Review Responses:
Dracula X - Oh yes, I had meant to comment on the news of Kingdom Hearts III, but I guess I forgot. Judging from the one trailer, it looks pretty good already. And I'm happy that you enjoyed that chapter, there was a lot for me to work with.
Luckenhaft - I'm going to guess you liked the chapter, since you're taking the time to react to everything instead of tell me what you thought. Or at least I hope so, otherwise this would be awkward.
Also, FINAL CHAPTER, yeah!
Chapter 25: Kingdom Hearts II
Sora and Riku led an assault on the final room of the Castle That Never Was. On the crystalline bridges, Sorcerer Nobodies appeared.
"…"
"Riku, let's take care of these guys!" Sora called.
"Way ahead of you."
The boys jumped up and started attacking the Sorcerers with their swords before backing off, and shooting with strange magic.
"You're gonna lose it all!" Riku taunted. Then he and Sora spun around with weird energy swords.
Lastly, Way to the Dawn and Two Become One each flew away from the boys and trapped the Sorcerers in a large beam, killing them. Sora and Riku bumped their fists together.
~Fatality- Bromance~
Donald, Goofy, Mickey, and Kairi caught up.
"Gosh fellas, when you said to hurry, you weren't kidding!" Mickey commented.
The gang hurried to the other end of the room, but Kairi noticed something.
"Uh, guys? We're not alone."
Everyone else looked and noticed that legions of Shadow Heartless were slowly making their way into the room, via any means necessary.
Riku sighed. "Not now, when we're this close to Xemnas…"
"Hey I took a thousand of them once, this'll be fine." Sora reassured. Donald and Goofy nodded in agreement, though Goofy had more to say.
"Yeah and I killed two-thousand while Donald did three, ahyuck! This'll be cake!"
"Fools! This is no time for fighting these lowlife goons! You must destroy Xemnas!" a familiar voice commanded. Suddenly, Maleficent and Pete appeared in a blaze of green fire.
Donald quacked.
"That's an easy one, lowly mage. I'm here to help." Maleficent explained. "I can't be the ultimate evil if that lousy Xemnas gets his way! He's cramping my style! And where I go, Pete goes, so that's why he's here too."
Pete nodded, halfheartedly. "Yeah, but kinda wanna run! I mean look at dis, I can't take on that many Heartless! I'm not the man I was back in dem black n' white days!"
Mickey stepped up to Pete. "Are you sure about that? Captain Pete?"
"… Oh all right! You clobber dat Xemnas dork once fer me! But don't think I forgot what yer wife did t' me!"
"Pete, you were about to attack her over ice cream." Mickey tried to reason, but gave up. "Oh, forget it. We won't forget your help-"
"Just go, before I change my mind!" ordered the evil fairy. Sora, Mickey, and all their friends hurried into the next room.
"Come one, come all! Who wants a piece of ol' Pete?" bellowed the fat cat.
"Hahahaha! They're already dead…"
Pete was confused. "Huh? No they're not, they're still comin'." Maleficent sighed in frustration.
"No you buffoon, I was saying that they were as good as dead! You see… Forget it, just fight them already!"
Xemnas was once again fawning over the newly ruined Kingdom Hearts atop the Altar of Naught.
"Kingdom Hearts… we can start over, but you'll have to be patient. I know. It hurts me too. Or, it would if I had feelings… Though I have no interest in a heart, but rather-" Xemnas heard footsteps. "They arrive."
Sora, Donald, Goofy, Riku, Mickey, and Kairi arrived.
"Greetings, my guests. Would you be ever so kind as to gather more hearts for me?"
"No!" everyone answered at once.
"… Are you sure?"
"Yes!" they said in unison again.
Xemnas raised his arms in an attempt to be dramatic. "Why do you hate the darkness? What did it ever do to you?"
Riku summoned Way to the Dawn. "Because jerks like Xehanort have a creepy affection for it. Technically you're right, darkness isn't evil. But evil people use it a lot."
Xemnas was stunned. "Oh… uh… Well then how come you don't like the Organization? We never had any light or darkness, what was so wrong with what we were doing?"
"Because you're a bunch of jerks just like Xehanort, and keep messing with the worlds." Riku answered.
Xemnas pointed to Riku. "You just answered, let someone else have a chance."
"Gawrsh, I was kinda thinkin' the same thing." Goofy admitted. Everyone else started nodding and mumbling the same things. Riku only had a smug grin for Xemnas.
"Well what do you want from me, what other choice did my Organization XIII have? Do you know how that makes me feel inside?"
Sora summoned Two Become One. "Trick question! You don't feel anything at all!"
Xemnas smirked, but it was a hollow gesture. "You are more perceptive than your appearance leads one to believe, Sora."
"Thanks! … I think." Sora had to take a minute to figure out what Xemnas just said.
Xemnas raised his hands, and suddenly he and Sora were gone.
Sora noticed that he and Xemnas were alone in a pocket dimension. The entire place was a bizarre version of Memory Skyscraper.
"What the- What is this place? Where are my friends?" Sora demanded to know.
"We are fighting. Did you not expect a fight?"
"Well… I did, but not like this. I thought I'd have my friends. They're my power, after all!"
"If I can have no friends, neither will you." Xemnas teleported to the top of the skyscraper. Ethereal Blades emerged from his hands as he glared down at Sora.
"Wow, you're really high up… But I'm not quitting!" Sora announced. He quickly started jumping onto the building and running up. "Whoa, how am I doing this?"
Wordlessly, Xemnas leaped off the roof and dived for Sora. The boy saw this coming and attacked Xemnas first. Sora used a flurry of attacks that ended with the Organization Superior getting knocked into the side of the building.
"OOF!"
"So yeah… take that." said Sora as he fell to the ground.
"So… it wasn't a fallacy…"
Sora tilted his head. "What wasn't? … Xemnas? Hello?"
Sora and Xemnas found themselves back atop the Altar of Naught.
"Uh… What just happened? Is Xemnas gone now?" Sora asked. Donald was freaking out. "I guess not."
"KINGDOM HEARTS! Fill me… with a heart." Xemnas's voice boomed, giving a speech similar to his counterpart's. Everyone looked up and found him floating before Kingdom Hearts like before.
"Hey Donald, wanna hit him with a fireball or something?" Kairi asked. "… Donald?"
"Kingdom Hearts, we can start over, just the two of us. Together, we complete each other. You are the yin to my yang. Let us reduce our enemies to nothing."
Mickey summoned the Kingdom Key D and pointed it at Xemnas. "Hey, cut it out!"
"Rage will awaken!"
Sora took a stance. "Don't make me beat you up a again!"
"So let us join, o Kingdom Hearts."
Donald quacked at Xemnas.
"Ansem was a fool to turn away from you. Let us go forth, together!"
Xemnas disappeared in a flash of light. When everyone's vision returned, he was gone.
"Aw shucks. Now what?" questioned Goofy. His answer was another flash of light. "Heavens t' Betsy!"
A closed door appeared at the end of a new bridge of light, extending off the top of the altar.
"This doorway was given to us by the worlds." Mickey stated.
Riku turned to him. "How do you figure?"
"I dunno. Just seems right. So once we go through there, there's no turning back. Is everyone ready?"
Sora, Donald, and Goofy mumbled about possible side quests they could do.
"Okay great, last one into Kingdom Hearts is a rotten egg!" Mickey taunted, running up to the door. Everyone else hurried after him.
Two Become One, Way to the Dawn, and the Kingdom Key D were all pointed at the door. It opened, and the six were allowed inside.
The gang stepped into a strange, new world. They were in a new city, just like the one outside the castle. In the distance was a mechanical dragon-castle. Goofy turned to Kairi.
"Kairi, yer the rotten egg."
"Welcome to the beginning of the end." Xemnas's voice echoed across the realm. "But this is only a beginning for me."
Xemnas raised an arm, and a skyscraper fell. Everyone ran out of the way, with Mickey and Kairi in the back, past the door. The skyscraper hit the door, closing it. Sora, Riku, Donald, and Goofy were locked in with Xemnas.
"No way!" Riku was confounded. Sora shook his head.
"Don't worry, he's not so tough! Let's go!"
Sora, Donald, Goofy, and Riku began making their way towards Xemnas. Before long, the enemy summoned a wall of skyscrapers. Sora readied his Keyblade. He teleported to the other side of it, and the building got sliced into pieces.
"Whoa, not bad!" complimented Riku.
"I'll say!" Goofy was also impressed, as was Donald.
The party continued further into the World of Nothing, and reached the edge. A building was sent flying at the party.
"Okay, you'll have to trust me on this. Let's go!" Sora absorbed everyone, and with the extra power, became Final Sora.
Sora leapt up towards the building and slashed it, then jumped from fragment to fragment until he reached the metal grating in front of the warship's left cylinder.
"… Now what?" Sora wondered aloud.
Then, mechanical Bomb Bell Nobodies showed up, doing nothing in particular. Sora looked at them, then at the engine core. Then he looked back to the Bomb Bells, then back to the engine core. "Aha! Gather!"
Sora cast Magnega and gathered all the Bomb Bells together. With telekinesis, Two Become One and Bond of Flame knocked every Nobody into the cylinder's core.
"DAMAGE TO THE LEFT CYLINDER. SELF DESTRUCT IN TEN SECONDS. NINE. EIGHT."
"Uh oh." Sora jumped and glided to a bar much higher up than the platform, and leapt toward the other cylinder.
"Tick-tock."
"Tick-tock."
"Tick-tock."
"All right. Second verse, same as the first!" Sora cast Magnaga again and knocked all the Bomb Bells into the right cylinder.
He jumped up to the high bar and looked towards the main structure. "Xemnas…"
Final Sora dropped into a lobby with a gate bearing the Nobody symbol. A seal formed on the gate as Nobodies of all shapes and sizes materialized.
"Here we go!" Sora glided across the room, his floating Keyblades wiping out the Dusks, Assassins, and Creepers.
Two Sniper Nobodies appeared and prepared to take shots, but Sora's Keyblades independently spun and deflected them back at the Snipers. "The gate's still not open yet?"
A Berserker, some Gamblers, and Dancers arrived, but Final Sora flew over to the Berserker and destroyed it. He took the left over claymore and bashed the Gamblers and Dancers to oblivion. A Dragoon appeared, so Sora threw the claymore at it, weakening the Dragoon. He then flew over to it.
"Learn! Learn, learn, learn! Now Jump!" Sora jumped and used the diving thrust that he once used on Xaldin. With the Dragoon gone, three Sorcerers appeared. Using his spare Jump commands left over, he turned to the Sorcerer Nobodies and slaughtered them.
Sora felt weird. "Uh-oh. Power's wearing out… Just need a little more time!" Sora flew over to the gate, and the seal was removed. He started attacking relentlessly, and a hole was created. "Yes!"
Donald, Goofy, and Riku all re-emerged.
"That was… weird." commented Riku. Then he noticed the gate. "Is that the way to Xemnas?"
Sora nodded. "I think so."
Everyone stood before Xemnas. He was different, now. He sat upon a throne, wearing strange armor and wielding a large spear.
"Cursed foooooools…" Xemnas waved his spears, and many Dragoon spears were summoned. He waved again and they all homed in on Sora.
"I got this." Goofy stated, calmly. He walked up to Sora and held up his shield. "C'mon, Sora!"
"Right!"
Sora and Goofy ran up to Xemnas and started attacking in unison, with the same motions. As they did this, Demyx's water clones appeared.
"Waak!" Donald cast Firaga on all of them, as Axel's chakrams materialized.
"Rrrah!" Riku jumped up and swung his blade, knocking one chakram into the other, thus both onto the floor.
"BEGONE." Xemnas was about to swing his spear as a weapon itself at Sora and Goofy, but Donald jumped into the way and took the hit. He was knocked to the floor. Sora and Goofy were shocked.
"You monster! Let's finish this, Goofy!" Sora picked Goofy up.
"Ready, Sora!"
Sora sent Goofy flying like a missile, right into Xemnas's face.
"AAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHH!"
Everyone was back together on the Altar of Naught. Donald was lying on his back and Goofy turned to him.
"Donald, are you okay? Don't die! Who else will Sora and I have ice cream with?"
"Wakwakwak…" Donald started to cough a little. His coughs became mixed with quacks. "Aaaah… I'll be fine."
Goofy's eyes widened. "Donald, you can talk clearly now!"
Donald's eyes widened. "Well what do ya know? I guess being in that pod kind of made my throat screwy, and when Xemnas hit me, it was back to normal!"
"Glad to hear it!" Mickey said.
"Excuse me, but I'm dying." Xemnas brought everyone's attention back to him. "It is unfortunate… I lacked the hearts necessary. The rage and the hatred."
Sora shook his head. "Xemnas, there's more to a heart than that. Don't you remember?"
Xemnas looked down. "No. I do not…" With that, he faded away.
Everyone stood still for a moment, unsure of the implications. Had they finally won?
"Oh boy!" Mickey leaped up. "You did it!"
Donald and Goofy initiated a victory dance, as Kairi and Mickey watched. Sora, on the other hand, noticed that Riku was moping.
"Riku, what's wrong?"
"Well, there's the fact that I gave in to the darkness and inadvertently might've had something to do with the islands being destroyed. How do you come home after that?"
"Very carefully." Sora joked.
"… Hahahaha!" Riku laughed. "Look at you, learning how to be a smart aleck."
The entire altar shook briefly, causing one of the decorations on the walls to come loose. Mickey grew concerned.
"We should probably get out of here."
"As weird as it sounds, I kind of wish I still had the dark power," Riku started, "so that I could make a portal for us."
"So how do we leave?" asked Kairi. Donald looked back to the stairway that led them to the altar and spoke up.
"Can't we just take the long way back to Twilight Town? I mean it kind of sucks, but-"
Donald was interrupted by the appearance of a new dark portal. It was conjured by the ghost of Namine, unbeknownst to anyone.
"Oh. Well that's convenient I guess." Donald started walking in, when Pluto bolted up the stairs and tackled the magician. "Hey what's the big idea?"
"Pluto? Where have you been?" Mickey asked. Pluto looked over and ran up to Mickey, licking him plenty of times. "Oho! Hey, that tickles! Easy, Pluto!"
Mickey got Pluto off of him, so the dog ran into the portal. The king then helped Donald up and the two walked in.
"Welp, looks like our work here is done. Let's skedaddle!" Goofy waved his arm, motioning towards the portal. He was the next to walk through.
Sora and Kairi tried to head into the portal, but Namine reappeared.
"Thank you." Kairi said.
Namine smiled and then turned to Sora. "See? We met again, just like we promised."
"… We did?" asked Sora.
"Sure did." a new voice answered. The image of Roxas stepped out of Sora.
"Whoa! Are you… Roxas?"
Roxas turned back at Sora and smiled before speaking to Namine again. "You were right, we met again. We waited a long time and we didn't recognize each other at first, but here we are."
Namine smiled once again. "We didn't fade into darkness like the other Nobodies. We met our original selves, and we can be together! … As long as Sora and Kairi are together."
"Yep!" Kairi responded. "Every day."
Namine walked over to Kairi and held out her hand. Kairi accepted and Namine began to glow. Before long, she disappeared. Sora was confused.
"So… what just-"
Roxas walked up to Sora. "Your turn!"
"Oh! Uh, by the way, I'm sorry if I-"
"Don't worry about it." reassured Roxas. He glowed and disappeared into Sora.
Kairi walked into the portal. "Come on, guys!"
"Right behind you." Riku spoke up and started heading for the portal. But before he could, the portal disappeared.
"…"
"…"
"… Riku… the portal just-"
"I know, Sora. I was there."
The boys were alone upon the Altar of Naught. Sora rubbed his chin.
"… Well I guess we could still take the long way to Twilight Town, like Donald sai-"
But Sora never finished his suggestion.
In the darkness beyond the city, Xemnas's dragon warship emerged from the horizon. The monstrosity rammed the top of the Castle That Never Was, making the altar collapse.
"Oh no!" Sora was trying hard to stay balanced, but Riku noticed a small vehicle on one of the ship's wings.
"Hmm… This is gonna be tricky."
He jumped up and made it to the small vehicle. It had a small platform sticking out the side, so Sora could ride on it as a passenger. The boy flew to the crumbling castle.
"Sora, get on!"
"Right!" He made a leap and landed onto the platform. "We're gonna take that thing down?"
"We're gonna take that thing down."
Xemnas's ship kept flying through the darkness of the world. Riku and Sora gave chase on their small machine.
"Where's he going, anyway?" Sora wondered.
"Honestly? No clue. But let's bust his cylinders."
"Those came back? Aw man…"
Riku flew up next to one of the cylinders, and some Bomb Bells materialized.
"Tick-tock."
"Tick-tock."
They started firing missiles at the duo, but Riku activated the ship's absorption shields. "Hey Sora, there's a meter on this thing that's charging with the more hits we take. I think we can unleash all this energy on the cylinder."
"Cool! I'll just… stand."
When the meter was full, Riku reversed the shields and unloaded all the energy onto the Bomb Bells and the nearest cylinder, causing it to fall off and explode. The boys nodded at each other and decided to do the same to the other cylinder, as more Bomb Bells arrived.
"Loading… loading… Now!"
The second cylinder was soon destroyed, leaving Xemnas's dragon ship as merely a dragon. Sora was confused.
"Hey Riku, what good was destroying the cylinders if it can still fly?"
Riku rolled his eyes. "Well dang it Sora, it's not like I knew he'd still be able to fly that thing!"
"Well how about we aim for the wings then?"
"Right."
Suddenly, the ship started firing lasers at the boys. Riku quickly dodged, while Sora had another question.
"How am I staying attached to this thing?"
"Not now Sora!" More Bomb Bells appeared. "All right, make yourselves useful."
The Bomb Bells began attacking again, but Riku merely repeated his past strategy. When the time came, he unloaded all the energy onto the left wing, pushing the whole thing apart from the rest of the ship.
"All right, one more!" Sora cheered. "Even though it really shouldn't be able to fly with just one wing and no cylinders…"
Thus Riku kept up the usual method until finally both wings had been removed. Then something caught his eye. "Hey there's a tiny bit of energy left. I have a plan."
Riku piloted the machine toward the head of the dragon. He turned so that they were facing it and let out the last bit of energy, right at the dragon's head.
In response, the dragon crashed into the darkness below. But it did not last long, as the dragon rose up and created voids all around it.
"For crying out loud…" Riku muttered.
Sora and Riku jumped from the small ship and onto the dragon's head, finding themselves face to face with the armored version of Xemnas upon his throne. Sora looked down.
"I realized, I never got a chance to thank Namine. I think I remember everything now."
Riku's gaze stayed on Xemnas. "Neat. But right now, let's focus on this guy."
"I shall send you into the void. Just look."
Sora and Riku turned around and saw their small ship flying into the void.
"Nothingness… IS ETERNAL!"
Sora and Riku ran up to Xemnas, but he swung his new axe weapon and knocked them both far, far away from him, into the open airspace between the ship and the void.
"Guard." Xemnas chanted. The remains of his ship created a shield. "Attack." Buildings were sent flying at Sora and Riku.
"More buildings? Can't say I've seen a lot of weirder weapons. And what's with the fact that we can float?" snarked Riku. "… Sora? Where are you?"
"Hey Riku!" Sora called. Riku turned around and noticed that Sora was farther away from the ship than he was. "I have a plan! I'll knock one to you, and you can ride it and smash his shield!"
"Uh… okay… I think." Riku was a little confused.
"Heads up!" Sora swung his Keyblade and sent the skyscraper toward Riku. The older boy hopped on and rode it right into Xemnas's ship's shield. They bounced off, but the shield was weakened.
"Time's up!" Riku then swung at the building himself, breaking the building and the shield to bits. Both of the friends started making their way back to the ship.
"Sora, are you certain you can trust Riku?"
"Yes!"
"Oh but Riku. Are you not jealous of Sora?"
Riku landed on the dragon head first. "Don't waste your breath, Xemnas. We're not turning on each other. We're beating you together."
Sora landed next. "Yeah!"
The two ran up to Xemnas once more, but this time when the enemy swung his axe, they were prepared.
"Shield!" Riku cast a protective spell that made the axe bounce off of a force field, and backwards so that the axe was stuck on the wall behind Xemnas.
"Cursed foo-" Before he could finish taunting, Xemnas got the full punishment from both Two Become One and Way to the Dawn. "AAAAAAAAHHH! Why…"
Xemnas slouched over. But then, before anything could be done, Riku noticed that the dragon ship was now much closer to the void than before. Much, much closer.
"This won't end well…"
"… ora… up… Sora… up!"
"Huh?" Sora asked.
"Wake up, Sora!"
Sora opened his eyes and stood up. He and Riku were in a strange place. There were white and gray voids all around.
"Where… are we?"
"I don't know. Either we're inside that void or maybe it took us somewhere else."
"Ahem." Xemnas cleared his throat. Sora and Riku looked over.
Sora narrowed his eyes. "Oh great, you're still here." But then his friendly demeanor returned. "At least you found yourself a cooler coat."
It was true, Xemnas now wore a robe of black and white.
"Yes… But more importantly…" Xemnas began, "If light and dark are eternal, than surely nothingness must be eternal as well."
Riku smirked. "Yeah. I guess you're right." He summoned his Keyblade. "But you know what?"
Sora summoned his Keyblade as well. "You're not."
Xemnas chuckled. "We shall see…" Then, in a flash, his Ethereal Blades were drawn and he was right in front of Sora, swinging.
"Whoa!" Sora jumped out of the way and tried to land a shot on Xemnas, but the Nobody was swinging too quickly and too often.
Riku went in to attack. "Forget about me, Xemnas?"
An exact copy of Xemnas materialized and attacked Riku from behind. "No. We did not."
Both Xemnas and his copy began shooting ethereal, black and white streams of thorns at Sora and Riku.
"Bind!"
"We shall go together."
Sora turned to Riku. "If they're attacking together…"
"We should too."
Sora and Riku started firing magical attacks at both of the enemies while avoiding thorns.
"Back off!"
"Time's up!"
The boys summoned a few swords to float around them again, and sent them all after the enemies. Then they threw their Keyblades, one on each said of the Xemnas duo.
"You're gonna lose it all!" Riku called, seemingly activating the blasts from both Keyblades.
"UUUUUUAAAAAAAAA!" Xemnas and his doppelganger screamed in unison. The original narrowed his eyes and teleported right up to Sora.
Xemnas began flying around and setting laser traps for the boy, but Sora kept jumping out of the way. Each time this would happen, until Xemnas appeared right before Sora.
"Can you spare… a heart?" His hand began to glow as he picked up Sora by the chest.
"Uh, no?"
"Let us find out."
Riku prepared to attack Xemnas, but the copy appeared before him and knocked him away, all the while the original Xemnas was beginning to drain the life out of Sora.
"Riku… help…"
"I'm there!" Riku began running back toward Xemnas. The clone kept appearing in the way, but Riku cut through him and continued running.
"Not so fast, Riku." the clone said, reappearing.
"Rrrr!"
Riku tried to attack the clone, but it drew Ethereal Blades and began attacking. Riku jumped to the side and continued running. When the clone teleported once again, Riku wasted no time and attacked on sight, making the clone disappear for good.
"You will be too late, Riku." the real Xemnas told him.
"That's enough!" He ran over and hit the Superior Nobody with a mighty swing.
"Aaaah!" Xemnas recoiled in pain and dropped Sora. Before anything could happen, Riku cast Curaga on Sora.
"Phew. Thanks!"
Riku nodded. "No problem."
"Fools, there is no such thing as light. So why don't you both vanish? NOW!"
Sora and Riku looked up and noticed that Xemnas began amassing a large cloud of ethereal blades in the air surrounding everyone.
"… Ready, Riku?"
Riku smiled. "Born ready."
Xemnas waved his arms, causing the blades to come falling down onto Sora and Riku. The boys acted quickly and started moving around, making sure to reflect every last one. There were many blades, and it was not easy, but after a few minutes, Xemnas was out of blades, and the boys were still in one piece. Exhausted, but in one piece.
"Heh… Is that all?" Riku asked. Xemnas teleported down to his level and knocked him away with one of his personal blades.
Sora was furious. "Hey!"
"Your turn." He began to swing at Sora, but Riku came back and blocked with his Keyblade. "If you insist, Riku." Xemnas attacked Riku even harder, sending him back.
"Aaaaah! Sora!" Riku threw his Keyblade to his friend, and Sora caught it.
"Right!"
Sora jumped over to Xemnas and assaulted him with both his and Riku's Keyblades. "You're done, Xemnas!" The finishing blow knocked Xemnas away, and Sora landed next to Riku.
"Come on, Riku. Help hold this." He offered Two Become One to Riku. Riku nodded and held it alongside Sora. They held the Keyblade up.
"Fools…"
Before Xemnas could finish, a beam came from the Keyblade and impaled Xemnas.
"AAAAAAAAAAAHHHH! NO…"
Finally, Sora ran up to him and got in one last swing with his Keyblade.
"AAAAAAAAHHHHHH! Curses… Keyblade…"
Xemnas writhed in agony and tried to reach out to Sora. But it was over, and he was defeated. Xemnas began to fade away into black and white ribbons of nothingness.
Sora watched. Riku watched too, still injured.
"… So… Is this one for real, or is he gonna come back in an even bigger ship?" asked Sora.
Riku thought for a second. "… I think we're finished."
"All right! Let's go!"
Riku was still on the 'floor'. "Yeah, about that… I don't think I'll be able to go anywhere."
Sora looked back and saw Riku's condition. "Oh… … Well don't worry, I can probably help you."
"Okay, but then what? We're literally in the middle of nowhere."
Sora waved his hand dismissively. "Oh, it'll all work out. You just gotta think positive. Let's go."
"… Okay."
Sora walked over to Riku and began to help him up. Riku's arm was slung around Sora's shoulders, and Sora started walking both of them out.
"Hisssss…"
Confused, Sora and Riku looked around. An army of Dusks was surrounding them. The Nobodies began trying to pounce on the Keyblade wielders, but vanished into light just as quickly.
"…"
"…"
"… Riku, those Nobodies-"
"I know, Sora. I was there."
Sora and Riku found themselves on a dark beach. This looked to be the same beach where Xemnas spoke to Roxas, all that time ago. Not that these two would know that.
"… How did we get from a void to a beach?" Sora wondered. "… Oh well." He kept walking. Soon, they made it to the edge of the water.
"I think this is it. You can let go now, Sora. I can walk."
Sora let Riku go, and the two just stood there for a bit. Then Riku fell over.
"Waah! Riku, are you okay?" Sora was freaked out. Riku started propping himself up.
"Yeah, I'm good." He was adjusting himself so that he would be in a sitting position. "So… I guess this is where we belong now. We can be the darkness."
Sora did not understand. "… We can? You mean about how the Realm of Light is safe?" Sora sat down.
"Yeah…"
The friends sat on the beach. There was no way to tell how long they were there. Riku looked around.
"… Can you help me down to the water?"
Sora sighed. "All right…"
Sora and Riku were sitting at the edge, the waves splashing against their shoes.
"You know, Sora, Xemnas was right about on thing. I was kind of jealous. Of the way you're always able to live your life. So carefree and happy all the time…"
Sora shrugged. "Well, I have my own problems. I mean, my shoes are too big, I have poor sense of direction, and… well I kind of always wanted to be like you."
Riku laughed. "Yeah, something's wrong with you all right."
"Oh thanks!" Sora laughed back.
"But there is one good thing about being me."
"The long, silver hair?"
Riku looked at Sora flatly. "… No. I was talking about having you for a friend."
"Oh!" Sora was flattered. "Well then I guess being me has its good parts too." He smiled.
Riku noticed something in the water by his feet. "Hello, what's this?" He picked it up. It was a letter in a bottle. "Huh. Wonder what it says."
Riku opened the bottle and raised his eyebrows. Sora looked over.
"What is it?"
"It's for you." He passed it to his friend.
Sora took the letter.
"Thinking of you wherever you are… … our hearts will blend. … Starting a new journey… There are many worlds, but they share the same sky- the same destiny. Your friend, Kairi."
The second Sora finished reading Kairi's letter, a bright light appeared. It was a door for Sora and Riku.
"Oh hey! That looks promising!" Sora was beaming. He stood up and looked down to Riku, offering a hand. "Come on, let's go!"
Riku smiled and took Sora's hand, helping to hoist himself up. With that, the two walked into the door.
Sora and Riku fell from the sky like two falling stars. They landed in the ocean, by the sunset. When they resurfaced, they heard a voice.
"Sora! Riku!"
The boys looked. It was Kairi! Their island! They were home!
"Riku, we're-"
"Back!"
The boys quickly started swimming back to shore. Sora was ahead and went a little ways, but he stopped when he heard a familiar laugh.
"Ahyuck!"
Donald and Goofy ran out and tackle-hugged Sora.
"Sora, you're okay!" Donald cheered.
"You had us worried, but now yer back!"
Mickey came out and gave Riku the same greeting.
"Mickey!" Riku caught Mickey and returned the hug.
"Hu-huh!" the king laughed.
Donald and Goofy kept a hold on Sora. The boy laughed and looked over to Kairi. For a brief second, his heart saw Namine. And Kairi's heart saw Roxas.
Sora pulled out a strange leaf. It was a charm Kairi had once given him, for good luck.
"It took a little longer, but we're back!" Sora smiled. He and Kairi joined hands, returning the charm to its owner.
"Welcome home."
So what happened to everyone after things were sorted out?
DISNEY CASTLE
Mickey, Donald, Goofy, Pluto, Huey, Dewey, Louie, and even Uncle Scrooge all returned home. Queen Minnie and Daisy in particular were very happy.
TWILIGHT TOWN
It was time again for the Struggle tournament! Hayner challenged Seifer for the title!
100 ACRE WOOD
Pooh Bear and all of his friends frolicked and lived their lives as they always would. Sometimes they would gather on the starry hill and look at the moon. They would think of Sora.
THE LAND OF DRAGONS
Mulan and Shang grew closer… while Yao, Ling, and Chien Po liked to watch. So did Mushu.
BEAST'S CASTLE
Belle and Beast grew closer too. Then one night, it happened: Beast and the servants finally returned to his human form.
OLYMPUS COLISEUM
Hercules, Megara, Phil, and even Pegasus had finally restored the coliseum to its original glory. Auron, satisfied at last, returned to wherever he came from.
PORT ROYAL
Will Turner and Elizabeth Swann joined Captain Jack Sparrow for some great voyage.
HALLOWEEN TOWN
Jack Skellington began cooking up frightening ideas for next Halloween, announcing them for all in Halloween Town to hear.
SPACE PARANOIDS
Tron got an upgrade. Now he's a master of dancing.
TIMELESS RIVER
Captain Pete sailed the river with his own boat finally back under his control. King Mickey of the past continued to be the little prankster he always had been.
AGRABAH
Aladdin and Jasmine enjoyed a ride on Carpet… with Genie.
ATLANTICA
Ariel had become a human at last, and was married to Eric. Triton, Sebastian, and Flounder watched from the sea, happy for her.
PRIDE LANDS
Simba and Nala watched as Rafiki showed their cub, Kiara, to all of the animals in the Pride Lands, from the edge of Pride Rock.
RADIANT GARDEN
Yuffie and Cid enjoyed some ice cream, whenever the Gull Wings weren't messing with them. Leon read a letter from someone important to him, while Aerith merely enjoyed the sight of a restored Radiant Garden.
DESTINY ISLANDS
Sora wandered into the secret cave back home. He reminisced as he saw all of the old drawings that he and his friends would etch during childhood. Then he noticed a picture that had changed since he was last there. There was a picture of him and Kairi giving each other a Paopu Fruit. Last time, he drew himself giving her the fruit. Since then, Kairi returned the favor. Sora smiled.
And for a time, peace reigned in the many worlds. All was well, all were safe. … Or so everyone believed…
After an unknown amount of time passed, Sora and Riku were relaxing on the curvy tree on the small islet just by their island. It was as if nothing had ever changed.
"… This is nice." Riku commented.
"Yeah…"
"Guys!" Kairi's voice called out. She was running toward them, and she held a bottle. "Look what I found!"
Sora turned around. "Jack's jar of dirt?"
"Let it go, Sora." Riku told him. Kairi made it to the small island and everyone gathered together.
"You have a letter, look!" Kairi showed Sora the bottle. Inside was a letter, and it had King Mickey's seal.
"Wow! What could it mean?" Sora took the bottle and opened it. What did it say? It would remain a mystery…
… But now it's not a mystery. Here:
Hey fellas! King Mickey Mouse, here!
I hope you're all doing okay! We're fine here at the castle, but something came up, and it concerns all of you.
I wanted to tell you right away, about memories from the past that sleep within you, and about the pieces that will tie you to your future.
Sora, Riku, Kairi.
That the truth behind the Keyblade has found its way through so many people. And now I know that it rests in your hearts.
Sora. You are who you are, because of those people. But they're hurting. And you're the only one who can end their sadness. They need you! It's possible that all your journeys so far have been preparing you for this great new task that's waiting for you!
I should've known there are no coincidences. Only links in a much larger chain of events. And now the door to your next journey is ready to be opened.
Sora sat alone upon the tree, holding the empty bottle. Riku and Kairi walked up.
"So… Now what?" Riku asked. "Have you decided?"
Sora nodded. He stood up and walked over to Kairi.
"I'm sorry, Kairi. But if they need me, I can't just sit around. The King said I am who I am because of them, right? I'll be back. I promise it won't be for a year again."
Kairi smiled. She pulled out her charm and gave it to Sora.
"See you soon, Sora."
Kingdom Hearts II
Battle Report:
Game Level - Fan Fiction Mode
Completion of Jiminy's Journal - 95%
Completion of Gummi Routes 1%
Healed Party Members - 0 times
Saved by Mickey - 1 time (Chapter 14)
Most Common Drive - Valor & Wisdom (5 each)
Anti Form - 4 times
Most Used Summon - Chicken Little (twice)
Drive Report:
Valor Form - 5 (Ch. 2, 3, 3, 6, 10)
Wisdom Form - 5 (Ch. 7, 8, 13, 18, 23)
Master Form - 4 (Ch. 12, 15, 21, 23)
Limit Form - 2 (Ch. 12, 22)
Final Form - 2 (Ch. 24, 25)
Anti Form - 4 (Ch. 5, 8, 11, 24)
THE END
Author's Notes:
Ta-da! We're here!
Chapter title wasn't too creative, but I thought this story's been going on long enough. I think it's earned a more respectable title, at least by way of chapter title. Oh and I'm tired of the joke with Donald's quacking (and figured other people were too), so he can talk now. And in any possible prequels.
And yeah, I added to the game's actual ending by showing Mickey's letter and the aftermath. The reason why is because I do want to leave the door open to writing a Dream Drop Distance parody. That's the next Kingdom Hearts game that I want to write about, and I really don't want to do a re:Coded parody. I'd also like to try Birth By Sleep and Days, but one step at a time.
I'd like to take the time to say how special this is for me. I've had this story in my head for years. Ever since the ending of the game 7 years ago, in fact. I showed early drafts of the entire first half of the story to a friend. It wasn't until late 2011 that I finally decided to improve the story, work in ties to the games released since then, and show it to all of you. So I guess you could say that this story was years in the making. And now it's finally behind me. We're done.
But before we go, I'd like to thank everyone who read this story. Thank you for reading, for reviewing, for lurking, even an occasional constructive criticism. You don't write a story for the reviews, you do it for the sake of writing, but you people have helped improve my experience writing this story, showing that at least some people out there were entertained, even if only for a few minutes. So thank you. I hope you've enjoyed Kingdumb Hearts II, and will enjoy the rest of your day.