Kingdom Hearts: Time Wars
Disclaimer: Kingdom Hearts is the property of its creators. All characters used here are the property of their respective writers/creators and are used for non-profit reasons. The songs appearing in this chapter belong to their singer/song writers and various companies. No copyright infringement is intended. However, any original characters are mine, and cannot be used without my permission.
Chapter 25
Nemesis
Dark Sora stood on the platform as it hovered down towards the water, his mind filled with thoughts of what he'd do to all the pathetic terrified little primitives who called the ocean home. And Ariel…maybe he'd let her watch when he killed Demyx. The insignificant musician was high on his list of people to make suffer. But louder than all of that, louder than thoughts and feelings was the sound. The never ending noise.
The sound all Chaser's heard, from the moment they came into the world. Like an itch, like a tickling in their brain. The heart beat of the universe. The sound of the power. The music of the spheres. A whistling a shrill note that seemed almost like a dog whistle. But to a Chaser it was the voice of God.
"Brother…it shall be such a war", Dark Sora muttered.
In the future, in a desolate stretch of wasteland, two people clad in filthy rags, were running. Both were mostly human, though one had an arm that seemed to be constructed out of some golden material. The other wore a long flowing robe that was noticeably slowing them down, as Heartless scampered across the terrain, their bulbous eyes fixed on fresh prey, their vicious claws scrabbling at the rubble on the ground as they scurried over it.
"We're not going to make it…the citadel has already moved!" the one in the robes shouted to his companion, who simply continued running forwards, trying his hardest not to look back at the things that were pursuing. But then it happened. The figure in the robe tripped, fell, and crashed to the ground, their friend spinning around to help them.
But the Heartless were upon them in moments and soon he saw the claws slashing downwards, bright eyes gleaming as they…there was a flash of light. And suddenly the Heartless was falling backwards, it's fellows being cut down as lethal magic energy rained down on them, the Heartless either bursting into flame or freezing solid and shattering. The Heartless clearly sensed which way the battle was turning and began to flee, only for a vast wave of magic energy to obliterate them, their ashes fading away to nothing.
"Are we dead? Ism it over?" the figure in the robe asked, but the man with the golden arm simply let out a triumphant laugh as he looked up a the person who had saved them.
"It's her! She IS real my friend! She is!" he shouted as the figure stepped down in front of them. She wore a modified armour suit, a heart shaped logo visible on the front of it. Long red hair flowed down from her head, while her face was mostly obscured by armour and a pair of red shades. In one hand she clutched a deadly looking Magic Cannon while in the other she held a Keyblade coloured a blood red and looking viciously sharp. The Keyblade: Death Master, owned by the protector of the surviving people of this world…the one known only as the Shade.
"The citadel is over fifty miles north of here. I will provide transport", she said, the armour altering her voice so it came out as sounding more mechanical than human.
The person in the robe nodded, removing their hood to reveal the face underneath. Their was no mistaking it, despite the long scar that ran across it…it was the face of Shadow, former side kick to the deceased villain Syndrome.
Onboard the flying fortress, Roxas and Axel were watching as the Future Roxas and the others worked on what appeared to be some kind of global monitoring device, wondering exactly what it was they were doing. It seemed to be tracking something, but Roxas had no idea what that something was.
"Y'know, your future self's a jerk. Got it memorised?" Axel asked as Future Roxas pointedly ignored them as he walked past.
"I get the feeling he's been through a lot. This whole future is seriously screwed up", Roxas said, as his future self pressed a small switch down, bringing up a massive vid-screen. It seemed to show what looked to be a motorcycle fast approaching.
"Well, see if you can get him to explain what their looking for", Axel said, motioning towards the screen.
"Me? Why not you?" Roxas asked, but Axel shrugged.
"Hey he's YOU. If anyone can get through to him, you can. So go on: talk to yourself", Axel said.
Roxas had trouble deciding if Axel was being serious or not sometimes and this was one of those times. Still, he supposed he might as well try and find out what they were actually doing in this place.
"Um, Future me? What exactly are you looking for?" Roxas asked.
"That", his future self replied, pointing at the motorcycle fast approaching them, throwing up a thick cloud of dust in its wake.
"So what is that?" Roxas asked, wondering if his future self was being vague on purpose.
"We're leaving this world. We're scanning for any final survivors heading this way. Though they've got five minutes to get here", Future Roxas said calmly.
"Hold on, we can't leave! You said there were other people on the surface! What do they do?" Roxas asked.
"Wait. We'll be back in about a year", Future Roxas replied harshly, before turning back to the screen.
"Axel and me need the door to get back to OUR past! Without it we'll be trapped in the future! And Marluxia and Larxene are here as well!" Roxas yelled desperately.
"Then I suppose you'll have to stay here. I'll tell the others your leaving", Future Roxas said, not seeming at all phased at abandoning his past self and Axel.
"Fine. Then I guess we go it alone", Roxas said, turning away from his future self and motioning for Axel to follow him as he walked away. Yuffie cast one last glance at Future Roxas before following them.
In Atlantica, Sora, Riku, Kairi, Demyx and Ariel all stood ringed around the palace, facing the oncoming armada. The machines were your fairly standard robot, armed to the teeth and built to kill, with the additional problem of there being hundreds of them.
"How many of them are there?!" Ariel asked, as they got closer and closer.
"Hundreds, maybe thousands. Ariel maybe you should…" Demyx began, but Ariel interrupted.
"No. All my life my father has been trying to protect me from danger. But you can't just hide away from the world. I'm staying and fighting to protect Atlantica", Ariel said, as the robots weapons activated.
"Hey, I once took on a thousand Heartless single handed. This'll be easy!" Sora said, as a voice boomed out across the ocean.
"Oh my brother…you foolish little thing, you don't have a chance. Let the sport commence", Dark Sora said, as the robots opened fire.
Sora flung his Keyblade up, the blast ricocheting harmlessly back at the robots, causing several of them to explode, while Demyx summoned several of his water based creatures, the strange beings attacking the robots, tearing through the circuits and causing them to short circuit when their water proofing armour was disabled. Ariel meanwhile was swimming towards the various machines, her Keyblade slashing out and cutting one of them neatly in two, only for two others to target her, several missiles rocketing forwards at her from specialised launchers attached to their wrists.
"ARIEL!" Demyx yelled, flinging himself in front of her and taking one of the blasts, being sent reeling backwards and down to the ground, as Dark Sora watched on, grinning.
"Can you feel it, Sora?! The glory of war! The pleasure of destruction! Fight me, Brother! Let us show these primitives how battle is waged!" Dark Sora said, summoning two dark keyblades into his hands, and charging down towards Sora.
"Let's end this", Sora said, as his own keyblades lashed out, striking his doppelgangers, only for them to rebound away, as Dark Sora thrust forwards, trying to stab Sora through the heart. Sora span away, firing a burst of magical flame at Dark Sora, only for him to throw a shield up that deflected it. However, as he swung both blades at Sora's head, Kairi swam down at him, striking him across the face with one of her Keyblades. Dark Sora threw his hands over his face, letting out a shriek of pain, as he smashed Kairi aside.
"My little sister, do you think you can just jump in? I'm playing with Sora right now", Dark Sora said sadistically, only for Kairi to fling a burst of ice at him, causing him to leap back.
"The little sister has TEETH!" Dark Sora said, only for Kairi to swing both blades forward, sending Dark Sora slamming into a wall.
"Don't call me sister", Kairi said, sickened by the thought that any part of that thing could be Sora. Dark Sora just seemed to grin, unfazed by the attack.
"If you want to spank me little sister, you jut had to ask. My turn", Dark Sora said, before firing a huge blast of dark lightning from his Keyblade, sending Kairi smashing through a wall.
"NO! Keep away from her!" Sora yelled, spinning both blades forward, the weapons clashing into Dark Sora's each blow being expertly parried. Dark Sora knew exactly what move Sora would make, and Sora knew every move his dark opposite would attempt. One on one, they were perfectly evenly matched.
"I wonder what I'll do with you, brother? Death? Enslavement? Turned into a tasteful wooden chair?" Dark Sora said, his eyes gleaming with madness.
"I know exactly what I'm going to do…stop you once and for all!" Sora said, blasting a fireball at Dark Sora, only for it to be harmlessly deflected.
"C'mon brother! Gimme some killer instinct!" Dark Sora said, blasting to vicious bolts of lightning at Sora, before casting a time stopping spell on him, freezing Sora in his tracks.
"No? Well, alright then", Dark Sora said, swinging his Keyblade back, ready to bring it down on Sora…only to be smashed down, by a vicious and heavy blow to the head.
Dark Sora struggled to regain his wits, only to be smashed across the face again, realising that the person who was attacking him was none other than Demyx, attacking with his heavy and dangerous instrument, the blows sending Dark Sora reeling.
"Nice aim, you guitar fu…" Dark Sora began, before a jet of water sent him slamming up into a jagged rock, the rock slicing into him.
"Enough! I…" Dark Sora began, before looking away, distracted, towards one of the chunks of rock that the battle had dislodged.
"Oh yes…fortune favours the insane!" Dark Sora declared, shooting forward towards it, dodging Demyx's follow up attack.
"What's he doing?" Ariel asked, as Dark Sora grabbed the rock, all of them noticing that the underside of it was a strange gold colour.
"Oh, my little scared sheep, you're in for a tip top time now. Drakken! Shego! Get me out of here", Dark Sora said, as…nothing happened.
"Drakken? Shego? That was an order", Dark Sora repeated, only for the comm. Link to remain silent.
"Pay back time", Riku muttered.
"That does sound delightful…but I'll have to reschedule. Robots!" Dark Sora ordered, signalling his surviving units to surround him, the circle glowing a bright blue.
"Now, I take my leave. Be seeing you…from the shadows. When you least expect a pair of hands to wrap around your neck", Dark Sora said, before vanishing, along with the robots.
"What the hell just happened!?" Riku asked, as he, Demyx and Ariel went to check on Sora and Kairi.
In the future, in the castle of the three current rulers of the universe, Xehanort, Darkside and Talixs, three people had arrived more than a little unexpectedly. Those three were Marluxia, Larxene and Oogie Bogie, all of them having travelled to the future though the same door as Axel and Roxas. They had just been rescued from the strange Chasers, by Darkside, and now stood in the main throne room, a room filled with statues of Xehanort and Talixs, a massive screen looming overhead which seemed to view the entire world.
"Welcome to the heart of the empire. Have a seat" Darkside said, as three chairs rose up from the floor.
"Who or what are you?" Marluxia asked, as Darkside sat down upon the throne.
"I am the man who can have all three of you cut into lots of pieces with just a wave of my hand. Now…sit. Down.", Darkside ordered, again.
"I suppose you should know…we don't really TAKE orders", Larxene said, before flinging an electrified knife at Darkside's head, only for it to vanish before it ever made contact.
"Well, that's just cheating", Larxene said, as a second door opened, allowing a woman with snow white hair, and amber eyes to enter, her body covered in a black suit with a high collar.
"Thank you", she said, as she sat on the throne next to Darkside's. Larxene and Marluxia both stared, recognising the woman instantly.
"Princess Talixs?" Marluxia asked, tilting his head. He felt the scythe slide into his hand automatically, as if even the weapon could sense that she was somehow wrong.
"Marluxia and Larxene, returned at last. We had thought you were dead. Still, new allies are always useful…kneel", Talixs ordered, stepping towards them.
"Excuse me?" Oogie Boogie asked, incredulously.
"Get on your knees before me", Talixs repeated.
"Kinky. But I don't do that on a first date", Larxene said, feeling a second knife slip into her hand behind her back.
"Do you truly believe that I would not notice that?" Talixs asked, gesturing calmly, and Larxene felt the knife disappear, as if it had never been there.
"The princess commands the power of the Void and the might of the Ghost Zone. She can erase all three of you from the face of the earth…so here's a tip. Don't piss her off", Darkside said calmly, as Talixs smiled slightly.
"It has been too long, old friends. I will forgive your indiscretion this once, due to our past. But do not repeat the mistake", Talixs said.
"Listen, we didn't exactly start this plan so we could find ANOTHER leader. We'll be returning to the time door immediately", Marluxia said, calmly. Talixs always put him on edge…everything about her was wrong and it seemed even worse now.
"You will not be leaving yet. The time is now: the time to prepare your for your destiny", Darkside said, as Larxene smirked.
"Destiny is what idiots believe in. Like that poor little puppet Sora, and that gullible Roxas", Larxene said.
"Perhaps fate would be a better expression. You see, it is no coincidence that you arrived here. You need to be here, so you can be prepared to deal with Kairi", Darkside said, as Oogie Boogie stepped forward.
"And where do I fit into all of this!?" he asked, annoyed at being ignored.
"You have an important mission as well. And we shall provide you with the means to accomplish this mission", Talixs said. And then she paused, a far away look crossing her already fairly vacant face, as a smile crossed her lips.
"She returns", Talixs said, simply.
In the floating fortress, Yuffie had caught up with Axel and Roxas, and was desperately trying to convince them to stay. Roxas, however, wasn't listening. He'd had more than enough of this time zone.
"You need to listen to me!" Yuffie said, only for Roxas to turn around, snapping at her.
"I don't need to listen! This whole future is screwed up! My…future self or whatever the hell you call him, is leaving all these people to die! And you! Why should I believe what you say? You've already lied to me once!" he shouted.
"I haven't lied to you! I just want to help!" Yuffie shouted back, as Roxas laughed, sharply.
"You told me Kairi was fine. Then suddenly, she's dead! So which is it?" Roxas asked angrily. Axel was surprised that he seemed so upset about the death of someone he barely knew, but then remembered that as Sora's Nobody, Roxas had at least some of Sora's affection for her.
"BOTH!" Yuffie replied angrily, as a warning alarm began to ring, signalling that someone was approaching.
"Oh no…she's coming", Yuffie muttered.
It was a desolate landscape, little or no life existing in this place. Some called it the World that Time Forgot. Others called it the Endless Torment. The place of Eternal Sunset. And to others, it was hell. But the things that were currently pursuing a blonde, armoured man, in his late twenties, were no demons. They were Chasers.
"Run little man! Soon you'll see there's nowhere to run to!" one of the Chasers yelled, it's voice almost childlike, yet the intent clearly malicious. The man spun around, flinging a blast of magic at the Chaser, but was unsurprised when it had no affect. A Chaser was impervious to most normal magic.
"This is it. I can't run any more", the man muttered, as he stopped dead, faced with a huge rock fall that had blocked off the path that he'd been running down. The Chasers slowly approached him, their weapons sliding into their hands, as their featureless helmeted heads tilted, unseen eyes watching him.
"Giving up? But that's no fun!" one of them said, edging closer and closer.
"Just finish it, you lunatics! At least I'll see Aqua again…when it's all over", the blonde man said, throwing his arms open wide. However, the expected attack never came, instead he felt something rush past him, and as he watched, the Chasers were vaporised, in a burst of light.
"Hello Ven. It has been some time", a deep voice said, a voice that Ven recognised. And as he turned around, he found himself facing the last person he expected. He looked different, it was true, his hair was longer, a different colour, and his clothes were different. But there was something about him that Ven instantly knew.
"Terra?" Ven asked.
"Yes", Xehanort said, smiling.
In Atlantica, in the ruins of the palace, Triton lay, still unmoving after his possession by the being known as Dark Sora. The trident floated nearby, and Sora and the others had gathered around him, their various healing spells having no affect.
"What…what do we do?" Demyx asked, looking concerned, as suddenly, Triton's eyes opened, his expression grave. He looked up at Sora and smiled slightly.
"Young Keyblade Master…how fitting that it should be you who are witness to this. There is little time…soon I will be gone", Triton said, his voice weak.
Father, no! We'll get help! We can…" Ariel began, but Triton waved a hand dismissively.
"I am not immortal, daughter. This moment would have come eventually. I am old and tired now…perhaps it is time to go. But first there is much you must know…and little time to tell it. I must tell you the truth…" Triton murmured, before beginning his tale.
Many centuries ago, at the beginning of the age of magic, the tools of magic were forged. For each world, a certain magic item was forged that was more powerful than any form of Magic. For Disney Castle it was the Cornerstone of Light. For here it was the Trident, in Agrabah it was the Lamp. And so on. But then the leaders of these worlds became fearful of the misuses of power that could occur, and sought to find a way to prevent it. And so, I, Yen Sid, Zeus, Hades and several others poured all of our powers into forging a weapon…a Keyblade.
The Keyblade would only choose those of noble heart and kindness. Those who would watch over the worlds of the universe. The Keyblade would allow the wielder to travel between worlds easily, policing the rulers and the world of magic. But power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely. The first wielder of the Keyblade sought more and more power, and so he created a vast number of Keyblades, and tried to force the universe to comply to his rules. He killed hundreds and destroyed an entire world in his madness, before he was struck down, and the Keyblades scattered. We thought it would end. We were wrong.
The Keyblades came to rest on many worlds, but the magic of them was weakened, so that a strong willed owner could force his will upon it, make it obey him. On one world, a world known as Radiant Garden, this became a serious problem, as people from various worlds duelled out on the world, with the Keyblades. Finally, a force of Knights was formed. Theanor, Ven and Aqua were the three greatest of these knights, but they were soon faced by a nightmare called Lexan Bastion. A man who wielded not only the Keyblade's but an army of Chaser's, creatures you have encountered in the form of your dark opposite. He had even found a way to split his own diseased soul into other Chaser bodies, cutting his being into pieces and spreading them across multiple bodies.
Theanor, Ven and Aqua pursued him to a area known as The Gathering Place. But something happened there…Theanor had some connection to that place…something old and terrible. I cannot…I do not wish to speak of that. It is tangential to the story. Theanor began calling himself Terra the moment they arrived there, and claimed it to be his true name. Aqua and Ven followed him to face Lexan Bastion and so the battle began. Lexan had lost most of his power, being only able to create one last Chaser, but still the battle was severe. Ven was frozen solid and flung from a cliff, and Aqua…Aqua died in a terrible way. But Theanor…Terra survived. And watched as Lexan flew towards Kingdom Hearts. Yes, the Gathering Place had an access point to Kingdom Hearts, but as Terra stared up at that light, a change overcame him.
His eyes burned with amber fire, his hair turned a pal silver in colour, and his powers surfaced in a way more terrible than any had ever imagined. He followed Lexan and he…he opened Kingdom Hearts. He absorbed its power, and Lexan fled, realising what this meant. Terra became a god.
Lexan fled across the universe, but Terra responded by finding those worlds which were filled with darkness and obliterating them. Billions burned and the heavens were lit with flame. It was Judgement Day. Finally, Terra found Lexan and broke his mind in two, before covering him in chains that burned his very soul, forcing him into an eternity of agony. We were forced to intercede, because such madness and cruelty was an abomination, whether directed at the light or the dark. Terra was defeated and his Keyblade broken in two. But still, he would survive. He had learnt how to form a Chaser from Lexan, and so he split his ambitions and drive into a separate form and sealed up its memories so we would never find it. And then he vanished into the wilderness of the Gathering Place, never to be seen again.
His Chaser however, WAS seen again. It was found by a man named Ansem the Wise in a place known as Hollow Bastion. And there, taking an anagram of his old name Theanor and adding an X, Terra chose his new identity.
As Triton finished his tale, Sora and the others stared in shock, unbelieving of what they had just heard. It seemed so impossible and yet…surely Triton had no reason to lie.
"I see you now realise who Terra and Theanor are", Triton said, smiling slightly.
"Xehanort", Sora said.
"Whoa, back up! The Superior was a Keyblade Wielder?! How the hell did he keep that from us?!" Demyx asked, shocked.
"He didn't fully know what he was at the time you knew him. Now he does…and whole worlds are in danger. Sora…Kairi…Riku…look after my daughter and take my Trident", Triton said.
"What do you mean? Father, you have to live!" Ariel said, tears pouring from her eyes.
"Ariel, I tried to protect you…perhaps I tried to hard. But you are more than just a princess. You are a Keyblade wielder", Triton said, as he smiled, fixing his eyes on Kairi.
"And Kairi…you have always wondered where you came from. You have memories of another place. And you must know this…There…is…another…", Triton murmured, before falling silent. In this small chamber, the king of the sea, had finally died.
In the World that Never Was, Talixs stood watching over the construction process, with interest, or a reasonable facsimile of interest. It was certainly something she had a lot invested in, she supposed. This was a chance to become more, to become whole. Something denied by her ever since the day she slept and was born again. HE had been foolish to try and seize the power of Kingdom hearts…but she would improve on the design. Below her, a vast gate was being constructed, and once completed, things would be so much better. She just needed to find Sora.
Lexaeus oversaw the work as the Heartless carried the materials towards the gate for the construction effort. It was a miracle the way that Talixs had given them such a high degree of sentience. There was no doubt that she knew what she was doing, but still…he had to wonder if this would really work. And it did, what would happen to the rest of the universe? Still, he had no choice. In the end, he was a loyal member of the Organisation, and without Xemnas and the others, Talixs WAS the Organisation. He knew where his true loyalties lay.
In Radiant Garden, Barret's weapon was aimed clear at Cid and the others, the reasoning clear in his mind. He had his orders and he would follow them, to the letter. Cid and Merlin were enemies of Xehanort's Organisation, he was a servant of the Organisation. He must terminate them. It was his function.
"What are you waiting for, Barret? Kill them", Saix commanded, as Barret aimed and fired. The bullets burned through the air, going clean through both Cid and Merlin…literally. Saix snarled, as he realised that what he was seeing was nothing more than illusions, images that had taken the REAL Cid and Merlin's place!
"Whoa…what the hells happened there? Did the old wizard guy pull this off?" Xigbar asked, confused.
"No, this isn't Merlin's work. This illusion is the work of Zexion. It would seem our fellow Organisation member has gone rogue", Saix muttered, baring his fangs. He would hunt Zexion down for this…there was nowhere he could hide.
In the Future, at the doors of the flying fortress, she stood, her Keyblade in hand, ready to greet the inhabitants of this castle with the survivors. As the door hissed open, she was met by a very surprising sight. Roxas stood there, but he looked vastly different to the Roxas she had been dealing with for months, and Axel stood beside him. And Axel was…
"Who the hell are you?" Axel asked, as Yuffie rushed up behind the two of them, looking less than happy.
"Um, Roxas, Axel, this is…" Yuffie began, but the woman known nas the Shade was already removing her red tinted glasses and the armour around her face was retracting. Roxas stared in disbelief at the face, damaged and altered though it was, of the last person he'd been expecting.
"Kairi? Is…is that you?" Roxas asked, as the cybernetic augmented face smiled, the eyes glinting as Roxas realised that they were cybernetic implants as well.
"I ask myself the same thing every day. You're you from the past, aren't you? Then we need to talk", Kairi said, becoming serious.
"About what?" Roxas asked.
"About how you can help save the world", Kairi replied, smiling slightly.
To be continued…