Me: This is going to be another serious chapter, but I promise you that this is the last of the serious chapters for now.
Larxene: Thank the goodness that is Kingdom Hearts this is the last mushy one.
Axel: She's a major mush basher if you haven't noticed already.
Me: Yes Axel we've noticed…but we love her anyway.
Axel: (mutters: some of us do at least)
Me: Oh my friend asked me another question that does bare clarification.
The Question: What are the romantic parings in this fic?
The Answer: The obvious ones are Sora & Kairi, Riku & Fuu, Roxas & Namine, Leon & Rinoa, Cloud & Tifa (Quick side note, I am not opposed to the Cloud & Aerith paring…but I am more partial to the Cloti). Yuffie keeps attempting to start a Yuffie & Vincent but it's not happening here…not completely sold on those either. Cid & Shera (That will be touched on later in this chapter) and one I think could happen…Yuffie & Zexion.
Hope that answers the question of who's with whom…which reminds me…
WARNING!!: this chapter would be rated PG-13 if it were in theaters…mostly for the implication of...you know.
The fleet of Gummy ships roared into space.
Sora's gummy ship along with the King's and an additional Kingdom Model Gummy ship were attached to the bottom of the Highwind, as it would take at least a day to get to the World that Never Was with the fleet in tow.
The idea of spending a whole day on board a bunch of smaller cramped gummy ships for a whole day did not set well with everyone but fortunately Cid predicted this and attached six short range transporter gummies to the bottom of the Highwind on the front and back so they could allow transport between them.
Everyone was taking full advantage of this, but the mood amidst the main party involved was rather somber.
Fuu had been released from her hospital room and was standing on the bridge of the Highwind as she watched space fly past her. She then heard footsteps behind her, but she didn't even have to look, she could feel who it was in her heart.
"Hey." She said as Riku walked up beside her.
"Hey there." He said as he kissed her on the cheek, she didn't even blush this time…everyone knew it…why hide it?
"Warm." She said as Riku blushed this time. She had said his lips were warm.
"T-thanks."
"Nervous?"
"More than you know."
Fuu then furrowed her brow.
"Home?" For once Riku didn't understand her.
"Huh?"
"After? Home?" she replied…now he got it.
"Oh…I don't know what we'll do after this…I guess I'll go back to the Destiny Islands, and you will go back to Twilight Town." He replied as the reality sank in that they may not get to stay together.
"Not home." Fuu said as she reminded Riku that she had disowned Twilight Town along with Seifer and his gang.
"Oh right…I guess you could come home with me…but wait what will my adopted parents think…they already are going to rip into me for sneaking off on this quest, not to even mention the fact that I was gone a whole year." Riku explained as he realized that there was a lot to figure out.
"Survive." Fuu said with a chuckle.
"Well…if you're there with me." Riku said as she smiled at him, then a light bulb went off in her head.
"ZACK!!" she said as Riku realized that there was a plan.
"Hey you're right…if I could convince Zack to move to the Destiny Islands with us, maybe you can live with him...that is if I can trust him with you." Riku said as she smirked.
"Safe." She said as he smirked back.
"Yeah…besides if he tries anything with you…"
"Dead meat." she said with a villainous grin as the two laughed, then leaned in for another kiss.
Sora and Kairi were walking hand in hand down a corridor when they started hearing a thumping noise that did not sound like it was machinery. They came closer to a door with Cid's spear leaning against the wall; they looked at each other confused, as the thumping stopped.
After a while Sora knocked on the door.
"Oh (Naughty word)!!" Cid's voice came from inside as a distinct female voice was heard giggling.
"Beat it Cloud…it's not yer's and Tifa's turn yet!!" Cid yelled through the bulkhead.
"What are you talking about?" Sora asked though the door…there was a pause…a long pause. Finally the door cracked open and Cid peaked through it…he paused once again. Finally…
"Aren't you two a little young?" he asked as the two looked at each other confused.
"Oh (Naughty word)…Shera put a shirt on!!" Cid yelled and closed the door back only earning more confused looks from the very confused Sora and Kairi.
After a few minutes the door opened and Cid and Shera just stood there innocently.
Sora and Kairi both cracked confused eyebrows.
Cid thought long and hard on how to get out of the slightly embarrassing situation…then he decided…"oh why not be evil."
"Say why don't you two go find Cloud and Tifa and tell them that it's their turn." Cid said with a smirk as Shera elbowed him in the gut with a furious look on her face.
"Their turn for what?" Kairi asked as Cid resisted the urge to wet himself from laughing.
"Oh they'll know." Cid said as Shera just shrugged "If you can't beat the… join them."
"Okay…" Sora said confused and the two turned with a shrug as they left to go find Cloud and Tifa.
After they were out of ear shot Cid and Shera lost it.
"S-s-s-Shera…" Cid said as he started to recover.
"Y-y-yes s-s-s-sir?" she asked.
"Wanna get something for the celebration afterwards?" Cid asked as he pulled a digital camera from his pocket and smiled sinisterly. Shera smiled just as evilly and they ran off to see if they could snap a photo of Cloud and Tifa's face when Sora and Kairi delivered his message…they succeeded.
Zexion was doing his best to relax, it was going to be a huge battle, and he wanted to conserve his energy. To that end he decided to sit back and read a book. However a bouncy young ninja had other plans.
"What'cha reading?" she asked as he looked around praying it wasn't him she was talking to, but alas…
"Some book called Final Fantasy seven…" He was about to elaborate when she moved closer.
"Sound's boring." She replied. Oddly enough he agreed with her but he didn't say it.
"Aren't you usually bothering Vincent Valentine?" he asked curiously, she shrugged with a smile.
"Yeah but I just do that because the jerk won't even acknowledge my existence." Yuffie said as she sat back with her arms crossed.
"I know the feeling…except I'm not even supposed to exist." He replied as he finally put the book down.
"Yeah that's what I hear…but your nothing like those other guys…I mean the five that we're going to be fighting soon." Yuffie encouraged.
"Am I?" Zexion asked as he proceeded to explain to her his actions in Castle Oblivion, but she took it all in stride.
"Okay so you made some bad moves on your part, but I guess that's why you had your reunion." Yuffie said as Zexion paused.
Maybe she had a point, and that Sora had been right all along. Maybe Ienzo did give him a second chance, and he had just been denying himself that chance.
"Everyone makes bad choices, but everything worked out for the better right?" she asked giving him a smile to which he nodded.
"Yeah everything is working out for the better I suppose." He said as he smiled.
"Thanks…Uhh…what's your name?" Zexion asked
"Yuffie Kisaragi, the Grand Ninja of Radiant Garden." Yuffie declared proudly. "Now what's your name again?" she asked
"Zexion…number six, the Cloaked Schemer." Zexion replied as she tapped her forehead Axel style.
"I got it memorized." Zexion groaned inwardly, she had been hanging around Axel too long…way too long.
"So uh…Yuffie, um…" Zexion was going to see if she wanted to get something to eat, but he had never been so nervous in his entire existence…what he remembered of Ienzo was that he was the exact same way.
Yuffie then looked out the view port then immediately looked away; her face would turn green whenever she looked out the window. Zexion recognized the symptoms instantly for some reason.
"Motion sickness?" he asked, and she nodded.
"Here just focus on me for a moment, and it should clear right up." He said as they had an unofficial staring contest. He hadn't noticed her brown eyes before…then something flashed into his memory.
"You were Ienzo's girlfriend weren't you?" Zexion asked as Yuffie's eyes widened.
"How did you know?" Yuffie asked. "More importantly how do you know Ienzo?" Yuffie asked.
"Ienzo was my other…take the name Zexion, remove the X, rearrange the letters and you get Ienzo." He said as she looked at him closer for a moment, and then moved his long blue bangs out of his face and to the sides, then her eyes widened.
"Whoa, I thought you looked a lot like Ienzy and even had the same mannerisms too…but I never once thought that you were his nobody." She said as she quickly pulled him into a hug…then slowly released him.
"And the others say that Ienzo is dead…" "Yeah…murdered by Xaldin." Zexion said as they both lowered their heads.
"Well…at least something of him survives." She said as she rested her head on his shoulder.
"I have his memories too, and his memories of you are the most vivid of them all…especially when he caught you looking through his underwear." He said as she blushed.
"You think that we…might have a chance?" She asked, "I hope so…I really do." He said as she returned to staring at him to fight off the motion sickness.
Later Zack was on the bridge listening to Riku and Fuu's suggestion on how to stay together when the whole mess was over.
"I don't know if you would be willing to move from Midgar to the Destiny Islands so…" Riku explained as Zack held his hand up.
"In case you didn't notice Midgar is practically rubble, and frankly the thoughts of a nice tropical beach house is not bad at all…especially if you're involved." Zack said as Riku smiled and Terra's spirit appeared next to him.
"Do I get a say in this?" he asked.
"Sure…you're his uncle and my dad after all." Riku said having grown more comfortable with the reality of his dad being a legendary Keyblade master.
"I like the idea, I really wanted Zack to stay on the islands but he had to make his own path." Terra said.
"Well, I knew he would be fine…besides Sora's mom is one heck of a fighter too." Zack said as Terra and Riku nodded.
"Anyway I know that the house that Aqua used to live in is still up for sale…perhaps we should try to buy it when we get back." Riku said as Zack considered the offer.
"Ok it's a deal…" "Hold on there's one catch…" "And that is?" "Fuu, and possibly Seifer, Rai, and Vivi get's to move in with you." Riku said as Zack thought for a moment.
"It's not Fuu I'm concerned about…it's the other three." Zack replied.
"Vivi? Harmless." Fuu said with a shrug.
"Ok so what about the other two?" Zack asked with his arms crossed.
"Dealt with." Fuu said with a smirk.
"Ah, I see." Zack said, apparently the gene required to understand Fuu's one to two word language is prominent in Riku's bloodlines.
"Then I suppose we're covered…though I would suggest that you at least run this by Seifer, Rai, and Vivi first." Terra suggested as Riku and Zack nodded and later they, plus the aforementioned Disciplinary Committee, were meeting in a conference room on board the Highwind…well more of a dining hall than a conference room.
"So let me get this straight…" Seifer said "…you want us…to come move in with Mr. Fair Hair here."
"HEY!" Zack argued as he straightened his hair.
"Watch it Seifer, I beat you once I can beat you again." Riku challenged, "We made this offer out of the goodness of our hearts and you have the gall to insult us?"
Seifer shaped up after that one.
"You have a point…but…really the only thing I'm concerned about is how your friends will think…I mean for some reason that Roxas guy really hates my guts…and I haven't even met the guy before now." Seifer said.
Riku snorted with a laugh as he recalled the countless times that Roxas was defeated by the digital Seifer until after he started to remember Sora…and the fact that the real Seifer had no clue…it made since to Riku alone.
"Look if you don't want to come…then you don't have to." Zack said as Fuu made a pleading gesture.
"Hmm…The Destiny Islands Disciplinary Committee…" Seifer said out loud.
"It's got a nice ring to it ya' know?" Rai said as Vivi nodded.
"Ok…I think I could go with that." Seifer said as he looked at Zack.
"So what would be the 'house rules?" Seifer asked making air quotes.
"Simple…you go to bed at the right time, no loud music, and you don't wake me up unless it's an emergency…oh and no girls in the house except Fuu." Zack said as Seifer shrugged.
"Is that it?" he asked as if expecting more.
"One more thing though it doesn't apply to the three of you, it applies to Fuu and Riku." Zack said as the two looked at him confused.
"At eleven…Riku leaves…and I don't want to catch you sneaking in through the window in the middle of the night Riku…I was trained to detect stealth." Zack said as Riku smirked.
"No problem…" "Good." "…I lived in darkness for a whole year, so I know how to avoid you." Riku said as Fuu blushed and Zack's eye twitched.
That night…
Paine couldn't sleep, she kept thinking about the battle to come, so she crawled out of her cot, and walked onto the bridge, thinking to be alone...she was wrong.
As she entered she saw the silhouette of the red cloaked Auron in the swirling darkness of space.
"Couldn't sleep?" he asked.
"Not a wink…you?" she asked. He shook his head.
"Yuna tells me that you were her guardian when she went on her pilgrimage to stop Sin, and that during the battle she lost two of her friends…a guy named Tidus, and another guy named Wakka." She asked as he remained silent.
Finally thinking that he was never going to answer, she slowly turned…
"They're not dead…despite what she told you." He said.
"They're not? Then where are they?" she asked.
"The same place where Sora and Kairi came from." He responded.
"The Destiny Isles?" she asked confused. He paused for a moment before continuing.
"Tidus was hit with an unknown form of magic by the evil summoner Yu Yevon, the true form of Sin, and he was transformed into his five year old self, with only his memories from that time. After we defeated Sin and got him out of there we…as in the Kingdom Knights, Vincent Valentine, the King, and myself, took he and Wakka to Master Yin Sid who said that he could not reverse the spell without causing irreparable damage to him, but he could cast another spell similar, that would reduce the age of another person without damaging their memories."
"…and Wakka volunteered to stay with Tidus." Paine deduced as Auron nodded in acknowledgement.
"WHAT?! TIDUS AND WAKKA ARE FROM ANOTHER WORLD?!" Auron spun around to see Sora standing behind him with a can of string cheese in his hand.
"SORA!! You weren't supposed to hear that!" Auron said quickly then noticed the can of cheese.
"…and why do you have cheese in your hand?" he asked as the loud thumping of running footsteps could be heard outside the bridge. Sora didn't have time to answer as he handed the can to Paine who looked at it strangely as Sora bolted out the other door.
A few seconds later Larxene came running out onto the bridge…with cheese in her hair, and arranged on her face so she had a goatee. She was as mad as a hornet.
"WHO DID THIS?!" she yelled as she then saw Paine with the can of cheese in her hands, the woman paled (as much as could be noticed) as the Savage Nymph proceeded to chase her down the halls.
In the security center Axel, Demyx, Xigbar, Luxord, and Roxas were watching on the monitor as Larxene chased a framed Paine around the ship, and laughing their fool heads off.
"Five munny says that Sora will get busted." Roxas said as he put said munny in Luxord's infamous betting bowl.
"Five on busted Sora for Roxas…" Luxord verified and turned to the others.
"I'll make that bet…ten on busted Sora." Axel said as he tossed ten munny in and Luxord verified
"I dunno dude…when number 12 gets this mad, she hardly listens to reason so I'm betting on an injured Paine…no pun intended and I bet five." Xigbar replied and Luxord verified.
"I'm betting that Paine get's one of Larxene's infamous Acupuncture by Kunai treatments…so put me down for five." Demyx said as he put five in.
Then Luxord put in another five to make it an even thirty, and scribbled his wager in and returned his gaze to the monitor.
Larxene had Paine cornered but before she could unleash a particularly deadly attack the two turned to an off screen figure and acted like they were talking to it.
"Sound! Where's the sound!?" Axel asked as he looked for a volume control.
"There isn't any, the cameras are visual only." Demyx said as Axel looked back frustrated.
"…who are they talking to?" Luxord asked as Larxene suddenly started looking around the room, then spotted the camera, and volts could be seen going up her antennae like bangs as she snarled at the camera.
"Uh oh." Roxas said as the five nobodies quickly bolted back towards their rooms, leaving the reward money on the table, and a figure black portaled in shortly after they left.
The figure picked up the munny in the bowl and shoved it in his pocket.
"They never learn do they?" Marluxia smirked as he black portaled back to his room.
The next morning…
Everyone awoke to the sounds of alarms and flashing red lights and Cid's voice could be heard on the intercom.
"ALL RIGHT BOYS AND GIRLS THIS IS IT!! IT'S TIME TO KICK SOME DARKNESS (Butt)" he yelled from the bridge as everyone scrambled to their stations or to their respective ships.
Sora looked out the forward view port of his team's gummy ship and saw the massive fleet of white box shaped gummy ships guarding a larger white gummy ship shaped like the nobody symbol.
"That's their flagship, The Absent Leader" Roxas said as Auron, Zack, Goofy, Donald, and the King appeared on board the gummy ship in a blue sparkling flash of light.
"We can expect Saix to be in command…Xemnas handpicked him to be in charge of the Organization fleet." Roxas said as everyone took their seats.
Sora straightened up and walked up to the pilot controls.
"Namine, put me on fleet wide speaker." He asked as Namine smiled, flipped a few switches and handed Sora a second head set, she then flipped a few more switches and then nodded to the Keyblade master.
Sora cleared his throat and began…
"Listen everyone! The other worlds will be looking to us for hope. And what will they see? Frightened kids on a broken down gummy ship? No. No, they will see free people! And freedom! And what the enemy will see is the flash of our guns. They will hear the ring of our blades, and they will know what we can do! By the sweat of our brows, and the strength of our backs…and the courage and the light of our hearts! Gentlemen…and ladies! Hoist the colors!!"
All across the fleet large silver flags were unfurled that revealed the logo of Kingdom Hearts. (Me: look behind the words Kingdom Hearts in the game's official logo and you'll see what I mean)
Sora handed the headset back to Namine, and sat down.
"Nice speech Sora." Riku said.
"Thanks, I worked on it all night." He said as he looked out the view port at the massive fleet.
"This is it…" he said quietly.
End Chapter 25.
Me: Just a side note…that speech Sora gave was indeed a modified version of Elizabeth Swann's speech before the battle of Calypso's whirlpool in POTC: AWE.
Axel: MARL!! you owe me ten munny!!
Marluxia: No I don't that's in the story...and you lost that money fair and square.
Axel: NOW MARL!! before I fry your garden to a crisp.
Marluxia: You wouldn't.
Axel: Try me. (Marluxia reluctantly hands him ten munny)
Me: well thats one way to get munny from Marluxia.
Roxas: Are you kidding...all you gotta do is threaten his garden and he coughs up cash like a pez despencer.
Me: that it a handy tid-bit of info there Roxas. (Xemnas Runs me over)
Xemnas: Readers review and do not flame or you will be banished to Castle Oblivion. (Runs for his life)
Me: (From floor...once again) I am really getting tired of that...ow.