Here's the new chapter. Read and Review!
"Text"-talking
Text-thoughts
/text\-reading
Legend, Fate, and Decision
Everyone was staring at Kira. She shifted as though she was uncomfortable from them staring, so everyone broke off. Zak turned to her again and asked, "What's the problem with you being a human Heartless?"
"Zak, Heartless are people who've had their heart stolen. They know a pain very few outside of their group know about. If they were very strong before they lost their heart, they become even stronger as a Heartless. Many people see them as dangerous individuals that need to be exterminated." Karth informed him when Kira looked away.
"My mother was the leader of Viscus Key Guardians, even though she was completely human, and had all of us serve the Elders and the Fidelis Key Guardians. With her gone, I don't know what will happen to them." Kira said.
Zak waited for them to finish and allowed a brief silence to follow. Then he looked to Karth. "What's the full story of the Key Guardians, Runari, crystal hearts, and Kur?"
Karth leaned back in his chair. "That is a story that has been long told over the last century. Long ago, when Kingdom Hearts created the worlds, they gave each world a heart. This heart was meant to unify the worlds together. They also granted the power of eternal light to seven princesses scattered all over the worlds, to ensure that darkness would never fully triumph by sealing the Door to Darkness. But, there was always the danger of the darkness becoming too strong.'
"So they gave each world a crystal heart. Not literally, however. The crystal heart was a title given to whoever the secondary heart decided to choose as its' host. The host is the real crystal heart. They are given powers to defend themselves and are the world's guarantee that if their world is lost it can be reborn again.'
"To give even more security to them, the world of Kagi Vesica, The Keyblade World, was created. Here the first guardians were chosen to protect the crystal hearts, one Key Guardian for every crystal heart. As the years and decades past, the Key Guardians began to recruit and train more Key Guardians. Eventually, they named a leader among them. They gave him the name Kur and bestowed him the title of Supreme Guardian. During the reign of the first, second, and third SG, peace was known until the fourth took his last trainee.'
"He trained him well in the arts of combat. When it came time to create his own Guardian weapon, he didn't want a bow, spear, sword, or gun that was commonly used by the Guardians. He wanted to be of the elite and forge a keyblade. Very few, even today, can forge one. He sat in the Chamber of Forging for three days. He meditated and pleaded for a keyblade. He was successful in doing so. But, this was an omen.'
"The man performed well during the first encounter with Heartless. He saved thousands of lives during the first wave they sent. When the Heartless began to take human forms, he still destroyed them without mercy. Then the fourth Kur issued the proclamation that any human Heartless who wanted to join them would be allowed to. Hundreds of them flocked to us, seeing the opportunity to try and return to their old lives. But again, the apprentice was angry.'
"During the Ceremonial Arming, in which the human Heartless were inducted into our ranks, the apprentice led 200 Key Guardians and attacked them. The Key Guardians who were loyal to the fourth Kur stepped in and protected their new allies. The fourth Kur fought his apprentice and…defeated him.'
"But before he could land the finishing blow, the apprentice stabbed him with his keyblade. The fourth Kur fell and his apprentice was captured. Before Kur died he ordered that his apprentice and the few followers he had be exiled. The command was carried out and no one heard of them for years.'
"When the Heartless began to destroy worlds, the Key Guardians left the chosen Keyblade Warrior to deal with them while they saved the crystal heart carriers. Then, soon after the worlds were restored, the Nobodies came. And again we allowed those who were human Nobodies to join us. Then during the Second Ceremonial Arming, a message came.'
"It was the Runari Leader, the Argentum Runari. He came surrounded by two dozen Niveus Runari as his guards. He announced that he was the rightful leader of the Key Guardians and demanded to be acknowledged or else he would declare war on us. The temporary leaders, the Elders, refused to succumb to his threats. He said we would regret that decision. The next day, he brought 50,000 Runari soldiers and launched an invasion of Kagi Vesica while simultaneously sending strike teams to kidnap each crystal heart. The battle lasted for three months before the Key Guardians drove the Runari forces away.'
"The Elders brought together the survivors of our forces and restructured them. They also built the planetary shield that keeps the darkness out of Kagi Vesica. Now, over the last few years, the war has spread to the others worlds with the Runari taking control of the Heartless. Apparently, they've even grown strong enough to kidnap nine of our crystal hearts."
When Karth finally finished, Zak was absorbing all of this pretty solemnly. Then he looked up. "A few questions. How many Kurs have there been? How many other crystal hearts are there? Where can we attack the Runari? Who's the crystal heart of my world?"
Karth answered, "There have only been five Kurs so far, you being the fifth. There are still fourteen other crystal hearts. The Runari base is on a world we haven't found yet." He hesitated before continuing. "Zak, I'm sorry to say this, but your world wasn't real."
Zak gaped at him, confusion clearly showing on his face. Wadi was also confused. "What are you saying!?"
"I'm sorry, but your world was an alternate reality set up by the Runari. They were going to keep you there until you unlocked all of your powers, but you discovered you were Kur before then. When you did, we did and so did they. We began preparations to journey to your alternate world and so did the Runari. It took both of us two years to do so. Then you know the rest."
Zak looked defeated. The rage and sadness welled inside of him. His eyes began to glow yellow. Flames began to appear on his body. "My whole life, Wadi's whole life, was all a lie!? Just so I could be used by the Runari! Or the Key Guardians!" His arms burst into flames.
"Zak!" Wadi yelled, jumping back from him as the couch caught fire. "What's wrong?"
"He's unlocked his next power!" Kira yelled. Everyone moved away from Zak, fearful of getting caught in the flames.
"Zak, please listen. Our world may have been made up, but you and I are here! We really exist! Don't blame anyone! If you have to, then think of the Runari! They did this." Wadi pleaded, cautiously walking over to Zak. She placed a hand on his shoulder and winced as the flames spread. But to everyone's surprise, she didn't scream. She leaned in and looked Zak in the eye. "Please Zak don't be mad at everyone else."
She hugged Zak and his eyes stopped glowing. The flames that had engulfed his arms and Wadi died out and he collapsed. Kira and Karth came and knelt down next to them.
"He must be exhausted after doing that. The power to control fire shouldn't have come until later after he learned portal control." Karth said, checking Zak's eyes.
"Wadi, didn't the flames hurt?" Kira asked, looking at Wadi as she knelt down as well.
"No they just felt so cool to me." Wadi answered. Kira looked to Karth with a surprised look on her face. Karth shook his head and lifted Zak up. He carried him to a cot in another room and laid him down. Wadi stayed behind with while Karth went back to the others.
"Karth, you thinking the same thing I am?" Kira asked.
"What's up guys?" Riku asked.
"Wadi's a crystal heart carrier." Karth answered. "There's no other way she would be able to be safe from the flames otherwise."
"Karth, what exactly is a crystal heart carrier capable of?" Namine inquired.
"Crystal heart carriers have the ability to control fire, turn invisible, and turn their body into hardened and refined crystal. They're always females because they can have no darkness in their hearts." Karth answered.
"Who's the crystal heart carrier for Radiant Guardian?" Kairi inquired.
"That would be me." a woman said walking into the room. She wore the same robe as the Key Guardians, had blonde hair in a ponytail, and green eyes. "Hello, my name is Sera."
The others greeted her in turn. Then she sat down next to Karth. "My fellow crystal heart carriers can identify one another and where there from. But I can't get anything from Wadi. So I don't know what world she guards."
"Kira, does Kagi Vesica know who their crystal heart carrier is yet?" Roxas inquired.
"Yes, they found her just over a year ago. So, this means Wadi is the crystal heart carrier for a world we don't know about yet."
Everyone sat in silence after that. After a few more minutes went by, Wadi and Zak came back into the room. They sat back down on the couch. Zak was red in the face and apologized for earlier.
"So Zak, what do you plan on doing now?" Sera asked.
"I don't know. I'm not sure if I should go to the Elders, but I know I need to defend the crystal hearts."
"You could join the Spero Guardians and stay here." Karth offered.
"That would be cool, but I think I should go ahead and defend the next crystal heart. Which one's under attack right now?"
Karth pulled out a small device and flipped a device. A list appeared above it. "Looks like there are two worlds under attack right now. Port Royal, under the command of Key Guardian Reks, and Agrabah, under the command of Key Guardian Cyril. Agrabah is almost defeated, but Port Royal is still holding out. If you leave now you should be able to defend Port Royal. I'm afraid Agrabah is lost."
Everyone looked solemnly down at the floor. "Then I'm going to Port Royal. Who else will come with me?" Zak said standing up.
Wadi stood up with him. Then Roxas and Namine stood as well. Soon, Sora, Riku, Kari, Axel, and Xion stood. Kira hesitated.
"I should bring you back to Kagi Vesica, but I know it would be hard to do it by myself. Besides, I swore an oath to protect you. I'm in." she said standing up.
"My guardians will stay here, but I wish we could go. May you have a great victory." Karth said, nodding his head towards them.
Before they could leave, Yuffie jumped up. "Hold on guys, I want to come too."
"Yuffie, are you serious?" Leon asked.
"Yep, this sounds like fun. It's better than doing nothing around here."
"Sounds good to me." Aerith said. "She'll never let us hear the end of it if we don't."
"Ok then, good luck to all of you." Leon said.
The group said there goodbyes and left the building for the dock. Wadi was stopped by Sera and given a necklace.
"What's this for?" Wadi asked.
"If you feel the need to help the others, concentrate on the crystal on the necklace and you'll be able to help with powers you never had before."
"Thank you."
Wadi ran after the others. Karth walked up to Sera with Larek beside him.
"You gave her a focuser didn't you?" Larek inquired.
"Yes, hopefully she should be able to advance her powers and catch up to Zak."
"That's good. We must hope they are successful." Karth said. The ship took off and rocketed for the next world.
Aboard the ship
Riku eased the ship onto the course for Port Royal and set the autopilot on. The group was spread throughout the ship. Xion and Kira were sparring in the ship's built in holo training center. Namine, Kairi, and Wadi were in the kitchen talking while they set up a lunch for everyone. Axel, Roxas, and Sora would come and help when they were needed, but were messing with the new vehicles on the ship for most of the time. Zak was in the cockpit with Riku and Yuffie.
"So Zak, what's the plan when we get down there?" Riku asked.
"Simple. We kick the enemy's rear end all the way back to where they came from." Zak grunted with a pained look on his face.
"What's wrong?" Riku inquired.
"What am I supposed to do when I finally go to the Elders? Do I swear loyalty to them? Do I oppose them? Take control? What do I do?"
"Zak, only your heart can tell you what you should do. For now, it's telling you to defend the crystal hearts. I almost forgot to listen to my heart when I served with the Heartless. But I recovered and now don't make a move that goes against my heart."
"So I should listen to my heart?" Zak asked. He closed his eyes and relaxed. He accidentally fell asleep a few minutes later. Yuffie laughed and put a blanket over him.
"He really is just a kid." she said, looking at his face.
"Easy, he's not much younger than me or most of the others." Riku countered.
Wadi came in just then. "Lunch is ready guys. Are you coming?"
"Yeah. Can you keep an eye on Zak?" Riku said.
"Sure."
Riku and Yuffie headed for the kitchen and Wadi stayed with Zak. She crossed over the bridge and sat at the chair next to him. She watched him sleep for a few seconds before looking away. He's so cute when he sleeps. She turned back and was blushing. His lips look so smooth. She leaned in close to look and freaked when he opened his eyes.
"Hey Wadi."
"Hey Zak," Wadi replied. She turned her head away, her face beet red. She felt Zak's hand on her shoulder. She looked back at him to see his face was just as red as hers.
"Wadi, remember what happened the other night?"
"Yeah, we were attacked. Kind of hard to forget that."
"I meant before that when we…"
"When we almost kissed?"
Zak's face blushed even more. Before he could say anything, Wadi leaned in and kissed him on the lips. Zak's eyes were wide with shock, but then he closed them and wrapped his arms around her. They broke apart after nearly two minutes and smiled at each other.
"That completes it now doesn't it?" Wadi flirted.
"It sure does." Zak admitted.
"Ahhhh, isn't this cute. Our young couple got together!"
They turned to see the rest of the gang walking onto the bridge. They both blushed a deep crimson and smiled at each other. The others walked over and gave their congrats. Then Namine said they were almost there.
A world appeared. It seemed to be a lot of ocean. They brought the ship down and hid in a forest area next to a port city. They put on the black robes over the clothing that made them look like pirates and disembarked the ship. They walked towards the port and slowed down when they saw troops walking about. They wore the red coat uniform of British soldiers.
"This is Port Royal alright." Sora said. They moved up to a low wall and watched the troops suddenly run off towards the city. "Well, that was weird."
A loud bang and shouting came from the city. "Bet that's where we need to go." Zak said, sprinting out of the tree line and running for the town. They sprinted after him and came to a stop as he froze in the middle of an archway.
"Zak, what's…" Wadi started to ask before she caught sight of it. The others also got a view of it. The path led into a large courtyard and in it a battle was going on. The British soldiers were fighting alongside some pirate figures and some Key Guardians against black masked Runari troops. Every few feet you'd see a Runari with a colored mask such as yellow, red, or green. Without waiting, Zak jumped into the fight and shot off some ice spikes. He caught three Runari in their sides and watched them collapse. The rest sprung into the fight, drawing their weapons or using powers.
One of the Key Guardians saw them and ran over. He jumped over two Runari and landed beside Zak. "What unit are you guys with?"
"Technically, we're not with any unit. We've gathered warriors from Kagi Vesica, Destiny Islands, and Radiant Garden and came here." Zak replied, ducking a swipe from a yellow masked Runari and channeling a blast of fire at him. The Runari went flying back.
"Wait a sec, you're Kur!" the Key Guardian said. The young man smiled and waved at another Key Guardian. They came over to him and knocked another Runari off a British trooper as he came. He stopped by them and looked confusingly at them.
"Reks, this is Kur!" the man said.
"Really? Wow, so the rumors are true." Reks said, turning to Zak. "Glad to have you with us."
"What's going on here?" Zak inquired.
"These Runari came under the command of a Niveus Runari, the silver masked one. He brought about six Rutilus Runari, those red masked assassins, and maybe twenty of the elite green masked Crudus Runari soldiers to try and sneak attack us and capture our crystal heart carrier. When that failed, he brought five hundred Vestis Runari, the black masked grunt soldiers of their forces, and ten Crocinus Runari, the yellow masked lieutenants. They've taken the eastern edge of the town and spread their forces along the ridge there, moved some units to cover the few streets running from it to this center of the town, and engaged our combined force of roughly 267 pirates, Key Guardians, and British troops here."
"Can we secure this center first?" Zak asked, an idea forming in his head.
"Almost done." Reks answered. They dove back into the fight with the others and managed to send the rest of the enemy back towards the eastern edge of the city. Zak and his friends met back at the makeshift command tent with Reks, a young Lieutenant in charge of the British troops, and two pirates. One was a young female dressed in some Asian looking outfit and the other was a rugged looking man that looked as if he had been rolling in dirt.
Zak smiled at Wadi and got a subtle smile back from her. He turned to the representatives of each force. "Hello, my name is Zak Saturday. I've come with ten other highly skilled fighters to assist you in the defense of Port Royal."
"We don't need your help here. It's bad enough we have to deal with allying ourselves with the pirates, let alone some unknown fighter and his brigands." the British lieutenant said.
"Lieutenant Brandon, you need all the help you can get here. If Captains Swan and Sparrow along with myself hadn't arrived to help, you and your men would have been overwhelmed." Reks countered.
"Forgive me Guardian Reks, but we still have some trouble getting along with pirates." Brandon apologized.
"Be that as it may, they are my friends just as you are. And Guardian Zak is my superior so please show him respect." Reks said.
Well, I haven't actually joined or accepted the leadership role yet, but I guess I'll let it slide for now. "Thank you Reks, now if you all allow me, I have a plan."
Everyone looked at him with a surprised look on their face. Then smiles came to their faces. "What do you have in mind?" Sparrow inquired, a gleam coming to his eyes.
"Alright, Sparrow and Swan team up, same for Reks and Kira, Brandon and Sora, Namine and Kairi, and Axel and Xion. Wadi, Riku, Roxas, and Yuffie will come with me." Zak said. He crossed over to the map on the table and pointed to the five streets leading to the east side of the city under Runari control. "Ok here's the plan…"
Runari Command Center
The Niveus Runari looked out towards the city. Word had come that the men he had sent to the town's center had been beaten back. He still had about three hundred men left, but he had to concentrate the remainder on the ridge outside of the town. About sixty men were spread out along the roads between the ridge and the town center. He was consulting the charts when he heard a commotion coming from the lines.
"What's the noise now?" he asked.
"Sir, you should take a look at this." a Puniceus Runari said, tending a wounded Runari nearby. The purple masked Runari were few nowadays and he was glad to have one here with him. He signaled the four Promiscus Runari to follow him. The red and blue mixture masked Runari were his ticket for a quick escape if needed.
He walked out of the tent and froze as five black robed Key Guardians walked over to him surrounded by twenty Vestis Runari. He saw the one in front was the one he was supposed to capture when ever the chance was given. It was Zak the Supreme Guardian.
Zak walked up and stopped a few feet away from the Niveus Runari. "I'm Zak…"
"I know who you are. What do you want?"
"To ask for you to stop your attack on this world. What will it take?"
"Your surrender mighty Kur."
"Very well."
The Niveus Runari hesitated. He hadn't expected this. "Just like that?"
"Just like that."
"Surrender your weapon."
Zak walked up and handed his claw to the Vestis Runari nearest him. Zak stepped forward…and shot a ball of fire at the Niveus Runari. Wadi, Roxas, Riku, and Yuffie sprung into action. Riku and Roxas drew their keyblades and attacked the Vestis Runari and broke through to keep the rest of the Runari at bay. Yuffie and Wadi kept the elite Runari from attacking Zak.
The Niveus Runari stepped back away from the fire and drew a long sword from his gauntlets. He charged at Zak as he formed an ice shield and sword. They went at each other and slashed at each other. The fight kept going as Zak ducked and dodged the attacks from the Niveus Runari. Then he spun around, jumped at the man with his claw, grabbed it, and shot it off at his opponent. It caught him in the side and brought him down.
Zak walked over to him and knelt down. "Do you surrender?"
The man shook his head. "My men will easily overwhelm…"
A loud uproar came from the ridge. They looked to see the allied group breaking through the Runari lines and overrunning the camp. Zak's friends were at the head of the group, capturing several Runari as they went. Zak turned back to the Niveus Runari. "How about now?"
"How?"
"Your men were focused on me and the people I brought with me to not notice the others defeating your men in the streets and rushing your positions. By the time they realized it, they were beaten."
The Niveus Runari leaned his head back and removed his mask. He had brown hair and strange crimson eyes. He gave a huff and looked back at Zak. "Well, you've beaten me. I can't return to my commander and I won't send my men to their execution. I surrender."
Zak was about to ask what he meant when his friends came over. Brandon walked over and saluted. "Sir, 127 Vestis Runari captured as well as 7 Crudus, 2 Rutilus, 6 Crocinus, 2 Promiscus, and the one Puniceus Runari."
"Good. Have them assemble over their under the large tree." Brandon walked off to carry out the order.
"Zak, I've got a call from the Elders. They're demanding to speak with you." Kira said. She placed a device on the ground and activated it. The seven Elders appeared over it.
"Kur, where are you!? You're supposed to be back here for your training!" the leader yelled.
"I've been helping defend the Port Royal crystal heart."
"Return here at once!"
"But the Runari are attacking the crystal hearts. I should be helping the Key Guardians…"
"Forget them! Return here immediately!"
Everyone stood there shocked at that. The leader was showing anger and seemed to catch himself. "I mean…uh…"
"Elder! What is the meaning of this!?" Reks and Kira yelled at the same time.
"I…I…"
"Enough. I know where I stand now. You'd rather let several more worlds fall than protect them just to train me. I will not return to Kagi Vesica. I will join the Spero Guardians and help them guard the worlds. Kira, Roxas, Namine, Xion, Axel, and Reks, were do you stand?"
"I'm a Fidelis Guardian, but this is unacceptable! I will join you, Kur." Reks answered.
"So will we!" Roxas said. Namine, Axel, and Xion all nodded in agreement.
Sora, Riku, Kairi, and Yuffie all nodded as well. Kira looked down for a moment before returning her gaze to the Elders. "I swore an oath to Kur to follow him and protect him. It is clear to me what I should do. I will take control of the Viscus Guardians and lead them in following Zak."
The Elders stood there, taken back by what had happened. "You'll regret this! I swear…" The link went dead after that. Kira had turned off the comm device.
Zak looked at his friends. "Thank you all. We'll face the struggles to come together. And we will win."
Laughter was heard. They turned to look at the Niveus Runari. "That is great! This is exciting! Now that the Elders have no control over you, I have an offer for you. Allow me and my men to join you. We have info that you're going to want to hear."
Zak's joined the Spero Guardians! He also told off the Elders! Will he accept the Runari's help? Or is this a trap? Review and you'll find out!
