The group of five headed through the doorway back into the castle and found themselves in a graveyard of some sort. They all looked around and saw another door, just like the one they had just come out of. “C’mon, we have to go in there now,” Sora told the others. They nodded and began to walk towards the door. Sora hung back to talk to Lily.
“Sora, what’s going to happen to us?” she asked. “Are we ever going to get home?” “Of course!” Sora grinned at her. “We’ll be fine.” “That’s good,” Lily murmured. “You know, at first I was scared. But…now that you’re here, I’m not so afraid anymore.” She took his hand and gave it a squeeze before letting go. “I missed you, Sora.” Just then, Donald stuck his head around the door and squawked, “Let’s go, you two!”
“We’re coming, Donald,” Lily told him. Donald just seemed to notice that Sora and Lily were completely alone together and snickered. “Okaaay…” he said in a teasing voice before pulling his head back around the doorway. Lily laughed. “Well, he seems to be getting the wrong idea in his head. We better get going.” “Okay.” Sora chuckled too as they walked over to the door with Lily. “By the way… I missed you too.” He leaned over and shyly kissed her cheek. He pulled away quickly, however, both of them blushing madly.
Without another word, they headed through the door to meet the others. “Sooo… What kept you, hmm?” Donald asked slyly. “Just talking,” Sora said. “You’re both blushing,” Donald noted. “I bet you kissed.” Before Sora or Lily could even open their mouths, Riku said, “Donald, give it a rest. What they did or did not do is none of your business. I’m sure they did, but…” “Riku!” Lily punched his arm. He just laughed.
“All right, let’s go. Saix is waiting.” They set off down the curved hall in front of them, Lily and Sora’s blushes only now just starting to fade away. The huge windows in the wall showed the heart-shaped moon through them, its light illuminating the man who stood in front of it. He must have heard them coming, because he turned and faced them. Lily saw it was the same man who had spoken to her in her prison. He smirked. “Only you could have made it this far….Roxas.” “That’s really getting old!” Sora protested. Donald and Goofy stepped in front of him and flung their arms out. “Yeah! He’s Sora!” Donald told him.
The man named Saix just held up a huge pointy weapon. Its end looked like a point, but then he flicked it, and it spiraled out to reveal a gigantic spiked circle. He held it behind his back and said, “Different name, same fate.” He trust out the weapon and a ferocious gust of wind erupted, making everyone shield their face with their hands. Lily stood frozen as the wind roared toward her. Then Riku jumped in front of her and wrapped his arms around her small frame, the wind beating uselessly at his back, blowing them away from Sora, Donald, and Goofy.
A transparent purple wall flickered and vanished as Riku released his protective hold on Lily. Lily pressed a hand where nothing should have been, but the wall was there; her hand didn’t pass through air like it should have. They were trapped, and were forced to watch the battle from the sidelines instead of being on the frontlines, helping their friends.
~*~
It didn’t take long for Sora, Donald, and Goofy to beat Saix, but even so, Lily had red marks on her face from where her fingernails had dug into it while she was clutching it, terrified for the trio’s safety. She could’ve jumped up and down when Saix stepped back, breathing heavily, and dropped his weapon. He limped over to the window, looking up at the moon. “Why… Kingdom Hearts… Where is my heart?” He reached out for it as he faded away. And then he was gone.
The invisible wall disappeared and Riku and Lily walked up to Sora, Donald, and Goofy. “I don’t get it,” Sora said. “Why’s everybody calling me Roxas?” “Because, Sora,” Riku began. “Roxas is your Nobody.” “My…Nobody!” Sora exclaimed. “But that’s crazy! I never turned into a Heart…” His voice trailed away as a look of realization appeared on his face. “Oh, right.”
“It was when you came to rescue me and Kairi, remember?” Lily reminded him. Sora nodded. “Xemnas was the one who found Roxas,” Riku continued. “He could use the Keyblade because he was your Nobody. That’s why Xemnas brought him into the Organization – but Roxas betrayed them. After that, I fought him because I thought it would help you wake up. I lost, but the next time we met, I made sure I was the stronger one. Maybe I didn’t need to fight him after all. I think he left the Organization because…he really wanted to meet you.”
Sora, who had been staring at the ground, looked up, his eyes widening. “Roxas…” His expression turned sad as he looked back at the floor again. “I wish I could meet him too.” Riku stepped closer to him. Sora glanced up, and Riku pointed to his heart. Sora did the same, looking at his best friend questioningly. Riku nodded. Sora looked back down at his heart and placed his whole hand over it. “All right. Let’s go,” Riku said, turning away from Sora and setting off for the exit. The rest followed, and when they came back into the graveyard, they saw that the big, circle-shaped door that had been locked earlier was now open. They headed up the stairs.
~*~
As they finished the climb and came out onto a balcony, Sora cried, “Your Majesty!” A blond man in a red cloak with a machine that was radiating a beam of light connected to the moon, or as Saix had called it, “Kingdom Hearts,” was standing next to a familiar figure. Lily gasped. If she wasn’t mistaken, this was the little man who had helped her that day such a long time ago, and her first impression had been right. He was a mouse…and a king? The blond man turned and said, “Sora, the rest is up to you... And Roxas -” He turned back to his machine. “I doubt you can hear me – but… I am sorry.”
“Ansem!” the King exclaimed as the machine sparked dangerously. “My heart is telling me what I must do! Please allow me to do what is says!” “No!” As the King started forward, Riku grabbed his arm. “Riku!” The King looked surprised. “His heart’s decided,” Riku told him. “We can’t change that.” Suddenly, a portal opened and a silver-haired man with orange eyes stepped out. “I was wondering who would dare interfere with my Kingdom Hearts,” he said in a deep voice.
“And look – here you all are. How convenient for me.” He spotted the red-cloaked man. “Ansem the Wise…you look pathetic.” “Have your laugh. I deserve as much for failing to see you as the fool you are.” “Students do take after their teachers,” the man said. “Only a fool would be your apprentice. After all, none of this would have happened without you. You are the source of all Heartless.” He moved his arms in a circle to emphasize the point. “It was your research that inspired me to go further than you ever dared.”
“I admit…my disregard brought chaos to more worlds than one,” Ansem the Wise said. “But what were you seeking? You erased me from the world, only to take my name and continue research best left forgotten… Is this the answer you’ve been looking for?” “All that and more,” the man said. “I’m carrying on what you yourself began, and I’m creating a brand new world, one heart at a time. I thought you’d praise me, but all you ever do is hold me back. I understand though.
“Unlike me, you have a heart. And you’re powerless to control it. Consumed by the jealousy you felt by the student who surpassed you.” “Xehanort. Foolish apprentice of a foolish man,” Ansem said. “You have surpassed nothing - only proved how little we both know. We may profess to know the heart, but its essence is beyond our reach. We’re both ignorant – as oblivious as when we began… I’m afraid that any world you try to create… Any world of yours…would be an empire of ignorance. That is why you ad your creation are destined to fall!” He looked back to his machine, and then to Riku. “Riku, you know what to do!” Riku nodded. “King Mickey, my friend, forgive me! Farewell!”
And the machine radiated light, enveloping Ansem. Riku spun around to keep Sora, Donald, Goofy, King Mckey, and Lily from running forward. There was a bang, and the light shot up, forming a beam that ended in a wide, flat circle. Rings traveled up the beam, and Lily couln’t help but stare; it was rather pretty. Sparkles began to fly towards them. Riku straightened up and turned around as light rushed at them, blowing them backwards. Lily almost fell over, but Sora put a hand on her back to steady her just in time.
Next thing Lily knew, they were all sprawled out on the ground. She slowly got to her feet as Donald, Goofy, and King Mickey did the same. She glanced over at Sora, who was getting to his hands and knees. Then he looked up and said, “Riku?”
