Disclaimer: not mine

Delivered today, my birthday present of a PS5! Very excited. And of course, it had 9hrs of software downloads to do, oh well.

I am running a Kickstarter to help fund my third book if anyone is interested. Copies of my books as eBooks, signed paperbacks, and some merchandise are among the rewards. If you're interested, look for A Twist in the Tail on Kickstarter. The book is called The Girl Made of Stone and I hope to publish early next year.

Chapter 29

"Checkmate." He smirked, leaning back, sure that the game was over, even as the boy in white scanned the board. "And so Darkness prevails, and Light expires. You need a new strategy."

His friend looked up at him and smiled. "My move, isn't it?"

He frowned, scanning the board for any possible move the other could make, even as his friend lifted the final white piece. "Huh?"

The Boy in White placed it on the far edge of the board. "It's not over." He grinned at the Boy in Black.

"C'mon. That's not fair. I know I had you."

"Yes, you nearly did. But, a game's no fun if you know where it's going. There's more to Light than meets the eye. I told you." Behind the single white piece carrying a crown token, eight more white pieces appeared on the board and the boy smiled. "Some Light comes from the past."

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On an endless sea and sky stretching onward to infinity, a light shone onto the transparent body of Sora. He slowly opened his eyes and sat up, taking stock of the world he found himself in. He stood, the water silently splashing beneath his feet, looking around in awe and confusion.

"Where am I?" He wandered the bright expanse, searching for answers.

"Can't stay away, now, can you?" an unfamiliar voice called, and he looked around for who had spoken.

"Hello?" Sora called, not seeing anyone.

A tiny light sparkled down in front of him, making an odd mewling sound, it reached down to the water, which rippled as if something had set its feet down on it. There was a bright flash, causing Sora to shield his eyes, as a small cat wearing a cape and a coin purse appeared in front of him.

"The name's Chirithy. And this is The Final World."

"I'm Sora. What's the...'Final World'?" he asked in confusion, that name seemed important and very different to most World names.

"There's nothing else beyond this. You've wandered here more than once before on your visits to the Station of Awakening, buuut...I let that slide. The edges of sleep and death touch, and one can't help the occasional crossover," Chirithy explained.

"Wait, 'death'?" Sora asked in alarm, shocked by the small beings explanation.

"Yes," it nodded. "The natural end for those whose Hearts and Bodies perish together. But some persist, and arrive here."

"My Heart and Body perished? Um, does that mean..."

"Something is holding you here-refusing to let you go. You're hanging by a thread."

"What about my friends?" They had all been taken by the Tide, so why weren't they with him?

"I'm afraid that no one else arrived with you. And if they're not here, they're either gone forever, or they're clinging to the world you came from."

"I'm going back!" He summoned his Keyblade and started to leave in a rush, he had to find them!

"Whoa, whoa! How exactly?"

He turned back in confusion.

"You can't just wander out like your other visits."

"What?" why not?

"I told you. The other times you came here by your own choice. This time is very different. To become your old self again and return to the real world, you'll have to piece yourself back together in this world first." Chirithy explained, and Sora frowned in confusion, pieces?

He looked down and stared in shock, he was see-through! "Agh! Why am I in pieces?!"

"What? No, not literally, of course. You're conceptually in pieces. On the inside, who knows, but on the outside you're just fine."

Sora dispelled the Keyblade. "Oh, okay. You kinda freaked me out there!" He put his hands behind his head casually.

"Oh boy..." Chirithy shook it off. "Usually, only a Heart can reach The Final World. But since you've clearly managed to retain some kind of form, that can only mean your body was cast into this world as well."

"Okay, so...then if I can find my body, that means I'll be able to go back?" Please say yes, he had to find the others.

"Precisely. But there's a lot of you to find. You're going to be busy," Chirithy warned before vanishing in a burst of light.

All around, phantom Soras appeared, wandering around the endless expanse. It was more than a little creepy. "These must be pieces of me." He had not time to lose!

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He couldn't believe it. They were not meant to be defeated so easily! He'd warned them…and now they were gone, his brothers…And there was nothing he could do, enslaved by the Man he had spent his existence calling Master. He had wanted to fight them, to see what this new brother could do.

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Ienzo checked the monitors, relieved to find the closer to normal. Demyx was healing, slowly yes, but he was improving. He wasn't fully out of danger yet, but it was a good sign.

Ienzo sat on a chair beside his bed and pulled up some data to study, going over all of the scans he had made of the Replica before and after it was given to Roxas. They needed more after all and Even had only managed to get them the one. It was also to keep his mind of Sora and the others, there was nothing more he could do to help them. It was all up to them, if they lost…well, everyone would know for a few brief moments. It…scared him, the idea of Xehanort controlling Kingdom Hearts. Sometimes, having his Heart back was more distracting than anything, but he wouldn't give it up again.

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"Sora, you don't believe that. I know you don't."

Sora blinked as he heard Riku, watching him walk towards the Demon Tide again. No! Riku planted his foot on the ground and raised his Keyblade, shielding Sora. As the Tide approached, he slammed his blade into the swarm, the force of the wind blowing back through them both. Riku raged against the force of the Tide, his body blackening

as Sora watched, once again helpless. Even with all of Riku's strength, the Heartless overtook him and washed over Sora, just like last time.

But this time, Sora found himself floating in the abyss as streaks of light passed over him. He awakened, seeing the light ahead of him. "Riku!" he yelled, reaching toward the light. "Riku! Answer me!"

The light grew brighter as he flew closer. Soaring into the light, he found himself somewhere familiar.

"This is Herc's world. Is Riku here?" he warily ascended the golden stairs of Olympus. Where was everyone? "There's nobody here," he murmured, worried.

"Gee, I'm here!" A familiar voice called and then Jiminy Cricket popped out of Sora's hood and into his hand.

"Jiminy! You're okay!" At least he knew someone was okay.

"Well, "okay" might be a stretch, but what are we waitin' for? We need to find the others!"

Sora smiled down at him. "Right!"

He headed into the Courtyard, freezing as he saw the transparent comatose Riku

floating above a massive golden sacrificial tripod. "Riku!" he yelled, but Riku didn't react, just floating limply. What was wrong with him, why was he transparent…like Sora had been in the Final World. Did that mean…that was Riku's Heart without his body?

Sora rushed toward him and a swirling cloud of Darkness appeared above Riku. It coalesced into a Heartless holding a large staff and trailing chains beneath it: The Lich. It gazed down at Riku with its glowing yellow eyes, holding out a hand over his body. Riku's Heart appeared over him and the Lich encircled it with chains as Sora watched in horror. The Heart vanished and the Lich floated toward the Corridors.

No! He was not letting it take Riku's Heart! He took off after it, grimacing as Heartless appeared everywhere to slow him down.

"Forget the small fry! We gotta go after the one in charge."

He knew that! Sora blasted through them and raced to the Cloud Ridge, more Heartless

appearing before him. He ducked and dodged, weaving around them wherever possible. He reached the rail and leapt onto it, ascending towards the apex of Olympus, where they'd battled the Titans.

There, he found the Lich waiting for him, dodging as it fired a fireball at him. Sora gritted his teeth and summoned his Keyblade, launching himself into the battle. He would not let it leave with Riku's Heart! It was fast and kept leaving afterimages that were good enough to briefly trick him. Finally, Sora watched as Riku's Heart was freed, the chains shattering, and then the Lich fled through a portal.

"Hey! Wait!" Sora yelled in alarm as Riku's Heat began to float away. For a second it hesitated, and Sora felt a wash of warm thanks, but then it continued on.

"There's no need to worry, Sora. He'll return to the place he fell, like you did. We gotta focus on rescuing the others."

"Right," he nodded, heading for the still open portal.

They found themselves floating in starlit space with nine portals beneath them…two less than how many of them there'd been at the Graveyard, so who was missing?

"That scoundrel musta fled into one of those pools of shadow that're down below us."

"Where do they lead?"

"Well, I think they might be portals to other worlds."

"Okay!" That made sense. "Maybe that's where we'll find the others." Maybe some of the others were in the same World? Axel and Roxas had been taken together after all, that had to be why there were fewer portals.

"If we hurry!"

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Luna looked towards the sky, frowning. The Prophecy of Light…the Guardians had been taken by Darkness, but there was still a chance. Harry…where was he?

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Sora fell through the portal leading to Galaxy Toys, where Ven's Heart was taken by the Lich, just like happened every time. Why couldn't he ever get there in time to stop it? The Heartless raised its arms, summoning Marionettes around the large central gumball machine.

While Sora was focused on the smaller Heartless, the Lich's staff erupted with electricity. It aimed several disc-shaped bolts of lightning at Sora, but he knocked a stuffed patchwork animal in the way to block most of the attack, wincing as the edges of the attack caught him. A quick cure spell and Sora launched forward, slamming into the Lich with the Keyblade. He attacked over and over until it fell back and Ven's Heart floated out of the empty heart in its chest, its chains falling away. The Heart floated out of reach, and again, he felt it reach out to him, just like Riku had. Ven giving silent thanks and offering strength before floating away as the Lich returned to the portal once more.

"Hey!" Sora yelled, trying to get its attention to slow its retreat but it never worked.

It was odd that Ven and Riku had done that and the others hadn't…but Riku was his Dream Eater and he was connected to Ventus, was that why? Would Kairi and Harry also reach out to him the same way when he found them. Though…he'd expected to find Harry here too. Ventus and Harry had been taken together after all and there'd only been seven portals. Was Harry…gone?

He had to keep going, he had to find all of them and save them.

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Leon walked the streets aimlessly, patrolling for any stray Heartless. He was worried about the kids, they were too young for the fate of the Worlds to rest with them, and yet Sora had already faced that twice before. It wasn't right that the Keyblades chose children, they shouldn't have to fight.

Thankfully, the feared Heartless invasion hadn't happened...yet. they had spread out through the Garden, all on alert, ready for any attack.

They would win, they had to. But that didn't stop him worrying about them.

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Sora soared into the last gate, landing on the streets of San Fransokyo where the Lich floated over Axel's body, taking his Heart as Sora ran towards it.

The Lich sent Sora flying into the air with a wind spell, but he recovered, only to be hit by a group of fireballs. Sora fell to the ground, rolling painfully back to his feet, casting another cure spell as he did. The Lich summoned an army of Neoshadows and Sora faced them. They were annoying, especially when facing them alone, give him Shadows any day over their bigger, more powerful, 'cousins'. He ducked a blow and then sent a blast of lighting into the ground, forcing them up to face him, relying more on physical attacks then magic to conserve it. Finally, the last one dissolved, freeing its Heart, and Sora looked around for the Lich…still airborne!

He dashed to a free-standing light pole and spun around it, using the momentum to leap up at the Lich. Unrelenting, he struck the Lich until it stopped moving, dropping back to the ground. The Heartless brimmed with Darkness and faded away, letting go of Axel's Heart which floated away into the night sky.

Sora walked through the city streets with Jiminy on his shoulder, worried.

"Well, Sora, I'd say we've been to every world that we can visit."

"But we're two short. Where's Kairi and Harry's Hearts?"

"Gee, I wish I knew," the cricket sighed.

Sora froze and then summoned the Keyblade as a Corridor of Darkness opened in front of them, hoping it was Riku coming looking for him. Instead, Young Xehanort walked through. "You!"

"All that gallivanting through the Sleeping Worlds, and yet you learned nothing."

"What?" that wasn't what he'd expected.

"Dream by dream, you nearly buried yourself in the dark of sleep. And now you're at it again? The Lich you've been fighting - it's not like other Heartless," he explained as he walked closer, and Jiminy quickly hid back in his hood. "It exists to usher Hearts down to the depths of Darkness. If you chase it, you will condemn your Heart to that same abyss." Young Xehanort pointed toward Sora.

Sora touched his hand to his Heart. "You're wrong. My Heart is strong."

"What do you think the Power of Waking is?" he shook his head and looked up to the sky. "It's for traversing Hearts to reach Worlds. Not for traversing Worlds to reach Hearts. There's a high price to pay for wielding such power foolishly." He turned away from Sora who was frowning.

"So what? You're worried about ME now?" he didn't believe that for a second.

"No. There's no saving you."

Like Sora was going to believe anything he said.

"You've paid the price. And it lies at the bottom of the abyss." He began backing into the Corridor, watching Sora.

"Wait!" Sora ran forward, but the Corridor closed, and Jiminy peaked out.

"Sora!" he called out, and Sora realised his phone was ringing.

He picked it up, Chip appearing on the screen.

"Hurry, Sora! The way to the Keyblade Graveyard is open!"

Dale pushed Chip off-screen. "Chipper and I found a new path!"

Chip moved back into frame and nodded. Jiminy gave a small laugh of happiness.

"Of course! That's the one place we haven't checked yet!" but why would Kairi and Harry be there?

"Off we go!"

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Sora was again floating through the tunnel toward the light. He looked forward and his eyes widened in shocked happiness, seeing Kairi ahead of him, smiling at him.

"Sora," she called.

"Kairi!" He was so relieved! She was safe and that meant Harry had to be at the Graveyard, though how without the Lich, he was sure it was truly gone. He floated closer to her, grabbing her hands in his. "I found you!"

She giggled and they flew through the tunnel together. "You see? I had no doubts that you'd pull through."

"The light in the darkness. It was you. You're the one who kept me from fading away."

She shook her head. "All I did was believe that you wouldn't."

"I feel strong with you, Kairi," he smiled at her.

She smiled to herself and grabbed his hand. "The others are ahead. Come on."

They flew toward the light at the end of the tunnel and Sora remembered the powers of Rapunzel, Elsa, and Anna, all because of love.

"I told you, Sora. You're safe with me."

He grinned. "Yeah." Was this how they had felt when saving the ones they loved?

They flew into the light hand-in-hand until the world turned white. Not a second later, Sora felt the earth beneath his feet and they returned to the Keyblade Graveyard.

"You okay?" She still held onto his hand, and he nodded.

"Yeah. Thanks, Kairi." He looks around, seeing the rest of them safe and sound. "It DID work."

"Of course!" Donald called.

"Now point us back at those guys!" Goofy raised his shield.

"Right!" he grinned but then paused, looking the group over, seeing Riku and Ven searching… "Where's Harry?"

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He floated in an endless void, body limp, eyes closed. Galaxies swirled around, stars forming and dying, time and space passing but he remained utterly unaware of it all.

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Riku looked around, everyone was…Harry, where was Harry? He blinked and shook his head, feeling strange for a moment. He looked to Aqua and Ventus, the three of them had left together on their gliders, but they looked just as confused.

"He…he was here, right here," Ventus' eyes were wide.

The memories of their first time in the Graveyard were fading away, preserving time as always happened with time travel.

"Gawrsh, did he scout ahead?" Goofy suggested.

Riku followed as they headed into the rocks, something was wrong, but what?

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Slowly, he came to rest on rock, lying still, chest moving slowly with breath despite the lack of obvious atmosphere. A figure slowly approached, looking him over, before settling in to wait. There was no rush.

An eternity and only an instant passed and then green eyes slowly opened.

TBC…