Kingdom Hearts II Vol 2 Page 16

  A knot of something he could barely define swelled in his chest. Clinging to that hand, to Riku’s hand, Sora fell to his knees.

  “I was looking for you…!” Tears spilled over and flowed down his cheeks as he pressed Riku’s hand against his face.

  How long had he been searching? How badly had he wanted to see Riku, to talk to him again?

  And Riku was here. Here at last.

  I found you. Finally. I missed you. I’ve missed you for so long…

  They’d been separated on Destiny Island, then they ended up fighting, and then they’d gone through that door together from opposite sides…and he’d been searching, searching for Riku all the while.

  “C’mon, Sora,” Riku chided him lightly. “Keep it together.”

  He looked up, his sight blurred with tears, into the face that wasn’t Riku’s. It was Ansem’s—no, Xehanort’s face. But there was no doubt. He felt Riku’s presence through their clasped hands.

  “I looked everywhere for you…!”

  Riku stared down at Sora, still kneeling, still clutching his hand. “I didn’t want you to find me.”

  Stung, Sora lowered his eyes again.

  “But it was him helpin’ us all along, wasn’t it?” Goofy said cheerfully.

  Baffled, Donald cocked his head. “Quack?!”

  “Y’know, all those clues we kept findin’. The photo and the sea-salt ice cream… I bet it was Riku.” Goofy watched him for a reaction.

  The photo, the ice cream… And that probably wasn’t all, Sora thought. I felt Riku in the Land of Dragons and in the Beast’s castle.

  I could feel him all along. But I was never sure of it.

  For so long, I didn’t know if he was alive, if I’d get to see him again.

  “I was starting to worry you guys would never catch on,” Riku said with a touch of amusement. “Even with all my hints, it was still you three, after all…”

  “What’s that s’posed to mean?!” Donald protested.

  Sora got to his feet and blurted, “But why didn’t you let me know you were okay?!”

  Riku averted his eyes, unable to meet the demanding stare Sora fixed on him. “…I told you. I didn’t want you to see me. Not…like this.” He looked down at his open hands. “I fought Ansem’s—or Xehanort’s darkness when it invaded my heart. And I won. But to use the power of that darkness, I had to become him myself…”

  “Does that mean you can’t change back?” Kairi asked cautiously.

  “This fight isn’t over yet,” said Riku. “Until it is, I still need the power of darkness.”

  “Then let’s finish it!” Sora’s voice was full of determination. He flashed a smile at his friend in a different form. “You’re still Riku, no matter what.”

  It doesn’t matter what he looks like. Riku is okay. I’m so glad he’s okay. And I found him again.

  More tears were welling up in his eyes. Trying not to let Riku notice, he turned to Donald and Goofy. “So, how ’bout it? Are we ready for one last rumble together? The king’s waiting!”

  “Yeah!” Donald agreed a bit louder than necessary. “Let’s get going!”

  “…Thank goodness,” Naminé murmured weakly, her hand at her chest.

  It was getting hard to breathe. Her right hand looked hazy.

  Naminé stood high above Sora and the others from where King Mickey and Ansem the Wise had just been.

  Sora and Riku had found each other. With those two fighting side by side, there was nothing to be afraid of.

  “I wonder if Roxas really managed to find his way back into Sora…”

  She turned to Pluto beside her, staring up at her with what could only be worry.

  When a Nobody meets their somebody…that Nobody will disappear.

  But not really—they just go back to the place they belong.

  Axel must have returned somewhere when he disappeared.

  I hope…I hope Roxas is there, too.

  But it was an impossible wish.

  Pluto whined anxiously at her.

  “It’s okay. I’m not afraid.” She knelt down and hugged Pluto tight.

  I think…there’s still something I have to do.

  Then Naminé walked away.

  CHAPTER 5

  WAY TO THE DAWN

  THE HEARTS KEPT FLOATING UP TO THE SKY, where they joined with Kingdom Hearts—all the hearts from the Heartless that Sora and his friends had eliminated.

  With every fallen Heartless, Kingdom Hearts only glowed brighter over the strange realm.

  Reaching a balcony in the back of the castle, King Mickey and Ansem the Wise raised their eyes to the shining heart-shaped moon. There was only emptiness here between them and its light and nothing else to illuminate them.

  “This place should do.” Ansem set down the huge device he carried.

  “So what’s that gadget for?” asked the king.

  “It’s a device to absorb Kingdom Hearts and encode it as data.” He examined his enormous target again.

  Puzzled, King Mickey turned to the device. “Gee, I’m…not sure I get it.”

  “I can’t claim to know the outcome of this venture, either. We are dealing with hearts, after all—unpredictable at best.” Ansem aimed the end of the device at Kingdom Hearts.

  The one great heart—Kingdom Hearts.

  But what was a heart?

  For all that, I never did find the answer, Ansem thought.

  When a person’s heart was taken from them, a Heartless was created, a thing with no sense of self, while the body and soul left behind would become the makings of a Nobody.

  But what if someone deliberately released their heart from their body through the strength of will alone? Sora and Xehanort had managed to retain their selfhood even after becoming Heartless.

  Plus, there were Kairi and Naminé to consider. Unlike most, Kairi had harbored no darkness within her heart. Not only that, once her heart had been freed, it had migrated to a new vessel—Sora. Two abnormalities in one person, both theoretically impossible.

  And yet, the existence of the heart itself was an impossible irregularity to begin with, exactly what Ansem’s theories could not explain. The heart—and Kingdom Hearts.

  The best we can do is to surmise the gist of it, he thought. And this device, which I only made based on that guesswork—how much effect will it have?

  Ansem switched on the device, and light streaked from it toward Kingdom Hearts.

  Sora could see the beam stretching up toward the great moon. “What’s that?”

  “The king and DiZ—I mean, Ansem the Wise. They must be higher up,” said Riku. “Let’s hurry.”

  With a nod, Sora kept going.

  He had never imagined that just being with Riku—fighting alongside him—would give him so much strength. He’d hoped and wished that he would be able to reunite with Riku and have him as an ally, and yet he hadn’t expected that desire to come true. Riku didn’t look like himself now—but it didn’t matter. Sora was so glad to be near him again.

  “Let’s go!” A little bashful for some reason, he broke into a run.

  Riku and the others moved to do the same. But darkness rose in the air between them.

  Instinctively, Sora whipped around and found himself face-to-face with another organization member.

  Luxord raised his hand, and a barrier of enormous cards materialized to cut him off from his friends.

  “You!” Sora had the Keyblade in his hand. He’d be fighting alone.

  “Let’s make this quick.” Luxord smirked, and more cards whirled and scattered, hiding him.

  Sora couldn’t tell where he was. “That’s not fair!” He slashed through the cards one after another, splitting them in half, but couldn’t reach Luxord.

  “Sora!” he could hear Riku calling from beyond the wall.

  “Riku! What should I do?”

  “Reality isn’t only what you can see with your eyes,” said Riku. “Feel out the truth. I know you can.”

  Sora c
losed his eyes.

  If he believed only in what his vision showed him, he would never have found Riku. He wouldn’t have known it was Riku.

  So, if Riku said he could…then he could do it. He could discern what was real.

  “There!” Sora jumped up and brought the Keyblade down on one particular card. And behind that card was something of substance to strike.

  “Roxas… How could you…?” Luxord grated, collapsing to his knees.

  “That’s Sora!” he snapped as the cards trapping Riku and the others dissolved into dark mist—and so did Luxord himself.

  Why do they keep calling me Roxas…? Sora mentally complained.

  “You okay?” said Kairi, a bit anxious for him.

  “Yeah! No worries.” Sora gave her a grin. “C’mon, let’s keep moving.”

  Donald and Goofy exchanged a look. “Gawrsh, Sora’s kinda…showin’ off, don’t ya think?” Goofy remarked.

  Arms crossed, Donald nodded. “Yeah. For Riku and Kairi.”

  “Hey!” Sora twisted his body around. “I can hear you guys!”

  As Donald and Goofy jumped, Riku and Kairi shared a look and chuckled.

  They fought their way through a never-ending torrent of Heartless.

  “Should we really destroy all these Heartless…?” Goofy said with a sigh.

  “If we don’t, they’ll cut us down.” Riku slashed through the ones in front of him with Soul Eater, forging ahead. “We’ve got to keep going.”

  They reached a passageway where the great heart-shaped moon shone down on them.

  They couldn’t help but stare up at Kingdom Hearts.

  “Just believe in yourself. Don’t give up.”

  When Kairi’s encouraging murmur reached Sora’s ears, he realized something and asked her, “Say, Kairi… Where’d you get that Keyblade?”

  “Huh…?” She looked down at the weapon in her hand, then up at Riku.

  But Riku gave a tiny shake of his head as if he didn’t quite know, either.

  “So now Kairi and the king have Keyblades, too, not just Sora,” said Goofy.

  “What, we aren’t cool enough?” Donald edged closer to Kairi, squinting at her key.

  Goofy smiled helplessly.

  “What is the Keyblade, though, really?” Sora wondered.

  “A key, wielded by a chosen one… Nothing more.”

  With that, Saïx appeared.

  Kairi was the first to ready her Keyblade. “It’s you…!” she said with audible resentment.

  Sora glanced at her before fixing his attention on Saïx and readying himself for combat. “You—you’re the one who kidnapped Kairi!”

  “Hmph. Well, only you could have made it this far in one piece, Roxas.”

  “You know, that’s getting really old!”

  As Sora nearly lost his cool, Donald and Goofy jumped out in front of him, defending their friend. “Yeah! This is Sora!” Donald aimed his wand at Saïx.

  “Different name, same fate.” Saïx gripped the enormous Claymore and swung it faster than their eyes could follow. It whipped up a stinging gale that tore through the hall, past the trio to assail the other two.

  “Kairi!” Riku wrapped her in an embrace to shield her from the wind—which was fierce enough to hurl them back out of the passage.

  “Sora?!” Kairi called.

  “Leave it to us!” Sora replied. He rushed at Saïx with Donald and Goofy right behind him. “You’re gonna pay for what you did to Kairi!”

  His Keyblade clashed against the Claymore.

  “Thundaga!” Donald’s spell struck from above.

  Saïx swiftly knocked aside the Keyblade and blocked the lightning spell. “So…you are not just Roxas.”

  He spread his arms as if to gather up the light from Kingdom Hearts. His long blue hair stood on end, and a dull glow surrounded him.

  “Now what?!” Sora cried.

  The Claymore gleamed in the moonlight as Saïx struck at him—and with far more power than before.

  “Ngh…!” Sora winced.

  “Hold on, Sora!” Goofy slammed himself into Saïx’s back.

  Slowly, Saïx turned around. “All shall be lost to you!” he roared, whirling the Claymore to hurl Goofy away, and then charged Donald before he could finish his spell.

  “Wak!”

  “Goofy! Donald!” Sora ran to the mage collapsed on the floor, and gave him a potion before helping him up.

  Meanwhile, Goofy was already back on his feet to confront Saïx again.

  “C’mon, Donald!” Sora rushed Saïx again, knocking him into the air with an upward sweep, and then Goofy rammed him.

  Saïx soared higher still and regained his balance in midair—but Donald hit him squarely in the chest with a powerful “Firaga!”

  It blasted Saïx into the wall. Motionless, he dropped to the floor.

  “Got ’im!” Sora and Donald hugged, but Saïx dragged himself upright and raised his eyes to the sky.

  “No… Kingdom Hearts…” He opened his arms, bathed in the moonlight. “Where is my heart…?”

  He dissolved into dark mist and faded from existence.

  “Nothing less from the Keyblade wielder and the king’s finest,” Riku said after watching the battle, stepping cautiously toward them. Behind him, Kairi nodded.

  Gazing at Riku, Sora asked the question that had been on his mind for a while now. “So…why are they all calling me Roxas?”

  Riku blinked and rolled his eyes up toward the heart-shaped moon.

  “You know why, Riku, don’t you?” Sora pressed.

  “Because, Sora…” Reluctantly, he brought his gaze back down to meet Sora’s. “Roxas is your Nobody.”

  “My…Nobody?” Sora sank into thought.

  Goofy folded his arms, too. “Isn’t a Nobody what’s left behind when someone loses their heart and turns into a Heartless?”

  “But, Sora, you’ve never— Wak?” Donald interrupted himself, cocking his head.

  “It was when you came to rescue me,” said Kairi, trying to give them a hint. “Remember?”

  When Sora had plunged the Keyblade into his own breast to free Kairi’s heart from inside him…he had become a Heartless himself.

  “That’s how Roxas came into being,” Riku explained. “Xemnas was the one who found him. He could use the Keyblade because he was your Nobody. So Xemnas took him into Organization XIII—but he betrayed them. And then I fought him because I thought it would help you wake up.”

  He closed his eyes as if a memory was coming back to him and shook his head.

  “Riku?” Sora peered at him uncertainly.

  “The first time, I lost. The second time, I made sure I was stronger.”

  “You…lost to him?”

  At that, Riku opened his eyes and nodded. “Maybe I didn’t need to fight him after all. I think he left the organization because…” He looked squarely at Sora. “…Because he really wanted to meet you.”

  “Roxas…” Sora’s gaze fell. “I wish I could meet him, too.”

  My own Nobody… Another me. Roxas.

  As he fell into thought, Riku stepped closer and placed a hand over Sora’s heart. “Roxas…”

  “Huh?” Sora covered Riku’s hand with his own. Here… He means Roxas is here?

  A joyful, warm smile spread on Sora’s face. He let go of Riku’s hand and looked toward the other end of the passageway.

  Watching them, Kairi rested a hand on her own heart.

  “All right. Let’s go,” said Riku.

  The others nodded in reply.

  At the entrance to the passage, Naminé never took her eyes off the scene, somewhat protectively.

  Roxas… You returned, didn’t you?

  She placed her hand to her chest like Kairi had done. Was there a heart? She could feel the beating of her physical heart. We Nobodies are alive.

  But like this place itself, it was an in-between existence, barely definable.

  I have to go back soon, too…

  To
where I can hear a warmer heartbeat.

  On the high balcony with a view of Kingdom Hearts, Ansem the Wise closely monitored the device as it worked. The ray linking it to the great moon twisted and trembled. He chuckled.

  “Ansem…?” King Mickey said tentatively.

  “Ah, my friend… So many years I’ve spent studying the workings of the heart, and yet in the end, it seems I haven’t learned a thing.” He shook his head, gazing up at Kingdom Hearts.

  “What d’ya mean?”

  “The process of encoding hearts into data can’t be predicted with calculations,” said Ansem. “The inhabitants of my simulated Twilight Town were data created from the hearts of real people. I was convinced that they would think and behave the way I’d envisioned—but I couldn’t have been more wrong. A heart is…so much more than any system could be.”

  The king folded his arms. He didn’t quite understand what the other Twilight Town was… But why would Hayner and his friends in the real Twilight Town have been so concerned with Sora? It was probably because of Roxas’s presence in the alternate Twilight Town.

  “I saw it when Roxas and Kairi crossed paths,” Ansem went on. “I knew… But I was too stubborn to accept it. I’ve always done that. I try to wrap my mind around what my heart already knows—and it goes awry.”

  The device, cradled in his arms, began humming ominously.

  “While I was trying to bring Sora back, I had so many plans in place. But once Sora was an acting force, they fell apart. All my research, all my designs amounted to nothing in the face of that one boy’s heart.”

  The droning from the device grew. Now it was vibrating.

  “Ansem—the machine!” King Mickey worried.

  “All the more proof that hearts cannot be contained by something so restrictive as data.” Finally looking away from Kingdom Hearts, Ansem focused on his friend. “Run now! This contraption may very well explode, and there’s no telling what might happen then!”

  “But—” Conflicted, the king lowered his eyes.

  And then they were no longer alone. “Your Majesty!”

  It was Sora and the gang, bounding up the steps to the balcony.

  “Sora…” Ansem turned to them. “The rest is up to you. And, Roxas—if by some chance you can hear me…I’m sorry.”