Hidden Nobody
Part 3-B
A/N: The final chapter of Hidden Nobody. I hope the ending is good.
Disclaimer: Not mine, blah blah, Kingdom Hearts and so on, etc. etc.
--
Elevator Room
A man with gray hair in a ponytail and a yellow eye was standing up on a balcony when the floor stopped rising. His other eye was covered by a patch, which did not completely cover a long scar. He was hold two strange-looking weapons, like giant guns. And again, they were surrounded by Nobodies, which "stood" sideways in the air.
"Who are you?" asked Sora.
"I am Number II. Xigbar the Freeshooter. Dragoons! Kill them!" yelled the scarred man.
"Sora, get him! I'll hold them off!" As the Dragoons began to move, warping through the air, Xigbar leapt from the balcony, him and the Dragoons firing off bullets of energy at Sora. Goofy put his shield in front of Sora, blocking the bullets. Sora attached the Oblivion attachment to the Keyblade, which turned black, with a twisted handguard and blade. He raised the Keyblade over his head.
"Thunder!" Energy gathered over Xigbar, and threw itself down at him in bolts of lightning. The Freeshooter warped away as Goofy hurled his shield at the Dragoons. More appeared as the shield tore through them, firing at Sora, who whipped the Keyblade through the air, batting away the bullets. Xigbar appeared behind Sora and elbowed him in the back of the head, picked him up, and threw him.
Two Dragoons appeared above Sora, who twisted horizontally in the air, and fired bullets into his back, slamming him to the floor. Goofy caught his shield as it spun back to him, like a boomerang, and shield-smashed Xigbar, who warped back up to the balcony. The Dragoons above Sora dove down at him as Zigbar shot a hail of energy bullets down at the elevator-like floor, and Sora held his hand out to Goofy, who dashed toward him.
Goofy flew toward Sora, who was surrounded by a cocoon of bright light. Xigbar and the Dragoons shielded their eyes, and when the light faded, Sora's clothes had changed to red and black, and he now held Oblivion and a second Keyblade, which the attachment Axel had left behind for him. He sprung to his feet and rushed up to meet the Dragoons, who took aim with their guns. Firing at him, he batted their bullets away with his Keyblades, and thrust his Keyblades up and out, ripping the Dragoons apart.
More appeared in midair, and now Sora twisted and turned, thrusting out with Oblivion while slashing off to his left with the flame Keyblade, then spun over to slash outward with Oblivion at another Dragoon. Xigbar fired his guns, more energy bullets arcing and then raining down at Sora, who began to spin at a high speed, his Keyblades held out, blocking off the energy bullets, his body a red and black blur.
Luxord's Room
Luxord raised his arms, and a large, strange box appeared, which he flung at Xaken. Xaken's black daggers, which he turned into a pair of twin katanas with his thoughts, dove to the side to avoid the tumbling box, rolling to his feet and throwing one katana at Luxord, who side-stepped it. Xaken rushed in, and heard a thumping behind him. The box had switched direction and now came back for him. He blurred his body to fade away, appearing right in front of Luxord, the box still chasing him. Luxord tried to backhand him, but Xaken ducked, then jumped over him, landing behind The Gambler of Fate, who was now the target for the box. However, it passed right through Luxord and rolled over Xaken, who was now trapped inside.
Everything was pitch black. He didn't know what was happening, all he felt was intense pain. He struggled powerfully against the force of the box, breaking it apart and landing on his knees, his body aching and covered in bruises. He got to his feet, and turned to slash Luxord as the taller Nobody rushed at him, then jumped back at the tip of Xaken's katana ripped a hole in his coat and cut half an inch into his skin.
Luxord hissed in pain, and now strange Nobodies, juggling cards, appeared from nowhere. Xaken smirked and put his fingers to his mouth, blowing out a sharp whistle. Dusks appeared in flashes of light, and rushed at the Jugglers, who sent their cards whizzing sinisterly through the air, slicing easily through the Dusks. Xaken's other weapon appeared in his free hand and he ran at Luxord, both blades whistling through the air in an even sequence before him, while Luxord easily dodged and ducked, laughing at Xaken.
One Juggler threw a card at Xaken, which grew in size and density and rammed into his back. Luxord jumped to the side as Xaken rammed into a wall, lights popping in front of his eyes as the wind was knocked out of him. He staggered away from the wall, gasping for breath as three Jugglers appeared and threw cards at him like throwing stars. He blew the cards away with one blade and the other turned into a saber, which he used to cut through them. Luxord came from nowhere, but Xaken, ready for him, reversed a katana, placing the blade to his chest, then jabbed his arm outward, ramming the butt of his weapon into Luxord's nose, which broke like frail glass. Unfazed, Luxord returned the attack by slamming his knuckles into Xaken's cheek, knocking the small Nobody backward.
Xaken felt his shoulder blades hit the floor, he rolled back and then stopped himself, skidding on his knuckles and feet to a stop. With a roar of rage, he leapt up, into the air, and dove down at Luxord, thrusting his blades out, side by side and an inch apart. When Luxord sidestepped him, he aimed to knee Xaken in the stomach, but the smaller Nobody blurred out of sight again, and reappeared five feet from Luxord…invisible.
"Ahh…using that curious power that got you your nickname, I see. But it won't help you here!"
Luxord threw out another rolling box, which aimed itself right for the invisible Xaken.
"Shit!"
Xaken threw himself out of the way, then dashed at Luxord, his steps invisible. But it was when he drew breath that Luxord heard him, and he threw his arm out, catching Xaken by the throat. Easily lifting him into the air, Luxord squeezed Xaken's neck, cutting off his air supply. A black sword dropped to the ground, and Xaken slowly began to appear, trying to pull Luxord's hand off of him.
The Gambler of Fate raised his arm and slammed Xaken down onto the floor, kneeling next to him with a grin. "Sorry about this, comrade. But we can't have you mucking things up for us, can we, you little faker? You and your boy-toy, the Keyblade wielder. Nobodies don't have hearts…and they don't have a conscience. Die." Luxord squeezed harder, completely cutting off Xaken's air supply, and now darkness was gathering in his vision as he slowly suffocated, with a sensation of falling…
Xigbar's Elevator
Sora slowed to a stop after Xigbar stopped raining down energy bullets, more Dragoons appearing as Xigbar stayed up to the safety of his balcony. But Sora reached the end of his patience. He leapt straight up at Xigbar, but bounced back as he hit an invisible barrier. With a growl of defiance, he leapt back up and slammed his Keyblades into the barrier, jerking them from side to side, thrusting, and slashing in all directions. He ripped the barrier apart and double-jumped in midair, gathering energy under his feet to form a floating floor, and leapt off of it at a stunned Xigbar.
He slammed the flat side of Oblivion into the side of Xigbar's head, lights popping behind Xigbar's eyes as he staggered back. In midair, Sora twisted around and put his heel onto Xigbar's chest, knocking him back a few more feet. Sora landed on the rail of the balcony and leapt forward, ramming his forehead into Xigbar's face, who yelled out as he felt his nose cave in. As they both fell to the floor, Sora, on top of Xigbar, began punching every inch of him he could reach with the handguards of his Keyblades.
Xigbar raised his knee and kicked Sora forward, off of his body, and clambered to his feet. Sora planted the hilt of Oblivion on the floor and flipped onto his feet, crouched, and spun his torso to the left, slashing with the flame Keyblade as Xigbar got to his feet. The Keyblade slashed into the back of Xigbar's legs, who fell with a scream. Sora turned back around, then leaned straight back, planting both Keyblades into Xigbar's chest. The Nobody cried out in pain, and Sora pushed himself straight up, handstanding with his Keyblades. With perfect balance, he raised the flame Keyblade, and charged magic into the weapon. He roared in rage, a scream that mingled with Xigbar's, and slammed the Keyblade into Xigbar's face as fire exploded from the top and spread across the Freeshooter's body. Sora pulled his second Keyblade free as he felt his Valor form beginning to weaken. He planted the Flame Keyblade on the ground next to Xigbar and pushed away, landing on his feet and Goofy split from his body, returning him to normal, the flame Keyblade disappearing. Wisps of shadowstuff rose from Xigbar's body as he screamed in agony, then broke apart, fading into nothing.
Panting, Sora looked up at Goofy, who nodded, and, as he was about to put his old shield away, it broke apart, weakened from the powerful Dragoon's attacks. He sighed and slapped his hand to his face in disbelief, as the Keyblade disappeared.
"Don't worry, I'm sure we can find you a new one. How do you think Xaken's doing?"
Luxord's Room
Xaken gasped out, slowly choking to death, his hand scrabbling the ground, clawing for his weapon, which lay seven feet away. Above him, Luxord chuckled, and shook his head. "You have no chance.
"Poor, deluded Xaken. We all knew you were different. We all knew you would fail. You just don't have the 'heart'." Luxord chuckled at his own wit. "See, me, Sai'x, Xigbar, and The Superior, we're the only ones left. We were just better than the others. We will be the ones to regain our hearts. But you, little one, you will get nothing.
"You don't even know what's really going on, do you? The Superior warned us you were coming. He told us that you were going to betray us. We were ready for you. We prepared to kill you. And I…I'm taking deep, wonderful pleasure that I have the good fortune to finish you off myself. Selfish? Maybe. I always hated you."
Xaken could feel his life slipping away. He could already see the darkness leaving his body, trailing up into the air and away in small, tiny wisps. The moment, he knew, was coming.
"What have you ever contributed to the Organization? What have you ever done for us? You never laid your life down for us. You hung back, The Superior's little favorite, while we went off to fight the Keyblader, and died for it. We've lost many comrades, no thanks to you. Shit, you didn't even do any of the cleaning or cooking or anything! Skulking around the castle like that emo lunatic, Zexion." Luxord began to squeeze harder, wanting to feel Xaken's throat cave beneath his fingers.
"So, I give you your reward. For all that you've done for us, I give you what you've earned: Nothing, which is what awaits you! Now you can feel the horror our friends have felt as they die-!"
Luxord's mouth hung open, in a silent scream of pain, ragged little gasps escaping his lips. A long, thin black sword had extended upward, piercing him through the diaphragm. Xaken felt Luxord's hand slacken and gripped, pulling it from his throat.
"Surprised? You forgot my second weapon, which I turned into 'brass' knuckles so you wouldn't notice. I waited until you were at your most confident, so I could have the…now, how did you say it? Oh, yes. The 'pleasure' and 'good fortune' of 'finishing you off myself.' Oh, and by the way…"
Xaken pushed forward, hard, with his blade, ripping it down through Luxord's chest, stomach, and crotch, holding out his free hand. His other blade flew into his waiting hand, and he slashed sideways with it, lopping off Luxord's head. The Gambler of Fate immediately broke into wisps of shadow that disappeared.
"You talk too much."
Xaken got to his feet, and looked around at the Dragoons who had been watching. They silently screamed as one and disappeared, leaving Xaken alone.
"Cowards," he said as he disappeared though a portal of darkness.
Xigbar's Elevator
"How do you think Xaken's doing," Sora was asking, as Xaken appeared right behind him.
"Pretty damn well, I think," he said.
Sora turned at the sound of the voice, and shouted out, a smile on his face. "Xaken! So you beat Xigbar?" Xaken nodded, his weapons disappearing.
"Yeah. It wasn't too hard. If Xigbar's defeated, that leaves Sai'x and Xemnas as the last ones. Sai'x will be as hard as Xemnas, so I'll help you out with him." Xaken, smirking, looked around at Goofy, and noticed his shield was missing. "Goofy, where's your shield?"
"It broke after the fight," he said.
"Shit. That's not good. Well…maybe we can find another one."
"That's what I said," Sora told him.
Xaken nodded, and beckoned them closer. "Come here." He put a hand on each of their shoulders, and used the darkness to take them to the Nobodies tombstones. The last one that was open read 'Sai'x the Luna Diviner'. Xaken looked to Goofy. "If you don't have a shield, then maybe you should hang back. You should be safe in here while Sora and I beat down Sai'x."
Goofy didn't like it much, but he nodded and went to sit against the wall. Xaken turned to Sora, nodded, and took his hand, pulling him towards the marker. As they touched it, they disappeared, surrounded by darkness.
??
After the darkness disappeared, they found themselves in a large, empty room. Oblivion appeared in Sora's hand as Xaken's Hidden Weapons appeared in his, and they looked around.
"We're in Sai'x's room. Be careful, Sora. Sai'x is violent, aggressive, and completely insane. He's a rabid animal, and I don't think he'll be as easy as Xigbar and Luxord." Minutes passed, and nothing happened. "Damn it, where is he? This is making me nervous.
??
Two men in identical black coats stood side by side. The taller had his hood up, his arms folded across his chest. The shorter of the two had shoulder-length blue hair, yellow eyes, and a large X-shaped scar on his face.
"They are in your room now. Aren't you going to go and fight them," the hooded one asked.
"As long as we're clear. I get to kill them both," replied Sai'x. "I will kill the traitor, Xemnas."
The hooded man nodded, and the other, Sai'x, disappeared in a portal of darkness. Xemnas chuckled under his hood. "The only one dieing here, today, is you, Sai'x." Xemnas reached up, and pulled his hood from his face, his silver hair falling down to his shoulders, a smirk on his handsome face. He turned around to face a large, heart-shaped yellow light in the sky. "Kingdom Hearts is almost complete. I am counting on you, Xaken."
Sai'x's Room
"Maybe he doesn't know we're here?" offered Sora, but Xaken shook his head.
"I doubt it. He knows. He's toying with us. Trying to make us nervous. It's working," said Xaken, his eyes darting around nervously. "Sai'x is probably the second-strongest Nobody. He could not easily beat me, but he could beat me. He knows that, too. I think I'll be the first one he targets for-GET DOWN!"
Xaken leapt upon Sora and shoved him down to the floor, just in time to dodge a giant hammer that whirled over their heads and smashed into the wall, imbedding itself. Xaken pulled Sora back up as the Keyblade, in Oblivion form, appeared in Sora's hands at the same time Xaken's weapons phased into existence, and with a thought became a pair of giant warhammers. Looking around for their attacker, which Sora mistakenly took to be a Berserker at first, they saw the blue-haired and scarred Sai'x standing on the hilt of his hammer, with his arms folded across his chest, grinning like a maniac.
"So glad you both could make it. Actually, I'm surprised you got this far, Xaken, even with the Keyblader's help." Sora looked over at Xaken, who shrugged. "It stops here, though," said the dangerous Nobody, his tone turning grim. "Both of you are going to die. Berserkers, to me!"
Three of the hulking Berserkers appeared around Sai'x, saw the two fighters, and raised their heavy hammers in rage, lumbering towards the two as Sai'x, laughing maniacally, speeded across the room to recover his own hammer. "Sora, you take Sai'x," yelled Xaken, "And I'll take these weaklings!"
Xaken rushed towards the oncoming Berserkers, jumping into the air to dodge a clumsy maneuver from one that smashed its hammer into the ground. A second hammer screamed in from the side, and Xaken crossed both of his own in front of himself in an 'X' shape. The Berserker hammer hit both of his and drove him off to the side, into the waiting hand of the third Berserker. They're fighting as a team? When did they get so smart? The crushing hand felt like a giant steel bar, slowly shrinking and squeezing. Xaken fought down a rise of panic and called upon his darkness ability, teleporting through a black portal, directly above the offending Berserker's head. He raised both warhammers and slammed them down on top of its head, sending it face-first into the floor.
Sora watched Xaken's fight until Sai'x removed his hammer from the wall and swung it sideways at Sora. He jumped up to avoid the thing, planting his hand on the weapon and springing forward at Sai'x. Twisting himself in midair, he righted his body and raised his Keyblade to bring it in a downward slash. Impossibly fast, Sai'x pulled his hammer back and blocked the attack with the bulk of the weapon, smirking.
"Not so easy."
Sai'x swung his sword up at Sora from under him, knocking him up into the air. As he saw the hammer rise up from his upside-down position, he quickly flipped himself upright, moving his Keyblade to his left. As the hammer descended, he slammed the shaft of his Keyblade into it with a hard swing to the side, propelling himself out of harms' way to land safely on his feet as the hammer smashed into the ground. Sai'x dislodged it with a snarl.
"Lucky bastard!"
The Berserker hit the floor just as Sai'x launched the first attack. The Nobody struggled to get to its feet as the other two stormed towards Xaken. With a smirk, he dashed in between the two Berserkers, pulling his hammers in and then whipping them out. Two dull thuds signaled the warhammers connecting with the Berserker's legs, sending them to their knees in pain. Xaken leapt up to the left one and spun in midair, slamming a hammer into the side of its head. When he landed, he jumped towards the first one he attacked, raising both hammers to finish it off. But with surprising speed, it swung its hammer towards the tiny Nobody, who blocked barely in time to get slammed up against a wall and fall to the floor, groaning and swearing.
He got back to his feet, his warhammers shifting and blurring, until they became a pair of scimitars. He grinned wickedly at the thought of ripping some holes in the bodies of the Berserkers. He came rushing in, both blades wailing away, in vicious arcing swipes and wide slashes, like nothing so much as a wall of black lightning in front of his body.
The first Berserker he came upon didn't even know that he had slashed fifteen gashes into its leg, until it fell with a silent roar, only to be silenced with a sword in its throat. A hammer came screaming from behind, and Xaken backflipped over it, spun in midair, and tore into the chest of this Nobody, laughing madly. It fell to its back and disappeared, leaving for the realm of death. That left one more.
As Xaken landed on the floor and turned to the last Nobody, the Berserker was already on it's feet, hefting its hammer into both hands. This entire battle was becoming very confusing. Berserkers were neither intelligent enough to fight as a unit, nor strong enough to lift their cursed hammers for more than just enough time to swing it at an enemy. These Nobodies were holding their hammers up much too easily. There was something more going on here.
Letting his battle lust fade, Xaken took a few deep, calming breaths, focusing his sight on something unseen. As the rest of the room faded away, leaving behind an illusion that there was only him and his enemy, surrounded by a world of darkness, he came upon a startling sight. The Berserker was surrounded by a strong blue aura. He could see it filling the Berserker's body, giving it strength and clarity.
Straining to improve his vision, Xaken could see a single, thin blue line extending outward from the back of the Berserkers neck. He could also see two more blue lines, in the exact spots the other two had been, now beginning to fade away. The Berserker seemed to be laughing at him. Following the blue line, he saw that it connected directly to Sai'x, and Xaken suddenly understood; Sai'x was feeding his own energy into his minion, powering it with strength and knowledge. This was both impossible and confusing all at once. Since when could Sai'x do this?
The Berserker was now lumbering towards Xaken, who raised both scimitars, readying himself for battle. The black background faded away, focusing sharply into the blank, white confines of Saix's room. The Berserker lifted its hammer high above its head, and Xaken dashed forward, running between its legs and stopping behind it. He spun to slash both scimitars into the back of its legs, but the Nobody surprised him for a third time. Impossibly fast, devastatingly strong, it blew the frail body of the little Nobody with a strike that resembled a golf swing, and Xaken exploded into a world of pain and swirling sights until he connected solidly with the wall for a second time, and slumped to the ground as the body-shaking pain and aching began to fade as his vision went dark.
Sora had his hands full with Sai'x, who was feeding off of his last minion even as he gave it his own powerful energy, whipping Oblivion back and forth, barely fending off the giant hammer from crushing his body. He watched the Berserker smash its hammer into Xaken and cried out, concern and anger flooding his body. He leapt back, away from the battle with Sai'x, and ran towards Xaken as Sai'x gave chase and the Berserker raised its hammer to finish Xaken off. He watched Xaken's eyelids flutter, and used his last ounce of strength to mouth the words "Use your Drive ability" before he lost consciousness. Sora could not understand why Xaken would ask him to do it, but did not stop to wonder why. Xaken was about to die, Sai'x was gaining, and unless Sora did something soon, both of them would die here. In desperation, Sora searched deep within himself and brought his Drive ability up to the surface, letting his body become a vacuum to pull in the nearest source of power from an ally. In disbelief, Xaken's body was raised from the ground, and, like a magnet, flung itself at Sora just as the hammer missed his body and Sai'x raised his own hammer for the finishing blow. Their bodies connected; all was light.
Sai'x raised a hand to shield his eyes as the explosion of bright light filled the entire room with a sound like a massive engine firing up. The noise shook the floor; a form began to take shape in the middle of the flash; the light faded, leaving a startling figure in its wake.
It was neither Sora nor Xaken; black-streaked brown hair stuck out wildly in the shape of Sora's unique, spiky hair; one bright blue right eye was joined with one smoky gray left eye; a thin, pale face holding a familiar smirk held in check with a friendly countenance graced his face; he was tall, but incredibly slim, with a toned body covered in black and silver, curving and spiky markings; underneath a hooded and sleeveless silver trench coat that flared out from the waist and with the Nobody symbol on the back, he wore a jet-black undershirt with matching gloves, the fingers ending at the second knuckle, with slug-like metal bands over the first knuckles (for extra-painful punches), tight leather pants, and knee-high, steel-toed silver boots. In his right hand he held the Oathkeeper Keyblade; in his right, a shadow weapon that took the form of Oblivion, but not a true Keyblade; it was a fake, one of Xaken's weapons that took Oblivion's form. The new boy spoke in two voices; the first and strongest was Sora's, the second, Xaken's.
"I feel…feel like…" His voices trembled with pleasure and power, and he turned his head to look back at Sai'x with a wide grin on his face, revealing pointed fangs. "I feel like killing."
Sai'x's face blanched at the power and danger in the new boy's voices, taking an unconscious step back. A hissing snicker escaped the boy as he turned to the Berserker, who came on bravely (or stupidly?) with its hammer raised, aiming to smush him into the ground. As he hammer came down, and in the time it took for Sai'x to blink, the boy was gone. He appeared in midair, behind the Berserker, but he wasn't floating nor falling; he was hovering.
He spun his torso and swung the hand with Oathkeeper towards the Berserkers head, hitting it on the side of the head with the butt of his weapon. Instead of dropping the creature, the damned thing flew across the room, heading for the wall. The boy grinned.
"We're not done yet."
He seemed to disappear again, and reappeared underneath the flying Berserker, moving along with it. He kicked upward with his right boot, launching the Nobody up into the air. He dragged his feet on the floor to slide to a stop, then launched himself straight up, spinning his body. He whipped his weapons out in deadly slashes, spinning both, even letting them leave his hands and guiding them around his entire body with mere thought. He rose up to meet the Berserker, and fell with it. When he landed on his feet, the hundreds of little pieces left of the Nobody were fading away. The weapons slowly revolved around his body, like moons in a planet's gravity field, until he took them in both hands and turned to Sai'x.
"Next."
Sai'x thought to himself "Fuck this" and turned, running away from the dangerous fusion. He barely got two steps when the new boy appeared right in front of him, barely a foot away. He cocked his head, like a child observing an interesting new sight.
"My name is Kaizen, and I am going to kill you now." Sai'x took a step back and raised his hammer in defense. Imagine his surprise when Oathkeeper, like a bolt of lightning, tore through his hammer and shattered the powerful weapon to pieces, leaving a horror-struck Sai'x holding the hilt. Kaizen tossed both weapons up, high into the air, rushing in at Sai'x, who struck out desperately with his broken weapon. Kaizen batted it away with his right hand, striking Sai'x in the stomach with his left palm. He slid over to Sai'x's right side, jabbing two fingers painfully into the Nobodies body and twisting them, making Sai'x's body instinctively try to turn away from the blow. Kaizen spun behind Sai'x, back-to-back with him, and rammed both elbows into there his kidneys should be. He spun again to Sai'x's left side, striking him in the ribs with his knuckles; finally, he slid back to Sai'x to face him, watching in amusement as the Nobody reeled from all the super-swift attacks. Kaizen drew his hands in at his side, then thrust both hands out, wrists together and fingers bent in, striking Sai'x in the chest and sending him flying back into a wall with a powerful, air-distorting burst of energy. Oathkeeper and the fake Keyblade, now spinning back down, were caught easily by Kaizen, who held them crossed in an 'X' shape over his chest, reveling in the feel of the power flowing through his body. All of this in barely three seconds. A/N: OK, I have no way to explain 'Kaizen's' sudden upsurge of power. I know that his fusion is kind of DBZ-ish, but I tried as hard as I could to not make it that way, though the voice thing is the same. You'll notice I didn't combine 'Sora' and 'Xaken', which I thought was neither original nor clever, but gave him a new name altogether. And his attack is similar to Hinata's on one of the three Naruto games for the PS2, but I couldn't remember how she did it exactly, so I put my own spin on it. Since Donald is no longer around and needed for the Final Form, I gave Sora a different kind of Final Form. You'll notice that he can still control his weapons with what seems to be a kind of telepathy, and that he can still fly, though much better than the Final Form can. I hope it was good.
Sai'x felt his back slam into the wall, and slid down to a sitting position, gasping in pain. Disarmed, aching everywhere, he knew he was going to die. But where did all of this power come from? It was insane, unfair, how the tables turned so quickly and ruthlessly. Perhaps Xaken was truly more twisted then he ever thought. Sai'x struggled to get to his feet, anticipating a blade in his stomach.
The fake Oblivion suddenly flew towards Sai'x, and embedded itself into the wall, an inch from his head. He nearly fainted; that could have killed him. And he didn't think that Kaizen aimed for him, either.
"It's fun to toy with you," said the dangerous boy, confirming Sai'x's suspicions, "But I'm done here. Now you die." He pointed Oathkeeper at Sai'x, who wondered what was coming. A ring of light formed around the Keyblade, and Sai'x, in horror, tried to open a portal and escape. Like a machine gun, bursts of light power streamed from the tip of Oathkeeper, shredding the portal, and Sai'x, to bits, blasting limbs and pieces away from his body that faded away into nothingness, tearing him apart with pain that was like fire, agony that ran through his body before it was blown away. When the shoulders, one arm, and head of Sai'x began to fall and disappear, speechless and numb, the last conscious thought he would ever have entered his mind before reality faded from reality. Xaken did not betray us. Xemnas betrayed us all…
As Sai'x faded away completely, a bright light surrounded Kaizen, who became Sora as Xaken separated from his body and fell to the floor, breathing calmly as though asleep. Sora could tell that Xaken was already healing from the Berserker's attack, had been healing the entire time, but had not yet regained consciousness. Sora didn't know how Xaken knew what would happen when he used his Drive ability, but now was not the time to think about it. He bent down and pulled one of Xaken's arms across his shoulders, dragging him slowly to the portal that would lead back to the Organization graveyard.
After a disorienting ride through swirling color and light, he found himself standing in front of Sai'x's grave, which was now blocked off. Goofy got to his feet and hurried over to Sora.
"What happened to Xaken," he asked.
"Long story," replied Sora, "Help me get him against the wall."
"No need," said Xaken, much to Sora's surprise, who straightened up and brushed his clothes off, chuckling. "What a rush, eh? That new form of yours will be a big help against Xemnas."
Sora laughed and hugged the Nobody. "How did you know that would happen?"
"In truth…I didn't," he Xaken with a sheepish chuckle. "I didn't know if anything would happen, but better than dying, right? You know this leaves Xemnas last, and-hmm?" Xaken paused, and felt around in one of his pockets. "Where did these come from? They might be for you two."
He held out a Keyblade attachment, and a small silver disk. Sora took the attachment, took off the Oblivion attachment to the Keyblade, and put the new one on. In a bright flash of light, Sora held a new Keyblade, a mighty weapon longer than he was tall, but light, white and silver, the entire thing made up of criss-crossing metal bands like Oathkeeper, but much more impressive. When Goofy took the disk, it morphed and became a mighty silver shield, with a crown symbol and spiked edges.
With a sudden rush of clarity, Sora knew what these were. "This is the Ultima Keyblade. I remember this. Goofy, you have the King's Shield! These are two of the most powerful weapons! If Donald was here…he would have gotten the Queen's Scepter A/N: Or was it Queen's Staff?."
"You mean this?" Xaken took out a small rod, and Sora nodded. "No…no need for it now, I suppose," said Xaken, tossing it away. "Too bad. That weapon needed someone like Donald to wield it. Well, we best get going, hmm?"
A/N: From this moment on, the story is going to change a lot. Partly to save time, mostly because I can't remember it. Parts will be the same, just bare with me. It'll make sense towards the end…I hope.
At that moment, there was a great shout from the doorway beyond the last markers, and without a word, Sora, Goofy and Xaken dashed up the stairs, running through the doorway into a flat platform with stairs leading up to yet another, where there stood…King Mickey, and some blonde man? There was also a tall man in a black coat. With a rush of anger, Sora recognized Ansem! And standing next to him was Kairi! He couldn't believe his eyes. To complete this odd scene, Xemnas stood away from the entire group, with a smirk on his face, while Kingdom Hearts hung in the background. The three fighters' eyes widened, and they dashed up the steps, weapons appearing in hand. Sora's first priority, in his mind, was finishing off Ansem once and for all. But as he neared, Kairi stepped in his way, hands outstretched.
"Sora, stop!" she yelled.
"Move, Kairi," Sora shouted back, "Ansem is dangerous!"
"This isn't Ansem! This is-" she started to say, but Ansem said, "Kairi, no!" Sora slid to a stop. Something was off here.
Kairi turned to Ansem. "He needs to know! Sora," she said, turning back to him, "It's…it's Riku."
Thunder seemed to pound through Sora's head, shock and disbelief draining his strength and rage. "Ansem…is Riku? That can't be…that's not Riku!"
'Ansem's' shoulders dropped, and he reached up to remove his mask. Staring into the face he hated, Sora's own face paled; behind Ansem's cold, evil eyes, he could see a flash of Riku. "Sora," he said, "Kairi's right…it's me."
Sora walked over to Riku, as if moving through a dream. "How?" was all he could say.
"When I disappeared into the darkness, it called out to me. I knew the only way I could escape, and see you, and Kairi, and our friends again, was to accept it. But…it…" he seemed unable to go on. At this point, the blonde man stepped forward, speaking with a deep voice that Sora seemed to remember, as if from years and years ago.
"Riku's body was destroyed. Ansem's evil still lurked in his heart, and to save himself, he took on Ansem's form. Darkness became his power, and life. When he escaped the darkness, he began to introduce himself as Ansem. I met Riku, and asked him to help me. But he did not want you to see him this way," he said.
"And who are you?"
"Sora," said Mickey, "This is an old friend of mine. His name is Ansem the Wise."
"Ansem…the Wise? But Xehanort was calling himself Ansem. There's another Ansem?"
"Xehanort was my apprentice," said the blonde man. "I had been researching the power of the heart, but when I discovered the Heartless, I gave up my research, and I forbade Xehanort and my other apprentices to continue it. But Xehanort would not listen. He continued my research in secret. He became angry when I discovered him, and threw him out of my laboratory. He turned himself into a Heartless, and began to use my name and research. I am the true Ansem. It is nice to meet you at last, Sora."
Sora's brain was still struggling to take it all in. Then he pointed at Kingdom Hearts. "What is that doing here?"
"We have been drawing it to us." It was Xemnas who answered. "Like a good little lapdog, you have been feeding it's power, and now, I am going to take it for myself. You will not stop me. I will regain my human heart, and the power of a god. I will make my own universe, my own worlds. None of you will stop me!"
"That is where you are wrong," said Ansem the Wise, taking from under his red cloak a strange contraption. He pointed it at Kingdom Hearts, and turned it on. Like a vacuum, it began to attempt to draw in the power of Kingdom Hearts.
"What are you doing? Look at you, Ansem the Wise. You look like a fool. Nothing can contain the power of Kingdom Hearts," laughed Xemnas, and it turned out he was right. The machine began to malfunction.
"Let go of it," yelled Mickey, but Ansem shook his head. "It is too late. I am going to die. Mickey, it was an honor to have known you these long years. Sora, it is up to you now to stop Xemnas. I know you can do it. I do not know what it going to happen. But you will be alright." Ansem the wise gave Sora a smile as Kingdom Hearts began to crumble. Hearts fell and became Shadow Heartless. Xemnas screamed in fury as the machine exploded, light shooting from all sides. Xemnas managed to flee and Xaken hid behind Sora.
When the light faded, Sora echoed Xemnas' cry. Ansem, Mickey, Riku and Kairi had been turned to stone. The place was crawling with Heartless. They converged on the statues, breaking them to pieces. Sora screamed in rage and grief, and felt, not for the first time, like just giving up. Xaken kept him standing, however, shaking him roughly.
"Sora, list-no, listen to me!" he yelled as Sora tried to pull away. "Xemnas has escaped. He can use the power left in Kingdom Hearts, and it's up to you and me to stop him. Do you want that murdering bastard to claim the rest of your friends' lives?"
His words seemed to act like a stimulant. Sora raised his head, rage clouding his eyes. He turned to Xaken and grabbed the front of his coat. Xaken grinned when Sora spoke to him.
"Then let's finish him, now come on!"
Heartless tried to stop them, but they either fought them away or dodged them, heading into the room where Xemnas escaped. What they saw was something so confusing, even Xaken briefly forgot his purpose, his mind nearly shattered by the logic-bending impossibility around him.
A/N: I'm not writing out that drawn-out and slightly ridiculous fight. We're skipping right to the end-game. This is where it all comes together!
Xemnas' Room
Xemnas stood above them, seemingly on solid air, his arms crossed over his chest, glaring down at them with barely disguised rage. He had already absorbed part of Kingdom Hearts' power, his coat white with jagged black streaks. Sora and Xaken glared up at him, weapons drawn.
Now is where it all ends. Make it convincing. Xaken could hear Xemnas' voice in his head. Yes, Superior.
Two strange weapons of beam energy appeared in Xemnas' hands, and Sora and Xaken ran up strangely solid air to fight. Sora jumped up and aimed a straight, downward slash at Xemnas, who raised a beam-sword to block. Xaken came in with a claymore, that Xemnas blocked with ease and kicked him away, using the other to slash Sora to the ground. But Sora got right back up and ran back at him as Xemnas did.
They seemed to move as though reading each others' thoughts. Every thrust and slash, feint and double-attack, punch and kicked was coordinated and complimented by the other fighter. Yet Xemnas held his own easily, blocking and parrying, striking solid blows with ease.
Sora brought Ultima to crash down on Xemnas, while Xaken came in at the side to cleave him in half with his claymore. Xemnas smiled and spun away, forcing Xaken to block Sora's attack, which came at him. They turned so that their weapon-arms were side-by-side, and thrust at Xemnas, who blew both weapons to the side with a strong parry, and thrust in at Sora with his other beam-sword.
Xaken grabbed Sora's arm and tossed him up into the air. Upside-down, he flipped himself upright and made to slam Ultima down on Xemnas again. The Nobody raised a beam-sword to block the attack, while countering a diagonal, upward slash from Xaken's claymore by kicking him in the chest. Then he turned, grabbed Sora by the hair, and slammed him into the ground, laughing.
At the end of five more minutes of fighting, Xemnas had maybe one injury, while Sora and Xaken were much worse off. Xaken looked at Sora, who nodded. Summoning his Drive ability, the two were drawn together in a flash of light.
Kaizen stood facing Xemnas, not a wound or scratch on him, twirling Ultima with one hand, with the other hand holding the fake Oblivion, with the tip touching the ground. He stood slightly hunched, with a grin on his face, looking up at Xemnas, who raised an eyebrow in curiosity. "You should've finished them off when you had the chance. Now you fight me."
"Come at me, then," replied Xemnas with a smirk.
Kaizen disappeared, and reappeared behind Xemnas, facing away from him. In midair, he swung his body to the right, raising his right foot to swing it into Xemnas' head. The Nobody surprised him with incredible speed, blocking the kick with his right forearm. Kaizen slashed low and under with Ultima, which Xemnas blocked with the beam-sword in his other hand. Kaizen grinned.
"You are mine!"
Kaizen saw an opening, and threw his torso forward as if doubling over. He brought the fake Keyblade to stab it into Xemnas' stomach, but the Nobody surprised him again. He threw both hands to the right, spinning Kaizen away so that the attack failed completely. And before he could recover, Xemnas sent a foot into the small of his back, launching him away.
Rolling to a stop, Kaizen straightened up, glaring at Xemnas. "Good. You are better than I expected. Perhaps you will make this more exciting then Sai'x did."
Xemnas merely smirked, and Kaizen came at him headlong. Ultima left his hand, and he guided it with his open hand, bringing it over his head and down as the deadly weapon mimicked him, extending his range. Xemnas brought up his left beam-sword to block Ultima, and he released the other, which spun towards Xemnas' right side. But again, his attack was turned away as Xemnas blew it off to the side.
"Not as strong as you'd like to be, are you," he taunted.
"No, just exploiting an opening," said Kaizen, and he dropped down, and swung his left boot up into Xemnas' underarm. The Nobody staggered back as his weapon dropped from his numb hand, his entire right arm now useless. He cursed himself for not catching that, and Kaizen's fake Keyblade appeared back in his hand. The dangerous fusion leapt back, both weapons spinning slowly in the air.
Both weapons dropped, and Kaizen disappeared; he reappeared at Xemnas' right side, thrusting a hand up. Two fingers dug deeply into his side and hit a pressure point, making him gasp as pain flooded the area; he side-stepped behind Xemnas, planting his fingers into the spine, then curling his hand into a fist and slamming it into the same spot, hearing a pleasing 'pop'; Xemnas struck out at the kneeling fusion with his good hand once the fusion had spun to his left, but Kaizen was ready for him; he slammed his left palm into Xemnas' wrist, sliding it up his arm into the hit; he brought his right hand to his own neck, then brought it sliding down when it hit very hard into the crook of Xemnas' elbow: Xemnas felt his arm numbing already; Kaizen brought his left hand down to his waist, and threw it up for the last, finishing blow, chopping it into Xemnas' neck: The effect was instantaneous; the Nobody dropped to his knees, darkness swirling around his vision.
"Hehehe, I just realized something. If you rearrange 'Xemnas', you get 'Mansex'. Heh, now DIE!"
Ultima flew into Kaizen's hand as he readied the last blow, but Xemnas was not yet done. He forced dark power rushing through his body, and raised both arms. Kaizen slashed downward, but Xemnas brought his beam-swords up, blocking the attack. He pushed the Keyblade away, punched Kaizen in the face with his left fist, then his right, and planted his foot into Kaizen's stomach, knocking him back.
"You cannot beat me, even if you exert every bit of your pathetic power. I am The Superior Being!" boasted the Nobody.
"You want to see my full power? Have it your way," he said, gathering magical energy into his hands. He combined his three most powerful spells, Firaga, Thundaga, and Blizzaga, focusing them into an attack so powerful, it took Xemnas' breath away, literally.
As he clenched his fists, white lightning streamed through the fingers of Kaizen's right hand, black lightning from his left. Xemnas knew these two bolts of lightning could be deadly, but nowhere near as deadly as what happened next. Kaizen slammed both of his fists together; the world exploded.
A pure beam of white and black energy, light and dark, ripped through the air, from Kaizen's outstretched hands, reaching out with its deadly power to claim Xemnas' life. In horror and desperation, he threw himself away and down, feeling it sear and freeze his back as the world turned upside-down. Brighter than a thousand suns, darker than the deepest pit of the Abyss; hotter than the greatest inferno, colder than the deepest winter chill; louder than the fire of ten cannons, the bolt of lightning sucked the air from Xemnas' lungs as it screamed past him. When Kaizen cut the power off, the world struggled to come back into focus. When the confusing jumble of sensations lifted, leaving a thick haze in the wake of tons of rubble and destruction, Kaizen peered through the fog. Did he completely obliterate Xemnas?
No, he did not.
Xemnas, getting back to his feet, knew that the fused fighter was much too dangerous as he was. Sublimating a scream of agony, he threw his arms to the sides as a torrent of darkness poured from his body, like the bullets of light that Kaizen fired at Sai'x. It barraged Kaizen, beat his body, but it was more than physical. It tore through his body, through the core of his being, to where Sora and Xaken lay, unconscious, feeding Kaizen, joined together in blissful power. They shuddered as the darkness tore through them both, separating their bodies from each other. Kaizen disappeared in a flash of light as Sora and Xaken fell away from each other. Sora sprung right back to his feet, but Xaken lay still, cursing softly. It appeared he got the worst out of that attack.
"Xemnas' attack…ripped me apart inside. I'll be fine," he said quickly as Sora's eyes opened wide. "I'll heal. But I'm going to be out of this fight from now on. It's up to you."
"He's still too strong, I can't beat him. I've tried to use the Drive ability again but it's been blocked off somehow."
"Listen to me. It takes a lot of energy and power to exert that much force. Remember Axel's attack. He died because he was weaker than Xemnas. Xemnas is alive, but he needs a rest, however quick. Now is the time where we turn it around. Are you ready?" Sora nodded. "Good. The Keyblade is strong, but not strong enough. That's why you'll use my weapon."
Xaken weakly held out both of his Nobody weapons, merging them into a single weapon, a replica of the original Keyblade. "I think you can touch it now. Take it."
Sora reached out, his hand closing around solid air. At once, to his eyes, the weapon appeared to phase into existence. Xaken nodded. "Good. That's how I hoped it would go. Now, get up there and kick Xemnas' ass." Sora gave Xaken a small smile, then turned and dashed up to where Xemnas stood, recovering his power. He laughed at the Keyblader.
"You think an extra weapon will help you? Without Xaken to help you, you are nothing compared to me. Just accept your fate, and give up. You-"
"Shut up! I'll show you what our power can do!" Sora raised his Keyblade and the Nobody weapon, and slammed the hilts together with a loud 'clank!' The Nobody weapon began to blur and distort, stretching out to wrap itself over the Keyblade. Sora knew something was wrong when it shuddered in his hands. Light streamed out from the Keyblade, trying to push the darkness away. But the Hidden Keyblade was too strong for the Ultima, and like a suffocating blanket, wrapped it completely in its black folds. The entire weapon began to shrink and change. White metal became a cracked and twisted, sinister obsidian. Wicked barbs and spikes punched outward from the handguard. The crown blade at the top turned curved back like an axe, which sprouted more spikes. The Dark Keyblade pulsed, and Sora heard it speak in his mind, for the first time ever.
Give me your body. Give me your power.
Xemnas was smirking now; in a panic, Sora tried to throw the Keyblade away, but it stuck fast to his hand, like glue. He looked back to Xaken, who had already stood up and brushed himself off. He was acting hurt, to trick Sora! The same evil darkness now poured from the hilt of this new Keyblade, creeping up his arm to his shoulder, where it spread across his chest and back, down his other arm, spreading to his waist. Already shadows leaked from his body as the wave of shadow slid down his legs and to his feet. As it crept up his neck, he saw Xaken plant a hand on his hips and look up. Tears of hurt and fear ran down his face as the darkness sunk over his eyes and turned them yellow, finally sliding up and over his hair, wrapping him fully. He appeared as if in his Anti-Form, but this was not the case. Instead of giving him power, Sora could feel his life essence draining from his body, and into the Keyblade. He pitched forward, as though struck from behind, and fell down to the floor, towards Xaken, who watched him hit the floor with a slight pang of guilt. He walked over to Sora, bending down and tugging the Dark Keyblade from his hand.
"I'm sorry about this, Sora, but you understand, right? I want to be whole again. I have a need, a desire, to regain my heart. Xemnas has promised this to me, and maybe, when this is all over, we can be together again."
Turning, Xaken strode up to where Xemnas stood waiting, and held his hand out. "That was good work, little spy. You performed excellently."
Xaken gave a low bow. "Thank you, Xemnas. Shall I take over from here?"
Xemnas shook his head. "No. As you may now know, that Keyblade has the power to steal the hearts stolen by Heartless, and feed them into Kingdom Hearts. Only the wielder will be able to receive the power, and it shall be me. Now, if you please, the Keyblade," he said, hand still out, waiting for Xaken to hand it to him.
Xaken nodded, and held out the Keyblade. But as Xemnas tried to grab it, his hand passed right through and onto Xaken's hand. He gave a snarl, looking up at Xaken. "What the hell is this?! A trick?!"
Xaken shook his head, stepping back in alarm. "No, nothing like that! But I was afraid this might happen."
"What might happen?! Spit it out, quickly!"
"You know how my weapons work, that only I can wield them. Well, me and Sora. So I wasn't sure if it would allow you to hold it. And it won't. You won't be able to take Kingdom Hearts' power with it."
Xemnas stared at the little Nobody for a long time, then sighed, calm passing over his visage. "No matter, then, no matter." He reached out and grabbed Xaken, spinning him around and pulling him close. "No matter," he said again, "It can be done differently. I will simply have to find another way to take the power. Without you!"
Xaken's eyes popped wide, but before he could move, before he could shout, dodge, or even blink, he felt a dull, pounding pain, and looked down to see Xemnas' hand sticking out of his stomach, along with shadowstuff and a lot of blood. Wait, blood? What the fuck?
He looked back at Xemnas, wanting to speak, but his voice was momentarily gone. Xemnas chuckled. "I'm sorry, Xaken. But I will be the one to take the power, and as long as you live, with that weapon, you are a danger. You and the Keyblader. Now, go join him in death, Number XIV." Xemnas withdrew his bloody hand, and with the other, pushed Xaken down to where Sora lay dying. He then turned back to Kingdom Hearts, intending to fully draw in the rest of its power and figure out a way to go from here.
Xaken hit the ground hard, next to Sora. The taller boy raised his head, yellow eyes focusing on Xaken, whose face was streaked with tears. "Sora," he said, "I'm sorry. I really am…so sorry. I was an idiot. I was too blinded by Xemnas' lies and my own selfish desires to recognize the truths before me, the first being that the fate of all Nobodies will always be to fade into nothingness. It is our lot in life, unfair it may be, but true. The second truth, is that, no matter who or what I am, I love you. I may not be capable of emotion, it may even be fake, but it feels like love to me, and for me, that is enough."
With a groan of pain, Xaken crawled the two feet between him and Sora, leaving a stain of red trailing on the ground. "Sora, I did wrong, I know. And I don't ever expect you to forgive me. I just want to help, and try to atone for my betrayal. What I want you to remember is that a heart is the most precious thing a person has. You have to guard yours. Never lose it to the darkness again, and never, ever take it for granted. Now, I'm going to pull the darkness away from you. It might kill me." Sora shook his head, but Xaken ignored him. He placed both hands on Sora's body, feeling the darkness in his rise and shift, becoming a vacuum for the darkness over Sora. A grunt of effort became a low groan that became a roar of effort as the darkness began to slide off of Sora's clothes and skin, withdrawn into Xaken's palms. When it was done, and Sora began to recover, Xaken noticed the Dark Keyblade, casting an evil aura where it lay on the floor, and he had an idea. Xemnas would not win.
He rolled over and placed his hand on the hilt, gripping it tightly as he summoned all of his strength and power into one arm. "Xemnas, you sick bastard, I'll see you in Hell!" With a burst of strength, he pushed himself up into a sitting position, and threw his arm forward, hurling the Keyblade with all of his might up to Xemnas. Warned by Xaken's shout, Xemnas tried and failed to grab the Keyblade, as it sped past him and through his hand, heading straight into the center of Kingdom Hearts.
When the Keyblade entered Kingdom Hearts, something amazing happened. Thin, black beams of energy shot out from the tip, thousands of them, assaulting every Heartless creeping its way up and inside the castle, even through the walls. When they struck, the Heartless were vanquished in splotches and patches of darkness, pulling back the stolen hearts along with them. A beam even shot out to piece Xemnas in the chest, leeching back the power he stolen from Kingdom Hearts. His scream of rage and denial could not be heard over the power surging through Kingdom Hearts as it grew back to its full strength. And once completed, something even more amazing happened, that no one, not Xemnas, Xaken, or even Ansem the Wise could ever predict or imagine.
Kingdom Hearts was folding inward. The Dark Keyblade began to suck the power of Kingdom Hearts into itself, like a vampire drawing blood. And as it did, as Kingdom Hearts collapsed, it began to cover the Keyblade itself. A horrible, inhuman screech of pain could be heard from the weapon, as it tried and failed to fight off the power of light now overtaking its form. The obsidian shaft split and became ten metal bands, which curled and snaked through each other to form a new, sharp shaft. The spiked and axe-like blade became a spiked crown, shining silver in the light of Kingdom Hearts. The spikes and barbs withdrew into the hilt, which bent outward and then rounded off smoothly into the handguards, which then morphed and became a pair of golden wings, while the hilt became smooth, slightly rounded, royal blue shot with gold. As long as the Ultima, and much more powerful, the Keyblade of Light fully took the power of Kingdom Hearts into itself, weapon and kingdom finally together, serving their true purpose at last: To form a weapon befitting a god. Spoken of in lost lore, and myth long since forgotten, the legendary blade denied Xemnas' enraged attempts to grab it, moving at last to the master its spirit had waited for, for centuries. Sora wrapped his fingers gently and reverently around the hilt of the Keyblade, eyes wide with awe.
Overhead, Xemnas' expression was of hate and shock and explosive rage. Holding his energy sword out, he flipped in midair and dropped at an alarming rate at Sora. "I WILL KILL YOU!" he screamed, and he looked frightening, mad. Sora threw the Keyblade up to meet him, watching the mighty weapon spin end of end, its gleaming surface flashing brightly with each spin. The Xemnas threw his swords out to block, but the Keyblade knocked both aside in a parody of someone parrying (or did it do it by itself?), and smashed into the Nobody, passing through his body and leaving behind excruciating pain.
Sora crouched low and leapt straight up, at Xemnas, noticing a momentary advantage while Xemnas reeled from the pain. He swung his lower half up, feeling a booted foot connect with Xemnas' stomach. He threw his left arm up, punching Xemnas in the cheek, and threw his right arm up, grabbing the back of Xemnas' head and pulling himself up, climbing over the Nobodies' side (and kneeing him in the ribs in the process), climbing onto his back. He didn't have to look as the Keyblade spun back down to meet him, catching it easily by the hilt and swinging it down to chop into Xemnas' head.
The fountain-like spray of blood and brain matter that he expected didn't come; Xemnas was too powerful, it merely passed through his head, leaving behind a cleaving pain. Xemnas spun in midair, caught Sora by the shirt, and broke his nose by ramming his forehead into it. He swung a sword into Sora's ribcage, then threw him down at the ground, watching him hit the floor heavily.
Sora felt his nose give way under Xemnas' forehead, crimson blood spattering down his mouth and chin and on Xemnas' face, feeling pain bloom like a flower in his own face. Thrown, he hit the ground with enough force to drive the air from his lungs, but stubbornly, he was immediately back on his feet and then he felt a tug on his shorts. Xaken pointed to the Keyblade, then to Xemnas, mimicking a shooting motion. Sora understood immediately and aimed the Keyblade of Light at Xemnas, and felt Xaken's hand cover his own. Xaken fed his own power into the Keyblade to mix with Sora, which was converted by the weapon into light.
"Sora," Xaken yelled over the rush of energy, blood spilling from his mouth and his hair whipped around by the rush of energy, "This time with you has been the best of my life. Before I die, I just want to say it again. I love you, Sora, and I always will. You…make me…feel…real…"
The beam of divine energy streamed from the tip as Xaken's hand slid from Sora's and his body fell to the ground, the light fading from his eyes. The growing pillar of light ripped through Xemnas' body, from which streamed beams of bright energy and tendrils of void-like darkness. His scream of pain could barely be heard over the roar of the power of the Keyblade before he faded completely into nothingness.
Sora lowered the Keyblade and sighed, glad that the whole damned thing was finally over with. But then his eyes popped wide as he remembered Xaken! He knelt down next to the Nobody, but he knew already that Xaken was gone. He had chosen the last words he would ever say to express his true feelings to Sora. Tears threatened to blur the teen hero's eyes, but something in his head went off. Something was wrong.
Nobodies always faded away in shadows after death. And they certainly didn't bleed either. But Xaken's body was firm and solid, and blood was still pooling on the ground around his body. Sora tried not to look at that part, as he felt it would make him sick. Intestines were starting to poke through. But he knew there was still something important that had to happen, and Xaken was a part of it. That's when he heard, for the second time, the Keyblade whisper to him in his mind, in a soft, gentle voice. And then he knew what was coming.
As he raised the Keyblade of Light, something large, red and shining began to emerge from the tip, with the specter of a human body around it. He wasn't sure what needed to be done, but he made a guess and decided to see if it would work. He lowered the Keyblade down towards Xaken, heart and specter following, and as he touched the tip to Xaken's chest, the heart sunk down into the body as the specter surrounded him like a faint aura, and suddenly flashed in a bright cocoon of light, which Sora had to shield his eyes from.
When the light faded, the pool of blood was gone, and so was Xaken. A new boy had taken his place. He was just as small, but with broader shoulders, more muscle tone, but with that same hourglass shape. His hair was short, spiking out in all directions, flame-red. His eyelids were half over, revealing deep pools of dark green, the silver-framed glasses framing his face, with the same silver piercings Xaken had. He wore a short red vest over a black undershirt, with tight black pants and the knee-high, steel-toed silver boots Kaizen wore. With a jolt, Sora realized that Kaizen was also gone forever.
Sora felt absolutely nothing towards this new boy, who he knew was Kane, the person Xaken had been before losing his heart. He had forgiven Xaken for what he did, knew that it had been a part of the Nobody that drove him to do it, his nature, which he could not blame him for. Xemnas was also to blame. But the loss of his friends had hollowed Sora out, filled with grief and shame, shame that he did not do more to save them. Sora knew that he would now be alone.
Vaguely, he remembered arriving in The World That Never Was in the Gummi Ship that Merlin had given them. He reached down and gently scooped Kane into his arms, turning to the bright portal that would, he knew, lead him out of this room. He now found himself in the Organization graveyard, and walked out of the door at the bottom, heading back through the way they had come. No enemies appeared to stop them. He didn't see any Nobodies or Heartless. It was as if they had seemed to disappear, but Sora had a suspicion of the true reason. The Keyblade had been the thing that drew them to him. This new Keyblade radiated power. The Heartless and Nobodies were afraid of it. They would not appear to him anymore. It was his job now to hunt them down.
He walked out of the Organization's castle, and through the dark alleyways, still meeting no resistance. When he found the Gummi Ship, he walked in and set Kane gently in a chair in the back, taking the pilot's seat. He set the Ship on a course for Radiant Garden.
Long after the ship landed, Kane awoke, raising his hands to his face. What happened? Where've I been? And where am I now? I feel like I've been gone, for a long, long time. Sitting up, he found himself in some kind of weird contraption. He saw a folded piece of paper fall to the floor. He bent over to pick it up, and unfolded it, reading aloud.
"This letter is for Kane. My name is Sora. You won't find me here, I'll be far away by the time you wake up. But there is something I need to tell you, something really important. I only hope you'll believe me, and to do as I ask. Though we don't know each other, we have a common friend, and it was from him that this idea came to me.
In these worlds we have, darkness lurks in the hearts of people. This darkness is a dangerous thing. It can twist men and women, growing stronger, and turning them into strange and deadly monsters called 'Heartless', with no distinctive form or shape. These Heartless have one thing in mind: To steal as many hearts as they can. And if you let them touch the darkness in your heart, you will become one of them.
There are other Heartless. People with strong hearts can also become Heartless. They can also keep their human form. These are the more dangerous Heartless. They have the same goal, able to think, and plan. They look just like they used to, which disguises them. One thing can identify them: A complete lack of emotion and morals.
And when a Heartless is created, the leave behind an empty husk, deformed creatures called Nobodies, or No Bodies. They have no hearts either, but the goal is the same. They are usually controlled by their stronger kind. Just as a strong-hearted person can become a Heartless with their human bodies, so can they leave behind human-like Nobodies. These Nobodies are different, in that they will not look the same. Their will be very subtle, or very obvious changes to their appearances, maybe hair color or style, skin, body size and build. They are also sentient.
There is a reason I tell you this. A group of Nobodies called Organization XIII tried to steal the hearts of many to regain their own. Two succeeded, the other twelve died. I say twelve, because there was one Nobody that was kept a secret, a special Nobody. One Nobody was Roxas, my Nobody who joined with me. The other was Xaken. He was yours. I helped put him back (If you'll notice, Roxas is Sora with an 'X', and Xaken is Kane with an 'X'. Rearranging the letters and adding an 'X' was their way to show their brotherhood).
Xaken said this to me, 'A heart is the most precious thing a person has. You must guard it carefully. Never lose it to the darkness, and never, ever take it for granted'. The reason I tell you all of this is for that thing I must ask you to do.
You are in a town called Radiant Garden. I have friends there. Merlin, Squall Leonhart, Aerith, Tifa, Yuffie, and Cid. Look for them. If you don't believe me, ask them about Heartless and Nobodies. Xaken was a great fighter. I believe you might be, too. So, look for my friends. Ask them to train you. We need more people to fight these enemies.
Perhaps one day we will meet up, and we can fight together. I can tell you more about Xaken. But for now, I have work to do, and if you want to fight the Heartless, Nobodies, and whatever else may come, you will need to hone your skills. I look forward to meeting you, Kane. And if Xaken is still alive in you, he will know how sorry I am for all that happened, and how happy I am his wish came true. –Sora"
When Kane finished reading, his eyes were the size of golf balls. He didn't know why, but the names 'Sora' and 'Xaken' were very familiar. He stood up and walked out onto the streets of Radiant Garden, intending to pay these people a visit. If it was all true, he would indeed be glad to help out, if he could. And somewhere in Kane, a small part of him, the part Xaken came from, smiled. He was finally whole.
Hundreds of miles away, Sora stood alone, as he knew he had to be, atop a strange, purple and gold train, that came from a place he didn't know, heading for a destination he couldn't remember. He didn't care. All he could think of was that he was now bound to the Keyblade until death. This new Keyblade, with the power to remove darkness from the worlds. He could not do it in his lifetime. And many others would take up the duty after he was gone. But he would do his best to live up to what was now expected of him. And he knew that, somewhere in the future, he would meet Kane. And he knew his heart would heal with time, was already healing. The pain was still there, too. But as he looked out at the beauty of a vast, sparkling lake, blue shot with gold in the fading sun, reflecting the deep purple of the sky above, he smiled. His friends were now in a better place, and it was all he could do to hope that when he met his end, and would set out for what awaited him in the afterlife, he would see them again.
He was finding his peace again.
Somewhere over Twilight Town
"Ael? Kane's disappeared. I can't find him anywhere." The soft, flat voice was nearly lost to the howling winds. A short figure, with shoulder-length blue hair covering half his face, and a slim body stood on what could only be solid air. He wore a sleeveless, hooded black and red shirt, and baggy black pants with red shoes. On the chest of his shirt was a black and red heart, the bottom dropping into three barbs. He looked to the one beside him, staring at him with a visible, deep red eye.
The man, Ael, was taller then his companion, with waist-length red hair, green eyes, and a lithe figure. He wore a dark red dress coat, a black top hat, too-tight red pants, and high, black boots with red heels. He looked down at the smaller and smirked. He had the same symbol on his hat, and his voice sounded slightly like his words were slurring.
"Of course you can't. I already know what happened."
"You do? What, then?"
"Kane has regained his heart by joining with his Nobody, Xaken."
Ienzo's eyes widened. "But then…we could do the same thing, couldn't we?"
"No…I felt the destruction of my own Nobody, so the others' are likely gone too. However," he continued, despite Ienzo's squeak of fear, "There might be another way. All we have to do is find the Keyblader. There may just yet be a glimmer of hope yet for the Dark Heart Brothers. Ienzo, let's go. We have a Keyblader and an ex-Brother to find."
Both men disappeared silently in portals of darkness, and somewhere in the universe, the Keyblade pulsed at the same time Kane's heart began to pound.
--
A/N: And this signals the end of Hidden Nobody. This was not the first ending. I wrote one out, but I lost the original. I think this one is much better, however. The other was too rushed. I had time to think this out. So, Hidden Nobody: You Make Me Feel Real is finally complete. I left a hanger there, in case I ever feel the need to continue my version of the KH universe. Cause, if they were revealed and I didn't hear of it, I can't be the only one who's wondered what happened to the Heartless of the Org. Nobodies. One thing you can expect from me in the future, though, is a small side-story about Hidden Nobody, separate from this one, telling how and why Kane lost his heart, and his introduction into Org. 13. So, that's all for this tale. Rate, review, tell me what you think. ArktheMushroom