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

26. Ansem's End

AN: This is it everyone! The final chapter before the epilogue of the story!

[audience applause]

Yeah, I know it's exciting, so I won't waste too much of everyone's time before letting you get into things. First off, let me go ahead and lay to rest one particular worry a lot of you seem to have. I would just like to go on the record and confirm once and for all that Xion will not, I repeat NOT face her original fate in this new timeline. She will in fact be a major character in the sequel, right alongside Roxas, and both of them will actually meet a new fate that does not seem them disappearing back into Sora. So, here's hoping that makes all of lot happy to have that final confirmation that Xion and Roxas will both be in the sequel. I won't specify anymore than that just yet though. I do want to save some details for the preview for the next story, which you will all see at the end of the next chapter.

Any other questions that were posed, or well most of them anyway, will be answered right here and now, today, with this chapter that details the final battle against the first big bad of the Kingdom Hearts series, and I'm sure many of you will be left very satisfied with how things turned out, or at least something close to it. Onwards everyone!

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

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Chapter XXV

It was very disturbing to see that their home was being used as the final battle ground in their struggle against Ansem, and yet in an odd way, it was also somewhat poetic as well. This whole struggle had began right here on the shores of this island, and now they were going to end here as well. Not that it made things any better for Sora and Kairi, but one just had to note these things that could only be seen from outside perspective. Regardless of this, Ventus was still able to feel for the two kids as they glanced over this dark reflection of their home in dismay. He may not understand exactly how they felt, but he did have something close to an idea about how it felt to suddenly come to place that you had called your home only to find that it had been changed somehow. Even now, he could not help but think back on how he had woken up in that stark white room, thinking he had been in the Land of Departure, only to find he had been inside of a very bizarre castle that rested on the very same edge between the realms of light and darkness that said world had previously been. The fact he did not recognize the place at all made it that much harder to swallow when he found out later that said castle actually was the Land of Departure.

Still, that was an age long past, and right now was not the time to be swept up in memories. If anything, now was the time in which he needed to get his apprentice and his girlfriend to snap out of the funk that they had fallen into after realizing where they had ended up after going through that door. "Guys, I know this has probably left you both very unsettled, but try to keep in mind, even if this is the dark side of your island, it's not actually your home," Ventus calmly attempted to reason with them.

It did not appear that his effort's worked though, because Sora and Kairi just continued staring in disbelief at their surroundings. They barely even blinked as they took everything in, until finally, Kairi pointed to the smaller island that was only connected to the main one by a short bridge, and exclaimed, "Sora, the tree is gone!"

Turning to the same island, Sora saw that Kairi was right: the tree that he, Riku, and Kairi often hung out around was missing from its usual place, and it's legendary fruit along with it. While he was upset about this, the other three were confused. "What's the big deal about some dumb tree," Donald asked.

"It's not a dumb tree. That's the paopu tree," Sora corrected, a little more heatedly than he probably intended.

"Paopu tree," Goofy questioned, not really understanding the significance.

"It's a tree that grows special star-shaped fruit known as the paopu fruit, and as far as either of us have known or seen, it only exists on our island," Kairi explained. "There's also a very special legend that ties into the fruit."

"What's that," Donald asked, feeling more curious now that he and Goofy were learning about how significant that tree was, at least in the general sense.

"When two people share one, their destinies become intertwined. They'll remain a part of each other's lives no matter what," Sora recited, smiling a little at the memory of how Riku had teased him with that very same fruit just a day before this whole mess had started.

"Wow, that sounds amazing," Goofy commented.

"I'll bet you two wish you could share one right now," Donald teased the islanders.

Both Kairi and Sora blushed bright red at Donald's remark, and were soon sputtering nonsense in an attempt to try and stave off the magician's teasing. Not that it did any good, but thankfully, Ven ended up being the one saved them from any further embarrassment. "Don't forget that there are more legends surrounding the fruit besides that one." When the others looked to him for clarification, the blonde only smirked and said, "Do I need to remind you where Aqua got the idea for our Wayfinders from?"

The others immediately smiled in recognition after that, and would have continued on with this conversation had their brief moment of calm not suddenly vanished. It may not have been a significant break, but it was still enough to suddenly shake things up a little when Donald looked back to the island where the tree was supposed to be and exclaimed, "Hey! That whole island just vanished!"

The other four were instantly spinning around to look back at the island where the paopu tree was supposed to have been, and saw that Goofy was right. Not only that, but the bridge that had connected the smaller island to the main one was gone too. After turning back around, Sora quickly noticed that a few other things were either missing or slowly vanishing from where they should have been, and it seemed that Kairi must have figured this out too, because she immediately said, "We need to find Ansem and fast. If this whole place disappears…"

"Calm down, Kairi. Don't forget, that this isn't your actual island. It's just an illusion that was created from the dark side of your world," Ventus reassured her. "Still, you guys are right in saying that we should hurry and find Ansem. So, any ideas where he might be? This is your home turf, after all."

Both islanders paused to think that question over a little, but Sora only needed a minute before he said, "He might be in the secret place. That's where that weird door we could never open was, and it's also where I saw Xehanort's Heartless for the first time…At least, I think that was him."

Despite his uncertainty over whether or not the person he had met that day in said cave was Xehanort's Heartless or not, the others all agreed that Sora's guess might have been accurate, but mostly because as far as they could tell, there were not many other places that Ansem could be hiding right now, and not just due to the fact that several of them were slowly disappearing. So, Ventus waved for Sora and Kairi to lead the way to the secret place, and they all quickly scrambled up to the small cave that rested in the middle of the island. Just when they were reaching the entrance though, they all froze in their tracks as a far-too-familiar voice suddenly seemed to echo all around them.

"This world has been connected," Ansem's voice commented, confirming that he was the same person Sora saw in the cave that day and repeating the very same words he had said back then as well.

"What was that," Goofy nervously stuttered, noticing how more of the island was disappearing from the corner of his eyes.

"Tied to the darkness…" Ansem continued on. Clearly he was not as bothered by the vanishing points of the island as they were, but they were more than sure that he had something to do with how the water changed from blue to a sickening purple that made it seem polluted. "Soon to be completely eclipsed. There is so very much to learn. You understand so little. A meaningless effort. One who knows nothing can understand nothing."

Just seconds after the water color had changed, the team was blinded by a brilliant light once again, and when it cleared, they were all shocked to see the island had been transformed into a completely twisted version of itself. The remaining trees were bent over at odd angles, large dark leaves extended out from the sides of the island like cracks in the sky, the small pier looked to have collapsed, and the sand closest to the water had changed to lock like fractured rocks. The most significant thing that had changed though, at least in the eyes of Sora and Kairi, was the fact that they saw a very familiar individual standing at the shoreline, gazing out at the darkened ocean. Sure, he was currently in his Dark Form, and it may have served as a strong indicator that Ansem was still in control, but at the moment, they were just relieved to see some sign that Riku was close by.

Before any of the other three could do anything, Sora and Kairi had already jumped down onto the beach again and started running towards Riku, leaving Ven, Donald, and Goofy with little choice but to chase after them before they got too close. They did not have to worry though, as Sora and Kairi skidded to a halt the minute that the possessed boy began to speak in Ansem's voice, without even a hint of his own slipping in. "Take a look at this tiny place," Ansem remarked his back still facing the five. "To the heart seeking freedom this island is a prison surrounded by water. And so this boy sought out to escape from his prison. He sought a way to cross over into other worlds, and he opened his heart to darkness."

At long last, the vile Heartless turned to face them, and as he did, Riku's visage faded away, giving them all a full, clear picture of their true enemy as he smirked down at them, while Sora and Kairi could only watch in dismay as he seemed to wash away their friend. "Riku," the two islanders called out, only to be too late as Ansem fully manifested in the boy's place.

"Don't bother. Your voices can no longer reach him where he is. His heart belongs again to darkness," Ansem chuckled in mocking of the two. "All worlds begin in darkness, and all so end. The heart is no different. Darkness sprouts within it, it grows, consumes it. Such is its nature." At some point during his little spiel, Ansem managed to get around behind the five, prompting them all to move closer to the waterline in an attempt to keep some distance from him. Still, his little monologue was not done, as Ansem continued on, "In the end, every heart returns to the darkness whence it came. You see, darkness is the heart's true essence."

"I've heard this load of crap before, you know. Or did you forget that you and I have fought once before already, Xehanort," Ventus remarked, clearly not as rattled as Ansem was probably hoping he would be.

"Even if he hadn't, it doesn't change the fact that none of what you said is true," Sora passionately protested. "The heart may be weak, and sometimes it may even give in, but I've learned that deep down, there's a light that never goes out!"

"And it's that same light that will give us the strength to stop you," Kairi finished proudly.

If Ansem was bothered by any of that, he did not show it. In fact, he did not seem the least bit deterred from what he was planning, and he proved it by steadily lifting up into the air as he hovered above the ground and crossing his arms. "So, you have all come this far and still you understand nothing," Ansem sighed in what could be considered disappointment. "Every light must fade, every heart return to darkness!"

A moment later, a haze of shadows fell over his body before solidifying into a dark figure that had a very muscular form, a bandaged head and torso, and sharp-looking claws for its five fingers. Ventus instantly recognized this as a being Xehanort had once tamed and deemed the guardian, and he knew that if it was here now, then the battle was about to begin. That did not mean he was going to let Ansem get the last word in before they defeated him. "Maybe every heart does return to darkness, but at the same time, they all continue to shine with a brilliant light that will always extinguish any shadow," Ventus retorted, Guardian Wind appearing in his hand to show he was ready for battle. "Just like you will be wiped away by the strength of our lights!"

Ansem merely laughed in reply, and apparently, that served as a signal for the guardian to throw out several, thin energy disks that would no doubt have cut each of the five clean in two if they had hit. Donald was not going to let that stand, so with a wave of his staff, he immediately called down one of the fiercest storms of Thundaga that he could muster. The sudden jolts that were sent through him left Ansem a little disoriented, and Goofy immediately tried to capitalize on that by charging in with his shield already set to bash into the Heartless. He never made it though, as Ansem suddenly summoned the guardian in front of him, with its arms wide, and as a result, Goofy's attack was easily repelled and he was sent flying away. He probably would have crashed right into Kairi had the girl not rolled aside at the last moment, and while she felt bad for not at least attempting to catch Goofy, she knew she had to focus on taking down Ansem right now, so she simply cued up a quick Thundaga spell of her own.

Kairi's attack did seem to do more damage than Goofy's had, and Ven was about to add a little more injury to Ansem's form, but he had to duck and roll away when the guardian took a vicious swing at him that would have clawed his head right off of his body. What Ansem did not realize was that it was not entirely Ven's intention to hit him. The blonde just had to keep Ansem's attention on him while he set him up for Sora's next sneak attack from behind. Sora's attack not only worked, but it also threw Ansem off-balance enough for Donald and Kairi to begin peppering him with fire and ice magic in quick succession, while Goofy used his shield to help boost Ven into the air so that he could successfully land another aerial attack on the Heartless. Needless to say, the team knew they had a huge advantage right then, and they were taking every opportunity to make good use of it, much to Ansem's irritation.

"You insolent…" Ansem snarled at the team when he finally managed to regain his balance and fly a short distance from them. Sora did not let him get too far though, but he did not realize that Ansem had already prepared a new plan of attack for them. "Submit!"

The minute Ansem had shouted that, the guardian took swing at Sora, and while it did hurt, it did not seem to do more than sting Sora a little. Even more confusing was when the guardian suddenly vanished from Ansem's vicinity completely, while a dark orb quickly floated around and into Sora. Seeing this happen and how Ansem was smirking afterwards, Ven had a feeling that he knew what was coming, and he quickly jumped over to pull Sora away just as Ansem had formed an electrified energy sphere around him and slowly began advancing towards the kid.

Sora was about to question Ven on why he did that, when Ven placed a hand on Sora's shoulder and shouted, "Hold still! Don't move!"

Sora did not quite understand, but he still did as Ven pretty much demanded. He found out why Ven had done so when the guardian suddenly materialized behind him and grabbed him so that he could not move at all. When the guardian did show itself, Ven raised his Keyblade towards it and immediately let loose a blast of magic that seemed to actually cause some small amount of injury to it before it vanished again. A quick glance back to Ansem showed him that the Heartless of his former master had still not recalled his familiar, but instead, was slowly approaching the two of them, giving Ventus a strong idea on what to do. "Kairi, Donald, Goofy, keep him busy! We can't let him near Sora until the guardian is out of him!"

The other three all nodded in reply, and immediately rushed in to attack. Ansem merely raised his barrier to block their initial strike, but thankfully, Kairi and Goofy managed to avoid getting a nasty shock. Donald was not so lucky, and ended up blasted a short distance back, but that turned out to be okay, because it also provided him with the distance he needed to run support for his two friends while they attacked Xehanort's Heartless. As such, the next time Ansem dropped his barrier, he ended up getting signed quite a bit, first by a blast of Firaga from Kairi, and then a repeat of the same spell along with Blizzaga from Donald while the girl and Goofy ran up and started hitting him several times over with their own weapons. Ansem could only snarl at the three as he attempted to blast them away with a wave of his hand, but without his familiar, he was not really able to do too much to keep them from coming back and dealing more damage. The only thing that changed was who was helping Goofy in attacking him, since Kairi and Donald would vary between acting as magic support and close-range attackers.

Ansem soon found he did not have to worry about his inability to attack without the aid of the guardian for long, but he was very surprised when it suddenly returned to him without him ever calling it back. "What?! How," Ansem demanded as he turned to glare at the boy he had let his familiar possess.

What he saw was both Keyblade master and apprentice smirking back as they rushed to rejoin the fight once again, with the former saying, "Like I told you earlier, every shadow can be extinguished by the light."

"And we're not going to stop until you're darkness is wiped away too," Sora promised. He then skidded to a stop while his master continued to run forwards, aimed his Keyblade at Ansem, and unleashed Typhoon Barrage on Xehanort's Heartless, hitting him with several energy blasts that erupted into small whirlwinds.

After Ansem was blown out of a powerful gust of wind that came from the finishing strike of Sora's Shotlock, Ven came flying in with the energy of Sky Climber radiating brightly around him, and landed several blows against Ansem, including the blows that came from the finisher of the Tier Two Command Style. As a result, the vile Heartless was blasted far across the beach, and right into the range of Kairi's next swing, which seemed to be just the blow to knock the wind right out of Ansem. Xehanort's Heartless was determined to not go down easy though, as he proved when he commanded the guardian to possess Kairi. He did not succeed in his attempt though, because the minute that the guardian had condensed into an orb and attempted to fly into her, it seemed to strike an invisible barrier around the girl's body that eventually sent it flying right back into Ansem with a force that sent him flying across the sand once again.

"Impossible," Ansem protested.

"Clearly you've forgotten that as a Princess of Heart, Kairi's naturally immune to anything related to the darkness," Ventus reminded him, and Ansem immediately turned to see that the Keyblade master, Sora, Donald, and Goofy were all now standing over him, and each holding him at weapon's point as they glared down. It was not only their way of saying that he was beaten, but a way of silently daring him to try something else.

Ansem took the latter option over surrender, and instantly blasted the four away with a wave of his hand before flying backwards towards the literal center of the island. The others all quickly gave chase, and only paused when the ground suddenly shook beneath their feet as the island seemed to split in half, right down the middle and slowly open up like a flower setting into bloom. The sight was disturbing of course, but they all ignored it in favor of going after Ansem, who was smirking at them with glee from the center of the cavern that was now resting in the very middle of the twisted island. Sora, Kairi, and Ven all immediately jumped into the cavern, but when they tried to follow the Keybearers, Donald and Goofy once again found themselves stopped by a battlefield barrier, much to their annoyance. They quickly started to worry a little more when they saw Ansem's smirk grow a little more, knowing that he now had the Keybearers cornered since he had cut them off from their two friends, and they then quickly set to work trying to find some way to get through the barrier.

They did not have any luck at all, and out of frustration, Donald ended up grabbing a random rock and throwing it right at where the barrier was. Much to his surprise, the rock did not get repelled by the barrier, but instead passed right through like it was not even there. Donald and Goofy exchanged a quick look with each other before Donald grabbed another small stone and threw it at the barrier as well. Just like last time, the rock sailed through, and Donald immediately had a new idea on what he had to do. "Sora," the magician called out to get the boy's attention while pulling something from his pocket. "I think you might need this!"

Sora turned just as Donald had thrown something through the barrier towards him, and somehow managed to catch it before it either flew past him or bounced off of his face. When he opened his hand to see what the duck had just given him, he was a little surprised to see that it was actually another Keychain. The chain links were all black, with its token holding the appearance of a black colored version of the crown pendant Sora wore on his necklace. Still, it did not answer the question of how Donald had gotten this, and the confusion must have shown in Sora's face, because Donald quickly explained, "I found that just before we left Hollow Bastion. I figured it might come in handy while we were here."

"Well then why didn't you ever give to us before now," Kairi asked.

"I didn't find a good chance to," Donald shrugged. Even though it was true, that was also the best excuse he really had right now.

Ventus shook his head in disbelief at his old friend, and muttered, "Not really the best time to be giving out or testing a new weapon. Especially one that we don't know anything about." The blonde was about to point this out to Sora as well when he realized that kid seemed really focused on the Keychain in his hand. "Sora? What is it?"

"Riku…" Sora quietly breathed. "I can feel Riku's spirit in this Keychain. I think that Oblivion is like Oathkeeper."

Ventus was a little surprised that Sora had learned the name of his newest Keyblade so quickly, but when that last statement fully processed for him, his shock quickly passed. The blonde knew that Sora was referring to how Oathkeeper was born from the bond he shared with Kairi, so the kid was most likely assuming that this Keyblade had come from his bond with Riku. With that in mind, it made sense that they would find the thing in the last place that Sora had seen Riku while he was still himself, but they could not afford to really think about such things right now. Especially considering how Ansem was suddenly charging towards them with a sinister look in his eyes that was somehow perfectly duplicated in the eyes of the guardian.

"It doesn't matter how many trinkets you may or may not have. You shall all fade away into darkness soon enough," Ansem boasted, and just like that, the battle began anew.

Unlike before though, Ansem made a point to come after the three Keybearers with his full strength, so whenever he ceased an attack, he instantly commanded the guardian to come forward to defend him afterwards in case any of the three managed to slip past his vicious attacks. It was not just in the defensive form either, as Kairi quickly learned when she managed to get through one barrage of energy disks only to be batted aside by the guardian right when she had gotten within arm's reach of Ansem. Ventus did not appreciate how this Heartless was knocking them around so much, and he proved it when he managed to slip past all of the attacks Ansem was throwing at them so that he was in position to attack from Ansem's blind spot. Ansem did not appear to see it coming until after Ven had landed a couple of good hits, but that did not prevent him from retaliating with the same ferocity he had shown before. Ven quickly realized this to be true when the guardian waved its arms and sent a pair of energy waves across the ground that sent him flying into the wall behind him, where Ansem then proceeded to have the guardian pound into Ven over and over again.

Now it was Sora who was getting upset over how one of his friends was getting so seriously hurt, and given that his girlfriend had just been injured a moment ago by the same perpetrator, you could understand why his attack on Ansem's blind spot had a bit more anger fueling it than most of his attacks normally did. Sora did not stop at one attack though, because the minute that the guardian had rematerialized behind Ansem, Sora had rolled around to his front, placing himself between the villain and Ventus, and unleashed a harsh combination of sword strikes on Ansem that pushed the Heartless back a little. When enough distance had been gained, Ven spun himself over his apprentice's head, and began slashing away at Ansem with the power of Ars Arcanum. He instantly followed that up with an explosion of Salvation, and Ansem could only howl in pain as the light-based attack seemed to burn him.

Ven was just about to charge up the energy he needed for one of his Unique Command Styles, when Ansem suddenly glowed with a faint, white aura, and the guardian disappeared. The next time his familiar had reappeared, it was rocketing out of the ground, beneath Ven, knocking him away from its master, and it repeated that process against Kairi just when she was starting to rush over and help heal Ven's injuries. Another attack from below quickly greeted Sora, but he managed to roll out of the way before he could be hit. Sadly, none of them could do anything to stop the moment when the guardian returned to Ansem while he unleashed an explosion of dark energy that lashed out in all directions. In result, all three Keybearers were sent flying into the walls of the cavern, and Ansem was left smirking as they all dropped to the floor, heavily injured and panting heavily.

"Just where is your precious light now, feckless neophytes," Ansem mocked. When the three just glared at him in reply, Ansem hummed and remarked, "I think it's high time I put an end to the legend of the Keyblade wielders. Despite how few of you there are, you have not had any trouble being thorns in my side from the moment this began. Granted it was not to any great extent, since all you were doing at the time was scrambling around on other worlds and sealing Keyholes, but now…Now things have become much more problematic. The only question now is which one of you I should destroy first. Perhaps the returning master, the boy who only became chosen because of his strong heart, or maybe…I should finish what had started in Hollow Bastion and end the seventh Princess of Heart at long last."

It seemed that the question had ceased to be a question before he had even began listing his options, because Ansem was slowly making his way towards Kairi, and when she saw him approach, the girl froze a little in fear. She could not even focus enough to cast a healing spell on herself so that she could get up and attempt to run to safety, and from the looks of the other two, it did not seem like Sora and Ven were doing any better in their attempts to try and get in Ansem's way. At least that seemed to be the case for Ven, as he was merely struggling to so much as crawl over to Kairi, clearly forgetting at the moment that he still had enough energy for a small healing spell to use on either himself or the girl, but Sora…Sora appeared to be shaking. It was hard to tell if it was out of fear for his girlfriend or if due to a steadily rising anger at seeing this freak threatening her, but it soon became very clear when something very unexpected happened that made everyone pause in surprise.

"You…stay away…from my girlfriend you bastard," Sora roared angrily as he finally found the energy to stand, and the next thing any of them knew, he flung his arms out to his sides and not only summoned Oathkeeper into his hand, but a second Keyblade into his free hand as well. The second must have been the one that Donald had just given him, because none of the others recognized it at all. Although, the fact that it was almost entirely black, save for the dark blue gem in the hilt and the chain-like design running up the length of the blade in dark grey was also a pretty big clue. Still, none of that mattered, because they were all much more shocked over the fact that Sora was wielding both Keyblades at once.

"Unbelievable," Ventus muttered, clearly just as surprised as the others. True, he had seen someone using two Keyblades at once before, but as far as he knew that person had a very special ability that allowed him to do so, and Sora had only been a Keyblade wielder for little more than a few months. It should not have been possible for the kid to gain the ability to dual wield Keyblades like this.

"Two," Ansem roared in equal disbelief, clearly just as surprised as everyone else, and that was just the distraction that Sora appeared to need.

In an instant, Sora had rushed Ansem at a speed that rivaled that of his Unique Command Style, and the minute he was close enough, the boy began slashing at Ansem with a skill and ability like none that he had ever really displayed before. Yes, Sora was good with a single blade, but fighting with two regular swords did take a great deal of practice before one could say that they were skilled with the art, let alone fighting with dual Keyblades. Apparently, it extended to Sora's magic abilities as well, because when he spun away from Ansem, he aimed Oblivion directly for Xehanort's Heartless and fired a blast of Firaga that slammed right into Ansem's face. As a result, the Heartless was left blinded and unable to properly retaliate when Sora rushed in again to deal another barrage of sword strikes against his enemy.

Ansem believed that he could still stop Sora with one final move that he had yet to use in this fight, and he quickly summoned a domed shield in front of him before rushing around the battlefield at an incredible speed. He was soon proven wrong though, as Sora merely jumped, rolled, and at some times, even glided out of the way until the attack had finally ceased, and he was instantly on the attack once again, dealing every ounce of damage that he could to Ansem with both of his Keyblades. It was at this point that Ven finally got a glimpse of Sora's eyes, and he instantly saw that there was a faint hue in them that indicated that Sora was not entirely in control of his actions. Something else was driving the kid in his attacks, and whether it was a deeper hidden power that none of them suspected Sora of having until now or if it was just adrenaline, Ven found that he really did not care. All that mattered was that it was giving him and Kairi a chance to recover so that they could help finish Ansem. Then again, considering how well things were going for Sora at the moment, Ven was not too sure that he and Kairi really needed to help.

It turned out that they did, because after one last barrage of sword strikes, Sora finally came to his senses, and when he did, his second Keyblade disappeared from his hand while he ended up falling to one knee. Even though he had been so thoroughly beaten down by the boy, Ansem still found the strength to smirk and prepare to repay Sora for the humiliating beat down that the boy had just dealt him, but he did not get the chance, as Kairi forced him back with a blast of light magic. The girl continued to blast Xehanort's Heartless over and over again as she made her own approach, while Ven quickly slipped Sora and Elixir to help the kid recover, and once Kairi had gotten close enough, she unleashed her own barrage of sword strikes against Ansem. Any further attempts Ansem could make at retaliation were then shut down, as Sora and Ven immediately spun into action to backup Kairi's attack, landing their own blows on the Heartless at every turn, until finally, Ansem could no longer find the strength to stand and fight.

"Looks like the dawn has finally come to brighten the dark night," Ventus quipped as he and the two Keyblade Warriors stood victorious over their fallen foe.

Apparently, the surprises were not going to be ending anytime soon, as the three were soon left bewildered over the sound of Ansem chuckling like he had not just been utterly beaten. "Oh Ventus," Ansem laughed. "You have no idea…how wrong you are. This night has only just begun."

A moment later, a black haze seemed to fall over the entire area and everyone inside and outside of the previous battlefield could only look around in a confused frenzy as everything suddenly started fading completely into shadows. The only thing that they could comfortably say that they were sure of was that things had just gone from bad to worse in this fight.

---

Unknown to anyone in Ventus and Sora's group, the battle that Riku, Mickey, and Aqua had been in the midst of had finished just a few short moments before the other five had arrived on the dark version of Destiny Islands, and despite being similar to the Demon Tower, the three had to agree that the Demon Tide was actually much harder to beat. It did not really possess too many new abilities in comparison to the Demon Tower, but this larger version was certainly much stronger than the previous one, and Riku would claim that he had the bruises to prove it if they had not been healed up by Aqua and Mickey's magic afterwards. Even so, they still managed to somehow come out on top in this fight, and they did not hesitate to return to what they had been doing before, and rush into the cavern that Riku had spent so many years hanging out inside of with Sora and Kairi.

When they approached the door, Riku could not help but smirk a little when he spotted the addition Sora had made to the self-portraits he had Kairi had done of each other years ago, and made a mental note to try not to tease Sora about it too much the next time he saw his best friend before he finally mentioned something that he felt the other two should know. "You know, this door has been a huge mystery to my friends and I for years for one really important reason: we've never been able to open it," Riku revealed. "There's no lock, no door handle, nothing. We've pushed and pulled several times, and yet it never once opened."

"Maybe, but if this door really does lead to your home's Keyhole, then it's not like it had stayed that way for no reason," Aqua pointed out.

"Besides, considering what might be in there, we've got to at least try and open it," Mickey pointed out, and Riku knew that they were both right in that regard.

With nothing to lose, Riku soon joined the other two in placing their hands against the door, and gently pushing against it. Much to his surprise, the door actually opened without too much effort, and admitted them into what seemed to be an empty cavern that was completely dark, save for the light coming off of the only thing that was inside. Looking at the item in question, Aqua and Riku both let out a surprised gasp for different reasons, but Mickey just smiled silently, because he knew that he had finally found the very thing he had been searching for at long last.

"Is that what you're after," Aqua asked, just to make absolutely sure.

"Yep, it's just the key I was looking for," Mickey confirmed as he walked up to take the Keyblade in his hands. "A Keyblade from the dark realm."

"A Keyblade of darkness," Aqua softly mused.

"It looks almost exactly like Sora's Keyblade," Riku noted. When Mickey had firmly grasped the Keyblade in his hands though, the glow it was emitting died down a little, and allowed them to see that while Riku was mostly correct in his comparison, there were a few notable differences between this Keyblade and Sora's default one. The most notable was the fact that the color of the guard had been switched with that of the Keychain and blade, so that the guard was silver while the blade and Keychain were both gold. The only other real difference that Riku could spot was that the rainguard was red on this one while it was blue on Sora's. It did not bother Riku too much though, as he figured that it was just a way of showing how it originated from a different realm than Sora's Keyblade.

"'The door of darkness…tied by two keys, and better secured by four keys. The door of darkness…to seal the light,'" Mickey suddenly recited. Riku did not entirely understand what that meant, but he did at least manage to get something of an idea, and Mickey was quick to better explain the meaning behind his words without him even asking. Though it was not quite that well. "Welp, we've got the two necessary keys, and an extra pair to help make sure it works. Now, we need the ones to close the door."

"Sorry," Aqua asked, now feeling just as lost as Riku.

"The door between the two realms—it won't let a heart with light pass through," Mickey explained. "So only darkness keeps spilling out. We can lock the door by using the two Kingdom Key Keyblades, but we need help on both sides to get the door shut."

"Well, then, since you'll be doing the locking, let me and Riku be the ones to close the door," Aqua volunteered, and Riku immediately nodded in agreement with the plan.

Unfortunately, Mickey had a different plan. "Sorry Aqua, but while we do need Riku to close the door…I need you to help me with something else."

"What else can she do," Riku asked. He could understand why he had to be the one to help close the door, but why was it that Aqua could not help him with that.

"You see, while only the two Kingdom Keys are necessary to seal the door, if we have another pair of Keyblades…one on each side and both wielded by a true Keyblade master, then we can better secure the door with their help," Mickey enlightened them. "Aqua, I need you to help me lock the door, otherwise we won't be able to be absolutely sure that it will be sealed."

"I'm not so sure that it would work," Aqua admitted. "You said that the two extra Keyblades both needed to be wielded by a master, right? Last I checked, I'm the only true master left. There isn't anyone else to do it on the other side."

"Yeah there is," Riku corrected with a smile, surprising both of the other two a little since they had not really seen him smile that much since meeting up with him. "Don't tell me you forgot already. Your boyfriend is a Keyblade master too, and he's out there fighting with Sora right now."

Aqua blushed a little when she heard the kid call Ventus her boyfriend, but it did nothing to stop her smile from lighting up her face a little bit. Suddenly, everything around them seemed to tremble under the force of an earthquake, and they all had to shield their eyes as a bright light flashed before them. When it finally died down, the cavern had been sufficiently lit up enough for them to see its true nature in full, and they were all left to gaze around at the similar features it shared with the area of Dark World that they had been traveling recently. The one main difference was a large, pristine door that rested in the distance, slightly cracked open, and none of them needed too many hints to make a guess as to what that door was.

"Is that the one," Aqua asked Mickey.

"Yep, the door to Kingdom Hearts," Mickey replied, instantly making Aqua's worries spike a little higher. "Welp, it's not the Kingdom Hearts you know, Aqua."

"Wait, you mean that's not the real Kingdom Hearts," Riku questioned.

"Not exactly, but even though it's smaller, it's still the heart of many worlds," Mickey admitted. "And even if it's not a complete Kingdom Hearts, we definitely can't leave it open like this, or…"

"Darkness will escape and destroy all the worlds that are left out there," Riku finished for him. "I guess that means we can't waste anymore time talking about it then, so I'd better get over there."

"You betcha, but be careful, Riku," Mickey cautioned. "This place is still crawling with Heartless after all."

Riku paused when he heard that, and then looked back with a smirk that was slightly reminiscent of his usual one as he declared, "Don't worry. I'm not afraid of the darkness."

With that, the boy immediately took off, running towards the door as fast as he could. As she watched the boy go, Aqua could only look on a bit sadly, but at the same time, she was happy to see such confidence in the boy, despite all that had happened to him, and she knew that it was likely the same for his two best friends. "Sora, Riku, Kairi," Aqua muttered under her breath.

It was at that moment that things started to look like they were going to go wrong, because just then, the Demon Tide suddenly sprang out from the ground and began rushing over Mickey and Aqua's heads towards Riku. "Oh no," Mickey cried out in panic. "Riku, watch out!"

By the time Riku had turned around and saw what was coming for him, Aqua had already jumped between him and massive collection of Shadows with her Keyblade ready as she shone brightly with a radiant aura. With wave of her Keyblade, Aqua then summoned a ring of shining chains that she sent rocketing towards to the Demon Tide as she shouted, "Back off!" Moments later, the entire mass of Shadows were encased in the chains, tied up into a large sphere and held in place by Aqua, but from the way she was grunting and thrashing around as the sphere bounced around the air, it seemed obvious she could not hold it for too long. "Go without me!"

"No, I can't! We need you to help seal the door," Mickey reminded her.

Before any further protests could be made from either party, the Demon Tide broke free of the light chains that were holding them and slammed into Mickey while scooping Aqua up and away. While Mickey was dropped down on the ground relatively unharmed, save for the loss of his shirt and vest, Aqua could not help scream as the vile creatures attempted to carry her away, and they likely would have succeeded too, had someone not suddenly rushed back over to help with his sword at the ready. He may have had another job to do that was far more important, but he was not about to let either one of these two people who had gone out of their way to help him through this place sacrifice themselves like this.

"Hey! The lady said to back off," Riku roared, and a moment later, Mickey and Aqua both watched as his body was encased in a dark aura just seconds before he rocketed towards the Shadows that were holding Aqua in their grasp. Moments later, Riku was racing through the Heartless several times over, even after Aqua was released from their grasp and dropped to the ground next to Mickey, and he did not stop until he had leapt high into the air above them, with his sword drawn back. With a mighty battle cry, Riku came flying down and slammed his sword into the ground as a powerful explosion of dark fires erupted from beneath the Demon Tide, eradicating every last Shadow that it was made of until there was nothing left of it.

Riku panted a little as the aura around his body faded, having not expected to suddenly be able to use the Dark Aura ability on his own like that, and he was soon dismissing Soul Eater out pure exhaustion. He would have dropped to the ground had Aqua not rushed over and caught him before he was eating dirt, and he immediately looked to see her smiling down at him when she said, "Thanks for that, Riku. Are you okay?"

"I…I think so. Just need a minute…to catch my breath," Riku panted as he slowly started to stand again. "I don't think I'm going to be doing that again anytime soon."

"I'd be a little worried if you did, considering what kind of ability that is," Aqua admitted, though Riku had to wonder if she might have been joking, given her smile did not seem all that serious at the time.

Mickey was soon next to the two as well, and smiling right along with them, even as he eventually ended up breaking their happy moment by saying, "Well, now that we're all sure that everyone's okay, let's get back to work. We've still got a door to close and lock tight."

"Right," the other two nodded, and Riku was once again hurrying off towards the door so he could help close it.

The two Keyblade masters watched him go for a minute, making sure to keep their senses extended for anymore last minute surprise attacks, until Aqua glanced at Mickey for a moment that caught the mouse king's attention. "What?"

Aqua just continued staring until she finally smiled and lightly chuckled, "You may want to look into getting a new shirt."

Apparently, that was the first moment when Mickey had realized that the Heartless had destroyed the top half of his attire, because he immediately looked down at himself and after seeing his torso was bare, he could not help but smile and rub the back of his head a little sheepishly, chuckling right along with Aqua even as he did.

---

Even the shadowy mists had cleared, Sora, Ven, Kairi, Donald, and Goofy still found themselves surrounded by dark shadows on all sides. All traces of Destiny Islands had vanished, and in its place was nothing but the dark, empty space they currently seemed to somehow be standing in. What worried Ven though was that there was also no sign of Ansem anywhere nearby, and yet he could still feel the Heartless of his former master was somewhere nearby. It was more than that though; for some reason, Ven felt like Xehanort's Heartless was everywhere around them. He could not really put that past Xehanort, but at the same time, Ventus did not really understand or know how it could be possible for even the Heartless of his insane, former master to spread himself to such an extent like that. Then again, Xehanort was capable of many things even when he was still in possession of original, old and brittle body, so Ventus figured he should probably not underestimate his Heartless when they were in this place of darkness.

It seemed Ventus would soon receive his answers, as Ansem, Seeker of Darkness's voice suddenly rang out from all around the five. "Behold the endless abyss! Within it lies the heart of all worlds: Kingdom Hearts," Ansem declared, and at that point, the others all finally noticed a massive, pristine door far off in the distance.

While staring at this door, the others could feel a slight shiver running up their spines, except for Ventus, who only stared at it for a few minutes, until he finally made a comment none of them were expecting. "You really expect us to believe that's Kingdom Hearts? Sure, it's made from the hearts of many worlds, but it's still a bit too small to be considered the true Kingdom Hearts."

"Too small," Sora, Kairi, Donald, and Goofy all gasped in disbelief. If that massive thing was too small to be the door to Kingdom Hearts, then they did not want to even think about how massive the real thing was.

Apparently, Ansem was not too shocked by this revelation at all, because he just continued to gloat like he had one. "Whether it is real or not, you cannot deny that no matter how hard you look, you'll not find even the smallest glimmer of light. From those dark depths are all hearts born. Even yours. Darkness conquers all!"

Suddenly, Sora let out a horrified gasp, and when the others turned, they too let out their own gasps or sounds of horror, because not only had the boy finally spotted Ansem, he had discovered just how the madman could come close to being all around them. The Heartless of Xehanort had not only grown to a massive size, but he had also bonded to a titanic, horrible monster of a battleship. The whole thing seemed to be entirely organic, even without Ansem being tied into it by several black, cable-like extensions, and was made of what looked like twisted, discolored flesh. The long, flat body ended at the front with a vicious face that had large, yellow eyes and sharp fangs, with leg-like protrusions extending out from the underside beneath the face and the very back of the ship, and a long, rocky tail sprouting out of the back. Just below where Ansem was attached into the battleship was an area that was covered by a dark pink, twisted cage, and the team could see what they assumed to be the ship's core concealed beneath the cage. As for Ansem himself, it seemed that he had lost his shirt, coats, and gloves, leaving his entire upper body bare, while his pants and boots were replaced with black tights that possessed yellow highlights, he and was now wielding a dual-bladed, halberd version of Soul Eater in his right hand. From what they could tell, they also saw that the whites of Ansem's eyes had completely vanished and now allowed his eyes to be completely orange. Tied into Ansem's back, was what looked to be a hideous monster that could easily have been an evolved or enhanced form of the guardian, except with horns on its head and what looked like bell-sleeves on its arms. In short, Xehanort's Heartless had transformed into the full-fledged monster that had no doubt been hidden deep inside the whole time.

"And here I thought we were supposed to go into the fryer, not skip right down to hell after getting out of the frying pan," Ventus muttered.

Nothing else was said afterwards aside from yelps of horror, as whatever ground had been beneath the five adventurers' feet finally vanished and they all began to plummet into the abyss below. Not all of them had fallen too far though, because barely that far into their fall, Kairi, Donald, and Goofy were all suddenly pulled into some sort of multicolored portal that had materialized before the caged section of the battleship, and disappeared, much to Sora and Ven's horror. Ven had immediately reached into his pocket for Tinker Bell's summon charm, hoping that the fairy could once again give them some pixie dust, but when his fingers brushed the edges of the coin, he quickly realized that the charm was still not back to its full strength, and that meant they were not going to be receiving any last minute rescue flights. His dismay must have shown a little more than he had intended, because Sora quickly started to look even more distressed than he already was after seeing their friends get pulled into the clutches of their enemy, and Ven could do nothing more than give his apprentice an apologetic look in response.

Sora merely nodded to Ven to show that it was all right, and had just about closed his eyes in acceptance of their final defeat, ready to endure the endless drop through the unknown and unending darkness, when suddenly he heard Riku's voice in his head clear as day. "Giving up already," Riku asked in disbelief. "Come on, Sora. I thought you were stronger than that."

When he heard those words, Sora knew that not only were they close to saving Riku, but that his friend was right. After all that had happened, he refused to think that they could ever possibly fail now. No matter what happened, Sora was willing to keep fighting to the very end, and this was most definitely not the end. So, when Sora closed his eyes, it was not in defeated acceptance, but so that he could place all of his focus in his belief that they would win this. A moment later, Ven was stunned speechless as he watched Sora not only stop falling, but rocket back upwards and past him so that he could hover before Ansem, ready to fight with Keyblade in hand. How it was possible for Sora to even fly without any help from a Keyblade Glider or Tinker Bell's pixie dust, Ventus could not comprehend, until he realized that somehow, Sora had managed to discover a way so that all he needed to fly was his own beliefs.

Ven was not about to be outdone by his apprentice just yet, because if Sora could do it, then so could he, and a moment later, the blonde had stopped falling and began flying upwards until he was right alongside his apprentice. The two then exchanged a quick smile before fixing their gaze on Ansem, and Ventus declared, "Your darkness may be powerful, but it could never hope to conquer all. So let's see what's truly more powerful. The darkness of you and your Heartless…"

"Or the light of two Keyblade wielders who refuse to give up on what they believe and the light in our hearts that never goes out," Sora finished.

Ansem just huffed at the two as they came flying straight for him, ready to do battle, and immediately began spinning his halberd Soul Eater in one hand so that he could chop them up the moment they got too close. The massive dual-blade weapon did make it difficult for Sora or Ven to get close right away, but they still managed to find a way around it and start slashing at Ansem's giant form wherever they could and in any way that they currently could. Sadly, their assault did not last long, because Ansem was soon spinning the halberd around again, and they both received serious hits. They were not life-threatening hits, but they were certainly enough for Ven and Sora to retreat a fair distance in order to heal. The two then prepared to change tactics, until they were suddenly forced to dodge a set of moving energy beams that seemed to come from out of nowhere. When they looked to the source, they spotted several dark spheres floating around had been what had fired upon them, and there were several more floating around the area.

Ventus immediately worked fast and summoned up a couple Aeroga shields for him and his apprentice, and with but a simple glance to Sora, he knew that the boy had already had the same idea as him. The next time that Ven charged, he made sure to dodge any energy beams that the remaining orbs were firing, while Sora did the same but with the added twist of throwing each of his most powerful spells right at Ansem. He tried to direct most of them towards Ansem's eyes in an attempt to blind the massive Heartless, but even if they had blinded him or not, Ansem did not slow down. He still continued to spin his halberd Soul Eater around at incredible speeds whilst slashing it at anything that dared to get too close to him. Thankfully, Ven was able to work around that a little more easily this time, not just because of Sora's magic support, but also because he had realized that while Ansem's attacks were deadly and powerful, they did not have too great a variety to them. The titanic being only ever seemed to attack in a small handful of ways, no doubt due to the fact that he was tied into the battleship so thoroughly, and that gave Ven a bit of an advantage, which he quickly proved when he landed several deadly blows against Ansem.

Ansem was not pleased by that, and it showed when he waved his free hand and growled, "Turn to darkness!"

Ven would probably have paid the demand little mind had he not suddenly felt something hit him in the back, and even with Aeroga Shield's protection, it left quite a sting. Turning to the source, he immediately spotted a trio of small Heartless with teardrop-shaped bodies and little batwings hovering nearby, and given the way they were spinning round and round, he had a feeling that one of them had been the one to hit him just now. Thankfully, none of them got a chance to strike again, as Sora came to the rescue with a quickly placed blast of Thundaga and a timely slash of Oathkeeper. After giving his apprentice a nod of thanks, Ven immediately rocketed upwards again to start attacking Ansem once more, only to find his approach much more difficult than before since most of the laser-emitting spheres appeared to be focusing on him now. If he were alone, Ven knew he would have a hard time getting in close again, but thankfully, that was far from being the case.

"Sora, switch out," Ventus shouted, and after nodding in reply, the boy immediately jettisoned himself towards Ansem, his Keyblade already drawn back for a powerful slash.

Ansem must not have been expecting Ven to stay back and provide magic support while letting his apprentice go on the attack, because Sora was easily able to slip past the titanic Heartless's defenses and begin dealing severe damage to him the minute he had gotten close. The boy's attacks may not have been as numerous as Ven's, but they certainly packed much more strength behind them, which meant Ansem incurred much more damage as a result. Realizing this, Ansem tried to get Sora to back off, but despite all of his best efforts, Sora refused to move away and just kept on fighting back instead. Eventually, Ansem's intense focus on the younger boy caused the dark spheres that had been firing on Ventus to disperse, and the blonde was soon joining in on his apprentice's barrage against Ansem, ultimately dealing the Heartless of Xehanort far more damage than he would have liked to taken on.

Ansem was not beaten yet though, and he intended to make that clear to the boys after he had dismissed his halberd and then allowed himself to be pulled into a protective cavity in the monster that topped the battleship, while a large Heartless emblem appeared over him. When Ven tried to blasting at Ansem again, he found his attacks blocked, showing that they could not get anything through until they found a way to push Ansem back out of his newest defense. The only problem was that he did not really see how they could do that, because any part of this titanic monster could force Ansem out again, and Ven did not know where to start. Sora did get an idea quickly enough, because he soon spotted the same portal that had sucked up the rest of their friends appearing in front of the shielded cage, and he immediately flew right towards it. Seeing what his apprentice was doing immediately worried Ven, and he would have followed after him had he not suddenly come under fire.

When he looked to what was firing on him, Ven saw several, organic extensions sticking up from various parts of the battleship and knew almost instantly that these were like some sort of antibodies for Ansem's large form. Ventus did not want to waste time dealing with such pests, but since he was forced to stop and block a great number of lasers, he was not able to chase after Sora before the portal shrank down to a point where he could not safely fly through without getting stuck. So, with nothing else to do, Ven just set to work destroying as many of these artillery tentacles as he could, hoping that Sora would be okay on his own in the meantime. When he was about halfway done with the artillery on one wing though, he found out that Sora was not as alone as he had thought the kid would be.

The next time that the portal had opened all the way, the ship had shaken a little, and Ven somehow knew that it was due to something that Sora did. He was about to fly down and go after Sora, when the boy came rocketing out of the portal with Kairi close behind him. Now Ventus was extremely curious and concerned. If their friends had been in there, then why was it that Donald and Goofy did not come out with Sora and Kairi? Did the kids leave the other two behind, and what did they do in there that caused the ship to momentarily destabilize for a few seconds. Ven was not going to just sit there and wait for answers, but only partially because remaining in one place for too long would have gotten him killed.

After dodging several laser blasts from the artillery units, Ven had managed to get up to where Sora and Kairi were, and immediately launched his barrage of questions. "Kairi, are you okay? Where are Donald and Goofy? What did you guys do in there?"

"Hey, hey! One thing at a time, please," Sora pleaded. "When I flew in there, I saw Kairi fighting against several Heartless, but there was no sign of Donald or Goofy."

"We had been together for a little bit, but then, the others just disappeared. I think something must have pulled them to other parts of the ship," Kairi filled in for the boys.

"Either way, all I knew was that Kairi was in trouble so I just jumped in to help. Then something that looked like a nerve vein or something appeared in the middle of the room, and Kairi and I somehow knew that we needed to just hit it in order to get out, so we did," Sora finished.

"I think it might've been more than just something to hit in order to escape, because this thing had suddenly rocked a little in a way that did not look intentional or natural. Or at least, not natural for this thing," Ventus commented. Before they could form any more theories, they found themselves having to dodge more lasers, and they looked up to the top of the caged area of the ship to see a larger version of the artillery tentacles had materialized up there. "Maybe we should continue this conversation later."

"Good idea," Kairi and Sora both agreed, and the three Keybearers all set to work on destroying the newest artillery tentacles.

Getting rid of this new attack feature for the battleship was not that easy though, as several of the ones that Ven had been dealing with up until now had materialized all around it. Thankfully, having three Keyblade wielders out to deal with the thing made it that much easier to handle. While Sora and Kairi focused on the smaller tentacles, Ven put all of his attention on the big one. The task did become a little harder when the laser emitting spheres suddenly began materializing around them again, and the three were forced to dodge both the artillery tentacles' fire and the dark lasers that Ansem was apparently still able to summon even while he was incapacitated for the moment. Despite all of that, they still managed to destroy all of the artillery tentacles, and when they did, another multicolored portal appeared, this time right where the big artillery tentacle had been before Ventus had destroyed it.

"I'm going in," Ventus shouted to the other two, and seconds later, Ven had vanished into the portal, while Sora and Kairi were left outside to dodge the laser fire that was still coming from the various spheres that were rotating around the area.

When Ven came out the other side, he could barely see anything save for the large blue, glowing Heartless symbol on the floor, but he could hear just as well as ever, and what he heard was a familiar yelp and holler that could only have come from Goofy. Once his eyes had fully adjusted to the lower level of light, Ventus managed to spot Goofy's outline and rushed over to destroy the rather large Shadows that had the knight surrounded. Not wanting to waste any time, Ven immediately unleashed a blast of the Meteor Shower Shotlock and destroyed several Heartless at once, gaining Goofy's attention at that same moment.

"Ven," Goofy cheered in relief, and it seemed that his friend coming to the rescue was all that the knight needed to regain his fighting resolve, because it was right at that moment that Goofy sent a pair of Shadows flying with a single swing of his shield.

The two then quickly worked to destroy the remaining Shadows, and once they were done, a bright light flashed from the middle of the room, and he spotted a vein like the one that Sora and Kairi had told him about. The one thing that stood out to him though was how there was a glowing orb right in the middle of said vein, and Ven knew that was where he had to hit if he and Goofy wanted to get out of this place. Without wasting a second, Ven immediately used the power Strike Raid to attack the vein, and when the orb exploded, he and Goofy both felt themselves getting pushed out by a powerful wind, and the force pushing them did not cease until they had landed back outside on the deck of the battleship. Like most of his landings, Goofy's was not too graceful, but Ven was just happy that they had managed to save their friend from the place he had been imprisoned for the moment. Now all they needed to do was get Donald back, and from the sounds of battle coming from close by, he had a feeling that Sora and Kairi had already gotten a good idea on where the next portal would appear.

When Ven turned around, he saw several flashes of lightning suddenly rain down over an area just in front of the battleship's demonic face, and given how it was apparently moving a little bit, Ventus was able to easily figure out where the other two most likely were. Knowing that, he immediately took to the skies again, with Goofy following after him once he had gotten over the shocking surprise that Ven had managed to fly like they could on Neverland without Tinker Bell's help. When they came around to the front of the ship, they saw Sora and Kairi trying to fend off blasts from some artillery tentacles while at the same time attacking the ship's face as they dodged its chomping jaws and the lightning blasts it seemed intent on trying to blast them with.

The two kids were likely feeling really exhausted, so Goofy had immediately tossed them both a Mega-Potion he had found while he was trapped inside the ship while Ven went right for the eyes of the ship's face so as to dissuade it from trying to make any more threatening moves against the two. Both Sora and Kairi smiled in both relief and thanks to the two returning heroes, but they put aside any greetings or congratulations for later, knowing that it was still too soon to be handing out the latter, and settled for helping Ven attack the ship's face. With four members of their team now back together again, dealing with the battleship's current defense became much easier, and as a result, they managed to disable the ship's face, and a portal instantly opened up right in front of his open mouth.

All three Keybearers flew in this time, with Goofy following right behind them as well, and no one was surprised to find Donald blasting and bashing several large Shadows once they got inside the dark room that was only lit up by the blue Heartless symbol on the floor. Thankfully, it was easier than ever to deal with the oversized Shadows, and even the vein that appeared after the Heartless were destroyed was destroyed much more quickly than usual, so they were all able to fly back out of the area where Donald had been held sooner too. What they did not expect was for the battleship's head to explode after they had escape, removing said feature from the ship completely, but they were not complaining about it too much. In fact, they were greatly enjoying that fact, because the shield around the caged in area of the battleship finally disappeared, leaving the ship's core exposed to attack.

Since the core was now open to them, the five all smirked knowingly, and flew up to give it everything they had. Sure, it likely meant Ansem would finally be pulled out of the healing pod he had withdrawn into, but considering that they wanted to finish him off for good, they did not really view that as too much of a downside. That was why they made sure to make quick work of the central core, and between Goofy's powerful shield attacks, Donald's best spells, and a Shotlock from Sora, Ven, and Kairi, it would have been a wonder if the core had held up at all. Instead, it quickly went up into smoke, and they all felt the ship shake a little as Ansem was pushed out of his protective cavity and into the battle once again.

"You irritating little…" Ansem snarled before he resummoned his halberd Soul Eater, and he was quickly spinning it around in his attempts to slice through the five heroes once again, while sending out several laser emitting spheres to slow them down, and summoning more of the bat-winged, teardrop-shaped Heartless.

Unlike before though when he was only fighting Ventus and Sora, the battle had no chance of going in Ansem's favor. With all five members of their team now free to fight together, they were all able to truly fight at their best, and they made sure that Ansem knew it too. Goofy handled the teardrop-shaped Heartless, which Jiminy had named as Bit Snipers at some point that none of them could be bothered to figure out, while Donald acted as the main source of magic support for the whole team, varying between shielding the others with magic and blasting either Ansem or the Heartless he summoned to his aid. Kairi varied between attacking Ansem and providing magic support, but for the most part, it was Sora and Ven who were dealing out most of the damage against Ansem, and to be quite honest, the two probably would not have had it any other way. After all, the two of them had tackled a vast majority of this journey together, so it only made sense that they would be the ones to bring it to a close.

At long last, Kairi and Donald fired off one last spell, which Goofy followed up with one final throw of his shield, and Ansem found himself barely able to do anything at all when Sora and Ven came charging in to land the final blow that destroyed Ansem's titanic form entirely. They all had to quickly fly away as fast as possible though, because with the way that the ship had been exploding, they were sure that they could get hurt a bit themselves if they were too close when it all finally went up in smoke. That did not make the following fireworks any less amazing though, but the team probably would have liked them better had Ansem not reappeared before them in his previous form, weakened and tired, but still clearly willing to make one last attempt at fighting.

"It is futile. One Keyblade, or two, or even three cannot seal the door to darkness," Ansem said in barely more than a strained whisper. He then spun around and extended a hand towards the large door in the distance as he commanded, "Kingdom Hearts! Fill me with the power of darkness…" The team all watched as the door slowly began to crack open, allowing faint shadowy mists to slowly begin seeping out, and Ansem's smirk must have grown a little as he hovered a little higher with his arms spread wide. "Supreme darkness…"

"You truly have no idea what you're really dealing with here," Ventus sighed sadly. "And I almost feel sorry for you."

"No matter what you think, we all know that what you believe is all wrong," Kairi continued.

"Because we know now, without a doubt. Kingdom Hearts…" Sora lead off.

"IS LIGHT," the three Keybearers all finished as one, and their belief was easily proven true far too soon for Ansem's liking.

A mater seconds after the shadowy mists had started seeping out of the door, a brilliant light unlike any other came blasting out of the door, and Ansem snarled in pain as it encompassed him completely. He could not understand why though. He was so sure that he done everything that was necessary, so why was it that the door to darkness was unleashing such a powerful light from within its confines? Were the Keybearers right in what they claimed? No, that could not be possible. Ansem refused to believe it, and yet, at the same time, for some reason he found that it was just as impossible to deny the evidence laid bare before him. Even so, he still continued to ponder how this could be right until the very end when he finally disappeared into dust completely.

When the light had finally died down, the three Keybearers led the way over to the ground before the door to darkness, and they all wasted no time in rushing over to start pushing as hard as they could. "Come on," Sora shouted, having been the first one to reach the door.

"We've got to hurry and get this door closed," Kairi encouraged as she came up beside Sora, with Ven taking position on the boy's opposite side.

Donald and Goofy soon came after and began pushing against the other half of the door, but no matter how hard they pushed, it did not seem like the thing was going to budge. At some point during his push though, Goofy made the mistake of peeking inside the door, and spotted something that made him yelp in fright before he ceased his push all together. "Stop staring and keep pushing," Donald scolded his friend, but he still turned around to see what had grabbed Goofy's interest so much. What he saw was not pleasant at all.

There on the other side, was a very rough looking place with several large rock structures jetting out in various directions, but the most attention grabbing thing was the massive number of dark splotches all across every surface of the place, with several thousand pairs of beady yellow eyes that they all knew were characteristic of only one thing. "THE HEARTLESS," Goofy and Donald both shouted in horror.

"Hurry," Donald pleaded as he started pushing even harder than before.

Even with the threat of the Heartless getting closer to the door prompting them all to push harder than ever, they did not seem able to get the blasted thing to close, and Sora was starting to lose hope that they could do it. He was not the only one though. "It's…it's no good. The thing just won't…," Kairi frowned in dismay.

"We can't…" Sora muttered, not wanting to agree, but unable to argue either. At least until something they were not expecting happened.

"Don't give up," someone shouted before they grabbed the door from the other side, and Sora and Kairi both immediately jumped their gazes towards the speaker, having recognized his voice immediately.

"Riku," Kairi cheered happily, glad to see their friend again, and looking like his old self once more.

"Come on, Sora! Kairi! Together, we can do it," Riku encouraged.

"Okay," Sora nodded, while Kairi did the same and joined both of her friends in their efforts to get the blasted, oversized door closed.

Their efforts seemed to be paying off, because they all soon felt the door slowly start to inch closer to closing again, but there was one problem that came to mind right when they began. "Hey wait a minute," Goofy shouted. "We still don't know how we're going to get that other key on the other side of the door!"

"Yes we do," Ventus stated, and the four on his side of the door all turned to him when they realized he had stopped pushing and slowly started backing away. What was even more worrying was the downcast look on his face, but that was still nothing in comparison to what he ended up saying next. "I'm going to go through the door myself, and help Mickey seal it on that end while Sora and Kairi lock it from here."

"WHAT," the other four shouted in horrified surprise.

"Absolutely not," Donald angrily argued.

"You can't do that, Ven! If you go through, you might get stuck in there too," Goofy protested.

"Maybe, but it's a risk that we have to take," Ventus informed them, already walking towards the opening in the door. "Besides, the worlds are already in good hands, seeing as we've got at least two promising Keyblade Warriors on this side even without me around."

"But Ven, you can't leave us! We still need you…I still need you," Sora pleaded.

That finally made Ven look up, but when he did, it was only to give the boy a sad smile as he said, "No you don't, Sora. You never really needed me that much. You've had the power to accomplish everything you already have inside of you the whole time. All I really did was help bring it out and refine it. Besides, there always comes a time when the apprentice has to strike out on his own, without his master looking over his shoulder."

Any other protests from his friends went completely ignored as Ven turned his full attention on the open door, fully determined to go through with his rather insane plan. Sure, he might end up trapped in the Realm of Darkness, but at least if he was, he knew that there could be a chance he would eventually run into Aqua, and he would finally be reunited with her again. Besides, if the two of them did manage to find one another, he knew that their chances of escaping that place would be far greater together. Just when he was about to step over the threshold though, something seemed to push back against him, and it kept pushing until he was finally thrown back and away from the door, still on the same side as the rest of his friends.

"What? I…I don't understand. What just…" Ventus muttered.

"Sorry, Ven, but you coming through to this side was never an option for multiple reasons," Riku explained, pulling everyone's attention onto him. "Apparently, the door won't let a heart of light pass through, and that's why only darkness kept spilling out. Even if you could get through, I wouldn't let you, because if you want to seal the door with the dual keys method, then the other two keys have to be wielded by a pair of masters. It can't be anyone else. Not even a Princess of Heart."

"So then the dual keys method is useless to us," Ventus concluded sadly. Sure, it was good to know that they were still likely going to be able to use the standard one, but it would have been a lot better if they could have used the one that make the door more secured.

To Ven's surprise, Riku just smirked in response, and said, "I never said that. But I am going to say this: if it were possible for you to get through, I still wouldn't let you. One of my new friends over here would probably kill me if I did."

Ventus was about to question Riku on what he meant, when they all suddenly spotted a trio of Darksides rising up behind him, and since he was so busy trying to pull the door closed from his end, Riku was not going to be able to do anything to beat them back. Not that they were entirely sure if he could, and since Sora, Kairi, and Ventus were not able to pass through the door, they were not going to be able to give him any help. "It's hopeless," Donald cried in despair, voicing everyone's thoughts at once, until they were met with another miracle.

"In case you weren't listening earlier, I said to back off," a woman's voice suddenly shouted, and seconds later, several light chains came soaring out from behind the Darksides, and began slicing through each one until there was nothing left of any of them. When a fourth one suddenly rose up to fill the place of its fallen brethren, another blast of light collided into its back and destroyed it too. None of the five on the other side had paid that too much mind though, but while only three of them were focused on the person who had spoken before, the other two were paying more attention to the person who landed that last attack.

They all watched as a figure suddenly spun out from the shadows, and when he landed on top of one of the highest points on the other side of the door, a brilliant light seemed to shine out from behind his figure. Even so, they could all still make out his silhouette, and they all easily spotted his large shoes, gloved hands, tail, and notably big ears that three of them knew could only signify one person. "Your Majesty," Donald and Goofy cheered in relief.

Ventus on the other hand was more focused on another figure that had appeared alongside of the king. A figure who was not only much taller than said king, but most definitely a woman as well, given her elegant figure and the grace with which she had landed when she appeared beside him. Even with the bright light before her and Mickey hiding most of her features though, Ven could still see several hints of blue in both her attire and her hair. The same shade of blue that he had long come to associate with only one person, and had also come to consider as his favorite shade of the color. Seeing her caused Ven's to suddenly lose the ability to speak, but thankfully, Sora and Kairi were able to help him find it again when they next spoke up.

"No way," Sora had gasped in wide-eyed shock.

"Is that really who I think it is," Kairi questioned, equally surprised as Sora.

"It is…It's her," Ventus finally confirmed in a voice that was just barely above a whisper, tears of joy slowly starting to form in his eyes. "Aqua!"

The five all then watched as Mickey produced a Keyblade that was identical to Sora's, save for the reversed color scheme, while Aqua summoned forth the Master's Defender Keyblade, and the former then shouted, "Now Sora, Ven! Let's close this door for good!"

"Ven, if you even think of trying to come in here again, as sweat as that would be, I promise that I will smack you. They need you over there far more than I need you here," Aqua insisted, and somehow, Ventus just knew that Aqua was smiling almost as widely as he probably was at being able to see each other again, even if it was not in the way that they would have preferred. "Don't worry! Mickey and I have got things covered on this end!"

Donald, Goofy, and Ven all nodded in response, the latter more hesitantly than the others, and then proceeded to start pushing against the door again. Kairi and Sora on the other hand did not resume their efforts though, and Ven could tell that it was obviously due to how torn they were between closing the door and leaving it open so that they could save their friends on the other side somehow. "Close it, quick," Donald urged them while pushing against the door as hard as he could.

"But…" Sora tried to argue, only to suddenly find no words to explain why he did not want to close the door now.

"What about…" Kairi also attempted to say, but her voice was soon caught in her throat as well.

"Don't worry. There will always be a door to the light," Mickey reassured the two.

"Just don't ever give up, and never forget that there's always hope, even in a place of darkness," Aqua instructed the two. She then seemed to turn to Ventus as she said, "You and Terra reminded me of that more times than you realize while I was here, Ven."

Ven smiled in return for Aqua's comment, but still felt that he needed to say something to her while he had the chance. "I won't stop looking for a way to bring you home, Aqua. I promise, we'll all be together again soon."

Aqua's smile shone through a little more clearly this time as she reached into her sleeve and produced a blue Wayfinder charm identical to Ven's and said, "I know you will, because the three of us will always be one, Ven. Nothing will ever change that."

While Ven nodded in response to that, Goofy noticed that the other two Keybearers still seemed a little hesitant to close the door, and reassured them, "Sora, Kairi, you can trust King Mickey, and Master Aqua, too."

After another moment or two, the two kids finally nodded in agreement, and proceeded to start pushing again, even as Riku turned around to shout another warning about how they needed to hurry. Just when the door was starting to budge, they all saw Mickey turn back towards them once again when he said, "Donald, Goofy, thank you. Ven, I'm proud to have been your final master, and now, I'm even more proud of you as both your master and your friend than ever. Thank you, pal."

The three that had been addressed all nodded in response to Mickey's words, but only Ventus paused for one more moment so that his eyes could lock with Aqua's, even for one extra second, and he found that he could not keep what he needed to tell her to himself any longer. "Aqua, I have to tell you one last thing while I still have the chance. I don't care if it'll be spoiled by the circumstances, because I have to say it now," Ven said. He paused, and then finally fixed the most loving gaze he could manage onto the woman as he finally said what he had been hoping to tell her for so long. "I love you."

After Ven had said those words, the first thing he heard was a surprised gasp from Aqua, but thankfully, he could also somehow tell that her expression had not changed into anything bad. Instead, it seemed to shine brighter than anything else in that place, as she smiled and replied, "I love you, Ven."

Ventus instantly smiled when he heard that, because he could tell from her tone that she was not just saying the words. She had truly meant it, and almost nothing could have made him happier at that moment. Sure, he would have preferred it if they could bring her back now, but he knew that for the moment, this was for the best, so he immediately returned to helping the others push the door closed. Right when the door was about to shut completely, Riku looked to his best friend with a smile, and made one last request of him before they were separated by the door. "Sora…Take care of her."

Sora could do nothing more than nod in reply, but Riku knew that Sora did not need to say anything in order to guarantee that he would fulfill that request. After all, that had been a promise that Sora had made right from the moment that he had met Kairi. With everything having been said and done, they soon managed to close the door at last, and the five quickly backed away, while giving Sora and Ventus some space as they raised their Keyblades high into the air. Sora had managed to switch out Oathkeeper's Keychain for Kingdom Key's as he was backing up, and when he and Ventus raised their Keyblades up to the door to Kingdom Hearts, they just knew that Mickey and Aqua were doing the very same thing right at that moment on the other side. One shower of lights and magic later, and they all saw the door vanish completely like it had never been there in the first place. The sound of something being locked only finalized it all for them. Their journey had come to a close and they had won the battle against the Heartless.

At that moment, none of them could really do anything more than stand in silence, staring at where the door to darkness had once been, along with their friends, each unsure of what to say or really do, and it continued until something seemed to grab Kairi's attention. "Hey, Sora! I think I can sense the island," she said, turning in the direction that the feeling was coming from.

Sora immediately turned around as well, trying to find some clue that their home was in the place Kairi was looking towards, but not seeing anything at all. "Are you sure?"

"Yeah, it's over this way! Come on," Kairi encouraged, and she immediately took off, eager to get back home again after everything that had happened.

Sora would have done the same, but he found himself hesitating to follow her. It was not that he did not want to go home and be with Kairi, but there was still the matter of finding Riku so that he could bring him home too. There was no way that his best friend really was trapped on the other side of that door for good, and Sora knew that he could find something to help bring him back. Besides, there was also the fact that he had promised Donald, Goofy, and Ven that he would help find and bring home their friends too, and while they did technically find the king and Aqua for a minute, they were both still trapped on the other side of that door, so Sora felt like he had not quite fulfilled that promise. In spite of wanting to go home with Kairi so badly, especially since she was now his girlfriend, in that moment, Sora truly did not know what he should do, even as he glanced back and forth between his girlfriend and his newest friends.

Ventus must have known exactly what was going through Sora's mind, because he had soon come up and placed a hand on the kid's shoulder, drawing the boy's attention to him, and said, "Just trust your heart, and you'll be able to make what you really believe is the right choice. No matter what you choose though, we'll understand. If you want to go back home with her, then do it. We can handle things from here."

Sora knew that Ven really meant that, and even if he did not, the blonde was basically giving him an out. Probably the only one he would get for a long time, and to be honest, that actually made Sora feel like the choice got a bit harder. Still, he nodded in response to his master, and then turned to follow Kairi, albeit at a pace that was much slower than hers. His head felt like a jumble of mess right then with each step he took, but he quickly shook it a couple of times and decided to heed Ven's advice about listening to his heart. When he did, the confusion quickly passed, and he suddenly felt like he knew what he had to do. He just had to hope she would understand.

---

Kairi had just felt the sandy shores of the island beneath her feet, and she knew in that moment she had finally reached the part of this place that was the island she now considered her home. The feeling of knowing that her home was going to be restored at any minute eclipsed everything else right then, but that did not mean she had forgotten about what the worlds being restored would mean for all the rest of her friends. It did make her very sad knowing that they would be separated from the people that they had met since this journey started, but Kairi knew that they would all meet again someday. She truly believed that with all of her heart.

Speaking of things in her heart, once she had finished taking in the joy of knowing that their home was about to come back into being, Kairi turned around to share her smile with Sora, only for said smile to falter a little when she realized that he was not next to her. She was glancing around a little more in an attempt to find him, and when she finally did, she saw him running over to her from the trail that was still connecting them to whatever place that Ven, Donald, and Goofy would end up in. Despite the fact that he was running though, there was something about the way Sora was coming over to her that made Kairi a little concerned, and her concern only grew a little when he stopped short of where they needed to be if they wanted to go back home.

"Sora," Kairi called out, completely bewildered and confused about what he was doing. Before either of them could say anymore though, the ground shook a little beneath their feet, and she lost her balance. She probably would have fallen over if Sora had not grabbed her hand to steady her, but even then, he did not move to join her on the sandy beach.

"Kairi, remember what you said before," Sora asked as they slowly started to be pulled apart, each of them doing their best to hold onto one another until the last possible second. "I'm always with you, too. I'll come back to you. I promise!"

In that moment, Kairi knew exactly what Sora was doing, and she understood, completely. Being in his heart for so long did have the added effect of knowing how a person thinks after all. Sora truly believed that the others still needed him, and even if that was not the case, he was not planning on coming back home without his best friend. As much as Kairi wanted to join him, she knew that she could not. Wherever Sora was going, he had no clue how it would end, and given what he had said, she knew that he wanted her to stay some place where he knew she would be safe. She did not like being left behind like this, but after what they had been through together, she did understand why he felt that way.

So, despite how sad it made her feel to watch him go, Kairi eventually managed to smile in reply, and assure him, "I know you will!" Just before they slipped from each other's fingers, she finally found it in herself to say something she had been trying to say ever since Sora had confessed to her in Hollow Bastion, and she was not going to hold it back anymore. "I love you, Sora."

Even after their hands slipped away from each other, Sora was grinning happily over hearing Kairi say that to him, and as he slowly faded further away to an unknown world somewhere out there among the stars, he took a moment to call back, "I love you too, Kairi."

Even though it made her sad to keep watching him go, Kairi persisted in doing so, until a steady shower of lights suddenly grabbed her attention. It was a beautiful sight to behold, seeing so many small specks of light falling around her like snowflakes, but what was even more beautiful was when the island slowly started to reform around her. Every tree, every grain of sand, and every structure that belonged there came bursting back to life, showing that her home truly was coming back from the darkness it had fallen into as the misty blue aura that had washed over the place Sora was standing continued to fade away. The last thing she saw of the boy she loved was him shouting something inaudible to her before Ventus came up behind him and placed a hand on his shoulder. She did not need to hear what Sora had shouted to know what he said, and after watching the two exchange a confident look with one another, she found that she did not need to understand what the smile Ventus sent to her meant either. Kairi just knew that the Keyblade master had promised her that he would bring Sora home to her one day soon.

The rest of that night was filled with the most brilliant shower of shooting stars, and while the people who were steadily coming back from the darkness only saw it as just that, Kairi smiled knowing that it was every world that had fallen into darkness returning to the light. Knowing that she not only had a small part in making that happen, but also that the boy she loved had done so much to help too made Kairi all the happier, and helped to reassure her that Ventus and Sora would both keep their promises to come back here someday. Not that she needed it that much, because like she had told Sora, she knew that he would return to her, just like she knew that he would come back with Riku and everyone else he had promised his newest friends he would help save.

The next day, Kairi had gone out to the island by herself, and even though Tidus, Wakka, and Selphie were all there too, she did not feel like joining in on their fun. Partly because she felt she would be intruding on Selphie and Wakka's attempts to cheer Tidus up after he had been separated from Yuna, but mostly because she just wanted to be alone for a moment, and she knew the perfect place for her to get that solitude. It felt a little weird coming into the secret place though without knowing that Sora and Riku could join her in there at any moment, but as she looked around at the drawings that they had scribbled on the walls over the years, Kairi found that she did not care. It all just served as a reminder that almost everything had returned to the way it had been before, save for the absence of Riku and Sora, and that was a great comfort to her. What she did not expect to find though, was the addition Sora had made to their old self-portraits from so long ago, and even at that moment, she could see him smiling widely at her as he put the finishing touches on the star that was clearly supposed to be a paopu fruit that he was giving to her. Placing her hand against the drawing, Kairi's smile grew a little more as a lone tear of joy slipped past her eyelashes and down her cheek, because served as the ultimate, final proof that she had not realized she needed of Sora's feelings for her until now.

When Kairi left the secret place that day, another addition had been made to the old self-portraits. This one showed her giving a paopu fruit to Sora in return, and for her, it was a sign of how she returned his feelings, and how she would wait for him to come back to her.

---

AN: Okay, I know some of you were expecting something like Ven switching places with Aqua so that he was trapped in the realm of darkness while Aqua was freed to teach either Sora or Kairi, or some other really dramatic thing, but this was all set in stone, and in my mind, it was the best outcome for this story. Besides, look on the bright side, Aqua's not still stuck in the realm of darkness all on her own because the damn Demon Tide couldn't take a hint. Thank you, Riku.

Riku: You're welcome, everybody. It feels so good to know that I helped save Aqua this time around as opposed to being part of the reason why she's still stuck there.

AN: And yeah, Sora and Kairi were still separated from each other, but like I had said, Kairi's not quite ready for the new chapter in the long journey that's still ahead of Sora. Besides, her staying on Destiny Islands without Sora does have another purpose, and it should become a little more clear come next chapter. At least I certainly hope it does, but if not in the epilogue, then certainly in the preview that I'll have for the sequel afterwards.

That's right, you all heard me. There is still one chapter left, and that's the epilogue, the post-credits scene, the big thing that we all worked really hard getting a bunch of different achievements to unlock. Only difference here is that the only achievement that you need to have under your belt is to tune in and read the thing when it's posted, and if the rapid pace of my last few postings for this bad boy are any indication, you'll be happy to see it out there very soon, I'm sure. Well, nothing left for me to say that I can really think of, so...Onto the Preview!...

Though their first mission is over, their journey has not truly ended. There's still the matter of finding a way to bring back King Mickey, Aqua, and Riku for the little team of four, and there's much on the horizon for them in the next chapter of their journey. Meanwhile, various different events take place that show how things are returning to normal in the worlds, while at the same time, others will help to shape how that next journey unfolds. Find out just what it is that awaits our brave adventurers in their quest to reunite with friends and defend the light in the final chapter, next time.

And there ya go. The last preview for events in a chapter of this story before the end of the epic. Now all that's left for you guys to do, besides wait for my next update is...

Please read and review, and see ya real soon!