Gummi Kingdom
by
El Cid the Champion
I'm sorry this last chapter took so long. I have been going through quite possibly the roughest time in my entire life. This last chapter will be the end of this story and the end of my current fan-fiction writing career. I'll explain more in the next "chapter"
Chapter 9: Return to Dunwyn
Sora had just had a terrible revelation, he had been helping the Organization! Without
even knowing it, every time he destroyed a heartless he was helping them to rebuild kingdom hearts. Now he was dreading fighting the heartless as it seemed he was in a no-win situation. Either he left the heartless alone and allowed them to destroy the worlds, or he destroyed them and helped the Organization achieve their goals. He had just finished fighting at the Battle of Hollow Bastion, and now he, Goofy and Donald were unsure of what to do next.
"I think you still have to use the keyblade Sora," said Goofy, "we still have to take care of the heartless that are in the worlds."
"But if I use it, then I'm just helping the Organization," said Sora.
"It looks like we're in a no win situation then," said Doanld, "either you don't use the key-blade and we let heartless roam around, or we use it and inadvertently help the Organization."
"There has to be another way," said Sora, "there must be something we aren't thinking of, or some place we could go look for help..." Sora trailed off for a moment as though he was lost in thought before finally saying, "Of course! Let's head back to Dunwyn, the Gummi Bears might be able to help us out. That book they have could have some information in it."
"I guess it's worth a try," agreed Goofy, "let's go check it out." With that the trio sped off back towards Dunwyn.
It wasn't long before the three were back in Dunwyn, they had arrived back in the forest and were making their way back to the large tree where the Gummi's lived when they ran into a familiar face, Cecil was walking in the forest on the same path as them. The trio called out to him.
"Hey Cecil!" called Sora. Cecil turned his head to face them and responded.
"Oh hello Sora!. How are you?" he answered.
"I'm alright I was just on my way somewhere, I honestly didn't think I'd run into you here."
"Well I'm still trying to find a way to get home, to be honest I'm not sure how I got to this world, but I need to find a way to get back." said Cecil.
"Well we might be able to help you with that, but first I need to do something else in this world. Maybe afterwards I can give you a hand." Sora had just finished talking when suddenly a large group of heartless appeared and surrounded the heroes.
"Heartless!" said Donald and Goofy in unison. Sora materialized his keyblade and saw Cecil draw his sword. The two of them charged into the fray.
The heartless seemed as though they wouldn't end. It was a tough fight but the four managed to turn the tide, at least it looked that way until suddenly Cecil collapsed in the middle of the fight and began clutching at his heart.
"Cecil!" yelled Sora, he came to the dark knights aid and defeated the heartless that were surrounding him. After the heartless were defeated he turned and addressed him. "Are you alright?"
"I don't know," replied Cecil, "I felt as though a great weight was placed upon my heart."
"The explanation for that is simple," said a voice that materialized out of the Darkness. The gang looked to the source of that voice and saw Saix stepping out of a dark portal. "The darkness that you call upon to assist you in battle is corrupting you. It won't be long now before you are turned into a heartless yourself."
"What? No!" exclaimed Cecil, "but I made the right choice, I no longer follow Igthorn. I've truly come to regret my past actions."
"None of that matters," said Saix, "That dark sword you use, from which you draw power is steeped in darkness. Even if you use it with noble intentions you will still be corrupted, it will slowly take you over until there is nothing left at which point you will become a heartless. Be of good cheer though, I sense you are a strong individual when you become a heartless a Nobody is likely to form as well."
"A Nobody?" asked Cecil
"A being like me those who are incomplete without hearts. I think we could have a place for you in the Organization." said Saix
"No!" said Sora, "stepping forward defiantly, I won't let you take Cecil."
"Yes," reassured Cecil, "If what you say is true then I simply won't use my sword or powers anymore. I cannot be corrupted if I do not use dark power."
"That is fine," answered Saix, "but that is not the only way to be made into a heartless, if you choose not to fight then the heartless will simply overwhelm you and take your heart for themselves. Either way you will be ours, I look forward to seeing you in the Organization." With that he disappeared into a dark portal.
Cecil struggled to get himself back up, when he was at last standing he hung his head in despair, "It's no use, If I use my powers to defend myself they will slowly corrupt me, but if I don't then these creatures will take my heart and turn me into a heartless anyways. There must be another way," clamored Cecil.
"That's why we're here," said Donald, "we need to ask the Gummi Bears if there's anything we can do to stop the heartless without helping the Organization. Maybe you should come to, maybe they know a way to help you."
"Yeah," said Goofy, "Those Bears are real smart and they have the Great Book to give them more knowledge, I bet they can help."
"Would they welcome me, I wonder? I was their enemy last time," asked Cecil.
"You ended up saving the day in the end, I bet they'd be okay with you," answered Sora.
"Yeah come on let's go find them," said Goofy. With that the group journeyed through the forest before finally finding the large tree that was home to the Gummi Bears.
Sora and the bears were gathered in the main hall of the Glen as Sora began explaining the situation to them, he finished telling them and they all looked at him with grave stares.
"So you're saying that this fellow here is drawing on dark power and if he continues to use it, then it will corrupt him," asked Zummi.
"That's right," said Sora, "and if he doesn't defend himself then the Heartless will transform into a heartless."
"Well let's have a look in the great book," suggested Zummi, "If there's some way to stop this then it will be there."
Zummi poured over pages and pages in the book looking for anything that could possibly help Cecil. It wasn't long before he found something and called Sora and Co. over.
"The Great Gummis were masters of different kinds of magic," he explained, "They also knew about Dark Magic, they knew that using it posed the risk of corrupting the user. With that in mind they developed a way to purify those who had become corrupted by Dark Magic. There is a chamber that houses an entity of pure light. According to the Great Book it manifests itself differently for each person, those who are deemed worthy can be cleansed of their darkness.
"Do you think it will work for me?" asked Cecil nervously.
"I can't say for sure, but we may as well give it a try. Luckily the Glen Gummis had such a chamber they built it in some mountains not very far from here..." Zummi trailed off as he said that last part.
"What is it?" asked Sora.
Zummi responded "I just remembered something, when we first met Ventus he mentioned having found that Gummi Amulet in some mountains not far from here. I bet he was referring to these same mountains."
"Well let's get going then," said Sora
With that the group marched towards the mountains that were just north of the Glen. It wasn't long before they reached the ruins site, it looked like the remains of an ancient temple of some sort. Fortunately the chamber they were looking for was still undisturbed. In the side of the mountain they saw a door with strange writing on it.
"That must be it," said Zummi, "The writing on the door is in ancient Gummi characters,"
"What does it say?" asked Sora.
"It says,
For those whom darkness has made weary
Step through this doorway, and be cheery
Know that in order to come to the light
You must be willing to not fight"
"I wonder what that means?" wondered Zummi out loud, "Well we won't know by standing here lets go inside." Before the group could head in they were surrounded by heartless, and not just any heartless, but the Ogre ones that Cecil had created for Igthorn.
"Heartless! Why now?" exclaimed Cecil. "I must fight with you," He drew his sword and got ready for battle
"No let us take care of them, you can't risk being corrupted." answered Sora.
"Very well I will let you deal with them, but if they close in on me I must defend myself." said Cecil.
[Information: Defeat the Heartless and protect Cecil]
[In this battle there will be a "Corruption" Meter. It will fill up as Heartless attack Cecil, he will do his best to avoid them by running around the map. However if he gets surrounded by heartless he will use his dark wave attack to clear them away. You have to keep him from getting attacked by heartless and from using his powers to fight them.]
The large Ogre heartless were once again difficult to destroy. They had powerful attacks and were large physical brutes, worst of all they seemed to be focusing their attacks on Cecil. Sora did his best to keep them away from the poor dark knight. The fighting was fierce, but thankfully Zummi was able to lend some assistance with powerful magic. Even so there were many heartless to take care of, it finally became to much and Cecil sent out a wave of dark energy to counter them. The wave pushed the beings back but Cecil collapsed after the effort he had put in. Sora once again tapped into his Limit Form, this formed allowed him access to additional moves, and also allowed his allies to stay on the field and keep fighting. To help clear out the Ogres Sora used his Sonic Blade moved, followed up by a Ragnorok to hit multiple targets. After some more intense fighting he had cleared out all the Ogres and managed to save Cecil. The dark knight rose to his feet, slowly this time.
"Thank you Sora, I thought I was done for that time, now let's go inside and see what awaits us." With that the heroes stepped inside the chamber.
The inside of the chamber was truly a sight to behold, the entire interior was made of what looked to be mirrors and glass. The floor and ceiling were made of small segmented mirrors while the wall along the far side of the chamber was made of one long continuous mirror. The mirror showed the rest of the chamber but did not reflect the images of any of the creatures that stood before it. Strangely enough there was soft music playing in the air, though no apparent source. Suddenly as if from the air itself a voice began to speak.
"Long has it been since one last stepped in these chambers, you who have come to cast off the dark knight and atone for your actions. A tragedy unfolds which pains me more than you can know. To end it I will gift to you my light."
Suddenly in the far mirror wall a bright sword appeared in it. The sword shone brightly and was surrounded by sparkles of light, it glowed in a faint golden aura. Then slowly it floated out of the mirror and towards Cecil hovering majestically in the air. The voice began to speak again.
"The time is come. Bid farewell to your bloodstained past. Forsake the darkness you once embraced or the light will find no hold."
Cecil grabbed the sword that was floating above him and was enveloped in a bright flash of white light. Instantly his black and dark blue armor changed color and was now white and light blue. The helm he had been wearing to cover his face also disappeared, and for the first time Sora was able to see his face. Cecil had bright blue eyes that seemed to be glowing, his face was kind and worked into a soft smile. His hair no longer contained in the helm was flowing behind him and was also of the purest white color. And once again the voice spoke.
"Vanquish the Dark Knight! You and he are one no more!"
The image in the mirror changed and suddenly was replaced by the former dark knight Cecil. Like the sword the image walked out of the mirror and appeared before the group as a physical manifestation. Sora raised his keyblade in defense and called to Cecil, "Cecil watch out,"
"Stay back!" replied Cecil, "this is a fight for me and me alone. My atonement for all the sins I've wrought, my test. And one I do not mean to fail!"
[Information: Defeat the Dark Knight]
[You are in control of Cecil for this fight, similar to when you control Riku in the end. He only has three actions: Attack, Guard, and Jump. If you've played Final Fantasy IV then I think you know what to do for this fight.]
The dark knight marched forward and attempted to strike Cecil. The paladin brought up his sword to deflect the attack and then retaliated with a strike of his own. He was surprised however when the blade passed right through the image seemingly inflicting no damage. The dark knight brought his sword to bear on Cecil and Cecil was surprised when the blow struck and hurt him. He tried again to attack the image and again his blade found its mark, yet again it passed through the image harmlessly. Cecil tried one more time and achieved the same result. It was at this point the voice he had heard earlier spoke to him as though in his mind.
"You cannot overcome Darkness with aggression"
Cecil closed his eyes and stepped back for a moment, he kept hold of his sword but rather than attack the image he held in a parrying position. The dark specter attacked again but Cecil focused on blocking his attacks. The image continued to try and strike him, but Cecil kept up his defenses and blocked every blow the dark knight threw at him. The image was getting more frantic and increased the speed of its attacks, and it was then that Cecil heard the voice one last time.
"Sheath your blade, a Paladin's heart knows no malice."
Cecil was a little less reluctant to comply with this order, but figured he needed to prove himself. He took his sword and sheathed it and stood still inviting the dark creature to attack him freely. The creature swung at him and while his blow found its mark Cecil noticed that the image had also looked wounded. The dark knight attacked Cecil twice more and each time it struck did damage to itself as well. After the last hit the dark knight stopped attacking. It looked straight at Cecil, bowed to him and as it sheathed its own sword and faded into nothingness. The strange voice spoke once more to the group.
"Your virtue is proven, I will instill in you now hallowed light, may it give you strength. My son, the road that leads back to your world is a long one but you must return, your strength is needed there."
Cecil looked all around to try and find a source to that voice, but couldn't, he was stunned by what it had just said, Did it call me his son? Why?. Cecil turned back towards Sora and Co. after the trial they stared at each other for a bit before Sora spoke up.
"Hey Cecil this is the first time I've seen your face, you always had that helm on, you look great."
Cecil turned and examined his reflection in the mirror, now it show back at him in its full glory. "To be honest I've worn that old dark armor for so long even I forgot what my face looked like. My hair is different though, it was never white. I suppose it's a side effect of the transformation." Cecil ran one of his hands through his hair to feel it's length and volume. "Honestly it feels good to see my face again as well, I feel different somehow."
The group exited the chamber and was back outside,
"Well," said Cecil, "I guess this is goodbye, I want to thank all of you again for your help with this. I thought for sure when that man said I was doomed that there would be no way to help me, yet you all risked your lives to help. Not only did you prevent me from becoming a heartless, but you helped me to give up the dark sword and be cleansed of it.
"I'm glad we could help," said Sora, "what will you do now Cecil?"
"What I was doing before, I still have to find a way back to my world. I think all my friends will be surprised to see what has happened," replied Cecil. Before leaving he turned to address Sora, "If you have need of my strength let me know and I will help you however I can."
[Got the Knight Charm. Allows you to Summon Cecil]
"Are you sure you'll be okay on your own?" asked Sora, "I know it's against the rules, but we might be able to give you a lift to your world."
"You've already done enough for me," said Cecil, "I don't think you can take me to my world, I have a feeling my world was lost to darkness."
"Garsh, if that's what happened then your world should be back to normal by now, we sealed up Kingdom Hearts and all the worlds that were lost got restored," said Goofy.
"If what you say is true then I will find my way back, but I must do it on my own. In the meantime I will wander the land perhaps there is some cause in this world that needs a paladin to fight for." said Cecil. "Sora you are a force of light for all, never lose sight of that." With that the Paladin walked down the trail from the mountain and disappeared into the forest.
Sora and Co. were back at Gummi Glen recounting all that had happened with the other Gummis.
"Wow who would have thought that even a guy like him could be turned from the dark path," exclaimed Gruffi.
"Land sakes I never figured that ruffian could fight for a noble cause, yet here you are telling me all this," said Grammi.
"Do you think he could teach me some pointers on how to be a knight?" asked Cubbi
Sora laughed at this question and replied, "maybe he can, but I think that someday you'll make a great Gummi Knight. Zummi thanks again for helping Cecil out, I know you didn't need to, but I really appreciate that you did."
"Well sometimes it's better to try and convert an enemy into a friend than to fight them. I think Cecil's "fight" against his old evil self proved that too. It's why the Great Gummis chose to flee rather than fight the humans. The truth is we likely could have won if we'd gone to war with them, but we would lose many in the process and what would it really accomplish besides more suffering on both sides. By not fighting the ancient Gummis had hoped that man would eventually grow and give up their greedy ways. If peace could not happen in that generation then maybe a few generations later it could." answered Zummi.
"That's a very wise view," said Sora, "Honestly it reminds me of a friend of mine. He made some bad choices, but in the end was still willing to sacrifice himself to save the world. I think that like Cecil he wants a second chance at things."
"Well if Cecil's conversion was able to happen then I hope the same can happen for your friend Sora."
"Thanks Zummi, we'll have to get going soon, but I'll stop by if I can," said Sora.
"Take care," said Zummi, "and Sora if you see Ventus or Aqua again please let us know, I haven't seen either of them in so long I'm beginning to wonder if they're okay."
"If I see either of them I'll make sure and let them know you miss them," replied Sora.
Cecil was walking through the forest unsure of how much time had passed since he'd seen Sora, he was still trying to think of how he could get back to his world when suddenly a flash of light appeared before him. In the next instant a figure had appeared out of that light, he couldn't tell who the figure was as he was shrouded in a black cloak. The figure got up quickly and dusted himself off before pulling down his cloak and then looking at Cecil.
"Can it really be?" asked the figure, "am I back in the realm of the living?" He then suddenly noticed Cecil. "You there, where am I what is this place?"
"As I understand it," began Cecil, "this land is called Dunwyn, we are in one of its many forests."
"Dunwyn, really?!" exclaimed the figure, "Can it be that I am back in Dunwyn?"
"I assure you that you are," said Cecil.
"Then I have somehow been reformed, I'm a whole complete person again," said the figure. He then noticed that Cecil was still staring at him, "Forgive me sir knight, for you seem attired as such, what is your name?"
"I am Cecil Harvey the Paladin," said Cecil.
"My name is Medy, I am the wandering minstrel who wandered into the realm of darkness only to return triumphantly back," said the figure finally identifying himself. "But alas, she is still trapped within, Lady Aqua you are still beyond my reach. I must make haste and recue you." He turned to face Cecil again, "Fair knight are you on any noble quest at the moment for I have need of your strength."
"My only quest right now is to seek out injustice and to journey home to mine own world," said Cecil.
"Then we are of two minds here," said Medy, "I mean to rescue a fair maiden who is trapped in the realm of darkness, but I have no knowledge of how to go or pass into that place. You seek a way to return to your home I think our goals are similar, we should work together and I think we can accomplish both."
"If you think it wise then yes I will help you on your quest if you will help me on mine," answered Cecil.
"Then it's settled," said Medy, "we will journey together on this quest. I to find a way to save Lady Aqua, and you to return to your homeland!"
Sora was ready to leave Dunwyn but for one reason or another he had a strange feeling to go back to the cave where Cecil had been turned into a Paladin. He journeyed back to the cave and entered into the door, the voice that once spoke to Cecil now spoke to him.
"So you have returned, when you last entered I sensed a dark presence in you, it has stifled your powers and not allowed you to reach your true potential,"
Sora was stunned by the voice and didn't quite understand it's meaning, dark presence inside me? how is it hurting my power?
"I can help to cleanse you from it, but you will need to prove your worth, are you ready to face your darkness?"
Sora thought about it for a brief second and in his mind decided he was ready. He looked into the mirror and saw an image appear in its reflection. The image slowly morphed into what he looked like in Anti-Form. Then the image stepped out of the mirror and became solid and whole.
[Information: Defeat your Anti-Form!]
[This is a bonus boss idea I had. You fight your Anti-Form and defeat it. Then you are permanently rid of Anti-Form and never have to worry about accidentally transforming into it again]
Sora got his keyblade ready and charged straight at his Anti-Form the form dodged out of the way and flew up high with such blinding speed away from Sora. It flew down and began an attack against him that caught Sora in a long string of combos. Before Sora knew what was happening he had already take multiple blows and was on the verge of death. He managed to hang on and get free from the combo before healing himself. Then he went on the offensive against the being. He managed to catch it in a combo, but the creature broke free after two hits. The creature came right back at Sora and began attacking him again. Sora broke free from the combo and countered but again the being escaped before Sora could do more damage to it. Sora realized that physical attacks wouldn't do much against it. He switched up to magic and managed to catch the creature in a blast of fire. He switched to thunder and again managed to hit the creature hard. The Anti-Form creature again broke free and came after Sora again, This time Sora guarded against the creatures blows and managed to achieve a counterattack against it. He was finally able to catch the creature in a combo and finished up with an Explosion finisher ending the battle.
The creature stood still for a second before fading away. Then the voice spoke again to Sora.
"Your virtue is proven. This dark remnant from your past has been defeated and you have unlocked your true potential. Use your power wisely and you may yet save the worlds...Wait a minute you have been here before haven't you? But something's different...Yes I couldn't feel it before because of the dark presence within you but now I feel it clearly."
Sora was very confused by what he was hearing, but the voice continued on anyway.
"The last time you were here I gave you the Gummi Medallion because I knew you would give it to the bears. I see you have a great destiny before you. My son, You must stop Xehanort"
With that the voice stopped and said no more. Sora looked into the mirror and saw a reflected image, but it wasn't of himself. Instead it looked just like Roxas.
Roxas? wondered Sora, the reflection of me looks just like Roxas.
The image lasted for a few seconds and then faded away leaving the room empty.
As Sora left the room for the second time he wondered why the mirror had reflected Roxas's image back at him. The voice inside the room had also told him that he had been there before and had been given a Medallion? In fact the same one that the Gummi Bears said Ventus had given them ten years prior. All of this was confusing to him, but he pushed it aside as he remembered his mission, to stop the heartless and to stop Organization XIII. He gripped his keyblade and held it firm ready to face whatever else awaited him.
THE END
