A Beginning and An End.
The war was over. They had won. Even now, the worlds were returning to normal. But he was still dead, yet existing as the living do. He had willed himself to life for a promise once before and was even brought out of his rest by the Lord of the Dead to do battle with a demi-god of strength. Yet, even as he went once again to his final rest, something called him back. The War.
He was broken out of his thoughts by the approach of the other Keyblade wielder, King Mickey. Glancing out of his left eye, he waited until the mouse king was beside him before he spoke, "Why are you here?"
Mickey sighed before he answered. This was what he had been dreading, yet it had to be done. "I…hate to ask this of you, Auron, but the Heartless will not remain sealed forever. They will be released again."
Auron rumbled, "Then Sora and company will deal with it."
Mickey lowered his head as he spoke, "I'm afraid Sora will be long dead by then. With this temporary solution, no one except you will be able to travel between the worlds for a very long time. I don't even know if I'll be able to help then. But, Auron, you will be able to help in the struggle to come."
Auron gaze drilled a hole into the mouse king. He knew what the monarch was asking: to continue to exist until the Heartless come again and fight them once more. His voice was low as he replied, "How long will I have to wait?"
Mickey stared into the scarred warrior's good eye, wishing there was another way. "I honestly don't know, but it won't happen until another takes up the Keyblade. I'll know when it happens and I will be able to send you a message."
Auron looked up at the sky, noticing the stars returning. All his life he had guarded others; it had not been an easy life, but he would not have traded it for anything. "Very well, I except."
Mickey's ears perked up at the guardian's answer. "I'm sorry that it had to come to this. I will help anyway I can."
"Then make sure that this next time is the last time," Auron said as he walked away. If he was to do this, then he would gaze at Spira one last time. His red cloak flowed as the wind whipped at him.
Mickey starred at the spot where Auron had stood. He wondered if he would ever see him again. He pulled his black cloak off and cast it into the void as he opened up a portal to his home, Disney Castle.
One Thousand Years Later.Ron Stoppable lay on his bed with his eyes closed listening to an Oh Boyz CD. Turning over, he spotted Rufus watching him with a sad look in the little, hairless rodent's eyes. Sitting up, he laid his head in his hands.
"Why did she do it, Rufus?" Ron pleaded, desperate for an answer. "Am I that repulsive?"
Rufus leapt into Ron's hair, gently patting his master's head. "There, there" he squeaked, trying to comfort his owner.
Though he tried to keep his mind from replaying the events, Ron reflected on defeating Drakken and his Diablo scheme, going to the prom as Kim's date, and that magical kiss. It was bliss… for two months. But then she broke up with him, saying that they would be better off as friends. Sure, it hurt, but he was ready to give it a try…that was, until yesterday. He had gone to the mall to kill some time when he saw Kim kissing Josh Mankey. It was the purest, most insidious torture known to man, and to make matters worse, as he turned to put as much distance between himself and the betrayal, he ran into Monique. Monique who had told him everything. How Kim had been seeing Josh for nearly month while Kim was supposed to be dating only the Ronster.
Rufus was at a loss. He had never seen his human like this. Sure, Ron had been hurt by that Zita girl, but this was much worse. He had tried everything to cheer up his human.
"Ron!" Wade's face suddenly appeared in the monitor in the Ronster's room. "Duff Killigan is…" Wade blinked out before he could finish as Ron unplugged the monitor. Ron stood up and began to disconnect every electronic device that his brain could come up with. He had no desire to see or even speak to Kim Possible ever again.
After twenty minutes, Ron made his way to the kitchen. He was hungry, but nothing looked appealing. Ordinarily, this called for Bueno Nacho, but that would only taste like poison to him. He grabbed a piece of chicken and made his way over to the sofa in the living room. He glanced at the answering machine, which was completely full and by glancing at the caller id, he knew that they were all from Kim. Taking a look at the chicken, he surrendered it to Rufus, and then stretched out on the sofa and closed his eyes.
Ron's eyes snapped open, as he no longer felt the couch underneath him. He looked around and noticed that he was standing on some kind of glass. "Rufus, buddy, I think some serious physics just happened here? Rufus! Buddy, where are you?" Ron searched his pocket, but no naked mole rat. Glancing down at the floor, he saw what looked liked a figure made of darkness coming out of a heart. "Ummm…hello?" he called out. He waited for a few minutes before deciding that there was no one here. Then, something floating in a golden light caught his eye. He approached cautiously, studying it intently. It looked like a giant, silver key with a sword handle. He reached out and grabbed the blade by its handle. As he did, the light disappeared. "Well, that's weird," Ron thought, but before he could think about anything else about this entirely weird situation he was in, the shadowy figures on the floor suddenly rose up and came to life. He gripped the handle of the strange blade instinctively, ready for the strange creatures.
"Ron! Ron!" he heard someone shouting as he blinked his brown eyes. He felt soft fabric under him. The first thing he noticed was the sound of Rufus growling, and then he saw a familiar pair of green eyes staring into his. Kim was shaking him; he looked around and noticed the open front door.
Kim saw that Ron was awake, so she stepped back. She noticed how his eyes lacked the spark they usually had. Guilt twisted her like a reed in a storm. She should never have come here; she should've just done the mission herself. She opened her mouth to speak, but nothing would come out.
"Get out." Ron said with a trembling voice.
"Ron…I..." Kim whispered hoarsely.
"Get out of my house! I never want to speak to you again! As far as I'm concerned, you don't exist anymore!" Ron roared. "Mankey's waiting, Possible. Or did you find someone else to replace him with already."
Kim's hand flew to her mouth as tears rolled down her cheeks. She had done it; she had cost herself the most important person in her life. She just stared at him, wishing that she could do something to make things right. Instead, she turned and ran away.
Ron stood still, tears brimming his eyes but refusing to spill out. Even though he was hurt, even though Kim was the cause of his hurt, the sight of her crying hurt him even more. The tears finally leaked down his face. He couldn't stand it anymore. He ran out the door as fast as his legs would take him. He had no idea where he was going, but he had to get away.
He had no idea how long he been running when he bounced off an immovable object. He blinked, wiping a few tears away as he stared up at the scariest man he'd ever seen in his life. The man was tall, with a scar over his right eye. His hair was the color of salt and pepper, a red cloak with gold marks on the shoulders covered his body, and his left arm hung on the cloak like it was in a sling, the empty sleeve flowing in the wind. But what really caught Ron's eye was the huge sword on the man's right shoulder, supported by his arm as if it weighed nothing at all.
"Get up." the man spoke.
Ron stood up and noticed the shadow figures from his dream were here. "This can't be real… I dreamed about them…" he trailed off…
"Shut up and summon the Keyblade." the man spoke.
The shadows were surrounding them, now. Ron backed away, trying to make sense of it all. Then, he noticed one of the shadows dive into someone trying to run away. The person disappeared as two shadows came up.
Suddenly, he was shoved to the ground as the red-cloaked man burst into action. Ron had never seen anyone move so fast in his life. The man was slicing through the shadows as if they were nothing.
"Do you wish for them to kill you and make you one of them! If not, summon the Keyblade and fight!" the man growled at him.
Just then, something clicked in his mind. The man said they would kill him, and it suddenly hit him like a punch in the face. KP! She was out in here with these creatures. Ron growled as he felt the Mystical Monkey Power fill him. He reached out summoned his weapon. He didn't register the fact that he wielded two weapons, now, the Keyblade in his right hand and the Lotus Blade in his left. That didn't matter; KP was in danger, and God help those that got in his way.