tools you have available. Instead you fear the very darkness that is your only strength."

And so the battle between the two titans began once again.

With Leon and Maleficent

Even as the sorceress approached, Leon couldn't find the slightest bit of strength in his entire body to move. The blow against the rocks had crumbled the last remnants of his strength. Perhaps…Perhaps charging her alone had been a bad idea after all. He was always the one preaching intelligent planning, to not act in anger. What a fine example he had become? When she was face to face with him, he had forgone all caution and allowed his rage and pains consume him. He had acted in the very way he had so often chastised Sora for acting.

Even though his vision was swimming, he could see her now right in front of his face. Maleficent put the tip of the blade on her staff under his chin, forcing him to meet her eyes. Had they always been so hypnotic?

"You have been a thorn in my side Squall Leonheart. You sided against the Queen of these worlds. Such traitorous actions must be met with consequence. However, I am not without mercy Squall. You may pay your debt to me through helping to put down your former friends. I will free you from the pain. Embrace the darkness Squall. Allow it to fill your entire body."

It was so easy, he felt so weak. Just give in like she said and the pain would all go away. After so many years of fighting, to actually have some semblance of peace, it was intoxicating. Even now he could feel the serpent-like voice that was Maleficent poisoning his mind but he couldn't find the energy to care. What had Mickey ever done but bring him pain by forcing him to fight for him like pawns in his war against the darkness? Why keep fighting when Sora, for all his skill, was just a young boy with no real chance in the long run? He was probably dead anyway.

Already the amber eyes that were usually filled with intelligence and reason had a yellow tinge to them and he could feel the last of his strength leaving him. He had run his race, now he supposed it was time to accept Maleficent's rule and do what he could to aid himself in this new regime. Trying to avenge his fallen home had only brought him more pain. When would he find peace? The others would be fine without him.

That was it…The others…

Yuffie

Aerith

Cid

Merlin

Even Cloud

They were all depending on him…He couldn't let them down. Even if he couldn't beat her, he could still prevent himself from being defeated by her.

"G-Go to hell you bitch." The blood filling his mouth gurgled his speech but from the hate that filled her eyes, he knew that she had understood every word. "I can't wait to see Sora put an end to you"

Now the voice of seductive reasoning turned to icy fury. At once, she stepped back, whipping the staff around so that the magic orb, rather than the blade, faced his body. Almost spitting the words out, he heard "You first." Before unimaginable pain filled him and then he knew no more.

Beast and King Mickey

If one was to say that the battle between Mickey and the Beast was an interesting one to see, it would be the understatement of the year. Whereas the Beast, even in a human body, preferred brute strength and powerful strikes in order to end the fight before it had the chance to turn against him, Mickey was much of the opposite. The mouse king had learned to take his diminutive size and turn that disadvantage into a blessing. Speed, agility and precision were his greatest allies. By ducking around his opponents blows, he waited for the ideal opening in his opponent's defenses before he struck and fighting someone so cumbersome and strength-based only allowed him to use that style to its fullest. Despite Beast's immense ability, he was ill-suited to fight someone like Mickey and was still far less skilled as a fighter. Although it was by no means easy, Mickey had held the advantage from the beginning and never relinquished it. Furthermore, as the battle dragged on, Mickey grew more comfortable with predicting Beast's movements while Beast grew frustrated and began swinging his blade erratically.

After a well times thrust of the Keyblade that connected with the back of Beast's knee, he finally managed to bring the powerful warrior down onto his other knee while the King back flipped several feet away.

"You don't have to serve her Beast. I know the real you has to be in there somewhere. A heart strong enough to travel across the boundaries of worlds can't be subdued so easily. You don't even have to join us. Just walk away. We don't want to fight out friend anymore."

"I will sooner die than betray Queen Maleficent. She is all that matters, her will is my reason to exist."

A look of pity was all the reaction he received from Mickey at first. The young king seemed desperate to avoid doing what needed to be done and what honor remained in the Beast roared at the shame. Mickey had bested him in battle and he would not even end it like a warrior. To fall to the enemy in battle was shameful enough when Maleficent had entrusted him with subduing King Mickey. To have his opponent refuse to kill him out of some foolish perception of friendship and loyalty was utterly ridiculous however.

"I can't kill you Beast. You're my friend. You've saved our lives. In battle perhaps, but you're beaten now. I won't kill someone who can't fight back."

An explosion however caught both of their attention. Instantly upon locating the source of the noise, Mickey's face turned to horror. There was Maleficent over the remains of Leon. Furthermore, remains were the nicest way to put it. His body was in pieces and chunks of his corpse lay in different places, his blood coating the sand of the island. Nothing of substance had remained for them to even bury if they escaped this battle.

Rage welled up at the sheer injustice of it all. Leon was a good man and she had killed him in cold blood. This monster had to be stopped. Forgetting the beast for the moment, he turned and raced towards Maleficent, determined to engage her himself and attempt to keep her busy until Sora could return from the Dark Realm. What he had not counted on however was that her pull on the Beast's mind through darkness was so great that he overcame his injury temporarily and attacked Mickey from behind, cutting him across the back with his swords while Mickey was distracted. Rising shakily to his feet, Mickey returned his focus to Beast as well as the energy needed simply to stand with a long slash over his spine. He would need to have one of the mages look at his body soon and heal him but no time for that now.

"I'm trying to help you Beast. Walk away or help us! I can set you free from her control!"

Disgust and resignation warred on the human's face before he replied in a soft and sad tone, "My freedom was forfeit long ago"

At long last accepting what would need to be done, Mickey just nodded, one eye glancing over at Maleficent whom several of the refugee mages from Radiant Garden who had chosen to fight rather than flee were stalling her in a battle of five on one which, despite their superiority in numbers, she was easily dominating. He would have to end this quickly and go take over. They wouldn't last more than a few minutes once she stopped toying with them.

"Then I have no choice anymore Beast. I'm sorry but I have a duty to the people of the worlds"

"No more words" and with that the Beast charged, sword slamming down at Mickey who, with his wound found his agility heavily impaired, was forced to bring his keyblade up to block before jumping up and over the human's head, tapping two quick blows to the Prince's right shoulder. As he landed, he immediately swung for the same knee that he had struck before, burying the teeth of the keyblade in the man's flesh before concentrating all the energy he had left and crying out "Pearl!"

Light exploded from the tip of the keyblade, blowing the Beast into the air. However, Mickey was not ready to give the Beast another chance to catch his breath. He had a job to do and it was time to do what was necessary. Leaping into the air, he sliced Beast across the back. As they reached the peak of their height however, he aimed the keyblade downward and pushed it into the helpless human's ribs, burying it in the skin. As the fell, he used the same momentum to spin and gain more speed. Furthermore, right before they hit the ground, he cast another 'Pearl' spell and performed an improved pile driver, sending the Beast into the ground with the force of an earthquake. Pulling himself out of the created hole and onto his feet weakly, Mickey could only allow himself a moment's grief as he saw the Beast's body lose the last of the life left and the once powerful warrior faded back into eternity. Even as he turned and headed for Maleficent, dicing through a dozen heartless in the process, he knew that they couldn't hold up much longer if nothing changed here. Even if the best fighter were holding up for the time being, what about the other fighters with less skill and experience? What about the refugees? Unless Sora got back soon, there wouldn't be a happy ending for any of them, there wouldn't be any honor to give for Leon.

On the Other Side of the Play Island

"Cid get those kids inside the ship! We have to go!"

The explosions were getting larger and Kairi wasn't sure how much time they had left. Was it Sora causing them? Maleficent? Mickey? She didn't have the time to worry about it. She had to do what Riku asked her and find a world to get the refugees to for the time being. Destiny Islands had kept them safe for a little while, but there seemed to be no where that was truly safe anymore, just ones that would keep them hidden from Maleficent for a little while longer.

"Are we loaded yet!"

"I need a few more minutes to get some supplies loaded kid!"

"We don't have that long! We needed to be gone already! If the heartless find us then we're already dead!"

"We won't last long without food and other supplies princess!"

"We'll last even less time if we have an army of heartless on our tail, close the supply hatch and get in the cockpit!"

Finally Cid seemed to accept the command, closing the supply hatch to the large Gummi Ship, King Mickey's personal ship that he had brought when they fled. She hated to be mean to the man who had been so nice to Sora when he had been alone in Traverse Town but running around the entire play island, finding Cid, and rounding up the families and refugees had not been a small task nor had it been quick. Her father, the mayor, had instead tried to talk over her insisting that the adults could handle it and Sora and Riku's parents were demanding to know where their children were. It had only been with the aid of Cid that she had finally managed to get them on board with the rest of the civilians and those unable to aid in the fighting.

Running for the landing platform to board, Kairi suddenly found herself face-down in the sand however. When she looked back to see what she had tripped on however, she found something most unusual. Among the whole sand beach was now a medium sized hole that seemed to go down forever. It had certainly not been there a minute ago and yet even now, as she watched, she saw the upper half of a tree vanish.

What was going on with Destiny Islands!

Picking herself up as the ground beneath them shook once again, she ran up the platform and raised it, sealing the ship for takeoff before racing into the cockpit and strapping herself in next to Cid in the co-pilots chair.

"We have to leave! We have to leave right now!"

Apparently sensing her alarm, Cid did not question her and simply fired up the engines, lifting the ship into the air and rocketing towards the outer boundary of the Destiny Islands. Once they crossed, they would be safe, she had saved these people, like Riku had asked and like Sora would have wanted her to do. She had just been lucky that when she arrived there were only a couple dozen heartless and nobodies and none of which were high class.

"Kid, you know how to fly one of these?"

Glancing up at the older man in surprise, Kairi shrugged before answering him:

"Sora and Riku taught me the basics but I never really had time to practice or learn anything other than those basics. Why? Isn't this a bit of a bad time for a lesson Cid?"

"First of all, it's never a bad time to learn something new. Second, if they taught you the basics, you're about to get the advanced course. Take a look."

Following Cid's gaze out the cockpit window, Kairi could almost feel the tears welling up in her eyes. They had been so close. There, beyond the ship and surrounding the world in a blockage, had to be at least five thousand heartless ships. Regardless of how well shielded and armed that King Mickey's ship was, there was no denying one thing.

This rescue and escape mission had just become a suicide errand.

Coming Soon:

King Mickey, racing off to face the woman who had destroyed his Kingdom and murdered his friend in cold blood. Will he remain true to his strengths and be able to stand against her in his weakened and tired state? Will he fall to the same mistake Leon made and give into his desire for revenge? Or will he end up the next victim of the Dark Queen.

Riku, his full potential awaken, is off and determined to make everyone proud and turn the tables in their favor. Will his newfound courage waiver when he has to confront the demons of his past or will he prove why he was Terra's choice to be a keyblade master. Riku embraces the way towards dawn, using darkness to fight for light. However, on the road to dawn, dawn has to eventually come.

Kairi and Cid, off to try and survive, to do what they can to aid in a battle where they are far out of their element and outnumbered. Kairi has the courage but what happens when her courage is tested in fire? Furthermore, will Cid find the strength to help the boy who wandered into his store all those years ago and fulfill his vow to look out for him?

The conclusion of Cloud versus Sephiroth is coming soon. Sephiroth is all Cloud had thought of for so long, can Cloud put his obsession aside to be there for his friends, or is Sephiroth right about Cloud not caring about the battle anymore? Will Leon's death help Cloud to find and accept his light?

The Island is destabilizing from all the disturbances to the world order and all the refugees located there. How long will it last under the poison of all the imbalances?

Finally, a boy racing through home as fast as possible, newly powered with the X-Blade but also wary of the pull it already has on him. Will Sora make it in time to save his friends and his home or will Maleficent, once again, get the best of him?

Next Time on The Last Crusade: For A Friend

AN: Like I said at the beginning, I forced this out to try and cure my writer's block and while part of it is still there, forcing myself to try and get ideas out did help. I am however aware that this likely came out terrible so I want to apologize as well as thank everyone in advance for the poor quality and for reading respectively. I do hope you all have had a great couple months and that things have been going well. OH and quick question, for those of you who would be willing, do you prefer the way I ended things this time, with little previews, or before when I just left it hanging? I was inspired by the old kid's cartoons from the 1990's because it always used to leave me thinking as a kid and wanting to read more. So if you would tell me which you prefer, I'd appreciate so I can decide whether to scrap or continue it. I just tried it this time for kicks. Anyway, that's all for now so have a great night everyone!