I HOLD NO CLAIM TO ANY OF THE ORIGINAL KINGDOM HEARTS CHARACTERS!
Naylene, Lilianna, Lucia, Kieran, Rayna, Claire, Renee, Zeke, Sienna, Jeanne, Melanie, and Charel are my OC characters from my Final Fantasy Stories!
I knew you'd be happy to see Mateus and the others!
Chapter Twenty
Support Behind Enemy Lines, Part 2
"It's…my island."
"You mean this is where you're from?" Alana glanced around the island, taking in the sand and the water. She had never seen a beach before. It seemed…peaceful.
"Yeah," He nodded. "This is definitely it." But if his island had been destroyed by darkness, how was it here now? Hollow Bastion only stood because they couldn't find the Keyhole without the Princess' of Heart, it wasn't the same for his island. The Heartless had won here, so how?
"This world has been connected."
"What was that?" Goofy cried as parts of the island began to disappear and shake and change.
"Tied to the darkness… Soon to be completely eclipsed. There is so very much to learn. You understand so little. A meaningless effort. One who knows nothing can understand nothing."
The island was now cracked and corrupt with darkness spreading everywhere. Over on the shore stood Riku's form, staring out over the dark water. Sora wasted no time rushing to his friend but it wasn't Riku's voice that exited the mouth; it was Ansem's.
"Take a look at this tiny place. To the heart seeking freedom this island is a prison surrounded by water. And so this boy sought out to escape from his prison. He sought a way to cross over into other worlds and he open his heart to darkness." Riku turned to face, Ansem taking his true form now.
"Riku!" Sora growled, reaching out.
Ansem shook his head. "Don't bother. Your voice can no longer reach him where he is. His heart belongs again to the darkness. All worlds begin to darkness, and also end. The heart is no different. Darkness sprouts within, it grows, consumes it. Such is its nature. In the end, every heart returns to the darkness whence it came." He moved, placing himself behind the group. "You see, darkness is the heart's true essence."
"That's not true!" Sora called out. "The heart may be weak, and sometimes it may even give in, but I've learned that deep down there's a light that never goes out!"
Ansem shook his head before beginning to float from the ground, staring down at the group before him in disappointment. "So, you have come this far and still you understand nothing. Every light must fade, every heart return to darkness!" A monstrous creature appeared behind Ansem, making everyone grip their weapons.
"All right, I'm sick of you, you bastard," Geoffrey lifted his hand, summoning his lance again. "I didn't get a chance at you at Hollow Bastion, so allow me the chance to pummel you twofold."
Ansem gave a sneer. "You're welcome to try."
The group attacked Ansem and his guardian stuck close together but the creature would get distracted by constant attacks from Donald and Alana, leaving Ansem open from attacks from the others. Alana wanted nothing more than to help defeat Ansem but they couldn't do so with his pet hovering over him and healing him so she made it her personal mission to kill this thing first before joining in to help the others.
Geoffrey knew that this fight was going to be difficult but Ansem's stamina was just ridiculous; and that cocky smirk that was glued to his face didn't help with his anger. He had learned some of his battle tactics from Alana since they had their fight at Hollow Bastion but having not watched the battle himself he felt at a bit of a lost and had to create a strategic plan that worked around the others. Kiera was doing the same while keeping an eye on Sora as he remanded over and over for Ansem to return Riku to them.
It wasn't really working.
Ansem floated off again a while later just in time to dodge bits of the island as more of it fell to pieces, giving into the darkness. Ansem and his pet were waiting on them again though, that infuriating smirk on his face still.
"You bastard!" Geoffrey roared, rushing forward as he twirled his lance. Sora followed right after him but when the others tried, something blocked them, leaving Geoffrey and Sora alone to face the large, black giant heartless that pulled itself up out of the ground before them, separating them from Ansem again.
"Dammit!" Alana banged on the force blocking them. "Not again!" She remembered this from Hollow Bastion. Geoffrey had been on the other side then, though. "We have to find a way through!"
The giant was taken down in merely minutes, leaving Geoffrey and Sora to fight Ansem on their own as the others tried to get through the shield again.
"This guy's strong," Sora panted, favoring his left foot. He had landed on it wrong after Ansem had knocked him aside.
"Not giving up yet, are you?" Geoffrey teased from behind gritted teeth.
Sora had to pause for a moment; he had sounded just like Riku there.
"Of course not! I'm just getting started!"
Geoffrey grinned. "Then let's make this bastard regret messing with us!"
Geoffrey couldn't lie; Sora had impressed him. For a teen who had never been in a real fight before arriving in Traverse Town, the young teen had caught on very well. He was a natural, as Alana liked to tell him. Despite not having a lot of experience, he had come so far, holding his own and then some. Geoffrey was proud of him; very much so. Was this the same type of pride that Lucient felt when he had trained him and Kieran? Did Leon and Lucia feel this pride towards Alana and Kiera?
A roar erupted as Sora and Geoffrey's combined attacks landed a deadly blow on Ansem and everything around them changed into a dark abyss. The shield was released, allowing the others to join the duo again, all on high alert. If they weren't careful they could very well die here.
"Sora!" Alana reached out and grabbed the young boy's arm as they all floated in a dark fog. Geoffrey grabbed Donald and Kiera latched to Goofy, making sure that if they were separated then they'd at least be with someone. No one wanted to be alone against this enemy.
"Behold the endless abyss!" Ansem's voice rang all around them. "Within it lies the heart of all worlds: Kingdom Hearts!" There, before them, not floated a patch of land with a large, white door on it. "Look as hard as you are able. You'll not find even the smallest glimmer of light. From those dark depths are all hearts born. Even yours. Darkness conquers all worlds!"
In a blink of an eye, the strangest place appeared before them. It was a strange, living creature, like a mix of Monstro and Oogey Boogey's Manner.
A force then grabbed them all, ripping them off into separate directions. Everything was spinning out of control but Alana and Sora kept a firm grip on each other as they fell, refusing to let go. It was a matter of life and death now, and only the weak gave in. Alana refused to. She had to think of a way to-
"Not so fast!"
Alana's eyes widened at the voice moments before something caught her foot. Lifting her head, Sora hanging to her hands, she stared at the form that floated above them. She couldn't believe it.
"It's you again!"
"Yep! It's me!" It was the white, hooded form from Hollow Bastion, the one that had helped her with Ansem before. "Ya'll went to Neverland, right? Then you should know how to fly. You're gonna need it here."
"We can fly here?" Sora sounded shocked.
"That's right. This is gonna get nasty so I hope you guys are ready for the worst. Go ahead and try it." She watched in silence as Sora and Alana were able to start floating and dropped Alana's leg so they could move up next to her. "See?"
"Why do you keep helping us?" Alana demanded. "What do you want?"
"There was a soft chuckle. "We want our homes and loved ones back. That's not so wrong, is it?"
Alana turned her head as Sora gave a soft smile at her. He could understand why she was being cautious. But for right now they were going to need all the help they could get. She had helped against Ansem before so he would trust her; for now.
"You were one of the three that Mateus and the others told us about, right? The ones that came ahead of us?"
"That's right," The woman nodded, her voice light and chuckling. "If we had time I would have stayed and played with that Emperor a bit more but I'm afraid that woman would have eaten me alive if I even attempted to flirt with him. Such is my fate, though," She lifted her hand to her head in a dramatic pose before dropping it again. "So, are you ready to end this?"
Giving a frim nod, Sora tried to see inside her hood but no matter how close her got or haw hard he stared he could see nothing but a black hole. Was it some kind of magic that she was using to do that? Was her identity really that important?
"What's your name? Sora asked her. "We can't keep calling you Hooded, can we?"
"No, I suppose not," She seemed to think hard for a minute. "You can call me Xeilas." That was a strange name, no doubt. "Now," She turned and pointed at the top of the strange structure. "We gotta take care of that bastard before we can get the others," A large form of Ansem was connected by tentacles, holding that strange Keyblade Riku had held.
"Jesus, he's ugly," Alana growled, gripping her blade tightly. "So ugly it should be considered a sin!"
Sora shook his head as Alana took off at the large form alone before following her with a determined look. Xeilas shook her own head, frozen for a moment as she watched the young woman begin her attack.
"You'll never change, Alana," She sighed to herself, trying not to laugh. "I suppose that's my fault, though. Then again, I'd rather you be like me than like anyone else…"
Xeilas lifted her right hand and a sword materialized there, it's hand a bright white with a blue jewel that matched her heart-shaped locks on her jacket. From the handle hung a Green Wayfinder, the glass charm shining brightly. She stared at it for a moment before closing her eyes.
"Just a little longer, Ven."
A roar sounded and Alana watched as Xeilas zoomed past her, dodging past Ansem's attacks and striking his face with repeated blows. Ansem went to swat the hooded woman away but she gave off a cry, a wave of energy radiating from her body and knocking his arms away as she resumed her attacks. Alana wore a huge grin and zoomed in to help, Sora right behind her. The duo followed Xeilas' lead, attacking when she attacked and retreated when she did. Alana found herself getting more and more amazed with this strange woman's abilities and more and more sure that she was…
~You're giving me too many things
Lately you're all I need
You smiled at me and said, Don't get me wrong I love you
But does that mean I have to meet your father?
When we are older you'll understand
What I meant when I said no,
I don't think life is quite that simple~
"He wants to pick us off one by one and so he separated us," Geoffrey commented, setting Donald down.
The two of them had been sent to a black void, the Symbol of the Heartless shining blue on the floor. Many Heartless had already attacked them but the duo were holding their own, fighting them off until a bright stone shone. Destroying that freed them from the black void, forcing them to fight the strange face of this structure. Geoffrey had been fast to tap into the ability to fly and had grabbed Donald so the duck wouldn't fall before he could tap into his own.
"Sora and Alana are up there, but where are Goofy and Kiera?" The duck had pointed to the large battle that was happening towards the top of this strange structure and Alana's battle cries were loud enough to reach their ears.
"I'm sure they're around," Geoffrey frowned at the face that glared at them. "If we destroy this…ship, we'll weaken Ansem."
Donald looked at him. "Are you sure?"
"Not really, but what else do we have to go on?" Geoffrey began to spin his lance with a firm look. "We have to do something."
"But…but how? It's so…"
"Stand strong," A voice made the duo turn. Geoffrey's eyes widened. "The end is not far. Don't let your guard down."
"It's you again."
"You helped with Maleficent!" Donald cried, pointing a finger.
"Indeed. You may call me Xientclu, but now is not the time for introductions. True heroes face danger even when they're afraid." He summoned up a lance of his own, double sided with blue gems crawling up the side of it like vines. "This is the first step to saving everyone; let's make it count."
Geoffrey wanted to talk to this man some more, to make sure that he was who he thought he was, but right now was not the time. They had something more important to do; he could get all answers later.
"Donald, are you ready?"
"Let's go get 'em!"
Xientclu watched as Donald and Geoffrey rushed to unleash a barrage of attacks on the Face of the structure, a small smile gracing his lips.
"You've grown so strong, little Geo. You kept your promise. Now it's time for me to keep mine."
A rain of fire shot past Geoffrey and Donald, forcing the duo to retreat a bit as the face roared in pain and began to shoot black balls of mist at them. Xientclu swiped the darkness aside with his lance, raising his hand to release more fire before leading in on another physical attack. Donald followed his lead with the fire balls and remained back as Geoffrey joined the other lance wielder, falling in sync with him just like he had back when they fought Maleficent together. A smile graced Geoffrey's face. He had no doubts anymore. He was sure this man was…
~The daily things
(like this and that and what, what)
That keep us all busy
All confusing me
That's when you came to me and said, Wish I could prove I love you
But does that mean I have to walk on water?
When we are older you'll understand
It's enough when I say so,
And maybe somethings are that simple~
"What the hell is this?" Kiera demanded, staring at the structure around them.
She and Goofy had been blasted into the creature. It reminded her of being inside of Monstro; the very thought of that just made her want to puke. They stood before what appeared to be the heart of this creature. Just outside they could see Sora and Alana fighting a large form of Ansem with a white-hooded person, and barely made out Geoffrey and Donald fighting with another hooded form against the large face at the front of it.
"This looks like the heart of the structure!" Goofy said happily. "If we destroy this then we can help the others and defeat Ansem for good!"
"You are correct."
The voice made the duo turn to find a familiar form standing behind them. Kiera recognized the voice coming from behind the dark hood instantly.
"Xebliya!" Kiera cried out, running towards the older woman. "When Naylene told us that three hooded forms came to fight Ansem, I knew it was you!"
"I had feared that Ansem would prove to be too much for you but it seems that I was wrong," Xebliya admitted. "the three of us were not needed after all."
"Needed or not," Kiera began to scold her. "You're here so let's work together. With stronger people this will be over faster!"
Xebliya chuckled. "Your enthusiasm is heartwarming, but don't get too cocky. There could be some tricks up Ansem's sleeves. He's a cunning man; believe me."
"You've met before all of this?" Goofy sounded surprised.
"Whether or not we have is irrelevant. What matters now is his defeat."
"Agreed," Kiera nodded, regripping her Keyblade. "Let's go get him, Goofy!"
"Right behind ya, Kiera!"
As the duo charged towards the Heart of the Artillery, Xebliya watched with a smile. The child had definitely grown over the course of this hard and trying journey.
"Such a pure heart. She holds the same power that you did, Bailey. Just like you, she will be able to control both darkness and light; if she keeps on the right path. I will do all that I can to do just that. We cannot let them get their hands on her."
Turning from the duo as they attacked the heart, Xebliya lifted a hand and shot ice at all the Artillery around them, refusing to let their counter attacks affect or reach Kiera and Goofy as they brought about the final destruction of the large structure that Ansem had created.
~When you walk away
You don't hear me say please
Oh baby, don't go
Simple and clean is the way that you're making me feel tonight
It's hard to let it go Hold me
Whatever lies beyond this morning
Is a little later on
Regardless of warnings the future doesn't scare me at all
Nothing's like before~
With the group reunited, all nine of them faced Ansem's large form a final time together. His strength was ridiculous, even with them all, and he seemed to be one step ahead of them. Poor Donald and Goofy held on for as long as they could but Xebliya ordered them to step aside, ordering Donald to heal from afar as Goofy blocked whatever magic Ansem used to try and take them out. Xebliya stayed back as well, only using magic to fight Ansem, leaving the others to rush in for more physical blows. They all jumped around like fleas, hitting the man brutally until the structure began to explode and Ansem retreated from it. Flying out of the way of the explosion, Sora barely had time to catch his breath before Ansem appeared again in his usual form, anger clear on his face.
Breathing hard, Kiera and Sora stood side by side, baring their Keyblades at the man as the others stood around them, waiting for his next move. His eyes moved over them all, his glare settling on Xebliya the longest, before he tried to regain his composure and brushed the hair from his face.
"It is futile. The Keyblades alone cannot seal the door to darkness," He turned from the group, reaching a hand out towards the door behind him. "Kingdom Hearts! Fill me with the power of darkness…supreme darkness!"
The white doors began to open, a black fog spreading from it. Xebliya placed a hand on Sora's shoulder and leaned down to whisper something in his ear. His eyes grew wide before he moved forward, determination on his face.
"You're wrong," He told him. "I know now, without a doubt. Kingdom Hearts… Is light!"
As if on cue, the dark fog turned into a bright light, making everyone shield their eyes. Ansem looked shocked beyond belief.
"What? Light? But…Why?"
Kiera had to shield her eyes from the light and could only listen as Ansem cried out as the light died down. Opening her eyes again, Kiera felt a frown pull on her lips. Ansem was gone, leaving just that white door that was barely open.
"They're gone," Alana looked around for Xebliya, Xeilas, and Xientclu. "Why did they leave?"
"They just came to help defeat Ansem," Geoffrey answered. "They have secrets of their own. You didn't really think they'd stick around, did you? It's never that easy."
No, it's not," Alana hung her head.
"Come on!" Sora called out. "We've got to shut the door!"
"Stop staring a keep pushing!" Donald ordered Goofy before giving a cry. Keira chanced a look into the door and found thousands of Heartless forming and staring to make their way to the door.
"Push harder, guys!" Alana growled, shoving against the doors with Donald and Goofy. Geoffrey did the same with the other door with Kiera and Sora but they didn't want to budge.
"They're too heavy!" Sora growled.
"Don't give up!" A voice made them falter and Kiera jumped as another hand appeared by her face, pulling the door shut from the other side. She looked up in shock. Riku gave them a smile. "Come on! Together, we can do it!"
"But-but if we close it with you inside," Kiera faltered, stopping her pushing as Riku pulled. "If you're still inside you'll never get out! We can't do that!"
"Don't worry!" A high voice called from behind Riku. "There will always be a door to the light!"
"Your Majesty!" Goofy and Donald both called out as a mouse popped up, defeating Heartless with a Keyblade of his own.
"Sora, Kiera, let's close this door for good!" Mickey called.
"But," Kiera and Sora exchanged looks.
"You can trust King Mickey," Goofy told the duo.
"Now!" Riku called to Mickey. "They're coming!"
The mouse turned with a final smile. "Donald, Goofy, thank you."
"Kiera," Riku calling her name made her glance up. He wore a sad smile. "I'm sorry."
She shook her head. "Hurry up and find a way out so I can beat you up for it later."
He chuckled before looking at Sora now. "Take care of her; both of them."
With a firm nod to his friend, Sora gave a final shove, closing the door. Together, Sora and Kiera pulled out their Keyblades, locking the door to Kingdom Hearts, leaving Mickey and Riku trapped on the other side. The doors disappeared, leaving a long, white trail behind it that led off into the darkness.
Kiera watched as Sora stood there in silence, most likely relieving memories with Riku and their island. She couldn't stand it and yanked her to him, holding his close. She felt like crying but she held them back. She had to believe that Mickey and Riku would be fine. She had set out to find Bailey and Selia and Lucient but now she had two new people to help find. She had to be strong.
Over Kiera's shoulder, Sora saw Kairi standing there, somehow, looking surprised and lost.
"Kairi!" Sora let go of Kiera and ran towards her, grasping her hand. The land she was standing on was sand from their island and it was pulling her away.
"Sora!"
"Kairi, remember what you said before? I'm always with you, too. I'll come back to you. I promise!"
Kairi felt her tears swell up. "I know you will!"
Their hands were forced apart as Kairi was pulled further away. Sora kept calling to her, assuring her that everything would be okay, but his voice was lost as bright lights began to fall around them and Destiny Island began to pop up around her again.
Kiera ran forward herself, determined to say something before the sister she had lost so long ago was once again forced away from her.
"He's not the only one! Next time, we'll meet as sisters!" Kiera called to her. "We've got some major catching up to do!"
Kairi waved her arms as she began to disappear; apparently, she had heard that. "I'll be waiting!"
Dropping her own arms, Kiera hung her head until Alana slung an arm around her neck, pulling her close. She gave her a soft smile before returning her hug. They still had a long way to go before everything was back to normal. A long, long way.
"What do we do now?" Sora asked, looking at Geoffrey. He had been talking to Goofy and Donald, obviously talking about getting a few days of rest before their next course of action.
"The only thing we can do," The older teen turned and looked at the white road that had been behind Kingdom Hearts. "We continue on; together."
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