Chapter 12: Homecoming
As they got to the other side of the portal they were met by the sight of large meadows, split by small roads that led further into this world of beautiful greenery. What lay beyond the horizon could not be seen due to the fog that stretched across it and as they set foot in this world Cloud thought that the silence would stretch on forever.
"Cloud." Zack's voice was hoarse and as Cloud turned around to face him with what little dignity he felt he had left, Zack grabbed him by his arm and pulled him into a tight embrace. The silence did stretch on but not in a bad way. Cloud embraced him back and all those feelings he had felt when he first saw Zack in the World that Never Was came rushing back and the world underneath his feet shook with the realization that he was embracing the past he had been searching for so long. Zack made sense of who he was, he understood their past and knowing that lifted a heavy weight off his shoulders and breathing became such an easy thing to do suddenly.
Zack chuckled heartily as he let go of the embrace reluctantly and he smiled widely, "You're okay." He said and sighed loudly as if a similar weight had been lifted off his shoulders as well. Cloud stared at his face in awe, half-expecting that he would vanish before his eyes as he woke up in a world where he remembered nothing, but the memories stuck with him. They didn't fuzz out the more he thought about them and Zack didn't become any less real.
"Are you?" Cloud asked hesitantly. Zack gave a slight nod and then everything was silent once more. Everything that could be said now seemed so whimsical compared to everything they had been through. Just being alive and being together was a big deal for both of them, taking a moment to process all of this was the least they could grant themselves after all this time. They were both aware of what they were ready to do for each other and the force behind that was intimidating and yet empowering. They had let go of each other once and they both knew that they would never let that happen again.
Cloud frowned suddenly and he looked away, "I've done some bad things, Zack." He probably knew about them already but he didn't want to wait with telling him about the things he had done to get here. Cloud didn't want to have Zack's praise only to have it taken away. Zack deserved to know the truth. As he steeled himself and forced himself to look up at Zack he was surprised to see a dark expression of understanding on his face.
To Zack, Cloud was the most important and most beloved person he had in his life. He had many times thought of the crazy things he would be fully capable of doing to keep Cloud from harms way but he had never once stopped to think about all the crazy things Cloud would be capable of doing just to get to him. He was still shocked by the things he had heard. He thought that he would be afraid as well, knowing that Cloud could be so cold and unscrupulous to actually put his ambitions above the lives of entire worlds. But when he looked into those ice-blue eyes it sort of didn't matter. All evil around them melted away and gave Zack a sense of hope even when everything looked dark and meaningless.
"I know, Cloud." He said, he felt guilty for even thinking that the events leading Cloud here were justifiable but there were so many emotions that he had pent up in himself for such a long time that he couldn't deny that he did feel like they were at last coming close to the things they deserved. No one had battered an eye when Gaia fell into ruins, there had been no Keyblade-wielders to stop the disgusting experiments that were being done to the citizens of Gaia. They had been treated worse than bugs, they had been used for the benefit of a few, they had been left to fend for themselves and no one had cared. Something that was even more angering was the fact that they were still fending for themselves. As it was now they were still being used for the benefit of others and they could do nothing but to hope that they were putting their trust in the right people. Cloud had come this far, he had done the things he had felt had been right and for what it was worth, Cloud was the only person Zack would put his trust in.
"Xemnas told me. I didn't believe at first but..." He motioned towards the coat Cloud was wearing. Cloud looked down at himself and realized that he must look like a full worthy member of the Organization and as he was going to explain, the words got caught in his throat while he tried to find the best way to do it.
"Lea put it on me. I – I don't know...I fainted, I think and I was in Radiant Garden. Lea took me away from there because King Mickey wanted to take the Keyblade away from me. He didn't want me to find you and the rest of them are backing him up and - " Cloud sighed and looked down at the dirt by his feet and shuffled it slightly, "Lea told me not to use the corridors of darkness so much. It would taint my heart if I did. I guess that's why he put this on me." The obvious shame Cloud was feeling at having to face and stand up for the things he had done made it sting in Zack's chest. Cloud would never have gone through any of this had it not been for him and if anyone should take responsibility it was him.
"Hey, look at me." Cloud looked up reluctantly and was met by Zack's reassuring smile, "I'm not holding anything against you. I'm glad you found me." He took Cloud's right hand in his and held it tightly, "We're bound by light, darkness and blood. No one will ever come between us again." Zack had no sense of who the bad guys were or who the good guys were. His enemy was whoever tried to harm Cloud and himself. He had been held captive in a dungeon for the Gods know how long, he had no idea of how the situation was between the worlds nowadays or for what world he was ready to fight for.
He was suddenly reminded of the incident with Xemnas and his eyes widened as he realized that Cloud did most likely not know about Terra. Zack remembered telling Cloud about Shinra shipping off soldiers to other worlds in order to learn new things and develop new weapons no one had thought of back home. The soldiers were also sent out to spy. For the security of the planet, according to the commanders in the army. Zack had been shipped off to Olympus Coliseum right before all hell broke lose.
He wasn't sure how much Cloud knew about what was going on. It seemed to him that Xemnas had kept his plans to himself in hope that nothing would be revealed until it was too late. There was no easy way to explain Terra's situation, Zack could barely understand it himself but Cloud needed to know something at least.
"Back when I was training at Olympus Coliseum I met the Keyblade-wielders. Not the kids, the other Keyblade-wielders, you never met them. Hades took control of me but one of the Keyblade-wielders, a man named Terra, he helped me out of it." He sighed and continued, "Master Xehanort took control of his body using his darkness against him but Terra is still in there. He's fighting to come back and kill Xehanort once and for all."
Cloud seemed confused as he tried to understand what it was Zack was saying. "It's really complicated. I don't get it myself yet. All I know is that Xemnas – that is Master Xehanort – feels that Terra has awakened and that he is losing control over the body. His plan is to find a new host, someone who has the ability to use the power of both darkness and light." Zack looked for a sign that Cloud was getting any of this. The silence stretched and Cloud looked away when everything started to make sense in a strange way. The pieces of the puzzles were falling into place and the one connecting all the pieces seemed to be Cloud. "He wants to use you as a host, Cloud."
He nodded slowly and tried to look unfazed by the revelation. Sure, that made sense. If he controlled Cloud then he'd be able to summon Sephiroth and control Zack, he would be able to wield the Keyblade and since Cloud's heart was weak he wouldn't have to struggle much to take full control. Cloud was the perfect puppet.
"Cloud," Zack looked him in the eyes again, making sure that his friend wasn't looking away, "You have access to the powers of both realms. It's a good thing and yes, with it comes great responsibilities too but I'm here. I'll stand by you. You can do great things. We both hold the power to end this, to stop Xehanort and make him pay for everything." He had caught a sign of resignation in Cloud and truth to be told he couldn't blame him. This nightmare seemed like it would never end but it could. And as Cloud smiled at him Zack knew that they would win this.
Zack threw his arm around Cloud's shoulder and ruffled his hair with his other hand as they both continued down the path through the meadows.
ooo
The two Organization-members were clearly outnumbered and they could only hope that Lady Luck was smiling at them on a rainy day such as this one as they stared at the four Keyblade-wielders and their friends. Xemnas gave the large doorway a quick glance from the corner of his eye and Lea was quickly on-board the plan. Xemnas ran towards the windows as he collected a large energy-sphere between his hands. He moved quickly and as he stood in front of the doorway, he threw the energy-sphere at the heroes, unleashing a powerful blast of air. The four Keyblade-wielders stood their ground, ready for the attack but the blast of air was too powerful for the others to fight back and as much as they struggled they were blown out of the room and the second they were, Lea sealed the doorway with a transparent wall. This number of opponents was far more favorable for the two Organization-members although it was going to be tough.
Riku and Sora ran up to Xemnas, both their Keyblades held up high above their heads. Their Keyblades clashed as Xemnas teleported away from their range just milliseconds before the blades hit him. Kairi cast ice-spells and manipulated the large ice-rocks towards Lea. They were counting on Lea being weak after his battle with Saïx but they hadn't counted on Cloud healing him and though Lea was still bruised he felt like he could take on the world. He laughed madly as Kairi's magic missed and he called his chakrams forward, making them catch fire as soon as they had materialized in his hands.
King Mickey summoned his Keyblade and sprinted towards Lea, making sure that the redhead saw that he was coming. As he jumped up high Lea threw a chakram at him but King Mickey quickly slid over to his right, managing to get in at least five hits before Lea could turn around and throw his other chakram at him as his other came flying back into his hand just in time for Lea to block a forceful strike from above. Kairi somersaulted over him and landed on her feet further away just as she cast yet another spell of ice in his direction. One of the blocks of ice caught him by the arm and froze it. Lea cursed under his breath but had to quickly retaliate as King Mickey came flying at him and just about cracked his head in two had he not raised his other chakram to shield himself with it.
He made his arm catch fire to melt the ice away and as the last of the ice was gone he sent a wall of fire at King Mickey and caught him in the middle of an attack, sending him flying back at the wall.
"Give it your best shot, princess." Lea said mockingly as Kairi turned to him with nothing but determination in her otherwise gentle eyes. Surprisingly she said nothing back, she just went to attack, dodging the wall of fire Lea sent at her and just when it looked like she was about to attack him, she slid down onto the floor around him and slammed her Keyblade against him repeatedly before Lea had the chance to react. He boosted a fireblast from himself to push the insistent princess away and he stumbled slightly at the pain from the hits he had taken.
Xemnas summoned his Ethereal Blades and swung them at the two other Keyblade-wielders. He moved quickly and made good use of the corridors of darkness he could summon so quickly, frustrating the two young men whenever it seemed like they were about to get him, only to be met by nothing but empty space. As Xemnas lifted his shield again Sora quickly hurried behind him as Riku distracted him with bolts of electricity at the same time as he struck the shield with his Keyblade multiple times. Xemnas didn't have a chance of dodging the excruciating strike Sora got in with his Keyblade.
Lea looked over at them as both Keyblade-wielders attacked Xemnas indiscriminately. He managed to hit King Mickey with his chakram and quickly teleport himself closer to Xemnas and as he landed on the ground he lifted a blast of fire that made the ground underneath them melt and glow with heat as the circle of fire he sent out pushed Riku and Sora forcefully against the wall, giving Xemnas the chance to harm them with his blades.
The muffled screams of the heroes' friends behind the transparent wall could still be heard. Donald was trying to force his way through the wall with different spells of magic while Goofy tried to run it through with his sword. Tifa had tried to kick it into pieces and no gadget Cid had brought with him worked to break the seal. They could only watch in horror as Riku and Sora took hit after hit but then suddenly Riku managed to tackle Xemnas away long enough for Sora to regain his balance and run up to Xemnas as he fell to the floor. Just as he got to him Xemnas teleported away and as he appeared again he summoned a rain of purple energy-spheres and made it rain over them.
Lea saw King Mickey start a spell of Reflectaga and he threw both of his chakrams at him, both hitting him and knocking him to the ground. The chakrams would have hit a second time but Kairi jumped in between and protected the King from more harm. Lea grinned evilly and in a split second he vanished and appeared right beside her. A small gasp was all she managed before Lea sent out a wave of fire right at her.
Her scream made Riku, Sora and King Mickey turn in shock. "Kairi!" Sora ran up to her quickly and managed to catch her before she hit the floor. He quickly mumbled a Cura-spell and reached into his pocket to get something for the burn Lea had caused. The quicker he did it the less the scarring would be. Riku and King Mickey kept Lea and Xemnas occupied while Sora helped Kairi. She gasped as her eyes flew open and she coughed slightly as Sora sat her up, "Kairi, are you okay?"
She nodded and smiled at him as she got up onto her feet, ready to keep fighting the bad guys. Sora smiled back at her and held his Keyblade up high as both of them got into the fight again.
As Sora jumped up again to attack Xemnas, Xemnas teleported again, calling Lea's name. Lea reacted quickly and cast a Firaga-spell at Riku fast enough to not give Riku the chance to react. Xemnas took this opportunity and quickly summoned thorny, black mist which he used to constrict Sora with. Lea landed beside Xemnas, ready for more.
"Sora!"
The cry came from both Riku and Kairi in unison as they saw Xemnas catch Sora in a web of thorny mist, making it impossible for the young Keyblade-wielder to wriggle out of its grip. Once they realized what was going on it was too late to interfere. Xemnas had the upper hand and the misty thorns were squeezing the air out of Sora as he tried to free himself.
Riku stared helplessly at the scene and failed to see the globe of fire that was sent straight at him. Kairi hurried up in front of him and stopped the fire with a shield of water. Riku gritted his teeth, he couldn't do anything now without risking Sora getting seriously injured. Lea glared at him defiantly, daring him to make a move and give him one single excuse to incinerate Riku where he stood.
"Let go of him!" Donald yelled and flailed his arms around from the other side of the wall as Goofy still tried to smash the wall into pieces. The two remaining members of the Organization were clearly superior and there was great uncertainty amongst them as they could do nothing but stand back.
Xemnas noticed that King Mickey tried to come forward, a small light playing at the tip of his gloved fingers and in response Xemnas simply tightened the mist around Sora and the breathless gasp that escaped him was enough for the King to withdraw.
"Let Sora go!" Kairi demanded.
"He is of no use to you, Xemnas! You will never be able to control Sora." Riku felt anxious and close to mortified at seeing Sora's limb body hang up in the air, surrounded by that thorny mist the same way it had been the last time they had fought Xemnas. The difference now was that Riku felt that he couldn't stand up against Xemnas the same way he had done back then. The burns caused from Lea's attacks were draining him and all it would take was one more attack to knock him out.
"He has something that doesn't belong to him." Xemnas said absentmindedly,"It's time for it to return." He gave them a brief look of emptiness – of indifference – before he turned to Lea and gave him a small nod. Riku saw what was coming and he leaped towards his two enemies but he was too late. The flames of hell's fire that rose from the ground almost burned his hands beyond recognition as he shielded himself. From behind the flames they could see a corridor of darkness being opened and Lea and Xemnas disappeared into it with Sora in their possession, the seal on the door breaking as they vanished.
ooo
"Screw this."
Cid managed to look surprised when he heard Tifa mumble and walk away. Cid could tell she had the urge to kick something and he maintained his distance as he decided to walk after his friend. Riku had enough assistance as it was.
"Tifa, where the hell are ya' going? Cloud went this way." She turned to face him and she sighed loudly, a stern look on her face, "Cid, we need another plan."
"Huh?"
"We need another plan." She repeated in a low voice, "These cloak-guys have been one – ten! - steps ahead of us all along. They wanted to get to Cloud and knew exactly what to do and say to get to him. I just don't get why!"
Tifa hadn't seen Cloud wield the Keyblade and Cid had yet to tell her the full details on what had happened before Cloud had fallen into that strange coma. It wasn't that Cid wanted to keep it from her; the King had made him promise that he wouldn't tell a soul about what he had seen until the King decided it was time.
It was stupid.
Why not tell everybody what was going on? It wasn't like the information could get into the wrong hands. That's where it had been all along!
The scene that had unfolded before him that day had been frightening to say the least. There had been cold and ill intent in Cloud's eyes and his anger had been more than obvious, but the moment the King had told Cloud about the death of his friend there had been a look of despair in Cloud's face that Cid hadn't seen anywhere else. That scream of agony rang through his head still but it had been the sudden change in Cloud's eyes that had frightened him the most. Suddenly it wasn't Cloud's eyes they were looking into – it was Sephiroth's. That sinister look was difficult to shake off, even now. A wing had spurted out from the opposite side of where Sephiroth's wing was and as Cid expected Cloud to completely turn into his arch-nemesis, the wing dissolved into a thousand feathers which in turn dissolved into thin air before ever touching the floor.
He told Tifa all about it. Cid didn't care anymore about what it was the King wanted. They were being kept in the dark, used as nothing but back-up to fight enemies they knew almost nothing about.
They weren't fighting the same battle anymore and they were certainly not fighting on equal terms. To Cid and Tifa this was about helping their friends but King Mickey seemed to have another agenda in mind and Cid felt apprehensive as to what that could be. King Mickey was governor of Disney Castle, the Kingdom of Light and also wielder of the Keyblade of the Dark Realm. It had crossed Cid's mind that the King could be scared of losing that power now that Cloud had a Keyblade and cared nothing for what King Mickey wanted.
It was difficult to trust someone who withheld so much that you barely knew anything. Cid had never been one to take orders well and he wasn't about to change now. Their goal was to get Cloud and to get to the bottom of this Heartless and world-destruction-issues and that was what they were going to do.
"What about Castle Oblivion?" Tifa asked after a moment of silence.
"What about Castle Oblivion?" Cid echoed.
"That was what they were protecting, wasn't it? If the blue-haired man was protecting Castle Oblivion then Xemnas must have been protecting this world but he must have forgotten about the loop-hole and the redhead sealed the mansion in Twilight Town." She paused, "There must be something there. King Mickey knew that there could be something of importance there because that's where he wanted to go first and I'm sure that's where they are now."
"Yeah, but won't we be needing the gummiship to get there? We can't just take it and leave the kids stranded here." Cid looked over his shoulder quickly to make sure that the others were still in the castle lounge.
"I don't think it'll be accessible that way," Tifa said. She had thought long and hard about the situation at hand and she figured that if they were to have the slightest chance of getting Cloud back they would have to be ahead of the two Organization-members plan-wise. "They will put everything they have into shielding Castle Oblivion to keep us out of it. We have to find another way in." Tifa began to walk down the crispy white hallway, hearing how Cid jogged after her.
"Tifa, we can't just open portals. We need the gummiship and -"
"Look," Tifa began and sighed, "When Cloud left for some errands a few weeks ago I thought it was weird. He said that he was going to get stuff for you. I guess he didn't know that Leon and I went with you to the Dungeon to get supplies the day before. I followed him to the Postern and into the lab. He was looking for something and he made a copy of one of Ansem's charts. At that point I was getting really worried and then he suddenly stepped out of the room – I thought that he had seen me but he kept looking for something and then he found some sort of loophole. Once he jumped through it, it closed down. I hurried back to Merlin's house to do one of those calculations we did when we found him in Olympus Coliseum and saw that he ended up in a world called Port Royal. I did some more research and if I'm right there should be a loophole to Castle Oblivion in here." She dug her hands into her pockets and took out a note and reached it out to Cid with a smile, "I was hoping you could read this and find the loophole?"
It was coordinates and Cid grinned at her and gave her the thumbs up. Tifa sure didn't back down when she had set her mind to something. Cid had an idea as to how much the gloomy, blond man meant to her although he sometimes did have a hard time understanding it. Cloud wasn't expressive and usually kept to himself, he wasn't one to smile much and even when he did it struck Cid as sad. His patience with his friend was short and he could easily get annoyed with him but when Cloud had confronted King Mickey, Cid realized how little he knew about his friend and he figured that Tifa might know more about Cloud, maybe she had seen sides of him that were easier to love. But then again, Cid could be quite the pain himself and yet there were people who claimed that Sherra, one of the scientist to join in on the Restoration Committee, had her eyes set for him. Love could indeed be blind, Cid figured as he calculated the location of the coordinates and navigated down hallways he had never set his foot on before.
He looked at his little grayish, metallic machine as they started to go downwards. He stopped suddenly and looked around. The walls were still white with insignias here and there and Cid gulped slightly. If Tifa was right then the loophole should be here somewhere. Tifa started to run her hands down the walls to see if she got the same effect Cloud had when he started to knock on the walls in the corridors of the lab back in Radiant Garden. Cid put his little machine away and helped her look for it and not too long afterward he heard Tifa let out a sound of surprise as her hand disappeared into the wall. She looked at Cid with a look of pleasant disbelief and pride. Cid walked up to her and took a deep breath.
"Let's do this." He said with a reassuring smile. Tifa gave him a firm nod. They both took a leap of faith as they threw themselves into the invisible loophole, leaving the World That Never Was and the rest of the group in hope of finding the truth they refused to share with them.
ooo
Castle Oblivion – the surroundings of the castle were nothing like the meadows that led to it. It looked like its decay had been stopped in time. The light was dim around the castle, making the pointy rocks around it cast eerie shadows. There were towers leaning in different directions, crossing each others paths and giving the castle a more surreal look than the surroundings. The closer to the castle they got the clearer the small whispers became, and Lea remembered that it had always made chills run down his spine when he heard them, even as Axel he had felt that. His memories of this place were still intact and as they walked closer, Lea began to wonder what it was Xemnas wanted to do here.
Sora lay unconscious, carelessly thrown over Xemnas' shoulder as the gray-haired man stopped to look at the large golden doors that led into Castle Oblivion. Lea frowned and stopped a couple of steps behind. Xemnas wasn't acting like his old self, or rather, he wasn't acting like the Xemnas that Lea knew and it was making him think that this was maybe Xemnas' true self, Xehanort – Ansem's apprentice, the man who overthrew his mentor to gain more power.
There had only been one thing Xemnas had ever talked about that could possibly be of interest in this place. The Chamber of Awakening. Lea had been sent here multiple times just to search for that room but he had never succeeded. Had it not been for the fact that Xigbar liked to talk about that other room Xemnas spent so much time in, the Chamber of Slumber, then he would probably have thought that Xemnas was just trying to keep him busy, or out of his way.
"So this is your land now," he heard Xemnas say silently to the door. For a moment Xemnas seemed oblivious to the fact that Lea was there with him and he lowered his head slightly as if in shame. Lea had a hard time picturing Xemnas as a caring person – or as a person at all. Xemnas had always been a Nobody to him and seeing him show something as human as regret and even shame could quite possibly be the scariest thing Lea had seen Xemnas do.
The whispers became slightly louder and the golden doors slid open with a creak. Their steps echoed in the white empty castle and Lea looked around to see if there was anything new worth noticing. There were no Dusks to greet them and Lea had stopped summoning his Nobodies a long time ago. He figured Xemnas would summons his Nobodies to let them carry Sora but he just kept walking forward, seemingly looking after anything that could give away the location of the chamber he wanted to find so badly. Xemnas was also walking instead of floating forward and that was truly a sight to behold.
"Who are you?" Lea asked finally, intrigued. Xemnas stopped and seemed to ponder about what to answer before sighing shortly, never once turning to face Lea.
"I know who you are," He said instead, "You did your best to protect him. I'm grateful for that. You did what I couldn't." He walked further into the castle, his steps echoing in the empty hallways and Lea looked after him in awe. What in the world was the man talking about? He walked after him slowly, inspecting the unconscious Sora once in a while to make sure that the Keyblade-wielder wouldn't suddenly wake up and make a fuss. He had some memories of the teen – he was Roxas' whole self. Axel had tried to make Sora a Heartless again to bring Roxas back but the plan hadn't quite worked out the way he wanted it to. He remembered that much.
But what did Xemnas mean? There had only been two people he remembered protecting but he had failed miserably. Besides, Xemnas had cared for neither of them so he had no reason to be grateful.
Xemnas walked down the corridors as if he had been there many times before. He never hesitated when he came to a crossroad and he continued until he reached a dead-end. And he sighed. He sighed in relief almost and he rested a hand onto the wall where there was a small insignia. It looked like the insignia at the Castle That Never Was but it was turned upside-down. He put Sora down in the corner to his right carefully to stand back and face the wall. He knelt down, bowing his head and as he did the castle began to respond. Those small voices Lea had only heard outside the castle had made their way in and their whispering was insistent but he couldn't make anything out.
"Master, I'm home."
For a split second a strong light rose from the ground like a violent wave and time slowed down. The surroundings changed with the light and became something warm, welcoming and powerful in a different way from the white, empty walls. Outside the large crystal windows Lea could see the green meadows stretch as far as the eye could see. And as he turned his gaze back to the room he saw three thrones in front of them. His eyes grew wide as he drew a small gasp.
Upon the throne in the middle sat a dormant figure, his spiky blond hair sticking out like a sore thumb. Lea's mouth went dry and he stumbled forward to make sure that his eyes weren't playing tricks on him.
"Roxas."
ooo
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A/N: I was asked about the insignias and if it's official that the Nobody-insignia is the the same insignia for the Keyblade-wielders only turned upside down. Honestly, I don't know...maybe it is? Try to turn the Nobody-insignia upside down and see if there are any similarities ^^
