Sorry once again everybody

Sorry once again everybody! I know it's beginning to sound a bit repetitive. I've just been so busy lately. Just know I'm here and I'm going to finish this up, I'm not leaving! Hope you like this chapter, those who are left.

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"You sure we'll be okay traveling by portal?" I asked Naminé as we walked into the black mist.

"I'm sure for now. Our big concern is not being caught once we rescue Kairi. When we get her out, we shouldn't use the portals; we'll just have to be careful not to run into Saïx. We could be in big trouble if he catches us," she replied.

"And if we do get caught…what does trouble mean for us?" I asked.

"Not quite sure," she answered. "I've got some backup, though. Hopefully, if we do get caught, he'll be there to help us." I was about to ask who she was talking about, but before I could get a word out she whispered excitedly, "This is it!"

She held up her hand and a portal appeared. A pinkish purple light crept in from the other side, and the sound of a dog barking reached my ears. It opened up completely. Kairi was standing by the cell bars. She looked surprised, but also very confused.

I was standing a half step behind Naminé, who was almost outside the portal herself. "This way!" she called to Kairi. Kairi looked unsure. I stepped forward so she could better see me.

"Trust her, Kairi," I kindly ordered. She took a deep breath and gracefully strode over to us. Naminé and I both reached a hand out to her. She hesitated at first. I could have sworn she was staring at the heart necklace around my neck (it was visible given that I was no longer wearing my cloak). She eventually grasped both of our hands in hers. When her hand entered mine, what felt like a spark jumped up my arm. I glanced down at my own skin, it was more transparent then it had been two minutes ago. I sighed.

We ran quickly, all in a row, Kairi in the middle, down the staircases of the castle. Pluto, King Mickey's dog, followed closely behind us. "How is Sora going to get into the castle? We were on the wrong side of the entrance when we were back in the city," I said to Naminé. Kairi was too busy to notice.

"It's true. Xemnas destroyed the main entrance a while ago," she said. I had no idea that he had done that. "If he follows the main street he'll arrive at the edge of the pit below the castle. He can use his keyblade to activate a bridge like the one at the main entrance. It will lead him up into Xemnas's part of the castle."

I nodded. Naminé was leading us to somewhere in the castle. I thought that we should be more cautious as we ran down the stairs—what if someone found us? We should be more careful. I pushed the thought away as the silhouette of a tower appeared above us as we rounded another corner. I looked up and stared at large moon behind it. My eyes then jumped around to the thousands of stars thrown across the black sky. I wondered if I would ever see daylight again.

I was ripped from my thoughts as Kairi's hand tore from mine. I screeched to a halt and moved my eyes from the stars back to Kairi. She was a few feet behind me, farther up the stairs. She was looking at Naminé who stood even farther behind her. Naminé's face held a mixture of anger and utter horror, her eyes fixed on something behind me. Kairi followed her gaze. I watched as her eyes too widened with fear. I slowly turned around.

The second my eyes saw his yellow ones I jumped backwards. I landed in front of Kairi and stretched my arms out on either side, guarding my two others behind me. I heard Naminé take a few steps forward and position herself between Kairi and myself. "We'll protect you, Kairi," she whispered.

"There you are, Naminé!" Saïx said. "I've been looking for you."

"Naminé?" Kairi said. I glanced over my shoulder. Naminé's figure was very shaky. Rarely did she become completely non-transparent. She was fading quickly.

"And you too, Raene?" he said. As I turned my head back I glanced at my arm. It wasn't as transparent as Naminé's but it was close.

"Raene?" Kairi whispered. This was her first time hearing our names.

"Don't worry…" I said back.

"Well, after our talk, I'm a bit surprised to learn of your treachery," he said to me.

"What's surprising about it? Why would I help monsters like you and Xemnas instead of my sis…" I paused. "…instead of my friends?" I had almost given away my identity.

Saïx ignored me and held out his hand. "Come with me, Kairi, I'll take you to see Sora," he said. After a brief moment of silence, he continued. "Is that a 'no,' then?"

"No. Of course I want to see him…but not with you!" she said. I summoned my keyblades and got into a fighting stance. "Raene?" Kairi said again, surprised by the familiar weapons, "When are you going to explain all of this?"

"Soon," I replied.

There was a slicing sound. Saïx turned around just in time to see one of his berserker Nobodies stumble, fall to the ground, and disappear. Still holding his keyblade, was a tall, cloaked figure. I smiled. Hopefully, he'd forgive me for what I said to him last time we saw each other. So get lost, Riku! We once could have been friends, but now, that relationship is over. Leave! Those words echoed in my head.

Saïx looked confused by Riku's presence. "Didn't Roxas finish you?" he asked.

I summoned away my keyblades and stood up relaxed. I could feel Naminé and Kairi relax behind me too. We all lined up again, Kairi in the middle. "You can take it from here, Riku," Naminé said. By her words, I knew we were about to separate again.

"Riku?" Kairi repeated, confused. Riku's keyblade disappeared from his hand and in its place was a glowing ball of light. He threw at Saïx who jumped back, avoiding most of its blow. As he flipped and landed, Riku ran at him and pinned him against the castle wall. Saïx grinned at the hooded figure. He kept his hand low and summoned a portal. He melted into it.

I looked at my side as Kairi ran down to Riku. Naminé was no longer there. I looked around but she was nowhere to be seen. I prayed that I would be able to see her again. I became reassured as I remembered that we would have to unite with Kairi, and I knew that time hadn't come yet. I still had time.

"Don't go!" I heard a voice say. It sounded so familiar—like I was hearing myself. I had said those same words to people so many times. I looked at Kairi. Riku was standing near the portal that was quickly closing up. Pluto ran up to him and wagged his tail. He must have recognized him.

"Riku…" Kairi said walking slowly up to him. "Is it really you?" she said. She stood up on her tiptoes and pulled back his hood. The look on his face almost made me want to cry. He looked completely ashamed of himself. I could only imagine how he felt. He had once loved Kairi, didn't he? He turned to the darkness for her…and look what that did to him.

Kairi asked no questions, though. She stared at him, but it didn't seem rude. She looked at me as I walked up to them. Riku nodded at me and I nodded back. "I'm holding you to your promise, Raene. You'll explain everything," she said pointing at the crystal heart around my neck. I smiled.

"Riku, could you take us to Sora? I can't summon a portal," I said. He smiled and did so. We stepped though and appeared on a platform in a very tall room. The ceiling was see-through. I could see Kingdom Hearts. From here it looked bigger and brighter than ever. It must be complete. Did the Organization get all the hearts they needed?

Below us were hundreds of heartless and Nobodies of all shapes and sizes. Holes leading into the darkness lined the walls. I stumbled. Something heavy was weighing down on me. Being so close to this amount of darkness was having some effect on me. Riku grabbed my arm to held me steady.

I looked down at the monsters and in the middle saw Sora, Donald, and Goofy with their weapons at the ready. "Sora!" Kairi called down to him. He looked up and smiled; you could see his goofy grin from way up here. He called her name. The two of us waved crazily.

"See, Sora! I told you I'd get her for you!" I yelled. Suddenly, a group of shadow heartless pounced on him. Kairi frowned and jogged back a few yards. I watched as she dashed forward and leaped off the edge. "Kairi!" I yelled trying to grab her.

I looked down. She landed perfectly on the ledge below us. More heartless appeared and jumped on her, pinning her to the ground. She groaned. Riku and I jumped down and knocked them off her. Riku helped her up and I looked around as more of the enemy began to encircle us. "Riku…" I warned.

He summoned a keyblade, one I'd never seen before. It was all colors of the rainbow and appeared very floral. He handed it over to Kairi who grasped it in her hand. She smiled. "You and Sora protected me before. This time, I'LL fight," she said. She looked very excited to be given the opportunity to fight for Sora this time. "Let's go!" she called as she ran forward slicing at heartless and throwing them in the air. Riku and I each summoned a keyblade and joined her in battle.

I felt weak as I fought the creatures. I couldn't swing my keyblade as fast as I could in the past. I couldn't dodge attacks as easily. When a small group of heartless all attacked me at once I was pushed off the edge and landed with a thud far below Kairi and Riku.

"Raene!" Sora yelled. I opened my eyes and looked in the direction of the voice. A blur with brown spikes ran over to me and lifted me up. "You okay?" he asked. I rubbed my head and looked up at the others. They must have noticed my fall but didn't have time to stop their fighting.

PING! The sound echoed through the room. The others and I looked to our left and watched as a red crystal stuck in the ground exploded. Suddenly the room was filled with hundreds of the red crystals. They rained down from high above and hit the heartless and Nobodies all around us.

When all the enemies on our level were gone and all the crystals disappeared, we waited and listened. "How's our little hero?" called a voice. My eyes widened. When I heard his laid-back, surfer-sounding voice, I shuddered. I had told Sora when we were back in the mansion that I would be okay with him fighting the one loyal member left that I liked…but now I was completely regretting telling him that.

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Once again sorry guys. Please don't hate me. Thank you to all those new people who have starting reading the story and to all my usuals. You all make me feel so great. Remember to ask questions, guys. I want to put something like a Q/A in the last credits chapter. Thanks for reading, everybody!

Love, Sarah