Kingdom Hearts: Elemental Final Mix

Summary: With the defeat of Organization XIII, Maleficent reigns and the heartless are more powerful than ever. Sora, Riku, and any force of good or opposition have vanished. It's up to the next generation to protect the worlds, stop the darkness, and find the light.

Note: With the announcement and tentative release date of Kingdom Hearts III, I've been in the mood to write a story for it again. Instead of working on something new, I decided to reboot and revamp my first story (for some reason, I still have all the notes). I decided on to add Final Mix to the title since, like the game, it has been improved with new stuff added. New stuff includes things such as worlds and story lines I decided not to include in the original and new worlds based on more recent movies. As for improvements, other than my writing, you will see.

This story takes places after the events of Kingdom Hearts II, with most side game before this one, story wise, having partial influence. I have taken some liberty of events and changed some things around. Enjoy!


Chapter 1: Humble Beginnings Final Mix

World: UNKNOWN Location: UNKNOWN

My dearest Minnie,

I am trying my hardest to locate Sora and Riku. Donald, Goofy and I have been searching high and low but have been coming up empty. When these two went chasing after Kairi, who's been kidnapped, I never expected things to turn up like this. Additionally, we have been keeping an eye out for any signs of Terra, Ventus, and Aqua. Sadly, we don't have many leads to go off of.

I have a feeling with the Organization gone and no one left to wield a keyblade, a certain witch will seize this opportunity to strike and try to activate Kingdom Hearts once again. She cannot remain unchecked!

"Oh no!" Minnie gasped. "I thought she was gone for good."

Minie, the heartless are coming back. This time, they are stronger than they were before. The rate of their appearance is rapid, and the amount is numerous. Someone as powerful as you will have trouble keeping them at bay with the rate things are progressing.

Since I am unable to return at this time, and since I am unable to protect the worlds, let alone you, I have an important task I must ask you to burden.

"Anything for you, my king," she commented with fierce determination. Even though she was only reading a piece of parchment, her heart beat-ed with that of the sender.

In the throne room, behind our portrait, is a safe. It's specifically sealed by magic to make sure you're the only one who can open it at any given time. Once opened, you'll see a black box, containing five trinkets of various colors. When you open the box, they should shoot out and find their rightful owners. I had hope to bestow these individuals myself as a master, but alas, I have more pressing issues. Whoever these lights go to, I pray that they are willing to accept the responsibility. Please, provide whatever guidance, or assistant you are able to muster up while defending our home.

My queen, know I miss you dearly. I know I'm out of the castle a lot, but it's to protect our worlds from the forces of darkness. Speaking of forces of darkness...

"Whoa, that is inappropriate," an embarrassed smirk appeared across her face.

Minnie rushed to the throne room and accidentally bumped into Daisy, knocking them both down. The two arose to their feet, swaying a bit dizzily in the process. The duck was about to ask what happened, but the mouse grabbed her by the hand, informing her that she will discuss the matters along the way. The arrived that the towering double doors and Minnie paused to catch her breath. She felt a sense of urgency, but wasn't quite sure why she was rushing. Mickey did not say time was of the essence. With a flick of her wrist, a barrier displaying a spectrum of colors appeared and vanished just as fast. The doors flew open and she glided across the room.

"Daisy," Minnie called out. The duck quickly rushed to her side. She raised a hand to her heart and started taking deep breaths. "Please help me move this portrait."

"Right away," Daisy nodded, but not exactly aware of what was going on exactly. "Afterward, you can tell me what's going on."

"Of course," the queen said. On a three count, the two girls slowly swung the royal painting open like an old door. In a matter of seconds, a large, black square caught Minnie's attention. She pulled out a piece of parchment from her pocket and handed it to Daisy, who began to unfold it right away. She raised her hand, and it started to glow pink. The lock followed suit, spinning rapidly, than it sprang open. With a loud creek, the door to the safe was fully open. She grabbed a small black box from the same and closed it behind her. It was small, quaint. It reminded her of a jewelry box she once received. She glanced over at to her associate and saw that she was completely immerse in the King's letter. Maybe she should have told her the contents, instead of letting her have a look. After all, there was some private material resting in those folds.

With a hesitant sigh, Minnie lifted the lid. Five orbs glistened in the various colors of the spectrum in the light on the throne room. One by one, the spheres started to glow before shooting out. In a flash they disappeared into the sky, seeking out those who have been chosen.

"There, now the faith of the worlds are no longer my problem," the queen squeaked at a job well done. "Well at least for now anyways."

"Since that's out of the way," Daisy smiled, "we need to have a little girl talk." She waved the letter in her hand causing a blush to appear across Minnie's face.

Kingdom Hearts: Elemental Final Mix

World: Destiny Island Location: Main Island

A gentle breeze blew, causing a rustle among the leaves. Long red hair that has been contained by nothing more than a pony tail gently floated along. Deep amber eyes gazed out to the endless ocean, searching for something that isn't there. As the wind blew, the yellow tee shirt decorated with a light purple butterfly, stuck to her chest, but the wind had no effect on the khakis she was wearing. "Rachel," the wind cried as it blew passed her. She turned around and headed into the forest. She, like many other people, lived on a Destiny island with another family. After all, Destiny Islands were a group of land masses that can be traveled between each other by small row boats. However, she was on the main island, where most of the town, schools, shops, theaters, etc., were located. She was neighbors with another girl, called Kairi, she believed, but never actually met her because she always left early in the morning, and sometimes came back at odd hours of the night.

Rachel recalled this one time where Kairi fell into a tide pool down at the beach on a school trip and got her clothes wet, which was the last time that Kairi wore all white. She didn't blame her, but herself for not taking the chance to go and help her. Rachel considered following her or even waiting for her, but that could be taken the wrong way, such as stalking. She sighed a little and stared out into the vast, endless ocean. Her parents wouldn't let her leave the island to visit her friends, since the ocean is "dangerous" and they don't want her to "disappear" like "some of the other children" have done. There weren't many local girls her own age that lived on this island, but the smaller ones. The only time she consistently saw her friends were either at school, since they had to be there, or they took special trips into the city.

Bothered by her own thoughts, the red-headed girl took in a deep breath and shouted, "I WISH I COULD GET OFF OF THIS STUPID ROCK! I, SEE MY FRIENDS, AND MAYBE EVEN MEET NEW PEOPLE! I'M TRAPPED! I WANT TO BE FREE!" She didn't even know if she meant this stuff, it was just something she did every now and then since it was therapeutic. A release if you must. The breeze turned into a gust and the sky darkened, almost to where it was pitch black. It started to rain, but something was different here, after all, the water was a dark purple.

"A storm?" she gasped as she looked around, "but it's too early in the season." She started to head home, stepping in the puddles caused by the "rain". "That's weird, my shoe isn't wet," she noticed after stepping in quite a few. She stopped for a moment and turned around and noticed that something was emerging from the puddles. Small shadow-like things appeared (shadow heartless). They rotated their head from side to side until they have set their sights on her. "That's not a friendly look," she thought as she turned tails and ran. She headed into the forest in hopes of losing them, but the plan backfired considering she tripped on a tree root that was sticking up from the ground. She turned around, still on the ground, and saw that they were closing in on her.

A beam of green light shot out of the sky, hitting the shadowy creatures, dispersing them. Small hearts gently floated into the air before fading out. Something wasn't right. Could this be some sort of divine intervention? Flickers of lights sparked around Rachel's hand and in a burst, a large metal rod appeared. A sword? No, something was strange about this. If anything, it seems more like a key than anything else.

"Great, I have a giant key to defend myself. Thanks universe." Rachel commented and shook her head. She knew not to look a gift lion in the mouth. The blade seemed kind of peculiar to her. The hilt was a bright, emerald green. The chain dangling had an attachment. Three circles, but something about it seemed familiar. The girl rose to her feet. She looked at her new weapon and then back again at the creatures. Was she supposed to use this to defend herself? She didn't know how, but she'll fight. She had to. In another flash, a key holes shaped portal appeared in front of her. Without any hesitation, she jumped in.

Kingdom Hearts: Elemental Final Mix

World: Destiny Island Location: Small island in archipelago

"Hurry up Casey; the boat isn't going to repair itself!" a girl, with black hair that hung to her shoulders, shouted. Casey dropped the wood he was carrying to glare at her with fierce light brown eyes. She stared back at him with her dark brown eyes, completely oblivious as to why he was mad. If she did know, she didn't show it. He pushed the bangs of his brown hair that had been hanging in his face behind his ears. All this hard work was wearing him out, and the heat didn't help his cause. He wondered how Jade, who was wearing black pants, heavy, black combat boots, and a blue, sleeveless shirt, with the word "Evil" in a darker blue across the chest wasn't hot.

"How did you even break your boat to begin with?" the boy questioned her. She looked at him. He wearing his blue jeans, white shoes, and light blue shirt that had the word "Key" spelled out in black letters going down the shirt from top to bottom. She looked away by glancing up to the sky.

"It's a long story, and I don't feel like boring you with the details," she giggled as she leaned against one of the palm tree that lined the shores of the beach.

"Don't worry," Casey smugly said, "we've got nothing but time. Until this boat is fix, we are not going anywhere."

"Well... I don't remember," she responded with a smile. Casey was infuriated by her answer. Why won't she tell him how she broke the boat? After all, he was the one who was fixing it. Casey stood up, dropped the hammer and started walking off.

"Fix it yourself," he told her jokingly, but it did not come across that way. Her eyes started to water up.

"But, I don't know how," the all too familiar sob story started, "everyone here knows that you're the best at fixing small boats."

"I'm not going to fall for that again," Casey stood his ground.

"Fine, don't fix my boat, it's not like you'll do a good job anyways," Jade tried to turn the tables. "I don't know how you got that reputation with the subpar work you do."

"Good," a smirk appeared on his face, "If I fixed it, you'd just break it again." He started to walk away. Jade was watching with a confused expression as she tried to figure out exactly what had just happened. Normally she never lost. She let out a big sigh and walked over to her boat, which was flipped over in the sandy shore. She noticed that the boat was already fixed as she bent down to pick up the hammer.

"That idiot," she muttered to herself, as she shook her head in disbelief. She walked right into a losing argument.

As he walked home from the beach, Casey wondered if the plan to kidnap Rachel would really work. Kidnap isn't the right word. Rescue. He wondered if their plan to rescue her would work. After all, it seemed her parents sheltered her from the rest of the world. Casey frowned as he reflected on some past events. He sighed and soon arrived at his house. He reached for the knob but it was locked.

"This is strange," Casey thought as he reached into this pocket. Normally the door would be open. After all, someone is usually home.

After flipping the newly fixed boat over, Jade pushed it into the water. She grabbed the rope to pull the boat closer to the pier. She needed to tie it off so it wouldn't drift away, and to keep animals from making homes in it. She left the pier and walked back over to the area where Casey had been fixing the boat and noticed something glimmering in the sand. She brushed it off a little and realized that the idiot had forgotten his keys. She picked them up and thought that she should return them to him, otherwise, he'd never hear the end of it from his parents. She also entertained the idea of tossing them into the water, just to be mean. However, he did just fix her boat.

The sun started to set, filling the sky with many different colors. Jade enjoyed watching the sun set, although she would never admit this to her friends because that was a side of her that no one needed to know existed. She saw Casey sitting on a rock wall outside his house as she started walking up the driveway. He was staring at the sky, just like she had been.

"Hey Casey, got something for ya," she called out as she walked towards him.

"A thank you gift? What a rare surprise," Casey pointed out. This is something that no one could have predicted, let alone expected.

"Shut up, it's your keys," she growled.

"Where did you find these?" he snatched they keys.

"You left them on the beach, where you were repairing my boat."

"Well thanks for bring them back to me," he thanked her.

"It was either that or throw them in the ocean."

"Let me guess, the ocean nearly won," he snapped at her.

"Nearly," the long haired girl responded. The breeze started to pick up with a howl.

"Do you feel that?" Casey asked her. A flicker appeared in his eyes, as if an alarm just set off.

"Yeah, it's the breeze," she said. "It normally picks up right around this time. It's why we have cool nights."

"No, it feels like a storm is coming," he explained. She stood there quietly for a few seconds, closing her eyes, until she felt it herself.

"You're right," she gasped. After practically living on an island for your whole life, you can sense a storm a mile away.

"Something's not right about this."

"We should head to the beach," Jade panicked. Casey nodded in agreement and they both ran to the beach. When they arrived, they noticed that there was no disturbance among the waves. The tide was residing and the waves were relatively minute. Jade knelt down to feel the water; it was as cold as ever. Casey let out a huge sigh. Maybe he was wrong. Maybe he was right, but it will come later in the night.

"Maybe it was nothing," he thought as he folded his hands behind his head. He looked up and noticed that the sky was darkening, being overcome with thick, black clouds.

"That's not good," Jade stated.

"Obviously," Casey grunted. A storm should not appear this fast.

With a violent shake, the ground started to rumble, knocking the two off balance. They hit the ground with a loud thud. As they arose, they noticed that bubbles started to surface from the water. Small and slowly at first. However, the bubbles soon grew larger and started to appear more rapidly. With a giant splash, a huge shadow emerged from the depths of the water. The wave it cause knocked the two teen back down and a few feet away from the shore line.

Casey and Jade managed to stand up after a few second had passed. They were a little dazed, but nothing they couldn't manage. They looked out to the water, trying to figure out what caused this. A towering shadow figure stood in the water, with the waves violently crashing around it. It wasn't human. That much was certain. Before they had a chance to make out with clarity, two whip like tentacles pop out, and wrapping around each teen. Once again, they were knocked off their feet, this time, slowly being dragged into the water. They looked up to the sky, accepting their fate. They were going to die. Everyone would think they drowned. A sudden squall caught them off guard, flipping their boat, drowning them on their way to the main island. A couple of lights twinkled and pierced through the dark clouds.

"Jade look, a shooting star!" Casey pointed out. She felt water creeping up her back. They were almost at the ocean. "Make a wish!" The two teen closed their eyes. In a flash two beams of light shot out of the sky. When their eyes opened a light struck each tentacle. A pink beam freed Casey, while an orange one released Jade. They rose to their feet, wanting to run away, but something was stopping them. Fear? No. It was something else. Light's danced across each teen's right hand. In a burst metal, key shaped rods appeared. They were dumbfounded. What kind of weapon was this? Were they supposed to fight? Is that possible? None of them had any experience fighting before, let alone strange black creatures. Before they had a chance to weigh their options, a key hole appeared before them. The two teen walked towards the hole, figuring they had nothing left to lose. After all, they were just handed Keys.

Kingdom Hearts: Elemental Final Mix

World: Destiny Island Location: Small Island in the archipelago

The Final Island in the Destiny Islands chain was a small and peaceful one. It was called the final island since it was the island furthest away from the main one, but still part of the archipelago. The sea sparkled from the ever-shining sun, and the white sand glistened from under the sunlight. There was a small forest area, next to a huge mountain. Not much was on this little island, besides a very small number of people. A young girl wearing khakis and a black t-shirt with a red pentagram was walking along the beach. Her black hair was medium in length, with the tips a light blonde, and tied in a ponytail that was blowing gently in the breeze. She was walking along the shores of the beach and came across a strange animal.

"What a cute seal," she thought as it playfully barked. Then in a blink of an eye, she kicked it and sent it flying into the ocean with a loud crash and a huge splash. With her light brown eyes, she stared at the water.

"Who had the nerve to put this baby seal in my path?" she asked aloud as she looked around. Up in a tree, next to the beach, she saw a young man staring down at her with blue eyes. His spiky, short, black hair with a blue streak on the left side, also gently blew in the breeze. A surprise since it looked like his hair wasn't tall enough to be effected by the wind. "Was it you Trent?" she asked with a hint of rage in her voice.

"No, I just got here," he responded and jumped down from the tree. For a moment it seemed like his black pants got snagged, but that wasn't the case. His white shirt with the word "moo" in black letters, and his black vest flew up to signal it was quite a drop. "Besides," the spiky-haired kid continued, "I wouldn't touch one of those things, they get vicious."

"I see, you're just a coward," she taunted him.

"You're right, I am a coward. I am so much of a coward, I'm heading home," he teased and pretended to leave by turning away from the girl and slowly shuffling away.

"Don't leave; I called you out here to show you something."

"What could possibly be out here, Alex?" Trent questioned with boredom. "We have been everywhere on this island, multiple times."

"Well I found a cave, one that was never there before," she informed him with some excitement in her voice.

"A new cave, how exciting," the boy mocked. Alex didn't pick up on his sarcasm, which was unusual for her." Wait, that doesn't make sense. Cave don't just appears out of the blue!" Alex grabbed him by the arm and dragged him to the mountain area where she found the cave.

They reached the cave entrance in a matter of minutes and looked in.

"It's pretty dark in there," the boy pointed out. Even with the bright sun at the perfect angle, this cave had little, almost none, illumination. It seemed as though where the entrance began, light almost immediately ended.

"Should we go in?" Alex asked. It wasn't a question, but more of an invitation. In a brief flash, two lights glimmered in the distance. Then faded. "I guess that means we should." She tossed her friend a flashlight and pulled out another one for herself. They flicked the switch to turn on the light and casually entered.

After a few steps in, the cave suddenly became well lit. They turned off their flashlights, not paying much attention to the phenomenon. They thought there must have been some sort of hole or opening in the ceiling which is letting the light in. As they continued to explore the cave, the sense of adventure was dying with every step, considering they were walking in a straight line. There were no twist, turns, or other passage ways.

"This is pretty disappointing," Alex loudly groaned. "There nothing here!"

"It seems as if someone was digging," Trent mused. "This doesn't seem natural."

"Maybe someone was making a short cut."

"A short cut to what?"

"No idea. I wasn't the one who did this. Maybe it's some sort of secret base." Alex chuckled. Trent held up his hand to stop her.

"Look," he said. The two teen reached a large opening, some sort of room. There was no outlet, so this had to be the end of the cave.

"Called it!" Alex pointed out. Someone could make this some sort of secret base. It is hard to find the cave opening to people who don't really go exploring. The two walked around, but there was nothing here, just smooth rock walls and a flat rock floor. Talk about interesting.

"Where do you think those lights came from?" Trent questioned. He had his hand on the walk and was slowly walking the circumference. It seemed that he was looking for some sort of secret entrance, button, something hidden.

"No idea," she answered. She had her had on the wall and was doing the same thing Trent was, but in the opposite direction. "I'm glad I'm not the only one who saw them. You didn't mention them so I started questioning my own sanity."

"Started?"

"You're a jerk," the two laughed, knowing that they were not being serious. They stopped when they met in the middle. They both felt a slit depression. "Something here," Alex was the first to speak. They exchanged a glance and both applied pressure. The ceiling started to shake and dust was raining down. They both backed up a couple of steps. A couple of stones slowly started to separate, revealing a weirdly shaped hole in the wall. It looked like something someone would stick a key inside.

"WHAT ARE YOU TWO DOING?"

The two kids turned around. They did not see anyone standing there. They looked at each other with a confused look in their eyes. They knew they both heard it, but there noting here.

"DON'T BE STICKING YOUR NOSE WHERE IT DOESN'T BELONG!"

"Who there?" Trent called out. They both heard the voice again, but couldn't place it.

"Show yourself!" Alex demanded. Rage slowly started to radiate off of her body. A large dark sphere appeared at the entrance of the room. A shadowy figure emerged, causing the sphere to dissipate behind it. It seemed to have a humanoid shape behind it.

"LEAVE WHILE YOU HAVE THE CHANCE!"

A look of fear sprawled across the face of the two teens. They didn't hear any noise coming from the figure, but it spoke to them. It spoke to them clearly, but the cave was eerily quiet.

"Alex," Trent muttered. "I think this this is speaking directly to our mind."

"I think your right." Instinctively the two teen slowly back away, but were stopped by the wall with the newly revealed hole. A slight shimmering noise was heard. The hole began to light up.

"TOO LATE!"

The silhouette launched itself at them. A stream of blue light shot down, stopping the figure from reaching the teens moments before it would have made contact. A second stream, this time purple shot out, causing the figure to back up to nearly its starting point. Lights danced around Alex's right hand a metal rod burst forth. A dark sapphire hilt shone from the light of the hole.

"I'm sorry Alex," Trent said as he picked her up. He threw her to the hole and she vanished. "You should be safe for the moment." He glanced back at the figure. Lights danced around his left hand a metal rod burst forth. The hilt was a dark amethyst is color. He glanced at the hole then back at the figure. "If I go in the hole, he could follow us there. If I stay here and fight, Alex will be safe, or I would at least buy her time. Although there no telling what is on the other side. It has to be better than the situation now, right?"

"HAND OVER YOUR KEYBLADE!"

"Keyblade?" he gasped. "Is that what this is called?" The figure said nothing. It seemed that it revealed more that it was planning to. Trent had to decide in the moment what he was going to do. He could not fight. He had no experience what so ever. If he rushed in, he would be killed, no doubts about that. Before he had a chance to do anything else the figure quickly started approaching. In a blink of an eye, Trent jump through the hole, barely escaping whatever fate the creature had in store for him.

With a loud thud, the teen landed on a brightly colored floor. It seemed odd to him, floors should not be the color, or this beautiful. As his eyes got better adjusted to the light, he saw that the floor was stain glass, something very unusual to walk on. He slowly got up and noticed there was nothing around him, just a smoky darkness. Seeing nothing but the void of the abyss sent chills down his spine. It was something strange, no doubt about that. He paced around, checking the patters, the colors, primarily purple, when something caught his eye. Something, which seemed eerily familiar. If only it were possible for him to get an aerial view.

"Wait a second," Trent muttered. He continued to walk around, looking at the stain glass flooring. "This is me!" he notice, trailing down length wise was a picture of him, wearing something flashy, and dare I say, fashionable. He was holding a weapon, similar to the one he has, but design wise quite different. It sort of resembled a guitar. Strange. His eyes slowly moved over to the right side. There were four circles with portraits of people he recognize. "These look like some of my friends from school. See there's Alex. Wait. ALEX!" His eyes shot up and looked all around the "room" he was in. His friend was nowhere in sight. "I could have sworn I threw her in the hole. The same hole I jumped in, so they should have led to the same place. No wait, this room is custom to me. There a good chance she ended up in a similar place, but with her mainly featured." Trent looked around once more. He could not find any visible way out.

A sphere of darkness emerged, getting the boy's attention rather swiftly. A figure walked out. Black robe, black boots, and black gloves, all things necessary for obscuring one's identity. Was this the same figure from before? No questions, it was. Somehow he could tell. In a burst of light, Trent's keyblade materialized in his hand.