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:
We're FINALLY at the end. Like the legit end. I'll make it as descriptive as possible, but there are a few more chapters to go after this. As far as the game goes though… we're done with Organization XIII here.

Also, aside from Marie kicking ass, you will see a huge surprise by the middle of this chapter and it involves Stella. This chapter also gets a bit wordy by the end.

Chapter Sixty

ଓ

It's Now or Never!

Marie held her breath along the way towards the top, but Kairi had stopped them when she pointed up towards the walls. Heartless came crawling in and started lurking their way towards the crew, and they all held their ground as they watched.

"There's gonna be no end to this," Riku stated as he carefully kept his eye on them. Sora looked over to him and Marie and told them that they could stop them together, and the two smiled as they nodded.

"Be gone from here! Leave these creatures to us!" Maleficent said as she appeared with Pete in front of them. Pete didn't feel like he and the witch could handle all of the Heartless on their own, but Maleficent told him that she'd be sending them to Xemnas, but asked if Pete preferred to fight them all.

"Frankly my dear, I'd rather… run!" he retorted. She scoffed and told him to leave, and when Pete turned around he met with the king. Mickey told him to abandon ship, knowing full well that Pete wasn't going to listen to him. The man just scoffed. "What like "abandon ship"? I don't think so!"

"Sora! "Your Majesty"! Do not forget—when I've destroyed them all, this castle shall be mine!" she told them. Pete also added in that opportunities like the ones he had gotten didn't come very often, and ran to Maleficent's side. He looked over to her as she prepared her staff, and the two started running towards the Heartless.

"We gotta hurry," Mickey said. Sora seemed a bit hesitant, since it was a first that Maleficent and Pete were helping them, but the King shook his head. "They're doing what their hearts command. We can't interfere."

The King started walking towards the top with everyone else following behind. Marie took a moment to look at Maleficent and Pete, who were indeed doing what their hearts commanded them to. She breathed in, and nodded her head for confirmation—she was determined to stop Xemnas from his harm. She started making her way towards the rest of the group, but Ryan pulled back a bit to talk with his cousin.

"Marie, you wouldn't believe it, but I think my anemia is gone," he said. Marie's eyes widened, and she asked how he knew. He explained how he didn't feel short of breath right after running, but Marie really wondered. "When we go back home I should ask the doctor. King Mickey said that anything could happen, so maybe this was one of those things."

"Maybe," she replied. She was still upset over losing Ansem, but she had to stay strong for herself and for the wise man. He told her she was a strong young woman, and she was going to promise herself that she would strive to be just that. Mickey started running up the stairs that lead to the altar, and Ryan started running as well—with Marie noticing that he actually wasn't losing his breath as quickly as he was before.

Up at the altar, Aura moaned as she started opening her eyes. She took a slow glance at what was around her, and she quickly realized she was at the Altar of Naught. She tried getting up, but only got as far as being on her knees, since her hands were tied up. She struggled to get out, "Son of a b—"

"So you awake from slumber," the all familiar and annoying voice said. She looked up to see Xemnas staring up at the sky. She heard footsteps approaching, and turned her head to see the rest of the crew climbing up the stairs. Marie gasped and tried running after her, but Aura shouted for her to stop—for fear of merging once they touched. Xemnas brought up his hands in a motion that looked like he was grabbing Kingdom Hearts. "Ohh… my Kingdom Hearts… ruined."

He turned around and extended his hand towards Marie, who grew on edge with the man nearby. "With your powers, I can fix my Kingdom Hearts, and all shall be mine."

"No!" Sora, Riku and Mickey shouted at once. Xemnas only stared at them, and asked why they hated the darkness so much, but Mickey told him they didn't—the worlds were made of light and dark. One couldn't be without the other, since darkness was half of everything. Riku told them that the darkness was only scary because of who lurked inside of it, and Xemnas placed a finger on his chin.

"Then allow me another question. You accept darkness, yet choose to live in the light," he said. "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?"

He pointed to himself and Aura, who glared straight at the man. Riku briefly stared at Aura before turning back to Xemnas. "That's simple. It's because you mess up our worlds."

Xemnas told them that he had a point, but asked what other choice they had. Aura scoffed and got up with her hands still tied. "People cannot sympathize with those unwilling to change. I left the Organization when I knew what you were trying to do, even though I had 'no choice'. You're just choosing not to do anything."

Sora added in that Xemnas was also just a Nobody—that he couldn't be sad about anything. Aura ignored the statement, since he was also indirectly talking about her, and tried getting herself out of the strings that tied her hands together. Xemnas chuckled and told Sora that he didn't miss a thing about learning about them.

"I cannot feel—sorrow… no matter what misery befalls the worlds. No matter what you think, what you feel, or how you exist." With those words, Xemnas raised his hands in the air with small beams rising from the floor. The light from it surrounded everyone, to which they had to cover their eyes with their hands. Once the light was gone, Sora and Xemnas were missing, and Marie gasped.

"Where did they go?" she asked. Riku looked around and was as confused. Aura struggled to get the strings off her hands, but Mickey noticed that they were magically tied.

"I don't think you'll be getting out of those unless Xemnas takes them off," he said. Aura scoffed and cursed under her breath. Marie looked down at the strings, but heard the words of the woman who was supposedly her mother.

"I know you would rather not hear my voice, but you've got to stop Xemnas from trying to take Kingdom Hearts for himself. This power belongs to no one—not even us."

Marie and Aura nodded as they looked away from the sky. She remembered how close Xehanort was last year from entering Kingdom Hearts. The door to darkness was opened, and honestly it could have been smooth walking into the place. Marie was thankful that Mickey and Riku took care of the Heartless on the other side, but they weren't able to actually enter Kingdom Hearts. Stella had her own set of security while she had been inside the place. Marie looked around as she saw the rest worriedly talking about Sora, and she placed a hand on her heart as she looked down at the floor and closed her eyes. Her body began to light up, and everyone took notice. Aura wondered what was going on, and when she saw light from above looked up to see Kingdom Hearts lighting up as well.

"What's going on?" Kairi asked staring as Marie looked up towards Kingdom Hearts with her eyes still closed. The blonde wanted so badly to protect everyone dear to her, she wanted the worlds to be safe and protected, and she wanted to end the suffering. These thoughts and hopes on her shoulders responded with the world above, and as if answering her pleas, bestowed her with the power she had once lost.

Stella and Dante also watched as it happened, and since they weren't the ones giving Marie her power, were surprised that it started responding on its own. Could it be that the world of all worlds… the heart of all hearts… was finally seeing Marie as guardian material? The light from both Marie and Kingdom Hearts shined a bit longer, until they both slowly died down. The blonde slowly looked down and opened her eyes.

"What happened?" the king asked as he watched Marie fix her composure. The girl perked her head at the question, and shrugged her shoulders a bit.

"I feel stronger," she told him. She looked down at herself to see if she had changed or anything, but when she didn't she looked at everyone. "It's weird… it's like I heard the voice of Kingdom Hearts… not the voice of the people in it, but… the actual world."

"What did it say?" Riku asked, growing curious about the phenomena that occurred.

"Thank you," she told him. It was odd, why was it saying thank you? Marie felt she had done nothing to deserve such praise, but she wondered if something else was about to happen? Maybe her woman's intuition was telling her something? Who knew, but she was glad that she had the extra power to protect what she held dear. Speaking of one person she held dear, she looked around and asked about Sora. They didn't know where he was, and she shouted, "Sora! Where are you?"

"Sora! Answer me!" Riku shouted after. A portal appeared out in front of them, with the brunette boy falling out from it. The crew quickly ran over to them, with Aura completely disappearing from them all. Marie bent down to help him up, and although he was grateful for the action, asked where Xemnas was. Donald looked around, and gasped when he pointed up towards Kingdom Hearts.

"Aura!" Marie shouted as she saw the Nobody floating in the center of Kingdom Hearts. It was like a repeat of last year, and she brought her hand close to her when she noticed Aura was completely knocked out. The brunette had her arms spread out as she hung her head low, and a small ball of light surrounded her.

"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!" he stated as he floated up in the center of Kingdom Hearts as well. The thing itself started glowing and spiraling specks of light ferociously, and Xemnas smiled. "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 light surrounding Aura shined brightly as he started absorbing her powers. The brunette managed to open her eyes and struggled against the agonizing pain of having her powers—practically all that she was worth—being pulled from her. Mickey told Xemnas to stop, with Marie stepping a bit forward as she watched Aura's twisted face of pain.

"Hearts quivering with hatred..." he started. Sora told him to stop, but he kept chanting his words. The more he chanted, the more the crew protested. "That fool Ansem said the heart's true nature was beyond his understanding, but it's not beyond mine! Hearts are the source of all power!"

The light around him and Aura grew stronger and the brunette was almost in tears at the amount of pain she was sustaining. Marie felt those tears through her own body, and she glared at the man above them. When the light left both Xemnas and Aura were nowhere in sight, and Marie gasped.

"No! Aura!" she shouted. She brought out her hand, and almost instantly a speck of light appeared from it. A door was created soon after, and Marie's eyes grew wide as she looked from her hand to the door. "Did I do that?"

"Kingdom Hearts… I get it," Mickey said as he looked at Marie and then at the door. He explained how Marie must have gotten her powers back from before, but with some added features. The girl was a bit confused, but Mickey explained it a bit further. "When you told us that Kingdom Hearts said thank you, it must have trusted you with its own actual powers."

"That means I'm back to where I started—being the guardian of Kingdom Hearts," she replied. Mickey nodded his head, and told her how she had a role to fill now. Marie looked away and down towards the floor for a bit as she caught her breath, but she quickly looked up and had a determined look on her face. "Then I've gotta a whole lot to do, now that I understand more than last year. But… I still don't really know how to use most of the powers I already have."

"That's okay, Marie. We're all here for you!" Donald said as he smiled at the blonde. She looked over to everyone, who smiled as they gave a nod—even Kairi. Sora walked up and held her hands as he smiled wider than usual, telling her that she wouldn't be alone like how she was in her coma. The blonde smiled, and together with Sora, turned towards the door.

"This door will lead us to Aura and Xemnas… I can feel it," she said. She was finally ready after eleven years of having the power to do so much. Riku and everyone else walked up beside them, and the silver head spoke as he stared at the door.

"Once we go through, there's no turning back. It's victory… or oblivion," he said. He turned towards Sora and Marie, who were still staring at the door. "It'll be like last time… fighting all together. Are you guys ready?"

The two of them nodded. Marie stood in front of the door as Riku, Sora and Mickey stood behind her. They brought their keyblades out and centered them all together near the ground, and when a bright light appeared in all three of them they started raising them towards the sky. When Marie's Keyblade started shining she took it out and pointed it at the door—a brighter light than all three of the ones behind her shined and out came a beam that went straight. The door began to open and Sora stared ahead with confidence.

"Get ready, Xemnas! It all ends here!" Sora shouted. They entered through the door and Sora gasped as he saw a complete replica of The World That Never Was. Marie examined the place—was this actual Kingdom Hearts? Were they really inside?

"So… it seems your hearts have led you to obliteration," Xemnas said as he stared at them all way across the other end. "Perhaps it doesn't pay to be too loyal to one's heart. I will have to be sure and remember that."

He brought up his hand and a tall building started making its way towards the gang. Kairi, Ryan, and the King were the first to start running towards the door, and when the building crashed down to the floor Sora, Riku, Marie, Donald and Goofy fell down. They quickly tried getting up, but when they saw the door was closing on them, Riku shouted for the other three that made it safely behind the door. They were separated once again and Marie banged on the door—she had no control over the place since it was completely under Xemnas' control.

"He must have used all of Aura's powers!" she shouted. Riku looked around and tried spotting the girl, but she was nowhere in sight. He was trying his best to forget Aura—per her request and that she would merge with Marie once this was all done—but he couldn't deny his feelings, the girl meant way more than he had hoped. Marie brought her hands close to her chest and didn't like what she was feeling—or the lack of feeling. "I can't feel her presence here… you don't think?—"

"No, Aura can't be gone," he replied—rather too sharply. He didn't like to hear anything that involved Aura disappearing or being gone. She was around the place, just hidden. Marie took a closer look at Riku's face and noticed the same look from before, but she knew it wasn't the time to ask—instead Sora asked.

"Why are you so worried about Aura? You guys barely know each other." Riku didn't know how to reply, and it wasn't really the time. Instead, he looked at them both and promised to tell them once they finished fighting with Xemnas. Marie was happy with the answer, as well as Sora, and their attention was brought to one of the roofs of the building as they heard the jingle of a Keyblade.

Out stood a woman clothed in white and black with a green, pearl-like Keyblade in her hand. The woman had long, golden blonde hair and the most defined honey brown eyes. They looked rather sharp, quite similar to Aura's eyes, and she had plush, naturally tinted lips. Her skin tone was neither fair nor tanned, but rather, in between. The woman jumped all the way from the building towards the three teens and the two loyal subjects of the King, and placed her Keyblade away. The woman had a full figure that Marie seemed a bit jealous of, but the thing she noticed the most was the aging the woman had endured. Although she had aged well and retained her beauty, it was obvious that the woman went through a lot. Upon closer inspection, Marie gasped when she figured the woman was exactly like Stella on the computer back at Radiant Garden.

"You're Stella, aren't you?" she asked, stepping a bit in front of everyone else. The woman looked down at the girl, and she gave a deep breath as she smiled.

"Yes, Marie. I am Stella, the voice you've been hearing all those years," she said as she placed her hands on Marie's shoulders, "And your mother."

Sora, Donald and Goofy all gasped and gave a questioning look as they stared between Marie and the woman named Stella. They knew Marie was able to talk to a voice from Kingdom Hearts, but they had no clue that she was an actual physical being—and Marie's mother no less! They watched as Stella cupped her daughter's face, and Marie only flinched a bit, but she stared up at Stella.

"I've waited years for the day I would be able to see you," Stella started. She softly caressed Marie's face. "I can see you, and I can feel you! There was nothing more I wanted than to see my daughter's beautiful face."

"Stella… I mean, mom. I don't know how to feel right now, but I would really like to stop Xemnas and save Aura," Marie replied, unsure of how to feel. Stella slowly pulled her hands away, feeling sudden rejection from her own child. She shook her head though; Marie did have a point about stopping Xemnas.

"…You're right," Stella looked at everyone else, who seemed completely flabbergasted minus Riku, who pretty much knew all of this from the start. She took out her Keyblade again, and created a confident stance in front of everyone, "I'll explain everything once we're done with Xemnas," she pointed her blade towards the man, who stood at the very end, "I have some unfinished business with Xehanort, after all."

Riku nodded, taking out his Keyblade, while Sora slowly took out his. He still wasn't sure what was going on, but he was surprised that Marie's mother had been inside Kingdom Hearts all along. He took a closer look at both of them, and they practically looked a lot with their thick, long blonde hair, but not exactly alike. Marie took out her Keyblade and started running ahead, and both Donald and Goofy did the same. Riku and Sora ran right after, with Stella taking a glance at them all before running as well. They all ran until a couple of buildings blocked their path, but Stella quickly ran in front of them and used her Keyblade to create lines across said buildings. They feel apart, and Marie quickly looked at her with such awe—who knew her own mother was this strong.

Stella turned to them and motioned them to follow, and they ran as far as they could. They managed to spot the device that Xemnas himself was on, and they jumped on a rising building to help them reach the top. Marie looked around as she ran and noticed a bunch of skyscrapers circling around Xemnas, and shouted at the rest.

"We've gotta get on those buildings if we're gonna reach Aura!" Riku and Sora looked at them, and on cue jumped on one of them as they used each building as a stepping platform. Marie and Stella followed soon after with Donald and Goofy not far behind. The young blonde felt quite intimidated fighting alongside her own mother—who seemed more than adequate wielding her own Keyblade, but she was glad a woman such as her was on their side. Stella ran a bit farther than the rest and kept slicing down the buildings with her sheer strength, and Riku pointed at an opening to the device Xemnas was on. Once they were inside the thing, they noticed a central core.

"We'll most likely need to pass through there," Stella told them as she pointed at the core. She looked around at the Nobodies creeping their way towards them and thought of a plan. "If we throw these monsters at the core, it'll damage it."

"How do you know all this?" Sora asked, quite interested in how she just came up with plans like it was nothing.

"You learn a thing or two observing the enemy," she simple told him. Again, Marie looked over to the older blonde. It was weird that her friends were speaking to her mother, but then everything else involving Stella was pretty weird, but she couldn't focus on that! She turned and quickly started leading the Nobodies towards the core, and with her newfound powers, found it a bit easier to fight them all. Riku and Sora stood by her side as they fought the Nobodies towards the core, with Stella checking on the thing. She noticed there were two other cores on each side as well, and she informed the others before jumping towards the left core. Donald and Goofy made their way towards the right core, and dealt with the Nobodies there. Stella was feeling great about finally having to fight, and all her training within Kingdom Hearts had finally paid off. Her moves were swift yet elegant, and she exercised all of the abilities she had learned during her past adventure. Donald and Goofy were able to take care of the right side, and jumped before it exploded. Stella was about done as well, but noticed that the three teens took care of the central core. She jumped out of the way once the left side exploded, and they all met up towards the top of the burnt cores.

Sora looked up and noticed a small entrance inside the tall white building bearing the Organization insignia, and Marie raised her Keyblade to create an aero magic around them. The lot of them jumped up and with the magic around them, helped them jump all the way towards the opening. Once they were inside they saw another core at the center, and when they saw bouts of electricity spazzing around it, figured it was an energy core. There were also a bit of Nobodies around them, but Sora changed into one of his forms to get rid of them. Goofy disappeared as the result, but the rest focused on destroying the energy core. Marie noticed some of the Nobodies coming from above, so it took upon herself to use her magic to fire them away. Some that landed were dealt swiftly by Sora, and the two were able to get rid of the remaining enemies as Riku, Stella, and Donald destroyed the energy core.

They were teleported out from the area and into a new one. They looked around and noticed Xemnas in a suit of amour sitting at the top of the throne that was built. He had a tall spear in his right hand, while the area surrounding him glorified his status. It wasn't that hard to get rid of the armor, since it seemed he was stuck to his throne. The boys plus Stella got to attacking, while Marie stepped back and focused more on healing. At times she chanted a couple of her own spells, but mostly just healed.

"Donald!" she shouted as she raised her hand to cast a healing spell. The duck quickly thanked her and to got to attacking. She looked up to see a couple of spears floating above, and looked down towards the others. "Guys!" she shouted as she ran in front of them. She raised her Keyblade above her and created a barrier around them all. The spears came crashing down, but broke in half once they reached the barrier. Of course, the shield broke once the spears were gone, and they went back to attacking.

Suddenly, out of nowhere, a woman with bright orange hair appeared. Her sharp, lime green eyes glared quickly at her target. She quickly attacked Stella, but the blonde was able to block her attacks. Everyone else stopped fighting to see their new enemy, but Xemnas was the only one who seemed quite happy about her appearance. "At last, you are cured by the darkness!"

"Darkness…?" Stella asked. She turned to take a closer at the woman, and besides the strain of aging and stress, she quickly gasped as she realized who the woman was. "Trinity? But, we got rid of you!"

"It's a wonder what the darkness can do," she snarled back in a low and sultry voice. Stella could only stare with her jaw practically falling off. Marie wondered who the orange-headed woman was. She was a tall woman with an hourglass figure, who wore a simple black cloak. Marie wanted to ask about her but right before she was the woman glared at Stella. "See if you can catch me, Stella."

The woman ran through a portal and fired one of her magic pistols at Stella—who blocked it, but the blonde was completely shocked. She was a bit angrier, knowing her once-time enemy came back, but she knew what she had to do. She couldn't understand how she made her way into Kingdom Hearts, but knew full well it had something to do with Xemnas. Trinity was a threat, and she wasn't going to let her stay alive. She turned back to the crew with a look of sadness—knowing full well that she wouldn't be able to see Marie for a while—and quickly ran through the portal. She was eternally grateful that her daughter managed to open the door and release both her and her husband, but she knew Trinity couldn't be left alone. Marie quickly tried running after her, but the portal closed right before she could. Before she could even wonder about the two, a spear came falling down towards her. Sora ran and quickly grabbed her as they made it out of the way, and Marie hugged him. Riku, Donald and Goofy quickly fought off Xemnas, with Sora dealing the last blow after he helped Marie up. They were quickly teleported out of the room and back at the Altar of Naught, with Xemnas barely able to stand.

"I need…more rage… I need more… hearts…," he told them as he fell on one knee. Sora lowered his Keyblade and felt a bit bad for the man. He told them that there was more to a heart than just anger or hate, telling him that it held more feelings that that. Sora asked if he remembered, but the man stared at him. "Unfortunately… I don't."

He started disappearing from them all, and Marie grew desperate when Aura didn't appear at all. The rest of the crew cheered with the exception of Riku and Marie, but they were glad that Xemnas was dealt with. Mickey commended them all, saying how great they were. Sora noticed Marie and Riku looking away, and he walked up to them. He looked over to Riku, who seemed more in a confused state.

"You're coming back with us, right?" Sora asked Riku. The silver head told him that he had given in to the darkness, asking how he could show his face to everyone. Sora pulled a funny face by pushing his lips together, turning his lips to look like fish. Marie started laughing, which then made Riku laugh. The building started trembling, with Mickey telling them the place was about to collapse.

"Wait, we can't leave without Aura! We haven't found her yet," Marie pleaded, looking at Riku for some support. He couldn't really say much, since he was out of words when it came to the brunette. He just shook his head, which meant to Marie that he had given up.

"I'll open a path," Riku said instead. He brought up his hand, but nothing appeared. Mickey told him that he no longer belonged in the dark realm anymore, and Donald asked how they were going to get out. They all heard a slight jingle and turned around to face a pale girl with platinum blonde hair dressed in a simple white dress. The only people who couldn't see her were Mickey, Donald, Goofy and Ryan, who all ran over to the portal.

"Hey, did you make this?" Ryan asked as he looked at Donald, who simple shook his head. He asked the king, but not even Mickey was sure. Ryan scratched the back of his head, but he really didn't care. "Well, we better go if we don't wanna get squashed."

As soon as he said that a dog named Pluto, the king's loyal pet, came running around them all. He quickly ran into the portal, with Goofy running after him. Mickey started running after with Donald, and Ryan quickly turned around and told them all to hurry before he ran through it. The four teens started walking up to the portal, and out appeared the blonde girl with the white dress again.

"Thank you, Naminé," Kairi said, to which the blonde smiled.

"Sure," she replied. She looked at Sora. "See? We meet again, like we promised."

Sora grew confused, but then a voice was heard, and out appeared a boy who seemed to look identical to Sora—only with side-spiked blonde hair and a beige-looking outfit. "You said we'd meet again, but when you did, we might not recognize each other."

The blonde smiled and told him he was right, and she was glad to see Roxas one last time. "I always thought Nobodies were doomed to fade back into darkness… but you and I didn't."

Marie walked over to see the two talking, and when she took a closer look at the blonde boy, she realized that he was Roxas—the same Roxas that Aura knew. It was weird, and both Naminé and Roxas turned to face the girl as she lowered her head.

"I don't see Aura," Roxas said. Marie perked her head up, and saw a frown on the boy's face. She shook her head and brought her hands close to her heart. "You're her original, aren't you?" he asked.

"Yes, I am. I'm sure she would have loved to talk to you again, Roxas," Marie said, smiling sweetly at the boy. He still had his frown on his face, concerned for the brunette Nobody, and he had been looking forward to seeing her. All that he wanted to say to her would have to wait, but he felt deep in his own heart—or Sora's heart, that she was going to come back to them all.

"We'll be waiting for her," Naminé said, giving a reassuring smile to Marie. "And as long as you're all together, we'll all be together."

"We'll definitely be together, right guys?" Kairi asked as she looked towards Sora and Marie. They both nodded, and Kairi extended her hand for Naminé to touch. When they touched hands, a light appeared around Naminé, and she disappeared as a light surrounded Kairi. Sora seemed completely shocked, but Roxas told him to look sharp. They were surrounded by a blue light, and Roxas disappeared.

"Don't worry, you're all still you," Riku comforted Sora as the boy started questioning about it.

"Hey, let's go home!" Kairi said as she stood in front of the portal waiting for the other three. Sora turned to them, telling them it was finally time to go home. When the three of them started walking, they noticed the portal started disappearing once Kairi walked through it. She turned around and gasped. "Sora! Riku! Marie!" She cried.

They all looked around as the portal disappeared, but a bright light temporarily blinded them. When it disappeared they saw a green orb far across the altar. A giant, dragon-like airship appeared in front of them and started flying towards the tower. It skimmed the side, but it was enough to tip it over. The three teens started slipping down the slide, and Marie shouted as she felt herself falling quickly.

"Marie!" Sora and Riku shouted. She stopped screaming when she fell on something hard, but quickly got up and took a look around. It was an odd looking device, but it resembled something of a motorcycle with two pads on each side. She looked at the controls and noticed it had buttons and a steering wheel, and since it was already on, steered it towards the boys.

"Hey, get on!" she shouted. The two quickly slid down and jumped on a crumbling piece of concrete before jumping onto the pads. Marie momentarily lost her balance when they both jumped on, but quickly composed herself as she firmly held the steering wheel. She wasn't the best at steering, but seeing Sora hold the wheel was enough to know what not to do. She steered all the way to the back of the ship, and both Sora and Riku started bouncing off the energy beams that were being thrown at them. Marie made sure that they weren't hit, but accidentally pressed one of the buttons near the wheel, which caused a huge laser to shoot out. The boys managed to destroy the rear bumper of the ship, which fell to the ground, while Marie tried her best to steer their bike towards the wings. She didn't realize that their bike was gathering energy, and Riku told her to press the button she pressed before. She nodded, looked down and pressed the button, and a giant laser appeared once more. It was enough to destroy part of the wings, but they were still operational and kept flying. Sora fired a couple of his magic, which tore off one wing, and Riku got rid of the other.

Marie stopped the bike, and the three of them watched as the bigger ship started crashing towards the ground. When it did, a huge gust of wind started surrounding it and the three teens. When it disappeared, they noticed that the ship was stuck to the ground, and Marie landed towards a spot where she could. As they got off, the bike started floating its way towards a black hole, and Marie gasped when she saw it. Many other things started getting dragged into it, and they all glared at Xemnas as he sat in his armor again.

The three of them took out their Keyblades and started assaulting the man. Marie kept her eye on attacking, casting and healing, while the boys straight out focused on physical strength. Marie ran around while trying to avoid some of Xemnas', and she jumped as she fired some of her spells. Gravity around the place wasn't as strong, so the three of them could maneuver around quite easily. Some of the buildings from before appeared, and Sora and Riku got to work as they used those buildings to hit Xemnas. They got hit a couple of times, but it was nothing that Marie couldn't heal. Riku kept attacking and ran up to Marie as kept firing her spells, but then thought of an idea. He told Marie to cast a spell towards his Keyblade, and although she seemed a bit skeptic, did it anyways. She chanted one of her fire spells, and it changed to a fiery orb that surrounded Riku's blade. She seemed surprised, but the boy went straight to attacking Xemnas. She did the same, casting one of her stronger attacks, and Sora jumped a bit as he spun his Keyblade around their enemy.

They heard Xemnas make some guttural noises followed by a scream, and they all huddled close by as they were teleported into a different room. They looked around and saw that it was a bright room with various designs around, and noticed that said designs moved around the room. They also saw Xemnas, clothes in a black and white robe much similar to his Organization XIII outfit.

"Heroes from the realm of light… I will no allow it to end this way—not yet," he said, staring all three of them down. "If light and darkness are eternal, then surely we nothings must be the same… eternal!"

"You're right, light and darkness are eternal, and nothing probably goes on forever, too. But guess what, Xemnas?" Riku said as he looked at the man before him.

"That doesn't mean you're eternal!" Sora continued. Xemnas started laughing, telling them that he was no more eternal than the radiance of them all. Marie stared straight at the man, and asked where Aura was. Xemnas brought up his hand, and out appeared a throne behind him, with Aura silently sitting on it as her head hung low. Marie gasped, not because of Aura, but because of the man sitting just a bit below her. Xemnas took the chance to strike her, but Sora and Riku quickly blocked it.

"Go help Aura! We'll take care of Xemnas," Riku told her. Marie quickly nodded, and started running towards Aura and the man. Once there, she saw that Aura was unconscious, and tried waking her up. The man beside them woke up, and didn't seem as hurt as Aura, who was pale beyond all and barely breathing.

"Marie?" he called out. The blonde looked down, and gasped when she saw the man's face.

"You're my dad!" she shouted. He gave a faint smile, and she quickly jumped down to face him. She examined the man's face, and it was like staring straight into the mirror, albeit an older looking mirror. The man was another who had aged considerably, with his brown eyebrows sagging a bit. His light brown hair had grown just a bit past his shoulders, but he kept it in a pony tail. His sea-green doe-like eyes were filled with such happiness though, and Marie couldn't help but smile. "I have a picture of you from my cousin. You look a lot younger, but I know it's you."

"I'm incredibly happy to meet you, sweetheart," he told her. "You look so different now that I'm seeing you in person. You've grown into such a beautiful young woman."

"I'm happy to see you too," she told him. She looked down at the shackles around him, and she tried breaking them with her Keyblade. It didn't work, and she wondered why. "What's wrong with these things?"

"You have to use your powers from Kingdom Hearts, it's the only thing strong enough to break these," he said as he pointed to his shackles. Marie wasn't so sure, but she quickly changed the subject and asked Dante how he got captured. The man told her that when he came out of Kingdom Hearts, he went straight to helping Aura. Unfortunately, since he didn't anticipate how strong Xehanort—or Xemnas became, was overtaken quite easily. Dante shook his head, and looked at Marie. "Have you seen your mother yet?"

"You mean Stella?—"

"Why do you call her that? She's your mother."

"Maybe because she lied to me about being in Kingdom Hearts, I think I would've appreciated it if she had told me from the start," Marie told him. Dante sighed, but the girl continued. "It's hard to call someone like that mom immediately, but with you it's different. I barely even heard your voice—just that one time, but I feel like it's easier to call you dad."

"That makes me very happy, but you know your mother did everything she could to make sure you survived," he told her. Marie held onto the shackles, and sighed as she looked down. "She did everything she could to keep us both surviving. I suffered an attack that could've been deadly had your mother not choose to enter Kingdom Hearts. Sure, she has those moments where you question her actions, but your mother is incredibly selfless when it comes to us—her only daughter and her husband."

Marie looked away, and saw the fight between Riku, Sora and Xemnas. They were fighting hard to protect everything dear, and in a way, Stella was doing the same—although more quietly. She rejected the woman by calling her Stella instead of mother, and Marie was starting to feel bad about it. Both her mother and father did everything they could so that Marie could live to this day, and her thoughts even went back to Ansem. She couldn't let any of them down, and she slowly got up from Dante.

"You and mom did do everything for me, and I didn't even know of it," she told him. She looked over to Riku and Sora, who were struggling just a bit. She brought her hand close to her heart, and turned around. "I'm sorry, but I'll make it up to you guys, starting with beating the snot out of him."

She quickly ran towards Riku and Sora, and brought out her Keyblade. Xemnas was pretty much already halfway through his health, but so were Sora and Riku. She quickly brought up her Keyblade and a giant light appeared as she chanted her healing spell. Xemnas created a temporary dimension that brought all three of the teens in. they saw a bunch of lasers surround them, and Marie brought up her Keyblade as they all reflected the lasers. One after the other, they kept concentrating on reflecting them, without even having the time to blink. Marie created a reflect spell, which reflected a whole lot enough to get them out of the dimension.

Once out, Riku was quickly knocked back by Xemnas' light blade. He brought his blade close to Sora's neck, and was about to slice it through, but Marie came in and blocked the attack. Xemnas brought down the other light blade on Marie, but she was pushed by Riku. The blade barely skimmed the boy's side, and Sora quickly grabbed hold of Riku's Keyblade as he attacked Xemnas. He used both Keyblades and fiercely attacked the Nobody until he jumped away. Sora jumped back down near Riku and Marie, and he gave the Keyblade back. He pointed his own Keyblade at Xemnas, who was still in the air, and both Riku and Marie touched it as well. A powerful beam of light went straight towards the Nobody, and completely took him out.

He fell to his knees, and the three of them were glad to have finally been done with Xemnas. Marie quickly turned around and looked over to Dante and Aura, who were still tied up. With Xemnas unconscious, the three of them safely walked up to the other two. Marie bent down in front of Dante, and smiled as she brought her hands together in front of Dante's shackles.

"I just have to use my powers, right?" she asked. Dante nodded, and Marie closed her eyes and concentrated. She wasn't sure how to summon the power of Kingdom Hearts, but she really wanted her father and Aura to be safe. She concentrated a little more, and a small speck of light appeared from her palms. It eventually turned into a brought light, and the power of Kingdom Hearts started to expose.

From behind them, Xemnas managed to get up, and noticed Marie using its powers. He still had a bit of strength in him, and as he got up started running towards the girl. His scream echoed the room, and by the time Riku or Sora was able to do anything, Xemnas' light blade pierced through the skin of his target. The light died down, and everything suddenly became blurry. Unknown to Marie, Dante was able to get up the moment his shackles were gone, but the light around them all still shined. He was able to hear Xemnas shouting in time to stand in front of his daughter and their enemy, and was stabbed in the stomach right as the blade came rushing in.

Sora and Riku quickly took out their Keyblades and disposed of Xemnas, who quickly started to disappear. Marie gasped and ran to her father's side once he hit the floor, with tears streaming down her face. "Why did you do that!?" she shouted.

"Marie, don't worry… I did what I did because I love you," he said, though barely audible. "I finally got to see my daughter… after fifteen years. This… was more than I could… ask for."

He slowly raised his hands, and a small speck of light appeared, much similar to what Marie had done previously. "I also wanted you to use your powers… so that the little piece I took from Kingdom Hearts would be used on her."

The speck of light formed into a ball that traveled its way towards Aura, who was still pale and unconscious. Dante smiled and lowered his arm, but Marie was still devastated at what had happened. He told her not to worry and that he loved her, and eventually passed out. Just then, a dark portal appears in front of them all. The same woman who fought with Stella earlier on appeared, and looked down at the man with a serious look. She glared at the teens, and quickly brought up her hand as Dante's body started to disappear. Marie gasped and quickly got up, but the woman stopped her.

"I'm here to take what's mine," she told them. Marie growled at the woman, but she paid no attention. Dante appeared in front of her, and as she snapped her fingers a portal appeared around both of them, making them disappear before the teens.

"Hey, come back!" Marie shouted. When the portal completely disappeared Marie grew distraught. Before she could say anything however, she heard low moans coming from the girl on the floor. Marie quickly turned around, and started walking to Aura's side. "Aura…?"

The brunette slowly opened her eyes and saw Marie, Riku and Sora hovering over them. She gave a weak smile—probably one of her widest smiles—and stared at them all. "Boy… am I glad to see all of you."

"Aura, are you okay?" Riku asked, softly holding on to her shoulder. She shook her head, and the three teens suddenly grew with more worry on their faces.

"I… missed the fight, didn't I?" she asked. Marie told her that she was taken from them a while ago, and asked what Xemnas did to her. "He took… everything… and all I could do… was watch. The power he used… was all mine… I'm sorry. I wish I could've… beaten that idiot up…"

"No, Aura… you did great. You survived, that's all that matters," Marie told her. The brunette scoffed, and looked up towards Sora.

"Sora… it was my fault that Marie forgot everything about you…" she confessed. Sora only stared, but he wasn't mad. He told her that even if it didn't happen, he knew he and Marie would surpass anything. She gave a happy sigh, and continued. "You better take care of her… or I might come back… and be a pain in your butt."

She managed to get a small chuckle from Sora. "I'm glad I met you, Aura."

Aura closed her eyes for a moment, which caused the teens to worry a bit, but she quickly opened them after. She looked at Riku, who just stared with a sad expression. "Hey, you… stop with that face… you know this was going to happen."

"You disappearing, yeah… but I didn't want it to happen," he told her. Sora and Marie looked at Riku, who seemed the most saddened by Aura disappearing. Maybe it was just her, but Marie wondered if Riku had feelings for Aura. The brunette shook her head, which got Marie's attention.

"Don't worry; I'm okay with it…" she told them. She brought her arm up, although slowly, and turned to Marie. "It's time… we became whole…"

Marie took a moment to look at the teen, and sighed at how cruel it was to be a Nobody. She really wanted Aura to be someone she could stand and smile with, but they both knew. Marie slowly brought up her hand and looked at Riku and Sora, who were just staring at the two. She knew Roxas was with Sora, so maybe Aura would be able to see him too. She sighed as she brought her hand closer to Aura's, and the two eventually held hands. Aura smiled at Marie, and the two became engulfed in a purple light.

-x-

Aura opened her eyes only to find herself on an endless beach. She looked around, and walked along the shores. Something about the place seemed almost too peaceful, and she wondered what was up. She stopped walking when she heard footsteps, and quickly turned to her left. There he was, in all his blonde glory… the boy she had been trying to forget was standing right there in front of her, and she took a deep breath.

"Hi," he said, giving a faint smile.

"Hey," she replied, unsure of what to do. He looked down at the pouch that she proudly wore all through her adventure, and his smile grew a bit wider.

"You're still wearing that pouch, even though I was the one who got it for you." Aura looked down at it, and honestly thought that Axel was the one who got it for her. She looked up and asked him why he didn't say anything, and Roxas continued to smile. "You looked happy when you thought Axel got it for you."

Aura looked down towards the sand and felt a pang of guilt. She really didn't know, and she really wasn't at all fair towards the boy. Roxas walked a bit closer to her, and she looked up. "I really like you Aura. All that we went through together… the good, the bad… to almost thinking I would forget everything. There's no way I could ever forget someone like you, not in a million years."

"Roxas, if you really mean everything you say, then why didn't you show up when you were supposed to?" she told him, a bit of sadness in her tone. "I sat there waiting, and waiting until you would show. You never came."

Roxas looked away, shame and guilt overtaking him. "I was too angry to even think straight. I wanted to look for answers but I wasn't getting any at the castle, so I left."

"You could've told me how you felt, you know," she looked at Roxas, who only felt remorse about his actions back then. He agreed with her.

"Things will never be the way they were; I don't even think I'll ever have you back—I don't think I deserve it," he said. Aura looked away from Roxas and out into the ocean. She watched as the waves came in and out of the shore, and there was a small silence between the two until she spoke.

"Roxas, you'll always have me. We were meant to be together, like how Sora and Marie were meant to," she told him. It didn't sound right on his end, but she continued. "I will always love you, but maybe not in the way I once thought. I'm not really sure how to feel, but I do love you."

That was enough for Roxas, who watched as Aura smiled brightly at him. Her words were genuine, and he really enjoyed seeing the smile she once gave long ago. She may not be in love with the blonde, but at least he knew that she cared for him, and that was enough to make the blonde smile in return. He didn't know where she would end up going, but he would support any way he could. "I really missed your smile," he told her.

"It feels weird," she replied. Roxas stood beside her, and brought his hand towards hers as he held it. She didn't mind, and they both looked at the ocean. "I thought I could never forgive you, but now that we're here, it doesn't matter. I like how this is, but…"

Roxas turned as she started to disappear, but she kept smiling. He smiled in return, knowing full well that a girl like Aura was not one to stay put. She waved to him, and he did as well.

"I do like the adventures."

Decided to end it here, since I wanna get more chapters in. plus, this is like, 9,000 words too long.

To view how Stella looks, go here:
www.swirl3y.deviantart.com/art/Stella-KH-3D-and-On-421850295

Dante pretty much looks the same as here, but with a more mature, wrinkled face:
www.swirl3y.deviantart.com/art/Dante-Trinity-Stella-393061170?q=gallery%3ASWIRL3Y%2F29599925&qo=2

Trinity won't be seen or fully introduced until the next story, sorry!

Shadow 1n2:
Haha, I know it's such a first that she was kidnapped, but I hope that her piece here was worth it. :D I KNOW I FELT SO SAD WHEN I WROTE MARIE AND ANSEM. It was such a feels trip, and yes Saix is too corrupted to go back to the light. Yes, I feel the same way, which is why I wrote it as such, but now we're getting to the more serious parts of the story—and the future story! A lot of people match Jack with Merida, which is really cute, but now that Elisa's in the picture it's changed haha.

JoojKA:
Ahaha, sorry! But at least you had a nice break in between :D I know I had the hardest time writing for Marie and Ansem because I really wanted to get that emotional style from it. She gets even more emotional now because of Stella and Dante, and heck even with Aura—who had a moment with Roxas. I'm really glad I tied all those knots.

Aw, actually I haven't played the game. I've been watching walkthroughs since I don't have a 3DS. I wasn't going to let that stop me though :D but I understand if you want to play the game for the experience, but you're always welcomed to read even if you haven't played the game. I won't judge. :D Aww, and thanks for the compliment! Since being in school I've done so much writing that I'd be disappointed if my writing style hasn't changed.

Dracula X:
I shall listen to that song! Thanks for mentioning it. :D yes, it's been about 3 years since I started the series, but we're not done yet—not until I finish my KH:3D story. Then it'll be over until the release of KH3. After that it'll be done with. I'll be sad though, but I had a great run at this.

Grapejuice101:
Aww, I know. This whole story will be done with though, and I hope you'll look forward to my new story with them all. :D

Dracula-key:
Haha, thanks! I'm glad I'm still writing it, but it'll eventually come to an end. Yes, thank god. I hate Atlantica with a passion. I would die happy if they made Frozen in the new KH3 game, I WOULD DIE SO INCREDIBLY HAPPY.