Sora collapsed to the ground, holding his injury as blood seeped through his fingers, and Kairi blinked back her tears as she cradled his head in her lap, trying to prop him up a bit and out of the sand. Riku skidded over to them and crouched down at his friend's side, taking Sora's hand in both of his as the other Guardians looked on in horror.
"You'll be okay, Sora," Riku choked out. "We'll get you fixed up. Right, Kairi?"
"Of course," Kairi nodded as she tried desperately not to cry. "You'll be fine!" Despite his condition, Sora managed to smile and looked up at her.
"As long as you guys are okay, that's all I need," he told her. "Nothing else matters…"
"Don't talk like that," Riku pleaded as his hands tightened on Sora's. "Just… stay awake, keep breathing." He summoned his Keyblade and focused his magic, but nothing happened. "What… Why isn't it working?!"
"There are some things even magic can't heal," Aqua told him gently from her place at Ventus's side a few paces away. They both held in their grief, instead letting the three friends have their moment together without worrying for anyone else.
"Really," Sora breathed. "It's okay. We… we won. We did it." Kairi forced a smile and rested her hand on his over his wound.
"Yeah, we did. We saved the worlds." He smiled and shut his eyes, and Kairi jostled him a bit to capture his attention again. She looked up to find Riku staring at something, and he got to his feet.
"I swear I'll be right back," he said. "Okay, Sora? I'll be right back."
"Okay," Sora replied. "Take your time… Not like I'm going anywhere." Riku bit his lip and exchanged a quick, worried glance with Kairi before dashing off toward the water, stumbling a bit as his own injuries from the battle acted up. He reached down and retrieved something, then hurried back over and sat down at Sora's side. Blinking back the water in his eyes, he held out his find.
"A Paopu Fruit," Kairi marveled as she looked at the yellow star-shaped fruit.
"The last one, I think," Riku agreed and looked from her to Sora. "I know they say that when two people share one, their destinies become intertwined…"
"But what about three?" Kairi wondered, tilting her head and looking down at Sora. "What do you think?" Once again, he smiled weakly.
"Friends forever, right?" He paused, catching his breath again. "Worth a shot." Kairi looked back up to Riku and nodded, one he returned as he started pulling the Paopu Fruit apart into three pieces. He handed one to Kairi and Sora reached up to take the other.
"We'll always be together," Riku said with a strained voice. "Right? It's a promise."
"Promise," Sora replied as he held his piece. "Riku."
"Yeah?" Riku asked.
"Take care of her," he said, and Riku felt his heart clench. After a moment, he nodded slightly. With that, Sora lifted his piece of the Paopu Fruit to his mouth, and his friends did the same.
"Mm…" Kairi smiled slightly. "It's so sweet. Like the sun." Riku nodded as he swallowed.
"Yeah," he agreed. "What do you think, Sora?" They looked down to find Sora had closed his eyes, and his head lay limp in Kairi's lap. "Sora?"
"Come on, Sora," Kairi pleaded and shook him a bit. "Sora?" She looked up to meet Riku's alarmed gaze before looking back down. "Sora!" she cried as her tears spilled over.
"Come on," Riku managed to say. "Wake up. Sora!" No matter how many times either of them called his name, he didn't stir, and Kairi lowered her head as her tears dripped onto his cheek. Riku wiped his eyes and hung his head as his body trembled. Something caught his attention, however- almost like a sharp point in his hand. He couldn't say it hurt, but more like he was missing something. He raised it to inspect his palm, but could find nothing out of the ordinary.
Then, from nowhere, came a flash of light, leaving behind the Kingdom Key in his hand. He about stopped breathing as he stared at it, looking from it to Sora and back.
"What the…" He blinked several times to make sure he wasn't imagining things. "What's going on?"
"The Kingdom Key wasn't Sora's personal Keyblade," Mickey explained as he came to Riku's side. "It was created to protect the Realm of Light. Even more than other Keyblades, it chooses its wielder." He shook his head. "Sora's heart must have chosen you to wield it in his stead." Riku lowered the Kingdom Key and returned his gaze to Sora. He took his friend's hand and held it tightly as he closed his eyes.
"If that's what you want," he mumbled. "I won't let you down, Sora. I promise." He opened his eyes and felt something brush against his hand. He dismissed the Kingdom Key and gently uncurled Sora's fingers to find he had been holding a seed. He took it and inspected it, and a helpless smile formed on his face.
"That's a Paopu seed, isn't it?" Kairi asked, and he nodded. "The Kingdom Key and the Paopu Tree… He knew we couldn't lose either of them." She wiped her eyes and leaned down to kiss Sora's forehead. "Thank you, Sora. Thank you…"
While he watched Riku and Kairi grieve and say goodbye to their friend, Ventus crossed his arms and held them close to his body as he tried to deal with the raging emotions in his heart. He'd been connected to Sora for so long, he wasn't sure he could function normally without him. Aqua wrapped her arm around his shoulders and he leaned into her as several drops of water slid down his cheeks.
"He gave me a second chance…." He mumbled. "Saved my life, gave my heart a place to sleep safely. And this is how I repaid him… dragged him into a fight that wasn't his and couldn't protect him."
"It's not your fault, Ven," Aqua told him. "We were all prepared to give everything to stop Xehanort. And we did." She looked up to the χ-Blade and frowned. "However, there is the issue of what to do with that."
"Couldn't we just break it apart again?" Lea asked from his place in the sand. His voice was almost lifeless.
"No," Aqua shook her head. "If we do that, we risk this happening again. Another Xehanort. Someone who has heard the legends and wants to wash the worlds in darkness." She paused as she observed the χ-Blade. "What it needs is a guardian, someone to watch over it and Kingdom Hearts. Someone to wield it, but who won't be tempted to misuse its power." No one immediately said anything.
"Who would you suggest?" Riku said from his place at Sora's side. He sounded absolutely exhausted.
"I'm not sure," Aqua admitted. "We'd need someone whose heart is strong enough to wield it properly, but one who won't yield to the darkness no matter what the circumstances. Someone who understands what the worlds need, who will protect not just light, but darkness as well." Her eyes lit up, and she turned her gaze to Ventus. He blinked and stared at her as he realized just what it was she was thinking.
"No, no way." He lifted his hands and shook his head. "I've been fighting for over a decade to keep that thing away from me. I don't want anything to do with it."
"Ven," she said gently. "You, more than any of us, have faced the darkness in your heart and triumphed. Your light is about as pure as it comes, but you don't want to exterminate darkness. You're stronger than you give yourself credit for, and… we can't just leave it out in the open. The rest of us… Even if our intentions were good, we'd abuse it. Try to change the course of light and darkness. But you won't… right?"
"I guess," he muttered and looked down.
"Ven," Kairi said weakly as she turned her head to him. "Sora… Sora died to keep that χ-Blade out of the wrong hands." Her voice broke again and she took a moment to compose herself, holding Sora tightly. "Please," she nearly begged. "Don't let his death be in vain. Don't have us lose him for nothing." Ventus's heart dropped and he wiped his eyes, and, slowly, he made his way to Sora's side opposite Riku and knelt down.
"It's because of you I'm even here," he said gently as he observed Sora's still face. "…You've always believed in me, even when you were just a newborn heart reaching out to mine." He fell silent for some time and looked down. "You would want me to take it, wouldn't you?"
"I think he would," Riku agreed. "He would trust you with it just like the rest of us." Ventus took a deep breath and let it out slowly, and he took Sora's hand in his briefly.
"Kairi's right," he said. "If I can't save you… Then at least I'll make sure that your death meant something." He gently placed Sora's hand to his chest, then stood up and looked over to the χ-Blade. It took him quite some time to trudge over to it, and he frowned as his hand reached up to its hilt. Memories of his battle within his heart against Vanitas flashed through his head, and he chased them away as quickly as he could. He had beaten the darkness. He was laying claim to the χ-Blade, not Vanitas. Not Xehanort.
The χ-Blade would be a blade of light.
With that thought and a deep breath, he wrapped his fingers around the handle, and a sharp wave of wind and light erupted from it and washed over the islet. He grunted and heard Aqua call his name as he felt a surge of power move up through his arm and into his body, settling around his heart. A sense caused him to look up, and up above, the storm clouds hiding the sky parted to reveal Kingdom Hearts shining over them.
Ventus panted as he tried to make sense of what had just overtaken his body, and in his distraction, he almost forgot he was actually holding the χ-Blade. Despite its size, it didn't weigh nearly as much as he expected. Or, perhaps his body adapted to it and made it seem like it was about the same as his own Keyblade in his hand. He frowned as he looked over it, pulling it a bit closer to his body.
"Ven?" He looked up at Aqua's beckoning to find her watching him with concerned eyes. "Are you okay?" He took a breath and nodded as he lowered the χ-Blade and turned to her.
"Yeah," he replied. "Just… A little overwhelmed." He looked back down to the χ-Blade and, with a bit of focus, caused it to vanish in a flash of light, causing several of his companions to jump.
"What did you just do with it?" Lea asked, dumbfounded.
"I put it away," Ventus said. "Dismissed it like any other Keyblade." He held his hand out and focused, and the χ-Blade flashed back into his possession. "It's kind of bulky to carry around."
"I suppose so," Aqua said a bit helplessly. Ventus dismissed it again and nodded to her, then made his way back over to kneel at Sora's side.
"Don't worry, Sora." He gave the boy a sad smile. "I'm not going to let everything you've done go to waste. We'll keep the worlds safe and make sure people are happy. I promise." He lowered his head as a new wave of tears escaped his eyes. "That way, I hope you can rest in peace." He got to his feet and returned to Aqua, and she took his hand as he looked up to Kingdom Hearts floating in the sky.