The face-off seemed grossly uneven. On one side stood three teens, not quite old enough to be called adult. The boy in the center was the shorter of the two boys, and just barely taller than the girl. If you didn't count his spiky brown hair. He wore a black t-shirt; black and grey denim shorts and hooded, short-sleeved jacket, both with red accent lines; and red leather bracers with black iron plates on the back of his wrists.
The taller boy had soft white hair and a sterner face. He wore heavy blue jeans and a leather jacket with full length sleeves over a black, button down shirt. The jacket was two shades of yellow, a lighter yellow in the body and darker in the shoulders and sleeves. He wore tennis shoes, but with a heavy metal plate over the toes.
The girl was lovely, bordering on beautiful, with a cute, straight nose; moderately thin lips; and bright blue eyes. She had let her hazel hair grow out, and in the process hints of the redder color it had had in her youth returned. Her build was slender; her bladeswomanship had limited the size of her bust and hips, but she was not without feminine appeal. She wore a fitted white dress with dark pink collar leading into vertical lines around the zipper and down the sides plus a matching belt, lending a slight accent to her modest chest and slim waist. It also had a thicker pink band round the bottom hemline of the short skirt, with some silvery scroll work. Under the bottom edge, there was another hint of dark pink on her legs from the spats she had on. Over the dress she wore a light grey, hooded vest that was unzipped in front and ended an inch or two above her waist. It also had scroll work like the hem of her dress, except in the same dark pink accent color of her dress. On her left wrist she had a rhomboid buckler, of white steel with a crown emblem also in dark pink.
Opposite them were thirteen men. While most were adults in their prime, the youngest was at most twelve, and the oldest appeared to be in his sixties or seventies. They all had deeply tanned skin, stark white hair, and sickly yellow eyes. All wore dusters of a heavy black material that appeared to be both leather and the black ichor of a Heartless's 'flesh'. Then the oldest of them, who stood in the center and slightly forward of his comrades, spoke.
"So it has come to this?" Xehanort said in mock regret, "When the legendary χ-blade was broken it split into seven lights and thirteen darknesses. This was supposed to a like assembly, to reforge the χ-blade. But if this is all the force that light can muster, then we will just have to snuff it out."
He snapped his fingers, and behind his other selves masses of Darksides, Twilight Thorns, and Iron Imprisoners appeared. The monsters leaned forward, ready to attack. The light, already dim in the broad chamber, seemed to diminish until it was just a small circle around Sora, Riku, and Kairi.
"You keep talking about the past," Sora suddenly and sharply said. Something in his voice caused the creatures behind Organization XIII to hesitate.
"To be honest, I wasn't much of a student back home," he admitted, his tone now self-depreciating, "Especially when it came to history. But I think that isn't bad either. They say that those who forget history are doomed to repeat it. I think the reverse is also true. People who obsess about history lock themselves into a cycle."
Sora held his hand out, and his Keyblade appeared in his closing fist. He looked at the weapon, and then pointed the blade down, placing the end on the marble floor.
"Seven light against thirteen darknesses?" Sora said, his tone making it a question, "Wasn't that all in the past? And doesn't that seem a bit unfair?"
He lifted his Keyblade slightly, and both of his companions began to smile. Sora slammed the tip down sharply, and the echoing of metal on stone seemed to quadruple. And three other circles of light sprang up against the darkness.
Slightly behind the trio and to their right stood a tallish man with blazing red hair, a girl with Kairi's face and midnight black locks, and between them a blond boy, the point of his Keyblade also digging into the stone floor.
Slightly behind the trio and to their left stood a tall, muscular man with short brown hair, a blond boy who was the twin of the leader of the second group, and between them a stunningly gorgeous woman with light cyan hair, the point of her Keyblade cracking the stone floor.
Directly behind the trio stood a tall anthropomorphic dog carrying a heavy shield, a short anthropomorphic duck holding a wizard's staff, a slender blonde girl standing behind them holding a paintbrush, and at the front of their group, a stout anthropomorphic mouse, the point of his Keyblade flashing against the stone floor.
The members of Organization XIII, the incarnations of Xehanort, flinched in unison, surprised and dismayed to see foes who should not have even existed anymore.
Six more flashes of light, and Axel, Xion, Terra, Ventus, Riku, and Kairi joined Roxas, Aqua, Mickey, and Sora in holding their Keyblades.
"Thirteen lights against thirteen darknesses, that sounds a little better, doesn't it?" Sora prompted confidently, "But then I thought, you might just cheat and bring an army to this fight. And we've met a number of people with strong light in their Hearts. So was it really fair to leave them out of it?"
As one, Sora, Aqua, Roxas, and Mickey lifted their Keyblades, and rapped them against the marble again. The circles of radiance around the four groups expanded and spread backwards, filling half of the chamber and shedding light on the boy's words.
Hercules, Zack, and Phil and Megara riding Pegasus.
Aladdin, Jasmine, Abu, and the Genie.
Mushu, Mulan, Shang, and Stitch.
Captain Jack Sparrow and Peter Pan, looking at each other suspiciously while Tinker Bell flitted between them, and Flynn Rider looked at them in amusement.
Cloud, Tifa, Aerith, Yuffie, and Cid.
Jack Skellington, Simba, Beast, and Tron.
Leon, Rinoa, and Quistis.
Kim, Ron, and Rufus.
Kala, Zummie, Darkwing, and Buzz.
Minnie, Daisy, Max, and Yen Sid.
"What is this Master?" Xehanort addressed Yen Sid, "You would let him take people from their worlds, violate the order you hold so dear?"
"I am no longer a Keyblade Master, merely an old sorcerer. They are the Masters now. And if this is their choice, it is one I must support."
"Sorry," Sora sounded only mildly regretful, "But we can't give you the fight you want. Instead, we are going to take you down, for the sake of all our worlds."
His words broke the stalemate, and with matched roars, the two armies charged.
