Okay, four more chapters to go and then it's on to part three! Sadly, I'm still going to be on a short HIATUS because of school and some stuff going on at home. So enough with my rambling, enjoy this chapter!

Kyrie (c) Me

Kingdom Hearts (c) Square Enix

Kingdom Hearts

Bonded Soul

Chapter 76

Axel growled as he destroyed another Berserker, his anger growing as more nobodies began to appear. They were currently making their way through Ruin and Creation's Passage, walking along the almost invisible paths that connected the landings together. Thankfully, Xigbar's Snipers and Demyx's Dancers still obeyed their commands, backing off and leaving the group alone as other nobodies fought them.

"Damn, this is getting on my nerves!" he growled as he threw his chakrams, taking out a few dusks as he did so. The others nodded as they finished off the nobody horde, allowing them to continue through the passage. Once they got to the end of the passage, Kairi turned and gasped.

"Sora! Riku!" she cried. The two turned and looked to where she was pointing, only to see hordes of heartless leaking in through the windows in the passage. Axel growled as he gripped his chakrams tightly, making Demyx turn to him and place a hand on his shoulder.

"Don't worry, Ax. We'll get to her in time, we won't let Xemnas hurt her." he spoke, trying to soothe the man's rage. But Axel wasn't at all assured by his companion's words, his eyes narrowing as he glared at the horde. But two figures moved in front of the group, facing the heartless head on.

"Be gone from here! Leave these creatures to us!" Maleficent spoke as she and Pete stood in front of the group. Demyx sighed in relief and turned to Axel.

"C'mon, let's keep moving. We can let the witch and the idiot take the heartless for us!" he urged. Axel nodded as he dispelled his chakrams, Xigbar doing the same with his arrow guns as the three men continued on.

"Kyrie, I'm coming!" Axel thought as the three began climbing the stairs. But Demyx stopped halfway and turned, realizing that the rest of the group wasn't behind them.

"Hey, wait! We left Sora and them behind!" he called. Xigbar and Axel stopped, crossing their arms in aggravation.

"Dem, we don't have time to wait for 'em! We have to get to Angel before-"

"Axel, Demyx, Xigbar! Wait up!" he stopped as the young man turned, spotting Sora, Riku, the King, Kairi, Donald, and Goofy running up the stairs after them. The group quickly caught up to them as Sora pouted, crossing his arms.

"Hey, don't just bail on us! We want to save Kyrie, too! And stop Xemnas!" he griped. The trio nodded and with that they continued on, until they finally reached the Altar of Naught. Xemnas was standing in the middle of the landing, with Kyrie propped up against the railing a few feet away as her head hung low, still unconscious.

"Kyrie!" Axel exclaimed, half in relief and worry. Thankfully, the girl seemed unharmed as she rested there, her hands in her lap.

"Ohh…my Kingdom Hearts…ruined. Now I'll have to start all over again." Xemnas sighed as he stared at his now ruined Kingdom Hearts. He turned, spotting the group as they glared at him. "Warriors of the keyblade! Go forth, and bring me more hearts."

"No!" Sora, Mickey, and Riku exclaimed in unison as they summoned their keyblades. Xemnas raised his eyebrow at them, somewhat puzzled about something.

"Denizens of Light, answer this: Why do you hate the darkness?"

"Aw, we don't hate it. It's just kinda… scary. But the world's made of light AND darkness. You can't have one without the other, 'cause darkness is half of everything. Sorta makes ya wonder why we're scared of the dark." the king answered. Riku scowled as he glared at their enemy.

"It's because of who's lurking inside it." he answered, keeping his keyblade raised. Xemnas smirked.

"Then allow me another question. You accept darkness, yet choose to live in the light. So why is it that you loathe us who teeter on the edge of nothing? We who were turned away by both light and dark- never given a choice?"

"That's simple. It's because you mess up our worlds." Riku answered. Xemnas nodded in agreement.

"That may be… However, what other choice might we have had? After all, you accepted Demyx, Xigbar, and Axel before he acquired a heart of his own. They are nobodies as well…"

"Just give it a rest! You're Nobodies! You don't even exist! You're not sad about anything!" Sora exclaimed. Then he stopped, looking at Demyx and Xigbar. "Uh, no offense."

"None taken, kiddo." Xigbar answered. Xemnas smirked at this.

"Very good. You don't miss a thing. I can not feel- sorrow… No matter what misery befalls the worlds. No matter what you think, what you feel, or how you exist." Axel growled at this, summoning his chakrams.

"Look, just give the speeches and philosophies a rest already! Now let her go, got it memorized?" he growled as he pointed his chakrams at the man. But Xemnas' smirk grew as he walked over, approaching the unconscious girl.

"Hmm, I wonder, what use does this girl have? She wields a keyblade, and can slay as many heartless as I wish. But she is able to gift a nobody with a heart, something that I also desire. Should I give her back?" Axel growled again as he took a step forward, standing next to Sora as he glared hatefully at the man.

"You lay one finger on her and I'll make sure to make your end as painful as possible, you bastard!" he roared. His smirk seemed to grow as he turned to them, a plan forming in his mind. "You wish for me not to harm the girl? I may be inclined to obey your wishes…if you do my bidding."

"To hell with-" Axel growled, but a hand on his shoulder stopped him. Sora glared at Xemnas as he held Axel back, looking back and forth between Xemnas and Kyrie. The boy was torn. He didn't want to help Xemnas, but Kyrie's life was at stake. What choice did he have?

"Or, if you would rather, I could use her for whatever I may." he continued. King Mickey scowled at the man as he lowered his keyblade.

"What do we do?" Donald asked in dismay as he and Goofy looked at each other. Xemnas smirked wickedly at them, before a clear, melodious voice spoke up.

"Such insolence. To think even for a moment that you can use us for your wicked deeds, shameful!" something slammed into the man's back, making him growl as he jumped back, holding his shoulder. His eyes widened when he saw exactly who attacked him.

"Who…who are you?" he demanded. Before him stood a woman dressed in an elegant silver yukata, robes draped over her slim shoulders as her long, white hair flowed over her shoulders. Her silver eyes glimmered with mirth, but a devilish smirk graced her fair features as she glared at the man standing before her. The group stared at her in surprise and shock, unsure on exactly who the woman was, and the reason on why she was here. She gave a playful smirk as she held out her arm, a white Kingdom Key appearing in her palm as she raised it at the man.

"This one's name is of no importance. But you tried to use us to complete your false Kingdom Hearts, and this one cannot stand idly by and allow you to use us to bend our friends to your will. And what is even more deplorable, trying to force us to give you a heart of your own. To even obtain a heart through us is tricky enough, nearly impossible." she spoke, her voice angry as she glared at him. Axel looked to where Kyrie lay, only to find her gone.

"Kyrie? Kyrie!" he exclaimed. The others turned as well and gasped, the girl was gone. They glared at Xemnas and the woman. "Okay, what did you do with Kyrie?" the woman was quiet for a moment, before laughing. They blinked at her in confusion as her laughter died down, a gentle smile on her lips as she turned to them.

"There's no need to worry, my friends. For you see-" suddenly, her appearance began to change. Her silver eyes became brown, as she shrunk a bit in size. After a moment, the group gasped in shock and surprise.

"I am right here." Kyrie smiled as she stared at them, a white aura wrapping around her. Axel blinked, his eyes wide as he stared at her. "K…Kyrie…?" he gasped. Within a moments notice, she was the woman again as she turned her attention to Xemnas.

"Hear me, Xehanort. If you continue down this path, even this one will be unable to save you from the darkness that is eating away at your very essence, your core of who you really are. You possessed that poor boy's body, only to leave him behind in armor that he can never leave. And for what? Answers to the questions you ask? Or is complete and total conquest your true goal? Even this one do not know." she warned as she stared at the man. The group blinked in confusion, just what was she talking about?

"But know this, we will stop you if you choose this path, and there will be no mercy or forgiveness that will spare your life. For this one will cut you down myself if this one must." even Xemnas was partly confused by her cryptic words, but one thing was clear. She was challenging him, daring him to continue with his plot. He smirked.

"I'm afraid that it is far too late to stop me, woman. Or is it Kyrie? Either way, the time has come." And with that, he began to distort the place, sweeping Sora and the woman away and leaving the others behind.

-Memory's Contortion-

Sora landed on the floor with a thud as the woman landed on her feet beside him, helping the boy to his feet as he looked around in confusion. The surroundings seemed vaguely familiar, but other than that, he had no idea where he was.

"Guys?" he called as he looked around. The woman shifted her gaze and nudged his shoulder, pointing to Xemnas as he stood a few yards away. He growled, summoning his keyblade.

"Xemnas, where did you take us?" he demanded. But the woman stood in front of him, staring Xemnas head on.

"This is an illusion. Do not fear, once we defeat him, we can return." she explained, keeping her gaze solely focused on that of Xemnas. Sora nodded as he stared at her, unsure if he should trust her. "But who are you? You're not Kyrie…"

"I am her, but at the same time, I am not. This one a part of her, and she is a part of this one. But do not fear, through her eyes this one saw all, and consider you a friend and ally. This one will not let Xemnas harm you, young Sora." after a moment, it dawned on him.

"So you were the one who was helping us fight Saix?" he asked. She nodded, turning her gaze forward. But her eyes widened and she pulled him back, just in time as Xemnas' blade struck the ground where he had been standing previously.

"Now is not the time to discuss this further. We must fight!" she exclaimed. The boy nodded as he ran forward, slamming his keyblade into the man's Ethereal blades. The woman followed suit, summoning a second keyblade, Lost Memory, as she slammed them into the man's side. Xemnas growled, jumping back before attacking, this time, his focus was on the woman. Their blades clashed as the woman fended him off, allowing Sora to rush in and deal him more blows.

This went on for quite some time, before Xemnas finally disappeared, too tired and wounded to continue. The area around the two began to distort, and the woman grabbed Sora, holding him against her side as an orb of light grew in her other hand.

"Take us back."

-Meanwhile, at Altar of Naught-

"Sora! Where are you?" Kairi called as she and the others looked for Sora and the strange woman, who had disappeared in thin air.

"Kyrie! You there?" Demyx called as they searched. Riku growled.

"Sora, answer me!" he called. Suddenly, Sora and the woman reappeared, the boy landing with a loud thud as they did so. The woman stood over him as they approached, and stepped back so that they could look him over. Mickey sighed in relief.

"You're okay!" he exclaimed. Sora nodded as he looked around.

"Where's Xemnas?" he asked. The woman looked up and her eyes narrowed.

"Impudent fool." the others looked to where she was staring, and gasped. Xemnas was hovering mere feet from the ruined Kingdom Hearts, his arms held out to it.

"Hear me, Kingdom Hearts! It seems we must begin anew. Ah, but know this: I will give you as many hearts as it takes. Mark my words! You can no more be complete without me than I without you. Heed me, Kingdom Hearts! Lend me your power, so that we may be complete! The power to erase the fools that hinder us." he chanted. Mickey gasped.

"Xemnas! No!"

"Hearts quivering with hatred…" he began, much to the dismay of the group.

"Xemnas! Don't!" Sora protested.

"Hearts burning with rage…"

"You'll never win!" Donald exclaimed.

"Hearts scarred by envy…That fool Ansem said that the heart's true nature was beyond his understanding. But it's not beyond mine! Hearts are the source of all power!" with that, Xemnas was consumed by a flash of light, blinding them and forcing them to cover their eyes. After a few moments, they looked and saw that he was gone.

"Xemnas! You can't hide from us!" Sora called, unsure whether the man could hear him or not. The King nodded.

"We're not gonna let him get away now!"

"But how can we get to him? We don't even know where he is!" Demyx asked as he looked around. Axel growled as he glared at Kingdom Hearts, he knew exactly where the man went.

"He went inside Kingdom Hearts, Dem. He's inside there right now, doing who-knows what. Got it memorized?" he explained. Xigbar nodded grimly as he stared at the mighty heart.

"Too bad we can't get to 'im."

"Not true. This one will create a doorway for you, young ones." they gasped and turned as the woman strolled by, her hands folded neatly in front of her yukata as she did so. She stopped and stared calmly at Kingdom Hearts, before speaking.

"Hear me, my friend. It has been long since I've spoken with you, and even longer since the day that I left your side. But please, heed my request. Our children are in danger, because of one man's ignorance. Allow them to create a doorway for these people, who want to do everything in their power to set things right. Worlds, my children, allow these children to hold your very destinies in their hands." she spoke as she stared, a light growing in her palms as she held them out to the sky. Small shards of light began to gather around the group, leaving them in awe as they watched the woman perform this ritual.

"Now, bring me a gate! A gate that will lead them into the heart itself!" and with that, the light left her hands, shooting forward and creating a door. Kairi gasped.

"Look at that!" she exclaimed, pointing. Goofy cocked his head to the side. "What's goin' on?"

"Kingdom hearts…" Mickey said in awe as he stared at the doorway. The woman turned to them, staring at them tenderly as she smiled.

"This doorway will lead you to him. We must make haste, for this one fears he will cause more harm the more time we dally." the group nodded in agreement as Riku turned to them.

"Let's go."

...Yup, I'm a stinker. Don't ask who this woman is, I'll leave that for the rest of you to interperate. Anyways, enjoy, and please review.

Sora: Leave lots of reviews! They bring motivation and inspiration! (of course common criticism isn't bad either.)

Me: *pats Sora on the head* Yes, leave lots of reviews. *proceeds to hug Sora* X3