Chapter 18: The Final Battle

Every single person in the entire universe looked at Sharak in fear.

The master of all had returned, once again in complete control.

"Hear me, all that tremble!" began Sharak, "Your ruler has at long last returned to power! Fear me! Respect me! BOW TO ME!!!"

A long silence followed.

Then all of a sudden, everybody in the entire universe departed from their worlds and ventured into the ocean of all worlds. Sharak couldn’t believe it as everybody in the entire universe rose together, united as one and attacking the source of all darkness.

"Enough!" roared King Triton as he led his people to the attack, "No more darkness!"

Everyone soon shouted his or her contempt for the emperor.

"We’ll never obey you!"

"We’ve no reason to fear, respect or serve you!"

"The light stopped you before! It can stop you again!"

"You’re yesterday’s news! Get lost!"

Sharak looked around him in sheer astonishment. The entire universe was now rebelling against him. All worlds no longer feared him.

"YOU INSOLENT MICROBES!!!" roared the creature, "YOU DARE TO REFUSE TO RECOGNISE YOUR SUPERIOR??!! YOUR MASTER??!! IF THIS UNIVERSE IS NOT MINE, IT IS NO-ONE’S!!! YOU SHALL ALL BE DESTROYED FOR YOUR DEFIANCE!!! ALL OF YOU!!!"

The battle for everything began. Only seconds into the titanic struggle between good and evil, worlds became obliterated one-by-one. Despite this, all worlds kept attacking the darkness, doing what ever they could to fight it. To Sharak, the billions and billions of people that were rising against him were as though he was being attacked by flies, but the belief that all these people could stop him was proving equal to his power. Only Sharak refused to accept that others no longer feared him. He once again took another dive into the abyss of madness.

Aboard Jaron’s cruiser, Sora and the others looked at the gigantic emperor, as the battle continued to wage on.

"I don’t believe that I’m seeing this", said Adam.

"Well, you know what they say", said Mickey, "Seeing is believing...unfortunately."

"I think he’s REALLY lost it this time!" said Donald.

"No doubt about it!" said Goofy.

"He can be stopped", said Ansem, "His insanity will be his downfall. His refusal to accept the truth will accelerate it."

"It still won’t be easy", remarked Riku.

"It never is", replied Beast.

"But it can be done", said Aladdin.

"And that’s all that matters", agreed Genie.

"Tarzan believe."

"Me too!" said Peter.

"Me three!" replied Jack.

"Everyone believes", said Leon.

"He’s lost", furthered Cloud.

"We got ‘im" smiled Yuffie.

"It’s over for him", agreed Hercules

"Let’s show him exactly what we’re made of!" yelled Sora.

"LET’S!!!"

Everyone exited the cruiser and leapt out into the ocean of all worlds. They ran to Sharak to join the battle. The emperor couldn’t believe what he was seeing. It wasn’t supposed to happen like this.

"ARROGANT INSECTS!!! THERE COULD BE TEN TIMES YOUR NUMBER...AND I’D STILL CRUSH YOU ALL!!!"

"Thanks for the horoscope, Sharak!" bellowed Adam, "But we’ll prove you wrong!"

Weapons tore into the universe-sized mass that was Sharak. Brute strength pounded the creature. Super natural abilities struck the creature. The battle for everything continued to wage on. The darkness though, fought back with all its power. People and worlds fell to the darkness one by one but people refused to give into despair. Faith that goodness and light would ultimately prevail kept them going. The battle between light and darkness continued to wage on, with neither side getting the upper hand.

Sora realised that if the battle continued at this rate, then Sharak would surely win. The Keybearer remembered his first ever conversation with Jaron. The Saviour had told him that last time this had happened, Sharak had ultimately won. The source of all darkness was now complete, meaning that he couldn’t possibly tire. Jaron had also told Sora that the light was powerful but more and more people gave into the darkness. The people could get tired, Sharak couldn’t. If the battle continued, then those who embraced goodness would be exhausted, causing the light to fade and the creature to emerge as the winner.

Sora knew that he had to take action. He believed Sharak could be destroyed permanently but he still wasn’t sure as to exactly how it could be done. The Keybearer then remembered what Mickey had told him a little while ago.

The greatest light exists within the deepest darkness.

Sora then remembered what Sharak had said after taking the darkness from Hollow Bastion. When he remembered how he had been destroyed previously.

"No. I am TOTAL darkness. I can’t have any...It’s not possible! I..."

The Keybearer then remembered that he would be the one that would open the door to the light, the greatest source of light. Could it be possible that the door rested deep within Sharak? And Sharak’s refusal to accept that he had light within him further propelled him into the deepest depths of madness? It certainly made sense. As did what Sharak had said about "taking medicine" to feel better. With more darkness to help complete him, the emperor could have hoped that the light inside him would be eradicated.

It all made sense now.

The greatest light exists within the deepest darkness.

Sora realised he had to get inside Sharak and fight the darkness from within. It was the only way of stopping it. He went up to the darkness and pressed his hands against it. He fell deep into the darkness. Riku, Donald and Goofy saw what happened.

"Sora!"

"Come on! We have to help him!"

"No!" commanded the king. Riku, Donald and Goofy turned around confused.

"He understands now", explained Mickey, "He knows what to do. He’s the only one who can destroy Sharak. We’ve got our job to do, let’s carry on with it!"

Sora fell further and further into darkness. He landed on a gigantic arena floor. The shape of the arena strongly resembled that of the Heartless emblem. He looked to see the door to the light just at the end of it. He ran towards to it but then stopped when he heard a familiar barking. He looked to see Pluto running towards him, happy to see him again. King Mickey’s most loyal companion was still alive. He’d been alive all this time, trapped in Sharak. Pluto’s joyous barks soon turned into whelps as tendrils came out of nowhere and dragged him back into the darkness.

"Pluto!"

Sora then swung round to see Kairi running towards him. Her smiles and delight soon turned into despair and screams as tendrils appeared out of nowhere and pulled her back into the darkness.

"Sora!"

"Kairi!"

"You’re too late, Keybearer."

Sora swung round to see Sharak standing in front of the door.

"They are mine...forever", explained Sharak, "Just like everything else in existence is mine forever."

"Yeah, right!" said Sora as he readied himself for the final battle, "I understand now why you went crazy. Must be hard to accept the fact that the greatest light resides in the greatest darkness."

"The door won’t do you any good, Sora. It CANNOT be opened."

"You’re thinking that because you’ve used a lot of darkness to try and keep it shut. But it’s gonna open sooner or later, you can’t stop that from happening, Sharak. You know that."

"You’re wrong", replied the source of all darkness, "I can and I will."

"Didn’t you learn anything from last time?!"

"Oh, I learned plenty. I learned not to lose."

"Care to tell me how the door ended up inside you?" asked the Keyblade master.

"During my previous take-over", began Sharak, "I devoured light whole in my attempts to make it fade. I managed to eradicate the majority of it but some of it wouldn’t fade for some ludicrous reason. So I created a door inside me that would keep it from ever escaping. Maybe I can’t ever be rid of it but I can forever prevent it from escaping."

"Like you did last time?" asked Sora innocently.

"Any more questions you would like to ask me before you die?" replied the emperor.

"Why did you betray the other council members?"

"But I didn’t. I said they would rule all with me and they will. They’re forever a part of me. So technically, they’ll rule all with me for their loyalty."

"You mean they’ll all be destroyed along with you and all darkness", countered Sora.

"You delude yourself, human."

"I delude myself?!" laughed the Keybearer, "You’re the one that’s trying to destroy everything! Not RULE everything! You can drop the act, Sharak. You’re still insane. You haven’t got a clue of what’s happening inside you or around you! You’ve no idea of what’s GOING to happen!"

A mouth appeared on Sharak’s face. His cloak disappeared, his height increased and his body was reduced to his skinny, demon-like form.

"OH, YOU NOTICED THAT, DID YOU??!!" replied Sharak as he leapt straight at Sora. The Keybearer glided towards the creature and the blows started to exchange. The two greatest of enemies realised that now was the time to finish this once and for all.

Sora unleashed an Ars Arcanum combination on Sharak. The creature retaliated by extending his arms to four times their normal length and altering his hands to gigantic hammerheads. He span around in a tornado-like fashion with his arms outstretched. The Keybearer was hit hard by the powerful blows and was flung across the arena by the brutal impact.

Sharak ran towards the stunned Keybearer just as he was getting back up. The emperor leapt for the child’s throat and proceeded to strangle him. Sharak laughed maniacally as the Keyblade master gasped for air.

"Oh, he’s going to die!" laughed the source of all darkness, "Oh, what a glorious day!"

The emperor’s laughs turned into grunts of pain as Sora retaliated by kicking Sharak off him and delivering a Sonic Blade to the creature. The stunned emperor soon fell prey to a Strike Raid and then a Graviga spell that flattened him. Sharak was up again in seconds and delivered a thunderstorm. Pillars of darkness appeared from the ground and meteors fell from above. Sora was able to avoid most of the devastation but the attacks that did hit him certainly counted. A weakened Keybearer only just managed to move out of a rampaging rhino-creature’s path and heal himself. The Keybearer summoned an Aeroga spell and ran towards Sharak as he reverted to his demon form. The wind magic was repelled when Sharak formed a shield in front of him. He continued to keep the shield in place until the wind spell expired. Sharak delivered a kick to Sora’s stomach that sent him crashing to the far end of the arena against the door. Sora smiled as he quickly got up and reached for the door’s handle.

"Oh, no you don’t!" cried Sharak as he teleported behind Sora and placed his hands on his head. The Keybearer screamed as Sharak used all his psychic power to torture the Keybearer’s mind. Sora felt the torture intensify. It was like his head had been set ablaze.

"BURN, BABY, BURN!" laughed the emperor, "DISCO INFERNO!!!"

Sora knew he had to win. Pluto and Kairi were counting on him, as was everyone else he loved and the fate of all worlds. He remembered what he said to Sharak back when they fought at Hollow Bastion.

"I’LL NEVER LET YOU WIN!"

And Sora wouldn’t.

The Keybearer charged all of his remaining power to the Keyblade and thrust it backward into Sharak. The source of all darkness screamed as the power of the light penetrated his body and sent him flying backwards into the middle of the arena. He slowly got up to see Sora grab the door’s handle and open it. The door opened as much as it could to reveal total light on the other side. Sora smiled at it in all its beauty. Sharak on the other hand stood up and roared his defiance to the door.

"NO!!! LIGHT CANNOT EXIST IN THE ULTIMATE DARKNESS!!! IT’S IMPOSSIBLE!!! IMPOSSIBLE, DO YOU HEAR??!!"

Sora turned around and smiled at Sharak. He knew what was going to happen next. The source of all darkness still refused to accept what was happening.

"NOOOOOOO!!!!!! I DEFY YOU!!! YOU ARE INFERIOR TO ME!!! I AM THE SUPERIOR OF ALL!!! I AM THE EMPEROR OF EVERYTHING!!! I AM THE SOURCE OF ALL DARKNESS!!!"

The creature then took a deep breath and unleashed a voice that bellowed from the depths of hell.

"I...AM...SHARAK!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

With that, all of the immense light exploded from the door. Sharak was easily disintegrated by the light that wiped him out without giving him a chance to scream. Outside the darkness, everybody stopped fighting it when light burst out from everywhere. In a matter of seconds, a huge white flash occurred that lasted for several minutes. When the flash ended, Sora and everyone else looked around them. They were in a seemingly unknown world. It looked like Castle Sharak but it was more peaceful. Darkness no longer inhabited it. The sky was a heavenly blue colour with the whitest, fluffiest cloud imaginable occupying it. Trees and mountains had been restored to their former beauty, houses were how they once were, and the castle itself no longer looked like it resembled anything evil. Adam smiled.

"My home. This is how it was."

"It’s beautiful", said Riku.

"This must have happened to everywhere else", remarked Leon.

"Then it’s finally over!" laughed Goofy, "All forms of darkness have gone! Including Sharak!"

"No", said Sora as a look of shock appeared on his face, "It’s not over yet!"

"HUH?!"

"Sharak still lives!" cried Sora as he pointed to one direction. Everyone couldn’t believe it.

Sharak was in his demon form and staggering towards the Keybearer and all his friends. He had holes all over his body, both of his arms were gone and half of his face was once more destroyed.

"See what I mean?" asked the source of all darkness in pain, "You can’t...EVER...be...rid...of darkness. It...exists...always. It...can...never...be...destroyed."

"You’re wrong, Sharak", said Sora. The Keybearer had opened the door. That stage was now over. Sora knew what he had to do to prevent Sharak from forever returning. He held his hands over his heart and a powerful light emerged from it. One that consumed Sharak.

"AAARRRGGGHHHHH!!!!!" screamed the emperor, "How? Why is the impossible happening?!"

"Dead wrong!" finished Sora. The source of all darkness gradually faded.

"No!" yelled Sharak, "I was so close! SO...VERY...CLOSE!!!"

His mad screams echoed for the last time. The source of all darkness disappeared like he never ever existed. The light coming from Sora’s heart faded. Everyone smiled and breathed a heavy sigh of relief.

At last, it was finally over.

Riku walked up to Sora.

"How?"

"My heart is the mightiest weapon of all", explained Sora, "The light from it and that from my friends destroyed Sharak. Strength given by family and friends can make the heart more powerful than ANY darkness in the universe. He fought for only himself. I fought for those that I love. We all did. My strength flowed from my heart. He couldn’t stand against that."

"So it’s FINALLY over now?" asked Goofy.

"Uh-huh", smiled Mickey, "Darkness no longer plagues our universe. Only light exists."

"Then I guess that’s it", said Donald.

"Yeah, we’ve won", replied Adam calmly.

A long silence followed.

Then a roar of cheers and celebrations.

Hugs, smiles and handshakes took place between the heroes. The ultimate peace they had all been fighting for had arrived. A familiar bark sounded as Pluto came running round the corner into Mickey’s arms. Sora, Donald and Goofy hugged the king’s most loyal companion. They had missed him so much.

Sora then looked up at the road that led out of the town. He noticed Kairi walking down it. Sora looked at Riku.

"Be my guest...friend", smiled Riku.

Sora ran up to the girl he had loved more than anything else in the entire universe. The princess saw the Keybearer and smiled as she ran up to meet him. Donald looked at them and slowly started to walk to them. Adam put his hand on the Chief Magician’s shoulder.

"Let him", smiled Adam, "After everything he’s been through, after everything he’s done...he’s earned it."

Everyone smiled as Sora and Kairi continued to run up to each other. After they slowed down and were face to face with one another, they smiled at one another.

"Kairi."

"Sora."

And then they finally kissed. Everyone cheered and applauded.

"ENCORE! ENCORE!" yelled Adam.

Hours later at Disney Castle, a massive reunion and celebration took place. Old faces were reunited with one another, music played, people danced, celebratory activities took place and everyone was happy. However, the walls that divided all worlds would soon be restored. With no darkness around to destroy them, the walls would automatically be rebuilt. That was how the Council of Light had designed them.

No one minded though. They all realised from this, that reunions would always be possible. They knew that somehow, someday, they would all meet with one another again. Another good thing that had come out of all of this, was that with Sharak no longer around to corrupt anything, people could never fight with one another for evil purposes. Darkness could never be born again.

All that existed now was light.

Peace and harmony now reigned supreme.

A new era of light could finally begin.

And it was one that everyone was going to enjoy.

Hours later, after the celebrations, many goodbyes took place. Handshakes and hugs were given to each other. People told each other how much they respected one another, how much they would miss one another and how much they would look forward to see one another again. Later, Sora was saying his goodbyes to Donald and Goofy.

"Jeez, guys", said Sora as he scratched his head and a few tears fell from his eyes, "I’m gonna miss you."

"Me too, Sora", nodded Donald as tears fell from his own eyes, "But no matter what happens, we’ll always be friends and we’ll never forget each other."

"I know", replied the Keybearer.

"Come on, guys!" smiled Goofy, "Big group hug!"

Sora, Donald and Goofy hugged each other goodbye. Riku and Kairi also followed suit, expressing their goodbyes and admiration for Donald and Goofy. Kairi then turned to Adam.

"Are you gonna go back to Castle Mahanah now, Adam?"

"Suppose so", replied Adam, "I must admit though, it’s gonna be very weird going home with no-one waiting for me."

"Just remember, Adam. You’re never alone. You will ALWAYS have us."

Adam looked to one side to see Jaron and Mahanah smiling at him.

"Well done, my son", smiled Mahanah, "You’ve made us all proud."

"Goodbye, my brother", smiled the unmasked Saviour as he gave Adam a "thumbs up". They vanished out of sight before everyone who saw them. Tears fell from Adam’s eyes as he smiled and waved goodbye. He then turned to Sora, Donald, Goofy, Riku and Kairi. He hugged them goodbye.

"So where are you going to now, Ansem?"

"There is still so much to learn and explore", answered the researcher, "With darkness no longer around to corrupt, there is really only one thing left to seek."

"Light?" asked Goofy.

"I have already sought out true light. The one thing I haven’t yet discovered is the true paradise."

Ansem slowly began to float off the ground.

"Goodbye", smiled Ansem, "I wish you all well. We will surely meet again."

Ansem then took off into the sky, leaving Disney Castle behind him. His search for true paradise had begun. Everyone waved him goodbye.

"You three", smiled Mickey as he approached Sora, Riku and Kairi, "It’s time to go."

After the final good-byes, Mickey Mouse took the two Keybearers and the princess home. Everyone else went back to their homes, happy to be together once again with those they loved. The walls had been fully restored, everyone was back where they belonged and everything was the way it should be.

Sora smiled when he got back to the Destiny Islands. He had realised his dream. He had returned home with his best friend, returned to the girl he loved and vanquished darkness from the universe forever.

At long last, his quest was finally over.

Epilogue

The Destiny Islands

Six months later.

Sora, Riku and Kairi were sitting together on the beach, looking out to sea.

Completely bored.

"So what do you want to do?" asked Sora.

"Don’t know", sighed Riku.

"Could go surfing", suggested Kairi, unable to think of anything else.

"Done that."

"Could go exploring", suggested Sora, unable to think of anything else.

"Done that."

"Could have a round of duels", suggested Riku, unable to think of anything else.

"Done that."

"Isn’t there anything we haven’t done?" they all asked each other simultaneously.

All three of them continued looking out to sea, still bored and not having a single clue as to what to do. After all they had practically done everything they wanted to do. They had so many questions and they all found answers to each and every one of them. They had gone on real adventures. They had participated in the biggest quest they could all possibly embark on. There was nothing left to do.

Or was there?

"Hey, what’s that?" asked Sora.

Riku and Kairi looked to where Sora was pointing. They noticed that something had washed up on the beach. The three ran up to it. It was a bottle with a scroll inside. Sora opened up the bottle and took the scroll out of it. They recognised the seal that bound it.

"That’s King Mickey’s seal!" exclaimed Kairi.

"A letter from him?" asked Riku, "But how?"

Sora read the letter out loud.

            Sora, Riku & Kairi,

Come over to Disney Castle immediately. There’s a matter of extreme importance that I have to discuss with all three of you. Follow your hearts and you’ll get here in no time.

I’ll be most looking forward to seeing all three of you again.

King Mickey.

Sora, Riku and Kairi smiled at one another.

"Guys!" said Sora, "Let’s go!"

Sora, Riku and Kairi laughed and laughed as they ran along the beach, over the sea and towards the ocean of all worlds.

On their way to Disney Castle.

"It’ll be good to see all three of you again", smiled King Mickey.

THE END.

AFTERWORD

And there you have it.

Countless hours of hard work all finished off, and in my opinion, quite nicely.

I’d wanted to write a fan fiction for quite some time after being heavily inspired by all the other masterpieces you see on websites that have fan fiction sections these days. In my opinion, most fan fictions are worthy and credible enough to be publicised along with the subjects that they are based on. The amount of brilliant stories you see online that are based on cartoons, films, games, comics are so superbly written, that they are equal to the subject on which they are based on, in terms of greatness, popularity and the brilliant amount of care, thought and dedication that has been put into creating them. The number of awesome fan fictions you see online these days are unquestionable proof that there are countless writers out there who possess tons of talent and amazing potential.

Having been heavily inspired by so many brilliant writers, I decided to have a go at writing a fan fiction myself. New Era of Darkness is the first and (to date) only fan fiction I’ve ever written. Understandably, it was very hard to write having no experience in writing anything like this before. Getting a GCSE in English and English Literature helps I can tell you! Anyway, it was difficult finding the time to write it. I started on 23rd May this year, when I was on the last month of my college course. It was difficult getting time to settle down and write it when I had so much college stuff to finish off, which had to take first priority, of course. When my first year of the course finished, I thought I would easily get it finished in the first few weeks of the summer. How wrong I was!

I encountered many problems that would make writing this a real chore. Introducing the new characters wouldn’t be a problem. What would be a problem though, was trying to find the best way for them to interact with one another. Another problem was trying to find the best way to develop the original characters that I had created as well as tying everything in nicely as well as making sure it was closely linked to the original Kingdom Hearts game. It was a real challenge trying to link the chapters together so the story made perfect sense. Another problem was making sure that everything still ran on perfectly from the conclusion of Kingdom Hearts. I had set the story two years after and had to take care and study every detail so the readers wouldn’t get confused if I said something that wasn’t true. I was determined not to make any fatal errors so I played the game a few more times over as well as reading the official strategy guide. I also checked out loads of the Kingdom Hearts websites created by the fans for further referencing on other things, particularly Ansem’s report. In the end, I feel confident that everything went smoothly and I didn’t make any fatal mistakes.

I wanted to make the New Era of Darkness something special. I wanted to make it so engrossing that it would keep the reader coming back for more. Which is why I introduced a few original characters. When you get guys like Jaron, Adam and Sharak, you can’t really identify with them as they’re names of characters you haven’t heard of before. I tried to describe them as best as I could so that people would want to know more about them. I believe that I managed to introduce them quite well and nicely explain the dark past between all three of them.

Characters like Sora, Donald, Goofy, Riku, Kairi, Ansem and all the other legendary names of the Kingdom Hearts universe didn’t need development or explanation. Everyone who played the game and/or is a fan of Disney, Square or both knows about them. The problem was trying to remain faithful to their characters. I tried to capture the character’s different personalities as best I could. I honestly don’t know if I succeeded, I’ll just have to wait to see what other people think.

Another problem was temptation. I had bits of all the different chapters in my head. I knew how to write bits of all but one of the different chapters but not the whole thing. The one exception was chapter fifteen, Redemption Before Goodbye. I’d already known how to fully write the whole chapter, so that wouldn’t be a problem when I got round to writing it. And that was the real problem. After managing to write the first three chapters, I was sorely tempted to move onto Redemption Before Goodbye and then fill in the gigantic gap I would have left but I realised if I was going to write this, I had to write the whole story properly and in the right order. So I carried on writing the story in order and worked my way up to Redemption Before Goodbye (which is the chapter I enjoyed writing the most) and then finishing off the final four chapters.

One thing I was determined to avoid, was having Sora and friends beat Sharak and then it all turn out he wasn’t the ultimate villain after all. In my opinion, that’s starting to happen a bit too much nowadays. It was a brilliant and original idea at the time and there are still occasions when it still works and it greatly surprises people who see it but I didn’t want to include it. I wanted to portray Sharak as the ultimate bad guy, the mastermind behind everything and the sole reason why everyone suffers. And the only way to do that, was to have him being the biggest villain imaginable from the very beginning all the way to the bitter end. No "Sharak was being manipulated all along", no "Sharak was going to be usurped and replaced by traitors", no anything. I thought the best way to achieve that was by having Maleficent and Sephiroth thinking that Sharak was their tool and nothing more, only to pay the price for it and Sharak to prove to everyone that he IS the big, bad guy.

Another thing to note is that there really wasn’t any need to include that kind of treacherous element. There would be enough surprises in New Era of Darkness already. The mysterious arrival of Sharak, Jaron and Adam, the never-before-heard-of Council of Light, Adam getting his back broken at the hands of Sharak, Jaron revealing his horrific past, Sharak explaining his past, Tidus, Wakka and Selphie getting killed by Sharak, Jaron dying, Ansem becoming a good guy, King Mickey and Riku returning to fight and any other surprises I may have forgotten to mention. The list goes on, so there wasn’t any need for the source of all darkness to be involved in any betrayal by his followers or any other predictable plot twist.

I also tried to make sure that some characters had a larger role then they did in the Playstation 2 classic. I didn’t want characters making a brief appearance before going away and never being seen again. I wanted to include as many characters as I could into the gang as early on as possible and hang onto them until the very end. I don’t think that I succeeded in doing that and I believe that I could have included more of the legendary Disney and Square characters but I think that I did give each of the characters fairly major roles.

Oh, well. That’s me done with in terms of yakking on. I’ve had a go at writing a fan fiction based on my favourite game for the Playstation 2 and I’ve tried to tell the best story I possibly could, as do so many of the great writers there are out there. Rest assured, I do want to have another go at writing another fan fiction but I don’t know when I’ll get round to doing it. I’ve done Kingdom Hearts now, so I think I’ll choose a different subject next time.

Just remember one thing. If there is ever a sequel to New Era of Darkness, rest assured, I’ll be the one that’s writing it.

Daniel Wood (4th September 2003)