Marie and her keyblade:
www.swirl3y.deviantart.com/art/Marie-and-her-Shooting-Star-Keyblade-383502787

Ryan:
www.swirl3y.deviantart.com/art/That-s-his-name-286861562?q=gallery%3ASWIRL3Y%2F29599925&qo=12

Aura:
www.swirl3y.deviantart.com/art/Aura-and-Marie-Two-sides-of-a-coin-310985460?q=gallery%3ASWIRL3Y%2F29599925&qo=9

Aura's Keyblade Order (Along with her other Keyblade that she doesn't use):
www.swirl3y.deviantart.com/art/Chaos-and-Order-178647870?q=gallery%3ASWIRL3Y%2F26504272&qo=7

A/N:
Alright, we're finally at Twilight Town. We're FINALLY at the end. Right when Sora and they get into the other Twilight Town I'll be writing everything in third person, just to make it more balanced.

Chapter Fifty-Seven

ଓ

Got it memorized?

After leaving Radiant Garden we decided to check up on Twilight Town, mainly because of the picture we got from that big Heartless battle. Along the way though, Ryan explained how he was really glad that I was doing so much better—especially with all the problems that came my way. With Stella still on my mind, and not really wanting to talk, I was surprised myself. Maybe I'm handling things better.

Well, we got to landing on Twilight Town, and we ended up at the train station. We decided to make our way towards the mansion, and I remember when we had to write an assignment and we wrote about the seven wonders of Twilight Town. Apparently that mansion was haunted, but we never got around to actually making sure if it was or not. When we stepped out of the station my eyes brightened at the sight of the sunset—it's been so long since I've been back and the sight of it was just so breathtaking!

We started walking again and made our way towards Market Street, which was pretty empty, but my guess was everyone was either working or still in school. We found a crack through the wall, and I knew it led to the mansion through the woods, so we walked to it. Once there, I gasped when I saw Hayner, Pence and Olette on the floor.

"You guys!" I shouted when I ran up to them. I ran to Olette first while the rest helped Hayner and Pence. Sora helped Hayner up and asked what had happened, but he took a moment to get his head straight.

"We came here looking for Kairi," he said, which made my shoulders a bit stiff. He continued saying the white things started attacking them, which I knew where the Nobodies. Sora was concerned, and he even told them that they didn't have to go through all that. "Of course we did. Kairi's our friend, too, ya know."

I got up as I helped Olette, and Sora paused for a moment before agreeing. I walked a bit towards the mansion, and Hayner did too. He got word that a lot of strange visitors came to this place, and Olette agreed. "We thought this place might be the gateway to some kind of alternate Twilight Town."

"What? Where are you guys getting this from? Alternate Twilight Town?" I asked. It was so weird hearing about an alternate Twilight Town, but I guess I have seen stranger things, so it wasn't all that bad. Olette explained that the pouch we had was hers only, since she made it. They also explained how Sora had another crystal, which wasn't from our trophy—which was also a one of a kind. Hayner asked where they had gotten it from, and Goofy explained that they all got it from King Mickey.

"But then… where did the king get it?" Sora asked. Hayner agreed, stating that there had to be another Twilight Town somewhere around here. They said it all made sense, but the boys weren't getting it.

"That other town must be where whatever's missing from here went!" Pence said which started to make sense. They thought Kairi went missing there, and I wouldn't doubt it. We all gasped when a couple of Nobodies appeared around us, but we watched as someone jumped in—destroying almost all of them monsters.

"Watch out!" said a very familiar king. Mickey attacked a couple of other Nobodies while we attacked the ones around Hayner, Pence and Olette. Once we were finished, the King put his Keyblade away and ran up to us. "I got somethin' to tell ya. I found out where Ansem is—Ansem the wise! The real Ansem! He snuck into Organization XIII's stronghold."

"What!? All by himself? Your majesty, we've gotta go and follow him!" I replied, practically begging him to lead us. The King nodded, but asked us why we all came here.

"We got a clue," Sora replied. The King asked from whom, and Goofy explained that Sora thought it could have been Riku. It was a feeling Sora had, but the King was pretty sure he was right. Sora grew a bit annoyed, and wondered if Riku was actually okay, but the King wasn't giving him answers. "I've waited long enough, your majesty! Why can't you tell me?"

"I don't wanna break my promise," the king replied.

"You made a promise to Riku? So he's okay! I can see him again!" the king had his mouth covered, which I felt bad for since he really didn't want to say anything. Pence asked who Riku was, and Sora told them that he was his best friend, which made him figure it all out.

"Your Majesty? You got the pouch with the crystal from Riku, didn't you? And you promised not to tell, right?" the King scratched the back of his head, which pretty much gave it away. Donald told them all to stop with the questions, and Sora agreed.

"We're on our way, guys!" he said as he looked at the mansion. It was obvious he was talking about Riku and Kairi, and even though I was a bit scared of the girl, I was glad that we were going to see them soon.

We entered the mansion and, to no one's surprise, it was in pretty bad condition. Mickey said that there had to be a computer around, and Pence asked if it was the connection between the other Twilight Town. Ryan walked a bit ahead and was sure that was the case.

"It's probably like Radiant Garden with Tron's world, just maybe less complicated." He looked around while the king agreed, even saying that there should be a way into the Realm of Darkness. Sora started pestering the king a bit for information about Riku, but Donald yelled at him to stop. I was about to say something, but I looked up to see something blue walking into a room, and I wondered if it was…

"Aura…?" I said a loud. Everyone looked at me, but I ignored them as I started walking upstairs. I felt them all following me, and when I entered the room it was a giant library. Normally seeing a lot of books would make me happy, but half of the floor was missing and it turned totally into what the computer lab at Radiant Garden looked like. There were stairs leading down, so I followed them until I saw another door leading into a room.

When we entered the next room, we all saw a computer at the corner that looked incredibly complicated. Ryan and Pence walked up to it and both looked at it as Pence typed in a few words, but they couldn't get further in without a password. Mickey wondered what it could be, and Goofy suggested using the box with the photo and ice cream as a clue. Donald mentioned the ice cream, calling it salty-sweet, and I gasped as I remembered.

"Sea-salt ice cream!" I shouted. "I remember eating that ice cream every time Ansem and I were together, and he loves ice cream."

"You're absolutely right!" the King said. Hayner and Olette gave a look and asked how I knew that, and I told them how I knew Ansem, but it was a longer story than that. Pence typed in the name of the ice cream, and it gave them access as a portal appeared around the other corner. Hayner turned to us as he, Pence and Olette offered to stay behind, and I gave them all a hug.

"Hey, just come back safely," he said. I smiled and nodded, while Olette told me to be safe. Of course, I have no plans of losing now. We all walked towards the portal, and when Sora touched it we disappeared.

-x-

"Are we back in the same place?" Sora asked as he walked out of the portal. Donald pointed at the wildly ruined computer than Pence was using not too long ago, and it confirmed that they were actually in the other Twilight Town. "We're in Roxas' Twilight Town…"

"Let's try to find the Realm to Darkness," Mickey suggested. The gang looked around but they really only narrowed it down to the room that they hadn't explored in the other Twilight Town. They entered it and saw a weird looking ball that seemed like a portal, but the King cleared their questions and told them that it was the way towards the Ream to Darkness. They entered the portal, and were in a very weird place. It was like a vortex of some sort, and with only one entrance—the one they walked through.

"Well, which way should we go?" Donald asked as he looked around. Ryan and Marie looked around, even though there wasn't much to see, and were stumped. Sora called out to Riku and Kairi, but they were surrounded by Nobodies galore. They all took out their weapons while Ryan kept at a safe distance. Marie spun around as she attacked a couple of them and chanted a variety of her spells at them. Sora used his brute force and got through hordes of them while Goofy helped. Donald kept casting his spells, and while a lot of them were being destroyed, more kept coming.

"It's no use!" Sora shouted. They all looked around and saw the countless Nobodies surrounding them.

"Don't stop moving, or the darkness will overtake you!" Marie gasped when she heard that voice, and almost immediately, Axel came in swinging his chakrams around killing some of the Nobodies. He stared straight at all of them. "Get goin'!"

"Why?" Sora asked. Axel kissed his teeth as he told him not to question him, but a couple of Nobodies attacked him to the ground. Marie gasped again and pressed the button on her Keyblade to make the stars take out the Nobodies, and ran towards Axel.

"Are you okay, Axel?" she helped him halfway up, and although Axel was glad for the help, he looked at Sora. He explained how he kidnapped Kairi but that she got away from him, and that Saix had taken her under his captive.

"He's a member of Organization XIII. Don't forget the name—Saix. Got it memorized?" a voice was heard from behind them all, and out appeared Aura, complete with her hood down. Sora turned around and gasped a bit as he saw Aura completely from head to toe, and the first thing he noticed were the piercing eyes she bore, staring straight down at him. Yet somehow, this girl was incredibly familiar to her.

"Hey, why you gotta take my line?" Axel said as he got up. Aura passed on a smirk as she slowly started making her way towards him. She helped him up, and as a Nobody came jumping towards her, completely took it out as she slashed it with her Keyblade. Sora just watched as this girl took the lead from him, it was so weird seeing her face, but he couldn't shake the fact that he had seen it before. Multiple times.

"Axel, stop being reckless. And the rest of you, let's deal with these guys first." She swung her Keyblade which got rid of a couple of the Nobodies in one fell swoop, and the gang was amazed at the strength she achieved with it. Nonetheless, Sora prepared himself with his own Keyblade while Marie and the rest did the same. Both Aura and Marie stuck close to Axel and Sora, with one healing at times while the other defended Axel. They fought a bit longer, but the amount of Nobodies surrounding them was high, and Axel cursed.

"I think I liked it better when they were on my side," said the redhead. Aura eyed him a bit, and Sora asked if he was feeling regret, but the man just smirked and looked at him. "Nah… I can handle these punks. Watch this!"

Axel jumped away from Sora and stood at the center of the horde. He brought up his chakrams and spun them around as they started building up fire. Aura gasped a bit, not liking what was going to happen. He had already lost a good amount of energy, and when he started rising the flames got bigger.

"Axel don't!—"she shouted but got interrupted as the whole room turned bright. They all covered their eyes for a brief moment, but when it died down Aura opened them and saw Axel lying on the ground. She quickly ran to his side while the others gawked at how he got rid of every single Nobody. Marie turned around and noticed Aura hovering over Axel, and her eyes widened when she saw smoke appear him. She ran after him, with the rest having just realized what was going on. "You idiot…" Aura muttered.

"What… you're fading away…" Marie said as she bent down near him. She brought her hand near her mouth, and was terrified at what was happening. Sora appeared and asked what was happening, but Axel just chuckled softly.

"Well, that's what happens when you put your whole being into an attack. You know what I mean?" he looked over to Aura, who had her mouth slightly opened with worried eyes. He smirked a bit. "Not that Nobodies actually have beings… right?"

"Axel, stop it." Aura shook her head, but he continued, saying that they needed to find Kairi. Sora told him that he would be able to tell her himself if he came along, but the redhead just shook his head.

"Think I'll pass. My heart just wouldn't be in it, you know? Haven't got one," he started chuckling softly, and Aura started to get a bit angry at how reckless and nonchalant he was acting. Sora asked what he was trying to do the whole time, but Aura knew. "I wanted to see Roxas."

Marie watched as Aura looked away, and wondered about the relationship between them, but she was focusing more on the friend she had disappearing. "He… was the only one I liked… he made me feel… like I had a heart."

He brought a hand up towards Aura and cupped her cheek, and although he knew that she hated these kinds of displays she didn't care. In fact, she used one of her hands to hold his up. She started breathing in and it became shaky, but Axel just smiled at her. "But then I met her… and Roxas didn't become the only one… I liked. Aura… there's no one more… important to me… than you. Not even Roxas. But then, it's funny… 'Cause both Sora and Marie make me feel… like I have a heart, too."

"Axel… don't go, please." He kept smiling at Aura, and simply told her that he was going to chill for a bit, chuckling a bit at his joke. She just shook her head. "Axel, I care about you so much, and all this time I never wanted anything like this to happen."

"No matter what could have gone differently… I'm happy I met you," he let out, which made Aura shake a bit more. "I'm happy that I had you in my life…"

He told Sora that Kairi was in the castle's dungeon, and that they needed to go. Marie gasped and clung to Axel's coat as she looked him straight in the eye. "You're not actually disappearing, are you? Lea you can't go! Not like this… not again!"

"Hey, we found each other the first time," he said as he gave a wink. He created a portal that connected to the castle, and looked back at the blonde. "Just get through this… and we'll meet again… got it… memorized?"

He started to disappear and as he did, Aura let a single tear fall down her cheek. Luckily for her no one caught it, but she really didn't care at all. Her closest friend in the whole time she was alive was disappearing right before her eyes, and she didn't know what to do. Marie didn't really leave a tear behind, because she was going to hold his word against him. Axel had completely disappeared, and Marie got up from bending down. She looked down at Aura, who was still completely quiet. She eventually got up, and looked at the portal before her.

"This leads to…"

"The World That Never Was—in other words, Organization XIII's stronghold." Aura took a deep breath as she walked ahead, with Marie and the rest of them following close behind. Ryan was totally confused about what had happened, but he did feel for Axel, since he had helped them out of the vortex.

-x-

Once they were out of that place, they reached the hideout that belonged to Organization XIII. The king walked ahead of them but stopped when he saw something above the sky. Sora ran after, with everyone but Aura following behind, and they stared up into the sky. Donald made a noise when he saw Kingdom Hearts floating above the tall buildings, and Aura walked a bit ahead of them.

"Welcome to The World That Never Was—the place that had been my home for a good amount of time." She turned around and faced them all with her piercing stare, and they all gasped when she mentioned the place being her home. "I know you all thought of it, and the answer to your questions is yes. I was part of Organization XIII for a time, and I am a Nobody. The reason why I left Organization XIII was because they wanted to use me as part of their plan."

"Why would they use you in their plans? Weren't you part of them?" Sora asked, finally getting the chance to get his questions answered. "And who's Nobody are you?"

"Because I hold half of a power that they so desperately want, and that power is Kingdom Hearts," she replied. Marie's eyes lit up, and although she knew the answers to the other two questions, she let the brunette speak. "And there is only one person in this whole space and time that has the other half."

"You're my Nobody then," Marie replied. Sora looked at the two, and was downright confused. He couldn't figure out how Marie got herself one, but then he was brought back to where she lost her heart trying to save Kairi. He looked down, but then Marie spoke. "Aura… why didn't you just… come to me when you left this place?"

"It didn't feel right at the time, and I was the one who made you forget almost everything, including Sora. I was so angry at so many things that I took it out on you and everyone involving you," she said. Sora and Marie were shocked that she was the one that started it all, but Aura still had more to say. "I thought I could go on by myself. I didn't need anyone, I didn't need Axel, and I certainly didn't need Roxas. But I was wrong, I do need everyone. There's only so much you can do by yourself."

"You knew Roxas, too?" Sora asked.

"Roxas, Axel and I were a team. We were pretty much all we had in this stupid world, and when Roxas left I didn't know what to do, I was just so angry at him," she said. Sora lowered his eyes a bit, and he felt a pang of regret fill his heart, but it certainly wasn't coming from him.

"But you're with us now, Aura. You don't have to feel alone or sad anymore, we're all here with you," Marie said as she walked up to the brunette. She grabbed her hands and smiled at her, receiving a slight smile in return. "Your past shouldn't define you. You're living now, so make what is left."

Aura gave a long, hard look at Marie, and eventually agreed. Donald and Goofy came up to her, saying that she was now part of the team, even if she was with Organization XIII. They knew she was good, especially coming from someone like Marie, and she was confident and strong. She was easily their strongest ally, and the fight with Organization XIII wasn't going to be easy. Sora walked up to them and looked at Aura—while she was annoying to him, seeing her actual face brought some mixed feelings about it all. But he knew she was reliable, and he wanted to make peace with this girl.

"Welcome aboard," he said. He brought out his hand for her to shake, but she just shook her head.

"I'm not much of a touchy person, but I'm glad to be on board," she replied. She turned her head towards the castle, and sighed. "Let's go, I'll lead the way."

-x-

They continued to walk into the main square of the world, but then suddenly everyone was surrounded by samurai Nobodies. Aura gave a low grunt as she knew who controlled them, and when she saw Sora running towards them in an effort to help them he disappeared. Marie shouted for Sora, but the Nobodies started to fight back. Aura took out her Keyblade, but she was concerned about Sora disappearing… was Roxas doing all of this?

Meanwhile, in another dimension, Sora fought with a boy his height in a black coat. They were evenly matched, with the boy fighting with a Keyblade of his own, and Sora wondered what was going on. They kept fighting for a bit more, and Sora demanded to know who the boy in the coat was.

"Someone from the dark," he replied in a low voice. Sora wondered if it was Riku, and the boy mentioned how he defeated a Riku once. Sora gasped as he heard this, but the boy prepared to fight. "Tell me… tell me why he picked you!"

The boy dragged his now two Keyblades to the ground as he scrapped it, but quickly brought them up as he attacked Sora. Fortunately, he blocked the attack and did one of his own. It was really even as they both kept attacking and blocking, but when the boy got an image of Marie, Riku and Kairi all by his side he lowered his eyes. "I see… that's why."

He jumped away for a bit only to come back. He attacked ferociously as Sora could only block the attacks, but was able to strike the Keyblade away from him on that last hit. Sora bent for a bit but quickly got up as he ran towards his Keyblade. Unfortunately, the boy blocked his path, and Sora glared at him as he was faced with the other end of the boy's Keyblade. Still, he was able to will his Keyblade back to him, and while the boy grew distracted Sora took the chance to strike him down. He dropped his keyblades as they disappeared, and he walked a bit past Sora before staggering. His hood fell off, and out revealed a golden blonde off his head. He managed to stand straight, and Sora was on his toes.

"You make a good other," he said as he turned around. Although he wasn't able to get a good look, Sora reverted back to the streets of The World That Never Was. He repeated what the boy had said, but was distracted as Marie came hugging him from behind.

"Sora, are you okay?" she asked, snuggling into his shirt. He grabbed hold of her arms and held them tight, asking what had happened. Goofy wasn't sure, but he explained that he disappeared and they were left to fight off the Nobodies that surrounded them. Sora merely replied nonchalantly, and his grip on Marie tightened.

"He said… he defeated Riku…," he said. Donald asked who said it, and Sora told them it was the guy in the black coat. Aura perked her head up when he said it, and he turned towards everyone as Marie left go of the hug. She was a bit confused as to who could defeat Riku, and she assured him that no one could. He was grateful for the encouraging words.

"A black coat means Organization XIII. He musta been tryin to trick ya," Goofy told him. Donald agreed, saying that was probably why no one else saw him. Sora tilted his head in confusion, and wondered how they didn't see him, but Donald simply assumed he was tired. "Come on; let's just find the way into the castle."

Donald and Goofy started walking away, while Aura stared a bit more at Sora. She really hadn't seen much, but she wondered about Roxas. She shook her head, now wasn't really the time. She followed Goofy and Donald down the road, and the only people left were Sora and Marie.

"Are you sure you're okay, Sora?" she asked. He turned over to her, and he wasn't really sure. She grabbed his hand but he pulled her into a tight hug, something that she didn't expect. They stayed like that for a while, and she dug herself into his neck for a bit. He eventually loosened the hug and looked down at her, who was giving a smile in return. He lowered his eyes and closed the space between them as he kissed her, and she happily accepted it. When they parted she looked at him, and she was still a bit concerned. "Are you sure you're okay?"

"Yeah… I am," he replied. He pressed his forehead against hers and just stared. She smiled and cupped his face for a bit, until they eventually separated.

"Okay… good." He smiled back at her and asked if she was all right, and she giggled as she was. He knew she had more on her plate, but she wasn't freaking out or losing herself, which made him proud of her. She gave him one quick kiss before dragging him towards the others.

He just smiled along the way.

We're so close to the ending! Ah mah gawd!

Trubeque:
Truer words have never been spoken—nothing lasts forever, and although I am sad to be finishing up a story, I'm pretty happy that it will be done. It really only means that I can start writing my next story in this series. XD

Shadow 1n2:
Haha, I love Tron but I'm really not looking forward to writing about Tron Legacy in KH:3D because it'll be so sad. D: hmm, maybe sometime during the next chapter or so, who knows? O:

Oh man, Jack and Anna? No way, that's a horrible pairing! I haven't actually seen the movie but I really want to. I'll probably end up getting it on DVD though, so I can watch it over a billion times. :D