Chapter 144: Simple and Clean

Sky smirked at his handy work as he quickly made sure that the two unconscious Devon brothers were hidden from sight. After he had woken up, he had found himself in the medical room, wrapped down to the bed like an animal. Seeing that the Devon brothers didn't seem to trust him, he found it pleasurable to take Kyle out when he tried to call for assistance. If only he had fully hidden Kyle and had closed the door when he was trying to sneak out, he was lucky that he was Brian though. After hearing parts of his conversation with the Colonel when he had gained consciousness, he knew that the Aversion Endless had stuck in to see him, but he lost interest in the conversation so he focused on escaping.

Double checking that the two was properly out of sight, he used his light orbs to morph back into Kyle, adjusting his arm as he got used to the weight of the robotic arm once more. "Our deal has finished, Brian." He told him, knowing that a part of him will be listening. "Our truce is no longer needed." He chuckled darkly before leaving the room, closing the door shut behind him. Right! Let's try this again! He thought firmly as he made his way down the hall in search for Kairi's room. He could only growl in frustration at the sight of the numbered rooms, no names. Damn it! The Endless quickly cursed.

One of the doors opened to reveal King Mickey, leaving one of the rooms as he caught sight of the disguised Sky. "Kyle. Coulda spare a minute?" He asked him.

I can't actually say no. Sky groaned in thought, knowing avoiding him would draw suspension. "What is it, Your Majesty?" He asked with fake concern. "We are trying our best."

"I know. I know." Mickey waved him off at his efforts before signalling him to follow him.

The Chaos of Light growled under his breath, looking back at the doors where the Princess of Heart laid before following King Mickey to the stairway, looking down to the front where Riku and Hikari sat on the sofas. The two watched as Max walked back into the house, reporting to Hikari before he switched with the tomboy. Hikari looked back at Riku with concern and worry before leaving for her turn on guard duty. "He doesn't move." He stated, looking at his friend.

"Riku has always worried for his friends." Mickey commented. "I can't imagine what he is going through. The thought of nearly losing Goofy was hard enough but the thought of losing two of your closest friends at once…" The King sighed before turning his attention towards the second Devon. "How's Sora?" he asked.

Sky only looked at him in confusion, too drawn at his friend's state. "Wha?"

"Sora. You just went to check on him." Mickey reminded him.

"Oh right. Sorry, Your Majesty." Sky quickly recomposed himself, remembering he was in disguise. "There wasn't any changes to his state." He told him. "He has yet to awaken."

Mickey nodded to this. "And what about Kairi?" he asked.

"I still need to check on her." Sky quickly told him, starting to feel uncomfortable from the way the King of Disney Castle was questioning him. He wasn't sure if he was onto him or if he was just questioning Kyle in general.

The Mouse King raised an eyebrow at this. "Gawrsh, I could have sworn that you said you were checking on Kairi first." He reminded him. "That was your reason for leaving the meeting earlier."

A meeting? Sky questioned as he answered. "With Sora's virus, I thought I should check on him first." He huffed slightly. "Not meaning to be rude but what exactly did you want to talk about?" He asked him. It may have sounded informal but he could imagine Kyle speaking to someone like Mickey rudely at the situation they were in. Besides, he was rather annoyed of the King now, the quicker he was away, the quicker he can deal with the Princess of Heart.

King Mickey looked at Sky firmly as he replied. "To give you the message, Sora."

Surprise was written over the disguised Endless' face, looking at the mouse in disbelief. "How did-" He froze, thinking about it for a moment before shaking his head in disbelief. "You know what, I'm not surprised." He chuckled as he walked back down the hallway. He opened a door to an empty room, falling out of his disguise as he watched King Mickey follow him. "A Keyblade Master like yourself, seeing the light in people."

Mickey sighed sadly at Sky's form. "Sora…"

"What was the message that only you had to tell me?" Sky crossed his arms, waiting impatiently.

"There are those in the past that sleep within you, Sora." Mickey began to explain. "As well as pieces to your future. There are so many people connected to you, Sora."

"I'm guessing to fix their sorrow and hurt?" The Light Heart-struck chuckled, making Mickey look at him with concern. "I'm not Sora. I'm not going to risk my life to save those I don't know or those that have lived their life. It's time I look out for number one." He pointed to himself, smirking darkly.

"That's not true." Mickey objected. "I know that Sora still has control."

Sky huffed at the comment. "Trust me, Sora had his last dance went he decided to dive into the Colonel's attack." He told him. "His being belongs to the darkness now."

Mickey just shook his head. "I think otherwise."

Sky shot him a glare. "Explain."

"It's simple." The King of Disney Castle smiled. "In order to have control of a heart, you must have control of the borderline emotions. Love and Hate. The fact that you have shown concern for all of your friends means that you haven't concurred Sora. His power rests with the love for his friends."

Sky only laughed at the theory, nearly falling over to the floor. "Love? You are going with that!" He cried. "I want proof, mousey boy."

"Room Seven." King Mickey simply said before opening the door. "I must return to Minnie's side." He announced before leaving the room.

The Light Endless was left slightly confused, thinking over what Mickey had just told him. Did he just tell me where Kairi's room was? He wondered. He quickly fell back into his disguise and walked out the room, walking down the path once more in search of Room Seven. He had quickly found the room, opening it slowly to see that the sleeping Princess occupied the room. That King is foolish. He laughed in thought as he locked the door behind him and approached the bed.

The sound of the heart monitor filled the room between the two, the infected warrior and the sleeping maiden. He looked on the table to see that the remains of the lucky charm rested on the bedside table. He looked away though, grunting from the sight.

"Take this." Kairi told him as she handed over her beloved charm in the keybearer's hand. "It's my lucky charm. Be sure to bring it back to me."

Sora smiled as he closed the charm within his hand. "Don't worry. I will."

"Promise?"

"Promise."

"Stupid charm." Sky spoke as if the subject in mind felt like it was going to make him sick. Summoning his Infected Kingdom Key, the Chaos of Light walked over to the Princess' side. "Your time has come, Princess." He spoke darkly to the sleeping maiden, raising his keyblade up in the air. "Time to go to Eternal sleep!" He smirked as he slammed his keyblade down.

"NO!"

The Infected Keyblader froze in place, striking the keyblade at the girl again and again, only to find that every time he struck at the Princess, the point of the weapon halted a mere inch away from her, feeling her unharmed. "No." He growled angrily as he continued trying to strike her, his anger building. He disposed of his keybalde and grabbed her by the shoulders, seeing that he could at least touch her. He raised his claw and found the same thing happened again, feeling as if his claw was being held back. "Sora…" He growled before dropping Kairi back on the bed and stepping away from where she rests.

He calmed himself, knowing if he shouted he would grab attention from downstairs. He grabbed one of the chairs and sat himself down, leaning toward as he stared at the Princess of Heart in thought. "Why…" He growled as he closed his eyes.

BOWBOWBOW

Opening his eyes, Sky returned to the Station of Awakening, no detail was left upon the station as the most of the station was now covered in the virus. The only part the virus had not covered was the small picture of Kairi that had rested upon it. In the small uninfected area rested the brown haired Keyblade Master, his garments ripped and his body frozen in the sitting position. "Why can't I kill her?" Sky demanded from him. "Why is it that instead of protecting your own being, you would protect her?" Could it be possible that because he protects this area, that I cannot kill the Princess? He quickly thought.

Sora slowly looked up at him, his eyes dulled from any form of shade, being a full colour of blue. "You already know…." He spoke weakly.

"Tell me!" Sky yelled from him, not frightening the Keyblade Master slightly. "You have lost, Sora. LOST!" He told him. "SO why do you protect her?!" He growled as he waved him off. "Coming to you is a waste." He muttered as he prepared to leave.

"No matter where you go, I'm always with you…" Sora recited, grabbing his Endless' attention. "You can't harm her, not while I am here. You will never gain this small part of my heart, not while I rest here…" He gestured to the small area he was placed in. "Why would I let you kill the one who will save me…."

"Save you." Sky laughed. "You think that she would save you?! SHE'S IN A COMA! SHE IS NEVER GOING TO WAKE UP!" He told him.

"We should be dead….." Sora reminded him, the thought of the Colonel's attack against them flashed through their minds. "She woke in time to save us…..she will do so again."

The Heart-struck Endless huffed at his words. "She's useless. I wouldn't need saving if I didn't need to save her." He told him as he glared at him.

"Then why agree…to the truce…" Sora asked him, gaining a confused expression to the Endless. "If you didn't want to save her, you could have just let the Colonel finish her."

"I would have lost my powers." Sky growled. "You know that!" He stepped towards the resting keybearer, knelling down to him so that he was at face height. "I want her gone! Can't you let me have that?" He asked him, signs of desire in his voice.

Sora simply shook his head. "Distance yourself…." He suggested.

"Distance myself?" He questioned, his eyebrow raised. "Are-Are you making your final wish?" He asked.

The Keyblade Master looked down at the part of the station that he was guarding. "If you want the rest of my heart…I want you to do the following things…." He breathed deeply. "No matter what, you will not harm Kairi or the others."

"That's a stupid rule!" Sky argued against him as he stood up once more, pacing around the infected station. "What if they attack me? Are you saying that I cannot protect myself? Even you yourself have had to fight your friends." He firmly spoke. "If they attack me, that deal breaks!" He suggested.

After some thought, Sora nodded to the suggestion. "The deal breaks if they attack you, but only that part." He told him.

"Fine." He nodded. "What were the other requests?" He asked him.

"You have to defeat the Order." Sora told him.

Sky huffed at this. "Why would I want to waste my time with them?" He questioned. "I could be destroying worlds in that time."

"Because…" Sora breathed. "We may have stopped the Colonel but not his younger self. And what of Vanitas, we still have no clue what he is doing or why he had ordered to capture Ventus. It needs to get sorted."

Sky thought about it for a second, seeing where Sora was coming from. Plus, taking over the worlds will be much easier with no one in his way. "Any more deals?" He asked, nodding his head to the last one.

"Just one…." He whispered before looking up at him. "Let me say goodbye."

"No." Sky said sharply.

"Then you will never get this part of my heart, I will stay here no matter what. You will fall!" Sora warned him. "If you think I'm warning them of something then take control again but I just want to say goodbye…."

Sky stared darkly at the teen, glaring at him in anger. "Move from your place and you have a deal." Sky told him.

A sigh came from the Keyblade Master, looking down at the picture below him as he pushed himself up to his feet. He closed his eyes as he stepped out of his protected area.

BOWBOWBOW

His eyes opened, holding their original blue colour instead of golden yellow. The Keyblade Master gasped slightly as he looked at himself at the small mirror behind him. He still looked infected, his hair was still pure white, same with his skin, only his eyes had changed back and his infection had faded slightly. "I'm…" There was no struggle for control, no pain. He was in full control.

"You have five minutes." Sky warned him.

"Five minutes…" Sora sighed in sorrow before moving himself from the chair. With five minutes, he won't be able to say goodbye to the others. What about a letter? He smiled at the thought a quickly went over to the side table to open the draw. Nothing! Closing the draw, he searched through the room before he decided to use the back of the medical forms in front of the bed. "It will do." He told himself as he pulled the chair beside Kairi as he sat down and wrote the rest of his heart into the message.

The minutes flew by as he wrote his words, gritting his teeth as he thought of what to say, making sure that he didn't make any mistake. He smiled sadly when he finished the note, writing everyone over the medical paper and placed it on the side table. As soon as the note was placed, his eyes glanced onto the broken pieces of the charm. His time was running out but he grasped onto the shells, pieces of string and pulled the crowd necklace around his neck off. He muttered words as he used magic to quickly form the pieces together, uniting his necklace and her shells together.

"Here." He smiled at he looked over to her. "Keep this safe. From me to you." He told her as he placed the newly crafted charm within her hand. Once he had let go, he noticed that one of the shells had not properly been connected. He grabbed the piece, one of the shells that was actually broken, and placed it in his pocket. "If you can hear me, I want to let you know." Sora said softly, walking to her side, using his claw to move the auburn hair out of her face. "You won't get hurt by me anymore. I want to keep you safe….that's why we will never meet again." He sobbed slightly, a tear falling down his face. "I'm sorry that I couldn't keep my promise to you, Kairi. I know that you will be great…and-and no matter what, my heart is yours and yours alone." He held her hand as he quickly wiped the tears from his eyes. "You will awake soon. I know it." He smiled, only to huff in pain as the glow in his infection begun to appear again.

The Keyblade Master sighed before looking back at the Princess of Heart. "When you walk away…" He sang softly, holding onto her hand tightly. "You don't hear me say. Please, oh baby don't go." He shook slightly as he let go of her hand, slowly making his way to the window. "Simple and Clean is the way that you make me feel tonight…" He opened the window, looking back at her one last time before he felt the virus take over him. "It's hard to let you go…" His voice hiccupped slightly, thought he kept himself firm before he ripped his sights away from her and jumped out of the window.

The height was no problem for the Keyblade Master as he landed on his feet. His eyes turned golden once more as Sky became dominant. "A deal is a deal." He told him as he sneaked through the alleyway, having a feeling that it will lead him to the centre of town. "Question is, how are we going to get to Neo Mansion without those items?" He questioned.

"Prehaps I can help."

Sky halted as he looked behind him, only to see the familiar brown hooded figure. "You again…." He trailed, suspicious eyes on the person in front of him. The fact that he had previously met him down the alleyway of Olympus Coliseum didn't fit right with him.

The hooded figure in front of him chuckled slightly. "I see that you have welcomed the virus' abilities." He could only cough awkwardly as the infected Keyblade Master stared at him with the lack of patience. "Have you thought about my offer?" he asked.

"No. Not really." Sky remained blunt as he crossed his arms. "I know that you can get me to Neo Mansion, correct?" The figure nodded. "Lead me to him." He told him, watching as the figure smirked from under his cloak, opening a dark portal in front of him.

"Sora!" Sky looked behind him, only to see Donald and Goofy looking back at him in shock and disbelief. "Sora!" They called to him again.

Sky huffed at their calls. "See ya around…" He chuckled darkly before going through the portal along aside the hooded figure.

A/N: Another chapter completed. On to the next.

Kingdommad