DISCLAIMER: I don't own Kingdom Hearts or Final Fantasy IV but I own a huge important part of this.

Chapter 13

Light and Dark

The hall of the Crystal Palace on the Lunar Surface was completely silent at Fusoya's proclamation regarding Cecil's lineage and no one dared to speak for fear of shattering that sacred silence and perhaps bringing about something even worse. Jim was the firstone to say anything at all.

"Wait a minute...so Cecil is from the moon?" Jim said with an arched eyebrow at Fusoya and the old man chuckled. "Talk about strange."

"No stranger than someone not from this world." Fusoya stated with a slight gleam in his eye and a glance towards Jim. But Cecil seemed strangely deep in thought. When he at last looked up he had a new question on the tip of his tongue.

"Then that voice that I heard at Mount Ordeals..." Cecil said, tapering off at the end, and giving a moment for Fusoya to respond.

"Was the spirit of your father. Indeed, you seem to be the very image of Kluya in his youth." Fusoya said with a smile. Edge cocked his head a bit as he looked at Cecil and Fusoya in turn.

"So then...you would be his uncle?" Edge asked and Rydia glared at him slightly for being so inconsiderate. Fusoya gave a short nod but other than that, completely ignored the young Eblan prince's statement.

"Kluya vested you with his power so that you might foil Zemus' plot. Zemus must be stopped! For the sake of your people and mine as well." Fusoya stepped down from the dias on which he was standing and walked past them. Mickey glanced at him as he did so, as if waiting for the man to say something. "We must hurry to the Tower of Babil near Eblan."

"Yeah well, that's too bad for us then isn't it?" Edge stated with a slight smirk.

"The tower's protected by a barrier." Mickey said with worry to the old Lunarian. He merely smiled for a moment before his look turned absolutely grave.

"I should be able to bypass the barrier. We cannot let the Giant escape into your world!" Fusoya stated and with that he led the entire group out of the Crystal Palace. With a sense of purpose he quickly boarded the Lunar Whale and everyone followed. Once everyone was on board, Fusoya touched the crystal and the ship immediately began its trip back down to the Blue Planet. In but a few seconds, the ship had finally reached its location on the planet. Jim took the reigns at this point and began guiding the ship over to the tower of Babil. Suddenly, there was a large grinding sound and the ground near the Tower of Babil began to shiver and quake. All of the party on the Lunar Whale looked over what was going on in fear and anticipation.

"What's going on?!" Rydia suddenly cried out. The ground split underneath them and a great huge head suddenly arose from underneath up to the surface. It seemed to be giant and mechanical but was purely black as night, like the heart of Golbez and Zemus themselves. Energy crackled down the tower and fed into the now emerging giant from beneath the earth.

"We were too late." Fusoya said in shame. "The Giant has come." As if on cue, the massive Giant was at last fully emerged from the ground. It let out a great giant bellow before its red eyes shone brightly and great beams of light fired from its gigantic hands across the land near Eblan, destroying the mountains. Rosa collapsed onto her knees in anguish.

"No..." she moaned out in sadness and Cecil held her as he stared out the window at the destruction now being wrought.

"This can't be happening!" Edge said, pounding a fist on the console. Tears started streaming from Rydia's own eyes as the watched the havoc and chaos now wrought upon the Blue Planet.

"Isn't there something we could do?" Rydia sobbed out and Jim was ready to curse the very existence of Golbez and Zemus when something caught his eye out the window.

"Hold on..." Jim breathed out as he rubbed his eyes and made sure that they weren't playing a trick on him. "What's that?!" Mickey ran to the window and looked out to see a great number of red airships surrounding the giant. In fact, everyone now ran over to see what was going on and they were glad they had. For on one ship they saw Yang with fairy-like creatures known as Sylphs, who seemed to be (from a distance) fussing over the state of his health. Cid and his boys were also manning some of the ships around the Giant. On another ship was an older man who was the elder of Mysidia as well as two younger children, a boy and a girl that Mickey presumed to be Palom and Porom. On the final ship circling round was a young prince with blonde hair that Cecil called Prince Edward of Damcyan.

"They all came to fight." Cecil said in absolute awe of the strength that all their friends were showing for this final battle. Suddenly the ships surrounding the Giant began to hit it with a fresh barrage of attacks and the Giant seemed to fall to a halt and remained immobilized. Rosa quickly commented on this.

"This is our chance, then!" Fusoya proclaimed. "We can now get inside that accursed giant."

"And smash it up good!" Edge said with bravado and Mickey nodded determinedly. Cecil strode over to some controls and opened up a communications patch.

"Cid, we're going to need your help Cid!" Cecil ordered and the ship containing Cid suddenly broke off from the attack and came near the Lunar Whale. Jim opened up the hatch and the group of seven stepped out and landed on Cid's ship. The Lunar Whale continued to float above, unfazed by the sudden loss in personnel. Fusoya was the first to stride up to Cid.

"Take us to the Giant's mouth!" Fusoya ordered and Cid looked absolutely affronted.

"Who does this white-hair think he is, ordering me about?!" Cid demanded of the now boarded party.

"His name is Fusoya, from the moon." Mickey said with a smile. "But come on Cid, we don't have a lot of time. Think you can get us close enough to jump."

"Can a fish swim?" Cid said, looking even more affronted than he had the moment before. "Who do you think you're talking to?" Without another word being spoken, Cid took command of the ship and flew it towards the Giant which was still immobilized. Within a few seconds, Cid bade the party farewell as they jumped off and entered the Giant. The entire construct was mechanical with whirs and teleportation pads leading from one place to the next. The only good thing about that design was the fact that for the most part, it was very linear. The group quickly set off and down the throat of the giant until they reached a teleportation pad that teleported them to another very long corridor. With great haste, they set off down that as well. But before they had reached halfway, suddenly a great column of red flame rose before them. When it passed, the towering figure of Rubicante was once more before them.

"At last you've come!' came his voice and Mickey immediately summoned his Keyblade into his hand. Then there was a rush of wind to their left and a woman who was completely yellow all over (and almost completely nude for that matter) appeared in a turret of wind.

"The Giant cannot be stopped." the woman said and Mickey figured this was Barbariccia, the fiend of wind. Then there was a splash of water and the hard-shelled form of Cagnazzo appeared.

"But you can!" And he let off a wicked laugh to beat all wicked laughs. Then there was a flash of darkness and the hooded form of Scarmiglione appeared behind them, completely surrounding all of them.

"This will be your tomb!" Scarmiglione cried in a faintly pitiful voice.

"Not you freaks again..." Jim said in a truly exasperated tone.

"Our master Zemus..." Scarmiglione said as he shed his hood to reveal the mighty undead form beneath.

"Gifted us with life..." Cagnazzo continued, readying itself for attack.

"To rob you of yours!" Barbariccia said and her body suddenly became a great twister as she whirled around.

"How I've yearned for this!" Rubicante stated with a great chuckle. "When last we met, you taught me a great truth...that many are more powerful than one! I'll restore you to full strength." A white light surrounded the group and all of their pain and wounds seemed to disappear. "Now show us what power you possess." Without another gesture, all hell broke loose at once. Mickey flipped forward through the air to engage the whirling form of Barbariccia. The two swordsman of the group, Cecil and Edge immediately struck out for Rubicante while Jim and Rydia took on Cagnazzo. And this left both Fusoya and Rosa to deal with Scarmiglione.

Scarmiglione charged at the duo, trying to knock them off the wide platfrom upon which the group was standing. Fusoya immediately began reciting an incantation and large balls of flame flew at the fiend of earth and struck it with unimaginable fury. Scarmiglione howled in pain as the heat tried to force his body to succumb. But, from all of his bending to escape the pain he snapped his head up and moved passed it all. He reared his great form back and slammed himself down onto the ground with a mighty slam. A shuddering quake led its way straight for the Lunarian and white mage. Without thinking, Rosa summoned the white blocks around herself and cast a Float spell over both of them. The quake missed them entirely. She locked eyes with Cecil's uncle and both of them knew what to do to the undead fiend. Together they summoned a dualcast together and a healing wave spread across Scarmiglione's body. He howled as his body was wracked in pain. His already dead and lifeless eyes shone for but a moment more with the malice of life, before he cried out his master's name and disappeared.

On another edge of the platfrom both Jim and Rydia were dealing with the water fiend Cagnazzo. Jim kept firing off his plasma shots at the great shelled turtle. But Cagnazzo merely retreated into the safety of his shell and Jim's shots merely bounced off. Soon, Jim was out of shots to take and he had to reload his plasma gun. He quickly dove into the pocket of his uniform and inserted the plasma into his gun. But Cagnazzo had other plans. He quickly popped out of his shell before using his legs as a pivot point to start spinning around. He withdrew once more into his shell as he began a rapid spin towards Jim. Jim kept firing more shots but now they ricocheted off and nearly hit him. Rydia dashed in and a great torrent of yellow lightning flashed in on the opposition. Cagnazzo began to slow down from the intense amount of electricity now coursing through him. Finally he stopped and came out when all of a sudden water began to surge at his feet. Jim and Rydia looked at each other for a moment, very confused as to what Cagnazzo might do.

"I'll save a briny pit for you in HELL!!!!" Cagnazzo roared and the water encompassed his whole body. He charged forward and the water surged with it, transforming itself into a large wave that threatened to engulf and suffocate both Rydia and Jim. Jim fird at the wave hoping to break it up. Some holes appeared in the crushing torrent and he quickly signaled to Rydia that now was the time. Rydia sent more lightning through the holes and the water instantly became vaporized. Cagnazzo was left there, a dumb expression on his face, and water still around his feet. Rydia smirked and sent another torrent of electricity at the fiend and he suddenly disappeared, howling in agony. But the battle against the four fiends was not yet finished.

The king himself was dealing with Barbariccia, who despite not being the toughest of the four fiends, still proved to be an indomitable opposition. With great fury she whirled around to try and ensnare Mickey who was in constant motion. However, her quick movements finally enabled herself to cut the king of Disney Castle off. Mickey glared at the third archfiend who smiled a wicked grin. With a wave of her hands, suddenly a tornado (which was more of a mini maelstrom) formed around Mickey and began to squeeze all of the air out of his mouse-size lungs. Mickey gasped for air while he pointed his Keyblade to the ground and screamed "Quake!" Suddenly there was a ripple at the base of the tornado engulfing him and the wind tunnel disappeared, Mickey dropping to the ground. Mickey quickly tried to catch his breath as Barbariccia howled in anger and sped towards him. Mickey barely dodged her whirling form before remembering the one detail that Cecil and the others had told them about their previous battle with Barbariccia: Kain would jump to stop her from whirling. Mickey flipped backwards and then used his Keyblade like a pole vault and leapt up into the air. He whirled around before

Crashing down upon the unsuspecting Barbariccia whose surprise proved nearly fatal and her whirling form disappeared to show her regular human form. She lashed out with torrents of blue lightning and Mickey erected a reflect shield that absorbed the blow. He inched forward very slowly as he deflected the bolts until he was close enough. He disengaged the shield and leapt straight at the archfiend of wind, plunging his Keyblade straight through her. She had a look of shock for a moment and then disappeared. Mickey ran up with the rest of them to see Cecil and Edge dueling Rubicante in battle.

Rubicante was consistently whipping around in attempt to hit the two with his mantle but both Cecil and Edge efficiently side-stepped all of them. Cecil thrust forward, aiming to pierce Rubicante but the fire lord sent a barrage of five fireballs at Cecil. Edge leapt in front of his ally yelling "Blaze!" and a flaming circle appeared in front of him, absorbing the five fireballs. Rubicante growled loudly and opened his mantle wide and prepared to summon a very powerful flame to incinerate them. Edge looked at Cecil and they nodded. Edge rushed forward at Rubicante, drawing some shuriken from his pocket. He whipped them at Rubicante who launched some flames at them, annihilating them on the spot. That distraction was all that Edge needed as he got in there and kicked Rubicante forcing the fiend to close his cloak. The split-second he was doing so was all Cecil took to run his sword through the fiend. Rubicante chuckled.

"A sound and thorough defeat..." Rubicante said before he too passed. Everyone was now tired, limbs sagging, knees dropping from their latest encounter. Mickey summoned strength from within him and used Healing Light on everybody. Now restored to full strength, they moved on until they reached a central hub of the giant. Three nodes, one larger than all the rest stood before them. Fusoya seemed to know about the designs of them.

"That large one is the main CPU, the other two are the attack and defense node. Rydia and I shall destroy the defense node with our magic; Jim and Edge, both of you are fast enough to take out the attack node. Your Majesty, Cecil, take out the main computer." Fusoya told them. The whole group nodded and set out for their respective goals quickly smashing apart the entire computer. As soon as they had done so there was a great lurch and the giant stopped moving.

"It's done! The Giant stopped moving!" Edge proclaimed happily, but their happiness was to be short lived.

"You! How dare you meddle in this!" came the voice of Golbez and they saw him standing at the foot of stairs that lead into the Giant's fine operating systems. "Long have I waited to send the crystals to the moon so they might activate here."

"Those crystals are not the same as those on the moon, but crystals that channel the will of those on the moon." Fusoya cried out to Golbez when suddenly he froze. As he glanced upon the darkened armor of Golbez, something washed over him. "You-you're..."

"Can you not speak old man?!" Golbez cried out jeeringly. Fusoya suddenly fell onto his knees and looked at the man weakly.

"Do you not even know your true self?" Fusoya said shaking his hand, and though Golbez was masked in armor it could not have been plainer that he was confused. Fusoya suddenly waved a hand in front of him. "Awaken!" Golbez suddenly lurched backwards and then stopped. he looked around confusedly, almost as if he didn't know how he had gotten here, or why he had felt the way that he did.

"Why? Why was I so consumed by hate?" Golbez stated, his head hanging low as Fusoya tried to stand.

"You've regained your senses then...Tell me, do you remember your father's name?" Fusoya said and Mickey felt that a terrible truth was soon to be revealed.

"My father...his name was Kluya." Golbez responded and everyone but Mickey seemed taken aback. Golbez was Cecil's brother. Cecil, was the most shocked of them all.

"Golbez is my..." Cecil stated in sheer disbelief but Fusoya cut across him.

"You were being manipulated by the all-powerful will of Zemus. Your Lunarian blood rendered you an easy target for his curse and bound your thoughts to his. Knowing full well that you were on the Blue Planet he had you seek out the crystals that channel the soul of those on the moon so that they could somehow commune and raise the Giant of Babil." Golbez hung his head even more in shame. "To think, that Kluya's son's would be made to fight one another." And with that, the spell Fusoya had cast took a toll and he collapsed. The group, save for Cecil ran forward and took a look at Fusoya, Rosa and Mickey casting a cure spell on him.

"I fought him...I hated him...My own brother." Cecil said and Golbez acknowledged the fact that Cecil was his brother, the reason he could not kill him at the Tower of Zot. "But were it me the one Zemus chose to control our roles might just as well have been reversed."

"No..." Golbez said, denying Cecil's claim. "There was evil in me long before this. I'm the one who abandoned you. You see, I had always wanted a little brother and when I found that our mother Cecilia was pregnant with you, I, Theodore was overcome with joy. However, mere weeks before our mother was to give birth to you, some men who were angry at our father for not teaching them more of his spells, killed him. All alone in this world, when my mother had you, she died in childbirth. When we were alone, Zemus connected his will to mine and named me Golbez. I left you in a forest outside Baron because I hated you and blamed you for all that had happened. After that, I took to the borderlands where I could hide from other's eyes. Wracked by guilt...ashamed to show my face. I would not think to ask for your forgiveness now but I am glad that you survived. What better a pawn could Zemus have possibly chosen than this?" With those words, he whipped around, his cape billowing and began to walk off.

"Where will you go?" Fusoya asked in a slightly feeble voice.

"To put and end to all this." Golbez said and Fusoya nodded, stating that he would go with him as Zemus was a Lunarian. The two strode off together but before they left completely Golbez turned to Cecil. "Farewell, Cecil." And they were gone. Mickey turned to Cecil.

"Gosh Cecil...I know he wasn't a good guy but he is your brother...and, ya know...I think he means to die in there." Mickey said but Cecil's face and expression of confusion and depression did not change.

"He's your brother..." Rydia suddenly stressed to him and he looked up at this. "Your blood...your only living family." As Rydia close doff her words, the Giant began to shake.

"We better get out of here people!" Jim yelled and a new, yet old, and deep voice reached their ears.

"This way!" Kain yelled from where Golbez had entered before, indicating that there was a way out. Jim suddenly became rigid and glared in his direction.

"Trying to trick us again are you?" Jim said but Mickey put a hand on his leg, the highest up that he could reach, and Jim looked at him.

"I think it's the only chance we have to get out of here." Mickey stated and Jim looked at the king a moment before nodding. He motioned the group forward and they all ran after Kain, coming to a control station which had an elevator within it that took them to the base and deposited them at the feet of the Giant. They quickly ran away as the Giant fell and slammed into the base of the Tower of Babil which shuddered but ultimately remained still. In the cleaing dust, the Lunar Whale at last descended towards them and permitted them to come on board. Clearly, Fusoya and Golbez had known another way to the moon. When they were at last safely inside, Kain spoke.

"My mind is my own again. I cannot expect to ask for forgiveness." Kain stated and Edge busted forward out of anger.

"Forgiveness?!" Edge raged at the dragoon. "It's your fault the Giant appeaed in the first place!"

"Stop it!" Rosa yelled and everybody looked at her. "Golbez broke free as well. None of this is your fault."

"What do you mean?" Kain asked, utterly confused by what she had said, as he had not been there at the moment of the revelation.

"Golbez is Cecil's older brother." Rosa explained and Kain was completely taken aback. "A Lunarian named Zemus was making use of Golbez's Lunarian blood as a means to control him." Kain cast his head down a moment, deep in thought.

"Golbez was Cecil's brother." He looked up at the entire group now aboard the Lunar Whale. "Well, it seems I've a debt to repay Zemus too."

"Ha! And when he takes over your mind again?" Edge asked haughtily and Kain faced the prince with a smirk.

"If that should happen then kill me without a second thought." Kain said and Edge scoffed.

"Then count me in too. I've got a couple of blades with Zemus' name on them!" Edge said with exuberant pride and Jim smiled.

"Somehow I think we all have something to give Zemus, right Your Majesty?" Jim said, facing the mouse king who nodded. Cecil faced his companions.

"Let's go, to the moon. But Rosa and Rydia stay behind, this time there may be no homecoming." Cecil said, facing the two females aboard the ship. Immediately they began to protest but Cecil's word was final and he soon ordered them off of the ship. They left in screams o anger.

"Cecil..." Mickey said, but Cecil shook his head.

"Please, Your Majesty, do not argue." Cecil nodded at Jim who solemnly touched the transportation crystal and whisked them off to the moon in seconds, once more depositing them outside the Crystal Palace. The five warriors now moved off to exit the ship, only to be faced with the form of Rosa. "Step aside Rosa."

"I'm not going anywhere." Rosa asserted and Mickey and Jim, as well as Kain, all grinned. "Without me along, who will heal you when you're hurt. Even His Majesty cannot constantly heal you."

"You can't win this one Cecil." Kain said and everyone on the ship agreed that there was no use arguing with a woman (which Mickey knew was plain to see with him and Minnie, as well as Sora and Kairi).

"Then I'll argue no more, your help is welcome." Cecil said with a smile on his face and both Cecil and Rosa embraced. Then the green-garbed form of Rydia appeared with a devilish smirk on his face.

"Just as we planned!" Rydia said and Edge freaked out that she was there. Jim merely laughed. "This battle is ours as mcuh as anyone's, even after we beat Zemus, right Your Majesty?" Mickey chuckled a bit and they all nodded at Rydia. With that, the party of seven one more stepped out onto the surface of the moon. They headed back into the Crystal Palace and saw that Fusoya and Golbex were gone. They moved deeper into the palace, and through a door behind where they had met Fusoya. Just as Fusoya had said, there were eight crystals here shining brightly that almost seemed to be whispering. In the middle of the eight of them was a large white, square pad. In an instant they all seemed to notice that would teleport them to where Zemus was. They stood upon and waited. A large light began growing between the crystals before it reached its zenith and faded...but Mickey and Jim were nowhere to be seen and they were still in the same room.

Mickey and Jim had appeared in a completely alternate plane that was suspended in the air. Beyond, Mickey could see fields of flowers and grass. When he looked another way he saw what seemed to be the castle of Radiant Garden. It almost seemed as though it were a portal to all the worlds, but their companions were nowhere in sight. Instead, surrounding them were eight statues with eight different names inscribed on them. Suddenly, a disembodied voice spoke.

"Welcome King Mickey Mouse of Disney Castle and James Pleiades Hawkins of Montressor, we have been waiting for you." Mickey attempted to summon his Keyblade but somehow noticed that he could not at all. It mattered not because moments later, eight benign figures were floating before them and in front of their statues. The one who had spoken to them was a woman in long flowing green robes with blonde hair and the way she held herself suggested she was the leader of the eight who were gathered here.

"Who are you fellas?" Mickey asked,slightly in awe and slightly in fright.

"We are the crystal deities, eight who are here on the Blue Planet, creators of the Keyblade and rulers of this galaxy." Said the woman in a mystical voice. Jim started forward.

"Wait, creators of the Keyblade?" Jim said confusedly. "Then why call me here, I don't wield a Keyblade."

"Impertinent as always, James Hawkins." Said a male voice next to the woman they had been speaking to. He was wearing a red cloak and had rust-colored hair to match it. "We called you here because you are just as important."

"Precisely," the woman said. "You Jim Hawkins are the tie of light which no darkness can break."

"What does that even mean?!" Jim asked incredulously.

"You will come to understand that in time, but there are far more important matters to discuss. Matters which will forever shape this galaxy." She told them and Mickey looked at her. She chuckled. "Perhaps we should introduce ourselves. I am Gail, deity of the Realm of Light and Wind."

"Flaron." Said the red-garbed man. "Deity of the Realm of Light and Fire." And so they all passed around, describing their names, two of which were very familiar. Oceana and Roxxor of the Realm of Light and of Water and Earth respectively. And then there was Twilik, Nictus, Shardus, and Gairon of the Realm of Darkness and of Twilight, Night, Shadow, and the Underground. It was clear however, that Gail and Flaron were the official leaders of this troupe.

"Now, Your Majesty we must talk. We pray that you do not interrupt for there are many questions that I am sure you have and many that will be answered in our telling. Sit." Gail waved a hand and two plan white chairs suddenly appeared for them all to sit on. Jim and Mickey did as they were ordered, their minds and heart burning with new questions at this appearance and this event.

"We begin over a thousand years ago to when we were first sent to govern this galaxy." Gail began the tale. "At the time we were ten, sent by the One who tasked us to rule this galaxy. In that time this galaxy had fallen deep into darkness and so we needed a high antidote of light. The Keyblade, forged by us as our weapons were all that we believed we needed. As you know Your Majesty, there are four realms, those of Light, darkness, In-Between, and Nothingness. The eight of us you see here are the upholders of light and darkness, four each. It has always been this way, and always will be, but at the time we came here there was one for the Realm In-Between and one for the Realm of Nothingness. Though it was our policies that at the time angels could not interfere with the events of a galaxy, things required desperate measures. And so, we determined that one angel from each of the four realms would go to the galaxy as humans and Keyblade wielders, to find those pure of heart who the Keyblade (which incidentally has a mind of its own), would choose. However, things did not go as expected as our overseer of the Realm of Nothingness declined, knowing more of the future than we do, split into three as was their nature and settled upon a world in the galaxy where no one would speak to them for centuries.

"Regardless, our plan still went forward and we sent three of us deities, Oceana, who being a deity of light had no darkness in her heart, Gairon who used his darkness much like your friend Riku, and Windsor from the Realm In-Between who chose light over darkness and thus had no light in his human heart. These three ended up bringing the Keyblade into this galaxy and after finding many who were struggling and yet pure of heart, they formed the Round of the Crown, the ten general being a tribute to the original ten deities. And so peace was brought, more or less to the galaxy. But soon, Windsor found an exceptionally powerful Keyblade wielder, and so impressed was he with his skill he petitioned him to be made a deity within his realm. Seeing no qualms, we obliged and so our number of deities was now thirteen. The man that was made a deity was known as Luxcrieve Ardintous, Onyx's longtime ancestor."

"Wait, but that would mean Onyx is a deity?!" Mickey yelped out, forgetting his promise to be silent in light of this new information. Flaron shook his head.

"No, Your Majesty, the power of a deity remains only within one who is, and not down their line. Only the Keyblade can pass down a line in someone's blood...but never that trait." Flaron answered him before clearing his throat. "Regardless, time moved on. You have heard of course of Windsor, Gairon, and Oceana's ability to seemingly live forever, this was true because they were immortal. But still, peace did not last long for both Windsor and Luxcrieve, having seen the evils of the world were tempted by it and so began to fall into darkness. Luxcrieve broke the rule that no deity can reproduce with another or a human but Luxcrieve had already been in love with a woman when he became a deity and so Onyx's line was born. Windsor himself then began construction on a weapon known as Oblivion, which has now been lost and never will be found again, in order to take over the worlds. Disturbed as we were by Windsor's actions, we called him back."

"We called the other three deities and the thirteen assembled to hold a trial against Windsor and Luxcrieve." Gail continued with the thread. "As was usual, the wisest human of the time was called to observe the trial. One who our three of the Realm of Nothingness said they trusted: your master, Yen Sid. However, the trial did not go as planned for when the thirteen of us met we made a prophecy. The prophecy seemed to be a beacon of light and darkness and we forgot about Windsor and Luxcrieve's transgressions. However, Windsor misinterpreted the prophecy. You see, there was a mention of two Keybearer's defeating a third. Windsor believed it meant Oceana and Gairon would kill him. Unable to stand it, he and Luxcrieve sought to obtain Kingdom Hearts. We feared for our survival and thus, that year, the seven Princesses of Heart were begun to be made. Over a course of many years they were born, bit by bit sealing off Kingdom Hearts from Windsor's grasp. Windsor knew he might be defeated. Thus, Luxcrieve, became an apprentice to Master Xehanort, intended to be the Keyblade Master of that time. Slowly, Luxcrieve poisoned his mind and in the end, the man who was to be a bright beacon turned to evil. Fearing the fall of the Round we told the secrets of Windsor's betrayal to Terra, Ven, and Aqua who then formed the Chasers, an elect group of Keybearers loyal to the light. But Windsor's plan was in effect and soon after, the Round fell."

"You, yourself, were only being trained at this time and so knew nothing of Windsor, however you were there at the tragedy of Sunset Horizons." Flaron said in his deep voice and Mickey and Jim both nodded in understanding. "Windsor's betrayal changed everything. Xehanort, now obsessed with the darkness was absorbed into Kingdom Hearts upon his defeat. When his body reformed differently his mind was gone but for his name and he became the other part that you know so well. Terra turned to darkness that day because of Windsor's betrayal and things that were meant to happen no longer did."

"Whaddya mean?" Mickey asked, unsure where the deities were going with this.

"Things throughout history that were now meant to happen all changed from Windsor's betrayal." Gail said. "Our anger at his murder of Gairon and Oceana made us make a decision: that Windsor could not return to his deity form. When Xehanort killed him as the Round fell, Luxcrieve became the sole upholder of the Realm In-Between. When Aqua later killed him in her struggle for revenge of the death of Ven, we did not return him as well. With the Realm In-Between in utter chaos, we deities of light and darkness moved here and became as crystals to uphold that realm together. But the fall of the Round was the beginning. With the peacemakers gone, Maleficent rose to power and so Radiant Garden fall. For this matter, Hikaru, son of Ansem the Wise was no longer king and became Gentai Tanaka's mentor, and thus, the first person he lost."

"Wait...all that changed?" Jim said, his head spinning from all the facts thrown at him. "This is so confusing."

"Imagine how we were," Flaron said. "When we found out that the history we saw no longer was. Maleficent's growing power prevented Alexander Garibaldi from killing her twelve years ago. He was meant to die, oh yes, but the witch would have been gone. You see, history changed so dramatically for Gentai Tanaka was meant to be the ruler of the Round of the crown after Alexander Garibaldi had died. He was meant to bring peace. His role became much different, as you know, much like Sora, Riku and Kairi."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Jim asked, even more befuddled now.

"Sora was never meant to be a hero. He was never meant to leave the islands and nor was Kairi to leave Radiant Garden until they were much older. In the original history Riku was to become the Keyblade Master, but this you know. He was to travel the worlds and seal their Keyholes until ultimately dying while sealing Kingdom Hearts. But he was not meant to be known...yet somehow they were in this history."

"That was our mistake." Gail said. "We believed that even with Sora being the Keyblade Master and defying all of history we could still set things on the right track with Gentai Tanaka. We chose his heart to be filled with light so as to show the world that not all men with pure hearts were like Windsor. But we presumed too much of the heart. Demora Suwara was meant to die even originally in history but Gentai was not to have suffered so much loss originally. He had, and when Demora died he fell farther than we thought. Our folly paved the way for Onyx to complete his insane vision of ruling the worlds as he believes he is entitled to by right."

"Gosh fellas, this is all rather confusin'." Mickey said who, like Jim, was still trying to make heads or tails of the whole situation. Flaron let off a booming laugh.

"Of course it is, but it matters not now. We merely needed you to understand what happened, and why the things today are happening." Flaron told the tiny mouse, looking down on him. "The past matters no longer. All that matters is what tomorrow may bring. We no longer look to the future for we are not qualified to do so, having failed one too many times."

"But perhaps this is a good thing." Gail mused. "For because of this, none of you are bound by history's chains, especially Sora, Riku, and Kairi who have defied so much of it already. Thus we believe that perhaps they are the key, no pun intended of course, to defeating Onyx and bringing peace to the galaxy."

"Yes...yes...but they must be!" Flaron shouted out in agreement. "For you are to be the last generation of Keybearers. Certainly there will be Keyblade wielders but they will be to remain on their worlds for when the time comes. After all, to win is to have peace, to lose is to die and be slaves for all of you."

"Gosh, that's an awful lot to put on us." Mickey said, scratching the back of his head. "And you guys can't even tell us what might happen in the future."

"We may be able to give a clue." Gail informed him. "Long have we examined the prophecy that was misread by Windsor. It's facts, or so we believe, did not match up with Windsor's time. And yet, perhaps if they had we would not be here now. Perhaps, our three of the Realm of Nothingness knew what would happen and what the prophecy meant. Perhaps they knew it was for this time that it applied. Alas, we did not. That prophecy may be the only clue you have to defeating Onyx and restoring peace. We shall recount it for you now." Suddenly all eight of the deities rose up and shined brilliantly. Then they began to speak in a frightening voice, words that had not been heard for many years:

Ere the Tower Bastion falls

Darkness at last once more shall call

The Wicked One from its depths

And from Its hands, their world knows death

But at the hands of one with pure light

Their power will be broken in that fight

Yet in the Season of the Witch

Their power shall be given a switch

Three creatures rise all at once

As the Witch breaks down into dust

And as two Keys defeat the third

No more shall sounds of darkness be heard

With that proclamation ended, the deities returned down to the normal level and their voices as well. They started imploringly at Mickey and Jim, almost a trickle of a tear in all their eyes. There was silence for a few moments before Gail spoke again.

"That is the prophecy...your only guide. But know this King Mickey, prophecies can be misinterpreted and often you will not know what they mean until all has come to pass. However, we believe that if you follow your hearts then perhaps the prophecy will mean nothing and be inconsequential to you. But be forewarned, we know of your alliance but know this: when Onyx is defeated the light of Kingdom hearts will shine forth one way or another, its energy released in a beacon, the villains fallen." Gail slumped back, now seeming like a weak and broken human rather than a bright and dignified angel. "We implore you, make history aright and right our mistakes. 'Twas our folly that led you here, to war, to the Giant that we worked so hard to seal with our crystals, and to pain, but it is you who must make it right."

"We will send you now to Zemus." Flaron said. "Perhaps if you defeat him you can begin the road to freedom. We are sorry for the pain we have caused you and all your friends so the least we can do is send you to Zemus." Mickey and Jim nodded, at last understanding what needed to be done.

"We wish you luck, Your Majesty, Captain Hawkins, and may you always place faith in your hearts." With that, a bright light shone forth and Mickey and Jim disappeared from the plane only to arrive once more in the Crystal Palace amidst Cecil and everyone else. They were surprised to see them back but to them, Mickey and Jim had nothing to say. Then they heard Gail's voice echo in the room. "We will guide you to the core." Bright light filled the room again and all seven of them felt themselves squeeze through the teleportation to land on a crystal floor. They looked ahead. Before them was floating a man with black skin surrounded in a blood-red and night-black cloak with a high collar. Facing him, were Golbez and Fusoya. Before the party could utter a word, Fusoya and Golbez both sent a barrage of the highest-tier spells at Zemus. The spells seemed to have no effect but Fusoya had other plans.

"It is nearly done, give your power to Meteor!" Fusoya yelled and Golbez nodded. Together they began to summon energy within them.

"Yes, use all your strength!" Zemus cried in a terrible and discordant voice. Suddenly a black hole opened above Zemus' figure and great streaking and flaming meteor flew out of it. It struck Zemus who cried out in pain a moment. But then he spoke a series of terrible words. "Even when this mortal shell is gone...my spirit...will live on..." And with that Zemus fell, face first, onto the crystalline floor.

"We did it." Golbez pronounced in relief rather than triumph.

"What a waste..." Fusoya said, shaking his head. "Such incredible power, and all of it warped to evil ends." Suddenly there was an outcry from Edge as the party ran over and Mickey breathed in relief that perhaps the battle was already over. Fusoya faced them and smiled. "Oh...you've come."

"Looks like we were too late! You were supposed to save him for me!" Edge announced in mock hurt. Jim walked over and placed a hand on his shoulder.

"Tone it down, Edge." Jim said and everybody laughed. But the time of laughing soon passed as a thick red mist filtered into the room and surrounded Zemus' body. Suddenly, Zemus began to arise, his eyes glowing an eerie red. The red mist converged and became a turret that covered all of Zemus' body. From within the turret, Zemus' voice spoke out.

"I am the wellspring of darkness, fed by Zemus' unbridled hate. I am He who is called Zeromus, I am He who knows naught but hate!!!" cried the voice and gale-force winds suddenly whipped through the area, knocking over many of the group. But Fusoya and Golbez both managed to hold their ground.

"No! Death only fueled the evil within him!" Fusoya cried and Golbez began walking forward.

"Zemus...no, Zeromus, this time I will finish what I set out to do!" Golbez cried and with a great wave of his arm, the red mist parted to reveal a floating blue creature with a hideously ugly face. Golbez once more thrust his hands forward and another meteor spilled onto Zeromus. He did not seem fazed by it, even as Fusoya did the same.

"Meteor isn't working...Golbez, use the crystal I gave you on our way here!" Fusoya cried. Golbez nodded and took out the crystal from the fold of his cloak. He raised it before him but nothing happened. Zeromus gave a laugh.

"You tread the path of darkness. The crystal will shed no light for you!" Zeromus cried and suddenly a black hole opened above the both of them and Zeromus' own meteor came crashing down upon the two, forcing them to crumple beneath it. "Know suffering. Know death. My hate will not be staunched until it has consumed all else. Come, pass into this darkness I have wrought." Mickey gasped as he heard those words for he remembered them from when he had grabbed that crystal so few days ago. Mickey saw Cecil crawling towards Golbez, towards his brother.

"Brother..." Cecil breathed and Golbez held out the crystal, saying that he must be the one to wield it. Cecil took the crystal bequeathed to him and he stood up. "Zeromus-this is the end for you, not us!" Suddenly a great rush of whispers filled the room and they seemed to be friendly voices, invigorating them, restoring all of their strength. At last, all but Fusoya and Golbez stood and Cecil, smirking as he did it, held the crystal before him. Zeromus cried in pain and there was a bright light. When the light waned before them was something that looked like a great insect with a brown husk on its back. There were spindly brown things for arms and the ugly face that was previously on its figure was now transposed in brown on this one. Mickey looked at Cecil and an unspoken agreement was reached: they would all fight together. Rosa was the first to move. With a wave of her hands everyone felt invisible armor wrap its way around them, protecting them from the blows they might receive.

Jim began firing off immediately at the face of Zeromus while Edge stood by his side and kept throwing a number of shuriken at the same exact area. Zeromus howled in pain as they hit. This was only doubled by the fact that Kain used his spear as a jumping point and leapt into the air, his spear cutting right across Zeromus' face. Rydia sent some chunks of ice at Zeromus but a great wall suddenly erected itself, not only reflecting Rydia's attack back at her (whilst cutting her shoulder) but also impeding both Mickey and Cecil's attack. They flew backward and hit the floor before they felt the sweet relief of Rosa's cure spell cast over it. Everyone stopped their attacks for fear of what would happen if they continued. Suddenly, Zeromus began to shake and then a great number of black holes appeared in the room, threatening to engulf all who were within it. Rydia yelled aloud the incantation to a Stop spell and the black holes started opening slower but were unable to stop. Everybody fighting felt their energy being drained and they knew they had to strike at Zeromus together. Rosa extended her hand and the wall before Zeromus suddenly broke.

"Together, everyone!" Mickey yelled and Rydia let off some black magic, Jim fired his gun, Edge his shuriken. Kain jumped at the head of Zeromus and Cecil and Mickey went straight for his body. Within seconds they had sliced clean throught the body of Zeromus. Zeromus howled in pain as he began to disappear in a burst of light.

"I will never die...as long as there is darkness in the hearts of men!!!" Zeromus cried out before suddenly disappearing completely. Fusoya at last got up, as well as Golbez.

"You've truly done it." Fusoya exclaimed happily. "I'd no idea there was such strength in you. You of the Blue Planet may have already grown more powerful than we of the moon."

"It does rather look that way, doesn't it?!" Edge said proudly and everyone laughed at this proclamation...everyone save for Kain.

"But what of the final words Zeromus spoke...? As long as there is darkness..." kain said solemnly and suddenly Mickey spoke up.

"Aw, fellas, there's always light and darkness, it's what makes us whole." Mickey said cheerfully. "And while there's not really darkness anymore, people still think dark thoughts. But usually people use their light to overcome that darkness. Ya see, we all have light and dark, it all depends on what we do with it."

"His Majesty is right..." Fusoya said with a worn yet still happy smile. "There is light and dark thoughts in everyone just as with the twin sets of crystals on this world and the darkened Underworld that rests beneath your planets brighter surface. But like His Majesty said, where there is darkness there is also light, just as your light rose up to overcome the shadow cast by Zemus."

"Well now that you mention it, I did feel a bit aglow!" Edge said and Rydia glared at him, almost as though repulsed.

"Are you joking? It's a miracle Zemus didn't end up using you!" Rydia screeched at him and everyone laughed harder, no one more so than Edge.

"My love of justice kept him at bay no doubt." Edge stated with no ounce of humility present at all.

"Well then, the time has come for me to join my people in their sleep. What will you do?" Fusoya asked of both Mickey and Cecil.

"We will return to our planet." Cecil said. "We are going to rebuild our kingdoms and gather troops for the war His Majesty keeps talking about."

"I see...well, I certainly hope you win. I would join you but I have been waiting a long time for this sleep." Fusoya stated and Mickey nodded in complete understanding. Suddenly everyone saw Golbez walking over, made clear by the booming sound of his armored boots on the floor.

"Might you permit me to accompany you? I cannot return, even to aid His Majesty in this war, not after all I've done. And I would very much like to meet my father's people at least once." Golbez said, his head bowed towards Fusoya.

"I see. Yes, our blood flows in your veins but...you know this will be a very long slumber?" Fusoya said, making sure that this was truly what Golbez wished.

"I do." Golbez stated simply before turning at last to Cecil. "Cecil...you called me 'Brother'...I suppose I can expect no more than that, all you have suffered until now has been because of me." Fusoya then indicated that it was time for them to go and both Golbez and Fusoya began to walk off o the other teleportation pad. Everyone looked to Cecil to see what he would do. Cecil then walked forward.

"Farewell...my brother." Cecil said and Golbez turned to them, his armor melting away to reveal the brown-haired boy who was once known as Theodore. He smiled at Cecil and then he left. The seven companions remaining looked at each other and then set off for the teleportation square again, appearing back in the crystal room. They all set off to leave where they would have time to discuss the alliance; but before Mickey left he looked back on the room with twinkling crystals and he heard Gail's voice one last time before his departure.

You will be the ones to set history aright.

Author's Note: And there it is, one of the most important chapters in this story and possibly the whole trilogy. I know it's a lot to take it so if you don't understand it just let me know and I'll explain it. I hope the battles were good, albeit short, but that's not what I was focusing on. So now we're done with all four worlds and I'm done with adapting!!! Yay!!! Anyhoo...in terms of timing (which may be explained next chapter) Kairi finished second but was closer to Radiant garden. Riku finished slightly earlier than Kairi but was farther away and had more to do. Sora finished the day after both of them and Mickey finished later than Sora. You'll see this more next chapter but things will hopefully start REALLY heating up soon. So please review on this in good detail about what you think is interesting and even what the prophecy might mean. In the meantime, Dare to Be Silly.

P.S. With this chapter we are so close to transcending my length of Twisted Souls Part I which has been the longest thus far and were only a little over halfway.