Sora and Xehanort were dueling each other, Sora defending more than attacking as Xehanort attacked him with only the X-Blade in an insane rage.
"You will NOT hinder me anymore WHELP!" Xehanort screamed in anger as Sora continued blocking his attacks.
"Call me what you want! Nothing is going to change the way I feel about Kairi! Not even YOU!" Sora replied as he shoved Xehanort back. Xehanort merely lunged at Sora once again, X-Blade raised but Sora blocked once more. Xehanort then noticed out of the corner of his eye, the other Keyblade wielders lining up and raising their Keyblades towards the Door to Kingdom Hearts and his eyes widened.
"NO!" Xehanort roared as he leapt at Aqua who quickly turned to block the blow but was knocked off the platform.
"AQUA!" Ven and Terra shouted but fortunately she managed to hook the tooth of her Keyblade to the edge of the platform.
"XEHANORT!" Sora shouted as he aimed his Keyblade at her. Xehanort turned and lunged at Sora again before Sora could fire off the Shoot Lock. Meanwhile Terra and Roxas quickly dropped to the ground, extending Oblivion and Terra's Keyblade towards Aqua.
"Grab on!" Roxas shouted as Aqua quickly grabbed Oblivion. Riku and Mickey quickly grabbed Roxas by the waist, pulling on him. Aqua then put her foot on the tooth of Terra's Keyblade while Ven pulled on Terra's waist and they all pulled Aqua back onto the platform.
"Kairi! I know you're in there! I know you feel the same way about me as I do about you!" Sora shouted at Xehanort who twitched slightly before continuing her assault.
"Come on, we've got to open this door!" Aqua said as she turned towards Sora.
"COME ON SORA! HOLD HER STILL!" Aqua shouted as Sora knew just what to do.
"Kairi!" Sora shouted as he flew in again their Keyblades pressed against each other's and their faces right in front of each other. Sora then leaned forward slightly and whispered the one thing Kairi needed to hear, the one thing that would weaken Xehanort, the one thing she had longed to hear for a long time.
"Kairi…I love you." Sora whispered. He then pulled back slightly to see Xehanort looking at him with shock and anger. Suddenly he started convulsing roaring in frustration. She started floating into the air, the changes between Xehanort and Kairi switching like mad as she held her hands to her head in an effort to once again subjugate Kairi's body.
"Xehanort!" Riku shouted up to the struggling dark lord who turned to glare at him while still struggling.
"You may think you're so powerful-?" Mickey shouted up to him.
"-But you didn't count on one thing!" Roxas shouted.
"You never counted on the power of love!" Aqua added.
"Of friendship!" Ven added.
"Of Loyalty!" Terra added.
"And of the heart!" Sora finished.
"Xehanort, you want the power of Kingdom Hearts-?" Terra asked as they all turned towards the Door to Kingdom Hearts and raised their Keyblades. Beneath their feet large glowing emblems appeared, matching the symbols on their Keychains. A crown beneath Sora, the Mark of Mastery beneath Aqua, Ven, and Terra, Mickey's Royal symbol beneath Mickey, the Nobody symbol beneath Roxas, and the Heartless symbol beneath Riku.
"-Well now YOU'VE GOT IT!" They all said in unison as the circles of light formed around the tips of their Keyblades before shooting forward, joining into one massive pure white beam of light, and streaking towards the Door to Kingdom Hearts.
"NOOOOOO!" Xehanort shouted, still trying to regain control of Kairi as the beam vanished and the door started to slowly swing open, emitting the purest most radiant light the worlds had ever seen. Almost instantly bolts of lightning started crackling all over Xehanort along with a massive cloudy black aura that formed around her as he screamed in agony and rage, convulsing violently. Finally they could see a semi-transparent vision of Master Xehanort appear over Kairi. The X-Blade started to crack, the crack spreading and branching to the entire blade.
"AuuuuUUAAHHHHH! OOH! EGH! AUGH AHHHHHHHH! YOU WRETCHED BRATS! NGH! WHAT IS THIS?" Master Xehanort's visage asked angrily as he continued convulsing violently. Finally Kairi dropped free from the cloud, fully restored just as the X-Blade shattered into millions of pieces.
"We've ended your nightmare! FOR GOOD!" Sora shouted up at him. Xehanort then threw back his head in one final roar of anguished fury before his heart exploded in a torrent of black magic. Everyone did their best to hold onto where they were standing as the remnants of the dark lord surged past them, threatening to knock them all off the platform. They quickly hurried to get towards the center when finally the winds changed direction, pulling them all towards the center before once again exploding outward but for the last time, knocking them into the corners of the platform. Xehanort's evil had been ended for the final time.
"We did it! WE DID IT!" Terra exclaimed.
"It's not over yet! LOOK!" Aqua exclaimed, pointing towards the door where billions of Heartless awaited. Fortunately there was now a pathway leading to it.
"CLOSE IT FAST!" Sora shouted as they ran towards the door quickly. They each quickly ganged up on the doors, closing them in record time before leaping back and aiming their Keyblades at it once more, firing the sealing beams of light towards the other, creating another single large beam of light that forever locked the doors to Kingdom Hearts.
"That was a close one." Riku said as everyone caught their breath. It was now deathly silent in the world they were in. Riku then started to chuckle. Everyone looked at him curiously. Then Terra started chuckling, then Ven, then Mickey, then Roxas. Finally everyone was laughing as realization swept in.
"We did it! WE DEFEATED XEHANORT!" Aqua exclaimed.
"Oh yeah! Who's the best?" Ven asked.
"We are!" Terra replied, bumping knuckles with his best friend.
"Who's the best?" Riku asked.
"WE ARE!" Roxas and Mickey replied in unison. They then noticed Roxas was starting to glow with a white aura and turn semi-transparent.
"Roxas! You're…you're fading!" Aqua exclaimed as Sora walked up to him. Sora was glowing with the same glow.
"No, he's not fading. We're becoming one again." Sora replied.
"Xehanort was the reason I was ripped free from Sora in the first place, so now that he's gone, there's nothing else keeping me here." Roxas said with a smile.
"It's been an honor knowing you Roxas." Terra said with a smile.
"Hey, don't act like I'm dying or something. Whenever you see Sora, you see me. Because he's where I belong. We are of one heart." Roxas said before turning to Sora.
"It's been nice having you around Roxas. But what will I tell Axel when he learns you're gone again?" Sora asked as Roxas chuckled.
"The truth. He'll understand. But hey, look sharp." Roxas said with a smile before extending a hand. Sora grasped a hold of it and both closed their eyes before Roxas faded away, returning to Sora's heart.
"Sora?" they heard a voice creak. They all turned to see Kairi, lying on the beach fragment of the Destiny Islands, moving very slowly.
"Kairi!" Sora exclaimed as he hurried over to her. He dropped to his knees in a skid before holding her up in his arms.
"Sora." Kairi said as she opened a pair of tired eyes.
"I'm here Kairi, I'm here." Sora said with a relieved smile. Suddenly she grabbed him by the neck of his shirt and pulled him into a deep and loving kiss.
"(Ahem) Avert your eyes people. Let's give them some privacy." Riku said stepping in and shooing the others away, using his Keyblade as emphasis. Finally Sora and Kairi parted both staring into each other's eyes.
"Kairi, that was…" Sora said, too stunned to finish the sentence.
"You meant it Sora…you meant what you said back there." Kairi said with a tired smile.
"Of course I did. I've been trying to find a way to tell you for so long, I just couldn't work up the nerve to tell you until now." Sora said as Kairi smiled and closed her eyes.
"I love you too Sora." She said as she started drifting off to sleep.
"Huh? Kairi!" Sora exclaimed.
"Relax, she's just exhausted. She's been through a lot in the past few hours." Riku said as he knelt down next to him.
"I know. But, you know, I feel strange." Sora said as Riku arched an eyebrow.
"How strange? If you need to hurl just do it over the edge of the-…" "No it's a good strange." Sora interrupted.
"Like what?" Riku asked.
"I feel…complete." Sora said with a smile. Suddenly they felt the ground quake, rousing Kairi from her sleep.
"What's happening?" Aqua asked as she, Terra, and Ven stood on the fragment from the Land of Departure.
"The worlds are restoring themselves!" Ven answered. The shaking was so violent that it knocked Sora onto his back, off the piece from the Destiny Islands while Riku fell forward onto it. Mickey proceeded to tumble over and fall onto the Disney Castle fragment. Suddenly the fragment of the Destiny Islands broke off. Sora leapt to his feet and saw the island fragment moving slowly away.
"Kairi!" Sora exclaimed.
"Sora!" Kairi exclaimed, reaching for him and grasping his hand.
"I know where the islands are and how to get there! I'll come back to you! I promise!" Sora exclaimed.
"I know you will!" Kairi replied as their hands separated, watching as they drifted away from each other. (Music Cue: Simple & Clean – Utada Hikaru)
"When you walk away
You don't hear me say please
Oh baby, don't go
Simple and clean is the way that you're making me feel tonight
It's hard to let it go."
"SORA! OVER HERE!" Aqua shouted. Sora turned and saw the fragment from the Land of Departure was still in place. He saw the fragment from Twilight Town break off and that was all it took for him to run towards Aqua, Terra, and Ven.
"You're giving me too many things.
Lately, you're all I need.
You smiled at me and said,"
Sora arrived with the other three just as the fragment broke off and started drifting through the blackness…
"Don't get me wrong I love you
but does that mean I have to meet your father?
When we are older you'll understand
what I meant when I said "No,
I don't think life is quite that simple"
They each watched in silence as the remaining fragments broke off and separated into a glowing blue ring of light…
"When you walk away
You don't hear me say please
Oh baby, don't go
Simple and clean is the way that you're making me feel tonight
It's hard to let it go"
They then gasped in awe as they saw billions of stars suddenly shoot into the black sky above, retaking their places in space…
"The daily things
that keep us all busy
all confusing me that's when u came to me and said,"
Sora turned and looked up at Aqua with a proud smile. Aqua looked back down at him with the same expression, putting her arm around his shoulder as they watched the stars continue to move…
"Wish I could prove I love you
but does that mean I have to walk on water?
When we are older you'll understand
it's enough when I say so,
And maybe something's are that simple"
They then saw a number of glowing gold specks of light start falling down around them. They then looked up to see the Land of Departure begin restoring itself to its original glory in a large wave of gold dust…
"When you walk away
You don't hear me say please
Oh baby, don't go
Simple and clean is the way that you're making me feel tonight
It's hard to let it go"
The three stood in awe as they watched the Land of Departure's rapid restoration…
"Hold me
whatever lies beyond this morning
Is a little later on
Regardless of warnings the future doesn't scare me at all
nothing's like before"
Terra, Ven, and Aqua smiled widely before they ran towards the front doors to their old home…
"When you walk away
You don't hear me say please
Oh baby, don't go
Simple and clean is the way that you're making me feel tonight
It's hard to let it go"
Sora smiled up at the world before him but in his heart he knew there was another world waiting for him elsewhere…
"Hold me
whatever lies beyond this morning
Is a little later on
Regardless of warnings the future doesn't scare me at all
nothing's like before."
He turned and looked up at the sky, the sun now high in the sky as he removed Kairi's lucky charm from his pocket and looked at it quietly…
"Hold me
whatever lies beyond this morning
Is a little later on
Regardless of warnings the future doesn't scare me at all
nothing's like before."
He then felt a hand on his shoulder and looked up to see Aqua smiling down at him before both looked up towards the sky, enjoying the warmth of the sunlight.
End Chapter 41.
JUST ONE MORE CHAPTER LEFT KEEP READING!"
The song above was "Simple & Clean" by Utada Hikaru, which I do not own. I used the song to recreate the ending scene of Kingdom Hearts 1, where the worlds were restored.