"So, the darkness is flowing out of that Keyhole?" Leon asked. Sora, Luigi, Kairi, and Bowser decided to ask Leon what to do while Timpani and Count Bleck visited Merlon. They had just finished recounting the story of Hollow Bastion's events to him and the other citizens of Traverse Town. "

"No wonder there are more and more Heartless everywhere," Aerith said. "The only way to stop them is-"

"Seal the Keyhole, right?" Sora asked and summoned his Keyblade.

"Maybe. But no one knows what will happen once it's sealed," Leon said.

"Well, we can't just stay here," Sora said. "We have to do something. I've got a friend back there." His mind turned to Riku. He wasn't quite sure what happened to his friend when he stopped the man, who he assumed was Ansem, but it couldn't have been good. And so long as Riku was fighting, there had to be some of him left.

"That's right. You have one more friend left to worry about. Riku's Keyblade must have been born of the captive princess's hearts-just like the Keyhole you saw." He looked at Kairi. "Of course, without Kairi's heart, it remained incomplete. Don't worry. If anyone can save your friend, you can."

"I thought the Keyhole would strengthen the darkness. I mean the darkness is strong, but still…" Aerith said. "It's almost as if something's holding the darkness back."

"The other five princesses," Luigi said. "Only Peach, Timpani, and Kairi had woken up when we went to leave. I bet they stayed behind to guard over the Keyhole and prevent darkness from escaping, and even then Peach ended up staying behind."

"Perhaps," Aerith said.

"Hey Sora, if you want to go back and check it out, I betcha Cid has something," Yuffie said.

"Well, let's go talk to him!" Kairi grabbed Sora and started dragging him out. Luigi and Bowser went to follow, but the ninja put her hand out in front of them.

"Let the two of them have some time alone. That's why I sent them," she said with a snicker at the end.

"Then how are we supposed to know when the Starshroom is ready?" Bowser asked.

"Just go after them in ten minutes and wait where Cid is, okay?" Yuffie asked.

-x-

"Cid, I need to go back to Hollow Bastion," Sora said. Kairi smiled and swatted at him. "Hey!"

"Shouldn't you actually say hello to him first?" Kairi asked and stuck her hand out to Cid as he looked at her with confusion. "I'm Kairi."

"So you're one of Sora's missing friends?" Cid asked. She nodded. "Good to know. Now what were you saying, kid?"

"We need a way to get back to Hollow Bastion," Sora said.

"I don't think I can let you do that," Cid said. "The Heartless there are multiplying by the minute. They'd eat your ship up."

"Then what can we do?" Sora asked.

"Simple, go around 'em instead of through. Another Power Star should allow your ship to go anywhere," Cid said.

"A new Power Star? From where?" Sora asked.

"The secret waterway," Cid answered. "When I first came here, I found it hiding there. Never thought a kid would be the one to use it!"

"Thanks Cid," Sora said, choosing to ignore the comment. "There's a short cut to the waterway near here, come on!" Sora started pulling Kairi away.

"Alright," Kairi said and started walking along with him as he walked passed a set of crates into the alleyway. They walked through the alley, their feet splashing along the water until it became too deep to walk and they had to swim. They arrived on a small island of land underneath. "Is this it?"

"Yeah, if we step onto the platform over there, we'll arrive in Merlon's temporary residence," Sora said. "It's got to be hiding somewhere."

"Have you checked over the whole of this place before?" she asked. Sora nodded. "Then you must not be looking hard enough." She put her hands on a painting on the wall of a sun in a small hallway branching off of a pathway.

"What's wrong?" Sora asked.

"There's something here. I feel its light," Kairi said and pushed, revealing the small glowing yellow star.

"A Power Star!" Sora grabbed it and put it in his pocket. "You found it!"

"I did, didn't I?" she asked and giggled.

"Let's go back and join the others. We should rest up." Sora went to walk away, but Kairi didn't respond. "Kairi?"

"A light at the end of the tunnel…" Kairi said, looking back at the mural.

Sora heard and walked back over. "Oh, your grandma's story, right?"

"That's right," Kairi said. "We were together."

"You know what's funny? I looked everywhere for you, but you were with me all along." Sora smiled. He was happy to finally be reunited with Kairi. "Finally, we're together, Kairi." He moved slightly closer to her. "Now, it's time to get Riku back."

"You think it'll ever be the same again between us?" Kairi asked. "Riku's lost his…"

"When I turned into a Heartless, you saved me, remember?" Sora asked. He didn't enjoy that time in the darkness, but he had to tell her. "I was lost in the darkness. I couldn't find my way. As I stumbled through the dark, I started forgetting things-my friends, who I was. The darkness almost swallowed me. But then I heard a voice-your voice. You brought me back."

"I didn't want to just forget about you, Sora," Kairi said. "I couldn't."

"That's it! Our hearts are connected." He put his hand over his heart and she smiled, doing the same with her own hand. "And the light from our hearts broke through the darkness. I saw that light. I think that's what saved me. No matter how deep the darkness, a light shines within. I guess it's more than just a fairy tale."

"Well, let's go." Kairi went to walk away, but that gave Sora a pause. Kairi coming wasn't part of his plan at all.

"You can't go."

"Why not?" she asked in confusion.

"Because it's way too dangerous!" Sora argued.

She put her hands behind her back and leaned forward slightly. "Come on, Sora. We made it this far by sticking together. You can't go alone."

I'm not going alone, I have Luigi, Bowser, Timpani, and Blumiere for help. Sora thought. "Kairi, even if we're apart, we're not alone anymore. Right?"

"I can't help?" Kairi asked, her voice held an offended tone and she had started frowning.

"You'd kind of be in my way," he said.

She sighed slightly before giggling. "Okay. You win." She grabbed his hand and put a pink star made out of shells in his hand with brown hair and a smiley drawn on the uppermost shell. Holding them together was a piece of string tied to a silver crown much like Sora's necklace. "Take this. It's my lucky charm, so be sure to bring it back to me." She leaned forward, her hands on her hips.

"Don't worry, I will." Sora smiled.

"Promise?" she asked.

"Promise."

"Don't ever forget. Wherever you go, I'm always with you." Kairi smiled at him and watched him walk out of the waterway, choosing to hang behind for a couple more minutes before heading up as well.

-x-

"So this is who you truly are Tippi?" Merlon asked. Timpani nodded. "I suppose I should have foreseen that one day you would regain your human form."

"Thank you Merlon, for saving my life," Timpani said and looked at Count Bleck hesitantly. "I have a request for both of you though."

"Both of us?" Count Bleck asked. "What do you need both of us for?"

"Well, it's separate requests really," she said. "Blumiere, I want to try turning you back to how you were before. I probably need to do that before I fulfill Merlon's request."

"You mean my body right?" Count Bleck gestured to his missing legs. "I should figure out how to get that back?"

"If I may, you said Sora regained his form after Kairi's light protected him?" Merlon asked. They both nodded. "And the Dark Prognosticus is the thing that gave Count Ble-Blumiere this form. If Timpani is a Princess of Heart, much like Kairi, then she should have the same darkness combating light within her. If the two of you manage to channel that light, perhaps Blumiere will return to his original form."

"Kairi doesn't even know what she did? She just hugged him as far as the rest of us can tell," Blumiere said.

Timpani hesitated before speaking. "She told me that she'd just thought about protecting him, and how when she realized she couldn't she thought about how the three of them could destroy the worlds together. Those thoughts of spending forever with Sora and Riku might have been enough to bring Sora back…"

"Without taking credence from your theory, I believe Sora also had a part in it too," Merlon said. "She may have brought him out, but he clung to her first. He didn't attack her for a reason. That reason is their connection. If you can find that same connection in both of your hearts then I have faith the two of you will be able to do it. Until you figure out how to do that however, what did you wish to ask of me?"

"Oh, I…" Timpani smiled slightly. "I want to join Sora in the fight ahead, but I know he'll need my scans again. I was hoping to turn back into my Tippi form."

"In your Tippi form? Are you sure?" Merlon asked.

"Yes," Timpani said. "My magic isn't nearly as strong as it could be and the Pixl body is still in good condition. It wouldn't be permanent, would it?"

"It could be. Nobody's ever put a person that wasn't dying inside of a Pixl before. There's never been a fully functioning body for the user to return to. If both of you are willing to risk this, I'll do it."

"I don't support the decision, but she believes she needs to do it," Count Bleck said. "And if she truly wants to do this, she can. Besides, after this I'll be searching the Realm of Darkness for Riku."

"And Dimentio managed to recreate my body to bring me back to it to form the Keyhole. If he could figure it out, then there must be a way. Even if it takes years to find that knowledge, it's out there, and so long as I have my memories, it's not a big deal if I'm a Pixl for the rest of my life."

Merlon nodded. "Very well. I'll get the body ready to once more receive your heart. When I come back, I'll transfer you in." He walked away to a room in the back of the house.

"This is your last chance to back out. With the two of us together, our magic is definitely powerful enough together," Count Bleck said.

"Blumiere, somebody needs to find Riku and only a Tribe of Darkness can lead him out. We both know this is best." She looked at him sadly. "I'm sorry."

"Do you want me to stay with you when he comes back?" Count Bleck asked.

"No. It'll be hard on you. My body will be missing a heart. I'll look like I'm dead, and I can't put you through that again, even if I'll just interact with you when I wake up as a Pixl moments later." She put her hand on his.

"Then this will be goodbye," Count Bleck said, giving her a sad smile.

"It's only a small while longer. We'll be together soon. I promise," she said.

"I hope that's a promise you can keep." He teleported away just as Merlon entered the room.

"He's not staying?" Timpani shook her head. "Very well. The body is ready for you."

-x-

"There you two are," Sora said as he waved to Luigi and Bowser.

"Sorry," Luigi said. "Yuffie held us back."

"Really?" Sora asked. "Why?"

"With her, who knows," Bowser said.

Cid walked up to them. "You found it? I'll put it in the Starshroom." He walked away after Sora handed him the Power Star.

"Where'd you get that?" Luigi asked.

"The waterway in the alley," Sora answered.

"And that's going to get us back to Hollow Bastion?" Bowser asked.

"Yup." Sora smiled.

"Are you three ready to go?" They all turned around to see Merlon with Tippi behind him.

"Timpani?" Sora asked in surprise.

She flew over to them. "I'm a lot more useful as a scanner for the time being. I asked Merlon to turn me back into a Pixl to help."

"And Blumiere?" Sora asked, his eyes looking for Count Bleck.

"He's looking for Riku in the Realm of Darkness…" Tippi said.

"So it'll be just the four of us again," Luigi said. "Hey Merlon, why did you come?"

"I came to deliver one last wish of good luck to you, heroes," Merlon said. "And to tell you that no matter how dark things seem, I believe the four of you will succeed in the upcoming battle. The end of this journey is near; remember that as the worlds throw everything they can against you."

"I will, thank you Merlon, for teaching me magic," Sora said.

"It was my pleasure Sora. I hope that after this, we shall be able to meet again in the future." With those final words, Merlon left Traverse Town through the gate in the first district.

"Where's he going?" Bowser asked.

"Flipside…his home…" Tippi said softly.

Cid returned to the heroes. "All set! You can get going at anytime. Kid, I gotta say, I wish you didn't have to face all this danger. Don't get cocky just 'cause you've been there before. That castle's probably crawling with 'em now."

"Thanks Cid, for everything," Sora said.

"Just don't go getting yourself killed," Cid said.

For the final time, the four of them left Traverse Town behind them.

-x-

It was a dark place, one he'd never been. Riku stumbled forward somewhat blindly. "Sora…Kairi…I'm sorry…" he said as he wandered the dark realm. "Is this the afterworld?"

Suddenly, he felt faint. His form losing focus as it started to fade into the darkness around him. "I'm not ready. Not yet. Not until I see Sora and Kairi one last time…"

"Riku, can you hear me? I'll be there soon."

"Who is that?" Riku looked around in confusion.

"I have the Keyblade-the one that belongs to this world. I've been trying to get through to you Riku, but the darkness in your heart kept me away."

"Who are you? What's happened to me?" Riku asked.

"Your heart won the battle against darkness, but it was too late for your body. That's why you're here-in this place of darkness where hearts are gathered."

"So what do we do?" Riku asked.

"The Door of Darkness will open soon, but it's a door we can't enter. It has to be closed from both sides. To do this, you need two keys and two hearts. Maybe you're here for the same reason I am. Maybe it's fate."

"Fate, huh? You seem to know everything, don't you? Then tell me: Are Sora and Kairi okay?"

An image of Sora began to run along the path in front of him.

"Don't you feel the echoes of their hearts? You already know the answer. Look inside your own heart."

"Okay." Riku began to walk along the path, planning to meet the mysterious voice when he saw a familiar figure. "Count?"

"So you are here, Riku," Count Bleck said.

"So you weren't the voice?" Riku asked. Count Bleck shook his head.

"Voice? No. But we should find who was, I don't mind one journey through the Realm of Darkness to find them."

"Thank you, for helping," Riku said. "And I'm sorry I didn't listen to you."

"It's not your fault Riku. I do have a request in exchange for helping you out," Count Bleck said. "I want you to call me by my real name, Blumiere."