CHAPTER THIRTY-EIGHT
I slowly floated to the ground. My eyes fluttered open, and I turned my body. I gasped. A Dive to the Heart platform loomed below me, and it grew closer as I fell. It showed Ventus sleeping, Wayward Wind in his hand, and the Keyblade Graveyard in the background. It had a circle of Keyblade Master emblems surrounding it. In the circles behind him, it showed the faces of me, Terra, Aqua, and Master Eraqus. My feet planted on the platform and I looked around. I heard something sparkling, and I looked up. I gasped as a small ball of softly glowing light floated down to me. I reached out my hands as the glowing object rested in them. Tears streamed down my cheeks. It was a heart- Ventus's heart.
"Oh, Ventus..." I wept.
His heart floated out of my hands and in front of me. There was a flash of light, and Ventus appeared before me, transparent like a spirit. He gazed at me with a warm smile. Light glimmered from him, but it was as faint as a dimming candle.
"I couldn't save you..." I bowed my head. "I tried to do everything I could to make sure you guys wouldn't face your fates, but I feel like all I did was guarantee it: Aqua's in the Realm of Darkness, Terra is possessed by Xehanort, Master Eraqus is dead, and you... Ventus, I'm so sorry. I let you all down. I failed you all."
Ventus shook his head. "It's not your fault. This was supposed to happen. You can't rewrite destiny," he said.
"So why was I sent here in the first place? It seems like all destiny wanted to do was torture me by forcing me to witness everything."
"Maybe... that's the point. There must've been a reason you were brought back to this time. Maybe you were needed here, like how Mickey's Star Shard works. Destiny needed you to learn of our story."
A tear streamed down my cheek. Ventus reached out and wiped it away, his ghostly hand like a cool wisp of air brushing against my skin. I reached up to touch his hand, but it phased through, and I ended up touching my cheek. Ventus smiled sadly.
"Now... it's time for you to go back to sleep," I said.
Ventus nodded, and he looked down at his sleeping face on the Dive to the Heart platform.
"Yeah..." he said quietly. His spirit glowed and reverted to his heart. I reached out my hands, and he floated back into the palms. "Hallie... can I... stay with you?"
A chill rushed down my spine. Part of me wanted to accept his wish. Yen Sid said Ventus's heart needed to find refuge within a friend.
But that friend was not me.
"Ventus... I appreciate your request. I really do. I wish I could accept it," I said. "But you need to be with Sora."
"Sora...? Your friend?" Ventus said.
I nodded. "He saved you before, when your heart was first damaged. He's waiting for you with arms wide open. Follow the light, and he'll welcome you in. I promise. You'll be safe with him."
"Okay. Thank you, Hallie."
"No. Thank you." I chuckled bitterly as more tears fell down my face.
"Don't cry. We'll meet again someday."
Ventus's heart floated up. It leveled with my face, and I felt a cool brush of air caress my lips. I gasped quietly and touched my lip gingerly.
"Hey, can you hear me?" a voice echoed in the air.
"Sora," I said. "That's your cue."
Ventus's heart floated up into the air.
"Goodbye, Hallie..." he said. "I love you."
I clutched my Wayfinder, tears dropping on the smooth, red glass. Ventus's heart floated up and disappeared, on his way to find Sora once again. A sad smile spread on my face, and I held my Wayfinder to my heart.
"This story... is over..." I whispered. "But a new one is waiting to be written. My story. And in it, a happy ending is waiting for each of my friends. I will be the one to mend their hurt. I will be the one... who saves them all."
Darkness quickly spread over the Dive to the Heart platform and engulfed Ventus's sleeping portrait. I gasped and watched as the darkness rushed over, destroying the colors, until the entire platform was stained with black. Tendrils shot out of the darkness and wrapped around my body. I cried out as I thrashed around to free myself. The tendrils slowly pulled me into the darkness churning below me, and I sank into the ground like quicksand. The darkness yanked me back, catching me off guard. I lost my balance, and my body was sucked into the darkness.
~TPPOV~
"Sora, we're going to do some training. Want to join us?" Riku said as he and Kairi entered the secret place. Sora sat with his back propped against the wall that was decorated with pictures he and his friends drew when they were kids.
"Um... no thanks," Sora said. "I'm not really in the mood."
"But you've been here ever since Hallie disappeared. It's been two weeks," Kairi said. "We're really worried about you, Sora."
"And I'm worried about Hallie. You didn't see what I saw. You didn't see the fear in her eyes. You didn't see the darkness suck her inside that stupid door!" Sora said. He sighed and bowed his head. "Could she be gone... forever?"
"Please. Hallie's too stubborn to die," Riku said with a chuckle, earning a small smile from his blue-eyed friend. "She's fine, I'm sure. It's you we're concerned about the most. How do you think Hallie would feel if she knew you spent your entire time moping around? She'd never let you live it down."
Sora's smile widened, and he was thankful to have friend like Riku to cheer him up. He pushed himself off the ground and stood up.
"See, that's more like it," Kairi said with a smile. "Come on, let's go."
The three stopped when the ground began to rumble. They clung to the ground and looked at each other with panic in their eyes.
"What's happening?!" Kairi cried.
Sora gasped as he remembered the last time this happened, and he looked to the door at the end of the room. Light leaked through the outline of the door and he saw the symbol that glowed on the wood, the one he failed to notice the last time it was there: a glowing blue heart with a crown hovering above it and a keyhole in the center with four stars shining around it in various colors- orange, blue, green, and red. Respectively, the orange, green, and blue stars faded until only the red one remained, which glowed brightly with the heart. The symbols turned into light, which spread over the door. Sora, Riku, and Kairi shielded their eyes as they saw something emerge from the light.
"Hallie!" Sora, Riku, and Kairi cried.
The portal of light closed, and Hallie collapsed onto her hands and knees. She breathed heavily and slowly raised her head. Her amber eyes widened at the sight of the three standing before her. They studied her, surprised to see her appearance was different than when they last saw her. Their faces broke out in wide grins.
"Hallie... You're back," Sora said, slowly approaching her.
Hallie watched him draw nearer with shaking eyes. She slowly pulled herself to kneel upright. Her lips parted slightly, as if ready to speak. Her eyes fell to something clutched in her hands: a red, glass star. Her entire chin quivered, and she broke down into wild sobs. Riku and Kairi recoiled as Sora dropped to his knees and collected the weeping girl into his arms. They glanced at each other, concern brewing in their eyes as they wondered what horrors their friend faced on the other side of the door. Hallie sobbed into Sora's shoulder, clutching his jacket with one hand and the glass star with the other. Sora's eyes widened when he saw the scars lining her right forearm, where her brown cords once were. He reached out and gently gripped her arm, the rough feel of the permanent blemish sending chills down his spine.
Eventually, Hallie's sobs calmed to deep, heaving breaths. She pulled away and looked up at Sora, into his ocean blue eyes, and watched as a sparkling veil washed over them. Sora blinked a few times and gripped his head. Hallie looked up at Riku and Kairi and watched the same veil appear in their eyes, followed by quiet winces. Sora collected himself, and he stared at Hallie in shock.
"Hallie... you were there..." Sora said. His hand reached up and touched his crown pendant. "I remember... I met you on Destiny Islands when I was a kid! And... and Olympus Coliseum, too... when I first began my journey!"
"Yeah... I remember, too," Riku said, shaking his head. "But that's impossible. That was over ten years ago!"
Tears spilled down Kairi's face. She fell to her knees at Hallie's side and gripped her hands.
"I remember, too!" Kairi said. She pulled Hallie into a tight hug. "Hallie! How could I have forgotten my best friend?! It's... it's been so long!"
Hallie smiled faintly. "Yeah... twelve years."
Kairi pulled away, her eyes wide, and ran a hand through her auburn hair. "Radiant Garden... and... oh, I can't believe I would let this happen!"
Sora gently gripped Hallie's scarred forearm. Physical touch against her arm instead of the binding leather cords made her flinch. "Hallie... What happened to you?"
Looking up at her friends, she saw the light shining from inside them. Kairi's was the brightest and purest, given her title as a Princess of Heart. Riku's was a light gray, with more light than darkness. Hallie looked to Sora and gazed at the light shining around him, but she focused in on his eyes. Inside his deep blue irises, a faint light glowed. Hallie thought of the boy that rested inside his heart, the girl waiting inside the Realm of Darkness, and the boy fighting for his freedom. Their smiles filled her mind, traveling to her lips.
"Something... wonderful," Hallie whispered.
A man, dressed in a black cloak sat on a large rock at the shores of a gray sea. His entire body was shrouded in black, and his face could not be seen. He stared out into the ocean at the large, pure white moon that hung low in the sky. The man heard footsteps approach him, and a woman stood before him on the sandy shore.
"Who are you?" the woman said.
The man grunted, surprised to see another person on the shore with him. "Why, hello. It's not often I get visitors."
"Please, call me Aqua," the bluenette said. "Why are you sitting here all alone in the Realm of Darkness? How did you end up here?"
"Well... I can tell you this is my second time on these shores. But unfortunately, much like the first, I do not remember who I am or whence I came," the man said. "Everything was washed away in whatever currents carried me here."
"That's too bad..." Aqua turned to face the ocean. She sat in the sand next to the man. "I know I've been here a long time, wandering through the endless hours... unable to escape..."
"You wish to return to your own world?"
Aqua brought her legs close to her chest and rested her arms on her knees. She nodded slowly. "It's my friends. I promised I'd be there for them."
"Your friends?" the man said. "Somewhere in the scraps of memory I have left, you remind me of a girl I once knew. She is very much like you- true to her friends, and kind, willing to risk her own life to insure the safety of another's. This young lady travels to many worlds and fights to keep the Light safe."
"Keep the Light safe? I've been away too long. Did something happen out there? Are the worlds in danger?"
"Sad to say, they nearly fell to darkness more than once. But because of the courage in her heart, that girl with the Keyblade in hand came to save the day."
"Keyblade?" Aqua sat up straight and turned to the man. Her eyes widened. "It... couldn't be Terra or Ven..."
The man shook his head. "It is neither of those, I'm afraid. How long has it been since I met her? It shouldn't have been more than months now. Back then, my heart was clouded with vengeance. I did terrible things... both to her and her friends. I brought unhappiness to more lives than one. I felt something must be done. Was that why? A means of clearing my conscience? Or perhaps, out of a sort of scholarly instinct? As the girl was lost in darkness, I hid my research inside the one fate would lead her to- the key that would unlock her heart- where it might best serve a purpose. In fact, I would like to believe... maybe she can set things right. Her heart is filled with the purest and strongest of light, stronger than I've ever witnessed. She is connected to countless people, with power that ties her to many over the span of lifetimes. That power has led her and her counterparts to defying everything we know about fate and destiny... whether it be a vessel who, through his deep love for another, kept them alive in his heart, even though their life became as though it never existed... or one who awakened the light smothered by the deepest layers of darkness in a heart that had been hardened. Or, perhaps, living inside a story where their character was never supposed to be written in. Yes... I believe that girl has the power to open the right door and save all those people whose lives I managed to ruin. So many are still waiting for their new beginning, their birth by sleep. Even me... and even you."
"What's this girl's name?" Aqua said, shifting her body towards the man. Her heart picked up speed with anticipation for his answer.
"Her name... is..."
In a pure white room inside Twilight Town's mansion, a girl with blonde hair and deep blue eyes sat in a chair. She wore a white dress and blue sandals with daisies on them. She held a sketchbook in one hand and a pencil in the other. As the tip of the writing utensil glided over the paper, a small smile spread across her lips. Once she was finished, she set her pencil down and paused to admire her finished work.
The picture was a close-up of a girl. Her head was bowed, her eyes were closed, and she held her hands together over her heart, as if praying. A glowing blue, heart-shaped moon hovered behind her.
The blonde girl's smile widened. She pressed the sketch to her heart and gazed out the window into the blue sky.
At the top of Twilight Town's clock tower, four people sat side-by-side on a ledge: three boys and one girl. In their hands were light blue ice cream bars that they munched on silently. They sat in a row, seated at the end was a man who looked older than the rest, with spiky red hair and bright green eyes. Next to him was a young boy with blonde, spiky hair and ocean blue eyes. Next to him was another boy with short, messy, brown hair and amber eyes. Seated next to him, a girl with short, black hair and deep blue eyes. They all wore matching black coats that covered their bodies. Slowly, they paused from their ice cream to look forward at the setting sun with hopeful smiles. The girl looked to the boy seated next to her, the one with amber eyes. She reached out and grasped his hand. The boy looked to her, smiling wide, and squeezed her hand.
In the Land of Departure, a young boy with blonde, spiky hair napped in a stone chair. As he slept, another man stepped beside him and quietly place a hand on the armrest. The young boy opened his eyes, revealing a pair of ocean blue irises, and looked up at the man standing next to him. He had brown hair styled with spikes and blue eyes. The two boys looked at each other, then up with smiles as the starry night sky rained with shimmering streams of light.
In Radiant Garden, a girl walked along the Great Maw. Her blonde, bobbed hair brushed against her shoulders with every step, and her blood red eyes remained glued to the floor. A Shadow Heartless trotted by her side, its antennae flicking against the ground. The girl stopped and reached her hand up, touching the black Heartless emblem dangling from a silver necklace. She extended her hand out. The Heartless emblem burst into dark energy that traveled to her hand. She closed her hand around it, and a Keyblade took shape: End of Pain.
The name of the Keyblade reverberated in her mind, and tears filled her eyes. She looked up to the castle looming over her, and she smiled as a small tear fell down her face.
A hand reached out and took hers. The girl dispelled her Keyblade, wiped her cheek, and turned her head. A boy stood next to her. He had spiky, black hair and golden yellow eyes. They shared a smile and lifted their heads up to the sky.
Aqua's blue eyes widened at the cloaked man. A smile stretched across her lips. She reached into her pocket and pulled out a golden ribbon and her blue Wayfinder. Tears slid down her face as she clutched both items to her heart and looked towards the gray sea, overwhelmed with joy.
I stood on the shoreline. The warm waves lapped against my toes, and I wiggled them to feel the sand below me. The sky was dark and starry, but adrenaline had woken me up long before and brought me here. I leaned my head back and watched the stars twinkle in the night sky. I closed my eyes and listened to the ocean. My heart swelled with hope and serenity. I opened my eyes again, and my attention caught on to a small cluster of three stars that shined in the sky, brighter than the rest. I clutched my red Wayfinder in my hands and smiled softly.
Now I know why destiny sent me back in time. It wanted me to witness the beautiful story that took place years ago. Three separate stories, three separate points of view, three characters who experienced different events in the same world, but I was the one who connected them together. Despite the tragic downfall of those Keyblade wielders, it set the course for the upbringing of those who would rescue them from their fates. Their lights, despite the darkness that tried to seize and extinguish them forever, shine brighter than before, as they wait with renewed hope for the one who would redeem them and put an end to their suffering. As they waited for their savior.
And now, twelve years after the events of that fateful day, their wait would soon be over.
I reached out my hand in front of me and summoned my Keyblade, Ultima Weapon. As I stared at the mystical weapon, my eyes stopped at the keychain that dangled at the end of it. A gasp escaped my lips as an image of a Keyblade once wielded by an old friend filled my mind. My hand traveled to the black charm that hung around my neck. I unclipped the chain and held it out, letting the charm sway next to my Keyblade's keychain. I remembered when I first found this charm. After I had agreed to travel with Sora, Donald, and Goofy on my first journey, I found it in my jacket pocket. I've worn it ever since, but I never knew what it was or what it meant.
It... can't be... My eyes widened at the charm; the black, Keyblade Master emblem.
This charm, as realization struck me, is the keychain to Master Defender, Master Eraqus's Keyblade; the Keyblade used by Aqua to transform the Land of Departure into Castle Oblivion. No wonder why I could find Ventus during my first journey... because I had the key all along.
Did Aqua give this to me at some point? The only reasonable way was when I first met her while in the Realm of Darkness, before she guided be back to light. My smile widened, and I held the charm to my heart. I can go back. With this keychain, I can go back and rescue Ventus.
The boy's face filled my mind. Ventus, the innocent Keyblade wielder who was a victim of my grandfather's lust for power. I pictured his smile, his laugh, and his ocean blue eyes resting on me. I rested a hand to my heart. He told me... he loved me. I felt guilty for denying his wish; for his heart to rest within me. But if I did, it would've changed and destroyed my future. As much as he needed Sora, Sora needed Ventus as well. Besides that, I knew that Ventus was still with me, as well as Terra and Aqua. The memories of our adventure would burn brightly in my heart.
Another thought came to my mind. I stared at my Keyblade in deep contemplation as I clipped the charm back around my neck and pulled my Wayfinder back out.
"You are the pathway that connects everything and everyone together... even that great and terrible object sought by so many villainous men..."
"A direct connection to countless lives... leading back to Kingdom Hearts itself!"
"You hold in your hand and your heart the strongest weapons ever known to man. Kingdom Hearts' power flows through you. You are connected to it."
"An unbreakable connection..." I said to my Wayfinder. I put it back in my pocket. I pictured in my mind that moment twelve years ago, when I ripped the χ-blade out of Vanitas's hand. Same as when Ahllixe took Chaos Ripper from me, the weapon was hers. It returned to its true master.
I reached out my empty hand. Immediately, light collected at my fingertips. My fingers brushed against smooth metal, and I closed my hand around the χ-blade's handle. The light subsided. In my peripheral, I saw that the hair resting on my shoulders was bright blue, and my eyes were probably the same color as well. Perhaps this was Kingdom Hearts' power, and it surfaced whenever the χ-blade was in my hand. And what about the light I saw in others? Was this a new ability, too? I smiled at Ultima Weapon and the χ-blade. I dispelled my weapons, my original appearance returning, and held my hand on my heart. I closed my eyes as the faces of those I met long ago filled my mind.
If you have faith, dreams can come true.
True love is stronger than the deepest darkness.
Sometimes believing is enough.
Home is never far away.
Being kind has its own rewards.
A true hero is measured by the strength of their heart.
Friends can be found in any place.
No amount of gold in the world is more precious than what really matters to you.
Cherish your friends.
Destiny is what changes "goodbye" into "see you later".
In the face of peril, you will find great wisdom.
The curse smothering my heart had finally been broken after twelve long years. The darkness that seized the memories of those I loved had perished. I knew it was a grand swoop through worlds as the veil had been simultaneously lifted from every person's eye, as they remembered the brown-haired, amber-eyed girl who was once a part of their lives. No longer was I a memory in the darkness. The dust had been brushed off. I have been written back into their lives. A sentence in their stories; a lyric in the songs of their hearts; a resounding note in the music of life. Their memories connect to create the big picture, and I had a feeling that picture was of me.
Light gradually filled behind my eyelids, and I opened my eyes to witness the sunrise that began before me. The sun slowly peeked up over the horizon, filling the world with color. The deep blue of the ocean flooded back in, and the rays lightened the blue of the night, also casting shades of yellow and orange that chased away the stars. I watched as the three stars eventually blinked out, one by one, but even though they were gone, I knew they were still there, continuing to burn brightly.
War is coming. The next task at hand for me and my friends: gather together the seven guardians of light, whomever they are, and clash against Xehanort and his Seekers of Darkness, inevitably creating a new Keyblade War.
But I'm not afraid. Bad things are going to happen every once in a while. That's just the way life is supposed to be, or else it would be utterly boring. With every hardship, I am made stronger. I will get knocked down. I will want to give up. I will want to quit and let the world go on without me.
But I won't. I will stand up, taller than ever before, and press on towards that light at the end of the tunnel. I will withstand the darkest of nights, because those times will end... and they will be followed by a glorious sunrise. It is then that life will begin anew.
It is then that I will be reborn.
A single name was spoken by the lips of many over the span of worlds, dimensions, and time. A name that brought them hope for the future. A name that brought them happiness. A name that belonged to the one who would bring them salvation.
"Hallie."
THE END