Oh man, it's so close to being done, I can almost taste it.
Tastes like a crappy fanfic.
Since this is an unofficial, fanmade prequel to the KH series, it has to tie in with the games somehow.
This is how.
The Keyblade War
The Chains
Night had fallen over the Sanctuary of Light.
It had been over a week since Xant had heard anything on the Barren Wasteland. All things considered, since none of the other masters had any word either, Xant could only assume that the mission was a failure, and that all of the Keyblade warriors that had been sent were killed. Xant smirked. Well, if they were too weak to forge the X-Blade, then they were all expendable anyway. Xant prepared to go to sleep. Tomorrow, he would begin visiting other worlds, finding potential Keyblade wielders. One day, he would be able to try again.
Just before he could rest, Xant heard the sound of the Sanctuary's crystal doors opening and slamming shut, the brief interval in between letting in the sounds of pouring rain and thunder outside. Footsteps echoed through the castle before someone spoke. "Get out here, 'master'."
Drake.
Xant stood up and began wandering the castle, eager to find his finest student. "You have quite some nerve to show your face here, boy." Xant drew his Keyblade, a simple looking blade that appeared similar in fashion to an olden-times key. "Especially after abandoning your master in pursuit of your own desires."
Drake's voice responded deeper in the castle, slowly drawing Xant to his location. "You and all those other corrupt men and women sent thousands of warriors to their deaths. All of them, Amanda, Aaron… all of them are gone, except for me." His voice began to grow more powerful. "Quite frankly, you have quite some nerve to believe that you're worthy of the title 'master'."
Xant laughed, echoing through the castle as a flash of lightning briefly illuminated the interior. "You are a student, Drake! You always have been, and you always will be! After everything you've learned in this time, you seem to have forgotten your place in things." Xant looked to his sides, still hunting for Drake. "If I give you an order, you carry it out without question. If I give you advice on how to improve your abilities, you take it without question." Lightning flashed again. "If I deem that your usefulness has run out, you fall on your knees and DIE without question!"
Xant heard a small chuckle, further drawing him to its source. "Then I guess it's a good thing that a friend of mine taught me how to question authority once in a while, isn't it?"
Xant had made his way to the grand hall of the Sanctuary, and stopped. "I'm afraid we have a difference of opinion on that, boy."
Drake was standing near the entrance of the castle. Another flash of lightning covered the interior of the castle. Drake's clothes were torn up, dirt and blood covered most of his body, and he wore a hood over his head, casting a shadow over his face. Xant and Drake, both at opposite ends of the hall, slowly began to walk towards each other. Xant was smirking the entire time. "So, why have you returned here?"
"Simple: to tie up loose ends. To end this corruption at its source, once and for all."
"I've already told you, boy, I am not corrupted! Darkness has NO hold over me!"
Drake shook his head. "You still don't get it. Light can be just as poisonous as darkness, just like how darkness can be as useful a tool as light can be." Drake pointed at Xant. "You are the perfect example of this."
By now, the two were face to face, staring each other down. Xant gripped his Keyblade tightly, while Drake remained unarmed. "Well then, I suppose it's time we found out who is right in this little debate."
Drake smirked under his hood. "Give me everything you've got, old man."
Xant raised his blade in preparation for a strike. Just as he brought his weapon down, Drake raised his hand, and a blast of light and darkness shot from it. Xant's Keyblade collided with Drake's, and the force caused a shockwave that put cracks in all of the Sanctuary's crystal walls. After Xant opened his eyes from the shock, he saw the weapon Drake was using.
"The X-Blade!" Xant withdrew his weapon for a moment, and laughed. "So, I suppose I was wrong about you, boy! You really CAN get a job done! Now, give that blade to its rightful master." Xant extended his hand to Drake.
Drake simply pushed his former master's hand aside. "Sorry, old man, but I don't think you deserve this sort of power."
Rage slowly began to fill Xant's body. He redrew his Keyblade and prepared to strike Drake. Drake simply swung the X-Blade, and a powerful gust of wind shot from it. Xant flew across the hallway, slamming against the wall at the opposite end behind the thrones. His Keyblade fell to the ground beside him as he crumpled to the floor, unable to pick himself up. Drake slowly walked across the hall, making his way to his former master. He was speaking slowly, since the wind was likely knocked out of him by the blow. "So what now…? You kill me…? Go ahead… I welcome it… prove that you've become a slave to darkness… prove me right…"
Drake held the X-Blade to Xant's throat. After a good ten seconds, Drake withdrew the blade. "No, I won't kill you. That would be far too kind." Drake looked at the back of the throne. "What I'm going to do instead, is save this world from the corruption threatening it." Drake was now looking at Xant's Keyblade.
Xant immediately knew what Drake was planning, and began to laugh weakly. "Don't waste your time, boy… that technique is reserved for when a world is truly in danger… the weapon will not side with you…"
"A man who is responsible for sending thousands of teenagers, students, children, to their deaths is currently calling this place his home. I'd say that it's in danger. Let the Keyblade decide." Drake and Xant extended their hands at Xant's Keyblade, issuing a mental command to summon the blade. After a few moments, the blade vanished and reappeared.
In Drake's hand.
Xant's expression slowly turned from smug to horror. "No…"
Drake looked at the weapon. "Then I guess this is it." Drake walked directly behind the throne, and pointed Xant's Keyblade at it. A Keyhole appeared on the back of the throne.
Xant was holding his chest, and was now on his hands and knees. "Don't do it, boy…"
Drake's eyes narrowed, and he shot a beam of light from the Keyblade into the Keyhole. "If this world is ever put in danger, utilize this Keyhole, and all of its intruders will be lost to oblivion."
Light consumed everything.
. . .
By the time either Xant or Drake could open their eyes again, the castle had completely changed. The world had changed. The classic style, crystal castle had been replaced with one of more unique, illogical design. The hallways were colorful, and the thrones had changed from crystal to brown. Outside, Drake saw through the windows that the courtyard was much more vibrant and lively, with gardens around it.
Xant had now lifted himself up to one knee. "What… what have you DONE?"
Drake looked back at his former master. "I've saved this world. What does it look like?" Drake, still holding on to Xant's Keyblade, began to walk for the exit.
Xant was now on his legs again, slowly stumbling for Drake. "You will not escape us… you will not escape ME! I will hunt you, I will find you, and I will destroy you, no matter how long it takes, do you hear me?"
Drake stopped in front of the doors to the world. "Before you can find me, you have to find your way out of this castle, first." Drake then opened the doors and left, closing them behind him.
Xant's stumble turned into a run, and then a sprint. He dashed at the door and flung it open, only to find another room behind them. Falling to his knees, Xant let out a cry of pure rage.
. . .
Drake was in the courtyard of this new world. The rain had stopped, and the moon was out. It almost looked beautiful. It was a shame he couldn't stay to admire it. Other masters were likely on their way to investigate. Drake took Xant's Keyblade, and stabbed it into the ground. Still holding it, he closed his eyes, and the weapon began to glow.
"For whoever next takes this weapon, listen to my words. This Keyblade marks the end of an old world, and the beginning of a new world. A land that, after its creation, I will depart from for the first and final time. Let anyone who seeks power for selfish and impure desires, upon entering this castle, be forever doomed to walk its halls until their end time has come. When you, the wielder who understands that balance is the key to the further survival of the worlds, that there is no good nor evil, that light and darkness are two sides of the same coin… when you take this Keyblade and hear this message, use it to unlock this castle's true form, and restore it to its former glory. This I beg of you. Do not let this world forever be a land of departure."
Drake opened his eyes and then let go of the Keyblade. He then withdrew the X-Blade and created a dark corridor. He looked at the new castle one last time, and entered the corridor.
Drake reappeared in the Barren wasteland, in the middle of the battlefield. He looked around and saw all of the weapons lying on the ground. Each weapon was a reminder of another person that gave up their life for this world. Light or dark. They deserved better than a mess of Keyblades lying carelessly on the ground. They deserved something more. Some kind of memorial, even if it wasn't much.
Before Drake got started, he drew the X-Blade and stared at it. Its power was incredible, and the moments where he held it, felt like the best moments of his life. If he wanted to, Drake could rework the entire universe into his ideal image. Knowing this, Drake silently vowed never to summon the weapon again, and withdrew it.
Drake picked up a Keyblade, and stabbed it firmly into the ground.
. . .
Two Months Later
. . .
Drake looked upon the work he had done.
The vast clutter that this world was a couple months ago have become an organized memorial of every single soldier on both sides that had lost their life. It wasn't a Barren Wasteland anymore.
It was the Keyblade Graveyard.
Drake made sure to keep pathways in between the field of Keys so that in case anyone ever did return here, they would be able to move about with some ease. He looked down at his feet to see the two Keyblades he had been saving for last: the Oblivion and Fenrir.
Amanda and Aaron's weapons.
He slowly picked them up and stared at them for what felt like an eternity. After this, he stabbed them both into the ground, ending his last mission. He looked upon the field for what he wanted to be the last time, and turned to walk away.
As Drake was now up on a cliff that overlooked the plains still walking away, he suddenly stopped, feeling something. Something's wrong. There's darkness. A lot of it. Drake turned and saw Heartless gathering on the plains. Creatures created from the darkness in people's hearts.
Drake's eyes widened. Several thousand Keyblade wielders had fallen. Several thousand hearts containing darkness.
Drake could only watch as the plains became a sea of darkness. Shadows, Neoshadows, and Darksides as far as the eye could see. Drake began to back away. He could easily escape now, and survive. It would take very little effort. Besides, one man fighting against all of these? It was suicide.
Then Drake stopped. What if the Heartless found their way off of this world, and onto others? Ones populated, with innocents living there? If they did, they wouldn't stand a chance against this many. The worlds would fall.
Drake stopped backing up, and his breathing slowed down. He closed his eyes.
He had to stay.
He had to fight.
He had to wear down their numbers as much as he could. Even if he didn't get all of them, strike enough down that the rest can be defeated with ease.
Drake opened his eyes, and he couldn't believe what he was seeing for a moment. He knew he was seeing things, but the semi-transparent figures of Amanda and Aaron were standing before him, smiling.
Amanda turned and began to follow Aaron's voice. "Can you tell me after?"
Drake sighed. "Sure…"
The apparition of Amanda walked up to Drake and pressed her hand on his shoulder. Drake's armor covered his body. She smiled at him. "We stand together." She then vanished.
Drake then turned to Aaron, who had his arms crossed.
Aaron sighed briefly, and then grabbed Drake's hand. "Sounds good, chief. Get back quickly."
"Don't I always?"
Aaron was holding a transparent version of Drake's Keyblade, the Hero's Crest. He tossed it to Drake, who reached to catch it. As his hand closed around the grip, a flash of light burst from his hand, and the weapon was now in his grasp. "Give 'em one for me, will ya?" Aaron vanished as well.
Drake closed his eyes through his armor and smiled. Thanks guys… for everything… Drake then lifted his head, and began charging as fast as he could. Letting out a fierce battle cry, Drake leapt off the cliff and into the sea of Heartless.
Alrighty, one chapter left after this; the epilogue of the story. It's going to be short, it's going to be sweet.
Reviews, and advice are appreciated.
baylaust out.
