They ran through the doorway leading to the Proof of Existence and looked around. The hallway to Naught's Approach was sealed off by a round barrier, while the final tombstones' doorways were wide open.
"Well, looks like the only way to get through there is if we defeat the final two Nobodies in their doorways."
"Way to go Xemnas for getting rid of the small fry," Saiyoku raised her fist a little, but felt an aching pain in her chest again. She backed away from the group a little, and checked the area the pain was coming from. She gasped when she saw the area fading away into codes and numbers-muscle and all. Pretty soon, she'd have a huge hole going right through her, and then... who knows? How large would the hole grow?
"Something wrong?" Riku asked, worried. She leaned in and whispered, "I'm fading away."
"What?" He whispered back.
"In my chest... there's a huge hole. It's getting bigger and bigger, and all the muscle and tissue and skin is dissolving into codes. What's happening!" Her voice cracked when she asked him, panic rising.
"I don't-I don't know what's going on... I don't know what to do."
"Neither do I!"
"Well, we can't tell the others. Just... Just... Stay here. Okay? We'll go handle whatever's behind those doors."
"F-Fine but-" She gasped in pain as she felt the hole get bigger.
"Just stay here."
Riku and the others went on ahead through the door on the left, leaving Saiyoku alone. She leaned against the farthest tombstone on the right, since it was the most intact.
The group didn't take long, so they came back through the doorway and looked up at the barrier. It hadn't changed, so they decided they would go to the next one.
"Who was it?" Saiyoku asked.
"Luxord," Riku replied, and Saiyoku sighed, "So that means... Saïx is left? Aww, I wanna kick his butt!"
"No, you need to stay here."
"But I can help!"
"No you can't!"
"I can too!"
"No! You're in no condition to do anything like what we're gonna do!"
"Riku!" She screamed. He pushed on her shoulder and made her sit down. She could feel herself caving in, so she obliged.
"So... what happened to her, Riku?" Sora asked, and Saiyoku just growled.
"She was injured in another world."
"Are you talking about my burns? I'm fine! Those healed when we first got here!"
"You're gonna sit here anyway."
They went into the next door on the right, and Saiyoku watched them go with envy. As soon as they went through, the other tombstone crumbled away, and the barrier opened. Saiyoku looked up, but her mind went fuzzy as soon as she saw the hallway. Her body began to move on it's own, and it dragged her through the doorway, up into Naught's Approach, where it stopped when it reached the top platform. Her mind fuzzed in and out as she felt more of her body turn into codes. It had now covered her the lower part of her left cheek and the left side of her neck. Her arm was barely hanging on by her back. In fact, it was now useless.
Up on the platform, Ansem the Wise and the King were watching a machine that was shooting a beam up into the heart-shaped moon: Kingdom Hearts.
"This seems to be going well," Ansem said, and Mickey looked confused, "How can ya tell?"
"The encoding is going smoothly."
"Oh."
"W-What are you doing!" Saiyoku asked groggily, feeling the codes move up onto her eye. She soon lost her sight in her eye.
"Saiyoku!" Ansem and Mickey shouted at the same time, appalled by her appearance.
"What are you doing!" She burst out, feeling her arm sag as it was becoming consumed.
"We're encoding Kingdom Hearts into data," Ansem said, gesturing to the machine.
"No! D-Don't do that! You can't! It's going to... It's... Look what it's doing to me!" She screamed, pointing to the left side of her face, "Stop it! Turn it off! It's destroying me! It's encoding me as well! STOP IT!" She screamed at the top of her lungs, and the machine started to make strange noises and the beam wavered.
"Ansem, what's going on?" Mickey asked, and Ansem looked at Saiyoku intriguingly.
"It seems you didn't tell me something about yourself when you were helping me."
"I... I didn't even know... myself..." She panted, and Mickey asked, "Ansem?"
Ansem laughed, "I'm a fool. I spent years studying the workings of the heart. Yet it seems I still haven't learned a thing."
"What d'ya mean?" Mickey asked.
"The process of encoding hearts into data is incalculable. The inhabitants of my Twilight Town were data created from real hearts. I was convinced that they would think and behave the way I had envisioned; but I couldn't have been more wrong. A heart is so much more than any system," He looked at Mickey, "I saw it when Roxas and Kairi crossed paths. I knew. But I was too stubborn to accept it," He looked up at the giant heart, "It's always the same. I try to wrap my mind around things my heart already knows, only to fail. While I was trying to bring Sora back, I had so many plans in store. But once Sora was an acting force, they fell apart. All my research amounted to nothing compared with that one boy's heart. And now it seems... there's a new development I could have never begun to imagine... Saiyoku it seems... has a very special connection to Kingdom Hearts... and such a strong and strange connection, that it's causing her to be encoded as well. Tell me... what are you?"
"I'm... the living... Kingdom Hearts," she panted, "I can't say... I could've told you... when we first... met, because I... just found out... myself. But when you... encode Kingdom... Hearts, you encode... me. We're one, and..." She held her stomach and fell to her knees, grimacing in pain.
"Saiyoku!" Mickey looked at her, but caught sight of the machine, "Ansem, the machine!"
"All the more proof that hearts cannot be contained by data. You never know when something much bigger than us has plans of it's own. Run my friends! It's going to self-destruct, and anything could happen!"
"But..." Mickey began, but footsteps interrupted him, followed by Sora's voice, "Your Majesty!"
"Sora, the rest is up to you," Ansem looked back at the naïve boy, "And Roxas- I doubt you can hear me but... I am sorry..."
"Ansem!"
"My heart is telling me what I must do. Please allow me to do what it says."
"No!" Mickey reached out, but Riku appeared behind him and held him back, "Riku!"
"His heart's decided. We can't change that. Saiyoku... you're face... you're falling apart."
Before she could respond, Xemnas appeared, the Dark portal falling around him.
"I was wondering who would dare interfere with my Kingdom Hearts. And look-here you all are. How convenient for me. Ansem the Wise. You look pathetic."
"Have your laugh. I deserve as much for failing to see you for the fool you are."
"Student do take after their teachers. Only a fool would be your apprentice. After all, none of this would have happened without you. YOU are the source of all Heartless. It was your research that inspired me to go further than you ever dared."
"I admit... my disregard brought chaos to more worlds than one. But what were YOU seeking? You erased me from the world only to take my name and continue research better left forgotten. Is this the answer you've been looking for?"
"All that and more."
Riku kneeled next to Saiyoku and looked her over. Her left arm was gone, her face was being eaten away, her legs were being devoured, and the code was moving across her chest.
"What?"
"It's that machine. The machine is encoding Kingdom Hearts, and in turn it's encoding me. You have to stop that machine!"
"But it looks like it's just about ready to blow up! What am I supposed to do?"
"I DON'T KNOW!"
"Xehanort. Foolish apprentice of a foolish man. You have surpassed nothing, only proved how little we both know. We may profess to know the heart, but its essence is beyond our reach. We're both ignorant... as oblivious as when we began. I'm afraid that any world YOU try to create... Any world of yours, would be an empire of ignorance. That's why you and your creation are destined to fall! We've said enough! Riku, you know what to do. King Mickey, Saiyoku, my friends... forgive me. Farewell!"
The machine grew brighter and brighter, and the light seemed to blast outward. Riku grabbed Saiyoku around what was left of her waist and pushed Sora back, who was trying to stop Ansem from blowing himself up. The light then sucked back in, and shot upward, creating a spinning vortex. They were all pushed to the ground, and Riku lost his grip around Saiyoku. People were sent in different directions, and Ansem's form disappeared.
When the light faded, and the vortex cleared, everyone was scattered. Sora, Kairi, Donald, Goofy, and King Mickey were in one corner of the platform, while Saiyoku and Riku were on the other side. Riku's arm was wrapped over Saiyoku's waist, limply, since they were both knocked out.
But everyone gained consciousness soon enough, and Sora was the first to awaken. He lifted himself to all fours, and saw Riku and Saiyoku on the other side.
"Riku? Saiyoku?" He got up and ran to their sides, while Riku managed to get up on all fours, groaning. Saiyoku still lay limp, but Sora was side-tracked. (He does have a one-track mind...) Riku had completely changed back to normal, apart from the fact that he was still wearing his blindfold.
"Riku!" Sora said happily, grinning from ear to ear. Riku looked at him, utterly confused by his expression. Everyone gathered around, and Donald and Goofy made dramatic 'wow's'.
"Riku!" Kairi said, bouncing a bit where she stood. He looked at all them, still confused, when Mickey said, "Ansem did say 'anything could happen'."
They all stood up and looked at the spot where Ansem had been, only to see nothing there, not even the machine. Sora turned to Riku and asked, "Riku, you gonna take that off?" Indicating the blindfold.
"Oh..." Riku muttered, reaching up and pulling it off. He opened his eyes for the first time in months slowly, but was distracted by the small noise Saiyoku made, still lying on the ground. He immediately kneeled next to her and put a hand on her shoulder. It was a relief to see her still in one piece.
"Saiyoku? Saiyoku, are you okay?"
She groaned again, and opened her eyes, picking herself up and looking at everybody.
"W-Wha...?"
"You're not falling apart anymore. Ansem the Wise is gone, and so is his machine. Same with Xemnas."
An image flashed in front of Saiyoku's eyes: Riku as Ansem melted away into the real Riku. She took a guess at what that meant, "Riku... you're back to normal again, aren't you?"
He smiled a bit, "Yeah. And it looks like so are you."
"I wouldn't say that, Riku..." Mickey said, pointing to Saiyoku's legs. They were growing fainter and fainter until they burst into tiny little pieces, like dust.
"No!" They both said at the same time, but Saiyoku felt two hands on her shoulders.
"It's time to go, Saiyoku. Kingdom Hearts needs you now."
"WE need you now."
"We're sorry."
She looked to either side of her to see Ven and Terra, both only images. No one else could see them. So she didn't say anything, but merely looked at them franticly as she tried to think of a way to stop Kingdom Hearts from taking her. They shook their heads sadly, and she looked up at Riku.
"Riku... I... Terra and Ven..."
His ocean blue eyes widened, "They... they said...?"
She looked at him, her eyes brimming with tears, "Riku... I-I'm... I'm scared..." She looked down and felt the tears pour over her cheeks.
Saiyoku? Scared? Sure, Riku had seen her scared before, but he had never heard her admit it. This startled him. She must be so terrified.
"Don't be. You'll be fine."
"Promise?"
"I promise."
"Do you think we'll see each other again?" She sniffled, trying to wipe away the tears as her abdomen turned to dust.
"I know we will," He kissed her gently.
She smiled a bit as her chest faded away, and soon her arms, her neck, until all that was left was her head.
"R-Riku..."
"Yeah?" She could hear his voice choke up a bit.
"I lo-" Her voice faded with her head, and the dust swept away up into the sky, all the way to what was left of the imploded Kingdom Hearts.
"Riku, what just...?" Sora and all of them asked, but Riku shook his head, trying to cover up his tears, "I-I'll explain after we defeat Xemnas. That's all we can do for now." He tore off his Organization coat, pants, gloves, and boots, showing off his other outfit.
"Let's go."
They headed up the platform and walked up the stairs to Ruin and Creation's Passage.
"But I didn't even get to tell them goodbye!"
"We're sorry, Saiyoku."
"We really are."
"I didn't even get to tell him I love him..." She muttered.
"Didn't you see the giant hole in Kingdom Hearts? In OUR heart? Just... Just understand our circumstances. You HAD to go back. You were the only one who could help heal it faster. Now most of the hearts are falling down on the world and creating more and more Heartless. You can call them back you know."
"I can... Can call back Heartless?"
"Yes. YOU are the only person in the entire universe who has full control over them when in this state."
"Wait... Didn't you say that once I rejoined with Kingdom Hearts, I would stop existing?"
"You haven't fully rejoined. The process is only beginning."
"So I'm stuck here with you guys?"
"Pretty much."
"Where's Aqua?"
Ventus and Terra both exhaled, "She was never actually here..."
"What?"
"She's still alive. We don't know where... but, she's still alive with her heart intact. We used our powers to recreate her."
"Why?"
"We missed her."
"She's a lot like you, and it seemed fit that all three of us should be there to begin you on this journey."
"So... you recreated her inside my mind?"
"That's why she isn't here now, and that's why she disappeared earlier. You haven't seen her in a while, have you?"
"No."
"Our point exactly."
"You know, this really isn't that bad. I mean, I don't have to deal with physical injuries, I don't have to deal with Kairi, and I can get all the answers I want now."
"Very true. But what happens when you cease to exist?"
"Then I won't like it."
"Ahuh..."
They all laughed, and continued talking, Saiyoku asking tons of questions. Not about her as the living Kingdom Hearts, but them. Where they lived, what they enjoyed doing, and things like that.
"Where's Xemnas?" Sora asked, and Donald looked around and snapped his attention to the now closer than ever Kingdom Hearts, "What?"
Xemnas was inside the gigantic hole in Kingdom Hearts, arms raised above his head.
"Hear me, Kingdom Hearts. It seems we must begin anew. Ah, but know this: I will give to you as many hearts as it takes. Mark my words. You can no more be complete without me than I without you. Heed me, Kingdom Hearts. Lend me your power, so that we may be complete. The power to erase the fools that hinder us."
Saiyoku immediately felt an intense bodily pain, like her own lifeforce was being sucked out. Xemnas' words echoed in her head, and she screamed, "No! I won't lend you my power! This is me, you hear that! You can't have my power! I don't need you! And those are my friends you want to erase! Don't you dare lay a hand on them!" She was completely unheard by everyone except Ven and Terra, but everyone else tried to stop him as well.
"Xemnas! No!" Mickey yelled, but the Nobody continued.
"Hearts quivering with hatred."
Sora shouted, "Xemnas! Don't!"
"Hearts burning with rage."
"You'll never win!" Donald yelled, stomping his webbed feet on the ground.
"Hearts scarred by envy. That fool Ansem said that the heart's nature was beyond his understanding. But it's not beyond mine! Hearts are the source of all power!"
Kingdom Hearts began radiating an intense light, and everyone down on the platform shielded their eyes. Saiyoku let out a bloodcurdling scream of pain as Xemnas ripped most of her power from her, and Riku could've sworn he had heard it. The light faded, and Xemnas was gone, as well as the pain; but Saiyoku still felt horrible.
"Xemnas! You can't hide from us!" Sora shouted at the empty hole.
Mickey looked at the others, "We're not gonna let him get away now."
"No you're not. I'm gonna help you guys out." Saiyoku said shakily, and used what was left of her power to summon a door using all of the worlds out there. Kairi turned around and pointed at it, "Look at that!"
"What's goin' on?" Goofy asked, and the king responded, "Kingdom Hearts."
"Let's go. Xemnas must be inside," Riku pressed.
"The worlds gave us this doorway. They want us to be the guardians of their destiny!" The king stated, but Riku corrected him, "No... Saiyoku's the one who gave this to us... I'm sure of it. She wanted to help out, even if she can't do it physically."
Sora nodded, and Riku continued, "Once we go through, there's no turning back. It's victory... or oblivion. So, Sora... are you ready?"
"Of course. If Saiyoku's ready to help out too, then let's go!"
"You do realize you just probably sped up the rejoining process by using that much power, right?" Terra asked, but Saiyoku ignored him.
"Ventus, what else can I do to help?"
"Hm... well... not right now. You don't have enough power. Just wait."
"Ok-" She stopped and screamed as Xemnas raged inside his own installment of the inside of Kingdom Hearts, "XEMNAS! GIVE ME BACK MY POWER!"
"He wants you to get angry, Saiyoku. He knows about you! Remember! I'm him, he's me, except he's a Nobody and I'm part of your heart," Terra reminded her.
"S-So that makes... me... a part of... him too?" She panted, still in pain.
"In a way, yes."
She screamed again, this time out of anger.
"Saiyoku, you really need to calm down. Your friends aren't ever going to win if you keep getting upset like this. This is how you help. You don't succumb to anger, pain, rage, envy, hatred, or sadness. Stay happy. Okay? Think of the islands, think of your friends, think of Riku. Anything to make you happy, okay? That's the only way you can help them right now," Ven said soothingly, attempting to calm her down.
She listened and tried to make herself happy... but that was easier said than done. Ventus and Terra tried to entertain her until her friends were done destroying Xemnas... which didn't take as long as they thought it would be, considering Saiyoku's inability to stay happy for a long period of time at the moment.
"You have enough power to kick him out now. Do it. DO IT NOW!" Terra urged her, and she used her power to push him out of his world and back onto the platform.
"There, he's out now. You don't have to be as happy."
"Yeah, but now I'm happy."
"Whatever."
They watched as the group down on the platform reunited for real and talked a bit, ready to go to their homes. Sora even made Riku laugh! (If not just a little bit). But then the tower quaked, and Mickey urged the others to leave. But Riku couldn't open a portal, so Saiyoku asked, "How come he can't open one like always?"
"Because now he has to wear the coat in order to open one, like you."
"Why? I thought because he was farther into the dark, he could open one by himself."
"Well... You changed that. Besides, this battle has shown that he is now part of the light, more than the dark."
"So, now he's like me?"
"In a matter of inner light and dark... yes."
"Interesting and-hey, is that Naminé?" Saiyoku watched Naminé, Roxas, Sora, and Kairi chat, after the king, Donald, Goofy, and Pluto went through the Dark Portal Naminé had opened. Riku stayed behind, watching the couples talk. But soon, the two Nobodies rejoined with their original selves, and disappeared.
"So those were the only two Nobodies that got to rejoin with their original selves... Sad..."
"That's not true. In a way, you count."
"Not funny. And I'm special."
"We know."
"Hey, do you guys sense something?"
"Evil?"
"No... empty."
"As in...?"
"A Nobody."
"Two just disappeared... so of course you would still sense-"
"No, those two aren't empty anymore. I think..."
"You think Xemnas isn't dead..."
"Exactly."
"Now that I think about it... He didn't dissipate the right way, like normal Nobodies."
"He's still alive!"
"If just barely..."
"We have to take care of him!"
"How?"
Saiyoku closed the Dark Portal just after Kairi left, leaving Riku and Sora behind, "That's how."
"Now we're gonna help some other way... aren't we?"
"You bet. Ven, help me out."
"Sure."
"What can I do?"
"Megalaser."
"What?"
"You see that hovercraft they're riding? It's equipped with a laser, but it's useless without any power. However... when absorbing powers from Nobodies, it becomes charged, and it can shoot the laser. But this power is miniscule. You're going to amplify the laser whenever they get enough power, and then, presto! You get megalaser! And it'll take down that giant dragon machine in no time!"
"Awesome! Here we go!"
She waited and watched, and before she knew it, it was already her turn. Riku pressed the laser button, and Saiyoku used her power to amplify the laser. A huge white blast of energy shot out from the bottom of the hovercraft and split into two equally large lasers that took out the giant machine dragon on either end of the tail. She kept doing the same routine, and eventually, they had rid it of its tail, its engines, and its wings. It sunk to the ground but it changed, turning the entire area into a void with a giant black hole behind them and several skyscraper buildings floating around.
"What now?"
"Um... just don't let them fly into the black hole."
"Easy enough."
She watched and protected them from flying back, creating a barrier every time they got near it. They destroyed the king-like figure sitting in the chair fairly quickly, but the landscape changed yet again, but this time... Saiyoku couldn't see them.
"W-Where'd they go!"
"They're in a place between Kingdom Hearts... and The World that Never Was. It's basically a place where there's only one way to get in... and no way to get out."
"Then how...?"
"You can help them when they've defeated them."
"Hey Terra? Where's Destiny Islands?"
"What?"
"Destiny Islands. I've heard of it, but I don't know what it is... could you explain? Oh, same with the names, Hollow Bastion, Twilight Town, Traverse Town, Land of Dragons, and some other places, but I can wait."
Terra looked at Ven, "It's begun."
"Yep, time for Saiyoku to rejoin. Knowledge of the worlds go first, since those are some of the most limited memories."
"Pretty soon, she'll be asking us who Yuffie, Cid, and Leon are."
"And Ansem."
"Yeah... she'll ask about him."
"And then..."
"And then she'll forget who the king is, and who Donald and Goofy are..."
"And pretty soon... she'll forget all about Riku and Sora and Kairi."
"And then herself..."
"It's sad."
"It's her fault."
"She wanted to help her friends."
"But she'll forget all about them."
"She was going to forget about them anyway."
"They'll forget her. They'll forget she even existed."
"I don't think they will."
"She won't exist. You can't remember someone who doesn't exist! That's what happened to Xio-"
"Shh! We're the only ones who remember! And that's just cause our hearts weren't truly touched by hers! We can't mention her. She never existed."
"I know, but I was proving-"
"Guys?"
"What?" They both asked, annoyed.
"I wanna go home."
"You are home," Terra replied, but Saiyoku whined, "No, I want to go HOME. The home where Riku, Sora, and Kairi live."
"Great, her mentality has even decreased in age..." Terra muttered.
"It did not. She's just mentally confused and isn't coping with the amnesia very well. She's just forgetting!"
"Well, we'll see how long we have. Saiyoku, do you know who Xemnas is?"
"A Nobody."
"More detail please."
She explained, and Terra sighed, "Well, we still have a few hours."
"Good to know."