The Forgotten Ones – a KingdomKeyDarkside fanfic
Disclaimer: I do not own Kingdom Hearts, or Square Enix, or Final Fantasy, or Disney, nor do I own any of the characters in this fanfic.
Chapter 10 This time… I'll fight.
Kairi awoke, but not in her bed. She was on a floor of stained glass, which seemed to be depicting her life and everyone in it. It was pink and purple, with an elaborate, stained-glass picture of Radiant Garden, and in turn, her. Smaller insignia of the Paopu Fruit and her lucky charm were in circles, around the perimeter of the pillar. Six faces were above the image of the Gardens, of Sora, Riku, Namine, Selphie, Ansem the Wise, and a woman that she did not know. She had blue hair, and slightly resembled Kairi. To the side was her, dressed as she currently was, holding Destiny Place in her right hand.
A woman's voice came out of nowhere, and invaded her mind. "So much to do, so little time... Take your time. Don't be afraid. The door is still open. Now, step forward. Can you do it?" Kairi stepped forward, smirking at the thought of not being able to walk.
Three pillars rose, carrying a sword, shield, and staff. "If you give it form… it will give you strength. Choose well."
Kairi walked up to the pillar carrying the staff, and took it. "The power of the mystic. Inner strength. A staff of wonder and ruin. Is this the power you seek?"
Kairi nodded. "Your path is set." The staff disappeared from Kairi's hands. Now, what will you give up in exchange?"
Kairi immediately stepped up to the pedestal carrying the sword. "The power of the warrior. Invincible courage. A sword of terrible destruction.. You give up this power?"
Kairi nodded once again. "You've chosen the power of the mystic. You've given up the power of the warrior. Is this the form you choose?"
"Yes." As Kairi answered, the stained glass beneath her began to shatter.
She landed on another stained-glass floor, this one depicting another princess of heart. "You have gained the ability to fight." Kairi slashed her rod through the air. "All right! You've got it. Use this power to protect yourself and others."
At that moment, several Shadows appeared. "There will be times you have to fight. Keep your light burning strong." Kairi began to hack and slash at the Heartless. Realizing that her attacks were not very strong with only a staff, she started to use magic. Within seconds the Shadows had been vanquished. The Dream Rod disappeared.
"As long as the sun is shining, your journey should be a pleasant one. The day you will close the door is both far off and very near. Don't lose your light."
Kairi appeared on another stained-glass floor, Depicting Riku and his awakening. The two main colors were gray-blue and silver, with a hint of yellow. The seven faces were herself, Sora, Mickey, Maleficent, Xehanort, a masked boy, and a brown-haired Xehanort. A ray of light shone on the middle picture, the one of the masked boy. She stepped into it, and Heartless appeared, which she easily dispatched. A set of stained-glass stairs appeared, and she ran up them.
The next station was depicting Sora's awakening, or at least what seemed to be. The pictures were obscure. The world was Destiny Islands, which was the only normal thing about it. The majority of it was black. The seven faces were of Roxas, Namine, Lea, Roxas again (or so she thought), A brown-haired man who looked like Xehanort, the same from Riku's station, A black-haired girl that looked like her, and the same blue-haired girl who looked like her from her floor. There was an eighth circle, connected to the second circle with Roxas in it. It contained a black-haired Sora. There were light-gray symbols that she had never seen before in the border of the station. She stepped up to the faces, and the voice returned.
"Remember, the closer you get to the light, the greater your shadow becomes." Kairi turned around to look at her shadow. It was massive, and taking form of its own. Something appeared in her hand, and she looked down on it, expecting the Dream Rod. Instead, Destiny Place showed up.
"My…Keyblade?"
The Darkside attacked her. Kairi backed up to the edge of the pillar, almost falling over the edge. She began to cast Fire and Thunder on it, which seemed to have no effect. The backlash of the last Fire she cast sent her over the edge. The voice was inside her head now. "But don't be afraid, and don't forget, Kairi. You hold the mightiest weapon of all."
Her fall seemed to slow down. "So don't forget: You are the one who will close the door."
Kairi woke up in her bed, breathing heavily, with everyone surrounding her bed.
Sora was right over her, asking "Are you ok?"
"Yeah, I'm fine. What's everyone doing?" Kairi looked around to notice that everyone, save for Squall, was there.
"It looked like you were having a seizure. You were muttering "Keyblade" to yourself over and over again. We all got pretty scared." Aerith had brought her a glass of water. "We just wanted to make sure you were OK."
"Thanks everyone, but I'm fine." Kairi pulled her arms out from under her sheets, taking something heavy with her. She looked down to see what was straining her arm, and it was nothing other than Destiny Place, her Keyblade.
"What? Kairi, what exactly what were you dreaming about last night?" Sora's eyes were fixated on the Keyblade.
"Umm… There was a lot of stained glass and Heartless. There was a huge, booming voice telling me what to do." Kairi let go of the Keyblade and rubbed her eyes.
"Kairi…you were awakened. You're a Keybearer now." Sora held her open hand.
"W-what? How?" Kairi took a huge gulp of the water Aerith gave her.
"Your dream… was the awakening itself. What did you choose and what did you abandon?" Riku took Destiny Place in hand and examined it.
"Umm… I took the staff and abandoned the sword." The Keyblade disappeared from Riku's hands and returned to Riku.
"Hm. I took the sword and left the shield. I wanted to be as powerful as possible." Riku summoned his own Keyblade. "I guess this kinda shows that."
Sora summoned the Kingdom Key. "I took the Dream Shield and abandoned the Dream Rod."
The three touched their Keyblades together. The ground began to shake, and it continued for a minute. Kairi jumped out of the bed, and left for the Great Maw. She took a look at the gaping canyon from the highest point of the Borough. Riku and Sora followed her and looked out as well. Heartless were assembled in the thousands.
There was no time to take the proper route. The Heartless were quickly advancing on the town, so they jumped off the wall of the town, gliding over to meet the Heartless and hold them off. Sora carried Kairi, as she couldn't glide.
Roxas woke up, noticing that everyone else was missing. He got up, and summoned Oathkeeper and Oblivion, running out the door. Aerith, Cid, Tifa, and Yuffie were assembled outside, watching. "What's going on? Where is everyone?"
"Gone. There are thousands of Heartless out there." Aerith appeared to be praying.
"Sora, Kairi, and Riku left first. Looks like Kairi's gonna get a crash course in fighting." Yuffie was jumping up and down, wanting to get into the fight. "Cloud and Leon left shortly after."
"Wait-that's not Sephiroth, is it?" Cid had a pair of binoculars that he obviously "improved". There were 3 scopes added on, and what appeared to be camera lenses.
"Give me those." Tifa took the binoculars, and took a look. "It is…"
Aerith turned around to say something to Roxas. He was already gone. "Roxas!"
She ran off to the bailey, in an attempt to catch up with Cloud.
Riku and Sora were already into their two-hundredth Heartless, while Kairi was slashing feebly at the Shadows. Sora turned around and tilted her Keyblade a bit, and moving her arm for her. "That's it." Kairi tried swinging her Keyblade the way Sora showed her, and was getting much better at it. She threw in a few spells here and there, and easily dispatched her share.
Sora was busy working away on some Blitz Spears, and Riku was right behind him, ripping through an army of Surveillance Robots. Roxas came in, still dual wielding Oathkeeper and Oblivion. Sora stepped back, and let Roxas take his place. He delicately took the Keychain off of his Keyblade, and attached the one from the King. His Keyblade transformed into Fresh Breeze, and he switched his grip to hold it properly.
Back within the walls, Cid was busy at work, pushing buttons on what appeared to be a wristwatch. "Cid, what are you doing?" Tifa asked. "This isn't the time to be playing with your watch."
A sonar pulse shot out from the watch. "This isn't a wristwatch! I just activated the Claymores." Cid explained. Tifa nodded, and returned to watching.
Sora went back to back with Roxas, in the centre of a large pool of Armored Knights. "Where did all of these Heartless come from?"
Roxas lashed out at a mass of approaching Heartless. "There." He continued slashing with Oblivion, and pointed Oathkeeper at one side of the maw. Sephiroth was standing at the edge of the canyon, smiling at his creation.
Sora unleashed an Explosion in rage, obliterating most of the Heartless within radius. "Keep going! We can't let Cloud get to Sephiroth. Roxas! Take my share. I'll make sure that Cloud doesn't get to him." Roxas nodded, and Sora jumped above all of the Heartless to get to the ravine trail. A load of Heartless noticed the absence of a Keyblade and followed Sora.
Cloud and Leon were rushing out to the maw, with Lea lagging behind. He took his time, watching the edges of the canyon for stray Heartless. Lea noticed something unexpected. He sensed a shift in space on the cliffside, and for a fraction of a second, saw someone. "Braig." He muttered to himself. He cut away from Cloud and Leon to chase him down. As he was running, his chakrams appeared in his hands. He wound up for a toss, and threw his right chakram perfectly, igniting it as it went. It struck the figure, breaking him out of his warping.
Braig appeared longer this time, but his appearance was different. He no longer had a ponytail, and his outfit was a blue guard uniform with a ragged red scarf. He flashed a smile at Lea, and continued running up the cliffside. Lea groaned and chased him. "Where do you think you're going?" Braig said with a cocky tone. He pointed an arrowgun at the parallel rock face and fired, sending a barrage of boulders cascading down on Lea, who barely avoided them.
Several Heartless appeared in front of Lea, which he ripped through. They were nearing the castle at an alarming rate, until Braig warped to the entrance of the corridors. Lea sped up to catch up with him, setting his chakrams, and nearly himself ablaze.
Braig slowed down in the corridors, and began to look around. He found what he was looking for and shot it with a few arrowgun bullets. He shot the security camera for good measure as well. He set off on his path.
Back at the Postern, Cid's watch began to beep. "Grid 12's claymores are offline! Somebody get to the corridors!" Yuffie nodded and ran off.
Lea was busy hunting Braig down. The two had gone opposite directions in the corridors, but they found their way back to each other in a large open space. "What are you doing here?" Lea growled.
"As if I'm gonna answer that. I could ask you the same question, Axel." Braig had pointed an arrowgun at Lea, and his finger was itching to pull the trigger.
"You know better than anyone, Braig. None of us are Nobodies anymore. Ditch the names." Lea pointed a flaming chakram at him, which seemed to be funny to Braig.
"Who cares if we are or not? It's all the same. As long as one member still stands, we all stand." Braig said, with a cocky grin.
"One member?" Lea exclaimed, as Braig disappeared. Lea looked up to the ceiling, to see an array of arrowgun bullets headed straight for him. He blocked them with his left chakram, and threw his right straight for Braig.
Braig teleported out of the way, and Lea's chakram returned to him like a boomerang. He set the three exits on fire to prevent Braig's escape, leaving the one that was unreachable wide open. "You clever little sneak!" Braig said as he made a temporary bunker of sorts in the rubble-covered exit. He combined his two arrowguns to create a sniper rifle, and took aim straight for Lea. Lea's mind returned to his Organization training, where he learned how to fight the other members, should one betray them. His match with Xigbar began just like this one, with him sniping from afar. He remembered the skill he had learned from that battle. Warp Snipe. As Braig fired bullets at him (Which were significantly bigger than the ones from a single arrowgun), Lea shot them straight back at him, tipped with fire. Each shot pained Braig a little more than the last. But when Braig fired two at once, each coming from a different direction, Warp Snipe was useless. Lea took a major hit. "Gotcha now!" Braig smirked. He moved down from his bunker and returned to close combat. He had run out of bullets. "R for Reload." He said as his Arrowguns were refilled.
"No you don't!" Lea set the floor on fire, magma blazing. Every step Xigbar took pained him a little, and he could feel his health depleting bit by bit. "Okay, now we're talking!" Braig hung himself upside down in the air, and fired bullets from every direction. Lea foolishly attempted to block them. He was still greatly injured from the two sniper bullets hitting him went to his fail-safe, his limit break. He threw chakrams everywhere, each one massive and blazing. He hit Braig several times, and allowed himself a smile once it was over. Braig saw the opportunity and close-range shot Lea with multiple arrowgun bullets. The flames on the ground and exits were doused, and Braig ran towards the study. "You… Got… Me." Lea said as he fell to the ground. Lea closed his eyes.
Leon and Cloud were into a run by now, and had reached the ravine trail. Cloud stopped as he sensed Aerith coming from behind. He turned around. "Aerith, you can't be here. It's too dangerous."
Aerith shook her head. "You can't be here either. Someone has to defend the town from inside. Leon and the rest will be fine." Not to mention Sephiroth's out there. She thought to herself.
"You're right. I'll come back with you." Cloud took Aerith's hand as a horde of Heartless came at Leon.
"Leon! We can't let Cloud get to the maw!" Sora shouted as he carved a path through the armored knights."
"He's gone. Back to defend the city. What's the matter?" Leon reached Sora, and they went back-to-back to defend.
"Sephiroth's back." Sora shouted over his back.
"He can't see him. We may not find him if he leaves again." Leon's Gunblade enlarged, and he began to rip through the Armored Knights. For two master swordsmen like Cloud and Sora, the Heartless were no match. They were completely dispatched in seconds.
Braig had searched Ansem's study over several times, and yet he hadn't found what he was looking for yet. He shot at the picture of Xehanort in rage. The painting broke, and a picture floated through the air to the ground. Braig picked it up. "Perfect." He smiled to himself. He pulled out a disc and headed to Ansem's computer. He loaded the disc, and entered 6 names, including his own. A passage opened up in the Heartless Manufactory below. Braig took the elevator down, and quickly ran down the stairway that opened. A long corridor was at the bottom of the stairs, and Braig took his time going down the path.
Yuffie raced through the corridors, looking for the threat. She reached the spot right before Ansem's study, and saw Lea on the ground. She pointed her Shiruken to the sky and shouted "Curaga!" Lea's eyes opened to see Yuffie there.
"Hey." Lea remembered what happened. "Quick! To Ansem's study!" Lea ran off, with Yuffie following him.
The study was empty. Yuffie and Lea searched every inch, including the computer room. "Braig's gone." Lea muttered.
Yuffie looked out the window overlooking the manufactory. "Look down there. Maybe he hasn't gotten away yet. The two of them quickly reached the staircase and raced down it.
Braig had reached the end of the corridor and found what he was looking for. He opened the door to find a room, completely gray, walls covered in symbols of the Organization. The only items in the room were a throne, which was covered in a thick layer of dust, and a pile of armor, with a Keyblade on top. "Score two for me." Xigbar placed a hand on the armor, another on the Keyblade, and noticed that the door opened. Lea and Yuffie were on the other side, and Braig fell back into a corridor of darkness as soon as the two of them saw him.
Lea punched the wall. "Braig! This is typical Organization crap. What do they want Aqua's armor for?"
"Wait, who's Aqua?" Yuffie kept a distance from Lea.
"Aqua? What are you talking about?" Lea looked puzzled.
"You just said. Aqua's armor."
"…I don't know. That came out of nowhere." Lea scratched his head. "I remember… meeting a girl named Aqua once. Only for a second. We ran into each other in the marketplace… But that was 13 years ago."
Another corridor of darkness appeared on the beach. The waves continued their near-silent attack on the slate-gray shore. Ansem didn't even need to look. "Did you find the file, Namine?"
"Y-yes." Namine clutched something in her hands.
"And do you remember the name?"
"Her name is-"
"Ansem, has the girl returned yet?" A blue-haired woman asked.
"She is right here… Aqua." Ansem stood up. "I believe introductions are in order. Namine, this is Aqua. She is… and old friend. Aqua, this is Namine. She was the key in repairing Sora's memories."
"It's nice to meet you." Aqua extended a hand.
Namine took it. "Likewise." She turned to Ansem. "Ansem, please. You must come back with me. Your world is in danger, and this place will not be safe for long… it will soon be repopulated."
Ansem shook his head. "I cannot leave yet. Why, you may ask? The time is not right yet."
Namine fell to her knees. "When will the time be right?"
"When the one I care about most is in danger. You should know who that is."
Namine picked herself up, brushed sand off of her knees, and nodded. "I'll be waiting for that time."
Ansem smiled. "Now, take that report, and put it somewhere where Roxas will find it. He needs to know about her."
"Okay." Namine began walking to the rock face where the corridor would open. Ansem returned his gaze to the ocean. Aqua followed her, and stopped her when Ansem was out of earshot.
"Namine, I have a favor to ask." Aqua removed a blue paopu-shaped charm from her pocket. "Take this to Kairi. She's going to need it soon."
Why was everything about Kairi? When would she be the one who needed things? "No. I think you can manage doing it yourself." With that, Namine disappeared.
"Suit yourself." Aqua opened up a corridor and passed through it.
Ansem was once again left alone to contemplate what was coming. I was wrong about Aqua's keyblade. Kairi didn't have it. Nobody does.
Before they knew it, The Heartless had disappeared. Kairi looked up to the cliff to see Sephiroth linger for a second, and then disappear.
"It's over…" Kairi dispersed with her Keyblade, as did everyone else.
Sora and Leon put their weapons at their sides. "Why did they leave?"
"Heartless don't tire. Either Sephiroth gave up, or they got something that they wanted." Leon took a huge breath.
"That's not good. Whatever they needed… they got. That's never good."
Everybody gathered at the Postern. Lea came running from the restoration site with Yuffie. "Braig invaded the castle! He took Aqua's armor and Keyblade!" Lea said, out of breath.
"Who's Aqua?" Sora asked.
"Beats me." Leon muttered. Everyone looked at each other. "Apparently, it beats everyone else as well.
"Yeah. I can't remember much about her. It's a miracle I remembered her at all." Lea muttered. "Anyway, I saw Braig at the Bailey. He was headed for the Restoration Site, so I chased him down. He broke the claymores in the Corridors, and he beat me. He managed to get into Ansem's study and open a secret room below the Manufactory. Aqua's armor was there, with a Keyblade. He took it, so yeah."
"It's okay Lea. I don't know what Braig could do with an old set of armor, and a Keyblade that he can't use. It's pretty much useless anyway." Yuffie put a hand on his shoulder.
"Still, the fact that he has a Keyblade, even though he can't use it, scares me. We should be on our toes." Riku brushed hair out of his eyes.
"You're right. In the meantime, we'll be fixing up the corridors, from what Lea did to them." Yuffie smiled.
Cid went ballistic on Lea. "Do you have any idea how much it cost to put in that Claymore system? And not only that, you destroyed my security cameras too! You owe me so much munny!"
Lea raised his hands to defend himself, and backed up. "Woah, I didn't destroy anything. It was all Braig, I told you."
Kairi's phone vibrated. She checked it to see a text message from Namine. When are you coming? I've been waiting forever! Get to Twilight Town already! Kairi placed her phone back into her pocket, and turned to Sora. "We've gotta go. Namine's waiting in Twilight Town." Sora nodded.
"We'll leave in 15 minutes." Sora ran off to prepare the gummi ship.
Everyone exchanged their last goodbyes. Kairi left to take one last walk through the marketplace before they went. Time to leave home once again… No matter how many times I leave, it still feels wrong. Kairi climbed up behind the shops to get a look at what used to be Hollow Bastion. At that moment, a Corridor of Darkness opened behind her. She summoned her Keyblade, and tried to mentally prepare herself for whatever lied beyond the curtain of darkness. The corridor remained, but nobody came through it. "Show yourself!" She yelled. A figure walked through the corridor, leaving it open.
"Kairi, right?" A blue-haired woman revealed herself. No weapon, no nothing. Kairi rid herself of her Keyblade.
"Yeah."
"I have something for you. Give me your hand." Kairi put her hand out. The woman put a paopu-shaped object in her palm. "I have a feeling you're going to need this soon enough. Hold onto it, okay?" Kairi nodded, and the woman stepped back into the corridor.
Kairi shook her head, and placed the charm in her pocket.
Meanwhile, Riku had the same idea as Kairi. He returned to Hollow Bastion to take a final look around. He went back to the Final Keyhole, his favorite place in the castle. Something was wrong. He could feel it in the air. A darkness like none other.
"ANSEM! SHOW YOURSELF!" Riku summoned his Keyblade with a yell.
At first, a silhouette appeared, then what appeared to be a ghost. Finally, the figure showed it's true form "Such great light coming from something so dark…How is such a thing possible?" Ansem warped, so he was standing face to face with Riku. Without notice, his Guardian appeared and took him in his fist. The Guardian tightened his grip gradually.
"I'll tell you why, Ansem. Darkness just isn't my thing anymore." Riku choked out. "Dawn is the path I follow." Riku built a mass of energy in his empty hand. With an outstretched, open palm, he took a direct shot at the Guardian with his Dark aura. "Nobody to hide behind anymore." Riku jumped back and held his Keyblade high.
"Who said I needed to hide?" Ansem summoned twin swords, modeled after Soul Eater. As he slashed them around, they sent out shockwaves of electricity and darkness, which Riku blocked. Ansem warped once again, behind Riku, taking multiple free shots at him. Riku fell to his knee.
"Wanna play hardball, do ya?" Riku summoned his second Keyblade, Incarnation. "Try this on for size!" Riku enveloped both of his Keyblades in light, making them near unstoppable. Strikes, jabs, blocks and parries went back and forth forever, until Riku found an opening, and inserted Incarnation into it, turning it like a key. A beam of light went straight through Ansem, and he was gone, save for a ball of light. Riku felt Incarnation pulse, and the sphere merged with the pearl in the hilt of the blade. Riku became dizzy, and fell to the floor, unconscious.
"Riku! Riku! Wake up! Everyone's waiting!" Riku opened his eyes to see Sora shaking him. That must have been a dream. Riku stood up. Sora shook him one last time for good measure. "We've been looking for you for the past hour! We've gotta get to the ship!" Riku nodded and followed behind an already running Sora.
The ship was parked at the postern. Riku and Sora got in, and piloted the ship out of the world barrier.
Sorry for the Wait! Hope it was worth it! Keep reading and reviewing!
By the way, don't forget to check out my other fic, High School Never Ends!