Hello again, everybody! Shout out to soraroxas123 for reviewing. No further announcements at this time, so read on!
Chapter Notes/Revisions and Alterations: Complete rewrite of the original, along with an all new boss fight
Chapter 26: The Zanarkand Ruins
(Run, Final Fantasy X)
"Will they be alright?!" Yuna asked as they hurried through the sprawling ruins. Auron and Kimahri led the way, quickly dispatching any approaching Fiends in order to maintain their current speed. Sora brought up the rear, his thoughts dwelling on the friends he left behind.
"Their strength is great. Together they hold the advantage. Come, our thoughts must turn toward Seymour." Auron told her calmly as they passed through a series of crumbling buildings.
"Kimahri senses more than just Seymour ahead; many enemies hidden in shadow." Kimahri growled, the Ronso holding his spear at the ready.
"There might be more members of the Organization. We need to be careful." Sora added. He found himself wishing for more backup, but unwilling to back down from their current course.
In short order, they reached the broken doorway of a massive temple. "The Chamber of the Final Aeon lies inside, doesn't it?" Yuna asked quietly. Auron nodded.
"Yes, though it is doubtful that anything of value remains inside beyond the Keyhole. When this world is restored, perhaps. But until then…" he replied.
"Final Aeon?" Sora asked, but there was no time for more explanations. The other three ran inside, leaving him with the only option of following. Such was their urgency that Sora couldn't may much attention to the inner rooms of the temple, instead getting fleeting glances of glyphs and symbols on the walls and floor as they made their way toward the center of the structure.
Once there, they emerged into a wide open room with a circular platform in the middle. Without any words, they made their way onto the platform. Though the device was ancient, it promptly carried them down into the bowels of the temple.
Reaching the lower levels, they could hear voices. Running forward, they found themselves in another wide open area, a circular room of sorts with a short set of stairs on the other side. In the center of this room was Seymour. The blue haired man was glowing with magical energy and his staff was raised high. Sensing their arrival, he smiled confidently and knelt down, plunging his staff into the ground.
A magical barrier sprang up across the doors behind them, blocking their escape. "Think that's gonna help? You've just trapped yourself in here with us!" Sora told him.
"Perhaps. It remains to be seen who it is that can no longer escape." the mage said calmly. Wasting no time, Yuna ran forward and elegantly twirled her own staff.
A red and tan bird with flowing wings emerged from a glyph in the air, a summon similar to the Astrals that Sora had previously fought, though much weaker in power. "Valefor, release!" Yuna commanded. The giant bird let out a screech and flew straight for Seymour. However, Seymour smiled calmly and coated his red staff in flames.
"Death awaits you!" he declared. As Valefor approached, he swung decisively upward and struck Valefor a critical blow. The Aeon let out a deafening roar of pain and crashed to the floor just behind Seymour, fading into orbs of light a moment later. (end Run)
"You really thought to challenge me with an Aeon? Your powers are far too weak to match what I have become!" he exclaimed, drunk on his borrowed power. Narrowing his eyes, he prepared to send another spell their way. However, Auron charged forward at that moment.
"You place too much trust in your magics!" he yelled and leaped up. Using his momentum, he plunged his sword into the ground and caused an eruption of energy to explode underneath Seymour's feet. The explosion engulfed Seymour for several moments, until finally it dissipated. The mage stared angrily at them for a moment before brushing the dust off of his robe.
"I am sorry. I had forgotten that you were still here, Sir Auron." he muttered, turning his gaze to the Guardian. Auron and Kimahri both brandished their weapons, but Seymour looked past them to Sora. Seeing the boy, he smiled once more and chuckled loudly. "So you hope to restore this world using the boy's weapon? You know that restoring the world will also restore Sin and the cycle of death that plagued this land." he asked them, turning his gaze to Yuna.
"Better to live in our world and fight for it than to leave it trapped in darkness." she replied without hesitation. Seymour sighed, casually running a finger across his forehead.
"But do you not see the value of the way things are? With Sin no longer a threat, we can give our people hope, Lady Yuna. Your own father, Braska, gave his life to destroy Sin and bring hope to the people. Do you not wish to grant them that same hope?" he asked her. As he spoke, he adopted a hungry expression as he stared at her and even extended his hand in her direction.
Disgusted by his words, Yuna vigorously shook her head. "You do not offer hope. You offer only pain and darkness. I won't give in to sorrow or despair. Instead, I will live with them, and live my own life." she vowed. She then exhaled a nervous breath before once more fixing her gaze on Seymour with determined eyes. "And I will do it without…false hope!" she told him. Hearing her words, Sora felt his strength surge. Nodding in agreement with her, he prepared for battle.
Seymour, however, lowered his hand as if she had struck him across the face. "You speak of darkness and sorrow; despair and pain. Yet you know nothing of them. I shall show you the meaning of those words…." he muttered and raised his staff toward the ceiling. An aura of energy erupted around him and the four readied their weapons. (Summoned Beast Battle, Final Fantasy X)
"What's he doing?!" Sora asked. Kimahri narrowed his eyes.
"An Aeon…" he growled.
"Feel my pain….come, Anima!" Seymour chanted and lowered his staff. A portal opened above him and a massive chain shot down from the ceiling. Striking the ground, a portal of dark energy spread across the ground as the chain sank into it. A moment later, it caught something, growing tight and slowly rising back out. A creature then emerged, more monstrous and terrifying than any Sora had yet faced.
Its face was covered in bandages save for a single glowing eye, and large fangs protruded from every corner of its mouth. Its torso was almost completely covered in chains including its arms, though the lower half of its body remained on the other side of the portal. "The dark Aeon….Anima." Yuna whispered, a tone of fear in her voice. At that moment, Anima's eye began to glow with energy.
"Scatter!" Auron yelled. The four dove away from each other a moment before the floor exploded where they had been standing.
"What's the plan?!" Sora asked as he emerged from the pillar he had ducked behind. Yuna was boldly walking toward Anima, her staff outstretched. She glanced back at him for a brief moment.
"We will handle Anima. You defeat Seymour!" she told him. He nodded in agreement and looked around until he located the blue haired mage. Seymour was standing safely behind his Aeon, watching the conflict ensue. At that moment, a glyph appeared above Yuna and an icy blue woman emerged in a flash of energy. "Shiva, strike now!" the Summoner chanted. The Aeon called Shiva charged through the air, swiping at Anima with a powerful kick. Anima roared in response and began blinking its eye rapidly, causing several explosions. Shiva nimbly danced around them and drew a large iceberg out of thin air, dropping it on Anima's head. The ice shattered around the dark Aeon, who ignored such tactics and continued its attacks.
One of the explosions finally hit Shiva, defeating her instantly and causing her to vanish in a flurry of orbs of light. With a mighty roar, Kimahri leaped down from the ceiling and impaled his spear into Anima's shoulder. Anima roared and repulsed with energy, sending the Ronso flying just as Auron charged in swinging his massive sword.
Sora, meanwhile, was struggling to find a way over to Seymour. Every time he tried find a way through, Anima began targeting him with explosions. Yuna noticed this and aimed her staff toward Sora. "Ixion, forward!" she chanted. A glyph appeared in front of her, out of which rode a unicorn coated in lightning. The horse neighed loudly as it galloped over to Sora. Seeing it coming, he leaped up as it passed and landed nimbly on its back. He twirled his Keyblade as Ixion leaped up through Anima's chains toward Seymour. Using this opportunity, Sora charged his Keyblade with light energy and dragged it along Anima's side.
As the creature roared, they landed on the other side and charged for Seymour. The mage turned to face them as Ixion galloped forward, lowering its head and angling its jagged horn directly at their opponent. Glaring furiously, Seymour swung his staff forward and sent forward a powerful wave of water energy. Seeing its own demise, Ixion threw Sora into the air just before it was consumed by the spell. Sora angled his blade over his head as he dashed toward Seymour and swung down as he landed.
The mage just barely managed to block with his staff and Sora immediately began an onslaught of physical attacks before his opponent could prepare. Knowing that Seymour's strengths lay in magical prowess, he was determined to prevent him from casting spells.
As the other three continued their own attacks, Anima repulsed with energy and caused most of the room to begin glowing with energy. Auron's eyes widened with urgency. "It's going to destroy itself in order to defeat us! We have to kill it now!" he yelled. Yuna nodded, wiping the sweat from her brow and preparing to summon her remaining Aeons. Kimahri once more charged forward and impaled Anima with his lance, though the dark Aeon turned its head and struck him across the room with a loose chain.
Seeing that Yuna was the biggest threat, it turned its glowing toward the young woman and sent an explosion her way. Yuna, in mid-summon, was defenseless. She gasped and covered her face, though Auron managed to dash in front of her and take the brunt of the attack. He groaned and fell to his knees, weakened greatly. "Yuna!" he told her sharply. She nodded and swung her staff forward.
"Yojimbo, strike!" she chanted. A tall robed swordsman emerged from a glyph. It dashed forward in a blur swinging a katana that cleaved Anima's chest open. However, the dark Aeon was not yet defeated. Quickly dispatching Yojimbo with several rapid explosions, it prepared to put down Yuna who was no longer protected. Yuna planted her feet in determination and aimed her staff toward the sky.
One final glyph appeared, out of which came flying a towering black dragon. "Bahamut, burn everything in sight!" she exclaimed urgently. The dragon roared its approval and plummeted to the ground between Yuna and Anima. Stomping its claws into the ground, it began gathering blue energy into its mouth. Anima, unable to stop what was coming, roared defiantly. A moment later, a towering blue laser emerged from Bahamut's mouth, cutting through Anima's remaining defenses. The dark Aeon screamed as it was vaporized through the attack, disappearing into orbs of light.
Seeing Anima gone, Yuna collapsed to the floor in exhaustion. With her strength gone, Bahamut faded as well. Auron groaned weakly and knelt beside her as Kimahri came sprinting across the room to check on her.
Sora had been steadily gaining an advantage against Seymour when they saw Anima fall. Filled with rage, Seymour immediately turned and blasted Sora across the room with a fire spell. "That power that defeated Anima…it will be mine!" he exclaimed, making his way toward Yuna's prone figure. However, Sora dashed in front of him with a yell and struck him hard enough to make him stagger. The two began a vicious clash of melee strikes between staff and Keyblade, with Seymour steadily retreating up the set of stairs behind.
Not willing to let him escape again, Sora kept pushing him and continued his attacks as they reached the top of the stairs and moved into the next room. (end Summoned Beast Battle)
Immediately upon arriving in this room, the doors slammed behind them. Sora stopped in surprise as the sounds of battle disappeared and the two were left in silence. He looked around for a moment, seeing a barren platform with nothing but empty space around him. However, in the ground was a glowing indention in the shape of a Keyhole. "You led me right to the Keyhole?" he asked Seymour in surprise.
The mage was facing him from several feet away, smiling confidently. When he spoke, it was with a tone of utmost triumph. "Have you not yet put the pieces together, boy?" he asked, chuckling loudly.
"What…?" Sora asked in confusion, but saw a hooded figure emerge from the shadows behind Seymour. As it approached, it pulled back its hood to reveal Young Xehanort. (The Key, Birth by Sleep)
"We've been waiting for you for a long time, Sora." he greeted. Sora frowned and clenched his teeth with anger.
"Set a trap for me, huh? I hope you can handle what comes next!" he exclaimed. However, he heard further movement behind him and whirled around. Standing by the door were both Ansem and Xemnas. "What?! All of you?!" he yelled, now feeling a creeping sense of fear. Young Xehanort groaned happily.
"Like I said, we've been waiting for you….Number Thirteen." he explained. Sora shook his head vigorously and turned back, only to see Braig and Marluxia there as well.
"You sent the whole Organization after me?" he asked them. Braig smirked widely.
"Course not! We sent Terra and a couple others to Radiant Garden to lure your oh so mighty protector away. We couldn't get to you with Jack watching your back every step of the way. But the old man knew that Jack would let his guard down sooner or later. By dangling Terra in front of his face, your pal fell right for our bait." he explained. Sora heard these words and scoffed.
"So all of you are scared of Jack?" he asked them. It was Xemnas who answered.
"Incorrect. However, he was trained personally by Master Xehanort himself, and we were forbidden from moving while Jack was in the way. He sees too much, and we could not allow him to gain any more insight into our plans." the former Nobody explained.
"Sora!" Auron's voice came through the door, along with the sound of forceful knocking.
"It is time to go. Soon you shall know what it is to be one with the darkness." Ansem declared, striding toward Sora with outstretched hands. Narrowing his eyes, Sora whirled around and struck at the vessel. Ansem gasped in pain and withdrew his injured hands with a look of fury.
"You're not taking me without a fight!" Sora declared stubbornly. Why had he allowed himself to fall right into this? Jack had explicitly told him not to underestimate their enemies and yet he had done exactly that.
Before he could do anything further, he felt a sharp pain in his ankle and looked down to see one of Braig's arrows stuck through it, pinning him to the floor. In another moment, Young Xehanort cast a spell that hit him directly. Whatever it was, Sora immediately felt himself losing consciousness.
"Jack's….gonna come for me, you know…" he muttered as he fell to the ground. His vision swam in and out as the Vessels surrounded him.
"By the time he reaches you, it will be too late to prevent us from obtaining the Thirteenth Darkness." Marluxia stated coldly. Sora groaned, unable to fight any further. He shut his eyes and knew no more.
Braig picked the boy up and threw him over his shoulder nonchalantly. "Mission accomplished. Totally worth losing Gaia's Keyhole, am I right?" he asked with a wide smirk.
"Indeed." Xemnas nodded in agreement. Young Xehanort raised his hand and summoned a dark portal.
"Sora was not wrong. The Wanderer will soon be following, along with the rest. We have no time to lose." he told them. Without further words, Marluxia walked through, followed by Ansem, Xemnas, and Braig carrying Sora.
At that moment, the doors burst off of their hinges and Auron, Riku, Kairi, Kimahri, and Yuna sprinted into the room. Seeing Young Xehanort and no sign of Sora, Riku yelled fiercely and charged. Young Xehanort gave him a triumphant smirk and calmly disappeared through the portal. Riku dove forward, but it vanished before he could get there. "Sora!" he exclaimed desperately.
"Riku!" Kairi yelled urgently, causing him to look back at her. Her eyes were full of tears and terror. "We have to get back to Master Yen Sid and tell the others! They'll know what to do!" she exclaimed. Riku nodded quickly and motioned her away.
"It's going to take us an hour by Keyblade Rider to get back to the Gummi ship, so start moving. I'll follow as soon as I deal with the Keyhole." he told her. She nodded and ran out of the room. Riku sighed and exchanged a heavy glance with Auron. Silence filled the room once more as the gravity of what had just occurred set in upon them all. (end the Key)
MEANWHILE, RADIANT GARDEN…
(Shaded Truths, Birth by Sleep)
"Why would they just flee like that?! What does that accomplish?!" Roxas asked. There had indeed been a Heartless invasion, and it was being led by Terranort, Eraqus, Isa, and Sephiroth. However, suddenly the Vessels had all vanished and the Heartless had scattered into leaderless packs.
Ven and Lea were dealing with the Heartless pack that had reached the marketplace, and Aqua, Roxas, and Jack were holding the line at the castle gates. Jack narrowed his eyes suspiciously, having been in the midst of a fierce battle with Terranort when the Vessels abruptly retreated. "It can only mean one thing: they got what they wanted." he explained. Aqua shook her head in confusion.
"But they made no progress in taking this world. What could they have gotten?" she asked him. Roxas and Aqua both looked at Jack, the Wanderer's eyes widening with horrible realization.
"What they wanted was never in Radiant Garden. This was a distraction to draw us away from what they really wanted." he muttered, a lump in his throat forming almost instantly. Aqua caught the implication and closed her eyes in fear.
"Sora…" she muttered. Roxas looked between the two of them.
"What?! Sora's in Spira, he's out of harm's…." he began, before realizing the truth. Jack abruptly sprinted away from them without explanation.
"Jack, where are you going?!" Aqua called after him. He yelled over his shoulder without slowing down.
"Gather the others and get back to Yen Sid's as quickly as you can! I'm going on ahead to find out everything we know! If Sora has been taken, then we don't have any time to lose!" he replied. In a fluid motion, he threw his Keyblade out ahead of him. It morphed into his gray bicycle-like Rider in a flash of light. Without hesitation, he leaped upon it and zoomed into the sky. In mere moments, he was out of their sight. (end Shaded Truths)
A shorter chapter, but still much longer than the original. With the Spira arc over, those familiar with the original storyline will notice a difference in where things are headed. With Sora captured by the Organization and his transformation into the Thirteenth Darkness imminent, the group now has an urgent reason to launch an assault upon Xehanort's fortress. It may be a rather minor detail, but it adds tension that was very lacking in the original. I hope you enjoyed as always and leave me a review with your thoughts! See you soon!