Disclaimer: I do not own Kingdom Hearts. I belongs to its rightful owners.

3rd Person P.O.V.

Everything that Sora feared was going to happen was coming true.

As the boys unlocked the lock to the door Riku ran through, Sora could feel the many lights of his friends shining in his heart. Except for three. He had felt Kairi's light leave a long time ago. He felt all traces of light and hope in Riku leave a few minutes ago. Now, Sasuke was completely gone. He could still feel Kairi's presence and Riku's darkness, but now he couldn't feel Sasuke at all. It was like she vanished, like she never existed in the first place. He couldn't figure out why she had disappeared from his heart, but he didn't like the feeling. Was she even still alive? Had Riku done something to her?

Sora knew that he was one to put his feelings first, but this was ridiculous. He couldn't let her just fade. What if he forgot about her? He needed to find Riku and stop whatever he was doing . . . before he potentially erases Sasuke forever. If that happens, he doesn't know what he'd do. He wouldn't be able to forgive himself.

He pushed open the door that Riku had went through, not knowing what to expect. It was another foyer-like room. Though, this one was way darker and evil looking than the actual foyer. They all walked closer into the room, catching sight of a tall, green woman in a dark cloak. She had a smug look on her face as she watched the boys come further into the room. She must know something about everything that was happening.

"You're too late," she said before any of the boys could question her. Her smug expression shifted into a slight smile. "Any moment now, the final Keyhole will be unsealed. This world will be plunged into the darkness. It is unstoppable."

Sora got in a fighting stance, more concerned about what happened to Sasuke's light rather than anything this woman had to say about Keyholes. "We'll stop it," he announced. "After coming this far, there's no way we're going to let that happen."

"You poor, simple fools," the woman laughed. "Do you think you can defeat me? The mistress of all evil?"

A portal of darkness appeared in the corner of the room, grabbing everyone's attention. Unshockingly, Riku stepped out of it, dressed in his Heartless suit. His sea green eyes landed on the green woman before looking at Sora. Sora's, however, were glued to the dark version of the Kingdom Key in his hands. Where did that come from? Donald must have been thinking the same thing because he stepped forward. He looked as if he had seen a ghost.

"Is that-"

Riku held the Keyblade up and smirked. "Yes. A Keyblade." His voice was distorted and raw. It sent a shiver down Sora's spine. "But unlike yours, this Keyblade holds the power to unlock people's hearts. Allow me to demonstrate." He walked over to the woman with that same smile. He didn't look the same. He didn't look like himself at all. Lifting up his Key, he plunged it into the woman's heart, causing her to gasp. "Behold! Now , open your heart, surrender it to the darkness! Become darkness itself!"

Riku took the Keyblade out of the woman. He took a few steps back, disappearing through that dark portal again. He left no time for people to ask questions. The woman began glowing with a bright green mist. Sora frowned; he definitely did something to her.

"This is it!" the woman yelled out with a smile. "This power! Darkness . . . The true darkness!"

They watched in silence as the woman's body began morphing into something else. Her arms grew longer. Her legs stretched out. Her fingernails grew out. Her body grew larger as a black tail and wings grew out of her. She was turning into a dragon. The ground shook as she roared, her form now about as tall as Cerberus and dripping green flames from her mouth. Riku's Keyblade did all of this. She roared again, shaking the ground once more. Sora, Donald, Goofy, and the beast got in their fighting stances. It was now or never.

The dragon went up on its hind feet and stomped back down as they charged, knocking them back. She kept stomped to make sure that they couldn't get close to her. So, they stepped back a bit, shooting magic her way until she got distracted enough for actual attacks. When she wasn't looking, Sora went forward and jumped in the air, attacking her head. It seemed like that was her weak point. Every time he swung at her head, she was stagger around like she was getting dizzy.

She got back to stomping, knocking them all back again. Once they were back, she spat fireballs out of her mouth. The balls of fire spun around the room hitting anything it could get close to. Sora swung at them and they disappeared. A patch of green fire was left in their place on the ground, though. They had to make sure that they avoided that during battle.

Sora, Goofy, and the beast teamed up, attacking the head all at once while Donald distracted her with his magic. With each hit, the dragon was growing even more dizzy. With about twenty more hits, she was done.

She let out a growl before collapsing on the ground. The dragon caught on fire, leaving nothing but a black mark on the ground where she once was. That was it. The woman was defeated. Sora sighed, collecting his air back inside of his lungs. His arms were tired, but he knew this was only the beginning. There was so much more that they would have to do to make sure that peace is returned.

The black portal of darkness appeared again, Riku stepping out of it whilst shaking his head. "How ironic," he said. "She was just another puppet after all."

"What?" Donald quacked.

"The Heartless were using Maleficent from the beginning. She failed to notice the darkness in her heart eating away at her. A fitting end for such a fool." Without another word, Riku disappeared through the portal he came in with.

It was silent. Silence was usually the aftermath of a big fight, but they didn't have time to rest. Not while so many people needed their help. The four ran through the tunnel that had opened once Maleficent collapsed. Sora, of all people, hoping that everything that he was looking for was just a few steps away. But, he knew that never happened. He was going to fight. He was going to have to keep fighting for a while.

Inside the tunnel was a large room. The entrance had a Heartless rug with large, flaming candles lined along the length of it. Sora stepped further in waiting for someone or something to pop out. But nothing did. Rather, he noticed six women trapped in cages in the walls. A few of which he knew. "Jasmine," he named as he stared at the sleeping girl. So this was where she went. "Alice, Belle . . . What are these girls doing here? They're supposed to be in their worlds."

"Gawrsh, Aladdin's worried sick about her," Goofy said, looking sadly at the long-haired princess.

The beast stepped closer to the woman in the yellow ball gown, caressing her cheek. "Belle," he said slowly. "Are you awake? Can you hear me?"

"Sora, look!"

Sora took his eyes off of the saddening scene around them and looked to where Donald was pointing. Just a few flights of stairs above them was a blue, green, and purple portal . . . shaped like a heart. He opened his mouth to tell the beast to come on, but there was no point. Now that he found Belle, he wasn't going to leave her. With that said, Sora, Donald, and Goofy ran up the stair by themselves. Thee has got to be some way to wake those girls up and set them free. They didn't deserve this. No one did.

However, what lied at the top of the stairs was enough to shatter Sora's heart. Lying on the ground lifeless was Kairi and Sasuke. They looked so peaceful, like they were happy where they were, off in their dreams. He wanted to scream in joy when he seen that they were somewhat okay. But, that was until he noticed it. Kairi's chest was slowly going up and down. She may not be awake, but her body was alive. Sasuke, on the other hand, was completely still. She wasn't breathing or anything. It was like a still corpse lying on the ground, her black hair fanned around her like a veil.

Donald ran forward, clutching onto the girl. Though she got on his nerves just like everyone else, she was a loyal friend. To see a loyal friend on the ground perhaps dead is enough to bring anyone to their knees. He placed his fingers right below her jaw as Goofy and Sora raced over with grim expressions. The duck shook his head. She didn't have a pulse, her heart wasn't beating. She wasn't alive.

"No, you're lying!" Sora shouted, moving Donald out of the way to check for himself. At least he know that Kairi was okay. No one knew what was happening to Sasuke. He placed her head in his lap, shaking her shoulders back and forth. "Sasuke! Sasuke! Open your eyes! Please!"

"There's no use."

Sora looked up, his eyebrows furrowing when he seen Riku standing in front of the portal with his Keyblade. He wanted to bad to yell at him. To ask him why both of the girls were lifeless. This shouldn't be happening. Both of them should be on the island arguing about bracelets like they used to, not in comas.

"Those girls have no hearts. They cannot wake up," Riku explained in his distorted voice. Something didn't sound right.

Sora gently lowered Sasuke back onto the ground, sending Kairi one last sad look before glaring at Riku, and saying, "What? You . . . you're not Riku." This whole time, it wasn't him.

The fake Riku ignored him. "They Keyhole cannot be completed without Kairi . . . so long as the last princess of heart still sleeps."

"The princess . . .?" Sora asked, looking down at the redhead's sleeping form. "Kairi's a princess?"

Riku nodded. "Yes, and without her power, the Keyhole will remain incomplete," he said. "It is time she awakened."

"Whoever you are, let Riku go! Give him back his heart!"

"But first, you must give the princess back her heart!" Riku shouted, lifting up his Keyblade.

Sora felt a tugging at his chest. His heart. Riku was trying to pull his heart out. Sora let out a moan, falling to his knees as he clutched his aching chest. Was his heart Kairi's? He didn't remember her giving it to him. Nonetheless, his chest felt as if it were ripping open, as if his insides were coming out. Donald and Goofy panicked, clutching onto Sora and he yelled out in agony. He's been in a lot of pain before, but this has got to hurt the most. His whole body hurt.

"Don't you see yet?" Riku asked innocently. "The princess' heart is responding. It has been there all along. Kairi's heart rests within you!"

Sora blinked in confusion. "Kairi . . . Kairi's inside me?"

Riku nodded once more. "I know all that there is to know."

"Tell me . . . who are you?"

"It is I, Ansem," Riku spoke. "The seeker of darkness." He stepped closer to Sora. Donald, attempting to protect his friend, charged at Riku with his staff. Unfortunately, the silver-haired boy just pushed him aside. Riku held up Keyblade in Sora's direction and sighed. "So, I shall release you now, Princess. Complete the Keyhole with your power. Open the door, lead me into everlasting darkness!" Riku lifted the Keyblade up to bring it down upon him.

"Sora!"

Sora could have sworn he heard Kairi's determined voice. She wanted him to get up. So, that's what he did. Before Riku could strike him with the Keyblade, Sora blocked it using his Kingdom Key.

"Forget it!" he growled. He wasn't going to let the girls down again, even if Sasuke probably wouldn't be around to see it. "There's no way you're taking Kairi's heart!"

Sora charged at him first, knocking him back with his attack. This Riku was a lot faster. His backflips and runs were nothing but a blur. Holding up his hand, Riku sent a ball of electricity toward Sora. He barely dodged it, almost falling down the stairs in the process. Not giving him time to recover, Riku ran at Sora, swinging his Keyblade so fast that Sora couldn't even see which direction he was swinging it. But, knowing him, it was probably in all directions.

The Keyblade hit him. A burn sensation shot through his left arm in the area he was hit. Riku had the power of electricity and agility on his side, way more than what Sora had. Using a spell to heal himself, Sora ran in for an endless chain of attacks. That's what Sasuke would do if she was still here. She doesn't think and she usually gets out of these situations. Maybe he shouldn't think either. Maybe he should just let his Keyblade do the thinking.

Riku flew back when he was hit for the tenth time in the chain of swings. Throwing his Keyblade, it acted like an electric boomerang, spinning toward Sora while shooting dark energy at him. Sora winced as his arm was shocked again. The Keyblade spun around a few more times before returning to Riku's hands, the boy jumping in the air and sending pulses of electricity through the ground. Sora groaned, he was shocked yet again. But there was no time to dwell on that. He had to keep fighting.

That's exactly what he did as he ran toward Riku, swinging his weapon as hard as he could. He had to do this to save what was left of Kairi. If he lost, she was going to be lost as well. The thought, echoed through his head as he attacked Riku. He can't let her down. He can't let any of them down. With the last chain of attacks, Riku dropped his Keyblade. He was defeated. But, when Sora took a step closer, he disappeared into thin air. He was gone.

"Sora!" Donald called out. "Sora, look! The Keyhole!"

His blue eyes gazed at the giant Heart-shaped portal behind the two. It must have been the Keyhole that everyone was so concerned about. Sora walked over to it. It was about time they got everything over with. After everything that they've been through, it felt weird for all of it to lead to this one moment. But, Sora still pointed his Keyblade at the Keyhole, expecting for the beam of light to shoot out of it. His eyebrows pulled together when nothing did.

Goofy scratched his head. "It won't work!" he pointed out. "The Keyhole's not finished yet."

Sighing, Sora absentmindedly tossed the Kingdom Key behind him. "What can we do?" he asked, rubbing his throbbing arm.

"Maybe we've gotta go wake Kairi up."

They turned around to look at the small, sleeping girl on the floor. "I think you're right. But . . . but how?" Sora grumbled. That was when he realized that Riku's Keyblade was still on the ground. He hadn't took it with him. "A Keyblade that unlocks people's hearts . . . I wonder . . ."

Goofy watched in confusion as Sora began walking over to it. "Sora?" The boy bent down, retrieving the dark Keyblade. "Sora! Hold on! No, wait!

Sora turned to them and sent them that same goofy smile from Traverse Town. He didn't know how this would turn out, but he had to try. For Kairi. For everyone. Even if that meant him losing his own heart. Turning the Keyblade so that it was pointed toward his chest, he took a deep breath. This could be it. The last thing that he would ever see could be the sad expressions on Donald and Goofy's faces. But, it was worth it. Taking one more deep breath, he pulled the Keyblade into his heart, a feeling of numbness overcoming him as he shut his eyes. This was it, it was too late to turn back now.

The Keyblade pulled out by itself, fading into six hearts. Those hearts soared through the room before flying to the bottom of the stairs. Automatically, the hearts slowly entered each princess' body. When they were gone, one more heart was pulled out of Sora's chest. That heart rose high before lowering into Kairi. The girl's eyes slowly fluttered open. If Sora was awake to see this, he would be smiling.

His body started falling backwards. Not wanting to let his best friend go, Donald ran after it before it could hit the ground. "Sora! Sora!" the duck cried. Kairi got up, racing to catch him, too. But, as soon as she touched him, his body disappeared. He was gone. "Sora! Come back, Sora!" Donald was practically crying at this point for his friend. There was a chance Sora wouldn't return and he knew it.

Kairi stared at her hands as if they were the ones who had caused all of this. "Sora, are you really-No. He can't be! He's my best friend, I won't let him go!" Her eyes scanned the room, looking for a way to get him back. However, when they landed on the lifeless Sasuke on the ground, she could feel the tears begin to flow out of them. What was happening? She ran over to the girl, collapsing by her side and sobbing. "Sasuke? Sasuke, can you hear me? Are you okay? Please don't tell me you're gone, too! Sasuke!"

When Kairi didn't get a response, not even a heartbeat, she knew her best friends were gone.

"So, you have awakened at last, Princess." Wiping her tears, Kairi looked up to the man that was talking. He was tall with tanned skin, white hair, and golden eyes. She had never seen him before. "The Keyhole is now complete. You have served your purpose. But now it's over."

The man started to walk over to Kairi, but Donald and Goofy summoned their weapons. "Don't make another move!" Donald snapped at him.

Goofy leaned over to whisper, "Do you think we can stop him all by ourselves?"

Donald shrugged. "I don't know."

A flash of light came from the man. A figure stepped out of his body, refusing to let him get any closer to the girl. It was Riku, straining to gain control of his heart again. "No!" he groaned. "You won't . . . use me for this!"

"Riku?" Kairi asked.

Riku turned to Donald and Goofy. "You guys have got to run! The Heartless are coming!"

Just as he said that, a swarm of Heartless appeared around them. The three exchanged looks before nodding in agreement. Without a fight, Goofy ran to pick up Sasuke, threw her deadweight body over his shoulder, and the three of them ran down the steps. Donald was in front, screaming bloody murder for his life. He didn't even bother running down the steps. At some point, he had just began jumping down them.

Goofy held onto Sasuke's boy tighter so that he wouldn't drop her. "What about the Keyhole?" he shouted.

"Let's just get out of here!"

So they ran out of the room for safety . . . completely unaware of the one innocent Heartless watching them leave in sadness.

Long chapter, huh?