Disclaimer: Capcom, Disney, and Square-Enix related material is not my property.
There is another summary here to give you all a clear description of what is CURRENTLY happening in the KH universe.
Summary: Ten years have passed since the final events of KHII. Since then, Sora has lived a nearly normal life with his wife Kairi and his best friend Riku in the city of Radiant Gardens. After years of painstaking work he, Kairi, Riku and the Committee have finally restored the glorious world to its original splendor. But even as peace reigns among the worlds Sora fought so valiantly to save, the Heartless menace has found new worlds to bring to ruin.
The Elysian System: A large cluster of worlds united as one under the flags of an ancient civilization that has proclaimed to be the origins of mankind. However, they now face extinction as the Heartless sweep through their proud society and in a last ditch effort; a single soldier must seek out the aid of the fabled Keyblade Masters.
This is the story of the Elysian War…
Prologue
Chapter One: Fable
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Soft white lights brightly illuminated a large weight room within the confines of a silent battle station. The exercise equipment and benches remained untouched in the early morning hours as most of the crew members, save for the necessary personnel that kept the massive space station operational, were fast asleep. However, a lone young man stood within the sparring ring inside the room, taking light breaths as he prepared for his exercises.
With a sudden swing of his arm the silent air was broken with the swishing sounds of a fencing sword. The young man continued to swing his blade, practicing different defensive postures and striking motions as he battled with invisible enemies during his rigorous session. Eventually he paused to wipe the sweat from his brow and went to recover a small textbook lying in the corner of the sparring ring.
The book was old and tattered, its title The Art of Fencing barely legible on its cover. The young man delicately thumbed through it, crimson eyes scanning over its contents as he ran a hand through his cropped, dark red hair. He glanced over the instructions carefully, noted his mistakes, and proceeded to wield the fencing blade once more. He repeated his exercises moving about the ring as he defended and struck against the air, completely unaware of another figure curiously watching him.
"You know, Coryn, if someone else sees you doing this they'll label you as an oddball." The other spoke up, causing the young man to stumble and turn to face his interrupter. Another young man stood at the edge of the ring smiling as crimson eyes met light red ones.
"Phobos… Uh… Good morning." Coryn smiled.
"Not that you already aren't," Phobos chuckled, entering the ring and taking the fencing sword from Coryn.
"H-hey, be careful with that!" Coryn protested, attempting to take the weapon back as Phobos kept it out of reach.
"Man, where did you manage to get a relic like this?" Phobos muttered, scrutinizing the blade.
Coryn laughed lightly at the comment.
"A few years back in Elysia City. Some old guy was getting rid of some junk and I picked it up with this instructional book," he said, proudly showing off the fencing book.
Phobos gave him an odd look and scoffed, "And you make fun of me for liking kittens."
Coryn huffed and repossessed his blade before exiting the ring. "So…What did you want to talk to me about?"
"I actually just came here to work out," Phobos replied as he followed Coryn to a row of benches.
"Don't lie. I saw you following me in the halls," Coryn sighed, taking a seat.
Phobos sat down across from him and stared blankly at the floor. "I'm…just a little shaken from that last attack." He sighed, thinking of the previous day's battles, "I…didn't think it would be that horrible."
Coryn cocked his head. "Didn't think it would be that horrible? They're Heartless, for crying out loud. You of all people should know just how horrific those nightmares can be." Coryn grunted and tilted his head upward. "I guess no one could ever really get used to this sort of thing."
Phobos looked at Coryn. "That was my first large scale attack, you know. I mean, I've lived through my share of minor attacks but…" He paused, trying to find words to describe his anxiety, "For a world to be swallowed up by darkness like that…It just seems so unreal."
"I know what you mean." Coryn nodded. "I sometimes think I'm gonna wake up and all this would be just some crazy-ass dream." He sighed.
"You and me both," Phobos scoffed and locked eyes with Coryn.
"Six months. Six months and we've been hit one blow after another." He grasped his head in anxiety and grunted in frustration. "People are dying. We're doing everything in our power to stop the Heartless but…I don't know. I…I just don't see an end to this. Do you?"
Coryn sighed softly and looked away, "Yeah…I do."
Phobos perked up and looked hopefully at the older man in front of him, "R-really? What is it?"
Coryn glanced at Phobos with a saddened look in his eyes, "It ends with Elysium…dying"
Phobos laughed ruefully at the statement and shook his head, "Not the answer I wanted to hear, Coryn."
"Well, I call it as I see it," Coryn sighed, "This last one was Centuris. But then we had Kimotama, Copernicus, Terra, and…" Coryn's eyes glazed over as he recollected the final fallen world, "Oberon. Five out of twenty-five worlds just…" He snapped his fingers for emphasis, "Gone. Just like that. Fifty-five million people dead in just six months…and the rest of the worlds are in line."
"Putting it like that…makes me wonder what the point is in even fighting the Heartless," Phobos muttered, "I mean, if we really are that screwed in the end…what's the point?"
"Because…" Coryn started, causing Phobos to look up at him as he stood, "We are Elysians!" Coryn exclaimed, "We get pushed, we fight back with everything we've got! What would you honestly rather do Phobos? Lie down and die like a wounded animal!?"
Phobos was a bit bemused by Coryn's sudden energy and remained silent as his friend continued, "Or would you fight back with everything until you had nothing left in you!? 'Cause I don't know about you...but I'm definitely not gonna give those Heartless bastards the satisfaction of an easy kill!"
Phobos nodded in agreement, ignited by Coryn's words.
"Yeah…Yeah, you're right!" he exclaimed and jumped out of his seat, raising a fist to the air, "I'm not going to just give up like this!"
"Yeah!"
"I'm gonna fight with everything I've got and see how far it gets me!"
"That's right!"
"I'm sure the opportunity to take the advantage is just around the corner and I'll do anything to seize it!" He suddenly pointed at Coryn. "Wouldn't you!?"
"Damn right, I would! But until then, I still think we're all dead." He muttered it quickly, dousing the energetic fires burning within Phobos.
"Aw, come on Coryn! You had me going for a second there…" Phobos whined.
Coryn chuckled warmly, "Sorry but I had to. If I let you get too worked up, you'll do something stupid. But listen…" He placed a reassuring hand on Phobos's shoulder, "Just because I think we're all going to wind up dead doesn't mean it'll happen. We just need to have a little bit faith. We can get through this…I hope."
Suddenly the intercom on the wall began beeping incessantly, cutting the two men's conversation short.
Coryn made his way to the panel and keyed the intercom.
"First class Purifier Coryn Vastus speaking," he announced.
"Oh, good, I was hoping to get in touch with you Commander Coryn," a young woman on the other end replied, "Mistress Isis urgently requires your presence in Operations Room Two."
"I'll be there shortly," he answered and turned to Phobos who still looked worried, "Try not to be so down. Like you said. The opportunity could be just around the corner." Phobos nodded with a smile as Coryn began to exit the room.
"Oh and…try not to be so reckless during the next attack. You saved a lot of people but don't push your luck, Phobos," Coryn advised.
Phobos chuckled and nodded his head. "You know us Devastators, Coryn. We grab life by the horns."
"Yeah, and you sometimes get impaled. Think you can take my stuff to my barrack room?" He didn't wait for a reply as he headed off to meet with Isis.
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Coryn arrived at his destination within minutes. He was, if anything, eager to see his old friend. She had been the voice of reason in a better portion of his childhood, and it was something he had always deeply appreciated since he knew that he could look to her for guidance. They had parted ways the day he entered the Elysian Military Academy as she aspired to take political office in society. They both succeeded in their ambitions but by doing so sealed away any chances of a casual reunion. Now, during this nightmare, would be the only chance he could ever have at speaking with her and even with the current situation, it still put an ease on his nerves.
The doors slid open with a soft hissing noise as Coryn entered to find the room completely empty save for one person: Isis. She was sitting in the center of the room, toying with the strands of her long brown hair as she awaited Coryn. Her light green eyes brightened as she saw him enter the room and with a smile, rose from her place and hugged him tightly.
"M-mistress! This isn't exactly proper conduct!" Coryn stammered, cheeks reddened with embarrassment.
"Why do you think I had the room emptied?" She smiled, releasing him. "Come on, have a seat." She gestured, leading him to the center of the room.
Coryn sat down and let out a sigh of relief; she hadn't changed one bit. "It's been about eight years now. You look great, Isis." He smiled.
Isis let out an amused hum. "It's good to see you, too."
Coryn nodded and looked seriously at Isis. "Well, as much as I'm sure you wanted to. I don't suppose you called me here to reminisce. What did you need to see me about?"
Isis's smile dissipated and she began to tap at a personal keyboard next to her.
"I wanted to show you something, Coryn," she sighed.
"Oh?" The room suddenly darkened as the holographic projectors within the ceiling activated. In a few brief flashes of light and color, the images of the worlds within the Elysian system were shown above Coryn and Isis.
"As you already know, the system has been plagued with one attack after the next during the last six months," Isis began, "So far, five worlds have already fallen. That coupled with the ceaseless minor attacks, we have estimated a total of fifty-eight million casualties and rising."
"Okay. I know this already Isis," Coryn said, "With the way things are going, all of Elysium will be swallowed by the darkness in no time."
"So true," Isis sighed, "Currently we have no feasible means of defeating the Heartless. But we have considered a profoundly different method of fighting back."
Coryn suddenly perked up.
"A new way to fight back?" he asked hopefully.
"Yes." She nodded. "But please - try and keep an open mind about this. The World Controllers as well as the surviving Mother Units have unanimously agreed upon sending an agent to search for any wielders of the Keyblade."
Coryn fought hard to suppress his laughter and let out a heavy scoff instead. "Keyblades? Don't tell me all you politicians finally ran out of options. Keyblades are a fairy tale, nothing more."
Isis stared vehemently at her friend.
"I said keep an open mind about this, Coryn," she said sharply and typed once more on the keyboard. The images suddenly zoomed out and another system of worlds neighboring the first was shown.
"Those worlds are beyond our borders," Coryn muttered as he watched the display above him.
"We hypothesized that any wielders would carry an immensely different energy signature than that of ordinary living beings," Isis explained, "We sent probes that could measure these signatures throughout Elysium but came up short. So we sent them beyond the rim of our system to search on other worlds and we found something astounding."
Coryn remained silent and on the edge of his seat, unsure of whether to believe Isis or not. The images suddenly zoomed into one of the worlds of this other system and began to show a recorded feed of its inhabitants. People were bustling about in what appeared to be a large city, their bodies outlined with soft blue.
"As you can see, these humans carry the average energy signatures in their bodies. And these…" She began typing rapidly and the images moved about and targeted three individuals within the city. Their bodies were glowing intensely with radiating hues of blue, orange, and red.
"These are the three individuals who we assume to be wielders of the Keyblades. They've been identified as two males and one female." Isis finished.
Coryn stared in awe at the images. "N-no way. Their energy signatures are bordering off the scale! That's impossible!"
"Impossible…" Isis smiled, "To the average human." She typed another set of commands and the image zoomed out then back into an adjacent world. "We've also encountered a fourth signature, this one appearing to be non-humanoid so the designation of sex or even species is indeterminable."
Coryn scratched his head in confusion and chuckled. "This is a bit unreal. But considering we're fighting Heartless, I have no choice but to believe it. So where do I come in?"
"You, Coryn, have been selected to travel to one of these worlds, preferably the one inhabited by humans, and attempt to enlist the help of these individuals," Isis stated with an air of pride.
"You know I'd do this for you but…What if this is just a goose chase?" Coryn sighed.
"Then as a friend I'd tell you to stay there," Isis said, tears welling up in her eyes, "If these people aren't wielders then Elysium is doomed."
Coryn shook his head in disagreement. "You know I'd never do that. Whatever the outcome is I'd come back to fight until my very last breath."
He sighed and stood up. "I'll do it. This may very well be our only chance at survival and I won't pass it up. I'll just need to prepare and - "
"There is one condition to this Coryn," Isis cut in, "You are not permitted to take any of our technology. That means no weapons or equipment. The only item you'll be allowed to take is a communications relay to contact us when you arrive. We know that these people use outdated gummi technology to travel about their worlds so we've already prepared a ship in docking bay twelve. And we have an old flight suit for you."
Coryn grunted dejectedly.
"Talk about suicide…" he muttered, "Alright, I understand the conditions. Now if you'll excuse me, I think I'll just prepare the necessary provisions." He bowed quickly and turned to leave when he felt a tug at his arm.
Isis pulled him close to her and brought his head down. "Take a small armament, and anything you might need for a light recon mission. Hide it in a rations case and I'll have my men look the other way. I won't be sending you out there defenseless." She whispered.
"You always did look after me. It was nice seeing you again." He smiled and left the room quickly.
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"Final shakedown of engine systems is nearly complete, sir," a disembodied female voice announced.
Coryn checked the monitors aboard the gummi ship to view their progress. "Good work. Let me know when it's completed." The soft clanking sound of someone entering the ship was heard and Coryn turned to see Isis entering the small bridge.
"Oh Isis, did you come to send me off?" Coryn smiled.
Isis nodded calmly. "Yeah…"
She paused and suddenly hugged Coryn once more. "Come back, okay? I don't want to lose you like I lost Guinness."
Coryn sighed softly and set Isis back to look directly at her. "Don't worry. I promise no matter what happens… I'll come back."
Isis procured a small metal pin emblazoned with a lion from her robes and handed it to Coryn. "Here, I want you to take this."
Coryn gingerly accepted the token and he felt a lump form in his throat. "But…Guinness gave this to you when we went to the Military Academy. Why would you give me something so precious to you?"
Isis couldn't hold back a few tears as she tried her best to maintain her composure. "He meant it as a good luck charm, Coryn. I want you to have it for luck."
"He meant a lot to the both of us. He was my brother and…you loved one another," Coryn said softly and attempted to hand the pin back, "I can't take this, Isis. You were his world and he gave this to you from the bottom of his heart."
"I still love him," Isis shuddered, "But I love you like a brother and you're still alive. I want you to take it… Please."
"Alright," Coryn nodded and sighed, "When this is over... if we make it through…let's go to Elysia City and give him a proper funeral service. I'm sure he'd appreciate it."
Isis wiped a few more tears from her eyes and smiled. "Yeah. It's the least we can do." She hugged Coryn once more and turned to leave the ship. "Good luck, Coryn. And come back."
"I will! I promise!" he called out as he closed the boarding ramp behind her.
"Shakedown complete. I'm awaiting launch orders now," Juno announced.
Coryn quickly took a seat at the controls and strapped himself in. "Okay, here we go." He keyed the panel before him and the ships engines roared to life. The gummi ship gently rose from the landing platform and hovered slowly into the airlock chamber, its rear door closing the ship off from the bay.
"All systems green. Prepare for decompression," a technician announced over the com.
"So… Juno, was it?" Coryn asked suddenly.
A small projection of a young woman appeared on the control panel. "That's right. Combat A.I. codename: Juno, at your service, sir."
"Well, Juno, it was nice of Isis to assign you to me," Coryn smiled, "I'll be counting on you okay?"
"Yes, sir," Juno nodded.
The bulkhead in front of the ship opened slowly, revealing the massive void of space before Coryn.
"Alright… Let's hope this works," he muttered as the ship blasted off into the night.
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Okay. Chapter one complete…again. I had decided to rewrite this fanfiction to fix some major errors I made in the beginning chapters. I also wanted to alter some of the storyline as some of you may notice in the coming chapters.
I'll explain the Capcom bit. I am basically just using some terms as well as some names and concepts from the Megaman Legends series. No actual characters from Megaman will appear in this fic but I feel I should give credit where credit is due. The Elysian system is a concept I borrowed from the game but on a much larger scale.
I also opened this first chapter with several OC's in order to make slightly clear of the situation. If you read carefully Sora, Kairi, Riku, and King Mickey were mentioned here. But since my characters don't know them, I didn't mention them by name.
Major thanks to Apakoha for the nudge I needed to rewrite this. Any fans of Tales of the Abyss should definitely check out her story "Promethes Mneme".
Until my next (redone) chapter-
Spartan-3x13