CHAPTER XIII
La, La, Sayonara
(NOTE)
Here it is, the last chapter! Technically, we've still got the epilogue and then the surprise chapter. Hehe; surprise, secret, I'm just changing things up, aren't I? I hope you like this one, I spent forever thinking about what to do for it... and the idea came to me in pretty much a millisecond, absolutely nothing to do with the previous ideas I had. xDD So, read and enjoy!
(/NOTE)
On the water's surface, only you float, reflecting the middle of a battlefield.
The air smelled cold. Wait a second; it was a beach; why was it so cold? In fact, it was Destiny Islands. Some cave in Destiny Islands... wasn't this the one that Kairi, Riku, and Sora used to go to? The Secret Place? Charity ran her hand down one drawing of Kairi and Sora sharing some star-shaped objects. It certainly was.
She was younger; sixteen, quite possibly.
Slash hack burn.
Just managing to dodge the attack from the purple-haired woman, she slid out of the way, and charged back at her with Savior of Balance. Nessa was lying on the floor over at the other side of the cave; she was holding an odd keyblade. She looked hurt.
In fact, many people looked hurt. White cloaked people, black dressed. This was the keyblade war. Charity remembered it only too well. What it was like to be on neutral sides, how light could be just as intensifying as the darkness.
Become the wind, the divine wind, and into the darkness, disappear.
Charity felt her hand clench to Riku's tightly. She had only known him for a little while, but something inside wouldn't let her let him go. The darkness? How could this happen? Not to Riku, never to Riku. Could it? There was a tear trailing down her face. She was quite surprised that she could still feel anything at all.
"You never left. Kairi, Sora, and you... You're all that I am. You're my heart."
A flash of brilliant light flooded the darkness they had been standing in. A cool wind blew against her hot, tear-stained cheeks when she could finally feel floor beneath her again.
Bloom in the evening of our reunion, the shape of the lilies.
"There are... multiple worlds?" she asked the Christmas hair-colored boy, clinging to the side of her shirt through a familiar nervous habit.
"And in doing so, the Heartless had stopped appearing in any world, along with the Nobodies, which are a whole different story. But they're back again, and the Keyblade wielders are once again needed." Leander told her after she nodded.
Nessa shook her head, "Bullshit."
"After you saw the Heartless and keyblade, I'll let you decide for yourself."
Only old, faded photographs, the days piling up on one another. Fire lights up with a pinwheel, calmed the tears.
La la, goodbye.
La la, the evening opens.
Charity awoke with a start; another flashback dream. Completely the opposite of what she needed. Rubbing her left eye, she jumped; today was the day to go to Azure Daybreak and separate Calypso. Pulling off the covers, she looked down at her legs. Still scabbed up badly, they had stopped bleeding, and even hurting.
"Charity," Riku opened the door, but only a crack. Seeing that everything was safe, he walked in, "You ready to go? How you feeling?" He wasn't very good at playing caretaker; this was definitely something different for him.
"Mm." Charity smiled, and nodded. "A lot better. But you know, we could have gone yesterday."
Riku gave that deep chuckle of his and walked farther in the room. Even at age nineteen he seemed like such a little boy to her, but at the same time, he wasn't. It was complicated. Riku sat down at her bedside, and put his hands over hers.
"Charity, can I ask you so—!"
"C'mon, Riku! Charity! We've gotta get going!" Sora shouted from the other room.
Riku shook his head, breathed a heavy sigh, and let go of her hands. "Later, I guess." Riku left her to quickly get change, and she went out with the rest of them. Nessa was sitting on the couch, wasting time by watching television, before Charity practically dragged her off the second she walked in the room.
"What?" she asked her. "You were taking forever, so I was bored." she smirked.
"Charity," Leon came, walking up to the younger girl. He looked down at her and straight in her eyes, "Now, uh... Calypso's really powerful, I think you know that. And in case you weren't to ever come back, I just wanted to let you know, you were like a daughter to me. Good luck." He scratched the back of his head. He obviously wasn't very good at this.
Charity smiled, "And you were like a surrogate father. But don't worry, I'm more than definitely coming back. Calypso's no match for me."
"Did all 'a those Potions get to yer head?" asked Cid, who was still upset at everybody for crashing the Gummi Ship and made Sora give him all of his Munny for repairs, even though it was Charity who drove it through a layer of darkness.
"Maybe one. Or two." She hugged Leon quickly, and they bade the committee good-bye. "'Bye, Axel!" Charity shouted down the hall, guessing that he was just sleeping in late as usual. Now that he was a Somebody and actually cared about sleeping, he had been doing it all the time. Charity climbed onto the new, slightly better quality Gummi Ship Cid allowed them to borrow, and sat down on one of the seats.
"I hope Axel's alright as a Somebody." Nessa admitted, "I heard that he was taking Spanish. Why that mattered whether or not he was a Somebody, I dunno."
Charity laughed as Sora started up the Gummi Ship and it lifted off.
"I'm sure he'll be okay. They could definitely use him at the Organization again." Roxas admitted to everybody. Naminé nodded in agreement. "But we could also use him here, fighting along with us."
"SORPRESA!" A flash of red shot out from underneath Charity's seat, causing her to scream in the must un-Charity pitch she had ever screamed in. Axel smiled widely at the group; Charity made it very clear in her expression that once was enough.
"What turn do you take to get to Azure Daybreak?" Sora called back, who obviously didn't hear or see the little Axel incident just moments ago.
"How are we supposed to know?" asked Nessa, "Our world's been gone for the past three years, after all. We did go back that one time, though..."
"I think you take a right until you find it by Twilight Town." Charity shrugged, "But don't take my word for it."
"Actually," Sora interrupted, looking down at the representation of the suburban, lush and green representation of Azure Daybreak, "here it is."
xxxxx
Nessa and Charity alike almost fell to their knees the second they stepped back in their world. They felt like sophomores again, back by the tree by the Stevenson High School Parking Lot that they first ever saw the Heartless or keyblades in, and where they first met Leander.
"I remember this place." Riku smiled. He had been sent to this area of Azure Daybreak to retrieve Leander, Nessa, and Charity, even though Nessa wasn't even supposed to be involved in all of this. Then again, if she hadn't, she would have had no idea that she was a Nobody, she wouldn't have found Sada and reunited with her to become a Somebody, and she would have eventually faded into the darkness.
"I wonder." Charity smiled. She turned towards the odd-looking tree, and tapped it with her keyblade. Sure enough, it opened up like a door. Without even realizing it, Charity felt a tear trickle down her face. "Imagine," she started, "people who have no idea that keyblades, Nobodies, or Heartless exist. How do they live? How did they explain it to themselves when they were scattered from their family and friends?"
Sora put a hand on Charity's shoulder. "I can guarantee you, it's hard. Being separated from your friends and family. All you're looking for is a way to find them again. But look towards the light, and you'll find them."
Charity smiled at this. "What if you looked towards the neutral? The gray side?"
Sora shook his head, "Sometimes you just need pure light, like some need pure darkness. They're all there for a reason. Darkness, lightness, balance, there's really no perfect inbetween. It's all there for a reason, so why find the perfect mix?"
Charity nodded, "You're right." Savior of Balance flashed into her hand, "This keyblade brought me pain, happiness, anger, and a lot more. You can't define these things; there's no scientific explanation. It's just... there."
"And on that note," Nessa smiled, "let's go prove that to Calypso."
Charity nodded her head vigorously. "Sora? You've got Ultima Weapon?" she asked him, turning around so they could meet each other face-to-face.
Sora flashed them the thumbs-up and let Ultima Weapon appear in his right hand. "Where do you think she is?"
At this point, Naminé came in. "Calypso has many of Charity's memories. Where was the first time that she ever got involved in any of this? I think we can find her there." Naminé looked over at Nessa and Charity; the only two, living, that knew where they first saw a Heartless.
"Where did we... that's right." Nessa seemed pleased with herself for remembering, "The school's parking lot."
xxxxx
"What a perfect life you lived here." Calypso commented, facing the opposite direction of Charity and the others. There were no cars in the parking lot, nor any working street lights. It was night-time over at Azure Daybreak, but that much was obvious. Calypso's silvery-brown eyes scanned the school. "I've been walking through some of your memories for the past two days. I keep thinking... isn't this the life I'm supposed to live?"
"You were living it," Charity interjected, "when both you and Exie were living inside of me. You were given these memories of living with the Organization and a separate life by Naminé, don't you understand?"
"I understand it perfectly!" she hissed, spinning around to meet Charity. She only looked amused when she noticed that Charity's eyes had become the same silvery-brown as hers were when they first tried to shake each other's hand. "But fake memories or not, they're what I remember, and they've been etched into my heart." She put a hand on her chest where her heart would be.
"But that heart was only created unconsciously by you. I have the heart that we both shared, from birth if not longer. It's in me. We are one person. It's these fake memories that make you this way, but we think for each other." Calypso was not moving; she stood, raged. Charity hated trying to explain this, because half of the time, she had no idea what she was talking about herself. The truth was, it was just usually right.
"Fake or not," Calypso stammered, "I'm not letting this end without a fight." Moonlight Radiance shown in her hand beautifully with her own created keychain dangling from the ends.
"Why does it always end in a fight?" Charity shouted at her.
"I have to destroy you to live a life of my own." Calypso responded back.
"You just don't get it!" Charity shouted, this time angry enough for Nessa, Vexen, and herself combined, "We can solve this without fighting. If you would just become unseparated and rejoin me, there would be no world reaction. We would both live a life as one; we would be each other. You gave a heart back to Azure Daybreak so you could live a normal life here. Why don't we start here?" She only stared at Calypso.
"Over my dead body would I ever rejoin with you!" She charged at Charity with Moonlight Radiance, Charity just barely dodging the stab. "Over my dead body!"
"That can very well be arranged." Broden smirked and pulled out his gunblade.
"This is what I'm talking about." Nessa joined in on the fight, as did Riku, Kairi, Sora, Axel, Roxas, and even Naminé after a while.
Calypso was fierce. She somehow managed to multiply her keyblade, and now held one in each hand. Easily avoiding Sora, she ducked down under Nessa's swipe with her blade, and stabbed Charity in her leg, on the shin, exactly where it hurt her.
"This makes no sense." Charity muttered, "She knows every place that hurts the most." She only attacked harder, faster with Savior of Balance, getting a few hits in every now and then. It was obvious that Calypso was trying her hardest to avoid the Ultima Weapon; she had apparently read the Ansem reports.
"Maybe she's been watching you." Broden suggested, with a hint of something subtle in his language as he managed to get a hit in on Calypso.
"You don't get it." Calypso hissed evilly, "I am more of you than you are. I know your weaknesses, and this just happens to be one." She backed up by jumping backwards to the back of everything, and grabbed Nessa by the hair. Nessa struggled underneath Calypso, but she only held her feet down with her own foot and began twisting her neck to one side.
"Let go of her!" Charity screamed in an even more strangled one than when Axel had appeared in the Gummi Ship. In a desperate attempt to get Nessa back, she jabbed at Calypso. Before she could tell what was going on, Calypso put Nessa in front of her before she was stabbed.
Her whole world stopped at that moment. Just when she thought that she had stabbed Nessa, she had moved her body out of the way so it just barely went through Calypso and not herself.
"What the...!"
"I would never let you live with the satisfaction of knowing that Charity killed her best friend." Nessa smirked, and did a 180 to end up on the other side, and stabbed her in the stomach with her sword, causing Calypso to cry out in pain.
"That's ENOUGH!" a voice came from within Calypso. The girl began to gag, as a blonde head began to push her spirit-like silhouette out of the body of Calypso.
"What are you... doing?!" asked Calypso. She looked like a Heartless again after Exie stepped out of her, and obviously still remembered everything as she charged back at the group, as Exie couldn't do anything without her weapon.
"She destroyed Destroyer of Balance!" Exie complained over to Charity. She reached in the pocket of her Organization coat, however; she managed to keep the keychain.
"She still has her memories!" Riku shouted to the rest of them.
"What are we going... Agh! To... do...?" asked Charity, who had just been sliced by a keyblade in the side. She managed, however, to avoid the stab she had most cleverly placed straight after the slice, and Charity stabbed her in the shoulder. No blood, no breathing, nothing; they were fighting a Heartless.
"Leave it to me!" Naminé cried out to them. She held out her hand, and pointed it out towards Calypso. "If Axel could use his last bit of darkness, then I can use mine." Her hand seemed to summon something invisible out of Calypso; before Sora could strike with the Ultima Weapon, that he seemed to have never needed in the first place, Calypso fell to her knees. As if pulling in a rope, with one hand, Naminé continued to pull something important out of Calypso.
"I don't... what's...?" The Heartless looked up at Charity, "Char... it... y." She fell to the ground, and it was then that Charity realized; Naminé was taking back all of the memories she had created for Calypso.
"Is it... over?" asked Nessa.
"Not quite." Charity shook her head, smiling. A tear rolled down her face, before she kneeled on the floor and looked at her Heartless. With eyes full of wonder, Calypso looked back up at her Somebody, as if she was so familiar, yet so distant.
"Will you come back with me?" she extended a hand out to Calypso.
Organization XIII, memories, Vexen, Anton, creating hearts, restoring Azure Daybreak, fighting until near death just for the claim over a life. And somehow, the Heartless managed a smile, and held Charity's hand. In a flash of light purple and darkness, Calypso disappeared back into Charity.
Taking a deep breath, Charity fell backwards.
"Charity!" Nessa shouted.
"Wait," Exie interjected, "she needs me. That's too much darkness in one body at so soon of a time." She kneeled down on the floor next to Charity on the ground, just like Charity had done to Calypso just a minute before.
Charity managed a smile. "Take the pain away, Exie."
Exie laughed behind her mats of blond hair tangling in front of her face. "Got it." She put her hand to Charity's soft cheek, and disappeared in a flash of starry white light back into Charity's body. Groaning, Charity attempted to stand up.
With the help of Nessa and Riku, she managed just that.
"It's over..." Kairi cried, "It's over!" She ran up to the three, only to tackle them back to the ground in a hug. Sora, Naminé and Roxas entered soon after, and even Axel decided to join. Broden, however, had gone unconscious only a little bit early and was still unconscious on the ground. After more than enough crying and hugging, they all got up.
"Sora?" asked Kairi, bending down to look at Sora's face as he got up, "Are you... crying?" she asked him. She could tell; his painted on flower was smudging.
"Crying?" he asked, wiping something away on his face. "Nah." He gave them a huge, toothy smile, the kind that caused both Kairi and Riku to laugh together.
Riku's eyes widened, and he ran over to Charity.
"Charity," he started.
"Yeah?" she asked, wiping a tear out from under her eye as well, but somehow, still smiling.
"I've been trying to ask you this all day, but it's never been the right time, or we've been interrupted, or..." Riku stopped himself while he was ahead, and reached into his pocket. Pulling out a small box, he opened it, and got on one knee.
Whoa, whoa, whoa. What was he doing? A box and one knee; that meant something big. Was he really? Charity put her hand over her mouth; the tears it had soaked up smelled odd against her nose. She lost all balance in one leg for a second or two.
In the box was a glittering, diamond ring, "Charity, will you marry me?"
"...R-Riku..." Charity hiccuped in what seemed to be starting something like a crying fest. Riku got off of his one knee, and Charity almost tackled him over in a warm embrace. He wrapped his arms around her, and Charity began crying on his shoulder. So much in one day; way too much. "Y-yes, I'll marry you."
Nessa's mouth was open in pure shock. "At eighteen?" she asked lightly. Hopefully, they would pick a marriage date a couple of years from then.
Sora, however, was not in any shock at all. He had been there, helping him decide on a ring. Kairi, however, was almost as emotional as Charity, and looked over at Sora, who was just smiling at the sight, and hit him on the back of the head.
"What?!" asked Sora.
"Aww." Broden mumbled drunkly as he managed to stand up from being knocked out. He put his index finger up in the air, "I'in't that sweeeeet?" He fell straight back down to the ground.
"Let's... go back to Hollow Bastion." Charity pushed slightly away from Riku to look him in the face. His eyes were red and puffy, and his face seemed a little metallic. Could Riku, emotionless, hard, Riku, have been crying?
"Let's." he agreed with his fiancé, leaving the parking lot by Gummi Ship, certainly for the last time.
Author's Note: Aaaaand there it is. Epilogue coming up soon, and then the surprise chapter. I'm almost sad it's all over... :tears up a little bit: But! At the same time, it's good. :D See you in the epilogue!