If we were Together: A year has passed since their separation, and Riku and Sora have grown both in size and in mentality. Sora slept in her chamber regaining her memories while Riku watched over her clouded in the gray spaces between light and darkness.
Author's Note: We're nearing the end of KH2 and I've already announced that the next two stories that will be coming out will be Chain of Memories, which will be a short and sweet one shot I've named "If I could forget" and my original FemSora story called "If it never happened." which is the KH gang living their lives as normal people... kind of like a Slice of life anime.
I hope you will look forward to it, for once they're complete I will begin 358/2 days, then Birth By Sleep. and finally Dream Drop Distance.
Chapter 21: Breaking Point
Xemnas had lined the path between himself and the group with clusters of nobody flunkies. Through every room and every corridor they took Sora found herself beginning to wane. Hers and Donald's curing spells could only help so much as fatigue began to rear its ugly head. Still she pressed on, and with Riku and the others beside her she felt confident that this last battle would put everything to rest once and for all.
They ran into in Vincent and Patty on the way up the path, the armies of heartless swarming below posed a problem, and much to their surprise Vincent told them to press forward, and leave the heartless to them.
"Sora, Mickey… do not forget, once I've destroyed these heartless this castle shall be mine!"
"Now looky here, pipsqueaks. An offer like this doesn't come everyday you know." Patty backed up and joined her partner in crime raising her big ham fists. "Bring 'em on!"
Sora reached out a hand to stop them but Mickey shook his head. "Their hearts have decided.. .we can't interfere." He used Riku's words, remembering their truth and put trust in these temporary allies.
With a wistful glance behind he Sora pressed on with the group. The Keyblade wielders all took head, Kairi, Goofy, and Donald lingering in the back as the three stood and faced Xemnas who looked up woefully at his destroyed Kingdom Hearts.
"Wielders of the keyblade… go forth.. .and bring me more hearts!"
"NO!" The three shouted at once pointing their blades straight at the enemy.
"Denizens of light," he addressed them again. "Why do you hate the darkness?"
"Oh, we don't hate it." Mickey answered. "It's just a little... scary… but the worlds are made up of both light and darkness. You can't have one without the other. Kinda makes you wonder why we are afraid of the dark."
"It's because of who's lurking inside it." Riku answered, Sora giving a nod of agreement.
"Then another question… you accept darkness, but choose to live in the light. So why is it that you loathe us, who teeter on the edge of nothing? We who were banished by both light and darkness."
"That's simple… it's because you mess up our worlds."
"That may be…but what other choice might we have had?"
"Just give it a rest!" Sick of his talk Sora confronted him this time. "You're nobodies, you don't even exist…" There was something wrong about what she had said, it didn't sit right with Sora, but she recalled what Master Yen Sid had said. They pretend to show feelings, but this is a rouse. "You're not sad sad about anything!"
"Heh heh heh," Xemnas let out a dry laugh. "Aren't you a clever girl… you're right. I cannot feel sorrow. No matter what misery befalls the world, no matter you think, how you feel, or how you exist." Xemnas raised his arms, little sparks skittering up from the ground.
Riku turned his gaze to Sora and when she faded he freaked out, looking around things had calmed and neither Xemnas nor Sora were around. "No…. SORA!"
Sora felt off as her world began to haze, and warp and she suddenly found herself alone facing up against Xemnas in front of the tall tower in the city square. "Guys? Oh! What did you do to them?"
"I've done nothing…. we've simply gone to a space where they cannot see, and you will show me the strength or your light!" He squared off with her, Sora's blade rose up ready for action.
Sora…
Sora halted her movements her eyes glazing over as she felt a presence with her holding the blade tightening the grip on it. "Roxas…"
Remember Sora, I'm here with you. We'll face him together, and we'll beat him!
Sora nodded and smiled lightly, her eyes lighting with challenge when she made the first attack. Launching at him she beat her blade into his body in three swift motions. The man wasn't even fighting back… what could he be planning?
Don't let him rile you up. He's playing games with your mind, letting you feel confident.
On cue, Xemnas swallowed himself up into a black ball of darkness fading up towards the building. She followed, looking around for his form.
Above you!
Sora's eyes shot up, Xemnas stood atop the building his face smiling a bit wildly. Sora wasn't sure what came over her, or what force was controlling her body… but she launched up, jumping atop the pillars and running alongside the building with a power she'd never held before.
Xemnas brought out his twin red blades, glowing like lazers. He let his body fall.
Don't let him pass you! Attack him!
Sora halted his fall pushing Xemnas against the building and beating her blade into him and catching him off guard. They both fall to the ground, Sora bringing up her blade to attack again, but was caught off guard herself when those lazers strike ehr across the waist. "AUGH!" She fell back from the pain her eyes shut tightly and she ducked and rolled but she couldn't dodge all of Xemnas' attacks. His blades burned her skin, beat her muscle til it bruised.
CONCENTRATE! GET UP SORA!
She blocked the next attack pushing him back and attacking in return. Her injuries hurt and the confidence she'd had was quickly draining like her stamina. She'd been fighting nearly nonstop since she got to the castle… but she couldn't just give up, she had to beat him. Too many things were relying on her to win.
You're not alone… none of us are.
"Roxas…" Sora's legs buckled some as she blocked attack after attack, dodging and rolling trying to find an opening to attack. Suddenly she felt warmth in her… Roxas' hands clasping over her and they stood together now. She looked at this glowing image of the blonde girl. Her nobody… her other self.
They're all counting on us, Sora. To do our job. To fight against darkness and anything that looks to upset the worlds. We can't let them down.
"You're right. We can't let him win. It doesn't matter how tired my body is… my heart is what's stronger." She smiled. "It's not just mine either… it's ours." Roxas looked a little surprised by her words.
"I'd nearly forgotten what a heart truly is… it's a connection… a connection to the feelings and emotions we get from the things we do, places we see, and the people we meet. Roxas I don't know everything about you.. but I know this because I've seen it… you've seen places, you've done incredible things… and you've made connections with people… Hayner, Pence, Olette… Axel."
Because Xemnas had stopped attacking to watch this interaction Sora took the opportunity to pull out namine's drawing depicting Roxas and Axel and the picture she'd taken with the Twilight gang. "you're different than he is, Roxas. you're your own person, and don't let anyone else tell you otherwise."
"Sora… heh... You really are something." Roxas smiled at her other self, content with her decision to stay with her.
"So.. .Roxas." Xemnas addressed Sora's other half with a deep scowl. "It would seem you've accepted your fate."
"Yes," Roxas spoke first, and spoke with Sora intuned. "Now it's time for you to face yours."
"We'll see about that…" Xemnas faded into black. Sora frowned knowing this was far from over. She turned to address Roxas but found her gone.
"Huh...Roxas?"
"Sora! Where are you?" She heard Kairi call out panicked. Suddenly as quickly as it had appeared the space in which Xemnas had brought them to faded. She heard Riku's voice now…
"Sora! Answer me!"
She fell from the warp in space and onto the ground. Her friends crowding around her. "You're okay!" Mickey helped her up and she winced holding her side. Riku was beside her in an instant holding her up.
"You're injured!" He touched her wound and looked to Donald. "Heal her, hurry."
"Right!" Donald raised his staff blinking in confusioin when Sora raised a hand to stop him.
"I'm fine… it's just a scratch. Save your magic for the real battle" She shook her head and leaned up on Riku to right herself up. "Where's Xemnas?"
Eyes darted around searching for the organization leader… and where they found him was smack dab in the middle of Kingdom Hearts. "XEMNAS! NO! DON'T!"
"That fool Ansem said that the heart's power is beyond his understanding… but it's not beyond mine!" Xemnas boasted calling for the power of all the hearts still lingering within the mass. "Hearts are the source of all power!"
In a blinding light Xemnas disappeared. Sora broke from Riku runnin forward to the edge of the platform. "XEMNAS!"
"We're not gonna let him get away now!" Mickey declared. Kairi pointed spotting a door appearing from the void… The door to Kingdom Hearts.
"Xemnas must be inside." Sora stepped forward and then fell back holding her waist. Riku caught her before she fell.
"Just wait a second, Sora. You can't just go rushing in. You're injured. At least let Donald heal you some."
"How many potions do we have Donald?" Sora asked leaning on Riku again and letting him sit her up against the wall.
"Only a few left… Do you want one?"
"Yes… hand me one and go get more from the moogle downstairs. I'll take that long to rest and no longer. We have to finish this." She looked up at Riku. "We need to finish this, so we can all be together and at peace."
"I'd like to help you out Sora, but did you forget about the army of heartless downstairs? I'm sure anyone else lingering aside from Pete and Maleficent have all bailed out, and that includes the moogles." Goofy explained.
"What about the gummi ship? Is there anyway to get to it?"
"No… we're stuck here until this is done. What we've got is what we've got."
"So this is it… it's the last battle… the fight to end all fights." She takes the potion, most of the damage being cured but not all the way.
"There's no turning back… once we go through that door we'll be fighting for our lives, and the destinies of the worlds. They're the ones that gave us this doorway, and they want us to be their guardians."
"Then I guess there's no way we can lose then." Sora grinned and stood up.
"Sora, are you sure about this?"
"Yeah… we're together now, nothing can stop us." She pat her heart with her palm then linked their free hands together. "We just gotta believe, right?"
"Heh, right." Riku smiled and they all faced the doorway. "I've missed that optimism of yours, Sora."
Together the ketblade wielders stood, and with their aligned blades they released their power and unlocked the door. Inside chaos awaited, Xemnas at the top of it surrounded by a maze and cluster of buildings and insaneness. He tossed buildings at them as if they were toys for his pleasure. Sora, Donald, Goofy, and Riku became separated from Kairi and the King when the doors closed, but they stood firm ready for Xemnas' assault.
In the dark maze Sora recalled how they'd defeated ansem, tearing the massive form he had taken piece by piece before going at the heart… or in his case the main source of power. Little by little she and the others chinked away the armor, ducking through the obstacles and avoiding little death traps.
Using the buildings Xemnas tossed to jump from the ground to the massive monster form Sora landed on a somersault on the grate of one of the guns. "There's power being charged, we gotta knock em out!" She heard Riku shout over the high pitch winds blowing past em. Nobody flunkies began to appear out of no where… and she immediately hit one wth her blade, causing it to lose control of his body momentarily enough for the strong winds to send it flying into the power source of the blaster.
"That's it! Riku! Donald, Goofy! Knock the nobodies into it!"
"It's gonna fire! Watch out!" Riku led the way speed jumping to the opposite gun. Sora followed along with donald and goofy. They repeated the process seeing the massive damage being done with the unconscious nobody husks. "That's it! KEEP IT UP!"
One gun down, they moved to the opposite side again finishing it off and making a leap further up the mass. They made it to the large white pillar serving as the torso of the form, but became blocked off by an unsteady door as more dusks and flunkies try to halt their advancement. While sora beat her blade into the door the other beat back the nobodies doing their best to avoid the lazers that beamed in in an attempt to stop them but only succeeded in taking out some of its own forms.
The energy core was stopped and the gang made its way all the way up to the head where an armored figure sat upon a throne like a ruling tyrant. Was this Xemnas in his true form? It seemed so… lazy… so weak. She immediately attacked the body finding it not such an easy task to him him as he brought up random barriers and sent sharp spears and lances to cut down her assault.
Still it didn't seem as if this form was even trying to attack them much. So when the form let out a massive cry of defeat she was genuinely shocked. The empty land in which they'd been sucked into vanished and they all appeared back on the top of the white castle with Xemnas taking a knee looking positively pathetic.
"I need more rage… I need more hearts…" Xemnas practically whimpered out. Sora, for some strange reason felt such pity for him. She lowered her weapon.
"Xemnas… there's more to a heart then just anger and rage… don't you remember?" She stepped forward, trying to get through to him, maybe touch his true self somehow.
"Unfortunately…" he wheezed out and looked up at Sora with pitiful gold eyes. "I don't." His form vanished in a cloud of black and Sora gave a heavy sigh. Doomed to drift back into darkness, that's what Master Yen Sid had said… still it was sad.
She turned to the others, she thought she would feel a sense of accomplishment… but really all she felt was a lingering desire to just go home. Things here in the inbetween world were making her heart feel heavy and saddened and she wanted to feel like this entire battle was really over.
While the others celebrated Riku veered off from the group staring out at the black mass with a sour face. Sora strolled over to him touching his back. "Let's go home, Riku."
"I had given into the darkness.." Riku said with a bitter tone.
"Riku…" Sora shook her head on a sigh.
"How am I gonna face everyone?" Riku frowned and turned to face Sora, but was taken aback by the face she was making.
"Like this!" She squished her cheeks together and crossed her eyes. She held it for a good minute til she saw the laugh escape. Ah, there was her Riku. She released her face to grin at him.
The building began to shake, indicating the structure was unstable and about to collapse. It was time they got out of there.
"I'll open a path…" Riku held out his palm, but when nothing appeared his eyes widen. "Huh… wha?"
"You don't belong in the dark realm anymore, Riku." Mickey explained, showing Riku that he was now a warrior of light, not darkness.
"How do we get out of here, your majesty?" Donald asked
Sora looked around trying to wrack her brain for a way out… until she spotted a ghostly blonde figure. A sort of Deja Vu feeling swelled in her chest when the girl lifted a hand and opened a dark path before disappearing. Mickey and Donald ran right to it shocked by the sudden appearance.
"Who did that?"
What? Hadn't they seen the girl? Who was she? Sora stepped up as her friends ran through the dark, Pluto ad Goofy first, then the king and Donald leaving her Kairi and Riku the last ones to enter. As she and Kairi walked up to the portal the blonde girl reappeared smiling in their direction.
"Thank you, Namine." Kairi said, Sora glanced at her best friend and then at Namine. So this was the girl she was suppsoed to thank. She opened her mouth to say just that-
"You see, we meet again just like we promised."
"Huh?" Sora raised a brow and gasped when Roxas stepped through out of her body like a ghost.
"You said we would see each other again, but we may not recognize each other." Roxas smiled at Namine, the two girls sharing a look of friendship that had been through many tides. "I knew it was you, though."
"mmm I did too, it's kinda strange."
"I think I understand…" Roxas started holding her chest. "I see myself the way you remember me, and you see yourself the way I remember you."
"Mmm, I always thought that nobodies were doomed to fade back into darkness." Namine said with some sadness in her voice.
"Yeah, but you and I didn't." Roxas said with a grin. "We got to meet our original selves."
"So then," Namine's eyes lit up with hope. "We can be together again!"
"Yeah, anytime Kairi and Sora are together." Roxas rounded Namine to stand beside her the way Sora and Kairi were. Like mirror images they stared and Kairi feeling the warmth of the moment turned to her best friend.
"We'll be together everyday, right Sora?"
"Of course!" Sora made a fist signaling a silent promise. Roxas and Namine, happy that they would no longer be alone, returned to their bodies in a soft light that that covered their original selves in a familiar sense of warmth and comfort. Sora looked at her body wondering if there were any changes.
"Don't worry," Riku laughed a little. "You're all still you." He ruffled her hair a little.
"Come on you two, let's go home." Kairi walked up stepping into the dark. She turned back waiting for Sora and Riku to join, but something was wrong.. the dark portal began to close. "SORA! RIKU!" She gasped when the portal closed in leaving her alone in the dark. "NO!"
Sora ran through the spot where the dark portal had been looking around a sense of panic welling up in her throat. "What? Gah!" She teetered and fell up against Riku as the castle shook again. "What's going on?" Riku scowled holding Sora protectively as his eyes sscanned the area.
"We were too cocky… looks like our fight isn't over."
*Le Gasp* Are we really down to the last chapter? I better make it count. Please look forward to it, and also look forward to the immediate release of "If it Never Happened"
Next Chapter: Light in the Darkness