-1 "So we're leaving her behind why?" I asked Nessa as soon as we passed through the door. She looked shaken and nervous.

"The darkness hasn't left her all the way."

"So wouldn't that make our presence crucial? So we can fight it off?"

"She has to do it herself," Nessa said firmly. "If she doesn't shun that other person inside of her then she'll never be herself again." I sighed.

"So now what?"

"We catch up to Sora I guess. We've got to get to the king." Nessa started to walk to the door that we'd seen Sora run through earlier. There were a few heartless, out of those that attacked us, that ignored us completely. In fact they moved towards the library door.

"Nessa, I think the heartless are going to Rachel." I panicked. "What if they eat her heart?"

"She'll be okay." Nessa said sternly, making me look at the door one more time before we stepped into the hallway that wound down into the darkness.

XXXXXXXXXXXXX

"So I see the path has emerged at last." A deep voice said from Riku's body.

"Yes the keyhole to darkness," Maleficent answered.

"Unlock it and the heartless will overrun this world," he cautioned.

"What do I care? The darkness holds no power over me. I will use its power to rule all worlds."

"Such confidence." A dark keyblade appeared in his hands. He pointed it at the keyhole, but nothing happened.

"Oh! Impossible! The Princesses of heart are all here!" Maleficent cried, "It must be her."

"Without her heart, she will never be able to release her power," Riku said, looking at the girl lying in her container.

"The king's fools are here. I'll deal with them, myself. You stay here and guard the Princesses." She left the room. Riku raised his hand and several heartless slipped across the floor and rose up before him, "Bring Rachel to me."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

"Alright. This castle did not look this huge when we were flying here!" Nessa said as we climbed down a set of stairs. Up ahead we could hear fighting taking place. There was a flash of green magic shooting up the stairs. We ducked just as it reached us and it sizzled past us. Leaving a disgusting smell in the air.

"I think we're getting closer," I whispered. Sora was shouting for Donald to come heal him while we could hear the sound of his keyblade smacking against stone. Maleficent's evil laugh, which was curiously similar to the one that had come from Rachel earlier, echoed around the chamber. "Want to help?" Nessa nodded. We charged forward. Knocking aside giant heartless as we ran towards the center.

"HEY SORA!" Nessa and I called.

"HEY!" He called, then jumped up and smacked the bottom of the stone platform again. Maleficent's platform shook and then gave us only a few seconds to retreat before it crashed to the ground.