Redemption

by ninja writer 17

Jim has found his way to the Land of Departure! But can he move on and accept these new Keyblade wielders as his friends? Or will his past be too much and overcome him?

19. Finale

Chapter 19: The Ties That Bind Part 2

(A/N: Holy Hephalumps! I'm actually on time for once! Hope you enjoy the finale. It took me days to get right.)

The two of them stepped on the ground at the Keyblade Graveyard and James lets out a shaky breath as they look overhead a tall cliff, "I remember this spot." He tells her, "This used to be an elevated garden, so the flowers would get extra sunlight. The view was famous throughout the entire town… it was beautiful…"

Aqua nods then looks at him, "I'm sure it was. Jim, you don't have to do this. You can head back to Master Yen Sid and wait, I'll understand, really I will."

James smiles a bit, "Thanks, Aqua, that means a lot. But no, I have to be here." There's a small gust of wind blowing against them, "I owe it to all my old friends to see this through."

Aqua grabbed his shoulder, "You're not alone anymore Jim. You never will be again. The four of us will always be one."

James nods, "Yeah. Come on, let's go find Terra." He says as he leads her through the desolate battlefield.

James' grief and fears grow with every step. Each speck of land bringing back more and more memories of the War. Unversed had appeared, but none of them would approach. They just stood and watched. As if to make sure that James and Aqua wouldn't stray from their current course. Once they reached a certain clearing, James stopped in his tracks and gasped.

Aqua turned to him, "What? Are you ok?" She asks. This is not the first time she has asked that since they arrived.

She has seen him be sad, this wasn't that.

She has seen him angry, this wasn't that either.

His emotional state was so complex at the moment that she genuinely couldn't tell what was going through his mind at any point in this whole experience.

James summoned Starlight and fell to his knees, "This is where it all started." He whispers, just barely audible enough for Aqua to hear it, "This is where I first held Starlight in my hands and began my conflict with the Heartless." He clutches Starlight tightly, as if it's his lifeline.

Aqua offers a small smile, "That memory can't be all bad. I mean, it led to you eventually meeting Terra and I." She tells him, "No matter how dark the clouds may seem, there's always a silver lining peeking through for us to hold on to." James smiles at her, he nods, and they continue on their way.

Soon, they reached, what James refers to as, The Front Lines. A massive collection of rusted and broken Keyblades litter this area more than any other.

In the distance, they quickly spotted Terra and hurried over to him. Terra saw them approach, but did nothing. He made no effort to move toward or away from them as they got closer. He just stared back at them. Once the three of them were together, there was silence. Nobody quite knew what to say.

Aqua was the first to find her voice, "I was told… the Master was struck down." She tells him.

He gasped quietly, then averted his eyes to the ground, "Yes… that's right." He tells them, "I was stupid and helped Xehanort do it." Aqua's eyes widen as James' hands start to tremble as Terra continued, "The Master-he tried to hurt Ven." He pauses, "I only fought because I wanted to protect him." Aqua lets out a sigh as he keeps speaking, "But I was tricked. Xehanort set the whole thing up!" Terra says with a clenched fist, "All so he could awaken the darkness inside me." He turns to his friends, "You were right, Aqua- and so was the Master. I did need to be watched."

James put his hand on Terra's shoulder, "You were protecting your friend. If it were any of us, I feel we might have made the same choice. It's not your fault."

Terra offered him a nod, "I went astray-but no more."

Aqua looks down at her feet, "What else is darkness but hate and rage?" She asks, "Xehanort is feeding the dark fires within you- making you fight. You'll go astray again." She looks into his eyes with tears welling up in hers, "Tell me- how does that honor our Master's memory, Terra?"

He is about to answer when James speaks up, "Ven." He says. All eyes immediately move to see Ventus walking up to them.

When Ventus arrived, he looked down, "Xehanort wants me and Vanitas to fight, and make some kind of 'x-blade.'"

James' eyes narrow, "So that's his endgame." He mutters, "I can't believe the old man would be so foolish."

When everyone looks at him with a question hanging off their lips, he elaborates, "It's the original key. The weapon that all our Keyblades spawned from. It's also the counterpart to Kingdom Hearts. You control the X-blade, you control Kingdom Hearts. With that kind of power, there's no telling what Xehanort would be able to do… the only thing I do know, is that the four of us would never be able to stop him."

Ventus nods, "The Master said we can't let that happen… and he tried to destroy me for it." He looks at them all with sorrow in his eyes, "I still don't know exactly what it is, but… it scares me to death. Even just the thought of it."

Terra walks up and claps his hand on Ventus' shoulder, "Relax, Ven. We're here and we're gonna take care of you." He tells the young boy, Aqua and James nod in agreement.

Ventus offers a sad smile, "I may have to fight Vanitas after all. If I do, guys…"

He's interrupted by James, "Don't you dare finish that sentence." He says softly, "The four of us are together again. If we work together, Xehanort and Vanitas won't stand a chance against us. It'll never come to that. I swear to you."

Just then, the wind picks up, alarming the four of them as Xehanort slowly approached them. Emerging from behind him, was both Vanitas, and the Entity, still in the form of Master Ava. Vanitas and the Entity had their respective weapons in hand as they walked towards the group. James snarls, "I think we've let the three of them toy around with us long enough." He says through gritted teeth, "This place is littered with millions of Keyblades…" He summons Starlight, "What's three more?"

Ventus, Terra and Aqua nod as the four of them activate their Keyblade Armor and summon their Keyblades to battle.

Xehanort stretches his hand out to the rusted keys, "Behold…" He says, "These lifeless keys used to be full of power-united with the hearts of their masters. On this barren soil, Keyblades of light and darkness were locked in combat… as a great Keyblade War raged."

James stomps his foot, "Silence!" He shouts, "There was nothing great about what happened that horrible day! The closest of friends were forced to turn on one another due to the naiveite of their superiors!" He clenches his fist, "This is the resting place of the poor unfortunate souls who lost their lives over a pointless cause! You have no right to insult them with such grandeur!"

Xehanort smirked, "So… it is as I suspected…" He says with a wicked smile, "You were there. You are the last remnant of that bygone era."

James says nothing to the old man, cursing himself for giving his origin away so easily.

"And yet," Xehanort says, "You are more blind than your friends there to the truth. Countless Keyblade Wielders gave up their lives, all in search of one, ultimate key. And it will soon belong to me…" He points to Ventus, "X-blade!"

Terra and James are the first to charge. Xehanort uses his magic to re-terraform the battlefield around them, separating James from Terra as the Entity charged at him. With every clash of their blades, more and more became clear to James. With one quick push against the Entity, he finally learned the truth, "I get it now." He says, "I get what you meant all those times when you said home. You didn't mean this place. You…" he swallowed a lump in his throat, "You meant my Heart." The Entity dropped its battle stance, "You are the physical embodiment of all my regrets, all the people I feel as though I had failed." He raises Starlight again, "This will be the last time I fight on this dead World… I will overcome you, my darkness, right here and right now!"

James immediately dashes straight at the Entity, who blocks the attack at the last minute. The two stood there for a moment, each one pushing against the other, trying to gain leverage to take the advantage. Soon enough though, they leap away from one another and jump high into the air as the Entity unleashes a spinning attack that James narrowly blocks before parrying and attacking back with a thrust that the Entity also blocks.

The Entity and James exchange powerful blows with one another, neither being able to land a single hit on the other. With a downward strike, Entity breaks through James' guard and slams into him with a blow to his left arm, a thrust to his chest, and a downward blow to his head, sending him flying towards the ground with the Entity chasing after him. James regained his sense of balance in mid-air and recovered before pushing off the ground and back up to meet the Entity in battle.

They continue to clash, often with the Entity striking him away and James retaliating with small hits where he can land them. After successfully landing two consecutive blows to the Entity, they respond with a swinging attack that launches him away, and the clash resumes again. This time, James ducks under one of Entity's swings and lands a heavy blow to the stomach area, causing it to change form to Ephemir as the Entity went flying. James' eyes narrowed through his helmet, "Now that is just straight up not fair." He grumbles to himself before charging back into the fray. James dives down with a swing that Entity blocks and the two hit each other with such ferocity and raw power, that each clash sends them both hurdling back, causing them to charge and repeat the process seventeen more times.

James goes for a double thrust. The Entity dodges the first and parries the second, but James responds too quickly with a knee blow that they have to block, forcing them on the defensive until they find an opening and hammer James back with a fierce blow to his chest. He groans, grateful for the armor he's wearing, and charges straight back into the fray.

Unfortunately, the Entity moved first and crashed their blade against James' stomach, spun to bash his back with the bottom of their blade, and swerved back to the front for an upward slice that sent James flying. He lands on his feet just in time to get caught in a choke hold by the Entity. He narrowly escapes, only for the Entity to kick him with enough force to send him through one of the many walls that were created by Xehanort at the start of this battle. As he rises to his feet, he looks up and sees Ven's head in Xehanort's hand as he freezes the boy and drops him. Filled with added drive, he charges back at the Entity.

James blocked the Entity's attack and retaliated, but the Entity blocked that attack as their counter attack was blocked by James' follow up attack. James charges back at the Entity, who jumps over his attack and kicks his head, sending him back to the ground. He gets up and they both send a Flare spell at one another, causing a massive explosion that leaves both James and the Entity injured.

James' helmet falls from his head as he pants. The Entity's form changed once again, this time taking the form of Skuld. He rises to his feet and returns to the battle immediately, not giving his opponent a moment's reprieve.

Entity made the first attack, but James blocked it and launched his own attack that caused the Entity to stumble, "I won't let you beat me!" He lands another hit, forcing the Entity to change forms again, "I can't let you beat me!"

Another blow, and the Entity's form changes again, "My friends are counting on me!"

Another blow, "The believe in me!"

Another form, "THEY GIVE ME MY POWER!"

James hits the Entity with a continuous stream of Thundaga as the Entity's different forms are incinerated one after another. When the dust fades and the lightning vanish, the Entity's final form is revealed, and it's James' form.

Entity struggles to its feet, "Failed…. Them …" they say.

James nods, "Yeah, I know. I'm not sure if you're talking about Ephemir, or Aqua, but you're right. I held doubts about both of them, and that gave you your power. But now I know the truth. I know that my friends are always with me. Every last one of them!" Suddenly, all the nearby Keyblades rise and circle around James, "And together, we will win!"

With blinding speed, and overwhelming power, James showered the Entity with the Keyblades of his fallen friends. When the attack ended, the Entity had been destroyed, the remnants flowing into James. He staggered for a moment, before embracing it, as he was always meant to. A cape suddenly found itself on his Keyblade Armor, but he failed to notice it, as he hurried to save Ventus.

When he got there, he saw Aqua strike a man in a strange uniform. The man gasps for breath, "I keep forgetting-don't mess with Keyblade Wielders."

He reels his head back to narrowly dodge a fire ball shot by James, "Yeah it tends to be bad for your health!" He retorts.

The man smirks, "But you know what? That just means I made the right choice!" He then mumbled something inaudible and retreated. Aqua and James ignored the man and hurried back to Ventus.

The boy looked behind her and gasped, "Aqua!" He shouts, but it was too late. Vanitas swooped down from above and struck Aqua down. Enraged, James rushes forward, casting Curaga on Aqua as he passed by her and struck relentlessly at Vanitas.

As James struggled against Vanitas, his body worn from his battle with the Entity, Ventus struggled to get out of the ice he was encased in, "No!" He screams, gaining the attention of both Vanitas and James. They turn to see he returned to his feet. Vanitas scoffed before hitting James to the side. Just before blacking out, he saw Ventus clashing against Vanitas.

Some amount of time later, he can hear a voice calling out to him, "Hey! James, can ya hear me? Say something!" James recognizes the voice to belong to Mickey.

He groans and slowly sits up, "Mickey?" He asks still in a bit of a daze.

Mickey sighs, "Thank goodness you're alright."

James nods in agreement before seeing Aqua, still lying on the ground, "Aqua!" He shouts as he hurries to her side. When he reaches her, she wakes up with a jolt. James sighs in relief, "I'm glad you're okay, sis." He tells her.

She sits up and looks upward, "Ven!" She calls out. James and Mickey search around for any sight of Ventus, but there's no sign of him. Aqua finally sees him and smiles gratefully, "Oh, thank goodness. Ven!" She runs up to him, "You're safe!"

But she's cut off by James, who blocks her forward path, "Let him go, Vanitas! I know that's you!" Ventus' body summoned the X-blade into his hand and looked up at Aqua with Vanitas' eyes. Mickey and James summoned their Keyblades and prepared to fight back.

"That's not Ven!" Mickey says.

James nods, "He's right. They merged, except it looks like Vanitas is in control, at least for the moment."

Vanitas' clothing appeared over Ventus' body as he took on his combat stance, "Correct. I am not Ventus." Said a combination of Ventus and Vanitas' voices, "His heart has become a part of mine now." This news shocked the three of them, "This X-blade will open a door-one that leads to all worlds! Then, Keyblade bearing warriors will flock here from each and every one of them to for the light within Kingdom Hearts!"

James grits his teeth, "You what?! That's what you're trying to do? Start another Keyblade War?! Are you insane!? No amount of power is worth the amount of death you'd be causing!"

Aqua summons her Keyblade, "I'm sick of your nonsense! Give Ven his heart back!"

The three of them fought valiantly against Vanitas, but with the power of the X-blade at Vanitas' command, they were unable to beat him. But suddenly, the X-blade began to get warped and show damage. James noticed this and knew exactly what was going on. He smirked, "Guys! Ventus is fighting back right now, giving us all the help, we can! Hit him now!"

The three of them came together, and unleashed Faith flurry attacks that Vanitas struggled to defend himself, constantly getting hit by side shots before Mickey and James performed a Cross Slash so Aqua could blast him with a series of different Shotlocks. James raises Starlight and fires Union Ragnarök as Mickey shot a powerful beam of light magic on top of Vanitas.

Despite this, Vanitas still had power a plenty. One swipe of his blade sent such a powerful wave of wind at them that none of them could advance through it, and were blasted back, sent into all the different cliffsides, rendering them too weak to continue.

James fought against the overwhelming pain and fatigue as hard as he could, "I can't…. stop …. Here …. Ven …" Finally, though, his body gave out and he slipped into unconsciousness.

James groans and sits up slowly, finding himself in Yen Sid's chamber with Mickey and his two retainers, Donald and Goofy, looking over him. As soon as he regains his senses, he jolts to his feet, "Aqua? Ven! Terra!" He says, searching around for them, but not seeing them.

"I am afraid you will not find them here." Yen Sid tells him.

James walks in front of his desk, "What do you mean? Where are they? What happened!?"

Yen Sid closed his eyes, "I am afraid you will not find the answer pleasant." He warns the young man, "Terra has been taken by Xehanort, made into his new Vessel. Ventus' Heart has been fatally damaged in his battle with Vanitas. And has sought refuge in the Heart of one innocent enough to heal the damage, leaving Ventus himself, in a wakeless sleep. Aqua left to save Terra from Xehanort's dark fate, but alas, she failed. She now resides within the Realm of Darkness. A World far beyond your reach, Master James."

James staggers back a step, in shock, "Master?" He echoes.

Yen Sid nods, "Indeed. By confronting the Entity with absolute conviction and accepting the Hurt that it represented, you have proven yourself worthy, and earned the Mark of Mastery."

James grits his teeth, "Who cares about that? Where is Ven's body now? I have to protect it!"

Yen Sid shakes his head, "Before going to fight against Xehanort for Terra's body and Heart, Aqua took Ventus' body back to the Realm of Departure, and used Eraqus' Keyblade to transform the World into an impregnable fortress. Ventus is unreachable to any but the one who placed the spell upon Castle Oblivion."

There was a moment of silence before James raised his hand and removed the Wayfinder from his neck and dropped it on Yen Sid's desk, "Dispose of that for me, would you?" He asks, "It's nothing but an empty hope." He turns and walks towards the exit.

"What do you mean?" Donald asks.

James stops, "The Wayfinder is supposed to keep us all connected to one another. But look at us. The four of us are scattered to the winds. Everything that trinket represents is a lie."

He continues walking, "I hate the Keyblade. I hate the Heartless. I hate Kingdom Hearts. But I won't let anyone else suffer. I'll keep using this damned weapon until my last breath. I owe them all that much, at least."

(A/N: That's it for this book! James once again finds himself the sole survivor, but this time he isn't even offered the mercy of defeat. Now he wanders the stars, fighting the Heartless wherever he deems necessary. Will he be able to recover his lost faith in friends once again? Or has he been burned for the last time? Tune in for the next book "The New Key" coming in two weeks. If anybody has questions about this book, any unresolved mysteries that I accidentally left unresolved, lemme know and I'll do a Q&A chapter to help fill the holes. I hope you have enjoyed this series so far, I certainly am. Thanks your patience and I'll see ya in the next story.)