Kingdom Hearts Dual Keys

by lyokoMARVELanime

Spin-off/Sequel to Keyblades of Future Past. The legend you know returns, but this time it's not just Sora, Donald, and Goofy racing to save the worlds, but this time, they'll be working alongside the newest Keyblade Master and Sora's new teacher: Ventus. Experience the first KH adventure you know with a new twist as the forces of darkness face two keys in the battle for the worlds

24. Return to Hollow Bastion

AN: I'll keep it brief this time. No talking with the rest of the cast, no answering reviews, just getting right into the swing of things. Reasons: this actually turned out to be a longer chapter than I originally predicted, but I think it still turned out great regardless, and this is now officially the start of the final stretch for this story, so why should I make you guys wait around with something that'll be either really funny or just completely boring. So, let's cue up that disclaimer and get right to it, people!

I do not own anything from Kingdom Hearts or any other franchise mentioned in this story.

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Chapter XXIII

Despite knowing that Cid's special navigation gummi was going to lead them through a wormhole, most of the team was still feeling pretty nervous about traversing said route due to their last trip through one such shortcut. They could all remember quite well how disoriented they felt going traversing the wormhole that lead them to Agrabah, and they were not too eager to have a repeat experience of that. Ven had tried to assure them that the second time around was always better than the first and that did assuage some of their worries, but they were still nervous about it all the same. The only one who was more worried about the wormhole trip than Sora, Donald, and Goofy had to have been Kairi, since technically speaking, this was her first time going through a wormhole. After all, she had still been inside of Sora's heart the first time around, so she was not entirely sure that she could handle it as well as Ven believed the others would. It did not matter how they felt about it though, because either way, they were still going to have to go through since it was the only way that they were going to get back to Hollow Bastion and seal the Keyhole to Darkness, and they were most certainly going to go through.

As it turned out, the wormhole was right along the path back to Traverse Town from Olympus Coliseum, so they were able to follow along with the other two ships that their friends were on before they finally had to break off and change course. Thankfully, no Heartless tried to get into their path, but they all knew that was going to change the minute that they came out the other side of the wormhole. They just had to hope that the Kingdom was up for the fight that lay ahead of her. Not that Sora, Donald, and Goofy had flown the ship into any battles on their way to Olympus Coliseum, but after getting shot down not too long ago, anyone would be at least a little concerned about the state of their ship. When they finally reached the coordinates, Sora and Kairi both spared one last farewell wave through the ship's viewport to their friends on the other ships, and then buckled up for the journey that lay ahead of them, steeling themselves for the moment when they travelled through the wormhole.

When they saw the wormhole they were looking for, Ventus called out one last warning to the group, along with the question of whether or not anyone wanted to turn back. When he did not hear them say anything, the blonde knew he had his answer. They were all sticking together in this until the end, no matter what, and so, Ven had no problem with gunning the ship straight for the wormhole. Just like last time, after they passed through, they all felt like they were being spun round and round, over and over, while their insides were twisted about in the same rotation as the wormhole's swirling vortex, but as it turned out, they did find it a little less uncomfortable to deal with. It was still an unpleasant feeling, but there was no denying that they were finding it much more bearable now. When the feeling finally came to an end, a simple glance out the viewport told them that they were right at the halfway point between Neverland and Hollow Bastion, and it was not just the colors in this area of interspace that gave it away either. The vast number of Heartless ships that were in the path forward actually did that.

Just like last time, Sora and Donald had managed to recover the quickest with Kairi not being too far behind them, and since Ven still seemed to need a minute or so, Sora immediately took over the flight controls while Donald and Kairi manned the weapons. Thanks to that, they were able to spin out of the line of fire before any attacks from the Heartless could so much as scratch the Kingdom's hull and they returned fire to open up a path just as easily. The minute that opening was large enough, Sora blasted the ship forward as fast as he could, and they were now well on their way back to Hollow Bastion. It did not matter how many Heartless tried to get in the way, they were all either avoided or blasted thanks to the efforts of the three who were currently manning the controls. Ven would have retaken helm control after he had fully recovered, but given their situation, he felt that it would have been a bad idea to switch pilots so suddenly. Besides, Sora was doing well enough on his own, so Ven elected to just take over one of the weapons controls for Donald so that they had someone watching the scanners and the readouts on the ship's status.

After a few more minutes, they finally made it through the last of the Heartless ships and into the orbit of Hollow Bastion, but they all knew that there were still Heartless behind them that could try to attack the Kingdom while they were down on the surface of the world below. Luckily for them, Ventus had already planned for that, and launched a series of mines that would destroy any enemy ships that got too close to either the Kingdom or Hollow Bastion until they got back, and even upgraded the shields so that they would hold a lot better than before. Sora would not deny that he wished he had known that sooner, because he had a feeling if he did not have to do so much fancy flying, the others would probably have recovered a little more quickly. Still, there was no point in worrying about it now, because they had already reached their destination, and they all immediately jumped out of their seats to teleport down to the surface.

"The dark energies coming from the Keyhole to darkness is making it difficult to get an accurate lock on anywhere inside the castle, but we can still beam you down to the same place where you landed the first time we came here," Chip reported.

"Sorry that we can't get you guys a little closer," Dale apologized.

"Hey, don't worry about it. I'm just glad that we'll be able to use the ship's teleporter at all for our landing," Ventus reassured the two as he stood at the center of the group up on the teleporter pad. He then looked to the others and asked, "You guys ready for this?"

"Born that way," Sora confirmed.

"Yeah," Kairi nodded.

"Gawrsh Ven, do ya even have to ask," Goofy questioned with a smile.

"Let's get going," Donald cheered.

Ventus grinned in reply to the four, and then turned that grin towards the two chipmunk engineers to see that they were saluting to them as a way of showing that they were ready on their end, so he only had one thing left to say to them. "Energize."

A moment later, they had all beamed down from the ship and right into the middle of the Rising Falls. A quick look around told them that there was not too much different from the last time they were here, at least from this angle, but they did quickly spot a friendly face just a few feet away from them, looking a little tired as he gazed up at the castle. "Hey Beast," Sora called out, getting the large creature's attention at once. A moment later, Beast seemed to give them a small smile, showing that he was glad they had come back just like they said they would, but Sora quickly took notice of something that seemed to be missing. "Where's Belle?"

"Still in the castle," Beast replied with a frown, explaining why he was down there looking up at said building without her.

"Against their will," Goofy worriedly asked.

"No, I think she stayed for a reason," Beast replied. "The other princesses are there as well."

"I wonder why," Donald pondered aloud.

"Somehow, I get the feeling that it might have something to do with why the darkness across the worlds hasn't gotten as strong as we expected it to after the Keyhole was completed," Ventus reasoned.

"Well, there's only one way to find out for sure," Kairi determined. "Let's go up there and ask them."

"Yeah, we've got to get in there anyway, so we might as well stop to ask along the way," Sora reasoned.

Everyone immediately agreed with that, with Beast saying that he would come with them as well, out of a belief that they might need his incredible strength. Not that they were about to disagree with that idea. The group then made their way up to the castle gates, and as soon as they had stepped up onto the stone pathway that lead the castle's main entrance, they were quickly ambushed by the Heartless. They were not surprised to find Darkballs, Defenders, and a Wizard or two in their way, but what they were surprised to find, were a number of what appeared to be stronger Shadows, but they could easily see a few differences. For one thing, these new ones were much more humanoid in shape, bigger, more muscular, and their antenna were much longer. When she saw these new Shadows, Kairi immediately recognized them from her Dive to the Heart, and said as much. When he heard that, Jiminy finally helped them put a name to the face of this newest enemy, saying that according to the notes in his journal that they were known as NeoShadows. Not that it really made that much of a difference to them.

New Heartless or not, the team did not slow down. Instead, they pressed on, harder and faster than before, and refused to let anything stand in their way. This was especially true in the case of Beast, as he tore down and through anything that dared to try and stand in between him and Belle. Eventually, that fury caused many of the Heartless to do their best to avoid the massive creature and focus more on the three Keybearers and their two friends instead, which they soon discovered was not really a better idea. Right as they had passed through the doors into the castle, Beast had turned his attention towards the library entrance, and directed the team towards it, saying that the Heartless appeared to be avoiding that location completely. A quick look at the dark creatures showed that Beast was telling the truth, and the team was not too eager to keep fighting nonstop without any rest just yet, so they all immediately rushed into the library.

When they got inside, they immediately slammed the door shut behind them, and breathed sighs of relief. Sora then noticed that Beast was slowly walking through the library and up the stairs to the upper level, and feeling curious, he quickly followed after his massive friend, with the others following him when he did. When they reached the top of the stairs and came around the corner, they all spotted a familiar beauty of a woman in a flowing, yellow ball gown, and when she turned towards them they all saw her face light up with a brilliant smile. The team could not help but smile in return, partly because they recognized her from the last time they were here and because of the good feelings they gained from seeing her smile. The rest of their joy was due to how happy Beast seemed to get when he saw the woman.

"Belle," Beast exclaimed in relief. A moment later, the two had embraced one another in a loving hug that just warmed the heart.

None of the five adventurers wanted to interrupt the two's moment, but there was still a few very important matters to attend to, and from the looks of things, Belle could very well know some details that could help ensure that their mission was a success. Still, they did allow Beast and Belle to have a few minutes to themselves before stepping in. "Your highness, my name is Master Ventus of the Keyblade. I'm glad to see you're all right," Ven informed Belle with a respectful bow.

When he saw his master wave for them to follow his lead, Sora quickly stepped forward and mimicked the blonde's actions as he said, "I'm Keyblade Warrior Sora, Ven's apprentice. These are our friends and my girlfriend."

"Kairi," the redhead.

"Donald Duck."

"Goofy."

Belle giggled a little at the five after parting from the Beast, and said, "You don't need to be so formal. You can just call me Belle." After the five stood up straight and nodded in reply, Belle then asked, "You've come to seal the Keyhole, right?"

"We have," Ven confirmed.

"Please be careful," Belle cautioned. "The darkness is raging deep inside. We've been holding it back, but we can't hold out much longer."

"So then, the reason why the worlds haven't been completely flooded with darkness like we had expected is because you and the other princesses have been holding it off," Kairi summarized.

"Yes it is," Belle confirmed with a smile.

"Well, you don't have to worry too much anymore. We'll take care of it," Sora reassured her with a smile of his own.

Belle nodded to him in thanks, and then approached Kairi. "You are a Princess of Heart like me and the others, right," Belle asked.

Even now, Kairi still had a hard time really believing that fact, but she was not going to try and deny what she was. "Yes, I am a Princess of Heart, and I'm also a Keyblade Warrior. I won't just stand by and let my friends fight this battle without me while I can do something to help them, so don't think you can ask me to."

If she had been expecting Belle to protest, she was pleasantly disappointed, because the older girl simply smiled in response and held something out to her. "In that case, I would like you to have this. Use it to face the darkness as the Beast has, and keep it at bay as you, me, and all the rest of our fellow princesses can."

Kairi looked down at the item she was being given, and smiled a little when she saw that it was in fact a Keychain that possessed a silver chain with a token that was shaped like lovely, red rose. Grasping the Keychain firmly in her hand, Kairi nodded to Belle with a smile, and said, "Thank you. I'll be sure to use it wisely."

The others all smiled at the sight of this little moment between the two girls, knowing that a fast friendship had instantly been formed between them, and Ven then asked, "Are the other princesses scattered throughout the castle?"

"No. The others are actually gathered together in the Castle Chapel. I only came here in the hopes of finding something here that could help us to stop the Heartless for good," Belle explained.

Beast smirked in response to that, and said, "You always did enjoy spending a great deal of time with a good book."

Hearing that and seeing how much Beast cared for Belle, Sora did not really need to think that much before he suggested, "Hey Beast, maybe you should stay here with Belle."

"What," the others all exclaimed, including Beast and Belle.

"Sora, are you crazy? We need Beast to help us," Donald pointed out.

"Yeah. The Heartless have only gotten stronger since the last time we had been here," Goofy added in agreement.

"Maybe, but Beast needs to be here with Belle more," Sora argued. "Plus, once we've cleared the way, he can lead her back up to the other princesses and keep them all safe. We can't exactly seal the Keyhole and keep them from getting attacked by the Heartless at the same time. Besides, Beast said it himself. The only reason he's here is because he wanted to find and rescue Belle. It wouldn't be right to make him help us with anything else."

They hated to admit it, but the others knew that Sora had a point, so they all reluctantly agreed with his suggestion. Beast did argue a little more, saying that he did not mind helping them as a way of repaying them for their aid in reuniting him with Belle, but they were not willing to hear it. They all insisted that they could handle things from here, and that his place was now here with Belle. Beast could not find any way to argue with that, so he nodded in defeat and promised to keep Belle safe until they were done and had made it safe for them to proceed to where the other princesses were.

With nothing else to discuss and time continuing to run out on them, the five adventurers left the library and returned to the entrance hall, ready for any Heartless that were planning to stand between them, and the first of the many elevators that they were going to need to reach the castle chapel. After all, they were going to need to go through the chapel first before reaching the Keyhole to darkness. Might as well talk to the other five Princesses of Heart so that they could pass along the same reassurances that they had Belle, and show the Heartless that nothing was going to stop them from sealing the Keyhole along the way.

---

This was it. This was the end of the line for her. Aqua had nothing left to give. After that run in with Terra and Xehanort, all of her energy had been completely drained, and the light in her heart had finally started to dwindle to the point where she was sure it could have been blown out by the smallest of winds. All she could really feel at this point was a sense of slowly falling. She did register that something had slipped from her hand, but after all that had just happened up until now, somehow, Aqua found that she was unable to really continue caring. She just wanted it to end; for all the sorrow, pain, and wishing to go away. Her resolve had finally broken, and she was resigned to what was likely to be her final fate. "Now I can be…one with darkness," Aqua thought to herself, and if she was fully aware how ironic it was that she was repeating something that her old enemy had just said to her and her friend a little while ago, then she did not really care. She was just too tired and exhausted to keep fighting any more. What she did not expect, was that someone did not plan on letting her go out that easily, and they had just arrived to make sure that she would not give up.

"Aqua, are you okay," a familiar voice asked, and when she felt someone grasp her hand before placing something in it, she finally opened her eyes, albeit a little wearily, and looked just in time to see her savior grasp her hand and pull her down to solid ground. When she managed to draw some strength back into her legs, seeing as they had felt like jelly when her feet first touched the ground, and realized that the object in her hand was actually her Wayfinder, Aqua looked down and realized that she had not imagined it. There, standing before her, was an old friend and fellow master that had been such a huge help to her and her friends on the last journey together. His attire was a bit different than she remembered, and certainly much more colorful, but she would recognize those white gloves, kind face, and big ears anywhere.

"Mickey, how did…" Aqua started to ask, until everything that happened before she passed out finally came back to her. "Terra! Where is…"

"Your majesty," a young voice suddenly called out, drawing both Mickey and Aqua's attention towards it, and Aqua was surprised to see a familiar looking, silver haired boy running towards them, waving his arms around as he continued shouting. "We've got company! MOVE!"

The next thing any of them knew, the boy had tackled both Mickey and Aqua to the ground, just in time to make sure they all avoided getting plowed over by the massive tower of dark creatures that had been rocketing after him. When the Demon Tower had finally passed by, Aqua looked to the boy again, and saw that her eyes were not playing tricks on her. "You…You're one of those boys I met on that island," Aqua whispered in wide-eyed remembrance.

The young man stood up straight again, summoning a very odd, dark-looking sword into his hand as he did, and commented, "We can catch up later. That thing's coming back around."

"Riku's right. There's no time to talk," Mickey agreed as he jumped to his feet as well, summoning Star Seeker into his hand.

Aqua immediately turned to see the Demon Tower rising up from the ground behind them, and she immediately narrowed her gaze on the dark beings while summoning her own Keyblade, now ready to fight again, and relieved that she would not be doing so alone. Of course, that did not mean she was not still upset that these things were getting in the way of her having a peaceful reunion with old friends once again, and it showed when she practically snarled, "Dwellers of darkness…"

"They're called Heartless," Mickey informed her, his eyes never leaving the Demon Tower.

"Good to know," Aqua nodded in reply.

A minute later, the Demon Tower had shed some of the Shadows that it was composed of, and sent the small Heartless after the three. Seeing this, Riku immediately took it upon himself to attack the swarm of minions, and the two masters knew that the boy was doing so in order to give them an opening. It was an opening that they gladly took, and they focused all of their attention on the Demon Tower. Aqua made the first move by firing off a round of her Prism Rain Shotlock, and when she saw her Keyblade release many more of the colorful light projectiles that it used to, Aqua immediately knew that her Unique Tier One Command Style was not the only thing that had been through some changes. She had to grin a little bit when she realized this, and quickly fired off three more salvos of rainbow colored light magic, allowing her to not only deal an incredible amount of damage to the Demon Tower, but also wipe out at least half the Shadows that Riku had been fighting, while preventing anymore from joining in on that fray.

If the boy had given her any signs of thanks, Aqua must have missed it, because she was busy watching Mickey as he bounced around the battlefield while slashing at the tower of Heartless as fast as he could. As she watched him fight, Aqua noticed that Mickey's fighting style did not seem to have changed that much since they last met, but she did notice that many of his attacks seemed to come a lot more faster and have a much stronger impact than before. In point of fact, there were actually a few times that Aqua could swear that Mickey was fighting in a manner that was similar to Ven, and that alone was enough to make her heart skip a beat. She quickly shook it off after seeing Mickey get smacked aside by the Demon Tower. Now was not the time to be getting swept up in emotions and nostalgia, and Aqua was glad to see that Riku had managed to catch Mickey before he hit the ground in a way that would definitely had ended badly for her small friend during her moment of distraction.

After setting Mickey down, Riku then turned his full attention to the Demon Tower, and charged in, sword ready and already slashing and cutting through any Shadows that dropped down to get in his way. When he finally got close enough to the Demon Tower, Riku quickly spun out of a slash that he had just dealt to one Shadow, and released a burst of Dark Firaga on their foe at point-blank range. Aqua was immediately concerned for the kid's wellbeing after seeing him using dark magic, but considering that it did seem to injure the beast comprised of these dwellers of darkness, she found herself unable to complain too much. Instead, she just focused all of her attention on calling out the powers of Spellweaver, and then pressed her own attack with the newly enhanced abilities of her Unique Tier One Command Style. Just when she had, she noticed the Demon Tower barreling towards her, and immediately summoned forth a barrier of light to shield herself. When the foul beasts struck the shield, Aqua was given the perfect opportunity to strike back, and she did so via a Counter Blast. Aqua's counterattack ended up dispersing at least half of the creatures that made up the Demon Tower, and the Shadows could only scramble wildly in an attempt to reform into their towering form, leaving them vulnerable to Mickey and Riku's attacks, while Aqua easily managed to tear through them with her Command Style's own special abilities and a showcase of her magic talents.

Aqua continued to slash, blast, and bash away at the Demon Tower with her Command Style's abilities, while Riku and Mickey kept pace with her attacks as best as they could, until finally, Aqua managed to gather up enough energy to unleash her finishing move, and she did so without any hesitation. The minute she had unleashed the energy, the two boys were immediately awestruck at the sight of her spinning around on the tips of her toes beneath the dome of magic that was erupting from her raised Keyblade. The only thing that came close to being more amazing was the slowly growing, ice crystal that was forming above her head, and when Aqua came out of the final spin, they watched as the crystal shattered, erupting into a very intricate star-shaped pattern above her, while the magic energy that had gathered inside the crystal and around Aqua exploded outwards, taking out any Shadows that had recently dropped out of the Demon Tower in an instant, and dealing an impressive amount of damage to the Demon Tower itself.

When Aqua looked to where their foe had been, she was a little surprised to find that it was still going strong. Yes, it did appear to have been weakened by her last attack, but considering how much more powerful her Unique Command Style was now, she was sure that her attack would have been able to finish this thing off. The blue haired mage mentally chastised herself for getting so overconfident in regards to one of her strongest magic abilities, and likely would have moved onto doing so out loud for several minutes had they not been in the midst of a battle, but at the moment, she was having a hard time seeing a way out of this mess. At least until Mickey suddenly rushed over to her, blasting away any Heartless that had tried to close in on the young master with some incredibly strong light magic.

"Aqua, let's team up," Mickey requested, and Aqua immediately nodded in reply, showing that she had instantly figured out what he had in mind.

Once the two were both standing side-by-side, they began to focus their magic energies, balancing them out so that they were equal with one another, and then unleashed it all in one brilliant burst that coated their bodies in a brilliant, shinning gold aura while they simultaneously shouted, "Command Link: Wayfinder!"

Upon hearing the exclamation that the two masters had shouted, Riku had immediately turned just in time to see the gold aura around them solidify, and he could barely do more than watch as the two started their next assault against the Demon Tower. The spectacle was so incredible that words could barely describe it. Every move that one of them made was in perfect sync with the other, and every attack that landed was laced with an incredible amount of powerful light magic that seemed to make the Demon Tower tremble under its force. Every time Aqua swung at the base of the tower, Mickey was able to practically teleport to a point that was halfway up to slash through, and whenever Mickey fired a blast of light magic at the Demon Tower, Aqua immediately followed it up with a flurry of sword strikes. Eventually, the two had seemed to hit the peak of their combined assault, and they came to stand back to back with each other, their auras glowing brighter than ever.

"Come on," Mickey shouted.

"Yep," Aqua nodded, confirming that she was right there with him, and they both then lifted their Keyblades up into the air.

"LIGHT," they both shouted at once, and when they did, a wave of light magic encircled them both, while several similar orbs swirled around before dispersing into the area around them. For the most part though, many of the orbs zeroed in on the Demon Tower, and struck it several times over. When the attack had ended, the tower of Shadows seemed to sway unstably this way and that, almost like it was going to topple over at any second, leaving Riku unable to do anything but gaze in speechless awe from the power that these two Keyblade masters had just displayed.

Riku was quickly shaken out of his stupor though when Aqua and Mickey both suddenly ran past him, straight at the Demon Tower and fully intent on finishing the beast off, and there was no way he was just going to sit back and watch after already doing so for at least half of this fight. The two masters had quickly caught notice of this, and soon gave Riku a nod to show that they were glad he was with them, and Riku immediately returned the courtesy with a nod of his own before turning his full attention on the Demon Tower along with the other two.

"Mickey," Aqua shouted once they had all drawn close enough, signaling for the mouse king to take the first shot.

"Riku, let's end this," Mickey immediately prompted afterwards.

"Right behind you," Riku agreed, and he soon joined Mickey in charging to the forefront of their group.

Mickey easily struck first, landing a powerful, horizontal slash that lead to the right, and Riku immediately followed up with a slash of his own in the opposite direction. The two's attacks ended up destabilizing the Demon Tower almost completely, and Aqua took the chance to leap over the boys, Keyblade drawn back for an aerial vertical strike that struck just as true as her companions' attacks. The Demon Tower was instantly toppled over completely, practically split into two by Aqua's last attack, and after gathering together as much of itself as it still could, it rocketed up into the air and flew away, disappearing into the shadows from whence it had came.

"Phew! Finally," Riku panted in relief, dismissing his sword before he dropped down to sit on the ground, and Aqua had to agree silently with the sentiment as she dismissed her Keyblade.

"Still, better not push our luck," Mickey cautioned after he had dismissed Star Seeker. He then turned to his old friend and said, "Gosh, I was beginning to think we'd never find ya, Aqua. I mean, we always knew that you had been trapped in the Realm of Darkness, and I knew there was a chance I could run across ya, but I figured that the chances would be really slim. Still, it's great to see you again." If the sentiment was shared, Mickey could not tell, because Aqua's expression seemed fixed into a downcast, tired frown. "Hey, um, what happened?"

Aqua did not say anything at first, and the two boys were beginning to think that she was just going to brush it off and say she did not want to talk about it. They were not entirely wrong, but she did not actually give any indication that she wanted to avoid the conversation. "Have either of you seen Terra or Ven?"

Riku turned away at once, not entirely eager to tell Aqua about his own run-ins with the blonde master, and thankfully, Mickey spared him from having to do so with his next reply. "I've seen Ven quite a bit back home, actually. He's really missed you a whole lot, but he's managed to pull through it and become a full-fledged Keyblade Master," the king proudly declared.

"What?! You mean, Ven really is awake in the Realm of Light," Aqua gasped, her face seeming to light up a little more after hearing that.

"Yep, and he went straight to Yen Sid's to look for you and Terra after he woke up. When we told him that you had both disappeared, we figured he would want to take off and go looking for ya again, but instead, he actually asked us to help him finish his training. He wanted to make absolutely sure that he would be ready for that journey, and that the next time he saw you two, he could stand by your side as a real Keyblade master," Mickey recounted, showing he could still remember that moment like it was yesterday.

Aqua finally did smile when she heard that, but it was only for a split second, because her frown soon returned when she asked, "And what about Terra? Have you seen any sign of him?"

Now it was Mickey's turn to become a little downcast, as he admitted, "Sorry, but we haven't. And the only one of your group that I've seen here is you."

Aqua sighed in depression, making Mickey a little more worried until she said, "I'm sorry. The darkness in this place…it's getting to me."

"Oh," was all Mickey could say at first, but he quickly perked up and added on to it afterwards. "But, you'll be okay."

"Right," Aqua nodded, though it was not nearly convincing enough to convince either of the other two that she even half-believed that.

"Hey, he's right. From what I remember, you've definitely got a better chance of bouncing back from whatever happened to you in this place than I do," Riku suddenly encouraged, reminding the others that he was still here.

When Aqua turned to Riku and seemed to look him over with a critical eye, Mickey quickly decided that introductions were in order, and said, "Aqua, this is a new friend of mine from the other side. He's something really special, and is good friends with a couple of Keyblade wielders. His name's…"

"You're…Riku, right," Aqua asked, her tone almost disbelieving.

"Yeah. I'm surprised you recognize me so easily," Riku admitted.

That earned him a small smile from Aqua, and she replied, "Well, you and your friend Sora definitely left a very good impression on me."

"Wait. You know each other," Mickey asked in honest surprise.

"Yes. I visited Riku's world once, and met both him and his best friend while I was there. I had considered passing the Keyblade on to one of them, but because Terra had already given one of them the power, I didn't," Aqua explained.

"So that's why you asked Sora to make you that promise," Riku mused. He then looked over to Aqua and said, "Well, you should know that even though you didn't pass the power to him, Sora was still chosen by the Keyblade over me…and I can't blame it for doing so."

"Don't get so sad, Riku. I don't think you were ever meant to have that Keyblade anyway," Mickey reasoned, drawing the boy's attention to him. "Maybe, you were meant to get a Keyblade after enduring the trials that you have so far."

"Maybe…" Riku softly thought aloud.

Aqua was not entirely sure what was going on, but the one thing that she did want to know about this situation stood out above everything else. "Still, I'm a little confused. How did you end up here, Riku?"

This time, Riku knew that he could not get out of telling her something, and he ended up sighing as he revealed, "Let's just say that…I didn't really make it easy for Sora to keep his promise to you. I made some really bad choices, listened to the wrong people, and the darkness overwhelmed my body. Now some creep is out there using my body like a puppet so that he can drown the worlds in darkness, while the real me is stuck here in this place."

Aqua sighed sadly, and then whispered, "I'm so sorry, Riku."

"For what? It's not like you had anything to do with this," Riku reasoned. "Trust me, trying to do everything on your own…well, that's kind of what landed me here. I thought I was doing everything I could to help my friends, and now look where I am. Sure, I was trying to help one of them more than the other because I thought that Sora had replaced me or some other stupid thing, but I was still trying to help them. Every bad thing that's happened to me and my friends is on me, not you."

Mickey was really not liking how this conversation was going. Then again, he was not a fan of negative moods and conversations in general, and he definitely did not want his friends to shoulder all the blame for the bad things that had happened to them and the people they cared about when they were not entirely at fault, so he quickly decided to steer this conversation onto another topic. "Say Aqua, you know we've been looking for ya and a way to bring ya home for a long time now," Mickey revealed, surprising Aqua a little when she heard that. "Any moment when Ven wasn't training or stargazing, he spent it trying to figure out some way to at least contact you. He really misses ya. How come you haven't found a way out from this place yet?"

Aqua was not really sure how to answer that right away, but only because there was something else that was on her mind. "First tell me: how long's it been in the Realm of Light," she requested. "I can make a rough estimate looking at Riku, since he's clearly grown up a lot since I last saw him, but I want to hear it from one of you."

Riku looked to Mickey, wondering the same thing as Aqua, and the mouse king lowered his head sadly when he replied, "About…ten years."

"…Interesting," Aqua muttered.

"'Interesting'? That's all you have to say to that," Riku exclaimed in disbelief.

"I'm not really too surprised. I know that time had likely passed quite a bit on the other side, while here, time doesn't exist. I'm not saying that it isn't a shock, but at the same time, I was expecting it, so I don't really know how else I can react," Aqua defended.

Riku would give her that, but he was still curious about something. "Well, how'd you get in this place, anyway?"

Mickey was about to scold the boy for asking that, since he knew that it was likely a sore point for Aqua, but the young woman was already giving her reply. "After we met, a lot of things had happened, Riku. Ven's heart had been seriously damaged to the point where it seemed like he would never wake up, and Terra appeared to have been lost as well. In order to protect him, I took Ven someplace where he could rest safely, and then I went after Terra," Aqua replied, pulling out her Wayfinder so that she could gaze on it in sad remembrance of that time. "But Terra was about to fall to darkness, so I had one choice. I stayed here in hopes of giving him a chance."

"I'm…I'm so sorry," Riku apologized, realizing that he had been a little out of line when he asked for her to remember all of that.

"It's okay. You didn't know," Aqua reassured him. "But how did you two find me? And Mickey, what could've brought you here? Has something happened? In the Realm of Light?"

"Slow down, Aqua. We'll answer all of your questions, but only if you give us time to," Mickey pleaded, though anyone could tell by the small smile on his face that he was at least partially joking. His face then became serious again as he explained, "It's the Heartless. They've been attacking worlds and taking their hearts, and worlds with no hearts vanish into darkness. But if we can lock the door between the two realms—light and dark—from both sides, we can protect the other worlds. So ya see, I came here to find the key on this side. Turns out, it's not so easy getting into the realm of darkness. Ven and I had long since learned that in our attempts to figure out a way to get you back home, Aqua, and we quickly learned that the points you can cross have become unstable. It's only when a world gets consumed, that an entrance appears in the realm between. So, I waited for my chance…to sneak in."

Riku could not help but lower his head in shame at that reminder, knowing full well just which world had fallen and given Mickey his chance to get in here, and why it had fallen in the first place. It did not go unnoticed by Aqua, and she quickly put the pieces together after thinking about it for a minute, but she prayed that was not the case. She even looked to Mickey with a silent plea that it was not true, but sadly, she found that she was going to be disappointed.

"Yeah. It was when Riku's home, Destiny Islands fell that I finally managed to get the chance I was waiting for," Mickey confirmed with a sad smile. He then walked over to Aqua and grasped one of her hands in both of his as he added, "But hey, when I got here, I felt a warm, familiar light. Riku sensed it too when he got here, and we both followed it to find our way…to you."

Aqua slowly took her hand back from Mickey, looked at the object that she was still holding in that same hand in surprise, and gasped, "The charm." A minute later, her smile slowly started to return as she said, "So they were helping. Terra and Ven brought you two and I back together again."

"Maybe, but I get the feeling that if he knew I would end up here, Ventus wouldn't have been that eager to help me," Riku admitted, drawing a curious look from Aqua. Knowing that he could not avoid explaining himself again, Riku revealed, "I wasn't exactly all that…polite to him a lot of the times we ran into each other on the outside."

"Well, if I know Ven, I'm pretty sure that he's never held anything you said or did against ya, Riku. He's most likely well aware that you've never really been fully aware of the situation and had tried to help you despite what had happened all of those times, and I'll bet he still wants to, just like your friends do," Mickey reassured him. When he saw Riku think that over and eventually smile, Mickey knew that his guess was right, and he noticed Aqua smiling a bit more as well from out of the corner of his eye.

"Sounds like Ven hasn't changed a bit," Aqua murmured. Her smile fell away again as she remembered something else that Mickey had informed her of. "But, the worlds are still in danger."

"And it's partially my fault," Riku muttered.

The two masters gave Riku a small look that made it clear that they did not blame him for that and that they would be talking about the matter later just to prove it, before Aqua asked, "What about Terra? Did he ever make it back to the Realm of Light?"

"The only sign we've found of Terra is a Lingering Sentiment in the Keyblade Graveyard. As for Terra himself…we still haven't found him," Mickey admitted.

"I see," Aqua sighed, sadly. Mickey was sure that she was probably going to fall into her depressed mood again, so he was pleasantly surprised when Aqua looked up again with a smile on her face while holding her charm close to her heart as she declared, "Well, wherever he is, he's fighting. He'll beat his darkness, just like Ven did when he kicked Vanitas out of his body, and I know that they want me to keep fighting too."

"You're absolutely right. At least, I know you're right when you say that Ven doesn't want you to give up fighting, but I do think that Terra wants you to keep fighting too," Mickey agreed with a smile.

"Yeah. Terra will be just fine," Riku agreed. "When I met him, I could somehow tell that he was really strong just by looking at him. He'll be able to beat his darkness."

"And that means that you'll be able to do so as well," Aqua encouraged Riku, surprising the kid a little. When she noticed the question forming in his eyes, Aqua easily explained, "Terra would not have chosen you to inherit the power if he did not think you were strong enough to handle it, so as his inheritor, I know that you can succeed where he had failed. You can beat your darkness, and I get the feeling that it'll be you who helps to save Terra, Riku."

Finally, Riku had to smile an honest smile, and said, "Thank you, Master Aqua. That means a lot."

"Glad to hear it," Aqua nodded in return. "But none of us are going to be able to help anyone from here. We've got to go and find a way back to the Realm of Light. I've been searching for so long without any success, but maybe, with you two here, I'm closer than ever to finding the way back."

"Good," Mickey cheered, happy to see that his two friends had now cheered up. "Then let's all locate that key and go home together!"

"Does that mean you actually do know an exit," Aqua asked excitedly, with Riku turning to Mickey with the same question in his eyes.

Mickey froze up at that question, and his smile became sheepish as he admitted, "Well, uh, I was so busy finding a way in, that I didn't give a lot of thought to where there'd be a way out. I mean, Ven and I had been looking for one all these years with little success, so part of me kind of figured that I might have better luck finding it from this side. I guess I didn't really think it through that much when the idea first came to me, but together, we're sure to find an exit!"

Both of the other two just stared at the mouse for a few minutes, until Riku finally sighed in exasperation while his head dropped into his hand in a similar manner. He could not believe that this guy was actually supposed to be the wise and powerful king that Sora's new friends were looking for, and that had trained Ventus. How could he go through with a plan that half-baked and think that it could work without any kind of backup? Aqua on the other hand actually began to slowly smile a little more, until finally, a small giggle escaped from her, followed by another and another, until it finally turned into full blown laughter, much to the other two's surprise.

"You haven't changed at all," Aqua chuckled to Mickey, and her friend was soon joining in on the laughter as well, while Riku just looked back and forth between them in disbelief.

"She says that like it's a good thing," Riku mentally cried. "I think there's a good chance that I've just gotten myself stuck with a pair of crazy people…but then again, I'm the one who wanted to try and visit other worlds on a raft that my friends and I made out of wood and an old sail, so…"

At the moment that he recalled that memory, Riku found himself joining the other two in their laughter, and it did not stop for a good little while. When the laugh spasm finally passed Mickey remembered something very important and looked up to the sky as he recited it aloud. "May our hearts be our guiding key."

"There's a phrase no one's used in ages," Aqua noted, happily.

"It is," Riku asked, clearly confused.

Mickey nodded in reply and explained, "Keyblade wielders used to say those words to each other, and now, it's something I like to try and remember."

Riku mulled that over for a minute, until he finally smiled and nodded in understanding. He may not understand the exact meaning behind it right now, but he figured it would come to him in time. Besides, he was now in the company of two great Keyblade masters. How hard could it be to figure out the meaning behind that phrase? Thinking of his two current travel companions, Riku looked to them both and said, "Well, we're not going to save the worlds by standing around here."

"Right," Mickey agreed, and he held his hand out to the other two. "So, are you both ready?"

Aqua smiled in response before clasping her hand in Mickey's and replying, "Ready."

"Ready," Riku agreed a second later, placing his hand on top of the other two's.

"All right then. All for one, and one for all," Mickey decreed, and with that, the new trio headed out, determined to do their part in saving the worlds from the darkness that was threatening them, and to reunite with the people that they each cared about so much in the Realm of Light.

---

If getting all the way up the castle in Hollow Bastion the first time around was hard, this time could be classified as nearly impossible. Not only were the Heartless stronger than before, but the more powerful ones were coming after the team of five in greater numbers too. Everywhere they turned, they seemed to run into Heartless, Heartless, and more Heartless without end! You would think that these things had nothing better to do in Hollow Bastion than attack the five, and considering that all of their leaders were now apparently gone, that was more likely the case, as scary as that sounded. This made the whole team glad that Ven had managed to stock up on things like Elixirs, Potions, and Ethers to the point where they probably had more than what could be considered overly necessary, but it still made it all the more tiring trying to get back to so much as the Castle Chapel.

"Are we there yet," Sora whined after they just finished slaying the last Wyvern in the most recent group of Heartless to attack them. He was not actually being serious in his rather childish question, but he did feel like they needed a way to diffuse the tension. Unfortunately, that was not the best way, because it was rather ill-received by some parties.

"Sora, you've already been through this whole damn castle. You should already know how to tell when we get there," Ventus practically snapped, startling the others a little bit.

"Sheesh. Sorry, but you can't blame me for just trying to keep things a little light-hearted with a quick joke," Sora defended.

Ventus sighed and then replied, "No, I'm sorry. I guess the tension is getting to us all a bit more than we would like. I mean, my last journey had a lot of weight riding on its success, but this…this is a lot different in comparison."

"Well, we've already come this far, and you guys have been facing down dangers in this journey without me long before now, and won," Kairi encouraged the two.

"Yeah, Kairi's right," Goofy agreed. "And since she's now fighting with us too, that means we'll be able to handle things even better than before, because we've now got one more best friend watching our backs when the fighting gets tough."

"Yeah! There's no way the Heartless can stop us if we all stick together," Donald cheered.

Sora and Ventus gazed over the three for a minute before they finally returned the smiles and exchanged a quick high-five to prove that they were in full agreement. This moment between the five friends had actually happened just after they had climbed off the last lift they needed to ride before they entered the Castle Chapel, and after a few brief skirmishes with the Heartless, the team finally entered said room and spotted the remaining five Princesses of Heart waiting for them in the middle of the chapel. The only thing that came as more of a relief to them was that the princesses were all now wide awake and free from the pods that they had been previously held in, and so, they saw no reason to refrain from going up to talk with the five young maidens with hearts of pure light any longer.

Sora, Donald, Goofy, and Kairi made it a point to approach Alice and Jasmine first, seeing as they were the only two that all four of them knew, and once he had introduced Kairi to them, Sora immediately asked both of the girls, "Are you both all right now?"

"We're fine, Sora," Jasmine reassured him. "But you all need to hurry. Darkness is pouring out from the Keyhole more and more every second."

"It's all we can do just to hold back the darkness, and it's starting to wear us down," Alice admitted. "I'm beginning to wonder how much longer we can even manage that."

"Don't worry. We didn't come here just to say hi and leave that Keyhole open," Kairi reassured them. "We're not going to let that creep possessing Riku get away with any of this."

Jasmine and Alice both nodded in thanks to the girl, happy to see that they were all so willing to help out however they could. Still, Jasmine had to add, "I just hope you finish and seal it soon. I really want to go home to Agrabah and see Aladdin again."

"Don't worry. You'll see him soon. I promise," Sora guaranteed with a smile. This was not just a promise for Jasmine, but also a reassurance that he had not forgotten that the promise they had made to Aladdin as well when they told him that they would find Jasmine and bring her home for him.

While his teammates were speaking with the two Princesses of Heart that they had all met, Ven was taking this moment for a quick reunion with the other three, just to make sure they knew how glad he was to see that they were all okay. "Princesses Cinderella, Snow White, and Aurora," Ventus smiled in greeting before bowing before all three. "You have no idea how good it is to see you all again after all this time."

"It's wonderful to see you as well, Ven," Cinderella smiled in return.

"Yes indeed. I'm so sorry for how the dwarves treated you the last time we saw each other, but they're much better now," Snow White reassured him.

"I'm glad to hear that," Ventus admitted. It was definitely a relief to know that if he ever went back to Dwarf Woodlands, he would not have to worry about the seven dwarves calling accusing him being a bad guy again. It was irritating enough the last time. He then looked to the elder most princess and said, "I know that technically, this is the first time we've really met and all, but still…"

"There's no need for you to worry. Flora, Fauna, and Merryweather told me all about what you and Aqua did to help me, so I feel like we're already very good friends," Aurora reassured him. "To be honest, we've all been waiting for you and your apprentice to return, Keyblade Master. Though we did not expect you to be bringing the seventh of our number with you as well, or for her to be a Keyblade wielder as well."

Ventus could not help but smirk a little as he replied, "Well, Kairi's a very special girl, even without being a Princess of Heart." He then glanced over to her and quietly added, "More so than most people probably realize."

"Hey, where's Ansem," Donald asked, having realized that there had not been any sign of Xehanort's Heartless still being here since they had arrived.

It was at that point that all three Keybearers finally realized that Donald had a point in asking that question. They were now just one room away from the Keyhole that Ansem had manipulated Maleficent and Riku into helping him complete and then open, and they could not sense even the smallest taste of his darkness nearby. They knew there was little chance he would leave the Keyhole to darkness unguarded, but they had at least partially expected him to have been protecting it himself, or least using something that gave off his presence.

Ven looked to the three before him, silently repeating Donald's question, and grew a little more worried when they all glanced down in what he could only describe as a mixture of concern and fear. "He's gone," Snow White finally replied.

"When the Keyhole appeared, darkness poured out of it," Aurora recounted for them. "I'm sure you already know about that, but what you don't know is that after you escaped, that same darkness swallowed Ansem, and he disappeared."

"Does that mean that Riku's…" Sora started to wonder, but he found himself unable to finish the thought.

Kairi immediately placed a reassuring hand on his shoulder, and smiled as if to say that he should not worry. Sora returned her smile in kind, and placed his hand on top of hers in thanks, before they returned their attention to what the princesses were telling them. "Though Ansem is gone, the flood of darkness hasn't stopped, so we've been working together to hold it back as best as we could."

"I cannot forget the look on his face before he disappeared though," Aurora admitted with a shiver. One that was shared by all of the other four girls. "As the darkness engulfed him, he was smiling."

"Somehow, I'm not surprised," Ventus snarled under his breath, glaring down at the floor as he did. "Xehanort has always been most at home in the darkness, and it only makes sense that would be even more true for his Heartless."

Sora and Kairi quickly exchanged worried looks with each other and with Donald and Goofy. They really did not like seeing how bent out of shape Ven got whenever he thought about Xehanort, but they were not entirely sure if they could do something about it. After all, this was the kind of anger and resentment that could only have come from years of hatred and suffering, and Ven most definitely suffered because of his former master's actions. That did not mean they could not at least try to do something in an attempt to cheer the blonde up. Before they could though, Ventus seemed to pull himself out of it and get his mind back onto their current mission, as he looked up with a steadfast gaze that radiated confidence.

"Don't worry. We'll be sure to deal with him soon enough, but first, we've got to seal the Keyhole and prevent anymore of its darkness from flowing out into the worlds," the blonde promised.

The princesses all nodded in thanks to Ventus for that, and seeing as there was nothing more to say, the team all turned and marched onwards to the Grand Hall. Any Heartless that stood in their way after that were swiftly dealt with, and the five barely even batted an eye at the dark creatures. The team was not willing to waste time dealing with any more delays that appeared in their paths, and they made that quite clear to each and every Heartless that tried to cross them. Sora and Kairi even made it a point to blast some away with a few rounds of their personal Shotlocks, and Ventus even went so far as to use some of his more powerful fighting techniques just to wrap things up a little more quickly. Sure, it resulted in the blonde having to down a few Ethers just to make sure he was at full strength for whatever was waiting for them inside of the machine that led to the Keyhole, but it was well worth it in Ven's opinion.

After crossing the Grand Hall and stepping up to the heart-shaped machine that acted as the gateway to the Keyhole, the team took a moment to pause and gather themselves. No one was going to kid themselves into thinking that whatever was waiting for them on the other side was going to be any less powerful than the things that they had just been fighting on the other worlds before coming back here, so they had to be absolutely sure that they were prepared. They were not about to go in there when they were tired and unable to fight at any less than their best. Once they were all certain that they were ready, they slowly stepped through the machine and into the realm that lay beyond its gate.

When they came into the place where the true Keyhole was kept, they all noticed that there was not anything too significant about the place beyond its lack of…anything, really. It all looked like one, large empty room that was made up of a rainbow of colors that slid along the floor, walls, and ceiling, and just on the other side of this empty space, they all easily spotted the Keyhole itself, just waiting for them to come and close it. The only problem was that said Keyhole had a guard dog that was far from anything resembling small. The massive being was probably one of the biggest Heartless any of them had seen to date, and from given how its sheer presence radiated with power, they could all tell that taking it down would be no easy feat. This was without the fact that this quadruped monster had black claws on each of its toes, curved tusks that sprouted out from its lower jaw, and a large body that proved even more that it was meant to be incredibly strong.

After taking in this beast's appearance for another few minutes, Ventus finally turned towards Sora and asked, "Jiminy, tell me you've got something on what we're looking at here?"

The cricket had immediately hopped out of Sora's hood the minute he heard his name, and leafed through his journal's notes until he found the page he was looking for. "Yep, I've got it right here," Jiminy confirmed. "This fella is called a Behemoth, an immensely powerful Heartless. They can trample over their enemies and repel most attacks with their large frames, and this is without even moving all that much. Plus, when they walk, they can create small earth quakes. They're also known to be able to cast a powerful a wide-spread storm, nearly unavoidable storm of Thunder spells, though only after they've been stunned and regained consciousness. Oh, and it has an ability called Energy Rain, in which it charges energy into the horn on top of its head and causes energy balls to rain down from the sky. I doubt I need to tell you that they're not too agile, but then again, considering what we're up against, I'm pretty sure they don't need to be."

"Does it say anything on how we can stop it? Like a weak point or something," Sora requested, Oathkeeper already in his hand to show he was prepared to charge at any moment.

Jiminy quickly skimmed through once more before he finally said, "Yep, there is one weak point: the horn on top of its head. Hit enough and you can knock it unconscious for a little bit. When that happens, you'll want to hit it with as many powerful strikes as you can, right in the exact same spot."

"Easier said than done, seeing as it'll likely take a bit of doing to get up there," Goofy pointed out, as he ducked behind his shield a little.

"Doesn't mean that it's impossible, and we're going to prove that," Kairi guaranteed, and just to emphasize her point, she immediately aimed her Keyblade at the Behemoth, charged up the energy she needed, and shouted, "Starlight Storm!"

Seconds later, the other four were all watching as Kairi's personal Shotlock bombarded the Behemoth with several star-shaped projectiles. It may not have stunned the beast like Kairi had been hoping, but it did slow it down in its advance towards them. Ventus could not help but grin a little at Kairi's choice to take the initiative, and eventually said, "She's right, and if we want to seal the Keyhole, then we can't let some overgrown ox stop us. Donald, Goofy, you two help Kairi keep it busy. Hit its horn with long-range attacks whenever you see a chance, but your main objectives are to go for the eyes and mouth. Sora, you and me are going to do whatever we can to get on top of the thing and so we can take a lot off the top."

"Right," the others all chorused in response, and with that, the adventurers had entered battle with a Heartless boss once again.

They actually ended up being a bit disappointed when the fight with the Behemoth turned out to be more tiresome than anything else, because felling this particular Heartless boss ended up to be far too easy for anyone's liking. Donald, Kairi, and Goofy ended up not really needing to do too much to distract the beast, because even when the Behemoth did see through their efforts, it was too slow to really do anything to stop Sora and Ven's attacks before the two were already in position. Not only that, but stunning the beast was relatively easy when Sora and Ven used some of their close-combat Keyblade abilities, and when the thing did drop to the ground, it was only a matter of time before the rest of the team was able to deal a large amount of damage. Sure, it had an incredible amount of defense against magic, making most of Kairi and Donald's best abilities nearly useless, but under the assault of these five warriors, the Behemoth was not able to stand strong for long.

That was not to say that the Behemoth did not make things a little challenging for them. There were in fact times when they had to get a little creative in how they evaded its attacks and got around whatever defenses it did put an extra effort into, but it was still not too terribly so. Although, they did have to react very quickly in order to either avoid or protect themselves against the Thundaga storm it rained down on them whenever it recovered from being stunned, and many times, they were not so lucky. The only other attack in the Behemoth's arsenal that they had trouble avoiding was its Energy Rain, and that was mostly due to how the deadly energy orbs came down on them from random locations at unpredictable intervals, assuming that Behemoth was able to actually charge up to the point where it could actually use that attack. After the first round, the five made it a point to do what they could to prevent the Behemoth from using Energy Rain a second time, though only Sora, Ven, and Kairi were successful in those efforts. This was mainly in thanks to some well-placed Shotlocks that quickly threw the Behemoth's concentration off and left it open for them to counterattack. After what seemed like an eternity though, the team finally managed to destroy the Behemoth, and they did not even spare it a glance as it faded into nothing while releasing a crystal heart from its being afterwards.

"Well…that was disappointingly easy," Donald remarked, clearly a little miffed that they went through all that trouble in preparing for a major fight just to end up with something that was so easily handled.

"Honestly, I have to agree with you. I can easily think of a few Unversed that were harder to beat than that thing," Ventus nodded to his friend.

"Well look on the bright side, fellers," Goofy encouraged with a happy chuckle. "Now we can go and seal that big Keyhole!"

Everyone nodded in agreement with that, and immediately turned their attention to said Keyhole, when Leon's voice suddenly called out, "Sora, Ven, Kairi, you did it."

Hearing the Gunblade wielder's voice was enough to make them pause on its own, but the bigger reason why they all stopped in their tracks and looked back to the entrance into this place in surprise. Wanting to know why they had heard their friend's voice like he was just outside, the three Keybearers immediately led the way back out to investigate, and they were all surprised to find Leon, Yuffie, Aerith, Tidus, Wakka, Selphie, and Yuna all waiting for them just on the other side. Despite how surprising it was, they were still glad to see so many more friendly faces in a place that was once Bad-Guy-Central, and Ven could not help but feel happy at seeing his friends from Traverse Town had returned home again after so long.

Still, it did leave one thing unanswered, and Sora was not leaving this question unanswered. "What're you guys doing here? Shouldn't you all be back at Traverse Town?"

"We were, but Merlin insisted that he had things under control. Pretty easy to believe since there were barely any Heartless in the streets when we arrived, ya," Wakka explained.

"So we all piled into Cid's ship and came here," Yuffie continued.

"This is our childhood home," Aerith reminded him as she waved between herself, Yuffie, and Leon. "So it didn't feel right to not come back here now that Maleficent had been defeated for good. Besides, we knew you would have managed to make sure that it would be safer by the time we had gotten here."

"Still, it doesn't change the fact that this place is in worse shape than I feared," Leon noted as he glanced around at the Grand Hall, and everyone knew that he was not just referring to the castle alone. "It used to be so peaceful…"

"And it can be again," Ventus assured him. "So long as you all believe it's possible, and someone is willing to put forth the effort to do so, this place can indeed one day return to its former glory. I'm sure of it."

Everyone who came from this world smiled in thanks to Ventus, but Yuna and the others all just hung their heads sadly due to being reminded of a single fact when he said that, despite how unintentional the reminder may have been. "Too bad the same can't be said for our island," Selphie pointed out.

"Or Spira," Yuna added, her thoughts immediately going to some of her best friends from back on her world, like her cousin and another close friend of theirs.

"Don't worry," Aerith reassured them, gaining the attention of everyone who was not already aware of the fact she was about to reveal. "Once Ansem is defeated, all should be restored. Including your homes."

"Really," was the shared exclamation from Sora, Kairi, Tidus, Wakka, Selphie, and Yuna, and Aerith just nodded with smile, confirming that they heard right.

"She's right," Ventus confirmed as well, and everyone who did not know that was ready to start jumping up and down in excited celebration, until Sora noticed that his master's face did not seem to give off the same feeling of joy that they were all feeling.

"What's the matter, Ven? Isn't that a good thing," Sora asked, halting the celebrations when he did.

"No, it is. Of course it is," Ventus reassured the kid, but his smile did not quite reach his eyes, since he knew that the downside to this great news was likely going to leave both Sora and a lot of the others feeling really upset. "It's just…Well…"

"It will also mean goodbye," Yuffie finally revealed, sparing Ven the trouble even though she did not like it any better than him.

"What? Goodbye," Tidus questioned, not really understanding at all and he was definitely not alone in his confusion.

"Once the worlds are restored, they'll all be separate again," Aerith explained a bit sadly, something that did not look right on her in any the opinion of anyone in this large group.

"Everyone will go back to where they came from," Yuffie finished.

"Well that doesn't seem so bad," Kairi remarked, not seeing what the problem was. "We can just visit you all with the gummi ship." She then glanced over to a certain pair and added, "And we I'm sure we could help Yuna and Tidus visit each other too, right?"

As much as they wanted to say yes, Leon and the others who knew the whole truth could not bring themselves to do so, knowing that they would be telling a lie if they did. "It's not that simple," Leon explained. "Before all this, you didn't know about the other worlds, right?"

"Well, we kinda knew about them," Sora started to point out, thinking back to how he and his friends had dreamed of seeing other worlds even when they were kids. He had to pause for a moment though, and eventually correct himself though. "I mean, we believed there were other worlds out there, but the only proof any of us back on the islands had was Kairi, and that was a little shaky in some people's eyes."

"Well the reason no one really knew for sure was because every world was isolated," Aerith explained. "Impassable walls divided them, but the Heartless destroyed those walls, and if the worlds return, so will the walls."

"Which means that gummi ships will be useless, and all the pathways that you could travel will be wiped from existence," Leon finished at last, finally unveiling the big truth that had been kept hidden for so long.

"So you're saying we'll never…" Sora started to ask, unable to really bring himself to actually say the words. When everyone who came from Hollow Bastion just hung their heads low, no further confirmation was needed, but Sora was not willing to give up so easily. "But…But what about Ven? I mean, he'd been able to travel to other worlds long before the Heartless had shown up, and before gummi ships had even been invented! There has to be a way! Come on, Ven, tell them!"

Ventus really wished he could do as the boy asked, but he still had to tell him the sad truth. "Sora, my friends and I were only able to reach other worlds because of our armor and Keyblades, and while there are people who can do so without a Keyblade, they had a very special magic at their disposal or help from another wielder," the blonde sadly informed him. "Besides that, neither you or Kairi have learned how to reach other worlds without a gummi ship, and learning how to do so takes time. Yes, the Keyblade Glider is involved, but learning how to use it for traveling to other worlds is a lot different from using it to fly around on one world. I'd hate to say it, kid, but Leon and the others are right. For now, this could very well be the last time we see each other, at least as far as anyone who's from a world that is different from yours is concerned."

"But then…wouldn't that also mean," Kairi started to ask, her eyes already trailing back to Yuna and Tidus. From the looks on their faces, it seemed that they had also realized this fact, and they were not any happier about it either. Yuna especially.

"No," Yuna whispered, shaking her head in defiance of the idea.

"Hey, it'll be okay, Yuna," Tidus tried to reassure her, even though he was clearly not so confident about it himself. His only response was Yuna shaking her head again, and he quickly stepped over to wrap his arms around her in a gentle hug. "Come on. It'll be okay. I don't care what the others say. We will see each other again someday."

"But…But…I don't want to say goodbye," Yuna whispered, returning the hug by wrapping her arms around Tidus as tightly as she could. "I don't want to lose you."

"I feel the same way," Tidus assured her, and they both knew that they were saying so much more to each other beyond those simple words.

This was apparently evident to everyone else as well, but they were all focused more on the meaning behind what was on the surface, and Ventus was not about to let them feel all depressed right now. "Tidus is right. You've all formed a strong bond in your hearts with one another, and those will never be broken so long as you all remember each other."

Leon nodded in agreement with that, and said, "We may never meet again, but we'll never forget each other."

"No matter where we are, our hearts will bring us together again," Aerith added with a smile, and that seemed to finally brighten up Yuna and Tidus's moods a little more, while also prompting them to silently promise each other that they would one day see each other again.

"Besides, I couldn't forget any of you even if I wanted to," Yuffie joked, and from the way she had turned to them, it was obvious that she was mainly directing that towards the three Keybearers.

"What's that supposed to mean," Sora demanded, feeling a little insulted by the remark.

Ven on the other hand just laughed and patted him on the shoulder as he said, "Just Yuffie getting as close to sentimental mushy stuff as she can without thinking she's messing up her reputation as a badass ninja."

"You wish," Yuffie playfully scoffed, drawing laughs from everyone immediately after.

It was not until Donald and Goofy called out to the three Keybearers, asking them to hurry up and come close the Keyhole that the laughter finally stopped, once again, that task looked like it would be delayed, as Ventus suddenly noticed something on the edge of his senses that made him stop short. When Sora and Kairi looked back to ask him what was wrong, Ven just looked back to the Grand Hall's entrance in silence. The two Keyblade Warriors were about to ask him again, when Ven looked back and said, "Kairi, you go on ahead with Donald and Goofy and seal the Keyhole. Sora and I have something that we need to check out in the meantime."

"We do," Sora asked, now completely lost.

"Yes, we do," Ventus repeated, and he immediately started heading back out of the room leaving Sora no choice but to follow behind him. The blonde did pause for a minute so he could look back to Kairi and add, "When you're done, head back to the Castle Chapel with Donald and Goofy, and wait for us there."

Kairi barely had enough time to nod before the blonde rushed out of the room with Sora, and Sora did not receive any further explanation on what had gotten his master so worried until after they had met up with the five Princesses of Heart that were still waiting for them. When the princesses saw the two come in without the rest of their team, they each became worried, but only Alice proved brave enough to ask the questions. "What're you two doing here? Where's the rest of your team? Did something happen when you tried to seal the Keyhole?"

"Don't worry. Kairi, Donald, and Goofy are all fine, and they're sealing the Keyhole right now," Ventus reassured them. "I just came here with Sora to investigate something. I think you all know what I'm referring to."

Sora did not know what he was talking about, but he was definitely growing worried when each of the princesses all began to look even more concerned than before. At that point, they all turned towards the back wall, and when followed their gazes, Sora was surprised to see that the gate leading to the inner sanctum they fought Maleficent in had reappeared. How he had missed that before, he could not say, but considering what they had dealt with the last time they went into that particular room, Sora just knew that it could not have meant anything remotely close to good news.

"It just suddenly appeared out of nowhere a few seconds ago," Snow White started to explain. "We weren't entirely sure why, but we could all feel something coming from it, and it only grew stronger when we got closer."

"We're not even sure what it is," Jasmine added. "It's obviously not something of the light, but it doesn't necessarily feel like darkness either."

"All we do know is that it feels…dangerous," Aurora said. "Almost as though it were more powerful than the darkness we've seen up until now."

Hearing that, Ven and Sora both grew a little nervous. Calling something was more powerful than the Heartless or Xehanort's Heartless was not something that should be done lightly, but clearly, each of these five Princesses of Heart felt that it was appropriate to describe it as such. Despite their new flare of nerves, the two Keybearers had no intention of leaving this unchecked, and it showed when their expressions hardened a little more in determination. Ventus then looked to the princesses and stated, "If this really is as bad as you believe it to be, then we need to deal with it."

"Yeah. There's no way we can leave something like that alone if it turns out to be a threat," Sora agreed.

"Are you sure? After all, like we said, it isn't something that gives off a feeling of light or darkness, so what if it's just a thing of our imaginations," Cinderella asked.

"Considering that all five of you are getting the same feeling, and this thing's presence was enough to pull me and Sora here, I don't think that's a very strong possibility, Cinderella," Ventus pointed out. "Now, I'm going to go in there and check things out for myself, but Sora, if you're not feeling up for it, I'll understand if you stay here with the princesses."

"No way. If thing really is that bad, then I can't let you face it alone," Sora argued, and that was all that Ventus needed to hear.

After the blonde had nodded to Sora in thanks, he asked the princesses to keep Kairi, Donald, and Goofy from going into the gate after them when they came here. He did not want to put anyone else at risk if it was not necessary, especially in the case of Kairi, and while they were reluctant to agree, the princesses did grant his request all the same. They then watched as master and apprentice stepped through the gate, each feeling a dark foreboding fall over them after the two had disappeared from sight.

---

When they came out the other side of the gate, Sora and Ven did not really see anything too noteworthy about the inner sanctum. From where they were standing, it looked just the same as it did the last time they had been in there, just without any of the large vines that had once littered the room while Maleficent was still around. Despite that, there was no denying that whatever presence Ven and the princesses had felt earlier was here, and now, Sora was starting to feel it too. More than that, despite lacking any light or darkness, Sora could still pick up on a trace of something that made him a little uneasy. He could not really describe it beyond that, but he could say that it felt similar when he was around to Xehanort's Heartless back when they had last been in Hollow Bastion. When he told Ven this, the blonde immediately summoned forth Guardian Wind and told Sora to be on his guard for anything.

The two Keybearers then slowly advanced further into the room, their eyes darting in all different directions in an attempt to locate this mystery being with no success. Not once did either of their gazes land on anything that could be the source of this odd feeling, until Sora suddenly felt like there was something coming up from behind him. He slowly turned around to glance back and gasped in shock when he saw a tall figure clad in a black coat suddenly appear to materialize from nothing like a bad picture coming into focus, and before he knew what was happening, the figure had suddenly seemed to just pass right through Sora. When the figure did, Sora suddenly found his head being filled with all sorts of memories from his journey, things that were said, people he had met, and it was all coming into his mind so fast that you would think he was watching a movie at several times the speed it was supposed to have been viewed. Such an experience not what you would call pleasant, so ultimately, Sora could not help but drop to the floor while his head started to hurt so much he thought it would explode.

Ventus did not miss his apprentice's surprised gasp or the sound of Sora falling to the floor, but when he finally turned his attention to the boy, he saw that Sora had already managed to recover and was now looking at the individual responsible for what had just happened to him. Not that they really had too much to look at. Whoever this person was, he kept his face well-hidden behind the hood of his black coat, and made sure to do everything he could to keep the Keybearers from getting any good looks at him. "Who are you," Sora finally demanded once he was on his feet again.

When he heard the boy's question, the mystery figure slowly turned towards the two, and while his voice did confirm that he was a man, he did not give any sort of answer to what Sora had asked. "Ah, it seems you are special, too," the figure commented to Sora.

Ventus had to pause for a minute, because this man's voice sounded oddly familiar, but there was just no way it could have been who he was suspecting it to be. The princesses had told them earlier that said individual had disappeared into the darkness after the Keyhole had been opened. He had to be sure though, so Ven ended up asking the question. "Ansem, Seeker of Darkness?"

The figure regarded Ven for a moment before he answered, "That name rings familiar." It was not quite the answer that the blonde was looking for, and this man probably knew it too, but he was not really making any effort to elaborate. Instead, he simply added, "You two…you remind me of him, each in your own ways."

"What's that supposed to mean," Sora demanded, not noticing how the man's fingers were flexing on one hand.

Ventus did though, and he knew what such a thing more than likely meant even before he saw an odd-looking orb of electricity flash to life in the mystery man's hand. "Sora, watch out!"

On instinct, Sora quickly summoned his Keyblade and raised it up in defense, blocking a stream of lightning that the finger threw from his hand before it could hit him. It was not an easy task keeping this continuously running jolt of electricity at bay, but somehow, Sora managed to hold his ground and eventually managed to deflect it all back up towards the ceiling above them. Apparently, this did not concern the stranger at all, because he simply continued what he was saying in the same neutral tone he had held before. "In the case of your friend, it really refers to a more physical sense, but you…It means you are not whole. You are incomplete. Allow me to test your strength."

Sora and Ven both dropped onto the defensive as the figure suddenly threw out a pair of energy orbs, and even though they both dodged the projectiles, they were not expecting the orbs to expand into much larger spheres that crackled with electricity. That made it much harder for them to avoid the attack; but thankfully, they got away with only a minor jolt. Ven was not expecting the figure to suddenly fade into a cloud of shadows and rush towards him though, so he was barely able to raise his Keyblade in time to block the red energy blade that extended from the mystery man's right hand as he swung. After parrying away the energy sword, Ven tried to go for a counterattack, but he found himself pushed back by an energy screen that the figure suddenly erected between them with a wave of his free hand. Not only that, but whatever energy this man had been throwing at them was also infused into the screen, so Ven received a full jolt of its electric-like shocks when it slammed into him.

After Ven had gotten hit by the screen, the figure was prepared to cut him down with his energy blade again, but Sora had quickly come to the rescue with a quick Strike Raid from behind. The figure flinched a little when he was hit by the spinning form of Oathkeeper, but he appeared to be otherwise unaffected by Sora's attack, and he proved it when he retaliated with another few rounds of energy orbs. Unlike the last ones though, the figure seemed to direct their path a little more than before with a wave of his arms, so that made it a lot harder for Sora to dodge them. By some crazy stroke of luck, Sora did manage to escape the wrath of both orbs that had been thrown at him, but he was not able to avoid being ensnared in a set of energy bindings that the mystery figure caught him in before lifting him up off the ground. Sora would have retaliated, but he was barely able to even writhe in pain from the jolts that were flooding through his body.

This time, it was Ven who came to the rescue, as he quickly slashed the figure in the back with his Keyblade and then again several times over with the powers of Sonic Blade to help in his attack. After the last hit, the figure dropped Sora in favor of creating another energy screen between him and Ventus, but Ven had been expecting it this time, and simply back flipped away before he got hit by the screen's powers. A quick glance to Sora allowed Ven to see that the kid was already taking aim with his Keyblade in order to prepare a Shotlock, so the blonde decided that he had best keep whoever this guy was busy until his apprentice was ready. A task that was easier said than done, because the figure seemed very determined to keep most of his attention on Sora. That did not mean Ven made it easy or even wise for this guy to take his eyes off of him for long, but that soon turned out to be just as bad of a thing for Ven as it was good for Sora. The mystery man easily turned to smoke once again to get around behind Ven, and when he reappeared, he created a number of energy blades that floated in a ring formation while peppering Ventus with several energy bolts. It was only thanks to some quick spins of his Keyblade and a last minute Aeroga spell that Ventus managed to either deflect or block the energy bolts before they could do him too much harm, but he did still suffer from a few hits all the same.

Ven's distraction efforts did eventually pay off though, because a moment later, Sora came rocketing towards their mysterious foe, his Keyblade charged up with the power of Radiant Blade. With his Shotlock providing him an extra aura of protection and an added speed boost, Sora was able to land quite a few, powerful hits on this mystery man that dealt a severe amount of injury to him. At least, he assumed that they did, but considering that the man did not show any signs of being injured, Sora could not be entirely sure. When his Shotlock's power reached an end, Sora found himself a little too close to the guy for comfort, and that was especially true when the man encased himself inside of an energy shield that fired out a number of lasers in all directions. Ventus and Sora were both on their feet and scrambling to avoid getting sliced in half or worse by the lasers that were slowly cutting across the field, and when the shield finally vanished, they tried to rush the mystery man once again, Ventus calling upon the power of Fever Pitch to enhance his speed and strength as quickly as he could while he did.

Their charge proved futile, as the figure turned to smoke again and summoned another ring of energy blades to fire another salvo of laser bolts, this time on both Keyblade wielders. When the barrage ceased, Ven had to move fast in order to keep the figure from slicing through Sora with two energy blades instead of one, but to his surprise, it was taking a bit for him to keep up with the speed of this stranger's swings. Eventually, the stranger managed to get a lucky shot through Ven's defense, and the blonde was blown back by the attack in result. When Sora saw this, he immediately started to slowly back away, searching his pockets for a spare Potion or Elixir that he could throw to his master, until his hand brushed over his newest summon charm. It was the only one that he had not given to Kairi before they had last left Traverse Town, and since the girl had not managed to give his others back to him before now, it was also the only one he still had on him. Thinking that he really had nothing to lose, Sora quickly pulled the charm out, infused it with magic, and raised it high into the air as he cried out for the summon to help them, praying that it would be something that could do just that.

When the summoning spell began, the whole area immediately around Sora became engulfed in hot, ash-filled smoke that made it hard to really see anything that was inside. That alone was reason enough for the mystery man to pause and attempt to figure out what Sora could be planning while he was behind this little smoke screen. A minute later, a large, red dragon head seemed to rise up from the smoke, glaring down on the mystery man as it growled, until finally, it lost its silhouette and revealed a dragon with large eyes, red skin, and a yellow-orange belly. "Tremble in fear, for the mighty Mushu lives," the dragon roared loudly. He then grinned savagely as he added, "So tell me who's looking to get a face full of my fire and dragon fury. You just say the word, and I'm there."

"Umm…" Sora started to say, only to get interrupted by the dragon who apparently called himself Mushu.

"Just let me finish first, okay, kid," Mushu requested, though he did not wait for an answer. "Anyone who dares to cross me, the family I serve as guardian for, or my friends, shall find themselves in deep trouble, because…vengeance will be mine!"

"HEY," Sora shouted at last, putting an end to Mushu's show of ferocity just as the dragon was starting to snarl dangerously. "Are you really a dragon?"

"Yes, of course, kid. What do you think I am," Mushu demanded hotly. "And if you say lizard, I'm gonna have to get my dragon dandruff up! I don't do that tongue thing."

"Well it's just…You're…"

"Intimidating? Awe-inspiring?"

"Tiny," Sora finally said. Indeed, Mushu was in fact very small, to the point where he only reached Sora's knee at most when standing up straight.

"Of course! I'm travel-size for your convenience. If I was my real size everyone in here would die of fright," Mushu explained, sounding more than a tad bit boastful near the end.

Sora would have questioned Mushu a little more had Ven not suddenly jumped in front of them both to block another blast of electricity from the stranger with Guardian Wind. "How about we deal with this guy now and question your newest summon later, Sora," Ventus suggested after he had deflected the blast into the wall.

"Fair enough," Sora shrugged, and he allowed Mushu to slither his way up to the top of his head before charging in again. Just when Sora was close enough, the stranger looked like he was about to throw another blast that would send him flying again, but Mushu prevented that from ever happening by blowing out several fireballs at once. This gave Sora just opening he needed to deal a few blows of his own onto the stranger, and when he jumped back, Mushu gladly let loose another torrent of fireballs to cover Ven's approach from behind.

The three kept up this pattern for a few more minutes, and it seemed to back the stranger into a corner, until finally, Sora and Ventus both powered up with their respective Unique Command Styles, with Ven going the extra mile and jumping right into Wingblade soon after. Mushu then unleashed one last volley of fireballs on the stranger, and this allowed Sora to dash in and deliver a powerful assault with Destiny Blaze fueling his attacks with extra speed and strength. When Sora jumped up over the stranger's head, Ventus pressed his own attack, and came at the stranger with all of his energy swords swinging in quick succession. If the stranger had been against only one of the two Keybearers on their own, he might have managed to throw up more of a defense, even with their powers supplemented by their Command Styles, but since they were fighting together, and with the aid of a summon at that, there was nothing more he could do than resign himself to the beat-down that saw an end to the fight at last.

Even though they never got the chance to unleash their Command Styles' finishers, Sora and Ven could tell just from the stranger's weakened state that they would not be needed. After all, why overdo things when your opponent is already limping away from you and favoring one side over the other. At least, they thought that was the case, until suddenly, the man waved his hand, and his form seemed to shatter like glass, erasing his injuries in an instant, while he stood just as tall as before. The Keybearers and small dragon immediately tensed up once again, but the figure did not show any signs of making another threatening move against them. Instead, he just stood there for a few moments, looking at them in silence before he finally made another comment.

"Impressive," the mystery man admitted. "This will be enjoyable."

"What are you talking about," Sora demanded, ready to rush the stranger once more. He probably would have too, had Ventus not suddenly grabbed his shoulder in an effort to hold the kid back. It was not that Ven did not think that Sora could handle himself if he got into another bit of trouble with this guy, but considering that he just shrugged off all the damage they did to him like a snake shedding its skin, Ven did not want to take the chance and find out that this guy had been going easy on them the whole time.

"It is beyond your comprehension, for now," the stranger informed them. He then turned and began walking away, as he bid, "Until we meet again."

"Wait! What are you…" Ventus started to ask, only to gasp a little along with Sora as the stranger's form flickered like a bad picture on an old television before he could finish.

"I am…but a mere shell," was all that the figure said before vanishing completely, leaving the two with more questions than answers, a new summon to bring up to speed in regards to their situation, and to their surprise, another page from the report that was written by Xehanort's Heartless. When Ven grabbed the page and skimmed over it, he knew that they needed to get back and inform the others about its contents, and since he had taken that time to fill Mushu in on the details of their mission, Sora did not argue with him as they hurried back to the gate after dismissing the summon.

---

When Ven and Sora came back, they found Kairi, Donald, and Goofy waiting for them with the princesses, each giving the two a look that demanded an explanation. Not that said looks were necessary, because Ven and Sora had both intended to explain what had happened anyway. After the two had finished regaling everyone with the details of what had happened, and their fight against the mysterious individual, the others were torn between shock, amazement, and intense worry. If someone that powerful could give both Sora and Ven that much trouble in a fight, then they were doubtlessly someone that they needed to watch out for in the future, and given that the figure had said they would meet again, there was no question as to whether or not they would come across this person some time soon. For now, they just had to hope that they did not have to deal with him before they finished with their current mission.

It did still leave the explanation of what the individual was unsolved though, because the entire time Sora and Ven were fighting him, no one had sensed any surges of light or darkness, aside from the ones that came from the two Keybearers. When Kairi brought that up, Ventus revealed that he had a thought about that, and produced the most recently found page from the Ansem Reports so that he could read it for everyone. "Where does the body go when it separates from the heart? If the soul remains within the body, is it still considered deceased," Ventus recited as he looked over the page. "When the heart returns to the Heartless, the physical form disappears. But that is merely true in this world. Perhaps the body exists in another form in another world. If that is the case, then it is possible for one to exist in two worlds. A being that is neither darkness nor light; belonging nowhere; abandoned by its heart; a mere shell of its former self. The relation between the heart and body is complex. However, I am certain that if your self exists here, then by definition, the other cannot truly 'exist.' The other, the one which does not exist, shall be dubbed 'Nobody.'"

Everyone was silent for a moment after Ven had finished reading, until Sora finally asked, "So what does that mean? Is there…some other kind of creatures out there that are born after someone loses their heart to the Heartless, or is this something completely different?"

"I'm not entirely sure right now, Sora. Whatever that guy was, he probably could count as one of these supposed 'Nobodies,' but for now, we can't let it worry us too much," Ventus reminded his apprentice.

"He's right," Kairi agreed. "Now that we've sealed the Keyhole, everything should start going back to normal, right?"

"Well, I do believe that the darkness has started to weaken quite considerably now that you have sealed the Keyhole," Alice admitted, and looking over the five princesses, the others could tell that they definitely seemed a lot lighter now than before when they seemed like they were straining against something.

"But I can still feel a powerful darkness growing somewhere far away," Jasmine revealed.

"It must be where Ansem went: the heart of the darkness itself," Aurora theorized.

"Then that's where we need to go next," Sora determined. "We'll take the gummi ship, deal with both Ansem and the Heartless, and get our friends back."

"Couldn't have said it better myself, Sora," Ventus praised.

"Most certainly. That definitely is a worthy answer, Keyblade Warrior," Cinderella praised.

"And once the darkness is gone, everything should return to its original state, including each of our own worlds," Snow White piped in. "Your friends will all be back home again, and you should be, too."

"No," Sora protested, surprising everyone a little. "I can't go home until I find Riku, the king, and Master Aqua."

"Finding Riku is one thing, but Sora, you don't need to help find Mickey and Aqua too," Ventus told the kid. "After all that's happened, you and Kairi both deserve to go back home and live peacefully with your friends. Just leave finding Mickey and Aqua to me, Donald, and Goofy after we beat Ansem and save your friend."

"No way. I promised you guys that I would help you find your friends if you would help me find mine. I'm not going to go back on my word just because it would be easier, so I'm going to stick with you until we find everyone we're looking for," Sora reaffirmed.

"Sora…" Kairi whispered. She did not really like the sound of where Sora was going with that. To be honest, she actually wanted to go home when this was over, especially after everything that had happened. It was not that she was unwilling to help too, but she felt that she needed a break from all of this, both to rest and to get better as a Keyblade wielder before she really joined in on this journey completely as opposed to the temporary position she was technically in right now. If Sora was thinking about continuing on, she was not sure if she could bear to part from him.

Ventus could tell just how important all of this was to both of the kids, and he was not all that willing to hash out the details on the matter right now when there was still so much to do, so he simply sighed and said, "We'll talk about this later. Right now, we have a madman's Heartless to stop and worlds to save."

Thankfully, no one argued with that, and the five all immediately stepped back so that Chip and Dale could bring them back aboard the Kingdom. When they were all back on the ship and strapped into their seats, Ventus immediately set course for their next destination, after having Kairi give them a better sense on where they were heading, and just like that, they were off once again. The question of just who Sora and Ven had fought before they left was still weighing a bit heavily on their minds, but right now, they knew that it could wait for later. All that mattered now was stopping Ansem, saving their friends, and putting an end to this madness at long last. No matter what it took, these five were going to see things through to the end, and they were going to make sure that the darkness would not have any more chances to consume another world after today.

---

After his battle with Sora and Ventus, Xemnas had retreated into a place in the Realm of Darkness that was known only as the Dark Margin. He did not come there to hide in shame from how he had been defeated, though. It would have been ridiculous to think that was the case since Nobodies did not even feel anything anyways. No, his reason for being here was so that he could contemplate what he had learned from seeing the two. He was impressed with the talent that they had shown him, but at the same time, he was also confused. The newest and thirteenth of their number was obviously the younger Keybearer's other, so then why was it that he resembled the blonde master instead of Sora? Could it be that there was something he had missed when he found Number XIII, or was there something even more unique about Sora that he still had yet to realize? Regardless of whatever the case was, if he could feel, he would say that he had been satisfied with what he learned, and he did have one way to try and figure out something about the mystery surrounding Number XIII.

It was for that reason that he was not surprised when Roxas suddenly appeared near him on the shores of the Dark Margin. After all, he had informed Saïx to send the boy here when he was first available, and apparently, that time was now. "I've been to see him," Xemnas told the young Nobody, thinking that Roxas would know who he was talking about. "He looks a lot like you."

Roxas must not have really understood, but that was not surprising. The boy was only just now starting to really gain more self-awareness than he had a little while ago. If he were to use Axel's words, Xemnas would classify Roxas as a near mindless zombie, barely able to comprehend anything other than the most basic of basics. It was for that reason that he was not surprised when Roxas asked, "Who are you?"

"I'm what's left," Xemnas replied. "Or…maybe I'm all there ever was."

"I meant your name," Roxas clarified, almost sounding a little indignant when he spoke this time.

"My name is of no importance," Xemnas brushed off, knowing that Axel or really anyone else in their group would remind the boy later. He then turned to face Roxas again and asked, "What about you? Do you remember your true name?"

Apparently, this question had thrown Roxas off a little, but he still persisted in trying to answer regardless of whether not he could. "My true name is…"

Xemnas was not surprised when Roxas finally gave up, clearly unable to find the answer on his own. Still, it was a little surprising that the boy could not remember that much from before he was created. "You have been with us for six days now," Xemnas noted aloud, and he then stood up straight so that his next announcement to Roxas would have a little more impact. "The time has come."

Roxas watched as Xemnas walked over to him, patted his shoulder, and whispered a single word to him. What that word was, Roxas could not tell for some reason. It was almost like the man had not spoken at all, yet Roxas was sure that he had. Either way, he could only watch as Xemnas disappeared into one of those dark corridors, leading the way back to the castle that their group had made their home. Roxas was not entirely sure what to think about that, but he did know that he would probably get into trouble if he just stayed here. Clearly, if Xemnas was heading back like that, something important must have been happening.

Walking into the big meeting room with the tall chairs, Roxas could not help but wonder if it really had been nearly a week since he had joined this group, and after pulling out a small calendar that Axel had given him, which highlighted the day that Roxas first came here, he saw that six days had indeed passed, with today being his seventh day here. He just shrugged at that though, and then proceeded to take his seat along with all of these other strange people, right at the moment when Xemnas appeared before them all at last, his face stretched into the same smirk that always seemed to leave Roxas a little unsettled whenever he saw it.

"Good tidings friends," Xemnas greeted the room at large. "Today is a momentous day. I am pleased to announce that a new comrade has been chosen to wear the coat…Number XIV."

While the announcement confused Roxas a little, since he figured that there would only be thirteen people in this group considering what it was named, he was still a bit interested in seeing a new member join them, so he joined the others in looking down at their new comrade. What he saw surprised him a little, as the person in question looked smaller than him. From what little he could tell, the person was most likely a girl, and not just because her heels clicked on the floor in a way that was a lot like how Number XII's did. Her coat, while still loose, seemed to hug her figure a little bit, and when she turned towards him, Roxas caught a tiny glimpse of her blue eyes from beneath her hood. When her gaze paused on him though, he gasped a little when she seemed to smile at him a bit, and suddenly, he seemed to be overcome with an urge to look out for the newest member. But why was that? He had not even spoken to her yet, so why would he care that much? Such a thing was so confusing that he missed anything else that was said in the meeting, including Number XIV's name, much to his dismay. Oh well, he could always ask Axel later.

---

AN: Well, there's the second trip to Hollow Bastion. Beast was reunite with Belle, Kairi received her first Keychain (you didn't really think that Sora was going to be the only one to get them in this story, did you?), they bested the Behemoth and sealed the Keyhole, summoned Mushu, and, hey look at that! Xemnas decided to show up and corner Sora and Ventus for a bit! Not to mention another familiar face from the Kingdom Hearts series made her debut today as well, even if we never actually referred to her by name. Like we don't all already know who Number XIV is, right?

Xion: It's me! Just in case anyone didn't know.

AN: Now, before anyone says anything, yes, I'm well aware that Xion and Roxas first saw each other on Day 7, and Xemnas had said during his meeting with Roxas in the Dark Margin that he had been with them for six days, but I can't really recall ever seeing anything that says that said meeting had happened on the actual Day 6 of Roxas's existence, or if it was the start of Day 7 and Xemnas just was not counting that day in his recollection. Besides, I did want to at least give Xion something of an appearance here in this story. It wasn't really fair to only let Roxas and Axel hog all the fun, you know.

Axel: Even though you should, since me and Roxas are both awesome like that.

Xion: Hey! That's not funny, Axel! Just for that, I don't think you deserve the Sea-Salt Ice Cream I brought for you and Roxas. I'm sure Roxas wouldn't mind getting an extra.

Roxas: No I wouldn't, but you can have it if you want, Xion.

Axel: Wait! Come on guys, I was just kidding!

AN: Ahem! Yo, Sea-Salt Trio! I'm trying to do a closing statement here!

Roxas,Xion,&Axel: Sorry. [all go off to enjoy their ice cream]

AN: Anywho...including the fight with Xemnas was a no-brainer from the start. Can't really have him go to see our heroes in an off-screen adventure or something, because as someone previously pointed out, Xemnas did indeed confirm to Roxas that he had visited Sora, and his Secret Boss battle with Sora was among the memories Roxas saw during his Seven Days in the Virtual Twilight Town. What I didn't expect, was that I would be including because the fight with the Behemoth was not all that spectacular. I'm not saying that it wasn't hard in the game, but as far as I can recall, it was definitely one of the easier boss fights, which is a little disappointing given the point in the game that you fight the thing. Plus, when you try to describe said fight, you can't really make it all that much more spectacular. The location it was happening in did not offer much help either.

Oh yeah! And look at that! Riku and Mickey did it! They found and rescued Aqua at last! And now they've formed a new team of three in order to find the Kingdom Key D and make sure they can seal the Door to Darkness from their side!...Yeah, not really that much more to say there, other than commenting on the changes in dialogue that I can assure you were necessary both for the changes in this story, and some other important reasons as well, most of which are reasons that we should all know.

By the way, did you guys really think I would let Yuna and Tidus suddenly get separated without any explanation as to why they were suddenly pulled apart? That's the whole reason as to why they were there in Hollow Bastion for the little revelation on what will happen when the worlds were restored. Sure, Wakka and Selphie being there too might have been a little unnecessary, but I wasn't going to just make them stay in Hollow Bastion while their friend they'd already spent so much time apart from went gallivanting off to another world again. It's heartbreaking, sure, but at least this way, they would at least be a little prepared for when it happens. If they got separated so suddenly without the explanation, it would've been a lot more heart shattering for everyone. Btw, I hope you all took note of when I referenced a specific pair of Yuna's friends from Spira up there. Namely the cousin and another close friend of theirs? Can anyone say Gullwings reference?

Well, even if you can't, it doesn't matter now. What matters is what's coming up next, and we all know what the team's diving into next time, which includes a battle against the greatest villain in all of Disney! Need I say more? Because I can given how short the preview is, but then again, you'll see that for yourself when you move Onto the Preview!...

They're finally here in the final stretch. At long last, our heroes have arrived at what promises to be their final destination in this grand journey, and even from a first glance, the place can clearly be seen as being one that is wrought with danger. Just what sort of things will they find here in this place where the ruins worlds that have fallen into darkness have gathered? Or more importantly, what sort of enemy will they be forced to fight? The end of the long journey is finally about to begin, next time.

See, I told you the preview was short. And they're likely going to be as short if not shorter than this from here on out. Not really anything to be done about it though, but for now...

Please read and review, and see ya real soon!