Finally, the truth behind the Radient Garden Arc!

Kingdom Hearts

Shattered Unity

Chapter 13

Final Dawn

"My turn!"

As soon as those words left Xehanort's lips Sora felt a hand grab onto his face as he was driven through the wall of the castle, exploding through many thick walls and barriers before he exited the other side and was tossed away by the dark master. Sora felt the blood going down the back of his neck and he could taste it in his mouth. He spit off to the side and took a ready stance but was struck from behind by Xehanort's boot. He stumbled forward and suddenly felt Xehanort's hand close over his throat, lift him into the air and slam him into the hard ground. Xehanort then lifted him off of his feet and threw him into the area Sora had killed Demyx in.

"You are pathetic," hissed Xehanort, floating down in front of him, his weapon long since dismissed. "Weak children have no right to wield the X-blade!"

Sora felt the boot connect with his ribs as he was launched across the area and hit a rock wall. Again he stood and held the X-blade ready, his armor dented and weakening.

"You call yourself a master, but you are nothing more than a brat with a stick."

Sora spit some blood at Xehanort and charged at him with a shout.

The X-blade sliced through the air with incredible speed, Xehanort dodging every swipe with ease. Xehanort ducked under one of the swipes and punched him in the jaw, sending him spiraling through the air and into the rock wall again.

"This is getting boring," said Xehanort, watching Sora stand shakily, the X-blade never leaving his grip. "The wielder of the X-blade is supposed to be blessed with unimaginable power, beyond anything ever seen by man or beast. You are strong, no doubt about that, but nowhere near the level of power you should be at."

Sora looked at Xehanort, then at the X-blade, wondering if he really was lacking the power he should have. Was there something Yen Sid never told him?

"If I were a fool, I'd let you leave here again to try and find that power out of some moronic idea that if I did I'd have the chance to fight someone who could pose a challenge to me. But I'm an old man; I lost interest in petty squabbles many years ago."

He thrust out his hand and an invisible force knocked Sora off of his feet. Xehanort threw his hand to his right and Sora was launched across the area into the opposite cliff wall. He was then lifted high into the air, facing the sky, a look of pure pain and horror etched onto his features. He was thrown to the ground, hard, and dragged across to Xehanort's feet. Xehanort summoned his Keyblade.

"You know, Riku's pleading for me to stop this is giving me quite a headache," said Xehanort.

Sora only stared at him silently.

"So if I end this now, perhaps he'll shut up sooner."

Sora did not move or flinch as the keyblade was brought down on him.

I guess, he thought to himself. This is what I get for running in blindly. Some master I turned out to be. Sorry Kairi, Ayumi, everybody. Guess I just killed you all.

Sora closed his eyes, prepared for death. It never came.

"NO!" screamed a familiar voice. Sora's ship flew overhead, as a huge blue furred… thing tackled Xehanort to the ground. Xehanort threw it off, spun to his feet acrobatically and poised his Keyblade, ready to kill it. It was a large creature, twice as tall as any man and with blue fur and a crimson mane. It had a long tail and was canine in appearance. It roared at Xehanort and spit a fireball at him, which was quickly deflected.

"So, Kamui's toy got loose eh?" Xehanort chuckled, casting a dark wave, throwing the beast into the cliff wall. The cliff buckled from the abuse and the beast was covered in a rock slide, roaring in pain. When the rocks stopped falling, a golden claw forced its way out of the rubble. A battered Vincent crawled out, pulling his pistol and firing at Xehanort, the bullets bouncing harmlessly off of an invisible force field.

"Sora!" cried Kairi, running over to him and falling to her knees at his side.

"K-Kairi," he croaked. She sobbed and touched his face, blood getting on her fingers.

"You idiot, why would you…?" she broke down crying.

"Sorry Kairi," he said. "I had to protect you guys somehow."

"But if you die, then who will protect the worlds?" she demanded. "Don't throw your life away so carelessly!"

"This is touching," said Xehanort, ignoring the gunshots and walking towards them. "But I'm afraid this is where your love story ends."

"No!" shouted Kairi, covering Sora with her own body. "It isn't over! I'll protect Sora with my life! Our story will never end! We'll beat you together!"

Sora's eyes shot open in realization. This was what he was missing. Her resolve to protect him seemed to revive him physically and mentally.

"She's right!" he said, his voice firm. He slowly stood up. "I thought it was my duty to defeat you Xehanort! My burden! But now I know why I don't have the power to use the X-blade effectively! Because my heart has been shut by my selfish desire to kill you! Now I know! Now I remember!"

"What?" Xehanort hissed maliciously.

Sora looked at Kairi, and to Vincent, who had ceased his shooting and was watching them closely. He clasped Kairi's hand tightly in his.

"MY FRIENDS ARE MY POWER!" Sora shouted. There was a bright flash of light and Xehanort backed away, shielding his eyes in pain. "AND OUR STORY WILL NEVER END!"

KHKHKHKH

Within the confines of Sora's heart, Ventus opened his eyes and smiled brightly, looking up.

"I'll help too!" he shouted, raising his hands and vanishing in a bright light.

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(Reccomended Song: Neverending Story—DJ Melodie)

When the light faded, Sora stood alone, Kairi nowhere to be seen, a new drive form revealed. Sora's armor had been repaired and was a blazing white and gold coloration. The blood and wounds were gone completely, and Sora's eyes were as blue as the brightest sky. The X-blade had a blue and gold bladecharge around the blade.

"What?" growled Xehanort, shock etched onto his features. "The light! I-It's so… warm!"

Sora flourished his weapons.

"Final Dawn FORM!" he shouted, though the voices of Kairi and even Ventus could be heard beneath his.

"You combined with the girl and Ventus?"

Sora said nothing and appeared in front of Xehanort, who was instantly on the defensive, their speed and strength an almost perfect match. The two danced around each other, trading blows, each one sending a pulse of wind out, causing Vincent's cloak to flap wildly out.

Sora and Xehanort were instantly in midair, their weapons just blazing streaks and the clashes occurring so fast they were heard as a metallic whine.

Sora and Xehanort separated and landed on opposite cliffs. Xehanort roared in anger at the thought that they were so well matched. He raised his keyblade and fired a beam of violet energy at Sora, and Sora copied the action, his beam a bright golden color. The beams clashed and the two stood their ground, each struggling to push their attacks forward. Xehanort roared in animalistic fury and his beam won out, forcing Sora to step aside to avoid it. Behind him a rock formation exploded violently and he charged at Xehanort, ducking under a swipe from the dark master and head butting him in the gut. The two went flying into the city, bringing down several buildings in their path. They recovered and stood ten feet apart, weapons poised.

The two once again engaged in furious combat, neither side gaining much ground. Xehanort created a crimson blade charge of his own and hit Sora's with enough force to go flying through the air to where Chaos was, hitting the demon in the face. Chaos cried out in rage and shock, lost his balance and fell to the ground.

Sora, not wanting to incur the monster's wrath, laughed sheepishly and flew into the air, where Xehanort was flying in his direction. Sora realized he could not stand up to Xehanort's mighty blade charge and summoned two Ultima weapons, one from each of his journeys, and gave them blue blade charges. Sora backed off and, as though he were in final form, used telekinesis to use the keyblades, and engaged Xehanort from a distance. Xehanort charged at Sora, his keyblade glowing in a dark purple aura of rage and fury.

"Don't get elated boy!" The old man yelled as he slashed downward, the dark bladecharge crashing down before Sora with a cataclysmic roar. Sora flew off to the side, dodging the large beam blade as he used his mind links to swing both Ultima Weapons at Xehanort. The two keyblades flew at high-speed toward Xehanort, when suddenly a large demonic arm came falling down, defending Xehanort from the attack. Chaos turned his head and roared, knocking the keyblades back to Sora. Sora jumped back, re-positioning himself to fight through Chaos to get to Xehanort. The old man smiled.

"We got your back Sora!" Pence's voice boomed over the gummi ship's speakers as Seifer fired off several shots at Chaos's face, and the oversized demon stumbled down on its back, screeching out in irritation. The monster roared as a great tremor shook the area around them, and Sora fell to his knees from the sudden shock. When he looked up, Xehanort was gone. He should have been standing right where he was when the ultima weapons were attacking, but the old man was gone. Sora looked around, trying to find him.

"Behind you!" Xehanort whispered as he swung his keyblade at Sora's neck from behind. Sora turned and tried to jump back. Just as he did, Xehanort jumped back as well, as several laser shots slammed into the area. Sora grit his teeth as the Ultima Weapons took on a blue colored-glow and the X-blade shined with a bright golden aura. The gummi ship whizzed overhead, continuing to keep Chaos busy while Sora fought. The two ran again at each other, Sora striking rapidly and precisely from all angles and Xehanort parrying every attack as they came. Blow after blow, each did their best to overpower the other. Xehanort finally grew impatient and knocked Sora back with a quick burst of dark aura. Sora dug his feet into the ground below him, knocking over debris here and there as he slid away from Xehanort. He made a rushing stab at Xehanort, speeding as if he were merely an afterimage. He slashed right through Xehanort not once, but six times. Each time Sora attacked, the Ultima Weapons left their strikes in an X-shape. When Sora finished his Sonic Raid he turned and looked at Xehanort. The old man was still standing, smiling as though he hadn't taken any damage at all. Sora looked at his feet to see that his enemy had parried every strike while keeping his movements to an absolute minimum. The dark master lifted his keyblade once more as he charged up a dark orb in his left hand. Sora used his telekinetic link with both ultima weapons to send them flying once more, this time each striking as Xehanort nonstop. Every strike the keyblades made was blocked and dodged. Sora moved in to add his attacks to the mix, when Xehanort released the orb at his feet.

KHKHKHKHKH

Hayner and Seifer were arguing at each other, attempting to steer clear of Chaos' attacks as they flew up and down among the debris and demon himself.

"Fly steady! I can't shoot like this!" Seifer yelled. Hayner jerked the gummi ship again as everyone on board held onto their seats out of fear that they might be tossed out.

"Hey, do you want to dodge that thing's attacks or not?" Hayner shouted back. The gummi ship flew just past Chaos' leg, and Seifer opened fire on it.

"Just attack and don't get us killed!" Ayumi screamed at the two as the gummi ship continued to fly around the battlefield, wildly dodging and having several close calls.

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Sora braced himself and guarded against Xehanort's attack, only to look up and see himself surrounded in a ring of purple flames. Xehanort smiled as he walked forward calmly.

"This is a duel to the death, boy." The dark master hissed. "You will fight with me and die here. That is your destiny." Sora stood up and noticed that his ultima weapons couldn't go past the wall of violet flames.

(Recommended song: Musubareru Sekai – Kenji Kawai)

"If that's how it's going to be, then so be it." Sora replied with a sound of determination in his voice. His eyes seemed to change with a look of newfound resolution. He was prepared to give it his all in this battle. He steadied the Ultima weapons and gripped the handle of the X-blade tightly. He stepped forward just a mere half step. And Xehanort did the same. Each looked each other in the eyes with a determination to defeat one another. The Ultima keyblades circled around Sora like lightning around a coil. Xehanort smiled as he snapped his fingers, and two keyblades appeared behind him. Sora didn't quite recognize one, but the other he knew immediately as The Way to Dawn. Xehanort chuckled.

"Surprised, boy? Your power is something I can do at will, much unlike yourself. *he waved to the larger, brown and blue colored keyblade. "Ends of the Earth…taken by Terra." He then waved to the other. "The Way to Dawn, from your friend Riku." "Both are keyblades bearing magnificent power…and they shall use that power to destroy your last hopes of survival." He taunted.

"Then I'll make sure to put a stop to your control over them!" Sora said as he took another step forward, and both Ultima Weapons spun and sliced at Xehanort, only to be blocked by Xehanort's summoned keyblades. Sora swung down, and Xehanort blocked, each locking blades together in mortal combat. Sparks flew from the clashing of the keyblades, and every time Sora or Xehanort attacked, the other would parry. Bright lights shone every time the blades struck each other. It almost looked like the two were performing an elaborate dance with one another, except they were aiming to kill each other.

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Hayner managed to distract Chaos at every turn he made. Any time the monster turned, the ship was once again out of sight. He flew down as Seifer shot a pile of rubble to draw Chaos' attention away from them momentarily. The ship approached the ground, and drew dangerously close to crashing. Chaos turned and spat out several fireballs at the ship, which continued to chase the kids around left and right. Vincent leapt up into the air from where he was standing before, and by luck the ship happened to fly just low enough for Vincent to get on board.

"Could ya get any lower?" Seifer shouted at Hayner. The ship scraped it's underside across a few rocks, but overall remained largely undamaged as they continued to open fire at Chaos, damaging the great demon little by little. Vincent climbed aboard and merely grunted as he lied himself down.

"Come on! That purple ring down there doesn't look too good for Sora! We gotta go save him!" Ayumi ordered Hayner as she shook him by the shoulder.

"Okay, okay! I'm on it!" He yelled back as the gummi ship closed in on the death ring Sora and Xehanort were in.

"Open Fire!" Raijin yelled as he and Fuujin launched several laser shots from the ship's guns.

Blasts rained down upon the field where Sora and Xehanort fought. The two jumped back and ran at each other once more, blades clashing and clanging, each roaring with pure might. Every strike seemed to be parried left and right, with almost not openings to attack. Strong as he was though, Sora was the first one to start feeling fatigue. He jumped back as he tried to catch his breath.

"What's the matter? Out of steam already?" Xehanort laughed as he lifted his hand up, charging it with another dark orb. Sora shook his head as the gummi ship roared on above him. He looked up, realizing that he had to make his escape as soon as possible. Blasts rang out all around Sora and Xehanort, and the violet-flame circle vanished.

"It seems we have been interrupted. Will you cower and run once more?" Xehanort taunted Sora. He then launched his dark orb that he had been charging at the Gummi Ship.

"INCOMING!" Fuujin yelled at the crew on board. The magic attack from Xehanort zoned in on the ship and followed it up and down. Xehanort's face twisted to show a sadistic smile. Sora didn't have time to think. He jumped up with a blade charge on all three keyblades as he struck the magic attack, defending the ship from the blast. The moment the blades made contact though, the orb compacted itself and then exploded with a large burst of darkness and wind. Sora was thrown upwards into the air, and by pure luck he landed right on top of the gummi ship roof, falling unconscious and out of form. Xehanort realized that amidst the darkness his prey would run, but he smiled regardless. He knew that no matter where Sora ran to, he could easily crush what little fight remained.

Meanwhile, inside the gummi ship a large thud was heard from above. Vincent rose up, and opened the top latch, dragging Sora and Kairi by the legs inside the ship as he picked up Hayner and shoved him out of the pilot's seat.

"H-hey! You mean to tell us that you could fly a gummi ship this whole time?" Hayner asked Vincent. Vincent remained silent as the ship flew at top speed away from the area, leaving Chaos and Xehanort behind in the destruction that was once a city.

Chaos roared as he tried to give chase, but ended up being unable to find them. Xehanort instead decided to use this time to plan another raid on Sora and his friends. The world's defense and military were nothing his elites couldn't handle, and defeating the boy with the X-blade would require the job done right.

"So the coward runs again. Then cling to your life and come back to fight again, only to be beaten down!" Xehanort yelled as the dark smoke cleared and the ship vanished.

KHKHKHKH

As Vincent piloted the ship around, they received a transmission from Cid.

"Okay, we're waiting for you at Balamb Garden HQ. Hurry and get yer ass down here! Coordinates are as follows…" and a small blip with numbers appeared on screen. Vincent nodded and sped off, with no time to waste.

In the back of the ship everyone was crowded around Sora, who's armor had disengaged and was unconscious in his chair. Kairi was supporting him, but she looked worse for wear herself. She shooed the kids away, and they all took their seats quietly, Vivi, was waving around his new staff. Ayumi sighed and stared into the red orb at the top of hers.

Hayner went and sat in the cockpit with Vincent. He couldn't help but stare at the disturbed looking man before him.

"What do you want?" Vincent asked coolly, staring ahead. Hayner jumped but decided to speak.

"Who are you anyways?" he asked shakily.

"Vincent," came the blunt response. A tense silence followed.

"Wh-where are you from?"

"Here."

Hayner stared at Vincent, who said nothing, and turned to the navigation panels.

"We should be at the base in ten minutes," he said, looking over the information screens. Vincent grunted in response. Hayner was silent for the rest of the trip.

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When they made it to Balamb, everything was hectic. Wounded and dead were being unloaded and rushed to the massive hospital in the facility. Sora was put on a stretcher and rushed to the hospital, Kairi in a wheelchair, the stress from the drive affecting her as well.

The other kids were sticking close to Vincent, who was leaning against the side of the ship, watching everything warily.

There was a poof of smoke to his left, and before anyone could think, there stood Yuffie with a pistol pointed to her forehead.

"Well that's a fine hello!" she shouted indignantly. "I don't see you for eleven years and you point a gun at me? TWICE?"

Vincent sighed and holstered his weapon.

"Yuffie," he said. "I—"

He was cut off by sobbing as she embraced him, tears flying.

"Wh-when you were," she wailed. "Fighting off the heartless…. And Cid was trying to get you on that sh-ship—"

He placed his human hand on her back.

"I know Yuffie," he replied. "But I will explain everything later."

She looked up at him and nodded. She looked to the kids.

"Come on, the mess hall is down this way," she said, wiping her eyes and hiccupping. "It's hotdog day… again."

Vincent remained with the ship, waving goodbye, until he was approached by Golbez.

"So that girl Aerith saved you with her healing abilities?" the sorcerer asked. Vincent grunted in amusement.

"I remember when she was a child," he said, closing his eyes in reminiscence. "She always put band aids on everyone. Squall would be covered. Ansem the Wise always thought it was funny when I would come for my bodyguard duties with several pink band aids on my face."

Golbez chuckled at first, then laughed heartily at the story. The two then stood together for some time, making small talk.

Soon everything was set straight. SeeD had been regrouped ad reorganized and Sora and Kairi put under good medical care.

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Twelve hours later

Squall paced back and forth in the conference room of the base. It was rather spacious for being underground, and could support their military for at least a good six months if need be. Tron was actively researching any and all information he could on the situation, but somehow it just wasn't fast enough for Squall.

"How much longer do you think it will be?" Squall bugged Tron for the 18th time in the last two hours, slamming his fist on the table as he looked up at the large computer screen with anxiety.

"Please be patient. I can only do so much at once." Tron replied cooly as various windows opened and closed rapidly with information streaming faster than most people could comprehend.

Golbez hovered into the room. "The boy has finally awoken." He said. Squall nodded and left the room. Moments later his voice rang through the PA system.

"Attention. Sora, Kairi, Ayumi, and all Committee members are to report to the Confrence Hall as soon as possible. Members of SeeD are to wait on standby and recover as much as possible. You kids that came with Sora should stay with SeeD. Over."

Sora sat up in his hospital bed. Every inch of him racked in immense pain, but he did his best to move through it. He turned over to see Kairi already up, looking in the opposite direction.

"You okay?" Sora asked. Kairi turned over to Sora and smiled as she walked over to him and hugged him tightly.

"Yeah." She replied. Ayumi walked in to see the two in a tight embrace, and felt awkward immediately.

"Umm…They called us up a while ago. Come on, let's go." Ayumi spoke rather fast, as though she wanted to be out of the room that instant. With that, she left before either Sora or Kairi could reply. The two let go of each other and Kairi helped Sora up. Sora reached into his pocket and pulled out his eyepatch, quickly putting it on.

"I'm not totally sure where to go…let's hope we end up in the right place." He said, laughing as he walked with Kairi, albeit rather slowly. Ayumi was waiting just outside of the room for them and led them to the Confrence Hall, where the members of the committee were seated at a rather long table and a projector in the center. Golbez stood in the corner, as though watching over everyone in the room like an outsider.

"Hey there sleepyheads, take a seat." Tifa said as she waved to Sora with three open seats next to her. Kairi nodded and helped Sora get to his chair, Ayumi following them from a bit of a distance.

Squall broke the silence that followed.

(Recommended song: SeeD – Final Fantasy VIII)

"Everyone, I called you here as early as possible to go over what just happened. Our town was attacked and destroyed today by a being known as Chaos. Several dark keyblade wielders appeared and ravaged our homeworld. Right now we are in tactical retreat, as we come up with a new plan of action." Squall spoke as though he were reading a script.

"So what do we know about the enemy?" Warrior of Light asked. Aerith shook her head.

"Let's wait on that. First I want to ask…" She turned to face Sora and Kairi. "Do you two feel okay? Can you take in all of this information? Or do you two need more rest first?"

"Nah, I'm okay. I do want to ask how long I was out for though." Sora replied. Kairi nodded.

"It's been twelve hours." Vincent said. "I should know. I had to fly you here."

"I see…sorry for the trouble." Sora looked down apologetically.

"Now that that's over, can we get back on track?" Cloud asked, sounding rather irritated. He glared in between Golbez and Vincent. "Like who the hell are these two? Wasn't one of them with the enemy?"

Golbez said nothing, but everyone in the room could feel his energy spike, and sparks of dark electricity flashed around his armor. Cloud and Warrior of Light both put their hands on the hilts of their swords.

"Knock it off!" Sora scolded the three of them. "Golbez is alright, I can vouch for him. I don't know about uhh—"

"Vincent," muttered the dark man.

Squall squinted at Vincent and his eyes went wide.

"N-no!" he gasped.

Vincent nodded at him.

"Yes, it's me," he said. "Squall."

"But how?"

"I don't understand," said Sora, looking in between them. "How do you guys all know eachother?"

Vincent sighed and began to speak.

"Fifteen years ago I was assigned bodyguard to Ansem the Wise, in order to fund the orphanage that Squall, and the others were living in, as it was run by my wife Lucrecia. It was easy work, since the city was peaceful and prosperous, and since I was known as the most skilled member of the royal guard, I was given the promotion. We raised the children like they were our own. Then Xehanort happened, and the Heartless attacked. I alone knew of their treachery. They tried to silence me. I fought back, but they were too much. I had to flee to the orphanage. I was able to fight off the heartless long enough to get them to our resident pilot Cid, and get them to safety. I was forced to watch as those creatures took Lucrecia. Just as I had given up all hope, they appeared before me. The Lucid Key Elite. They… killed me… and then turned me into their weapon. They put monsters inside of me…."

Everyone listened quietly as he struggled. He took a shaky breath and looked at them, resolve in his eyes.

"I know their plans. Where they are going, what they are doing, who they are doing it with. I'll share what I know with you here."

Squall nodded.

"We will get to that once we are done discussing what we are going to do about our demon problem."

Genesis ran his hand through his hair as he whipped out his book. "I'm sure you all remember the tale of the legendary "Three"…no?" He said with a rather smug tone.

"Yeah. We do remember. How they were once the greatest heroes that lived on our world. Unfortunately…every single one of them deserted us. Each for unknown reasons." Squall lamented on his words as he spoke. The projector activated, and Tron's head appeared.

"Tron!" Sora exclaimed with excitement. Tron smiled.

"Long time no see, Sora. We'll have to catch up later, right now I have to debrief everyone." He said. Sora nodded.

"Okay everyone, the data I've managed to dig up reads as follows…The Legendary Three were once revered heroes of Radient Garden. However, prior to the attack by Malificent they all vanished. Throughout the time that has elapsed since then, only Sephiroth has made any appearances. He was hunting down Cloud for some reason, which at this point only he could tell. Gabranth was once a High-ranking officer of Radient Garden's previous military force, owned by ENCOM. Incidentally, Sephiroth was also a warrior from the previous military, from the branch called SOLDIER. Garland on the other hand is a special case. He was second-in-command of the entire army, until he himself defected and turned traitorous. At the time, only Warrior of Light stood against him. He was corrupted by the darkness, and vanished." Tron reported.

"That's great an' all, but what does yer data say 'bout the overgrown bull that trampled all over our town?" Cid asked. He was obviously referring to Chaos.

"Well, there seems to be more. There's an old legend here that talks about a great demon once razing the world, calling itself Chaos. It was born from a once-revered knight, and it became the bane of all mortal existence." Tron continued.

"Then how was it stopped back then?" Merlin thought out loud.

"Four Warriors rose up to defeat Chaos, and the great monster fell." Tron answered.

"Anything else?" Yuffie questioned Tron, trying to probe as much information as she could.

"Yes. The Knight's name is also present here in the record." Tron said.

"What was it?" Ayumi asked.

Tron paused for a second.

"Garland." Tron finally said. The entire room gasped.

"What does this mean then?" Sora asked.

"How can his name be present in something that happened so long ago?" Tifa continued Sora's train of thought.

Tron continued his report. "It seems as though from the times in the past, Chaos needed to be defeated three times before finally being killed off. In addition, it seems as though Garland himself was sent back in time, and had become Chaos. How exactly he became Chaos is unclear, but legend tells that he was summoned by Chaos to battle the warriors of Cosmos."

Genesis held up his hand as he read a passage from his book. "When the war of the beasts bring about the world's end, the Goddess descends from the sky. Wings of light and dark spread afar, she guides us to bliss…her gift, everlasting." He finished the line with a smile on his face.

"Your point?" Warrior of Light glared at Genesis. Genesis snapped his book shut and leaned inward on the table.

"It means…Our friend Garland was summoned here to do battle with us by Chaos, along with Sephiroth and Gabranth. On the other hand, we represent the will of the Goddess of this world. In essence, we are the warriors of this planet, destined to salvage it from the forces of Chaos." He smiled with a disgusting smirk on his face.

Squall stood up and spoke with a commanding tone. "Whether or not your theory is correct, the fact of the matter is that there is a great enemy before us with extreme power. At our current strength it will be hard to take him on even one round, much less three. We'll have to pull out all the stops to take this threat on. Chaos aside, there's still a small force of incredibly powerful dark keybladers."

Kairi looked worried. Not only was the threat of a supposed god looming over them, they also had Xehanort and his army to deal with as well. Ayumi herself looked like she might start to cry from the overwhelming wartime situation. Sora put his hand on her shoulder and gave her a reassuring smile with a thumbs up.

"Don't worry, no matter what happens I'll protect you all with my life." He said. He then turned to Kairi and looked right into her eyes.

"No matter what…" Kairi repeated, smiling.

"Well, let's not waste any more time! We gotta get to planning the counterattack!" Yuffie shouted. The Confrence Hall got rather loud for a second, as a resounding "Yeah!" came from everyone in the room, save for Squall, Cloud, Golbez, and Vincent.

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Seifer was pacing back and forth in the hallway, with Raijin and Fuujin nearby him, pacing as well. The other Twilight Town kids had gone off to the mess hall, but Seifer deemed going there to be "too troublesome".

"How much longer are we gonna have to sit and wait? It's been an hour already!" He complained, kicking at the wall. The two behind him said nothing to their boss, for fear of upsetting him further.

Then a bell rang, and Squall's voice rang through the intercom.

"Attention all personnel. We are currently in a state of war with a dark keyblader organization and a fabled demon god thing. At this time I'd like to request all of your cooperation and strength. Many will fall, but I hope that all of you can find the courage to stand tall with us. We'll need as much manpower as we can get. We are currently planning out our counterattack, so please use this time to prepare yourselves for the fight. Everyone is to report to the ship hangar in approximately two hours. Keep up the good work, and I look forward to the looks on our enemies' faces after we retaliate."

Seifer finally looked up with a face of excitement. "About time." He said.

KHKHKHKHKH

Cauldishek and the Elites were lined up on the bridge of the Mothership, all of them silent except for Kigara who was biting his thumb and giggling to himself like a madman, the burn over his eye now a crimson scar. He fell silent when the heavy footsteps of Master Xehanort came through the door. Xehanort's face showed no emotion as he stood before them.

"You have failed me," he said quietly. "You let the experiment called Valentine escape, and with him precious and valuable information regarding our plans. You were unable to kill a single one of their leaders. Even I was outmatched by Sora. This error will not be forgiven. You will not be partaking in this invasion any further. Go to your assigned worlds, and take your forces with you. Make contact with our allies. Now get out of my sight."

The Eltes said nothing as they filed out of the room, fuming or disgusted with themselves.

"Kigara, you stay," said Xehanort. The young man stopped and did not turn to face his master. "I have a special assignment for you…"

Little did they know, Tron was listening to their conversation in the form of a bug placed in their communication systems via a computer virus made with the combined efforts of Merlin's magic and Cid's computer genius.

KHKHKHKH

(Recommended songs: No Sacrifice, No Victory – Transformers: The Score , GelimerLab - Verne Mine – Maplestory, Marching Tune #0 – Dirge of Cerberus, Marching Tune – Dirge of Cerberus [yes the last two are two separate tracks]

The twilight town kids along with Seifer's disciplinary committee were lined up in their own row among all of the SeeD members who had gathered, all of whom stood at attention.

Squall paced back and forth for a few minutes, finally stopping when he'd once again reached the center. Around him to add to his image as commander were the several drop ships that littered the hangar. Weapons were lined all around the hangar, and various ships looked ready to take off at any point.

"Today we are going to put an end to those who would trample over our world as though it were nothing! It will take all of us, so everyone is to do their best. Understood?" Squall said.

"Yes Sir!" The army replied in unison.

"As of now, we are in a bad situation, so it's up to us to make it through this together! We will begin a combined assault on the beast known as Chaos, and the forces of the Lucid Key Elite. Our drop ships will then move in and unload troops who will be holding off the Heartbourne Leigions. Warrior of Light, Cloud Strife, Keyblade Master Sora, Vincent Valentine, Golbez and I will be fighting the creature together! Our ground troops will be led by the rest of the committee save for Cid Highwind who will be engaging the enemy fleet in aerial combat. It has been confirmed that the Elite themselves have fallen back and will most likely not be joining the battle due to complications with their own forces. They believe we are divided and scattered, and their forces are being cut in half. What they don't know is that we are returning, even stronger than before. Commander Highwind would like to leave us with a few words of his own."

"Now listen up, cuz I'm only gonna say this once!" Cid started walked in from behind Squall and spoke loudly, spear on his shoulder and cigarette blazing.

"Our enemy out there wants you dead. They don't need any reason, they just do it because they can. That's the nature of our enemy." He paused. "We've lost plenty of good men out there today. If any more of you are killed by those punks I'll drag you back from Hell and kill ya again! You wanna try to piss of those S.O.B.'s then how about you try staying alive? It's all about survival. If you live, everyone behind you lives. If you die, then they die. Now let's go kick some demon god ass!" Cid raised his fist in the air. The legion of SeeD roared in excitement and high spirit.

Squall stepped forward once more.

"Everyone, take your ships! Each one of you will have one commander guiding your squads! Follow their orders and fight the good fight!" He shouted. SeeD roared once more in applause and valor as they split up into several drop ships.

The committee members also split up, Vincent and Golbez both headed for Sora's gummi ship. Sora waved to Seifer and Hayner to tell everyone to follow him as he and Kairi took off to the ship. As they got in, Sora pulled out a small chip given to him by Cid and inserted it into the Gummi's computer. By the time everyone got in, the Gummi ship was fired up and ready to take off.

The Twilight Town gang looked very nervous being seated in between Golbez and Vincent, both who remained silent. Seifer and his crew, along with Ayumi and Kairi snickered at the uncomfortable looks on their faces.

"I'm glad to be joining you on your quest from this point on Sora. It's great that I can help the Users once more." Tron's voice came from the computer.

"You're always welcome to be with us, Tron." Sora replied as everyone finished putting their seatbelts on. He popped a small potion open and drank the contents, and came back at full strength.

"All right guys, let's go!" Sora yelled as the Ship took off from the hangar, ready to join the fight once more.

The ships all took formation, an armada of gun ships with the Highwind and the gummi ship leading the pack.

"GO!" shouted Cid over the intercom, as all ships fired up their rockets and sped towards Radiant Garden at full speed.