Thud, Mai fell to the ground. Sora let go of his Keyblade and ran to her. Riku stood there unable to move and unable to believe that it was half his fault. Sora skidded and kneeled to the ground. He held her and started to shake her. "Mai!" She twitched but only opened her eyes slightly. Through her vision, she could see Sora's blue eyes brimming with tears and dripping onto her cheek; they felt so warm. "Mai, what did you do?" He asked scolding her and she smiled weakly.
"Remember..." She gulped and pursed her lips. "...that me... and Kenji... wouldn't let...you fight...each other..."
"Mai, what's going to happen?" If she had the energy she would have laughed at that stupid question.
"What's done...is done..." She mumbled. Kenji stood and ran to her.
"Mai, please! You can't die!" He held her hand. "Please! You and Kairi are all I've got!"
"Noel... It's okay..." He gasped at this.
"You remembered me!" He said happily. but that happiness was short lived as Mai coughed harshly scaring all of them. Riku stood behind Noel.
"I don't want you to die!" Sora shouted and she shook her head. "I still haven't told you what I've felt!"
"...There's no way...to save me now...it's finished...I'm..." Riku shook his head and fell down onto his knees. He felt the tears that started to fall down his cheeks.
"No, don't say it! You won't die, I won't let you." She laughed quietly at this and shook her head.
"You can't, I'm already dying." This sent chills down their spines and she held Sora's hand too. A tear fell down her cheek and she gasped for a bit of air. "I always wanted..."
She looked at her friends with a smile. "...I always wished...that us three, only us three would be together. And... I'm glad I remembered you... Noel... I wished... I would remembered... it seems that...my wishes has come true...on my deathbed." Noel and Sora held her hands tighter and tears fell down her cheeks. "...Sora... you and Riku... always noticed Kairi...it was as if...I was never there and...It was as if I never existed... but then...only then...you..." She looked up at Sora. "...started talking to me and making me feel as if I was special..." But then she frowned. "...But I knew that I could never replace Kairi in your lives...even though she was the one who replaced me..."
Her breathing came out in shaky and uneven breathes and she smiled as the tears kept on falling. "But now...it doesn't matter...You both can return to your normal lives with Kairi...because it doesn't matter if I die..."
"Mai!" They said unison.
"...You both can return to your normal lives, as if I don't exist... and Noel... can live with you guys, too." She took one of the last few breathe and a final tear was brimming in her eye. "...because I never truly existed...whenever she was there...did I?" She looked at Riku and Noel with a smile. "You'll...always be...my best friends..." The silver haired boy realised his mistake but what she said after made him regret everything he said. "You'll always be my friends... and Riku...even though...you did betray us..."
Mai turned to Sora with a smile and pink cheeks. "And you..." Her right hand reached his cheek as she cupped his face. "I'll...always..." She started to breathe very slowly. "...remember you because..." She was closing her eyes and losing her vision. "...you are..." He anticipated what she was going to say next. "...our ...I'm sorry... it's time..." She took one final breath and her final tear fell down her cheek. "Goodbye Riku... Noel...Sora..." Her hand left his cheek and fell to the ground. She laid there limp, cold and unresponsive; dead.
"No..."Sora whispered.
"Mai!" Riku and Noel shouted out.
"Mai!" Sora yelled and started crying. "No! Please, wake up! Wake up!" He held her head to his chest, "If you die, how am I supposed to tell you... I love you..."
The silver haired boy stood up and his eyes didn't leave her. Her face and lips were pale.
"Mai!" Goofy and Donald cried. On the left side of her chest, it started to glow and her heart escaped her chest and floated up as it disappeared.
~
"What's going on?" She asked as she sinking into an abyss of darkness. "Where am I?" She closed her eyes. "Why am I falling into the darkness?"
~
Mai's body was supposed to turn into a heartless but it didn't. Instead, her bracelet, the bracelet her mother gave her, as well as her siblings, started to sparkle like a gem and shine like star. Riku looked at her bracelet and it was as if Ansem controlled his body to raise his hand and take the bracelet. But just as the silver haired boy's reached her wrist, his other hand grabbed his controlled one and pulled it back. He started to fight back for control as he started to step back.
The red haired girl's body transformed as the necklace flashed. Her red curly hair turned jet black yet her skin was still pale. She twitched and her eyes opened. They weren't emerald green, they were garnet red. She sat up and looked at the brown haired boy with a blank look. Sora sniffed and when he looked at the girl who was sitting in front of him, he gasped.
"Mai...is that you?" Her eyebrows furrowed together and she looked at the floor. Noel sighed; he knew what happened.
"Mai...you don't remember anything do you?" She looked up at him and stared into his eyes. "You aren't Mai, you're her Heartless." He said and Sora gasped.
"Why aren't you speaking?!" The blue eyed 14 year old yelled and she didn't respond. Sora stood up and clenched his fist as his tears dripped onto the ground. Darkness flowed out of the keyhole, grabbing everyone's attention. Riku screeched and disappeared.
"What's going on?" Noel asked.
"The keyhole is overflowing with darkness!" Donald said.
"If we don't wake up Kairi, then this world will fall completely!" Goofy said.
"I have to release Kairi's heart..." He picked up Riku's Keyblade. "...But most importantly, I can't live a life without Mai and I can't live with this regret." He took the Keyblade in both of his hands. Noel gasped at this.
"Sora, no!" He shouted but it was too late. The spikey haired boy pierced it into his chest. Mai's heartless, Mette, looked up with an emotionless face but a tear fell down her cheek unknowingly and she touched the left side of her chest.
Six orbs of hearts came out of the Keyblade and returned to the six Princesses of Heart. Another orb came out of Sora and returned to Kairi who opened her eyes. She stood up and so did Mette.
"Sora!" Donald and Noel yelled and the dark haired girl opened her arms as Sora fell into them, but turned into sparkles which floated up.
"Sora!" Kairi cried and ran to the red eyed heartless. Mette looked at the auburn haired girl and shook her head. "No, he can't be. I won't let him go!" Kairi shouted with tears in her eyes. "Mai..." then she saw Noel. "Wait a minute... Noel?" He sadly smiled and nodded. She blushed and looked away, shyly. She gasped in realization. "What's going on? Where have you been? And why is Mai's hair black? I mean, that is Mai... Right?" Donald stood in front of the heartless.
"This is Mai!" He answered and she gasped.
"Mai?" She asked and they stared at each other.
"Actually, that's Mai's heartless." The brunette said.
"What happened to her?" Kairi asked.
Then out of nowhere a man appeared. He had tanned skin, orange eyes and long white hair; it was Ansem, Seeker of Darkness.
"It seems you are have woken up Princess of heart. But more importantly," he pointed at Mette. "You are the Princess of Twilight's heartless. Thanks to the Princess of Twilight, her sacrifice the keyhole is now complete. She has served her purpose, but now it is time for me to finish you off." Noel, Donald, and Goofy stood in front of Mette defending her.
"Don't make another move!" Donald shouted.
"Do you think we can stop him all by ourselves?" Goofy asked and Mette placed her hand onto his shoulder. He and Noel turned around and she placed her hand onto her heart with a nod. Noel smiled; Mai was still in there. He turned to Ansem.
"We don't go down that easy!" He said, reading his deul swords. Ansem smirked.
"It's good to see you again, Noel Kreiss. the Protector of Light and shadow hunter, himself." Noel growled at him.
"What do you mean, 'again'?"
He didn't answer, but thee next thing Ansem said made him feel guilty. "However, you keep failing... You've lost Riku, Sora, and even the Twilight Princess."
Ansem Seeker of Darkness stopped walking and his arms started to tremble.
"Impossible!" He said under his breath and Riku appeared in front of him a ghostly version.
"No. You won't use me for this." He said and Mette gasped. It was as if somewhere in her mind, she knew him. Riku opened his arms and stopped Ansem from hurting them.
"Riku!" Kairi and Noel called out and Mette grinded her teeth together but didn't know why.
"You've gotta run, the heartless are coming." He said. Kairi nodded at this and they started to escape. Noel saw Mette, who was surrounded by heartless and she stood her ground.
"Mai!" Noel ran back to her side.
"Kenji, Mai, I mean, M's heartless go! They'll hurt you." The dark haired heartless stared at Riku with a blank face. "Kenji, get her out of her!"
Noel nodded at this and grabbed her wrist. He ran really fast to catch up to their friends. But then she pulled his grip and stopped running, making him stop.
"Mai? What's wrong?" She growled.
"...Mette." she put a hand on her chest.
"Is that your name?" He asked and she nodded. "What's up?"
The garnet eyed heartless turned around to see a heartless that wasn't hurting her just following her. She walked up to it and kneeled down. Noel's eyebrows raised when she raised her hand and the heartless' hand touched hers. She was fully aware now that this heartless was Sora's heartless, the boy who sacrificed his heart. She smiled at him with pink cheeks and looked back at Noel. He saw the pink cheeks on her and sighed with relief.
"That's Sora's heartless, isn't it?" She nodded at this. "Then there's a way to save him!"
Mette picked up Sora's heartless and ran through the castle.