Title: Kingdom Hearts: The Swan Prince

Author: OceanSurferGirl (ToriaPhoenix)

Rating: PG-PG13

Summary: As Prince Sora's impending wedding approaches to Princess Kairi, an evil sorcerer who wants to rule the kingdom abducts the Prince, and casts a powerful spell over him. With his time running out, there's only one who can save him. AU Slash. SoraRiku, AxelRoxas, Some Leon/Cloud.

Pairings: It starts off with a little Sora/Kairi, but ends with Sora/Riku, and a little bit of Axel/Roxas and Leon/Cloud along the way. That means eventual yaoi! BE WARNED!

A/N- THIS IS IT! Final chapter. I ended up condensing the last two chapters into one… but hopefully you'll enjoy it! Thanks for sticking with me guys… I loved writing this, and I hope you loved reading it.

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Riku blinked tiredly as he woke up, yawning as he stretched. His back ached from lying awkwardly against a tree, and there was a strange warmth draped on his arm. Glancing over, he was startled into awareness as he caught site of white feathers protruding from a small animal in his arms. A swan.

"Sora?" Riku whispered questioningly. The white bird ruffled its feathers, blinking confusedly. Riku was forced to let go as the bird flew out of his arms, and tilted his head down to look at himself. Riku swallowed when he realized that even as a swan, Sora still had his beautiful blue eyes.

"Hey you." He murmured, reaching out a hand to stroke a soft white-feathered head. The bird flinched, and ducked its head ashamedly as it made a soft whining sound.

Riku frowned. "Sora… it's… it's okay. We're going to fix this, okay?" Sora whined again, and nuzzled its head into Riku's arm.

"What time is it anyway?" Riku glanced up at the sky, and his eyes widened as he noted the position of the sun. "Sora! It's past noon! I have to leave now so I can get back by sunset!" Sora trembled, and Riku reluctantly pulled away.

"I promise I'll be back…" He glanced at Sora, and smiled gently. Standing, he walked over to his horse, and untied the creature before turning back to glance at the white bird. "It's funny…" He whispered. "Even as a swan, you're still utterly gorgeous."

Knowing he would not receive a response, Riku jumped on his horse and galloped away, urging the horse to a medium paced speed. It wouldn't do any good to wear out his horse before he got even half way home.

Two and a half hours of riding later, (with minimal short breaks for the horse to rest), Riku finally caught the barest glimpse of his family's home through the trees, still a fair distance away. Riku dug his heels into the horses' side, praying that he could get help quickly. It was nearly half past three, and the sun would set around 7:00; Riku would barely have time to ready another horse and prepare for battle before having to leave again.

The world passed by him in a dizzy rush, and Riku found himself breathless as he galloped through the castle gates, straight back to the stable. He was unsurprised to see Leon, silently beating the tar out of a nearby practice hay bale.

"LEON!"

The brunette whirled around, dark shadows under his eyes.

"Riku? Where have you been? Mom was sick with worry! Really, after what happened with Sora and… and Cloud-" His voice cracked. "How could you be so inconsiderate-"

"LEON!" Riku interrupted loudly, eyeing the sun worriedly. "We have to leave now!"

Leon tensed. "Why? What's going on?" But Riku was already grabbing his arm, and dragging him to the weapon chest of the training area. Clumsily, he grabbed a sword and a holder, along with a shield, and bow and arrows.

"Sora." Riku managed breathlessly, thrusting weapons and shields in Leon's arms.

"What about him?"

Riku paused, and turned to face his brother. "I found him." He murmured quietly.

Leon paled, and his grip around the sword he was holding tightened.

"Ansem?" The one word was filled with anger, clipped and ragged.

Riku nodded. "He's the one holding Sora captive. We have to get back there by sunset, or he'll kill Sora."

Leon swore. "Then let's go!" The brunette raced towards the stables to ready two horses.

"What about the guards? Shouldn't we bring them?"

Leon scarcely glanced back as he replied. "No. They'll only slow us down. Besides- you and I are the best fighters on Destiny Island. We'll be fine."

Riku nodded, mounting a new horse, and urging it towards the gates.

"We have to hurry."

- - - - -

If he could have cried, Sora the swan would have cried. The sun was setting, and Riku was nowhere to be seen… He was going to die. A soft rustling from the bushes caused the swans' head to jerk to the side. He was disappointed when a blond emerged from the bushes, instead of the stunning silver-haired boy.

"Hey Sora. He'll be here… don't worry." Roxas tightened his fists, glaring determinedly into the forest. "If they don't make it… I'll fight Ansem. I won't let you die Sora…" Sora attempted to shake his head, but it was to no avail. Roxas had disappeared again.

The fact was, Sora did worry. More specifically, he worried about Riku. His last words to Sora lingered in the younger boys head, confusion and excitement swirling in his heart as a result. But why? Why would Riku's words have such an effect on him?

'You love him.'

Sora jerked, and the water that he was floating on rippled as a result.

'No.' Sora protested weakly to the other little voice in his head. 'But… how? Oh God… All this time...' The sudden realization caused Sora's heart to churn in fear.

The sudden feeling of the water swirling around him distracted him from his inner arguing.

He was human.

"No…" Sora whispered, staring at the moon above his head, slowly making his way towards the shore. The sudden reality that he was going to die made his heart pump furiously as he reached land, and the forest around him suddenly became a blur as hot tears clouded his vision.

"Hello Little Prince." A hissing voice echoed from the shadows. A muffled sob escaped Sora's lips. It was time…

"Now now," Ansem emerged from the shadows, smirking at the boy. "No need to cry Little Prince. You have a chance to live, you know. Your last chance, in fact. So, for the final time; will you marry me?"

Sora sobbed again. Were he thinking rationally, he could've told Ansem yes, and stalled until Riku's arrival… then again, he didn't doubt Ansem would force him into the ceremony right then and there. Either way, Sora wasn't thinking rationally.

Ansem raised an eyebrow. "You try my patience. Decide." He said silkily, voice hardening.

Then, through the cutting silence came a weak reply. "No." Sora choked out, gasping desperately for breath as panic overtook him. His body screamed at him to run, hide, anything, but all he could do was stare in horror as Ansem edged closer and closer, a silver blade in his hand glinting slightly in the moonlight.

Then there was pain. Sora screamed as tears descended his face, shaking from the excruciating throbbing from the stab wound right below Sora's heart.

"NO!" The scream was not his own, and as Sora fell dizzily to the ground, he realized dully that Riku had arrived.

'Too late…' He thought hopelessly, vision succumbing to blackness.

- - - - -

"SORA!" Riku screamed, watching as the boy fell soundlessly to the ground, blood staining his white tunic. "NO!" He shrieked, running over to the body. Ansem laughed cruelly.

"My my, this is just to perfect. You must be the Prince Riku that Sora is constantly thinking about. I've been keeping track of his thoughts, to ensure his cooperation. As you can see, it hasn't worked out." Ansem smirked, gesturing to the unconscious body on the ground. "You must be the same little brat who protected Sora the first time around, hmm? Well this makes for a delightful ending to our tale, doesn't it?" Ansem raised his dagger to plunge it into Riku's chest, when yet another scream echoed through the forest.

"NO!" A small blond emerged from the forest, leaping in the way of Ansem's slashing knife. It barely grazed his shoulder, but the boy hissed as a thin line of blood became apparent through his dirty off-white shirt.

"Roxas." Ansem hissed. "Get out of my way."

"No." The blond replied through gritted teeth.

Ansem paused, before shrugging coolly. "Very well." Then, in one swift motion, Ansem transformed into a huge dragon, his tail swinging around to knock Roxas into a tree, hard enough to render the boy unconscious.

"ROXAS!" Another voice shouted, and Riku watched as a redhead appeared from the trees as well, and cradled the blond in his arms. "Ansem, you BASTARD!" The man cried.

"Axel…" The dragon hissed. "I am most disappointed in you. I shall deal with you two later. For now though…" The dragon darted down to slash a claw into Riku's chest, but the sudden sound of an arrow rushing through the air halted everything.

The dragon screeched angrily as an arrow pierced his chest, just to the side of his heart. Not waiting for a recovery, Leon darted out of the bushes, sword reared, and ready for battle. The dragon screeched again as Leon plunged his sword into the dragons' lower belly several times.

Axel began chanting something under his breath, and Leon barely had time to jump back as flames engulfed the dragon. The sound of its angry shrieks filled the air, and Leon only felt a brief satisfaction as the dragon crumpled to the ground, dead. Axel chanted again, and the fire extinguished, the sickening smell of burnt skin wafting through the air.

Leon fell to his knees, emotionlessly. He had helped avenge Clouds death. Then why did he feel so empty?

Riku, in the mean time, was not fairing much better.

"Sora… Sora, please wake up!" Riku whispered pleadingly, holding the small body tightly.

"Riku?" A soft voice whimpered. Riku glanced down, and gasped as baby blue eyes stared back at him.

"Oh God Sora… This is my fault… I didn't get here soon enough…"

Sora shook his head. "Not your fault…" the brunet slurred, speech altered from the pleasant numbness creeping over his body. Riku sobbed as the brunet fought to stay awake. "Riku… I'm sorry… I can't hold on…"

"NO! Sora, you have too… We have to get you help!"

"Hurts so much…"

"Sora… please, stay with me!"

"I… I love you Riku."

Riku froze. "What?" He demanded, voice cracking. But the body in his arms was limp… Sora was… "NO!" He shrieked, holding the body tightly to him. "SORA! Stay with me… I love you, I love you so much… please don't leave!"

Riku pulled away so he could see Sora's face, then leaned in and kissed him desperately. His tears dripped onto Sora's face, down the brunets' neck, and onto… his necklace. Riku pulled away, and only sobbed harder when nothing happened. He didn't notice when the key-shaped necklace began to glow, ever so slightly. Didn't notice when the wound beneath Sora's heart slowly began to close up. Didn't notice as blue eyes blinked, and a sharp breath was taken.

Riku did notice, however, when a pair of lips pressed heatedly against his own. Eyes widening, Riku pulled away.

"Sora?" He asked shakily

Sora smiled shyly. "The one and only."

"But… but how?" Riku stammered. "You were dead…"

Sora shrugged. "Your guess is as good as mine. But I think the combination of true loves kiss, as well as a magical necklace had something to do with it." An awkward pause. "Did… did you mean it?"

"Mean what?" Riku replied, tightening his grip around the brunet in his arms.

"You love me?"

Riku exhaled sharply. "More then anything in the world Sora. I… I've loved you for a very, very long time."

Sora grinned, even as hot tears rolled down his cheeks, this time out of happiness rather then hopelessness. "I love you too Riku." The brunet whispered, leaning in to kiss Riku softly. Riku moaned, and deepened the kiss, causing Sora to squeak in surprise. And for just a moment, everything was perfect.

- - - -

Leon buried his face in his arm, even as the tears rolled down his cheeks. He had killed Ansem, so what now? Now he had nothing to distract him from the emptiness that Clouds death had left him with.

"Hey stranger." A soft voice whispered from behind the brunet. Leon stiffened, and slowly turned around to face the oh-so-familiar voice.

And there was Cloud. He looked… perfect. He was smiling softly at Leon, and he seemed to have an unearthly glow to him…

"Cloud?" Leon whispered, scarcely daring to breath.

The ghostly figure nodded. "It's me Leon."

"How?"

"When Ansem stabbed me, my soul was trapped. Dark magic kept me from moving on… but since it means that I get to see you one last time, I'm glad."

Leon let out a shuddering breath. "So you're still…"

"Dead?" Cloud smiled wryly. "Unfortunately." The smile on his lips died when he caught site of the anguish in Leon's eyes.

"Leon…" He began, much more seriously. "I love you. I will always love you. No matter where my soul goes, nothing will ever change that… but you can't live like this. I don't want it for you… I love you, and I want you to be happy… please… let me go?"

Leon stifled a sob. "How can I?" He forced out hoarsely. "Cloud, I love you. How can I get over that?"

"You don't." Cloud smiled sadly. "You hold onto that, and remember how much I would want you to keep living, and know that we'll see each other again someday."

Leon sighed tremblingly. "Can I just… Can I kiss you? One last time?"

Cloud closed his eyes tightly. "I wish you could…" He whispered. "I'm a ghost Leon. I don't have physical lips to kiss with. It's not fair… is it?"

Leon chose to shake his head wordlessly.

"I love you Leon. Keep living… for me? Do all the things I never will. But… don't be sad. Be happy that we had a chance to fall in love at all… there's no one else I've ever loved as deeply as I have you."

"I love you Cloud." Leon whispered.

"And I you… I'm being pulled away Leon. I have to go. Don't be sad, okay? Mourn me, then move on." Cloud cracked a smile. "Take care of yourself… and Sora, if you can. Tell him I love him. And Leon? I'll meet you again in our next lives…"

Leon managed a smile, even as Cloud began fading. "Bye." He whispered.

"Good bye…" The soft echoes of Clouds voice faded, and the shining form disappeared.

"I will always love you." Leon whispered to the sky.

- - - - - -

"Roxy? You okay?"

The blond moaned, and blinked to clear the blurriness away from his vision. "Ow… my head."

Axel scowled. "That's what you get for trying to be all heroic. Why'd you do that Roxas? You could've died."

The blond sat up sharply, ignoring the dizzy rush that suddenly overcame him. "Oh so you'd prefer I let Riku and Sora die? Would that have been a fair trade?"

Axel growled. "YES!" Roxas glared at him. "I mean... uh… I just don't want to lose you Roxy."

"Why?"

"Are you really that oblivious?" Roxas scowled, and opened his mouth to make a sarcastic reply, but suddenly was cut off by the feeling of warm, demanding lips pressing insistently against his own. Roxas smirked against Axel's lips, and kissed back.

And despite the fact that they had no home, no family, they had each other. And that was even better.

- - - - -

"Yeesh Riku, KEEP UP!" Sora called over his shoulder, grinning as he raced across the sand, the sun and breeze feeling heavenly on his bronzed skin.

"Maybe you should slow down!" The silver haired male replied in mock annoyance, matching Sora's pace until he had caught up with the brunet.

Sora merely laughed, and shook his head wildly. Life was wonderful.

After Riku and Leon had successfully rescued the young Prince, his parents were immediately informed, and had rushed to Destiny Islands to be reunited with their baby son. The tears shed that day were of relief, and joy beyond compare at finding the small Prince alive.

With Ansem's death, Donald and Goofy had transformed back into their natural forms, which turned out to be a duck, and what appeared to be a large looking dog. The pair had given a warm goodbye to the brunet, before heading back to the life they had been forced apart from so long ago.

Axel and Roxas had snuck off the very night of the battle, only giving Sora the smallest opportunity to hug the blond goodbye. Roxas had merely smiled, and assured him that they would see each other again.

Leon, though still grieving, was in much better spirits then he was before Ansem's death. He seemed to have found new resolve to live, a fact that Sora cherished, for Leon had become something of an older brother to him. Leon seemed equally protective of him, and constantly threatened Riku to keep an eye on him (a fact that Sora would have resented had it been anyone but Riku.) Kairi, having been informed of Sora's rescue, (and of his and Riku's… relationship) had simply written a glowing letter, that essentially said she was glad he was safe and happy.

As for Sora? The brunet grinned as he raced across the rickety old wooden bridge, onto the small island Riku had shown him a few years before. The older male seemed just as excited and enthused as the younger, though his excitement was hidden behind sparkling aqua eyes.

"Here we are." Sora chirped, smiling lightly at Riku, the atmosphere becoming a little more serious then before.

"Finally." Riku replied softly, plucking a star shaped fruit from the tree. Offering it to Sora, the brunet took a bite without any hesitation. Passing it back to the silver haired male, Sora blushed as Riku bit into the fruit, eye contact never wavering.

Then… it was done.

The pair smiled at each other, content to enjoy the silence.

"Hey… um… Riku?" The silence shattered.

"Yeah Sora?"

"I don't feel any different."

"What?"

Sora blushed brightly. "I just… expected more I guess?"

Riku snorted, and yanked the brunet to him. Mashing his lips up against the brunets, Riku nibbled on the younger boys bottom lip, and relished in the blissful moan that escaped Sora's mouth.

"How's that for more?" Riku asked huskily.

Sora made a soft sound of agreement, before burying his head into Riku's chest, the pairs arms wrapped around each other tightly. "So does this mean we're connected forever now?"

Riku laughed, nuzzling his nose against Sora's neck. "We didn't need a piece of fruit to connect us Sora… I'm always going to be in love you, and nothing will change that."

Sora smiled as he felt their hearts beating perfectly in sync.

"Forever." He murmured, breathing in the older males scent.

Riku sighed, and gently pulled away. "No Sora." Bright green eyes stared into beautiful sapphire ones. "Much, much longer then that."

Sora simply grinned, and leaned up to press his lips fervently against Riku's.

- - - -

A/N- Wowwwwwwwww. It's over. I'm sorry for the long delay, and for how choppy it's been. Thanks for sticking with me! REVIEW!