UltimaShishigawa: Yo everyone! Hope you're enjoying the story so far! Also, I believe I've figured out what Neo's Keyblade will be. To cover the bases, I'm not taking full credit for the design, or anything just in case someone else already used the design. Anyway, enjoy!
Disclaimer: UltimaShishigawa doesn't own Kingdom Hearts, or it's characters.
Chapter 8: Hollow Bastion part 2
"Good-bye." said Neo. He then pierced his own chest with the Keyblade of Heart. He became engulfed in a golden aura as the Keyblade floated out of his chest before changing into six orbs of light that flew toward the containers and entered the other six Princesses of Heart's chests. The Guardian behind him dissolved as Neo's body began to fade, however, he wore a smile on his face. His eyes finally changed to jade green as he dropped to his knees. Kairi rushed forward to try and catch Neo, but as she reached him, he disappeared.
"N-Neo...?" asked Kairi as tears ran down her face at losing another friend. However, the four friends didn't have time to mourn the loss of their two best friends as several Heartless (Shadows and Neo Shadows) appeared.
"What's going on?" asked Goofy as he and Donald held their weapons up preparing for a fight.
"It's the Keyhole!" said Jiminy who had moved to Riku's shoulder before Sora disappeared. "Now that it's complete, darkness is pouring out of it! The Heartless are being attracted to it!" Riku then grabbed Kairi and moved her away from where Neo had stood before disappearing. He then pushed her toward Donald and Goofy before grabbing Jiminy and tossing him at Goofy who managed to catch him. Riku then cut down a Shadow Heartless that tried attacking him.
"Donald! Goofy! Get Kairi out of here! Take her to the Gummi Ship and get to Traverse Town!" ordered Riku. The three looked at him in shock.
"But what about you?!" asked Donald. Riku then cut down a Neo Shadow before answering.
"I'm gonna stay here and hold them back! Hopefully I can get to the Keyhole and seal it!" said Riku before cutting down another Neo Shadow.
"What?! No, we're not leaving you! And besides, we have to get Neo and Sora back!" said Kairi who didn't want to lose yet another friend. Riku shook his head.
"No arguing! Now go! We'll find Neo and Sora later! GO!" ordered Riku before cutting down a Shadow. Goofy and Donald grabbed Kairi's hands.
"Please Kairi, we have to go!" said Goofy. Kairi looked at them before looking back at Riku as he cut down two more Neo Shadows. She then allowed Donald and Goofy to lead her away.
-With the three-
Donald, Goofy and Kairi ran as fast as they could through the castle as the halls filled with Heartless. As they ran, Kairi recalled memories of her time on the islands with Sora, Riku and Neo. She recalled all the races the three boys would have that ended in a tie and the three way brawls that ended in a draw. She also recalled memories of her time with each of the boys individually.
She remembered the time she and Riku went fishing. The time she and Sora played tag on the beach. The time she and Neo built the largest sand castle they could build. However, there was one particular memory she thought of that stuck out in her mind.
-Flashback-
"Do you think we'll always be like this? You know, like together?" asked Kairi. Neo thought about it for a second before coming up with an answer.
"I don't think we'll be able to stay together because we'll eventually grow up, but I do know that even if we're far apart our hearts will bring us back together again." said Neo as he looked up at the star filled night sky.
-Flashback end-
Kairi smiled a small smile at that memory. However, she knew something that Neo didn't. During the time her heart had been inside Sora's she could hear everything that was going on. Her smile widened slightly as she recalled a certain confession.
-Flashback-
"I remember the night we met. It was during the meteor shower. Sora, Riku and I were heading back home when I looked toward the shore and saw you laying there. I rushed over to see if you were okay. You looked at me and smiled one of the most beautiful smiles I'd ever seen. I carried you all the way home. Heh, my mother was shocked when I came back carrying a mysterious girl she'd never seen before." said Neo. "Ya know, it's only because you can't hear me that I...have the courage to say this, but...I like you, Kairi. As in, more than just a friend."
-Flashback end-
Kairi knew she had to get Sora and Neo back. Especially Neo, because she wanted to tell him her answer.
-Grand Hall-
The Grand Hall was empty, save for the Heartless that had gathered. Riku had disappeared and a lone Shadow had broken off from the rest to chase after the other three that ran off. A Neo Shadow was standing there looking around at the room. It then looked at it's hands and seemed to jump in surprise. It then looked toward the exit before running off.
-Main Hall-
The Neo Shadow had run all the way to the main hall before placing it's clawed hands on it's knees while trying to catch it's breath. It then looked up and saw the group with a restored Sora. It jumped for joy at seeing Sora before running and jumping over the fountain and landing in front of the group.
"Uh-oh, another one!" said Goofy. Sora stood in front of Kairi as Donald approached it.
"STUPID HEARTLESS! GO AWAY!" shouted Donald before he clonked it in the head three times with his staff. The Neo Shadow held it's head in pain before looking at Donald, snatching his staff and knocking him over the head three times causing Donald to drop.
"Oooooooooooooh..." groaned Donald as he saw mini staffs flying around his head. Kairi then got a surprised and recognition look as she moved past Sora and toward the Neo Shadow as it dropped Donald's staff.
"Wait Kairi!" said Sora.
"Don't Kairi!" said Goofy. Kairi then approached the Neo Shadow as it looked at her with it's yellow eyes.
"Neo...?" asked Kairi as she recalled a time when Sora had hit Neo in the head with his wooden sword and the boy retaliated by knocking Sora in the head with his own wooden sword. The Neo Shadow began jumping with excitement as it nodded it's head.
"N-NEO!" exclaimed a shocked Sora and Goofy.
"Neo, what happened to you?" asked Kairi. The Neo Shadow (Neo) then held both hands at it's chest like it was holding something before sliding it's hands back and forth quickly and then motioning toward itself.
"Uh, you're choking?" asked Goofy. The Neo Shadow shook it's head before repeating what it just did along with swinging it's right hand around like it were holding something.
"You want a flag?" asked Sora. The Neo Shadow face palmed before walking over to Sora and pointing at his Kingdom Key Keyblade and then repeated it's earlier actions. Jiminy, who was on Sora's shoulder, then spoke up.
"Wait fellas, I think I know what he's trying to say!" said Jiminy as he got everyone's attention. "I think he's saying that when he released his heart using that Keyblade made up of the other six Princesses of Heart's hearts, he turned into a Heartless." The Neo Shadow began jumping in excitement as if saying "THATS IT!"
"Okay, so how do we change him back?" asked Donald who had recovered in time to hear the explanation.
"Well, when Sora was a Heartless I tried to protect him and then he just changed back." said Kairi. The Neo Shadow's antenna's twitched before it looked back and saw tons of Heartless (Wyverns, Defenders, Wizards, Dark balls and Neo Shadows) coming toward them. The Neo Shadow (Neo) then began flailing it's arms about and pointing toward the fountain. Everyone looked toward the fountain and saw all the Heartless.
"NOT AGAIN!" shouted Donald. A Neo Shadow Heartless then jumped at Kairi.
"AAH!" screamed Kairi. However, the Neo Shadow (Neo) jumped in front of her and stabbed the Neo Shadow Heartless with it's clawed hand causing it to disappear. Sora, Donald and Goofy then charged at the attacking Heartless, cutting them down one and two at a time. However, a few Dark balls slipped by them and rushed at Kairi and the Neo Shadow.
"KAIRI! NEO!" shouted Sora. The Neo Shadow held it's arms out and acted as a shield.
"NEO!" shouted Kairi as she hugged him from behind. Suddenly, a blinding light surrounded Kairi and the Neo Shadow, destroying the Dark balls. When the light faded, Kairi opened her eyes to see that she was hugging a fully restored Neo.
"Kairi..." said Neo as he looked over his shoulder at her. Kairi's ocean blue eyes met Neo's jade green ones as the teen gave her a grin.
"Thank you." said Neo. Kairi smiled as she let go of Neo, happy she now had two of her best friends back. Neo then glared at the Heartless.
"I've been lost in the darkness for so long now, that I lost sight of what was important." said Neo. "I hurt a lot of people because of it, but now I can see clearly." Suddenly, several Neo Shadow Heartless lunged at Neo.
"NEO!" shouted Sora, Donald, Goofy and Kairi. Neo then held out his right hand.
"Like you said, Sora. My friends are my power and I'm theirs!" said Neo as a certain weapon appeared in a blaze of light. Everyone went wide at what they saw. Neo was holding a Keyblade that looked similar to Sora's Kingdom Key, but the hand guard was black instead of gold, the handle was red, the blade was white with a purple band around where the blade meets the hand guard, the teeth at the top of the blade were shaped like a crown and there was a blue eye with a slitted pupil on the top of the hand guard right between the handle and the blade. The keychain had a heart with the same blue eye with a slitted pupil in the middle of it at the end of the chain.
Neo grasped his Keyblade (Heart's Guidance) with both hands and swung it, cutting down the Neo Shadow Heartless that tried to attack him. Neo then looked at his Keyblade in shock.
"How...did I...?" Neo trailed off as he noticed more Heartless appearing. He then looked toward Sora, Donald and Goofy who were standing around Kairi to protect her.
"Guys, we have to get out of here!" said Neo. Sora, Donald, Goofy and Kairi nodded their heads before all five ran toward the door with the Heartless in pursuit. Neo then stopped, turned and pointed his Keyblade toward the Heartless.
"FIRAGA!" shouted Neo as he shot a large fire ball at the Heartless which exploded on contact. The five friends then made their escape.
-Traverse Town: Cid's House-
"SO IT WAS YOU WHO WAS CAUSING ALL THAT TROUBLE?!" shouted Cid as he clonked Neo over the head causing the teen to clutch his head in pain. Cid had blonde hair that was spiked up in the middle and blue eyes. He wore a white t-shirt, blue pants, black boots and goggles on his head. The man glared at the Keyblade wielder as he chewed on the toothpick in his mouth. Neo looked up at Cid before turning to look at Leon, Yuffie and Aerith.
Squall Leonhart, or Leon for short, had brown hair that went to between his shoulder blades, dark blue eyes and a scar that went from the left side of his forehead to his right cheek. He wore a white t-shirt with a black leather short sleeved vest that had a lion design on the back, black pants, black boots and a brown belt. On his back was a sword shaped like a gun (Gunblade) and around his neck was a necklace with a lion head shaped pendant.
Aerith had brown hair down up in a curly ponytail with the bangs curly as well and green eyes. She wore a pink dress, brown boots and a red ribbon in her hair. Neo looked back up at Cid.
"I said I was sorry! What more do you want? I messed up big time. I gave in to the darkness, attacked my friends and turned one of my best friends into a Heartless!" said Neo. "I was so stupid..." Sora then spoke up.
"C'mon Cid, give him a break! He apologized for what he did! Isn't that enough?" said Sora. Cid looked at Sora with a glare.
"Isn't that enough? Heck no! Thanks to him, there are more Heartless running around than there were before and they're even stronger, too. Leon here had to go save Aerith and Yuffie from some particularly strong Heartless that shoulda been no problem for either of 'em! It's because of him that things are as bad as they are now and for what? All to save a friend?" said Cid. "I say we toss him out there with the rest of his Heartless pals!" At this, Leon intervened.
"That's enough, Cid! From what I've heard and from how Neo has acted since getting here I think the guilt of what he has done has made him suffer enough." said Leon. "Now Neo, what can you tell me about Ans-?" As Leon turned toward Neo all he found was an open door causing everyone to go wide eyed.
"Neo!" said Kairi as she ran to the open door and looked outside for any sign of him.
"Ya see!" said Cid. Leon glared at Cid.
"Can it, Cid! All right, everyone fan out and search the town for Neo!" said Leon.
"Right!" said the group before they split up to find the missing Keyblade wielder.
-Waterway-
After running from Cid's house in the Third District, Neo made his way to the underground waterway beneath Traverse Town. Once he arrived, he sat down and looked at the mural of a crescent moon.
"What am I suppose to do now?" Neo asked himself. "The islands are gone. I hurt a lot of people. My friends forgave me even after everything I put them through. How could they just forgive me just like that?"
"It's because true friends can forgive each other no matter what happened between them." said a voice. Neo whipped his head to the left to see Kairi walking toward him.
"K-Kairi?!" said Neo as the girl took a seat beside him.
"Ya know, when you and Sora disappeared...I was afraid that I'd never see either of you again." said Kairi. Neo gave her a sad look before he looked back at the mural.
"It was Ansem's fault that Sora was turned into a Heartless. He used me...like some sort of puppet. However, the only way to get him out of me so he couldn't use me was to..." said Neo.
"Turn that strange Keyblade on yourself." Kairi finished for him. Neo nodded his head.
"Yeah, it was. I didn't want to, but...there was no other way." said Neo. He then held up his right hand and in a blaze of light, his Keyblade appeared.
"I don't deserve this. Not after what I've done." said Neo. Kairi looked at Neo's Keyblade before looking at the wielder himself.
"You said, before you released your heart, that everything you did was to save me, right?" asked Kairi. Neo nodded his head.
"Yeah, but look at the cost. Sora was turned into a Heartless, I helped that evil witch Maleficent complete the Keyhole and we lost Riku." said Neo as he stood up along with Kairi.
"Do you regret it?" asked Kairi. Neo looked at her in shock at the question.
"What?! No, I don't regret the result, but I regret what it took to do so." said Neo. "When I was in this place called Wonderland, I met this cat called the Cheshire Cat and he told me there were two ways to find you. A light and dark way. However, he told me that if I sought you out the dark way that it would result in the loss of a heart. The cost ended up being Sora's heart."
"Neo..." said Kairi.
"I know what you said before, but how? How can any of you forgive me for what I've done?" asked Neo as his Keyblade disappeared. His eyes then widened as he felt two arms encircle him from behind. He then looked over his shoulder to see Kairi hugging him with her head buried in his back.
"Like I said..." Kairi began. "...True friends can forgive each other no matter what happens between them." Neo stared at her wide eyed before a smile formed on his face.
"Kairi..." said Neo. "...thank you." After a while, Kairi let go of Neo.
"Sora, Donald and Goofy are planning on going back to Hollow Bastion to seal the final Keyhole." said Kairi. Neo nodded his head.
"Then I guess I'd better go with them. It betters the odds of success." said Neo.
"I'm going to!" said Kairi causing Neo to go wide eyed. He then shook his head.
"No way!" said Neo. Kairi glared at Neo as she crossed her arms.
"Why not?" asked Kairi.
"It's too dangerous! That's why!" said Neo.
"Hmph, so you're saying that I'd just get in the way?" asked Kairi.
"No, I'm not saying that at all, I just..." said Neo before he sighed as he hung his head. He then looked up to see Kairi covering her mouth as she shook from the giggling she was trying to contain. Neo gave her question looking.
"Okay." said Kairi once she calmed down and gave Neo a sweet smile. "I understand." She then grabbed Neo's hand and placed something in it. Confused, Neo looked at the object she had given him to see it was a star shaped charm made of thalassa sea shells. He then looked back at Kairi with the same confused look.
"What is this?" asked Neo.
"It's my lucky charm. I was making it while we were working on the raft." said Kairi. She then placed her hands on her hips and leaned closer to Neo.
"Make sure to bring it back to me! Got it?" said Kairi. Neo looked at the lucky charm before smiling and looking back at Kairi.
"I got it." said Neo as he clipped it on to his pants belt loop.
"Promise?" asked Kairi. Neo nodded his head.
"I promise." said Neo. He was then taken aback when Kairi wrapped her arms around his neck and hugged him.
"Just remember, where ever you are, I'm always with you." said Kairi. Neo then smiled a small smile as he wrapped his arms around Kairi's waist and hugged her back.
"Same to you." said Neo. When they separated, Neo gave her a nervous look as he blushed.
"Um, Kairi?" asked Neo.
"Yeah?" asked Kairi. Neo then took a deep breath.
"When this is over and the four of us get back to the islands...there is something I wanna talk to you about." said Neo. Kairi gave Neo a confused look until she remembered the confession he thought she didn't hear. She then smiled.
"I think I'd be willing to listen." said Kairi. Neo's eyes widened for a split second before he gave her a grin. The two then headed back to the town.
-First District-
Neo and Kairi arrived in the First District to find Sora, Donald and Goofy speaking with Yuffie, Aerith and Leon. However, when they came close a squeal emitted from Yuffie, who had looked in their direction, before she ran straight at them. Neo's eyes shrunk at the realization of what Yuffie was about to do.
"OH NO, NOT AGAIN!" shouted Neo as he turned to run. However, after only getting a short distance away, Neo came crashing face-first into the ground, the cause being Yuffie who ran head long into him and tackled him to the ground.
"HA! Thought you could get away, didn't ya?" said Yuffie as she sat up and looked down at the dazed Neo who saw mini paopu fruits floating around his head.
"I'd like a...another round...please." said the dazed Neo. Yuffie sweatdropped at this.
"Uh oh, I think I crashed into him a little too hard this time." said Yuffie. Leon sighed as he walked over, grabbed Yuffie by the back of her green tube-top, and lifted her with ease.
"You think?" Leon asked rhetorically.
"HEY!" shouted Yuffie as she blushed while gripping the front of her top to keep herself covered. Leon then, unceremoniously, dropped Yuffie on her butt. Aerith walked over and kneeled down beside Neo before gently shaking him.
"Neo, are you alright?" asked Aerith.
"Uuuuh..." groaned the still dazed Neo.
"Oh dear." said Aerith with a worried look. Donald huffed as he walked over before pointing his right index finger toward the night sky.
"BWWWAAAAAAAAAAAAA!" screamed Donald before a lightning bolt shot down from the sky. The lightning bolt struck Neo causing said Keyblade wielder to jump to his feet.
"YEOW!" shouted Neo. He then looked toward Donald and glared as he saw the royal court magician laughing.
"HAHAHAHAHAHAHA-OOF!" Donald's laughter was cut off as a rock nailed him between the eyes causing him to fall on his back. Neo huffed as he dusted himself off.
"Do that again and we're having duck roast!" said Neo. He then walked back over to the others.
"Are you okay, Neo?" asked Kairi. Neo nodded his head.
"Yeah, I'm fine." said Neo before looking at Sora. "Sora...about what happened..." Sora just grinned as he held his arms behind his head.
"Don't worry about it!" said Sora earning a surprised look from Neo. "You weren't thinking clearly and you were controlled by Ansem. It wasn't your fault." Neo's surprised expression slowly changed to a small smile.
"Heh, what did I ever do to get great friends like you?" asked Neo. Kairi smiled.
"Just being you." said Kairi. Neo looked at Kairi and nodded.
"So," said Sora gaining Neo's attention, "ya gonna come with us, Neo?" Neo smirked.
"Of course I am! You guys would be helpless without me." said Neo causing Sora to glare.
"HEY!" shouted Sora causing everyone present to laugh. Once Donald recovered, Kairi gave each of them a hug.
"Make sure you guys come back safe." said Kairi. Sora, Donald, Goofy and Neo nodded their heads.
"Don't worry! We will. Plus, Riku will be with us when we do." said Sora. Kairi nodded her before walking over to Neo and hugging him.
"There's something else I wanted to give ya for luck." said Kairi with a faint blush. Neo gave her a questioning look.
"What?" asked Neo. The teen boy was thrown for a loop as Kairi placed a kiss on his cheek causing his eyes to widen to the size of dinner plates and a dark blush to appear on his cheeks.
"Good luck!" said Kairi as she backed away. Sora looked at Neo who was still stuck in the same position.
"Let's go, Neo!" said Sora. However, when Neo didn't respond, Sora walked over and waved a hand in front of his face.
"Neo? Anybody home?" asked Sora only to receive more silence from Neo. Sora looked toward Kairi with a sweat drop forming on his head.
"I think you broke him, Kairi." said Sora. Kairi looked at Neo and giggled.
"Oops." said Kairi as she rubbed the back of her head nervously. Sora then looked at Donald and Goofy.
"Mind giving me a hand, guys?" asked Sora. Donald and Goofy nodded their heads before walking over to the two. Sora and Goofy pulled Neo's arms while Donald pushed from behind.
"See ya, guys!" said the three conscious friends as they pulled/pushed Neo toward the exit of the First District where the Gummi Ship was. Kairi, Yuffie, Leon and Aerith waved back to them.
"Good luck!" said all four.
-Hollow Bastion-
Sora, Donald, Goofy and (a revived) Neo arrived in Hollow Bastion and made their way toward the castle. As they ran, Heartless (Wyverns, Dark Balls, Defenders, Wizards) appeared.
"You guys ready?" asked Sora as he summoned his Kingdom Key Keyblade. Donald and Goofy readied their staff and shield, respectively, while Neo summoned his Heart's Guidance Keyblade.
"Yeah." said Neo, Donald and Goofy in unison. The four friends, with weapons in hand, then rushed forward while striking down the Heartless that stood in their way. They ran all throughout the castle with Heartless appearing left and right only to be cut down by the four. They soon arrived in the Great Hall. Running up the stairs, they reached the large Heartless insignia that was the Keyhole.
"There it is!" said Goofy.
"C'mon! Let's close this Keyhole!" said Donald. Sora looked around.
"But where is...Riku?" asked Sora. Neo looked around for the missing Keyblade wielder and sighed.
"He must've either found a way out, or..." Neo trailed off. "Ansem isn't here either. He must've went to the heart of the darkness." Donald gave him a skeptical look.
"Heart of the...darkness?" asked Donald. Neo nodded his head.
"Yeah, it was where I found Kairi while I was working for Maleficent." said Neo. "I'll explain more about it later. Right now, we need to get in there and seal that Keyhole." Sora, Donald and Goofy nodded their heads in agreement before the four friends ran and jumped into the portal.
-Keyhole-
Sora, Neo, Donald and Goofy arrived inside a world of darkness to find another Heartless insignia at the other end of the area.
"THERE IT IS!" shouted Neo as he spotted the Keyhole that was on the bottom of the Heartless insignia. However, as the four ran toward the Keyhole, they were stopped when a large Heartless (Behemoth) appeared between them and the Keyhole. Sora and Neo quickly summoned their Keyblades while Donald and Goofy pulled out their staff and shield. The four looked at each other and nodded before running at the large Heartless. Neo and Sora got up under it and swung their Keyblades at the large Heartless' front legs. Their Keyblades cut into the large Heartless' legs causing it fall face forward on to the ground.
"THUNDAGA!" shouted Donald as he held his staff in the air and sent tons of large thunder bolts raining down on the Heartless. The thunder bolts struck the Heartless causing it to roar out in pain before Goofy came running at the Heartless. He quickly started spinning and struck the Heartless on the horn on it's head. The Heartless stood back up as it's horn started glowing. Seeing the danger, Neo quickly leaped in front of the Sora, Donald and Goofy before throwing up a dark barrier large enough to cover the four of them. Thousands a dark thunder bolts rained down on the four. The bolts struck the dark barrier causing it to crack, but Neo held strong to keep the barrier up.
Once the bolts ceased to rain down, Neo dropped the barrier as he fell to his knees.
"NEO!" shouted Sora as he raised his Keyblade in the air. Instantly, the worn Keyblade wielder was covered in a green veil as he felt himself being healed.
"Thanks Sora!" said Neo as he stood back up. They then looked toward the Heartless to see a dark energy sphere between it's other two horns.
"Donald! Goofy!" shouted Sora. Said magician and knight gave Sora a thumbs up before rushing at the Heartless.
"FIRAGA!" shouted Donald as he shot a large fire ball at the Heartless' right front leg. The Heartless' leg buckled before Goofy threw his shield at it's middle horn. The dark energy sphere exploded before Sora and Neo ran at the Heartless.
"Sora!" said Neo as he held out his left hand at Sora. The brown haired Keyblade wielder nodded his head. The two stopped before Sora grabbed Neo's hand with his left hand. Neo, summoning up every ounce of physical strength he had, then threw Sora up at the Heartless' middle horn. The brown haired Keyblade wielder raised his Keyblade over his head before swinging it straight down on the Heartless' middle horn. The horn cracked before shattering. Sora landed on his feet as the Heartless fell on the ground and disappeared before a heart appeared and floated into the air.
"WE DID IT!" shouted Goofy. Neo smirked.
"Naturally." said Neo. The four then looked toward the Keyhole.
"Great! Now let's seal up this Keyhole already!" said Donald. Sora and Neo nodded their heads.
"Sora. Neo. Donald. Goofy. You four did it!" said a familiar voice causing the four to stop and turn back toward the exit.
"Was that...?" asked Sora with a confused look on his face. Neo shrugged his shoulders.
"Only one way to find out." said Neo as his and Sora's Keyblades disappeared. The four friends then ran to the exit.
-Great Hall-
Sora, Neo, Donald and Goofy came out of the portal to the Keyhole to find Leon, Yuffie and Aerith all waiting for them.
"W-what are you guys doing here?" asked a surprised Sora. Yuffie spoke up first.
"We flew here on one of Cid's Gummi Ships." answered Yuffie who was perched on the rail.
"This world was once our home." said Aerith. Leon nodded his head.
"Yeah, before the Heartless attacked. We were just little kids then, so Cid rounded us up and fled with us to Traverse Town." said Leon. "Sora. Neo. You both should know that if you manage to restore the worlds, then they'll return to how they were before the Heartless attacked them." Neo gave Leon a questioning look.
"Isn't that a good thing? I mean, if the worlds are restored to how they were, then that means that the islands will be, too, right?" asked Neo. Aerith nodded her head.
"Yes, but..." said Aerith.
"But...what?" asked Sora. Aerith sighed.
"If the worlds are restored, then they will be disconnected from each other again." said Aerith earning surprised looks from Sora and Neo.
"They'll be...disconnected again?" asked Neo. Leon nodded his head as he crossed his arms over his chest.
"Yeah. The worlds were separated by invisible walls that prevented Gummi Ship travel. When the Heartless started attacking, they tore down those walls. If you guys manage to beat Ansem and restore the worlds back to what they were before, then those walls will be restored as well." said Leon. Sora's eyes widened to the size of dinner plates as he realized what that meant.
"But then, that means we won't be able to visit you guys anymore!" said Sora. Leon shook his head.
"Don't worry. We may never meet again...but we'll never forget each other." said Leon causing Sora to look up at him.
"He's right." said Neo causing Sora to look at him.
"But Neo..." said Sora. Neo chuckled.
"Sora, I had given in to the darkness. By all rights, I shouldn't even have the right to wield the Keyblade. Losing yourself to the darkness is more scarier than anything you could possibly imagine. However, as long as you remember the people you met and the friends you've made in here," said Neo as he poked Sora's chest, "then someday you'll be able to see them again. Our hearts are connected, so no matter where any of us go, then your friends will be there right beside you." Sora placed a hand on his chest.
"You, Riku, Donald, Goofy and Kairi all pulled me out of the darkness. That's proof right there that our hearts are connected. It's because of that connection that you guys saved me." said Neo. "Now we have to save Riku, so that way we can go back to the islands together." Sora looked back at Neo to see that the black haired Keyblade wielder had his hand outstretched toward him. The brown haired Keyblade wielder grinned as he grabbed Neo's hand.
"Yeah, you're right!" said Sora.
"Sora! Neo!" shouted Donald causing the two to look toward the magician and Goofy who were standing near the portal that led to Hollow Bastion's Keyhole.
"Hurry! Come and close the Keyhole!" said Goofy. Sora and Neo looked at each other before nodding. The two then ran into the portal.
-Keyhole-
Sora and Neo approached the Keyhole as their Keyblades appeared in their right hands. "Um, how do I do this exactly?" asked Neo. Sora grinned.
"Just point the Keyblade at the Keyhole and it'll do the rest." said Sora. Neo nodded his head before he and Sora pointed their Keyblades at the Keyhole. The tips of their Keyblades glowed before a beam of light shot out and struck the Keyhole. A locking sound rang out, signaling that the Keyhole had been locked. Sora and Neo's Keyblades disappeared as the two grinned at each other before heading back out of the portal.
-Great Hall-
Sora and Neo emerged and looked at Donald and Goofy. "C'mon guys!" said Neo. Donald and Goofy gave Neo questioning looks.
"Where to?" asked Goofy. Neo got a look of determination.
"To the heart of the darkness..." said Neo. "And to get Riku back!"
-Next chapter: End of the World part 1-
UltimaShishigawa: That's it for this chapter! Sorry it took so long, but I had bad writer's block with this one and a lot of family stuff, too. On top of that, I also had some personal issue I had to settle as well. You know how it is. Anyway, thank you for being so patient! This story is coming down to the final chapters so I hope you all are geared up for it! Please read, review, comment, but don't flame! Peace, I'm out!