Remnant Hearts
By: Kuroyami Fukaikuro
A/N: Hey! How you doing? I'm doing great! This story will update whenever it does, which won't be often due to my other fic, Meaning of Birth (shameless self-promotion *cough cough*), and my work on a completely original story, that I hope to publish one day! But enough of this, let's get started!
Prologue: The Final Battle?
Sora and Xehanort glared at each other, Kingdom Hearts standing in between and behind them. Riku, Kairi, Terra, Aqua, Ventus, Roxas, Lea, Donald, Goofy, King Mickey, and many of the other friends Sora had made over the years watched in earnest from a platform below Sora and Xehanort's. The last of Xehanort's Thirteen Darkness' faded away in pain, defeated by the army of Sora's compatriots.
Xehanort brandished the X-Blade, pointing it at Sora. "You could have lived, boy! You could have joined me! But now there is no hope for you! The X-Blade is mine, and Kingdom Hearts is mine!"
Sora shook his head. "You're wrong, Xehanort. Yes, you may wield the X-Blade, but it, and Kingdom Hearts, will never be yours! The essence of the Heart cannot be controlled!"
Xehanort laughed. "'The essence of the Heart cannot be controlled'? Boy, have you forgotten about how Terra's Heart, Riku's Heart, even your own Heart succumbed to my will? After all these years, you come all this way and still you understand nothing!"
"Maybe we did succumb! But our hearts did not! Terra resisted! Riku resisted! And I resisted! In the end, the Heart is beyond anyone's understanding. Even yours."
Xehanort stopped smiling, and instead glared at Sora. "Foolish boy… Perhaps the entirety of the heart is beyond my understanding, but not for long. Once I am done with you, Kingdom Hearts will become one with me, and I will finally know all that there is to know!"
"Not likely!" Sora charged at Xehanort, raising the Kingdom Key above his head for a strike. Xehanort waited, and as Sora got close he acted. Xehanort teleported behind Sora, and swung the X-Blade, tearing through reality with the blades awesome power.
Sora dodge rolled forward, and as he came up he shouted, "Valor!" Instantly his clothes adopted a red color, and Star Seeker appeared in his left hand. He ran forward and struck, delivering a complex combination of attacks that drove Xehanort back. Sora swung both Keyblades down, and Xehanort blocked the attack.
Xehanort pushed both of Sora's blades and knocked him backwards. Sora tumbled before flipping backwards in the air, yelling "Wisdom!" as he landed. His clothes took on a blue tint, and he skated forward, shooting bursts of light at Xehanort.
Xehanort blocked Sora's shots and fired several casts of Dark Firaga in quick succession. Sora skated around the magic and rammed into Xehanort as flames enveloped his body, burning the old Master and knocking him back at the same time. Before Xehanort could touch down, Sora shouted "Thundaga!" The lightning blast tore through Xehanort and pulled him upwards so he could not hit the ground.
Sora grinned, thinking that he was winning. "I'm breaking my Limits!" he shouted, and his clothes took on a red coloration again, albeit with some white on his torso. He threw his Keyblade and it struck Xehanort. The process repeated until Sora stopped throwing it, jumped into the air and struck Xehanort a few times before firing several dozen bursts of light at him. Then he shouted, "Absolute Mastery-!" and his clothes adopted a yellow hue and Star Seeker floated by his left hand. He began to attack Xehanort in midair, delivering strike after strike to him. Finally Xehanort was knocked to the ground, and Sora followed, intending to finish what he had started.
Before he could, Xehanort said, "Not bad, boy. Now it's my turn!" The ground below Sora rose upward and slammed into him, knocking the wind out of him. As he fell, several hundred Keyblades rose from their resting places and struck him, keeping him in the air before finally slamming him into the ground.
Sora coughed as he turned to face Xehanort and rose, standing slowly. Both of their noses were bleeding and they were covered in cuts.
"So you still have the strength to stand?" Xehanort gloated as he healed himself. "Where do you get that power from, boy?"
Sora looked up at him. "Where?" he said as he cast Cure with the last of his energy. "Where does my strength come from? You mean you still haven't figured it out?"
"What?" Xehanort asked angrily.
"Over and over again, I've been asked that same question or others like it. And over and over again, I've given the same answer."
Down below, Riku threw Way to the Dawn up towards Sora. Following his lead, Kairi threw Brightcrest; Roxas threw Oathkeeper and Oblivion; Terra threw Ends of the Earth; Ventus threw Lost Memory; Aqua threw the Master Keeper; Lea threw the Dancing Flame; and Mickey threw Light Seeker. Together, they, Keyblade Warriors and all the rest, cheered Sora on.
"My friends give me the strength to stand! My friends are my power, and I'm theirs!" The Keyblades landed in a circle around Sora, and Xehanort took a step back in surprise. Sora took Way to the Dawn in his left hand, and all the other Keyblades floated around him, held aloft by an aura of light. "This is it, Xehanort! My – no, Our Final Form!" Sora's clothes became white with black trimmings, and he floated off the ground.
Xehanort swung angrily at Sora, and a wave of energy erupted from the tip of the X-Blade. Just before it hit him, Sora disappeared, and then reappeared behind Xehanort. All his Keyblades moved in perfect harmony, knocking the X-Blade out of Xehanort's hand and driving him into the air. Over and over again they struck him, cutting him again and again. Finally, Sora thrust the Kingdom Key in the air, and light burst forth from its tip, encompassing Xehanort's body and holding him in the air, immobilizing him.
Sora dropped Kingdom Key and Way to the Dawn, and pointed his fingers at Xehanort. All the Keyblades followed suit. Light collected at their tips before bursting forth and then collecting into one beam.
Xehanort summoned the X-Blade back into his hand and raised it to defend himself.
The beam of light struck the X-Blade. Xehanort glared in concentration as he tried to repel the light. Darkness flowed from his body and through the blade, and he managed to fire his own beam of darkness, contesting Sora's beam of light.
The struggle between their powers lasted for almost half a minute. However, suddenly the X-Blade fractured, and the beam of light eradicated Xehanort, reducing him to ashes.
Kingdom Hearts opened for a brief moment, and Xehanort's ashes swirled before entering the door's light.
Sora collapsed onto his knees, breathing heavily. After regaining his breath, he stood up and threw the Keyblades back down to their respective members, before simply standing at the edge of Kingdom Hearts and smiling.
Finally, Sora thought, I can go home. The platforms on which his friends stood rose up to join his, and they embraced in celebration.
Then a voice shattered the peace with its words.
Warriors of Light.
Sora and company turned towards the voice, drawing their weapons. "Who's there?" Sora asked.
There is no cause for alarm. We have no intention of harming anyone.
"'We'?" Riku asked.
Yes, we. Kingdom Hearts. You have fought over us for a long time.
"You-you're sentient?" Kairi stammered.
Indeed we are. In fact, we have been aiding you throughout your journeys. When Radiant Garden was overrun with Heartless, we made sure that Kairi would be safe. When the Seeker of Darkness attempted to tap into our power, we made sure he saw only Light. When Xemnas merged with us… Well, admittedly, we failed to completely deny him. We assumed you would defeat him beforehand, and were ill-prepared to reject him.
"Sorry," Sora said.
There is no need for apology. It was our fault for becoming lax.
"Still, I'm sorry. By the way, what did you call us out for?"
We were simply going to inform you that your struggles are not over yet.
"WHAT!?" Everyone shouted.
"But… We defeated Xehanort. Don't tell me there's someone even more powerful, who was controlling him or something?" Terra said.
Nothing of the sort. However, while the Worlds you have saved are now completely safe from danger, there are still worlds that lie in the Darkness. Worlds that shine brightly, like a Beacon, only to attract dark forces. We do not require all of you to act, of course. If you wish, you may return to your homes, to your worlds. However, we at least need one Keyblade Wielder to take up the mantle of this quest.
Kingdom Hearts had barely finished speaking when Sora responded, "I will."
Well, of course you will. Your outstanding empathy towards people you don't even know is one of your greatest strengths. Perhaps we should have worded ourselves better; we need at least one other Keyblade Wielder to accompany Sora on this journey.
This time, Kairi responded. "I will." Meeting Sora's concerned eyes, she said "We are not getting separated again."
Sora nodded and smiled, before turning to Kingdom Hearts. "Well, you have your two-"
Suddenly, Lea and Riku put their arms around Sora. "Whoa whoa whoa!" They said. You didn't think you'd be going on another adventure without your friends, did you?" Riku asked.
Nearby, Ventus spoke up. "Yeah! I'm itching to go on another adventure! One with a happier ending this time."
Terra and Aqua looked at him, concern in their eyes. "Ven," Aqua spoke up. "You just woke up after, what, sixteen years? Are you sure you want to-"
"You bet I do! We didn't even do much this time- Sora did practically everything."
"Yeah, that tends to happen," Riku said.
"So, we need to make up for it! On our first adventure, we were split up and it ended badly. This time, we'll all be together and it'll end well."
Terra thought to himself. "Well, it does sound like a good way to get back in shape…"
"Terra!" Aqua said. "Are you really thinking about doing this?"
"Aqua. You don't have to be too concerned. You -and Riku- are officially Keyblade Masters, but practically everyone here has the skill needed to be one. We'll be fine. Besides, this can count as Ven and my Mark of Mastery Exam! You follow us, and decide if we've got what it takes."
"Well… Okay." Aqua nodded, and then looked at Sora. "You won't mind three extra people, will you?"
Sora laughed and shook his head. "Of course not! The more the merrier." Sora turned to look at Kingdom Hearts, then remembered one last person. He turned to Roxas, and addressed him. "Roxas."
Roxas sighed. "Well, everyone else is going so I might as well go too. Besides, without me around, who'd be there to save Lea?"
"Hey, that was one time!"
The group laughed mirthfully as two others stepped forward. "We're coming too!" Donald shouted as Goofy nodded.
"Well, of course!" Sora laughed. Turning towards King Mickey, he asked "Is the King coming too?"
Mickey shook his head. "I'll be busy helping rebuild all the worlds. Besides, someone has to tell your parents about what you're doing!"
"Well, tell them that we'll be fine." Sora turned back to Kingdom Hearts and said, "Well, here's our party."
Very well. However, a word of warning about including the Mage and Swordless Knight. Many of the worlds you will travel to have not seen beings such as them before. Many worlds would consider them monsters no better than the Heartless.
"WHAT!?" Sora, Donald, and Goofy shouted.
Do not worry. Simply have them wait in your Gummi Ship, providing aid from afar.
Sora turned to Donald and Goofy. "Are you two okay with that?"
Donald sighed. "Well, if we have to, we will."
"But don't forget to call us whenever you need help!" Goofy finished.
Sora nodded, and then realized something. "Wait, we're bringing the Gummi Ship?"
How else would you traverse the vastness that is Kingdom Hearts?
"How big are you?"
We are larger than the Realms of Light, Darkness, and the In-Between combined.
"That's pretty big."
Indeed. Are you all prepared?
Sora turned to his friends. "You all ready?" he asked.
They all smiled and nodded.
Kingdom Hearts caused the Highwind to appear in front of the group. They all got on board, and went through Kingdom Heart's doors to their next journey.
Much Later
Hours after Sora and company entered Kingdom Hearts and the last of Sora's friends left to return to their homes, the Doors remained.
Several figures stepped out in front of the Doors, seemingly from nowhere. Their leader pointed at the Doors and spoke, a harsh baritone voice emanating from his body.
"You. You know why we're here, and what we want."
Yes. You have questions. We have answers.
"Then give us the answer. How do-"
Such knowledge is not given freely, child. We have a request of you first.
"What?" One of the other figures stepped forward and a slightly high pitched mezzo-soprano voice came out of her mouth. "You want us to follow that boy and his friends? To babysit them for you?"
On their journey, they will face problems they have never faced before; problems of a more philosophical nature, problems that cannot be solved simply by hitting it with a weapon. If our knowledge about you is correct, you – specifically, your leader – is an expert at dealing with such problems.
"Well, they've got that right," another one spoke, a deep bass sound that reverberated with power. "So, what's your answer, boss?"
Their leader thought for a moment. "Are there strong people where that boy is going? It's been a long time since I've fought someone who is simultaneously someone I've never fought before as well as powerful."
We cannot guarantee that you will run into anyone as powerful as you. But we can guarantee that there are people and beings within that would indeed prove a challenging fight. The boy himself matches you in strength.
"Good enough for me. But you listen close, Kingdom Hearts," he said, his voice becoming even darker and harsher than before. "If that boy is any weaker than you make him out to be, we'll come back, and I'll kill you myself, answers or no answers."
Kingdom Hearts opened its doors without reply and the group entered.
End of Prologue.
A/N: Whew! Several weeks of work, finally finished! Please comment. I don't care if there's negative criticism, as long as it's constructive as well.