Third Time Lucky.
A Kingdom Hearts Fan-Fiction.
Written by VIII x
A fanfic based on the endless possibilities from the ending of KH2 (Kingdom Hearts 2), a small reminder of what happens is that a letter from King Mickey arrives into the hands of Sora. Both Riku and Kairi are looking at the letter with him and then the creators decide to leave a massive cliff hanger. This left me to think up what will happen next and what the letter could contain.
This fanfic is simply my ideas on which could happen and which leads to the ultimately final battle, where strength is truly tested and nothing is over until indeed it is over.
The hero of the story is not whom will be expected and many characters will show willing and strength beyond expectations.
I do not own any of the characters, places, weaponry or transportation devices mentioned in this fanfic. All credit goes to the inspirational teams of Square Enix and Disney for producing many fantastic games which have given me the will to write once more.
Chapter One
"Thinking of you, where ever you are.
We pray for our sorrows to end, and hope that our hearts will blend.
Now I step forward to realize this wish.
And who knows: starting a journey may not be so hard…
Or maybe its already begun.
There are many worlds, but they share the same sky.
One sky, one destiny."
A letter from a friend, a far off friend in a far off place. One which was of genuine concern.
All was not as it seemed, infact, perhaps in all the excitement, they were ignorant to the fact that those heartless beings had not really ceased to exist. Even though the Heartless were originally controlled by the Organization but, now that they were gone… Things have been going haywire. The worlds need help urgently, simply to continue living. Please, return to Twilight Town and keep an eye on things there. If things spiral out of control, move onto Hollow Bastion. Leon, Merlin and the others have been notified of my current concerns, they will be as ever accommodating as before. Goofy and Donald shall be waiting for you in Twilight Town, bring Riku and Kairi with you, Sora. Anyone, everyone with a strong heart is needed to once and for all defeat the Heartless.
Those who can live hearts can surely live without form, whilst gathering the energy to rise once more.
Stay in touch, we maybe far away but we look up at the same sky at night.
Those concerns of the King were not in vain. The Heartless really had been terrorizing places more than before since the Organization had been destroyed. Many people were living in fear in the worst affected areas, these people did not know how to fight or simply defend their selves against these creatures. It was not as easy as simply attack with anything and everything.
A small reminder of how things once were when the Organization controlled them, things appeared to be slightly calmer, back then. Especially now, as the Heartless were simply running around and hurting people because they knew no different. Without a Nobody in authority commanding these things of darkness, many more people had been attacked viciously than before.
An existence in the void for many was not the way they wished to be remembered, so from the fear which was escalating, many creatures from the dark fed off of it. The void was a place where creatures without a heart, whom cannot be judged, end up after they fade away. Filled with nothingness, the scene of fear was not to be wasted. Slowly but surely it gave the Heartless their strengths and the Nobodies their forms, once more. This was only the beginning of the King's problems.
In a small, rundown area in a world swamped by darkness, plots and schemes were being thought up. Despite the accusations that the Organization had faded into darkness, never to be seen again. They had some how gathered energy in the void to end up in the same, run down area of the world which was swamped in utter darkness. Things obviously have now become alot more complicated for the strong hearted. Especially if some how the Organization members manage to repair the ruins of their destroyed group and like an Phoenix, rise one more.
In a small, empty room, a familiar looking Nobody was laid on an untidy bed. His bright, red hair stood out against the dull walls of the room, along with his piercing green eyes. He wore a long, black coat, typically he would have had his hood up but instead, it was pushed down behind his head. He was laid there, his elbows propped him up from being completely on his back. For a moment, his lips pursed together, he then swallowed. His mind seemed else where and his body was incredibly weak due to the amount of effort he put into opening the way into The World That Never Was for Sora. Despite the time in the void and the fact he fed off of the fear in peoples hearts, he was still extremely weak. Many had thought he simply faded into the darkness, never again to be seen by the light of day again. But, as the saying goes, you cannot have light without dark.
After a few moments, he quietly muttered a single name, "Roxas…" The silence shattered and the almost mournful manner which this fiery redhead was caught in was destroyed when there were a series of bangs on the door. The man moved his body so he would be seated and soon enough, another familiar Nobody appeared in the small, box like room.
This time, a dirty blonde haired male walked in, supporting the same black coat with a hood, which the fiery redhead was wearing. "You're not still pining over him, are you, Axel?" He spoke, with a little edge of sympathy arising from his voice.
Axel's head quickly turned, this intruder had ruined his time when he and what there was left of fond memories were left alone. For a moment his face screwed up, his teeth ground together but then his lips simply showed the real emotion which Axel felt. He was truly distraught and gradually he managed, once more, to speak. "..What if I am, Demyx? He was a good, loyal friend." Yet, as he spoke those words, not as fond memories burst into his mind, especially the word "traitor". His voice was crackly when he actually spoke, like it was hurting him to say it. Demyx stood there, a light sigh elapsed from his lips. Gradually he moved himself to sit beside Axel and to once more attempt to uplift his mood. "Hey, partner, cheer up. Maybe, maybe one day you will see him again. You got to live for that day, pal, not sit and waste into nothingness." Demyx seemed to have matured since he was last around, perhaps it was the possibility of him never returning to see the light and the possibility he might find his Somebody and be reunited with his heart.
Axel swallowed after taking a deep breath, but it would take a lot more of this uplifting talk for him to even consider leaving this dingy room. A few moments passed in complete silence, the pair were sat beside each other and nothing happened apart from the occasional tap of Demyx's foot against the floor to some tune which was in his head.
Quickly enough Axel snapped under the pressure, "Why are you still here, Demyx? Are you too blind to see that I want to be alone?" His face had screwed up once more. His piercing green eyes were looking into Demyx, but as quickly as he snapped, his body fell into that of Demyx's. To begin with, Demyx did not know how to react. Axel had turned into something extremely different since parting ways with Roxas, a large part of him was missing. "Axel, calm down." He spoke with a soft tone to his voice. His gloved hand rose to the back of Axel's head, as it was buried into his chest. To sooth his pains and aches, his hand began to stroke through Axel's hair. Demyx felt an odd feeling; he had not comforted anyone in a long time, only attempts in vain to defeat and strike fear. Axel on the other hand was beginning to calm down, his breathing gradually became normal and finally he lifted his head.
For a moment, Axel and Demyx were staring into each other eyes, but before anything could happen between the pair, Axel practically leapt to his feet. "Roxas still exists. Inside of Sora's heart… I… I need to see Sora again, I will know as long as Sora is safe, as is Roxas. WE can figure out how to get him back later on!" With that, despite the fact he was weak, his form vanished into darkness and Demyx was left there in the dingy, dull room.
For a moment Demyx sat there, thinking over the last few seconds. How close he was to Axel and the odd thoughts circling inside of his head. He began to feel confused as he was nought but a simple shell of what he was once, and feeling this truly odd feelings began to baffle him. Especially about Axel, at the least, his fingers soon rose to his temples, massaging them. The thoughts running throughout his mind were beginning to give him a headache, especially as he could not begin to figure them out. Perhaps, it was for the better he did not dwell on them but of course, he did. "It is always about him, with you, Axel. But, I shall continue on…" Demyx quietly whispered to himself, before getting up and leaving the room just as he found it with the absence of Axel, of course. Behind him, after leaving the room he closed the door and waited for a few moments, before then walking down the hallway to once more socialize with the others.
The letter which Sora had received was beginning to play on his mind, yet another adventure was something worth looking forward too. Especially since it would be with the two people he cares about the most, Riku and Kairi. He knew that he would indeed once more find Goofy and Donald in Twilight Town. That was a nice thought for him, especially as he missed those two. Despite the adventure was not really one to look forward to, inside his heart he could not help but feel it missing a beat. Especially as he would once more see Hayner, Pence and Olette and have a chance to catch up. The Twilight Gang, as they were more commonly known were known by every apart from Riku, so an introduction would be definitely needed. Inside of Sora's heart, he knew he would be excited to see them, as would Kairi. It was so exciting for him to even think about and especially since he can introduce Riku and then be around most of his friends.
He also was truly excited that he would once more be reunited with his two close friends, Goofy and Donald. All the memories of the good and not so good times whilst travelling with them flooded into his mind. The hard times stuck in his memory more than the easy but all times were good times. He remembered other friends from other worlds and at that moment a crooked smile covered his lips. Slowly his eyes closed as the Gummi Ship, which they were travelling in, had began to near Twilight Town, their destination and home for now.
Chip and Dale were beginning to make exclamations because they too were excited as they would to landing in Twilight Town, "We are here, guys!" They began to squeak and squeal whilst leaping up into the air. Kairi perked up, shifting to sit up straight and a smile covered her lips. "We're here, already? Wow!" Riku seemed to be content, as well, despite the fact he did not really know the Twilight Gang. He had heard a lot about them in the past from Sora, nattering on about how things were when he was looking for him and Kairi. If he heard the story once, he heard it a million times. Yet, he could not help but smile at his friends' courage simply to save him and Kairi, of course, he was proud. At the news, Sora leapt to his feet. He was unable to hide this excitement any more. He exploded similar to a volcano due to him staying quiet the majority of the journey. His explosion of exclamations and leaping from foot to foot was to shock yet make his friends grin, "YES!" He shouted and the echoes which occurred in the Gummi Ship simply amplified his excitement!
As the Gummi ship came to a halt on the outskirts of the town, just opposite from the central train station, the three disembarked. First, Kairi began to skip off, her head was in the clouds but once she touched the ground, her lips had curved into a wide smile. Her eyes closed and her beautiful red hair swung around her face, she then waited for the other two to leave the Gummi Ship. Next off was Riku, he held his head high and was prepared for anything and everything. His eyes scanned the unfamiliar place before moving behind Kairi, his hand placed on her shoulder to remind her, he was there for her. Finally, Sora appeared. A wide, almost too large for his face, grin was on show. His spikey hair was blowing in the gentle breeze and he approached his friends, standing with them for a moment.
Within seconds though, Sora heard that voice. The almost quack like words of Donald, before Sora knew it, Donald came bounding out of the station doors, followed by Goofy, who was also moving at high speed. The pair launched themselves at Sora. "Sora!" Donald let out as he soon grounded Sora on the floor. Goofy quickly landed atop of Donald and Sora. Goofy was also pleased, managing to state "Sora!" as well after he regained his breath. The leap had winded Goofy and did not really do much for Donald or Sora.
Eventually the trio recovered, moving onto their feet yet still grinning at each other. Kairi and Riku were both grinning also, just pleased to see Sora beam with happiness. Kairi was quick to suggest, "Why don't we go and find Hayner, Pence and Olette? Let's tell them we're back!" She seemed to excited to refuse, so the five of them began to head through Twilight Town and towards the usual spot, where Kairi and Sora were both very sure as that would be where the trio would be.
The group began to walk through the streets, Sora recognizing some familiar faces and definitely familiar places. They had approached the Garage, which one time, Sora helped push a large delivery up the slope. They walked down the slope, coming to the back alley, which would lead them to the usual spot. Nothing out of the ordinary has happened so far but they were going to wait to ask the others for their side as they live here. As soon as they approached the usual spot, Kairi pushed through the large curtain like door. There were numerous squeals, excited shouts and general chatter when the four which didn't burst in arrived. Again the trio of Hayner, Pence and Olette let an outburst of greetings. Until they reached Riku, they never met him before. Sora quickly stepped in, "Hayner, Pence, Olette, this is Riku. Riku, I told you about these three!" They began to exchange greetings and quickly Hayner and Riku began to get along, chatting about different ways of battling. Nothing less than Sora had expected, though. It felt nice, to be surrounded by more people he knew, Sora felt oddly relaxed despite the current situation.
It wasn't until Sora heard the mention of the "Struggle" tournament did he perk up from this day dream state he slipped into. Riku, also, was interested. Of course, it was Hayner who originally mentioned it, Riku and Sora looked at each other and said at the same time, "I'll enter." Riku looked on at Sora, grinning and Sora was sure to return it, feeling confident of his abilities. Hayner was delighted at their responses and after a few seconds, he replied, "We'll put our names in for it, tomorrow. But, you guys must be tired! We'll sleep out here, with you." Goofy and Donald both nodded, for they were extremely tired, after their long train journey here. Sora, Kairi and Riku also nodded, and Kairi spoke up, "Thank you! We needed some where!"
After a long night of catching up, talking about memories from the not so distant past and simply being in each others company, they all fell asleep until the next morning. The night was peaceful, cool and the sky outside seemed brighter than before as eight large stars shone brighter than ever before.
In the morning, the sun began to rise earlier than expected. The sky turned into some beautiful shades before the sun finally settled in it place. The 8 friends all rose as around the same time, yet Sora was the first to yawn, loudly. The other 7 laughed, they all seemed content to be around each other, especially as they got on so well. After a while of morning preparation, Riku was the one who brought "Struggle" up, again. Hayner looked towards Sora and smiled, "You ready to go sign up for it?" Sora nodded even though he was too tired at the moment to speak. Riku, on the other hand was bouncing on the spot from anticipation and almost began demanding to go sign up for it, this instant.
After waiting a few more minutes for Sora to awaken fully, the trio of Sora, Riku and Hayner headed off towards the Sandlot, to see the Struggle Promoter. Riku, confident as always, was swaggering with each step he took. His shoulders were swinging, as were his arms. His hair caught in the light breeze, lifting it from his shoulders. Hayner was walking along side Sora, occasionally dragging his feet. The trio were unusually quiet until Sora finally awoke fully. "Struggle!" Sora shouted, before playfully batting at Hayner, who was stood close to him as they walked down the stairs towards the sandlot. Riku jumped a few steps and upon landing, almost lost his balance but it serves him right for attempting to show off in front of both Sora and Hayner.
Once the trio finally reached the Struggle Promoter, he had bad news. There were only two spots left in this tournament, Riku looked at Sora, Sora looked back and him and quickly to Hayner. At which point, Hayner backed off, rubbing his arm from where Sora earlier batted it with his hand, "It'll be fun to see you two go against each other, actually!" At which point Riku beamed a confident smile, he was always over confident when it came to battling with Sora, "And we all know who is going to win!" He said, teasingly towards Sora. Sora, at that point, took a stance to try and intimidate Riku yet obviously at the same time make the pair laugh. Meanwhile, the Struggle Promoter had written their names on the board, to keep track of how many wins and losses they have had.
Riku and Sora had been put together to be in the first Struggle match and the winner would go on to Struggle against Seifer - who was once more, the current champion. Riku was the first to walk onto the raised platform, once having received his padded bat, which they used in Struggle matches. The padded bat was meant to soften the blow from each whack. The bat was a bit different from the normal choice of weaponry Riku would use, yet none the less, once he was in the center of the platform he struck a pose of confidence. The crowd whom gathered enjoyed watching the Strugglers before the matches, trying to intimidate their opponents with their poses. After a few minutes the screams and shouts of adoring Struggle fans died down, Sora then decided walked onto the platform and take center stage from Riku to return the gesture.
He was recognized automatically from those who went to the matches which he was in before. Again many avid fans began screaming and shouting as Sora also, simply to rival Riku's sudden fan base, pulled a stance. The Struggle Promoter was hopping from one foot to the next, simply out of excitement and anticipation of this match. He noticed how well balanced the pair seemed to be so he knew how close the match will end up being. The Promoter took a while to start the countdown, so Riku and Sora were using the time wisely whilst waiting; they were simply driving the fans wild. Hayner, whom was in the crowd, wasn't sure who to root for at this stage of the competition, they were both his friends. Only a few seconds later did the rest of the gang appear behind him. Kairi, Olette, Pence, Donald and Goofy within moments after looking at each other and Hayner, with beaming grins, did they all decide to chant. "C'MON GUYS, YOU CAN DO IT!" Not singling one from the other, of course.
Finally the Struggle Promoter decided to call a count down, "3.2.1...Struggle!" At that last word, Riku didn't know what had truly hit him, as Sora pushed forwards from the balls of his feet and caught Riku around the chest with the Baton. It took him a few seconds to regain his composure, but when he did, the sudden lunge at Sora knocked him back quite some way.
Sora was stumbling after the attack which was used by Riku. So Riku decided to take advantage so he moved closer and tried to once more attack Sora with the padded baton, Sora brought his up quickly enough to guard himself from the blow. This same attack from Riku happened a few times and each time, Sora guarded himself. Riku, after a while, grew bored of the guarding motions of Sora, so he decided to swing at Sora's stomach for the next blow. Sora was again thrown back but again he quickly launched forwards and threw Riku off his feet. Riku luckily landed on his feet after the blow even though he stumbled a few times.
The crowd, at this time, were going wild. Many people were shouting for either Riku or Sora, the shouts were drowning together. But, close to the stairs, which lead up to the usual spot, a warp of darkness formed. A hooded figure emerged, wearing a long, black coat and everything else it wore was black. The figure's hands were covered in black gloves to hide any skin. This figure stood there, observing the match being seemingly to be more fixed and interested in Sora and his actions rather than Riku. At this time, though, Donald and Goofy noticed it; the figure seemed alerted but didn't move as much as they expected. Slowly, the figure pulled his hood down.
It was Axel, the fiery redhead, with piercing eyes. He seemed content on watching Sora, ignoring Donald and Goofy who were alerting Pence, Olette, Hayner and Kairi. It took a few minutes but Axel outstretched his arm and his hand was trembling, "Roxas!" He shouted, louder than any one else was shouting for either Sora or Riku. His face was turning into a similar state as before, saddened and longing for Roxas.
This shout had caught the attention of the crowd and the pair Struggling. Sora turned, seeing Axel, as did Riku. Axel literally trembled one noticing Sora was looking at him, he then knew that Roxas was indeed safe. For a moment Sora seemed confused and almost automatically dropped his padded baton. Sora was indeed baffled, how did Axel still exist? He… Faded, right?! Into the darkness, he sacrificed himself to help.
At which point, Sora began to force his way though the crowd towards Axel. An odd look on his face, the hair on his head blowing back off of his forehead. Axel simply stood there as a trembling mess… How was Sora really going to react to meeting someone he thought was gone, again…? Sora wasn't quite sure how to react, though there were thoughts which ran through his mind yet they of a good kind and good intentions.