The final battles await! We're almost at the end of this one. No announcements at this time, so read on!

Chapter Notes/Revisions and Alterations: Extended scenes, along with an all-new boss fight and the addition of Sora to the battle with Xehanort

Chapter 37: Final Battle

(Battle with Odin, Dissidia NT)

Aqua raised her Keyblade and cast forward a bolt of lightning at the galloping Odin, who was nearing their allies still fighting the horde of Heartless. The Astral sensed it coming and steered his horse to a halt. He then whirled around and slashed at the spell before it could strike him. She narrowed her eyes defiantly and kept running toward the towering knight. Ven, Riku, Kairi, Roxas, Lea, and Eraqus were beside her doing the same.

Odin's horse reared back on two legs and neighed loudly before charging straight for them. Odin twirled his sword and raised his other arm, a shining shield appearing in front of it. "Your lives shall end as rust upon my steel!" they heard him yell.

"I don't think so!" Riku yelled back and leaped into the air. He descended toward the advancing knight and swung as he flew close. Odin slashed with his sword, knocking the boy's attack away. He was huge, such that his sword alone was bigger than Riku's entire body. This was going to be harder than they thought.

Riku fell to the ground off to the side as Odin reached the rest of the group. His horse leaped up and crash-landed upon them with everyone just barely scattering out of the way in time. Ven had been too close to the horse's feet and had been knocked through the air by the shockwave. Dazed for a moment, he blinked and saw Odin swing toward him. Before it connected, Eraqus dashed in front of his pupil and aimed his blade forward. A series of glowing chains shot out and wrapped themselves around Odin's sword-arm. The Astral yelled furiously and tried to break them off. "Ventus!" Eraqus yelled, groaning from the effort of maintaining the spell. Ven nodded gratefully and joined Lea and Roxas in a simultaneous dash through the air. They reached Odin at the same time, slashing at his armored torso with their Keyblades.

The Astral cried out in pain and repulsed his arm, breaking Eraqus' chains and freeing his weapon once more. Lea jumped up at him once more, but he swung his shield and bashed the Wielder to the ground with a crash. He aimed his sword back at the stunned Lea, but Kairi shot a beam of light from behind that struck his head. Odin stumbled for a moment before his horse whirled around and centered on Kairi. The Astral reared his sword back and thrust it forward with tremendous power. Kairi managed to place a barrier around herself just before it struck her, but the force of it sent her flying back across the area.

She crashed into a pillar and her barrier shattered as she fell to the ground. The rock and debris collapsed and crumbled on top of her, hiding her from sight for the moment as the others continued fighting.

Riku and Aqua moved to distract the creature, aiming their Keyblades simultaneously and unleashing streams of fire. Odin turned and blocked the spells with his shield. The shield then began to glow with energy, causing the two to stop with looks of surprise. Unable to get clear in time, Riku stepped in front of Aqua just before a burst of light emerged from the shield's surface and engulfed them. Taking the brunt of it, Riku screamed and collapsed once the attack ceased. Aqua knelt down to look at him, but he wearily brushed her off. "I'll be fine, I just need a minute. Help the others!" he urged her. She sighed and looked over to where Roxas, Ven, and Eraqus were still fighting.

Eraqus charged his Keyblade with light energy and swung rapidly, sending multiple orbs of light flying through the air up at their opponent. Odin adeptly slashed each of them away and swung vertically through the air. A line of dark energy flew outward from his sword and rocketed toward them, causing them to scatter. "Knock him off of his horse! That's what's making him so dangerous!" Roxas yelled. Ven nodded and threw his Keyblade forward, the small weapon whizzing through the air and bouncing off of Odin's shield. A moment later, Aqua yelled and leaped up behind the Astral, slashing at his head and knocking his helmet clean off.

With his head exposed, Odin turned and swung his shield to bash her out of the air. Unable to block it, she was knocked to the ground by the large object and landed close to her remaining comrades. "Roxas is right. The horse is our target." Eraqus said. She nodded wearily and stood to her feet, eyeing the horse's thrashing legs.

"It's going to take a pretty big distraction to get him off of that horse." she replied. Eraqus nodded and ran forward suddenly. He made for the front of the horse and Odin quickly spotted him. He raised his sword to swing at the charging Master. However, as he swung forward, Roxas leaped in the way and slammed both of his Keyblades against it. The colliding weapons ground with sparks. Though Roxas groaned with effort and was momentarily holding the weapon back, he was giving ground. Ven jumped up beside him and struck his own Keyblade against Odin's sword, helping to craft a better stalemate. "You need to hurry!" Roxas yelled. Eraqus yelled as he neared his target.

Unable to get his sword through the two Wielders, Odin raised his shield toward Eraqus and prepared to unleash another volley of the light energy. He did so, and the massive wave of light energy flew through the air. Before it could reach Eraqus, Lea dashed in the way and put up a wall of flame. The two spells collided with such force that Lea slid back several feet. "I can't…..hold it!" he groaned, trying to hold back the furious light. Hearing his pleas, Aqua reached his side and threw forward a pillar of flame to help hold the tide at bay.

Odin stared at them almost in awe, both of his weapons in use but unable to break through. His horse reared up as Eraqus neared its feet in an attempt to crush him underneath its hooves. As it reached its full height, Riku and Kairi arrived. They each targeted one of the horse's shoulders, casting beams of light at them. The horse neighed loudly, the spells preventing it from coming back down onto its front feet.

Now with an opportunity, Eraqus leaped up and pointed his Keyblade at the ground. Chains once more emerged from his weapon, hooking around a large chunk of the ground and unearthing a new boulder. He whirled the chains behind his head and swung forward. The boulder crashed into the horse's front and caused it to topple over onto its back.

The massive creature fell, causing Odin to roll off its back. The horse stumbled back to its feet, but everyone turned their attention to preventing Odin from reaching it. Finding his way barred, the Astral roared with fury and began unleashing the full power of both of his weapons.

Aqua turned her attention to the horse, who upon seeing it was separated from its rider, turned and galloped away from the battle. She then realized how close the Heartless horde had come to their position as the horse sprinted through the oncoming tide and crushed thousands of Heartless under its feet. Mickey and the others were fighting their hardest, but the sheer number of the Heartless was pushing them back.

In minutes, the two battles would be on top of one another. That was when she had an idea.

"Everyone!" she yelled. Her comrades still fighting couldn't stop and look at her, but she knew they were listening. "The Heartless are here to seek and devour light energy! We can turn them and Odin against each other!" she explained.

The others heard her words and immediately broke off their attacks. Rallying on her position, they watched as Odin stood to his full height and prepared to finish them off. Behind him, they could see Mickey, Auron, Zack, and the others retreating due to the overwhelming numbers. "Get to our position!" Aqua yelled at them. They heard her and began doing so as she, Riku, Kairi, Eraqus, Ven, Roxas, and Lea raised their Keyblades forward. Seeing what they were doing, Kain leaped up and swung from behind the Astral.

"Knights have nothing on Dragoons!" he declared as he stabbed his lance through Odin's shoulder. The knight groaned and swung his shield to try and knock his attacker away, granting everyone else an opening.

"Now!" Aqua yelled. Seven beams of light energy issued forth at once, soaring in and striking Odin's exposed shoulder. Such combined light caused him to stumble and the after-effects remained on his body, lingering residue from the light.

Sensing it, the Heartless horde shifted its trajectory. Catching Odin by surprise, they leaped upon him by the thousands. The Astral cried out in fury and frantically swung his sword around himself, destroying attackers hundreds at a time. Despite his efforts, there were soon so many Heartless upon him that they could not see his armor through the darkness. "Ready?" Riku asked. Aqua nodded and they all readied for a final push. As one, they undertook a simultaneous attack. The eight Wielders(including Mickey) cast forth more beams of light. Donald let loose a barrage of lightning while Goofy threw his shield. Kain charged his lance with energy and hurled it forward("Lance of the Covenant!"). Vincent unloaded everything still in his Cerberus pistol while Cloud and Zack both slammed their swords on the ground and sent blue beams of energy flying forward. Finally, Auron stabbed his sword into the ground and caused a small explosion beneath Odin's feet.

The multiple attacks struck the covered Astral at once, incinerating the Heartless upon him and inflicting critical damage. Odin groaned and slowly fell backward, finally beaten in battle. With the Astral defeated, the remaining Heartless combed his body until it vanished into specks of light. Once he was gone, they turned their attention once more to the Keybearers and the plateau they were guarding. Despite Odin destroying many thousands of the Heartless, there were still enough to litter the landscape. Knowing that they had to keep buying time for Sora, Jack, and Terra, they readied their weapons to continue fighting even though many of them were already on the verge of collapse. (end Battle with Odin)

MEANWHILE….

(The Dragon Sups, Dissidia NT)

"Powers of Vessels slain…grant me this strength so that your sacrifices might be not in vain!" Xehanort chanted, his body glowing with X-blade's power. Terra, Jack, and Sora readied their weapons.

"No more, Xehanort!" Jack yelled and charged forward. However, Xehanort aimed the X-blade at the trio.

"Powers of Seymour!" he declared. A stream of powerful fire emerged from his blade and flew toward them. Jack stopped his advance upon seeing this, but Terra got in front of him and struck the ground with Ends of the Earth. A ring of boulders rose up around them, keeping the flames at bay.

"Go!" he urged them. Jack nodded and he and Sora leaped out of the fire's path. They both charged with Sora going up front and the Wanderer circling behind. Reaching Xehanort, Sora slashed forward several times and exchanged blows with the old man. Empowered by the X-blade, he was now swift enough to keep up with them.

Try as he might, Sora could not get his Keyblade through and was quickly staggered by Xehanort's counter. With Sora dazed, Jack leaped up from behind and angled his blade downward. Xehanort reached up, blocking the younger man from hitting him and threw him forward to the ground. Immediately upon landing, Jack rolled to his feet and threw his Wanderer's Judgment. Xehanort batted it back at its owner, who spun in the air and expertly kicked it forward again. This time it struck Xehanort, impaling itself in his shoulder. Jack smirked and called it back to his hand. In the next moment, the old man raised his hand to the sky.

"Powers of Ansem!" he declared. A portal of darkness appeared on the ground, out of which sprang the Dark Guardian. It roared and flew toward Jack, the two colliding and flying up into the air while battling.

Sora came once more and slashed at Xehanort, who smirked. "Powers of Sephiroth!" he yelled, a black wing unfurling on his back. With one movement of the wing, he dashed aside quick enough to dodge Sora's incoming attack. The boy stumbled forward and felt Xehanort cast a bolt of lightning into his back in the next moment. He cried out and fell for a moment as Terra charged from behind Xehanort, swinging widely. The old man turned and blocked, smiling malevolently at his former vessel. Terra stared back and pushed his weapon forward, breaking the lock and leaping around. Bringing his blade fiercely downward, he struck Xehanort before the other man could block and then plunged his Keyblade into the ground.

A pillar of earth erupted under Xehanort's feet and knocked him into the air with a groan of surprise. Terra and Sora both jumped up to him, swinging from two different directions.

"Powers of Marluxia!" Xehanort yelled. A pink scythe appeared in his free hand and he used both of his weapons to block their incoming attacks. He then spun in the air blindingly fast, slashing at them all the while. Taking several hits, the two boys cried out and fell back to the ground. Standing to their feet and trying to brush off their injuries, they readied themselves as Xehanort landed in the center of the area again.

At that moment, a shadow fell over him and he looked up. The Dark Guardian landed on him with a crash, knocking him to the ground underneath its weight. Terra and Sora turned to see Jack land, smirking slightly. The beaten Guardian groaned slightly until the X-blade emerged from its chest. It jolted and vanished in a flash of darkness, Xehanort rising to his feet once it was gone. The three united again, they prepared for a charge. Terra ran forward first, seeing an opening. However, Xehanort had been waiting for it.

"Powers of Isa!" he yelled, glowing with red energy. He jumped up and slammed the X-blade down, sending out a shockwave toward the advancing Terra. Once again, Terra struck the ground to bring up a boulder in front of him.

Seeing Terra temporarily distracted, Sora tried to run in from the other side. Watching warily for the scythe in Xehanort's free hand, he readied for a quick dash.

Xehanort looked at him and aimed the X-blade. "Powers of Braig!" he cast. A volley of red arrows emerged from the end of the blade. Sora stopped in surprise, but Jack dashed in front of him and held out his hands. A half-shield appeared in front of him, causing the arrows to bounce off. The Wanderer glanced over his shoulder at Sora.

"Stay calm. He's trying to divide us. Together, there's no way he can win." he said evenly. Sora nodded as the arrows continued connecting to Jack's barrier.

They then saw Terra leap up from behind Xehanort and slash him in the back. The old man stumbled forward with a groan and turned, swinging both the X-blade and his scythe in a wicked frenzy. Blocking what he could, Terra dashed away to avoid the rest.

By that time, both Jack and Sora had reached Xehanort. Facing them once more, he unleashed the fury of both his weapons upon them. Jack and Sora needed to exchange no words in order to fall into a rhythm. Together, they expertly dodged the incoming attacks and threw counters in where they could. Despite his best efforts, Xehanort could not hit them as they flipped, jumped, and rolled out of each of his strikes. In another moment, Terra had joined the fray. He was not nearly as nimble as the other two, but his attacks counted for much more per hit.

The three circled Xehanort, scoring a handful of hits between his deadly strikes. Finally, he lost his patience. "Enough!" he yelled upon Jack striking him from behind yet again. Raising his arms to the sky, he began glowing with energy. "Powers of Xemnas!" he roared.

Hundreds of laser projectiles appeared in the air and immediately pelted toward them. "Terra, keep fighting!" Jack exclaimed and looked at Sora. The boy nodded, and together they jumped into the air to meet the oncoming lasers. Hooking their free arms together, both Jack and Sora began glowing with light energy. The light extended to their weapons as the two boys began spinning at breakneck speeds. As they flew upward in spinning motions, they became a blender that deflected every laser in the way.

Together they were faster and stronger than the forces they were opposing. After they had dispatched the last of the projectiles, they turned back toward the ground. Terra was holding his own, but unable to do much against the speed of Xehanort's weapons. "Sephiroth!" the old man chanted. With a blur of his wing, he dashed forward and slashed Terra with the scythe, sending him flying onto his back with a cry of pain.

Jack and Sora, still engulfed in light energy, rocketed toward the ground and landed with a crash. They each slashed Xehanort as they did so, who stumbled back from the force of their landing. Letting go of one another, Jack and Sora charged again. Jack reached him first, vaulting over him and landing behind. "Seymour!" Xehanort chanted. A massive bolt of lightning arched down behind him, causing Jack to leap back and barely miss the strike.

Sora reached him at that moment, his strike bouncing off of the X-blade. Xehanort, drunk on the X-blade's power, laughed maniacally upon seeing something above them. Sora, Jack, and Terra looked up to see a blue heart-shaped moon appearing in the clouds above. "Not the True Kingdom Hearts…..but it is indeed…..Kingdom Hearts. The door to the Keyblade War is nigh at hand. Soon, the world shall be mine to recreate!" the old man said triumphantly.

The three boys looked at each other, nodding in agreement. From where he still standing, Jack charged. Likewise, Terra ran in and swung Ends of the Earth forward. Xehanort met him with the X-blade, the two weapons locking together. Jack raced in from behind to find the scythe blocking his path, he swung and trapped his Wanderer's Judgment in the hook of the scythe, locking Xehanort from swinging that weapon.

With both of Xehanort's weapons occupied, Sora charged forward. Twirling his Keyblade and encasing it in light energy, he dashed forward and swung. He found his feet on Xehanort's other side, his Keyblade still in swinging position. The man froze for a moment, before crying in pain and seeing a line of light energy along his chest from the attack. "Isa!" he roared and repulsed his arms, knocking all three boys away from him. The trio tumbled to the ground and Jack regained his footing first, running relentlessly at his former master. He waved his hand and cast forward a bolt of lightning.

The spell struck the blade of the scythe and broke the weapon in two. Xehanort frowned and placed both hands upon the hilt of the X-blade as the Wanderer ran in. At the last moment, Jack front-flipped over him and, still holding his weapon backhand, plunged it into Xehanort's back. The old man screamed and whirled around swinging for Jack's head. However, the Wanderer wrenched his weapon out and rolled forward. Darkness sprayed out of the wound in Xehanort's back as he looked wildly around. His vision swimming back and forth, he failed to notice in time Terra running forward. Without hesitation, he drove Ends of the Earth into Xehanort's chest until only the hilt could be seen. Xehanort roared and reached his leg up, kicking Terra back and removing the blade from his chest. Now with two gaping wounds in his body, he was staggering around and struggling to remain on his feet. "Powers…..of….." he groaned.

Jack appeared at his side and grabbed on to the hilt of the X-blade. Seeing what he was doing, Xehanort began to wrestle with the younger man, punching and elbowing at him. Jack struggled against him but got caught off guard when Xehanort bashed him in the face with the flat edge of the X-blade. Groaning and stumbling back, Jack summoned his Keyblade in time to block the man's next swipe. Their weapons locked together, Jack staring into his former master's eyes. "You lose, old man. Finally…you get what you deserve." he growled. Xehanort stared at him, until Terra's Keyblade emerged through his chest from behind, inflicting a third critical wound.

Terra let out a yell as he lifted Xehanort up from behind, impaled on Ends of the Earth. "This…..is for everybody that you've hurt! But most of all….for what you did to me….and my father, Eraqus!" he roared. Xehanort grasped at his chest and struggled for breath. Terra nodded and exhaled loudly. He then turned and swung his blade, launching Xehanort off of it and through the air.

"All yours, Sora!" Jack yelled.

Sora was waiting and leaped into the air with his Keyblade reared back. In a swift motion, he slashed off Xehanort's right hand and severed his grip on the X-blade. He then spun and sliced him across the chest once more, catching the X-blade as he did so.

Xehanort tumbled to the ground in a defeated heap. Sora landed a moment later with a graceful backflip, the X-blade held firmly in his hand. Jack and Terra hurried to his side, and together they looked toward the defeated but still momentarily alive Xehanort. (end the Dragon Sups)

Whew! Final battles finished! I definitely hope that was an improvement. The original fight was only like two paragraphs, but I did get some praise at the time for how Xehanort used the powers from the Vessels during it. I wanted to keep that element of the fight to a certain extent and I hope it stayed true to the spirit of that original battle. In any case, the battles are over and now we turn toward the after-effects. If anyone remembers what comes next, you'll remember that we aren't quite finished with the dramatic tension….