Sora took a deep breath. He didn't think they would ever be going back to that cursed place. He hoped it would be the last time. Gula and Aced- the two guys in the masks had told them all about how Xigbar-no, Luxu was planning something. They had gotten the other two pure lights for them, but that left Zack. He was still out there with Vanitas somewhere.
They had to leave to meet up with their other foretellers before the big battle. It was a shame Luxu hadn't said anything about what the plan was, or else maybe the guardians of light might be able to get a leg up this time.
"I need to kill this Luxu guy. Come on, Namine. We still have the timers on our hands. Let's get going." Yozora began walking away.
"She isn't going anywhere with you." Riku scowled.
"She's my partner. She has to come."
"What do you mean, your partner?" Riku clenched a fist and then turned to the girl. "What happened to you, Nam?"
"According to Joshua, getting pulled out of my replica counted as dying. So I've been recruited into a game. Yozora and I are working towards the same thing. It's alright."
"Wait, Joshua? Then you found him?"
"Yeah. And now he wants us to kill Luxu." Kairi nodded.
A general silence grew over the group. They were just kids and now they were being asked to kill. Others had been told to do the same thing at a similar age according to Rinoa, but it still was a cause for pause. The guy was tricky, but they could pull it off. It was all a matter of working together.
"Oh! That's right! Vanitas has Zack!" Sora gasped.
"What brought this up?" Riku asked.
"I was thinking about what pure lights we had and realized Zack is still missing." Sora shrugged.
Riku and Kairi looked at Sora before looking at each other. They had been able to get the princesses to a safe place. Elsa and Anna were over the moon to be reunited, and Tiana expressed worry over what had happened to her kitchen. Even though there was a foreboding in the air, seeing each other and Sora safe at home brought a small relief.
"Zack? Cloud asked me to check around for that guy. Do you think it's the same one?" Kairi responded.
"It could be. We just have to bring him back safely then we can find out." Sora shrugged.
They got everyone together and made a game plan. Isa and Lea were at least conscious now. But in no matter fit to fight. The other Sora volunteered to watch over them while the others went to face Luxu. Since it was getting late in the day, they decided to go first thing in the morning. Sora *had* just gotten back, after all. He would need some rest and time with Kairi. They decided to split up for the night, as Merlin's house couldn't hold them all.
Roxas and Xion insisted on staying with Lea and Isa, and Leon and Rinoa offered up the room above their place, which Sora, Kairi, Riku and Namine gladly took. Terra, Aqua, Ventus and Skuld stayed with Aerith. She had heard they knew Zack and wanted to talk to them about their experiences.
Sora and his friends took dinner together at a small restaurant, laughing about the old times. All throughout dinner, he never once let go of Kairi's hand. A light blush graced her cheeks the whole time. When they retired, the destiny trio and Namine found the place where they would sleep. It was a small two bedroom flat with a bathroom and small kitchenette.
"I guess girls in one room and boys in another?" Kairi sat on the loveseat couch.
"Thanks but no thanks. I'll sleep out here. No offense, but sora's snoring isn't exactly conducive to a good night's rest." Riku laughed.
"I've never thought it was too bad." Kairi looked at Riku.
"That's because you sleep just as deeply as he does. I'm a light sleeper, so I hear everything."
"Then I'll take your spot, Riku." Kairi stated.
When she saw that Riku and Namine gave her a questioning look, she shook her head. "We won't do anything. We've just been apart for so long. You wouldn't deny us that at least, would you?"
"You two are old enough to decide what you want to do. If it'll help you out, I think you should do it." Namine nodded.
"Alright, but I meant it. I hear everything." Riku joked.
"Okay, mom." Sora rolled his eyes. "At least this way there's room on the bed next to Namine for you."
Both Riku and Namine went red at this, causing Sora and Kairi to laugh. Namine nervously joined in with them before Riku cracked a smile and shook his head. They all stayed up a little later talking about things that had happened and made jokes about the old times. Soon Namine had fallen asleep and Riku bid Sora and Kairi good night as he carefully carried her off to one of the guest rooms. They followed soon after, curling up together on the bed in the other room.
"I'm sorry I left so soon, Kairi." Sora tucked the blankets in around her.
"It wasn't your fault. You were being used as a pawn in a game. I just wish I had come to find you sooner." Kairi paused. "After you left I wondered if you even wanted to be found. You've always liked the adventure."
"Yeah, but if I never was able to leave the islands ever again, I'd still have plenty of adventures at home just being with you." Sora smiled.
"You mean that?"
"Of course. I know I shouldn't have misused the lower of waking, but to me, you're worth it."
Kairi blushed. The pink that lined her cheeks deepened as she realized that he had placed a tender kiss to her head. So much had happened recently. She never had expected things to go like this. But then again, Sora always had a way of sweeping her off her feet. There was a lot to talk about still. But that could wait. For now, they had each other and they had tonight. Sleep came much easier than it had in a long time, and morning came too soon.
Everyone who could make it had arrived. Yozora's girlfriend had stayed behind to watch Lea and Isa in the sickbay. They had just woken up but were still too hurt to join the final battle. Ienzo got the brunt of Lea's aggression at not being able to go along, but after a few sleep spells, the lab was quiet again.
Ven was feeling better and had hugged Skuld tightly when he was finally able to remember everything. There was still so much he wanted to work out emotionally, but before he could do any of that, he needed the final showdown with Luxu and the foretellers. Both he and Skuld figured it might be hard to face those they once looked up to, but it had to be done. Then there was the matter of the dark Ava who was running around. In order to protect the pure lights, Terra and Lourd had volunteered to stay behind with Lauriam and Elrena to protect the pure lights. That way they could also help with creating a replica for Strelitzia.
Feet touched down to sandy ground as everyone arrived to the keyblade graveyard. A warm wind blew across the earth, sand kicking up and getting just about everywhere. The group was quiet. No one wanted to be here after so much had happened, but it was what had been requested. Luxu probably understood how damaging the sight of the land would be to their psyches and chosen that spot in particular.
"So, you didn't chicken out after all. And you brought your precious Sora." Luxu smirked. "But don't worry, I brought one of my own."
From out of a dark corridor just a little way away came seven figures. It was Luxu, Vanitas and the foretellers. A man with spiky black hair was bound and being held by Aced. Aqua gasped when she saw him. Ventus clenched a fist. They had recognized him immediately, even though the last time they saw him was ten years ago. He had aged very well, and seemed to even recognize them right away. A look of bewilderment crossed his face, most likely unaware of how they had managed to stay the same despite the ten year difference.
"Vanitas!" Riku growled.
"In the flesh. I see useless over there managed to find a new body."
Namine scowled at him, calling forth her staff. She was going to get revenge on him for what he had done to her. Everyone else called out their keyblades while Yozora held on to his weapon. Luxu laughed at the way that the group had prepped for battle. It wasn't going to help anyway. The book of prophecies had said this would happen. He was also destined to reach his goal, although there was going to be some trouble from the kid. It didn't matter. He had access to Zack now. Maybe Ava was right and some parts of destiny *could* be changed. That would have to wait. There were other pure lights to capture now. Lucky for him, the guardians of light had already done the dirty work.
"You can deal with this, can't you, kid? I've got a date with destiny." Luxu grabbed Zack and left through a dark corridor. "We'll be at the end of the tunnel if you guys want to come fight me."
Both sora and kairi leapt at him with their keyblades, but just missed him as he left through the dark corridor. Their keyblades swung through the air, leaving their backs vulnerable. Vanitas took advantage of this and summoned his own keyblade in order to attack them. Both Riku and Aqua leapt in after to block the shot. Vanitas was pushed back with a smirk.
"Come on, brother. Why don't you protect your friends? You certainly didn't when Strelitzia was in danger."
"How do you know about that?" Ven jumped toward him.
"How many times do I have to tell you? I am the darkness." Vanitas laughed.
"Come on Vanitas, it's you and me this time!"
Vanitas, Ventus and Aqua hurried away to another portion of the graveyard while Invi pulled out her keyblade and began to shoot spells toward Namine. She used a barrier spell before returning her own fire. Riku jumped in to give her aid. Yozora hurried to the highest cliff in order to find Luxu while Gula reluctantly drew off Sora and Kairi to talk. Aced would have joined them, but Roxas had a score to settle from Arendelle and Xion decided to help him.
Skuld
Meanwhile, Ira called out his keyblade and held it up before Skuld. He had been her union's leader, so it was only fitting that they should meet on the battleground. Truth be told, memories of a darker time were rising up in her mind. How much blood had been split here on their accounts?
The foretellers had the books of prophecies. They knew what they were doing. Or at least, it looked like it from the outside. Had they really not been able to see where their in fighting would lead the world? She had been put in a similar position, so she understood the weight he likely had to carry. But they were just children trying to reset civilization and helping everyone to understand their roles.
"You were in my union. How are you still alive?" Ira clashed keyblades with her.
"It's a long story. One that you helped write. Are you sure helping this Luxu is the best idea?"
"Its not my idea who we do and don't follow. Its the master's bidding."
"A lot of help he's been." Skuld scoffed.
"He said he'd come back. We just needed to keep gathering lux."
"Its been over 100 years. I don't think he's coming back."
He pushed her back with clenched teeth while skuld swung her keyblade back to stop her slide. Ira came back at her again, but this time in a more calculated manner. He wasn't brash, like Aced. She was going to have to be careful about how she fought.
Riku
This woman with a snake mask was a very skilled fighter. She was strong enough to hold him back while still deflecting Namine's magic. Had he been at full strength, he might have been able to take her on his own. At that moment, he cursed Maleficent. While he was distracted, Invi moved in a way that forced Namine's fireball to hit him in the back. Pain flew through his back until he felt a cure spell coming just a few precious seconds later.
"Sorry, Riku!" Namine called.
"It's fine, just focus!"
Riku slashed braveheart down diagonally and then unleashed a slew of dark fire at his opponent. She was with that Luxu guy. Xigbar of the organization. Riku remembered how nonchalant Xigbar had been the entire time they were working to save Sora. It irked him, but he couldn't say why.
But now he knew. Xigbar may have acted laid back, but he was in perfect control of a lot of things the whole time. He knew more than he let on, and knowing his luck, it was information they needed. Part of Riku also wanted to punch Luxu in his smug face.
"Why are you helping him? He's clearly the enemy." Riku yelled.
The woman paused before she responded. "We didn't have a choice."
"There's always a choice and it's yours to make. The future isn't set in stone."
"And that's where you're wrong. The book of prophecies knew everything that was going to happen. No matter how we tried to fight it, it somehow knew."
Riku took a.moment to process this as they both stepped back from their battle. They breathed heavily, worn from physical exertion. Everyone else was depending on them to finish off the foretellers, but Riku was hesitant. Two of them had even helped bring the princesses back. They couldn't be all bad, could they?
"If I had believed that about myself, I would still be the puppet of a madman." Riku began. "You can't change everything that happens to you. But you can change how you react to it. We need your help against Luxu. Please."
Invi bit her lower lip. "I know. Ira and I talked about their actions privately. I...guess I just don't know what to think anymore."
"Then let us help you. With our light and darkness combined, we can create harmony again." Namine offered.
"Harmony…." Invi breathed.
Neither Gula nor Aced had wanted to fight. Fighting was what Luxu wanted them to do. Despite his desire to get revenge, Roxas was never given the fight he had expected. Instead, Gula offered Sora an offer of surrender. What mattered now were the princesses. Long had they given up on any help the master could provide. Luxu had brought them back.for a nefarious purpose. The only true threat here at the moment was Vanitas.
He had been fighting with Ventus and Aqua, but it was obvious that the two were beginning to tire. Since his heart was actually an immortal entity known as darkness, he could keep going where the other two couldn't.
"You remember now, don't you? About how you killed that poor girl that day."
"Shut up! I didn't kill her, you did!" Ven roared, fighting more fiercely with the Sora look alike.
"What was her name again?"
"Don't you say it!"
"That's right. Strelitzia. I remember now."
Ven gripped his keyblade handle harder and began swinging wildly at Vanitas. With each hit he continued to affirm that he had been framed. It had been vanitas who had finished her off ling before he ever had a name or a form, but Ven had been the one to bear the brunt of it.
"Ven, you're giving him what he wants! You need to calm down!" Aqua yelled, casting an ice spell at Vanitas.
But Ven wasn't listening. He was tired of waiting so long to get his memory back. He hated that things had played out the way they had. It was all Vanitas' fault. Now they were going to destroy him here and now. Vanitas smiled. This was exactly what he wanted. He had come from Ven's darkness but hadn't taken all of it. He could use what was left to get stronger now.
"No! I won't calm down! I'm not a kid, I'm not a puppet and I won't be framed!" Ven screamed. "I went through war and saw the deaths of everyone I knew. I was thrown into power when didn't even want it in the first place. I just want to be with my friends!"
Ventus was hacking away at Vanitas now, throwing everything he had into the battle. He held his keyblade to the side, murder shining in his eyes. This was the end for Vanitas. He died once, he could slither out of ven's life again. Suddenly, he found he couldn't move his keyblade any more. As he looked back, Sora and Aqua were holding his weapon while Gula and Aced held down Vanitas.
"What are you doing? I thought the goal was to finish this guy off! He keeps showing back up, no matter how many times we beat him."
"Not like this, Ven. You're not you." Aqua argued.
"I know what he did was bad, and he deserves to be finished. But think about what you're doing. Are you any better than he is if you were to finish him off like this?" Sora added.
Ven slowly let his keyblade down. What had he done? Or rather, what was he about to do? He glared down at the shadow from his heart. Vanitas would need to be finished, that much was evident. How was finishing him off angry any different from when he was calm? Surely the ends justified the means.
"Are you suggesting we keep him alive?" Ven asked quietly. "or that by ending him when I'm calm it'll be different?"
"You might as well. I am darkness. I'll come back to find you, Venty- wenty." Vanitas sneered. "I'll get those books from the girl over there and nothing will stop me."
Kairi gasped. he was talking about her. had to be referring to the white books they had found in the box, but they still didn't know what they were even for. After the battle, she knew they'd have to read them and unravel yet another mystery that stood before them.
But in the meantime, they had to figure out what to do with Vanitas. He was right. He would just come back, and it was likely that Namine would lose her body again. They'd have to keep going in a cycle with the replicas. There had to be something they could do with him to keep him contained.
Wait, that was it.
"Aqua, do you think we could take him to the realm of darkness? if he really is darkness itself, then he's do just fine. He can't hurt anyone there, and I don't think he'll be able to get out." Sora suggested.
"You're...putting him in time out?" Aqua blinked.
"Yeah, I guess. I worked out well for Riku, so who knows?"
"You really don't understand who I am, do you? I'll be able to get out. And when I can, I'll be coming right for you, brother. You and Kairi both!"
"That's enough, Vanitas. You made your choice. You've decided who you want to be. Now you need to accept what goes with it." Ven said with a tired tone.
Aqua nodded and grabbed Vanitas. she summoned a portal with her keyblade and stepped into it, reappearing alone a few moments later. Not wanting to spend any more time there than she had to, she simply threw him in. Once that was taken care of, the keyblade wielders felt a dark chill line the air when a dark corridor opened up. Out of the depths of it came the pure lights.
"Ira, Invi, stop this useless battling! It's Luxu we need to be fighting!" Aced yelled.
"What do you mean?" Ira hesitated.
Invi released her keyblade and slowly walked over to Ira. She placed a hand on his shoulder and shook her head.
"Maybe we've been wrong to follow the master after all. He set us up last time. I'm sure he's doing it again here, with these children. We hurt so many in the past. Perhaps it's time to call a truce?"
"But...why would the master lie to us? You can't mean to say we followed a man who wanted the keyblade war, can you?"
"I don't have all the answers. But...there is something that makes me feel warm when they speak. I want to follow them." Invi emphasized. "Maybe instead of looking into the future, we start looking at the present."
"Well that sure is a nice sentiment." Luxu walked out of the dark corridor. "I'm gone less than ten minutes and you guys got rid of the kid and took my agents from me. Color me impressed."
"Luxu! Get away from those princesses… and Zack!" Sora yelled.
"Nope. Not gonna happen. I need them together. Although I think I'm missing one from my collection."
Sora placed an arm ahead of Kairi, who already had destiny's embrace called out. She scowled at him and held a battle stance. He merely laughed at her. Fate had already determined that he would get what he needed today. She would go with him willingly, too. All he had to do was threaten the pesky keyblade wielder.
"Come with me quietly and I don't have to blow your boyfriend's brains out." Luxu pointed his weapons at Sora.
"You won't hurt him and you won't get away with this!" Kairi yelled.
"Fate says differently, princess."
"Then maybe it's time to change that fate!" Kairi huffed.
For a moment, everything slowed down. Everyone had stopped, even Luxu. But somehow Kairi and the other pure lights were still moving in real time. Most of them were looking around, unsure of exactly what was going on. From Kairi's chest came a light and out popped Ava. She was looking a little tired. The time spell must have been her doing. She and Kairi leapt up to where the pure lights were.
"You have to finish this. Luxu is extension of the master of masters and neither of them are up to no good. Use your powers together. It'll prevent his heart from moving to another body."
"He can do that?" Kairi gasped.
"Yes. It's a long story, but similar to what I'm doing with you, Kairi. But it's stopping me from holding onto this spell for long."
"How do we do that? I still don't really know how we helped last time except for the fact that I believed Sora would fix everything." Kairi clenched her free fist.
"That's what you have to do again. Believing isn't as useless as people make it out to be. Sometimes just the hope for the future can spread good like dandelion seeds." Ava replied.
"Then we can finish him off the old fashioned way, right?" Zack asked.
"Yes." Ava whispered.
They may have been enemies at the end, but she had worked with luxu for a while. To think of killing someone she knew was a harder task than she imagined. Perhaps she was wrong for trying to fight fate. Everything ended up as the master predicted after all. Still, they had to try. They had to keep kingdom hearts from opening again.
"I can't hold it any longer, Kairi. Good luck!" Ava faded away, the light returning to Kairi.
Time moved again, and Kairi turned, Luxu standing a small way away from her. She pulled out Destiny's embrace and ran right for him. A pink light shown at her heart.
"We can do this!"
She brought her weapon up to slash from above and looked over to see Zack had the same idea with his buster blade. There was a small blue light coming from his chest. He smiled at her and they attacked. There was a power between them that felt different than anything she had ever experienced.
From behind them, Elsa shot out a burst of ice toward Luxu. Yellow, white, green, purple and red lights were emitting from the pure lights as they did anything they could to stop Luxu from attacking. Sora and the gang managed to get to the top only to see the pure lights attacking where they could. They were surprisingly effective at keeping him at bay.
Luxu shot at each of the princesses one by one. He got a couple of them, but was immediately attacked by Sora, Kairi and Zack. Nobodies rose from the ground to keep everyone else busy, but he couldn't shake those three.
"This is hardly fair. I thought you guys were supposed to be the good guys." Luxu joked.
"Yeah. But you've been a thorn in our side long enough. It's time to end this, Luxu." Sora replied.
Luxu pushed the three off and aimed his weapon at Kairi. Zack used his buster sword to deflect it, and he gave Sora a thumbs up. They prepared to attack once more, combining the energies they had gathered. Half of the group began to fight the nobodies who had appeared around the pure lights. A demon tide also appeared, and that was enough to keep everyone busy except for Sora and Kairi. This was just like it was then, too.
With a small laugh, Luxu lunged at them, disappearing shortly before reappearing behind them, upside down in the air. He shot a few lasers at them, which Sora deflected before Kairi could get hurt. The two ran for him to close the gap in between. He simply disappeared again and took the reins of a large blaster, high up in the air. Sora called out a fire spell while attempting to duck and weave out of Luxu's crosshairs.
When the blaster went away, he returned for some melee, hoping to catch at least one of them off guard. He let go of his guns and called forth No name, swinging at Kairi with a glint in his eyes. They locked gazes for a moment, and a rush of familiarity flowed through Kairi. She knew him. He was there somewhere in her memories. Those yellow eyes still haunted her to this day.
"Who are you?" Kairi growled.
"Just your friendly neighborhood guardsman."
"Who did nothing when she was being threatened by a shadow Ava!" Sora leapt into the fray.
"How do you know about that, kid?"
"I know a lot more than I'm given credit for!" Sora parried his slash and shot off another fire spell.
"Well, what you know of the past doesn't matter. I have what I want now. The keyblade, the book, my box."
He slammed the hilt down towards Sora's head, which Kairi stopped with a barrier spell. Luxu spun around and swung his keyblade, which Sora stopped with his own. Kairi attempted to swing at him while Sora had him stopped, but he pulled out his gun-like weapon and held her off too. They were so close to having an opening.
"What's in the box?" Sora inquired through gritted teeth.
"Its my destiny. Fate says-"
All of a sudden, Luxu stopped talking. He fell to the earth and yozora shot the heart that floated up out of him, just for good measure. As he looked at his palm, he smirked. The numbers counting down were gone. He was finally free to get his regular look back and go home with his Sora. There was no need to be involved in the affairs of this world anymore.
Even though Luxu was gone, the lights from the pure light's hearts still shone and began shooting their beams up to the sky. Once again that heart shaped moon appeared as well as a man in a hooded cloak. He walked forward and clapped, congratulating them on fulfilling his destiny. With the nobodies gone, all weapons were primed to attack.
What would have happened is a mystery, as he summoned individual dark corridors under their feet, sending each to their respective home worlds.
alright, next chapter is the epilogue! like I said, there is another story after this, but I'm working on my dragon age au, and that's gonna take a long time to finish, so...hope you liked this one off!