A Serendipitous Key of Hope

Disclaimer: My imaginary lawyers tell me I do not own products owned by Disney, Masahi Kishimoto, anything from Shonen Jump, or Square Enix.

Keiichi: Sorry folks. No Omakey this time. Because this time, it's the main part of the chapter. This chapter will conclude the adventure of Yahiko, Konan and Nagato, but it won't let everything.

The XXXVI Keyhole: Birth By Sleep

No matter what happens, we're friends forever.

What I do, I do for friendship.

The three of us will always be one.

The sun kissed land opens into the fading daylight. In the largest opening of the desert terrain lies a collection of keys. But, these aren't just any keys. These weapons are Keyblades once wielded by former chosen wielders. With their demise, they rest as markings of their passing. Amidst the battlefield of thousands of lifeless keys, Nagato stands.

The forlorn wielder stares among all the keys around him. He takes a big glare remembering the stories he's been told about the war. This situation he has brought upon himself, he continues to play in his head how he could have avoided everything. How he could have saved his master, and ignored the lies that drew his heart to darkness.

As he ponders his decisions, he hears the footsteps of an approaching person. Looking to his right he sees Konan walking towards him. Her eyes show seriousness, letting him believe she already knows of what has happened.

She stops by him, a pregnant pause to look down. She says, in a serious tone, "I heard that the master was struck down."

Nagato pauses as well, before nodding to her beliefs. "Yes." Admitting it every time to himself is just one more sludge of poison to swallow. "When I returned home, I found that the master found out about the truth of Yahiko." Konan decides to file that mentally for later. "He was going to destroy him, but I stepped in to save him. I tried to protect Yahiko, and wounded the master. It was all a set up!"

This is where his voice becomes louder, more angrier. "Xehanort set the whole thing up: giving me these eyes, Yahiko finding out the truth, the Master attempting to kill him, and me fighting to save him…" He trembles. "All to awaken the darkness inside of me!"

He manages to calm himself down, turning to Konan to speak. As he does, the blue haired master keeps her eyes closed to listen. "Konan, I'm sorry for snapping at you back then. You were right. Both of you; I DID need to be watched! I did go astray, but no more! I will set things right, honor our master's memory, and destroy Xehanort. I won't let him hurt Yahiko or you any-" Konan raises a hand, stopping him right then and there.

Now it's her turn to speak. "What else is there to darkness besides anger and resentment?" Her eyes finally open, showing how disappointed she is. In him. "This isn't some silly sitcom cartoon where the character learns a lesson by making a mistake, and he's suddenly back to normal the next episode like he didn't learn a thing." She points to his heart. "Xehanort is feeding that fire called darkness inside of you by making you fight. The master is gone, that darkness is still inside of you, and no matter what you say, as long as you use it you'll go astray again. Nothing will change!" As she speaks, her words gain more emotion and heart.

"Tell me Nagato. Tell me HOW does that honor our master's memory?!" These words leave a lasting impression on Nagato's heart. His clenched fists loosen in response to her truths.

Before he could make a proper answer, someone else arrives. This time it's Yahiko, who also joins up with his compatriots. Konan's heart lifts with relief seeing him, and Nagato tenses slightly. The sullen eyes of the younger member gaze up upon his friends. "So, I learned the truth. Xehanort wants me to fight Vanitas, to make a sort of Kyeblade. The master tried to kill me the moment he realized the seriousness of it."

"Kyeblade?" asks Konan, completely in the dark.

"Yahiko, it's okay… The master's…he's…" Nagato tries to explain what happened, but Yahiko holds a hand up. It's like he understands.

"Xehanort split Vanitas from my heart to create the Kyeblade when we fuse back together." This sickens both of the older members. "I don't know what this thing is, but it scares me to death just thinking what's gonna happen to me."

Konan clutches her heart feeling the desperate fear in his voice. Nagato tries to cheer him up, by saying, "Relax man. We're here, and we can protect you."

Yahiko doesn't look convinced. He continues with, "I thought about ways to stop it, but in the end, I don't think it's possible. If we have to fight, and whatever happens happens… Please, just-"

"The three of us are friends, and we'll never be split apart!" As he speaks, Nagato's hand reaches his shoulder in an attempt to further ease his heart. Konan reaches out to caress his cheek.

But then, Yahiko pushes her hand aside lightly. He then forces himself away from Nagato's hand. As serious as the situation is, he says, "I'm asking you guys, as a friend, to put me down. Throw away any feelings you have of me, and kill me."

Nagato steps back agape towards his words. Konan couldn't fathom what he means. Even as a request, she could never. Her heart would never be able to live with it.

As all three take in those words, a tremendous gust blows. Before where Nagato originally faced, they see a lone man walking towards them. The Keyblades surrounding them an aisle, he grins. This man comes into further view, revealed as Xehanort. One more person comes out from behind him, Vanitas. The two stop meters away, forcing the trio to be on guard.

"Behold, the Keyblade Graveyard," he begins, stretching his arms wide. "These lifeless keys used to be full of power – united by the hearts of their masters." A fierce presence can be felt with his words. "On this barren soil Keyblades of light and darkness were locked in combat, as the great Keyblade War raged!

"Countless Keyblade wielders gave up their lives, all to gain control of one, ultimate key. And it will soon belong to me." He points ahead at the three, though his next word would signify who exactly he was talking about. "χ-blade!"

No longer wasting time, they slap their armor pieces. This transforms them into their Keyblade armor. With Keyblades in hand, they stare down Xehanort. "Three wielders: one who is barely a master, one who failed to be a master, and one who could only be PROTECTED by a master. Without Eraqus, you lot don't stand a chance. Just give me what I want, and atleast one of you can live."

Yahiko prepares to make the first strike, but Nagato pulls him back shouting, "NOT A CHANCE!" He rushes forward to attack, but as he inches near, the ground rises smacking him courtesy of Xehanort's magic.

More of the earth shifts towards the heavens into a peak, as Vanitas jumps down. He laughs releasing lightning bolts to blow Nagato off the mountain. Xehanort bats his golden eyes to the standing keys and summons Aeroga, causing the wind to gather the keys into a stream.

Upon landing Vanitas clashes with Yahiko, before kicking him back to dodge Konan's Triple Firaga. He sends his own fireballs at her, to which she easily deflects while giving Yahiko time to throw a missing Strike Raid. He jumps on of the Keyblades in the stream and surfs on it. Though he redirects the stream itself to attack them, only Konan manages to escape unharmed. However, she unfortunately gets blistered by a second stream hitting her from above. She hits the ground painfully, her helmet destroyed and removed.

Yahiko goes over to her to see if she's okay. "I'm fine. The armor and cape protected me."

"But, you're bleeding!"

The key stream rises up to where Nagato is, who has to jump to avoid getting hit. He sees the stream coming down at him. "Nagato!" Konan raises her Keyblade and fires a spell at Nagato. This spell turns into Reflectga, protecting him from the massive stream of keys that send him skyward. The spell explodes, and he lands on the peak where Xehanort awaits him.

Yahiko sees Nagato's landing and rushes up. Konan tries to stop him, but has to pause to use Curaga on herself from the possible concussion she suffered.

Up top, Nagato charges in and strikes Xehanort, who blocks using his ancient Keyblade. He blocks again throwing Nagato's balance off, before unleashing a Firaja spell that makes severe damage to his armor. The younger swordsman rolls backwards in pain, realizing he used his right hand to take the brunt of the damage.

Their eyes focus on eachother. But, then something sudden happens. He disappears in an afterimage, dodging a strike to the cranium by Yahiko. But the armor fledgling gets gripped from behind by Xehanort, dangling in the air trying to get free.

"Yahiko!" The key stream returns to pummel Nagato without warning or mercy, sending him off the cliff into the badlands below. He cries out in intense pain falling down below. Vanitas lands from it on the same level as Xehanort.

Said bald man's grip tightens around Yahiko's helmet, which cracks, as he lifts him over the gaping lower levels of the mountainous top. Konan looks up seeing this, and, to her horror, sees Yahiko frozen solid. He drops him down below.

Not taking any chances, Konan summons paper wings using ninjitsu to fly up and catch him, but not before he hits a pillar with his helmet. She then lands safely down below, staring into his still moving eyes. "Yahiko! Are you okay?!" She asks with utmost concern.

He'd say something, but frozen. Konan takes him into her chest tightly, shivering from the cold. He groans out something along the lines of what is she doing, to which she tells him, "I'm going to help you regain your body temperature. If I use fire magic, you would shatter."

Xehanort from up above transforms his archaic Keyblade, into a sphere of dark energy. It fires skyward, altering the day into night; a blanket of blue overshadows all, and a body the shape of a heart shines down from above. Far, far away from the scene, one person rushes to the scene as fast as he could.

"Well, well, well, am I interrupting?" The two look aside to see a familiar man walking up to them. He wears a patch over that mess left by Nagato as his one eye focuses in on Konan and Yahiko. "Hate to tear a woman away from a stiff guy, but how about leaving him here for me?"

"Who the hell are you?" Konan question, already throwing away any kindness she would normally give a stranger. She can't help but feel something off about him and that golden eye of his.

"Braig. Nice to meetcha," he states with a grin. "I'd get your name, but you're not important. You're just a ploy in this whole plan for Nagato to go super emo darkness, and Yahicicle over there when he becomes the weapon."

"Shut up!" Yahiko shouts, getting back enough warmth to speak properly.

"Heh. That's a mean little look you got there! Almost makes you a full fledged Keyblade wielder." Braig continues his taunting, even as Konan lays Yahiko down. "Now about Christopher Loyd over there..."

"Go ahead and keep talking, driving us apart with your mind games." Konan summons her Keyblade, while becomes empowered and much more beautiful. "Nagato will never fall to the darkness, and I will NEVER let you hurt my Yahiko!"

"Your what?" Konan charges in and knees Braig in the blind spot, before he has a chance to respond properly.

Nagato recovers from the damage he's taken, removing his helmet while staring up. He summons his Keyblade Glider and flies to the top. Upon reaching the peak, he jumps down and recalls his broken armor, staring down the united forces of Vanitas and Xehanort.

"Ah, you've made it," says the elderly master with gruff and glee. He sounds like a father proud of his son's project. "I knew you would make it. I believed you would reach the prestige beyond the unseen wall dividing darkness and light." His wiggly fingers fling as his arms stretch out, adding: "AND I WAS NOT WRONG, NAGATO!"

The darkness within the Rinnegan burns around Nagato's hand, changing his Keyblade into the Chaos Ripper. He then asks, "What did you do to me? What did you do my friend Yahiko!?"

Xehanort chuckles. "I've been studying special worlds like the Elemental Nations for years. Chakra is not the same as Magic, but both have their uses. While you were with Jiraiya I was there looking into the Biju and a plan to utilize them for the better, and came upon an Uchiha Obito. Naturally I stole those Rinnegan eyes and with magic gave them to you.

"As for Yahiko, the poor boy didn't have it in him to measure up to such strenuous trials. So I, lifted some weight off his heart."

"You BASTARD!" Angry, Nagato lunges in to attack Xehanort, who resummons his Keyblade to block. With one hand he easily holds back Nagato, who is struggling with the old man.

Xehanort turns an eye over to Vanitas, who's just watching. "What are you waiting for?" he asks commandingly. "Go and retrieve what Yahiko owes you, and get rid of Konan too."

"Hey, I'm just waiting on you." Vanitas jumps down to where Konan and the others are.

"No!" Nagato ignores the old man to chase Vanitas. He gets cut off however by that same elderly master.

Xehanort then pushes Nagato back far. Though hurt, the fury within the poor boy is enough to let him stand once more. "First you take my master, and now you want my friends..." The darkness around him rises. "Was my master – No. Was my father, not enough?! YOU WILL DIE TODAY!"

"There we go. Only now will you realize that I have truly won..."

Down below, Konan is dominating Braig without mercy. Cornered, Braig throws his bowguns into another dimension and fires black shots from all directions.

Konan summons her paper wings and releases them into the air. As the arrows hit them, the slips of paper become enveloped in explosions, revealing they were explosive tags. This blinds Braig from seeing her any further. "Ah, damn it! Where is she?!"

"Over here." Her voice speaks to him from behind. Konan thrusts her Keyblade out jabbing him hard in the back of the head. She then uses Blizzaga, freezing his guns solid. He backs away in fear seeing her completely defeat him. She says, "Now, get out of here."

"Well, that's the end of that," he says with a nervous laugh. "I keep forgetting to never mess with Keyblade wielders, but I guess that means I made the right choice."

"What?" Yahiko says with confusion.

"He wanted to buy time, and he sure as hell got it." Braig takes off.

The blue haired master watches as he leaves, sighing with relief before turning to the boy of her heart. "Yahiko, how do you feel now?"

"A little...better..." he says, feeling his body warming up better. "It is my body after all..."

Konan then thinks back to what she said about him, a little embarrassed. "Yahiko, about what I said…I…"

He looks up and sees to his horror Vanitas coming down. "Konan, look out!" he screams.

She turns upward to see a blade coming down on her head. Blood spurts out from the wound as she falls backwards, the light in her eyes going away. Yahiko sees her completely unconscious, unable to move or defend herself from Vanitas' blade. The fear of losing her gets to him.

"No!" Light shines out from around Yahiko, lifting the frost on and around him in the air. The diamond mist covers him as he stands, screaming, "GET AWAY FROM HER!"

Feeling a powerful, overwhelming presence from Yahiko's spirit alone, Vanitas draws his blade away from the woman glaring at Yahiko. No longer frozen, he's standing tall and ready. His eyes flare with determination as he summons his Keyblade. Vanitas laughs before saying, "It's about time. Let's finish this."

In a speed of blinding light, they move forward clashing physical light with darkness. Yahiko jumps up high while raising his hands. "Tornado!" A heavy storm blows to draw in Vanitas. The dark Keyblade wielder throws a sphere to open a path, flying through the powerful winds.

"You think this is painful to me? I'll show you real hurt!" Vanitas slashes at Yahiko at the eye of the storm, only to hit an illusion. "What?!"

"You're gonna have to try harder than that, dummy!" He angrily kicks Vanitas to the ground before throwing Strike Raid. Vanitas prepares to deflect it, but Yahiko flies in over his sword and grabs it, before striking Vanitas in his stomach. "If you hadn't noticed, I WAS FROZEN TODAY!"

He then collects light energy around him before performing powerful flips and slashes via Ars Arcanum. Yahiko makes a flip slamming his foot in the side of Vanitas' skull, cracking his helmet. Vanitas rolls along the ground painfully before hitting the dirt. He has plenty of power left to spare, readying his strongest spell Faith incase he tries anything.

"You did it Yahiko." Yahiko looks down at his defeated dark half. He slowly stands with a shaky constitution. The mask's crack spreads further in response to his power, before shattering completely. "Now that my body is falling apart, you and I will have to join together! The χ-blade will be forged!"

"Your face..." Yahiko, as well as the world, gets to finally see Vanitas' face. He's a scruffy looking guy his age with golden eyes. His blackened, curly hair with green highlights and freckles. He looks rather familiar, to Yahiko. "Wait, I know you..."

Darkness expels from his shadow to circle him and Yahiko. Distracted by his facial recognition, this is just enough time for the Unversed Floods to shoot out of the darkness and pin him down.

This shocks Yahiko and stops him from using his spell. "What?! The Unversed!" All of a sudden, everything starts connecting together in a collage within his mind. "So that's what's going on; the Unversed come from you!"

"That's right!" More of the Unversed rise up from his shadow as he speaks. "Remember when we split apart? I don't what happened to you, but there was a void slowly being filled in my heart. The Unversed rose from my heart, as the negativity from within. A horde of fledgling emotions under my control, they are what I feel."

He points to Yahiko. "We needed a way to get you away from Eraqus and your girlfriend, and the Unversed were the perfect opponents. I released them into other worlds so you'd fight them and get stronger. And you know what's funny? With their destruction their negativity returns back to me and makes me stronger as well.

"You never stood a chance against us, Hiko-chan." The Unversed return within Vanitas as he connects to Yahiko, creating an explosion of light. This shatters the foundation Yahiko stands upon and blows away the knocked out Konan. Yahiko cries out as the light shoots to the heavens as a pillar.

Up top the pillar, Nagato is pushed to the ground by Xehanort, who is trying to enter his sword into his heart. Nagato draws on his Wayfinder's power and repels Xehanort, before slashing and knocking him aside. The aged master drops to his knees, feeling time catching up to his body. Nagato slowly walks over to finish the job.

That's when the pillar rises up behind him. "Ah! Look!" Nagato turns around to face whatever is in his blind spot, to see to his horror the forging of the χ-blade. "The χ-blade has been forged!"

"NO! Yahiko!"

"And now, for the final part of my plan!" Xehanort stands, revealing his facade of weakness, before impaling his chest. The nameless Keyblade unleashes a bright light from his body, which ends up being his heart. His Keyblade disappears as his heart flies up.

"What?!" Nagato looks back and sees this going on. "What are you doing?!"

"Out with the old, in with the new, that is a rather useful motto." Xehanort's body glows brightly as he speaks. "I had already tested this out twice before, and with the power you now possess you provide weaker resistance. I swore I would survive, to see what awaited beyond the Keyblade War." He points to Nagato. "And now, it is your darkness that will sustain me!"

His heart flies out towards Nagato. He quickly summons his armor, only a split second two late. Darkness enshrouds the armored Nagato, as Xehanort's body disperses into light. His protection falls off of him as he drops his Keyblade, now the Ends of the Earth, to the ground.

"This heart belongs again to darkness," 'Nagato' speaks, his voice being much gruffer and older. "All worlds begin in darkness, and all so end; the heart is no different. Darkness sprouts from it. It grows, consumes it! Such is its nature. In the end, every heart returns to the darkness whence it came!" Nagato walks over towards the location of where Yahiko and Konan were, grinning.

As he does, just before he could leave, a barrier of light forms over him as a dome. Energy chains can be seen within the barrier. "What?" Coming to a thought, he turns around. He then sees Nagato's armor kneeling before his Keyblade stabbed into the earth.

'Not yet.'

The nameless Keyblade appears in his hand. He angrily flares his golden eyes at the armor, Naganort unhappy with his mistake. "Your body submits, your heart succumbs – so why does your mind resist?!"

A cape billows from behind Nagato's armor, just before he slowly stands up. He draws his Keyblade from the earth facing his opponent.

Elsewhere…

"Gosh. I hope you're okay," says a familiar voice. Konan awakens from her slumber to find Mickey.

"Mickey…" She then gasps suddenly, shouting, "Yahiko!" Pulling herself up, she ignores the head wound that has stopped bleed, yet has left red on her face and blue hair, and goes looking for him.

Luckily her search comes to an end seeing him back there he last was. He stands in his armor, wielding a strange weapon. Her heart swells with joy before she climbs up to reach him. "Yahiko, thank goodness!" She comes up to hug him, clearly ignoring the sword fashioned from two copies of the Kingdom Chain.

Mickey comes up to join, and immediately spots the sword. Before he could get out a word, Yahiko speaks, "What? No tongue," before pushing Konan aside. The stunned master backs up a bit, too shocked to realize the killer intent emitting from him. He draws back his sword and thrusts; a successful impalement of Konan's heart would have happened had Mickey not been there to divert the strike with his Keyblade and weight.

"Yahiko?" Konan looks into his eyes, his golden eyes, and realizes the problem. "No."

"That's not Yahiko!" Mickey adds angrily.

"Duh! Hiko-chan's heart has become a part of mine now," he tells him. "Since I'm stronger I reside control over his vessel, and together we have created this. The χ-blade!"

He raises the Kyeblade up skyward. "This χ-blade will open the door that leads to all worlds! Keyblade bearers will flock here from each and every world out there, to battle for the light within Kingdom Hearts! And, the Keyblade War will resume!"

"SHUT UP!" Konan screams with hidden hatred. "I'm sick of you and your nonsense! You will return Yahiko's heart or else!"

Vanitas laughs before preparing himself.

… Dive …

Yahiko opens his eyes. Looking around, he realizes he's not out in the real world anymore. He's inside the Dive to the Heart. He could have sworn he was fighting Vanitas. "Konan? Nagato?"

He looks to his right and sees a face he didn't want to ever; Vanitas. "We're not through yet." The dive platform they stand on is composed of both him and Vanitas asleep, within the Keyblade Graveyard.

"Our union wasn't complete Hiko-chan." He raises the χ-blade up for him to see, which is damaged and far from the shine of the one outside his heart. "The χ-blade shouldn't stay broken like this. Join me now and we can complete the χ-blade."

Yahiko smirks with hope in his voice. "Seems like I got a chance."

"Nyeh?"

"How about instead of all that, I just destroy both you AND that toy?" This is more a statement than a question as Yahiko summons the Lost Memory Keyblade.

Vanitas can only laugh at his statement, a hysteric and underestimating one. "How STUPID are you?! The χ-blade is made of both of our hearts you idiot! Break it and you'll break yourself. That weak little heart of yours will vanish forever."

"So? You say that like I give a damn about what happens to me." Yahiko's resolution becomes apparent with the determination in his eyes, as well as his strong composure. "As long as I can save Konan and Nagato, it's worth it."

"Oh brother, get out the barf bag," Vanitas says with unmitigated boredom, and then sighs. "It's always about your friends, isn't it?"

"Least I got friends!" Suddenly, it feels like Vanitas' heart was just hit by a Firaga. "I've become a part of their heart, just as they've become a part of mine."

"That's weakness."

"That's fine. My friends are my power, and I'm theirs!" The two jump forward clashing blades. The magic steel of their weapons continuously collide like opposing lights, flashes being the most visible among their figures.

Their equal speed soon exit their stalemate when Yahiko stops to check the Wayfinder in his pants. 'Hmm… Maybe...' An idea in mind, he focuses tightly on Vanitas, before taking off striking mercilessly.

Vanitas gets knocked into the air, where he looks down at the Dive to the Heart below. He stabs the platform, shattering it to millions of pieces. Yahiko, floating in mid air, asks in shock, "What did you do?!"

"WE CAN ALWAYS REBUILD OUR HEART ONCE WE'VE FUSED!" Vanitas summons energy at the end of his blade and fires.

Yahiko counters using the same move, both their attacks pushing against one another in a struggle. 'No use holding back.' Drawing on the chakra connected to his heart, Yahiko's white beam manages to push through with the two powers fusing together.

"What?!"

"Time for your last words." Yahiko flies in and slashes Vanitas using all his power and speed. This attack manages to leave streaks of twilight entrapping Vanitas, right before with one final yell Yahiko cuts through him and the Kyeblade.

The vorpal sword floats in midair before Vanitas, who floats further and further away from it and Yahiko. "No! Please!" He desperately reaches for the glowing sword, before stopping as his vision disperses.

Unconscious, he fails to notice the Kyeblade shattering into lights along with the Keyblade Yahiko wields. The Dark Seeker falls into the dark abyss below, merging with it. With his entry, light flaps away from where he landed like feathers dancing in the air. The platform that is Yahiko's Dive to the Heart appears, fully restored.

And Yahiko transforms into a heart, floating skyward into the dark heavens. Where he will go? Who knows?

Outside…

As that happens Vaniko swings the Kyeblade, releasing a powerful shockwave. The already injured Konan flies backwards into a rock pillar with Mickey. Her head wound starts bleeding more excessively. Vision blurry, she groggily forces herself to stand. Vaniko laughs before walking forward.

Konan holds a hand to her Wayfinder. 'Yahiko, Nagato, please give me strength!' She begs, before her body glows a bright purple aura. She draws her Keyblade, which gains the aura of her new style, and moves towards Vaniko with all her power.

Vaniko blocks wielding the majestic blade with both hands. "You're just wasting your time!" he shouts back, laughing at her 'futile' efforts. With a growing yell, she pushes back, and it's at this moment the battle within concludes. The χ-blade breaks, turning into the damaged form within Yahiko's heart. "What?!"

Konan knocks the blade out of his hand. Vaniko hits the ground, and the χ-blade flips in the air. Light shoots out etching its laser into the ground. A brightness surrounds the sword. Vaniko reverts back to Yahiko, just before the χ-blade shatters, the tornado of light covering everyone and everything. The master reaches out for Yahiko, desperately clinging to him.

…

The blue haired master opens her eyes. She moves her head and eyes to and fro, mentally asking herself where she is. She picks herself up recognizing her surroundings. "This is..."

"Konan, you lost consciousness," says Yen Sid as he steps towards her. She then realizes they're in Yen Sid's tower. "Fortunately, Mickey found you and Yahiko floating in the Lanes Between..."

She then gasps remembering the previous events. "Yahiko!" Looking around, she sees Yahiko resting on the wall next to Mickey. "And...Nagato?"

"There was no sign of him..." She clenches her hands feeling true failure as a master, and a friend. She reaches out unclenched to touch Yahiko, unconscious since the events that took hold. "That boy's heart is sleeping. When he will wake, I do not know… It is as if his heart has left him..."

Her heart breaks hearing those words. She feels bad that she couldn't save Nagato from his fate. Losing Yahiko is too much. Her eyes threaten to exacerbate the mild upset look she has. She says, "Then, there's a chance it can return..."

"Yes. Should it and he shall awaken. If not, he may be in that state for eternity..."

Konan exhales deeply. "Then I'll keep him safe, even if it takes an eternity."

"Konan, I know what your heart feels," Yen Sid says, taking her briefly by surprising. "It's rather obvious how you feel. But, what you need to do is not to protect your friend, but to believe in him. You see, his heart hangs in the balance, between the realms of light and darkness. From all I can perceive, that means he is looking for a friend, one who will lead him home. So long as you love him, he can follow it back to where it belongs, the realm of Light."

Mickey smiles hearing his master's words. He tells Konan, "Don't worry! I believe in Yahiko. He's been just as good a friend to me as anybody. He'll have two lights to follow."

"Three," she finally says after a moment of calm thought.

After some mental planning, Konan helps the unconscious Keyblade wielder on her back. She carries him all the way outside the tower. Using his Keyblade she then opens a path, which she steps through right into her destroyed home; the Land of Departure.

"What..." She shrugs, no longer allowing herself to be surprised. The world of darkness is nothing compared however to when she sees her Master's Keyblade resting on the ground. "Master..." No time to grieve anymore, Konan makes her way inside the building.

'Konan, now that you are a Master, there is one secret in particular you must know. Should something happen to me, I ask that you use my Master Defender to lock this land away. Generations of Keyblade Masters have been charged with keeping this land safe. Light and Darkness are in balance, so others may take advantage of this. That's why our predecessors made a certain trick.'

Coming all the way to the throne room, she places Yahiko safely in the tallest seat. She then steps behind the throne and calls upon the Master's Defender. That's when a Keyhole appears behind the seat, and she thrusts out ethereal chains. They enter the hole, which releases powerful white magic. And soon the landscape changes, turning the room they're in into

'Using this key, the land will transform. From that day forward, all who visit this land will be lost forever to oblivion, unable to ever solve the mystery without you.'

With her work done, Konan comes around to the front of the new seat which Yahiko sits upon. She comes face to face with him, saying, "Yahiko, I'll be gone for a while. I'm going to find Nagato. You had faith in him, so will I. No matter what happens, I'll be sure to bring him back. You wait here, and I'll be sure to come back.

"If for some reason you manage to awake before I return, then come find me. If all you need to return is my belief, then I'll wait forever. I won't give up on you, and I'll never let you die, because I love you. You probably only see me as a big sister, and I'm indeed older than you by three years, but I still love you. I always will, no matter what."

To add to her resolve, she leans in to capture his lips. Their lips continue to hold tightly, before the lock comes reluctantly undone. Konan's heart flutters at having finally confessed outloud, and kissing the boy she loves, but there's no time for that. Still gushing, she turns her attention to the exit and leaves with the Master's Defender.

She comes outside of the building, her entire world transformed by the power of the Defender. She takes a look back at the building and its new appearance. 'As if I can throw away my love and kill you...' Putting that aside, she turns over to the dark abyss down the road. "Nagato, please tell me where you are... I may need their help. I can't believe I'm saying this, but I'll have to regroup Akatsuki."

With that, she steps into the darkness, summoning her armor. She then travels through space.

...

Time has gone by since that last battle with Xehanort and Vanitas. Konan checks around the Keyblade Graveyard looking for Nagato, only for no clues. Having no choice, returns to Konoha to recover some old friends. With their help they were able to ascertain a certain someone's location.

That's why she's here, in Radiant Gardens. In the town square where flowers grow, Konan sees to her surprise her friend Nagato. "Nagato!" she cries out happily.

The silver haired Rinnegan user looks over to her. "Nagato! I'm so glad you're okay!"

'Nagato' glares with indifference, before grasping her throat. Confused, she reaches up and grabs him, trying her best to wiggle free. "What are you doing?!"

"Who am I?" The Rinnegan reflect gold in his eyes, darkness brims from his body.

"Nagato?"

"Nagato?" He repeats, holding his head in pain. He drops Konan before crying out, which is soon silenced. His hands slide down like ooze. "Nagato's heart has been extinguished, smothered by the darkness within him."

"You... You're Xehanort!" He summons the nameless Keyblade and slashes at her.

Konan jumps away just in time. "You will return my friend's heart now, or else you'll pay the price!"

Naganort smirks, arrogantly asking, "And just who are you to fight me?"

"I am Keyblade Master Konan!" She summons her Brightcrest Keyblade, transformed from Stormfall, and flies in at Naganort.

He summons balls of darkness and fires them at her, but she easily reflects the attack using a shield. He uses Ars Solum to attack and bust through her barrier, though she easily counters his blows.

She transforms the aura around her into the Spell Weaver, using it to fly and dash around his attacks. "Firaga Burst!" She forms a large meteor before sending it towards Naganort. He transforms his Keyblade into a cannon and fires a sphere of white and blue light, causing a super detonation that destroys some of their surroundings.

In the midst of the destruction Konan can be seen rapidly battering Naganort. The possessed swordsman steps back as the pain from her blows begins to pile up.

"ENOUGH!" The blue guardian rises up from his shadow to attack, using its fists to block her blade strikes with ease.

Konan lands with a slide, reaching her Wayfinder which has fallen off of her person. She picks it up, which shines briefly. 'Nagato?' She looks up at her friend, her trinket giving her a link through the mind.

"Go, Wayfinder!" She thrusts the Wayfinder up, unleashing its magic. This brings her and Nagato to a spectral area covered brightly like the sun's yellow and orange.

She flies in with the power of the Spellweaver, avoiding the Guardian's fists. Behind it she sees Nagato standing in the middle of a glowing seal on the ground. 'I got it!'

Konan summons paper wings and flies in, using them to block and distract the Guardian. She then lands on the seal beside Nagato. "Nagato!"

"Konan!" They hold their Wayfinders up together, causing energy to collect. She then raises her weapon along with him, causing a sphere of white, blue and golden light to converge together. Their power burn away the guardian.

They come back out to reality where Naganort steps back. Light forms around him, representative of his inner struggle. Konan shouts, "Nagato, fight it! I know you're in there! Yahiko and everyone in Akatsuki is waiting for you!"

Naganort, still struggling to retain his Nagato personality, raises the ancient, nameless Keyblade up in his hand. He impales his heart with his sword, growling, "Get out of my heart old man!"

She watches in shock as the sword disappears, falling backwards into a pool of darkness summoned by his very self. As he sinks, Konan flies in with a dive. She grabs hold of his hand, but is immediately pulled in with him.

The two fall into darkness, with no hope of slowing let alone stopping anytime soon. She grabs his arm, and summons her armor. "Not enough chakra... I can only save one of us... I'm sorry Yahiko. Kami Bunshin!"

She summons a clone using her paper wings, transferring her armor to it. It then takes her Brightcrest Keyblade to summon the Glider and fly itself outside. The gate of light closes up, locking Konan in the Realm of Darkness.

Her eyes see nothing but perpetual black. No colors to comfort her, just the lack thereof. Will she be able to come out and save her friends?

...

"Over here!" Braig can be seen leading a blond old man to the center where Naganort and Konan fought. They and a couple of knights come before the center, where Konan's clone can be seen with her armor, Keyblade and Naganort.

The armor falls to the ground, revealing paper remains on the inside. Who is this man, and what will be Nagato's fate?

Kei: Is it over now?

Claire: Yes.

Kei: YES!

Julia: With this, the first part of Key of Hope has ended. Not even sure if we'll be bothering to write Fanfiction for anymore longer. Time to move on and write professionally!

Kei: ... Nah! We can do both! Anyway, in the next book we'll start from Kingdom Hearts II. As for Konan's fate... You'll just have to wait and see.

Yusei: She's behind Akatsuki?!

Julia: I don't know.

Yusei: What about Nagato? Is it just like the game?

Julia: I don't know! The only one who does is Kei.

Kei: *gets stared at* I ain't telling! Look, just wait to find out. And thanks for supporting this story. We want to improve the writing, so don't be afraid to make suggestions.

Dante: Wait, what about Yahiko? Who helped his heart?

Kei: Also a secret.