A/N: Thanks to Psycho Kitty Alchemist, japaneserockergirl, singintoyourself, oathkeeper (x5!!!!) and RikuLover211 for reviewing!
I have changed the story title once again! Feedback is always appreciated.
I own my OCs only. The lyrics belong to Underoath.
XXVIII. Fall from Grace
Someone has sown me shut and tied me to a bed…
This is where they all throw me to the wolves
Dragged behind and trampled on
I can't keep clawing at the jaws of hell
The silence is killing me…nothing to calm the nerve
Write down my thoughts, and read me my rights
Repeat, repeat, repent and repeat.
Underoath-"The Only Survivor Was Miraculously Unharmed"
Ruxik arrived back at the Altar of Naught and busily began casting cloaking spells on the Forge. He could scarcely hide his glee at so easily acquiring this incredible tool, and he was already imagining the next phase of the plan. Just as he finished the last spell that consigned the Forge to a miniscule space, he felt a wave of nausea that nearly knocked him to his knees.
"What is this?!" he shouted, angry and confused. He waited for the nausea to pass, but it remained. He noted that it didn't feel much like typical nausea. His stomach wasn't unsteady—his whole nature was. He was baffled as to what had happened until he happened to look skyward. The silver streak had grown to encompass the entire sky, and a white hole had appeared in the middle of it. The very sight of this was like a shockwave; he fell to the ground in agony.
What is this bizarre thing?! Wait…it can't be… He looked skyward once more, trying to ignore the agonizing pain. As he slowly looked up, a thought flashed across his mind.
It can't be…Oblivion?!
Once again Kairi found herself on her knees: first beside Sora's empty casket and now beside his very body. She barely knew she was there; all she knew was that she felt torn in half. She had tried so hard to get Sora out of her mind, but she always knew that at least he was at peace. This horrible version of him was far from peaceful. She didn't know what had happened, but obviously her lover had been taken from her—she could not stand for this.
Riku too was outraged, and unlike Kairi he could still stand. He let his instincts take over, and his rage consumed him. With a primal scream he charged the lead Fallen Angel, furiously slashing its arms with his Keyblade. In his fury he didn't see the Angel's three blades attacking with supernatural speed and precision; it took a furious blow from the Angel's wing to make him come to his senses.
Foolish boy! Those are pureblood Heartless. You are no match for them by yourself.
That would've been nice to know BEFORE I charged, Darythas.
You refused to listen.
Can you blame me? Look what they did to Sora!
A heinous act indeed. And your recklessness will neither avenge him nor change his situation any.
…Fair enough. But Kairi is not going to fight anytime soon…
Fight defensively. Give her time to hear the voices of the Princesses that inhabit her. They will show her the proper course of action.
Sounds good enough for me. Riku slowly backed his way away from Kairi, drawing two Angels from her. One began to approach her, and Riku immediately charged dealt it a swift blow and retreated. Now all three Angels were focused directly on him, brandishing their blades slowly.
Riku continued to slowly walk backwards until he abruptly hit a rock wall. He heard the Angels hiss with demonic pleasure, and he forced himself to find a way out.
"Aeroga!" he shouted, pointing his blade at his feet. A gust of wind forced him into the air, and he used the boost to run up the wall. He jumped horizontally off the wall, slashing at an Angel's head along the way, and thrust his Keyblade into a crevasse, casting a Firaga. It worked—columns of flame erupted from the ground, and one Angel lost two arms to the blaze.
The Angels were now quite angry and were following Riku more closely. The wounded angel threw one of his blades at Riku and would have severed his head from his neck if not for a timely block.
I have a feeling this could go on for a while…hurry, Kairi!
But Kairi was far from battle-ready. The sight of Sora contaminated by such evil had rocked her to her core. She dimly realized that Naminé was not even attempting to comfort her. Did she really leave me? What did I do?!
Her departure was not your fault.
Jysilia?
Correct.
Wait—she did leave? Sora and Naminé are gone?
…Yes.
Kairi felt another wave of grief shake her.
Do not despair. You are still a Princess of Heart. We understand your grief, but your friend is danger—I am sure you do not want to lose him too.
You expect me to fight like this?
I expect you to overcome your grief.
That's not going to happen right away, Jysilia.
Kairi, you must pull yourself together. Jysilia was losing the comforting maternal tone in her voice.
Pull myself together? Look at what they did!
Remaining here will do nothing. There is a time and a place for grieving—if you continue to grieve here, you will only endanger yourself and your friends.
I can't just forget what's happened here! You try living your life without your love!
I did. I told you this, remember? It was difficult, but I persevered. Your lover would not want you to live like this.
Don't you dare tell me what Sora would have wanted from me! Kairi was becoming angrier by the second. I knew him. I loved him. I knew everything about him. And you think you can tell me what he would have wanted?!
Yes.
This simple word pushed Kairi over the edge. Rage coursed through her veins like a flame, and her muscles began to seize involuntarily.
Kairi—what is this? Restrain yourself! Jysilia suddenly sounded panicked.
"Why? Sora's dead, Naminé's gone, and you're trying to tell me to forget both of these? I'll show who runs my life. Stop hiding in my thoughts and come fight me!" Kairi had begun to levitate and had ceased to speak to the elder Princess only in her mind. The Heartless and Riku paused from their battle to stare at Kairi who was glowing with a blinding light similar to the one that had destroyed Omegasis—but this was tainted with streaks of black and red.
Have you gone mad?! What are you trying to do? And you know I can't challenge you—I'm a spirit!
"Then just watch me! I'll show you how strong I am, and you will never tell me to forget Sora!" The light grew brighter (yet more visibly tainted), and a furious wind began to blow towards Kairi.
"Kairi! Stop! What are you doing?!" Riku shouted in panic. The Fallen Angels began to squeal and croak in equally nervous tones.
This brought Kairi somewhat back to reality; the compassion that had made her a Princess slightly lessened her rage. "Riku—run! I can't stop what's happening!"
"This is what Yen Sid spent months training us for!" Riku shouted over the deafening wind. "Focus! Calm down!"
"He never trained us for this—and I won't stop it!" Kairi shouted with malice in her voice.
Riku was terrified; this girl was nothing like the Kairi he knew. Even her physical appearance had changed—her reddish-brown hair (now under a silver tiara) had inexplicably turned black, and she was wearing a beautiful white dress streaked with black. Without another word his panic overtook him, and he ran for his life.
Kairi stood high above the ground, looking past the maelstrom of light and wind. She saw Sora's body being battered by the storm; with a wave of her hand she covered the body in a white bubble. She smiled—but one could have called it a smirk. This is what happens to those who harm my Sora. This is what will happen to those who keep me from him.
And no one can stop it.
Abruptly the wind ceased, and the light around her was drawn back into her body. Then two words she had never spoken shattered the sudden silence.
"ULTIMA HOLY!"
Two much quieter words immediately followed; Riku cast an Ultima Reflega as soon as he heard Kairi's spell.
Then all heaven broke loose.
Riku had never seen such a blinding light in his life—even through his protective spell it was hauntingly beautiful in its purity and brightness, and he didn't even feel the need to close his eyes. The Fallen Angels immediately disappeared as soon as the light touched them, and Riku could have sworn Kairi had angel wings in her back. He was entranced, awed by Kairi's godlike power.
In a moment awe become terror.
The blinding light became tainted with darkness, and the ever-growing streaks of black only served to make the light seem brighter—now it caused Riku pain even with shut eyes. Kairi's wings disintegrated into dust, and her dress gradually became pitch black, torn and ragged. The light from her own spell now caused her pain, and soon she was shrieking in agony.
"Make it stop! Make it stop! I was wrong!" she screamed, begging for an end. Her very soul felt aflame.
Thus ever it is to those who claim the power of the Holy.
"Jysilia! Save me!"
Thus ever it is to those who claim such power for their own.
"JYSILIA!"
Your life has been spared once; why should we spare it again?
"Have mercy on me! I was wrong! Just stop the pain! I'll do anything!" Death seemed a blissful release from this torture.
I will give you a choice. Jysilia's deliberate, stern tone only infuriated Kairi further. I can spare you the pain and end your life now, or you may relinquish your crown as Princess until you are truly ready to bear it—this will spare you from the full wrath of the Holy. Choose neither and this pain will continue until the end of time.
Kairi wasted no time in making her decision. "Take the crown! Just spare me!"
Jysilia sighed. As you wish. With her word Kairi felt her tiara lift from her head; half of her wanted to sigh in relief, and another half longed for its return. The pain quickly faded away, and the blinding light disappeared. Kairi fell to the ground, slowed by a hand she did not see.
You have chosen your fate, Jysilia stated flatly. Your actions will determine when you may wear this crown again. You are still a Princess of Heart as you were from birth, but the Light of those before you has left your body.
Yes, Princess, Kairi said dully. She was still breathing heavily from the intense pain, and tears streaked her face. Her normal clothes had returned, and the raging lust for power had left her. Jysilia said nothing as Riku ran to her side.
"Kairi! Kairi! Are you okay?" he asked frantically. Kairi nodded weakly before collapsing to the ground in exhaustion. Riku quickly examined her for wounds but found none.
"Don't bother," she said flatly. "It was that spell—it could have killed me."
"What?"
"Jysilia…the lead Princess. She told me to get over what they did to Sora…I didn't take it well. I tried a show of force—I thought I could cast Holy—it nearly killed me. The Princesses tried to stop it…but something possessed me."
"A Heartless? An evil Keyblader?"
"No, it's not that simple…" Kairi shook her head and shuddered in grief. "It was all me. I told myself I could do it…and Riku, Naminé's gone…she left me." Riku's mouth fell open in shock, but Kairi continued anyway. "I thought it was a dream—that night on the mountain she said she would leave, and she said something about Roxas…and I'm not a Princess anymore."
"What are you talking about?" Riku said, baffled.
"Thinking I could cast Holy lost me my powers. I'm back to the way I was before Omegasis."
Riku shook his head sadly, helpless. "I wish I could do something, Kairi. That really sucks."
"Tell me about it."
"Well, on the bright side…look around you!" Riku said with a suddenly bright tone. Kairi lifted her head to see a surprising setting—no longer did gray rock and black sky dominate the landscape. White sand caressed her feet, bright blue skies lit up the day, the ocean was calm and picturesque again…the island was back to the way it was.
"See, don't beat yourself up—at least you brought our home back!" Riku said, clearly trying to lighten the mood.
"Yeah," Kairi said, plastering a smile on her face.
Riku bought the lie and looked skyward, trying to use the sun as a compass. "I'm thinking home's that way," he said, pointing. "I don't know about you, but I'd love to sleep in a real bed…"
Kairi nodded and let Riku slowly walk ahead of her.
What have I become? I gave up my power. I nearly killed myself and my last living friend. She looked to Sora's body, restored to its condition when he was placed in the casket. Kairi slowly crawled towards his body and was shaken; even in his deadly pallor he was beautiful. She felt inferior beside him, and thinking of his past only hurt her more—he had never committed an evil deed, and she had thought herself capable of challenging those who had made her a Princess of Heart.
I've become a monster—and it's all because I let him die.
Ruxik crawled from the Altar until he found he could stand again; he sprinted down the stairs of Proof of Existence, searching for Maleficent.
"Maleficent! Where'd you go, witch?!" he shouted angrily. As he descended, he heard the sound of battle just outside the castle. Soon he found Yen Sid and Mickey in a tense battle with his accomplice.
"What are you doing?!" he shouted, furious. "This was never part of the plan!"
Everyone froze and stare at him. Maleficent bore a confident smirk. "I was just taking care of the old man and his mouse; why turn down a chance to wipe out a Keyblader?"
"You're an idiot!" Ruxik yelled. "You can't take him on yet! You can't even stand up to me!"
Maleficent's confidence fell to outrage. "How dare you question my power!"
"Remember this?" Ruxik replied coolly. He began the incantation of the spell that had terrified Maleficent earlier.
Maleficent tried to hide her panic. I have to pretend to be the perfect accomplice… "All right, you win, O Mighty One." She still couldn't hide her sarcasm, but Ruxik bought it anyway—he stopped the spell halfway through.
For the first time Ruxik looked to Mickey and Yen Sid, speaking with an uncharacteristically pleasant tone. "So sorry to have you involved in this. We'll be returning you to Disney Castle now."
"Wait!" Mickey shouted, pointing skyward. "Just tell us what that is!"
Ruxik shook his head. "At this point I can only guess—it almost certainly does not concern you." He quickly conjured two portals and sent the two off despite a brief protest from Maleficent. He cast another glance skyward and nearly vomited—now the gray sky seemed to be unloading white comets, led by one particularly bright and massive beam.
Maleficent gave him a confused look as she continued to try to hide her rage at letting Mickey go. "I would think we should take shelter."
"For once you're right," Ruxik panted. He quickly charged into his castle with Maleficent just behind him
"So do you have any idea as to what that is?" she queried nonchalantly.
"I have a guess," Ruxik said, speaking quickly. "But I don't want to say it until I'm sure. We're going to need to withdraw the Heartless—I know the Guardians are going to come blame me for anything that happens to Oblivion. Speaking of which—how are things on the island?" He abruptly stopped in the Hall of Empty Melodies and turned to face the witch.
She silently waved her hand over her crystal ball and stared at it intently. At first she was shocked to see the picturesque island, but a quick replay of what had taken place put another expression on her face.
"Well? What's happening?" Ruxik demanded impatiently.
Maleficent grinned evilly. "Don't worry about the Heartless—they're gone. As for the rest…see for yourself." She handed her scepter to him, and he beheld Kairi's fate with glee.
"Excellent. She's at the edge of the cliff. All we needto do is tell her to jump."
A/N: Reviews are, as always, greatly appreciated!
