This is a theory I thought about after I finished KH3. A GAME THEORY! This is also my 1st stand alone KH fanfic.
So, enjoy!
SPOILERS: This story is set DURING KH3's ending! Finish the game or READ AT YOUR OWN RISK!
Sora's POV
The keyblade war was over. Peace was returning to the universe once again as light prevailed over the darkness. But even though we won the war and defeated Master Xehanort, my journey wasn't over.
"You came back sooner than I expected."
A familiar voice echoed through the heavenly sky as I was gazing up at it. A partly cloudy sky with the sun shining down at me and the lost spirits who perished by many reasons. One of those unfortunate spirits happened to be one I planned to resurrect. To not only bring back home, but to refill my broken heart. A fallen Princess of Heart who I fell in love with, but was struck down by Master Xehanort.
Some rays of light then began to shine in front of me, revealing the one who called me. A small gray and black feline creature with a gray cloak named, Chirithy appeared and simply glanced up at me.
"And it looks like you're still in one piece too." The cat creature exclaimed.
"I said I would come back for you, Chirithy." I smiled down at my new friend.
"You really mean it?!" Chirithy asked emotionally.
"Of course, that's what friends do for each other!" I nodded.
"However, that's not the only reason why I came back." I mentioned.
"You see,..."
I then told my new friend what recently happened down in the realm of the living. From the time I said my friends from the Lich Heartless by abusing the Power of Waking to Master Xehanort's defeat. I told Chirithy everything, but the part I talked the most about was Kairi and how Xemnas and Master Xehanort took her away from me.
"Ah, I see." Chirithy acknowledged.
"She must be very important to you if you came back from all of that."
"Yeah, more than anything." I nodded.
"You could also say that she's my light." I replied.
"Your light, huh?" Chirithy repeated.
"Now you mentioned it,... there was a girl who arrived here in the same form you were in the last time you came." I was told.
"KAIRI?!" My eyes widened.
"She arrived awhile ago and was talking to one of the spirits."
There was no doubt about what was told. Hope began forming inside me, believing that Kairi was the girl that Chirithy mentioned. There wasn't any other girls I could think of based off of the description I was given. No ordinary girl would come to The Final World in the same form as me. It takes someone special who ends up in limbo and is being hung by a thread by another person's faith.
"That has to be Kairi!" I smiled,starting to head to the sun object.
"WHOA! WHOA, HOLD ON A SECOND!" Chirithy cried.
"Don't jump into conclusions like that!"
"For all we know, she's probably finishing up putting herself together."
I then stopped and realized that my friend could be right. It had been awhile since Kairi arrived and there was a good chance of her returning any moment.
"Oh, boy." Chirithy sighed.
"I guess you aren't the patient type are you?
"Hey, she my need my help." I reasoned.
"But you're right." I then hung my head down.
"Just wait a few more minutes and she'll probably be back. The feline suggested.
"But what should I do?" I asked.
"I don't know? Watch the clouds?" Chirithy pitched.
My new friend then disappeared in a flash, leaving me alone in the peaceful realm. I then sat down and did what was recommended to me as a way of distractions, watching the clouds. Unfortunately, it didn't last long at all as I couldn't handle one more second of Kairi being alone. She needed my help and waiting around wasn't going to do anything.
"Sora?"
A familiar voice was heard from nearby, waking me up from boredom. I turned around and spotted a star spirit twinkling in front of me.
"It's me, Namine!"
"Namine!" I exclaimed.
"I'm so glad you're okay!"
"You're must be the one who Kairi was talking to?" I guessed.
"That's right, she went off to regain her form awhile ago." Namine informed.
"But how did she end up here in the same form as me when I came here the last time?" I wondered.
"It's because of you, Sora." Namine simply said.
"When Master Xehanort struck us, we both ended up here, but the bond you share with her kept her from fading away."
"In order words, your strength kept us from disappearing, Sora." She explained.
Hearing those words coming from my friend was both heartwarming and heartbreaking. I was so relieved my strength gave Kairi a second chance in life. On the other hand, sorrow and guilt began to fill me as I flopped my head down.
"I'm sorry!" I responded.
"Huh?" Namine muttered.
"I made a promise to keep Kairi safe. Keep you safe, but then you two ended up here." I mentioned.
"It's okay."
"You did the best that you could." Namine consoled me.
The truth was I didn't. If I was a little more protective of her when we were fighting Saix and Xemnas, if I was fast enough to save her from Master Xehanort's trike, we wouldn't be in The Final World. We could've been laughing and playing with our other friends
Then, I suddenly remembered an important topic.
"I'm just glad we got to speak to each other." Namine kindly spoke.
"And we'll talk again soon." I said in a cheerful tone.
"Once Kairi and I are together again." Namine exclaimed.
""No, you'll be a complete person instead." I replied.
"Huh?" Namine muttered.
"When we were fighting the Organization, Riku managed to find a vessel for you." I clarified.
"A vessel? Riku?" Namine repeated.
"You won't be part of Kairi anymore and we can talk anytime, anywhere." I clarified.
"Sora..." Namine spoke.
"Even Roxas and Xion have become complete people." I exclaimed.
Silence filled the peaceful realm as I could tell that Namine was speechless. Despite not seeing her familiar face, I could imagine her trying to process everything I told her. A miracle was about to be given to her and it was perfectly understandable why she was quiet.
"Thank you!" Namine sobbed.
"You should be thanking Riku when you see him again." I answered back, shaking my head.
"I will!" Namine said in a calming voice.
Suddenly, a bright light began shining greatly in front of us. A light so bright that it made me to shield my eyes a little with my hands. I squinted my eyes to try to see what was going on, only to widely open them in surprise.
"WHAT?!" I gasped.
The light dimmed down, revealing that a familiar person had arrived. A person that made my eyes watered joyfully. My heart was beginning to refill the emptiness as I her waking in front of me. The fallen Princess of Heart who was wearing a pink hooded outfit that Yen Sid gave her.
"KAIRI!"
Overwhelmed with joy, I rushed over to the princess as fast as I could. She was fully revived with her short, auburn hair blowing gently towards me and her body visibly shown in normal form. The only thing that was remained to be seen were her sapphire eyes waking from the transportation she just had. Luckily, I saw them flutter a bit as I stopped in front of her.
"Mmm…" Kairi groaned, opening her eyes.
"S-sora?"
Hearing her voice calling my name became enough evidence for me to breakdown in happiness. I threw my arms around her neck and chose to cry all my tears of joy. The light had been restored within my heart as I felt Kairi's smooth skin around my arms. To make the moment even more real, I felt her embrace me back.
"This is real." I sobbed.
"I always had faith that you'd come for me." Kairi spoke.
We then pulled away from the hug, allowing us to look at each other. As soon as I saw her warm smile on her face, I couldn't help but smile back at her. Our fight against the darkness was finally over and my last objective was finished. Kairi had been revived and seeing her smile was totally worth saving.
"It's finally over!" I smiled.
"Now all we need is to bring Namine back." The princess exclaimed.
"Riku should be taking care of her as we speak." I informed her.
"Riku?" Kairi repeated.
"The light from within your heart has been restored." A familiar voice echoed.
Our moment was then interrupted by a familiar voice as Kairi and I began to look around where the voice was coming from. A glimmer of light slowly came down in front of us, revealing my new friend after a shining entrance.
"And you must be the one he came back for." Chirithy mentioned, turning to Kairi.
*Giggle*
"And who are you?" The Princess of Heart wondered.
"The name's Chirithy!" The feline creature spoke.
"Nice to meet you, Chirithy!" The auburn haired princess smiled.
"My name is Kairi!" She property introduced herself.
"So, Chirithy…" I called.
"Are you ready to go back?" I asked.
"N-now?!" Chirithy shook.
"Huh?" Kairi muttered.
The confusion on the princess's fance made me forget that she was unaware of what happened during my last visit to The Final World. While she was keeping me alive, I got introduced to Chirithy and learned a bit about my new friend. One piece of info it told me was how it was close to someone; which I was planning to arrange.
"Oh." Kairi acknowledged.
"I'm not sure if he'll remember me!" Chirithy responded.
"You'll never know unless you go to him." I countered.
"But he made even more friends." The feline replied.
"You can become friends with them too!" Kairi mentioned.
It took Chirithy a moment to realize what Kairi and I said, but our reasoning was true. The creature wasn't going to find out if its friend had truly changed unless it went off to meet him. Even if its friend had made many new friends, it didn't mean Chirithy to join into the group. There was no limit of how many friends someone can make as long as they have fun with one another.
"I'm sure they would love to be your friend." The Princess of Heart figured.
"Right, Sora?" She turned.
"Huh?! Y-yeah." I nodded.
"Well,... if you say so." Chirithy gave in.
After Chirithy finally agreed to see its friend, it was time to do the hard part. The time had come for me to use the power that The King and Young Xehanort and me multiple times, but it needed to be done. Kairi deserved to return to the islands and it was my dying wish to see her happy back at home. I wanted the last few moments of my life to be with my princess.
"Sora?" Kairi called in a curious tone.
I released my grips off of Kairi's hands and silently turned around. I then summoned my keyblade and began to focus my power, revealing a keyhole on the ground. A laster was then fired out from the tip of my keyblade to the keyhole, creating a wormhole to any world we choose.
"Kairi, hold onto Chirithy!" I spoke without looking back.
My left hand was then grabbed while my right was holding the keyblade, startling me a bit. I turned to find the princess smiling back at me with Chirithy safely in wrapped by her left arm. Overwhelmed by her warm grin, I tried to act cool, but she let out a cute giggle that caught me off guard.
"Ready to head back home, Sora?" The auburn princess asked.
I then turned back at the portal I had created and saw the light shining out of it. I then simply nodded in confidence and determination as I started to guide the two into the light. Before we knew it, we were no longer in the realm where spirits go when they die as we began to fall in an endless route of darkness.
Dark Wormhole
With the Princess of Heart's hand holding mine and Chirithy in her arm, I felt safe. Despite us falling through the depths of darkness, I felt strong with Kairi beside me. As long as we were together, anything was possible for us. We could overcome any challenge and no force could separate us for good.
"Oh!" I heard Chirithy say.
The little creature began to struggle in Kairi's embrace until it somehow got free, startling the princess and I.
"Chirithy!" We both cried.
"What are you doing?!" I replied.
"This is my stop!" The feline responded.
At first Kairi and I didn't see anything coming at us, but a moment later, multiple destinations were in sights. Hearts were shining before us as they were scattered through the darkness. Hearts of different worlds that were either familiar or not visited before. The one Chirithy started to fly words was one that show a white castle that looked like the one I went with Aqua.
"May your hearts be your guiding keys, friends!" Chirithy bid farewell, heading to the castle.
Kairi and I simply look at each other with confusion for a bit at what just happened, but then the princess giggled some more. She had a good feeling that the creature made the right choice and was about to make some new friends and reunite with his old one.
"I believe we'll see Chirithy again soon." Kairi figured.
"Huh?" I muttered before nodding.
"There's our home!" The princess pointed forward.
I turned back in front of us and saw the heart of Destiny Islands fast approaching us. Before we knew it, we flew into it as our vision became clouded by a bright white light. Unfortunately, our arrival became the beginning of my end. A painful flash struck my heart upon arriving as Kairi pulled me back on my feet.
Destiny Islands
"You okay?" Kairi asked.
"Y-yea… Hah!" I screamed.
"SORA!" The princess shrieked.
Overwhelmed by the sudden pain of my heart, I watched Kairi trying to check on me, but I didn't think there was nothing she could do to save me. The damage had already been done to my heart, but my reason for sacrificing myself was worth seeing. Even though Kairi became so worry for me, she was home. She deserved to have a second chance at life.
"Sora, are you okay?!" I heard.
The truth was I wasn't. My life was about to end at any moment and there was no way to save me. To make matters worse, I needed to break the sudden news to Kairi who was already deeply concerned about me. Upon seeing the sun beginning to set behind the princess, I realized the beach wasn't a good place to break her heart.
"Kairi?" I responded in a calming tone.
"Yes?" The auburn princess answered.
"Take me to the Paopu Fruit tree." I told her.
"Huh?!" Kairi muttered all confused.
"There's some stuff I need to tell you." I exclaimed.
It was the best place I could think of. What better place to confess your loved one about your demise than the place where Kairi and I shared the Paopu Fruit. The place where we made our destinies intertwined.
"Okay!" The princess nodded.
I lend my right arm to her as she lifted me off the sand, holding my body with her weight. At first, she had a little trouble holding me, but she managed to pulled then turned to the cabin and started to make our way to the Paopu Fruit tree. In order to get to the tree, we had to go through the cabin; which was really an indoor stairway that connected to a wooden bridge that led to a small island where the tree was.
Upon going up the stairway, I turned to Kairi and noticed how much she had changed. She was always been caring to Riku and I, but I could tell from her face that she became a stronger person. She was determined to get me to my requested destination; which made me feel even worse about what was coming up shortly.
"Hey, Kairi?" I spoke.
"Yes, Sora?" She responded.
"Thank you for being more than a friend to me." I smiled.
The princess came to a sudden halt by my thanks, turning her head to the eastern wall. I then heard her giggle softly as she resumed up the stairs, trying to hide her blushing face from me. It may have sounded sappy, but I meant from the bottom of my dying heart.
"Your welcome!" Kairi replied.
"And thank you for being the same to me too!" She thanked me back.
Hearing that made me feel a little better as I realized how similar we both were. Whenever one of us was in danger, the other would come and save the day. Our hearts were connected ever since she first arrived to the islands and the Paopu Fruit sharing made that connection even stronger. We knew each other very well and were both destined to defend the light to darkness. That alone made me wonder how well she'll continue to do that without me around.
"I got this." I exclaimed as we came to the door.
I pushed my hand against the door, opening the way to the bridge. We then crossed the bridge until we finally made it to the tree. I transferred myself from Kairi onto the horizontal tree, taking my seat on its bark. The princess of Heart joined me as she sat beside me, watching the beautiful sun slowly setting down.
"The sun's so lovely this evening." Kairi commented.
"Yeah." I responded.
I then turned to my lover and got an even prettier sight to behold. From my left side, I got a side view of the princess smelling the fresh air and sea while her auburn hair was calmly blowing with the wind. With her right palm facing upward next to me, I ceased the opportunity to make the moment even better.
"Huh?!" Kairi gasped.
She quickly turned back to me, only to find her hand held against mine. Upon seeing her confused look on her face beginning to blush, I simply gave her the warmest, yet serious look that I could give. Little did she knew that this was my final wish.
"Sora…" Kairi whispered.
"Listen, Kairi." I began.
"What I'm about to tell you will probably break your heart, but you gotta remember,..." I warned her.
"I'll always be there for you." I replied, pointing to her heart.
"So, be strong."
"W-what are you saying, Sora?" Kairi wondered in a concerning tone.
"I don't have much time." I answered.
"Huh?!" The princess muttered with disbelief.
I then explained to her everything that happened while she was gone. Unfortunately, the biggest part I told her was the power I abused in order to save her and our friends. A power so great that it was about to eat my life away. The same power power that the King and Young Xehanort warned me about using, The Power of Waking.
Unfortunately, my words may have been too overwhelming for her as she simply froze in silence. A lot had been said as she turned away from me and began giving me an expression I never wanted to expression that made my heart feel even heavier.
"I-I'm so sorry, Sora!" The princess sobbed.
"If I was a little stronger this wouldn't have been happening to you."
Her hand began tightening her grip on mine as she tried to wipe her tears with her left arm. It was sad enough that my life was ending, but hearing the girl I love crying made my farewell even worse.
"Don't cry!" I spoke, trying to hold my tears as well.
"You did the best you could do!" I tried to console her.
"R-right!" Kairi whimpered.
"But why did you still use the Power of Waking after The King and Young Xehanort warned you multiple times?" The princess asked.
"I think you know the answer." I kindly answered.
And with that, Kairi's sorrow got blended into joy as she slowly gave me what I wanted before I left. A sweet smile as we had each other hands until it was time. For the rest of my life, I was lost in the princess's sapphire eyes, holding onto her hand with a warm grin smiling back at her. Even when we were hearing our friends playing on the beach, we refused to let go.
"Now I don't know where I'm going, but somehow, I'll come back to you."
"I promise!" I bid my farewell.
"I know you will!" The Princess of Heart sobbed..
Then,... I was gone. My vision faded into the sun as I couldn't see Kairi anymore. My body faded into existence along with my heart to some unknown realm. Off to somewhere that was far away from my friends, but even though I may never see Kairi again, I knew that the Paopu Fruit we shared would bring us back together someday.
"I love you!"
Please Review and Comment!
And yes, the title of this one-shot is part of a quote Marluxia said during the opening of KH: Chain of Memories.
As for my review of KH3, I had a fun time during my 1st playthrough as it was 8/10, but upon looking at it even further, it's now a 7/10. Still a good game, but it has some problems. Mostly how lackluster the plot and as much as I love Kairi, they treated her very poorly.