Author's Note: Let loose the Dogs of War. More at the end.
The Guardians found themselves in a dusty wasteland. Signs of combat long since passed surrounded them. Holes torn through mountains, craters and indentations showed that terrible fights had been waged here in times past. The wind blew through the area but it sounded as hollow as the evidence of the conflicts here. No matter what war was fought here, a new war would be waged now.
"Well," Yang said out of the blue. "This is depressing."
Ruby snorted trying to hold back a laugh as she said, "It's a warzone, Yang."
"Comes with the territory," Dante added.
The group started walking forward when they saw the first Heartless. It was soon joined by another, and then more. The nobodies followed after. Quickly the empty area was brimming with Heartless and Nobody enemies. A countless number of them stood before the Guardians of Light.
"Wow, that's a lot of them," Yuna said wide eyed, drawing two pistols from her belt as her outfit transformed into her Gunner outfit. "How many of them are there?"
Riku let out a small gutteral noise as he replied, "Not enough."
"This is how much they sent to meet us, huh? I'm so flattered!" Axel declared triumphantly.
"Alright, so Riku and Axel get this bunch, we get the next one?" Sora joked.
Rise nodded and said, "I can live with that."
"We work together," Aqua said evenly. "Always." The swarms of enemies began to surge forward and collapse on the group of heroes. The first sounds of attack came from spells, guns, and lasers as the Guardians all stood back-to-back attempting to mow down as many enemies as they could before they were forced into close range combat.
As the enemies broke through the wave of attacks, the group all prepared for close range combat and charged into the fray. Combat was intense as the numbers of enemy did not seem to dwindle despite the heroes greatest efforts. However, a familiar sensation buzzed about in the back of Sora's mind. An energy he had not felt since his time in Inaba. Limit.
Dante and Aqua ran into the center of the crater and she formed a barrier around him. He took his guns and began firing them against the inside of the barrier. Bullet's deflected their paths and avoided his form in the center. Rise summoned her Persona and the laser spheres scattered about. Yuna's outfit transformed into a dark robe with a giant wide-brimmed hat and placed her hand on Rise's shoulder. Yuna began to cast massive elemental spells and they filled up large areas surrounding the orbs as Rise transmitted that spells through them. Ruby dashed over to Yang and Sora with her semblance. Grabbing a hold of them, the three of them in a storm of red, black, and yellow petals launching enemies into a single direction, in front of Dante. Ruby then threw the two of them into the air with her scythe and went after them. Himiko grapped Yuna and Rise and lifted them up. Aqua leapt up into the air as she dropped her barrier. Dante, then threw up a Royal Guard as every single bullet was countered simultaneously. Thrumming with a red aura and powerful energy, Dante dashed forward and unleashed all of that energy at once creating a massive wave that decimated the remaining forces as his allies all landed down behind him.
"Was that…?" Rise started excitedly.
Sora nodded and gave them all a big grin. "Limit."
"Well whatever it was, let's get going and show this Organization what they're messing with," Yang said with a triumphant punch. The group headed off towards a nearby canyon.
Riku found himself in stride with Sora. "You've gotten strong, Sora. I almost don't recognize the friend I fought alongside back on Dante's world."
Sora looked at the ground sadly and said, "It wasn't easy. I've missed you, y'know?"
"I know," Riku said regretfully. "But I couldn't face you. Not after what I did. Not after how I failed."
"I failed too, Riku. I couldn't save her either. But I will find a way to get her back. I realized while I was traveling that we need her. She is the light to your darkness and my nothing. Without her, we've become unbalanced. We're a trio, afterall," Sora explained his revelation back in the Olympus Coliseum.
Riku shook his head and said, "Sora, that isn't how the Power of Awakening works, and even if you could use it to bring back someone who died, you would be breaking the rules of nature."
"Riku, we need her. I don't think we can survive without her," Sora replied adamantly. "We'll tear ourselves apart if we don't get her back."
"I hope you're right."
The group continued in silence until they found themselves standing across from 13 hooded figures led by Xehanort in their path. The hollow wind continued to be the only sound they heard. There were so many people in this wasteland nobody really knew where to look.
"Guardians, you have finally arrived. Glad to see you have arrived in mostly one piece," Xehanort announced as the heroes approached. It was a petty shot, but Sora kept his temper in check. "It is now that we will make history, Sora. Let the Keyblade War, begin!"
As his greeting ended, the ground began to shake. Suddenly giant walls began to rise from the barren Earth. The guardian's lost balance as the Seekers of Darkness were raised up to the sky. Walls separated some of the heroes from each other, Sora finding himself alone. As the world stopped shaking, his Gummiphone began to ring. Pulling the phone out he answered to see the group was all on the line.
"Everyone alright?" Yuna asked. "Rise is with me here."
"Ruby and I are good to go. Ventus is with us," Yang answered.
Dante added, "Aqua's here. We're fine. Sora?"
"Axel and Mickey are good. We have Goofy and Donald with us," Riku replied.
Sora looked around and said, "It looks like I ended up alone. Be safe everyone, we'll have to navigate this maze and find each other."
"Will you be alright on your own?" Ruby asked, clearly worried for him.
Sora nodded and said, "I'll be with you guys as soon as I can."
They ended the call and Sora looked over at his only route out. "Well… here goes nothing."
Dante and Aqua started jogging down the only route they had available to them, as soon as the call ended. She was glad to have him nearby. If they ended up encountering an enemy, there was no one who would take them both down when they worked together. She did worry however that his presence would attract Vergil to them.
As they came round the corner, they found themselves face-to-face with a small group that altogether faced Aqua against her biggest fears. Vergil, Terra, and… Riku? The smaller frame confirmed that it was not the one who had been alongside them just minutes before. Dante grabbed the sword from his back as his brother rested his hand on his own blade handle. Aqua manifested her keyblade into hand, a move that was mimicked by both Riku and Terra. A moment of pause was all that seemed to be needed before both sides charged into battle.
Aqua watched Dante bounce the younger Riku away with Rebellion as he focused on his twin. Meanwhile she found herself immediately being accosted by Terra. His powerful swings were just as dangerous now as they had been back during training. However, a sudden summoning of the Guardian grabbed Aqua by the face and threw her away. She slid across the ground and flipped back over onto her feet in time to block his followup attack. It also had flung her further back and into the wall. Dropping back to the ground, she looked up to see that Dante had intercepted Terra's next attempt at the cost of taking Vergil's katana to his stomach. Dante pushed himself further down the katana as he shoulder checked the younger version of his brother. The young Riku leapt up with the intent to drop from the sky on Dante. Aqua ran forward and launched a water spell up at him throwing him back across the area.
Terra swung his blade at Dante who managed to block it with his sword. Vergil disappeared as Aqua threw herself to the side to dodge his incoming swing. She flipped back onto her feet and cast a blizzard spell at Vergil. A confident smirk on his face, Vergil sheathed his blade and held it up to block. The ice suddenly burst further out in spires. His blade was now frozen to his hand. The path left in the spells wake was all Aqua needed to close the gap. Sliding across it at high speeds, Aqua slammed her keyblade into Vergil's gut.
'Riku' took on a dark aura as he dashed forward and then disappeared. Reappearing behind Dante with the same momentum, he lashed out with his blade. A quick shine of light was the only sign that 'Riku' had before being intercepted by a Keyblade spinning through the air. As he landed, 'Riku' looked over as the keyblade that made contact with him boomeranged back over to the hand of Sora.
"Sorry, I'm late!" Sora said with a grin.
Dante slipped out from under Terra's attack as he dashed over to Sora's side, "Not a moment too soon. I was tired of taking free hits from my brother." He put himself back into a battle ready pose.
Aqua was hand springing away from Vergil renewed vigor. "Hold still!" he commanded.
"Dante," Sora said with a serious tone. "I can't fight him. Take him down. For Kairi and Ruby." Dante looked over at Sora who did not wait for a response as he ran after the Riku Replica. Dante nodded and stabbed his blade forward with such force that he slid across the ground. His blade passed just by Aqua and collided with Vergil's sword causing both of their blades to bounce back with a loud clang of metal.
"Dante?" Aqua asked.
Dante looked over at her with his trademark smirk and said, "Go save Terra. I have a score to settle with Vergil." Aqua paused for a moment, then quickly gave him a peck on the cheek and ran off to fight Terra. Dante looked back at Vergil and said, "You gonna run this time when you start losing?"
"This is war Dante, this time we end this," Vergil replied.
Dante nodded and said, "I was hoping you'd say that."
The two of them became resolved now as they charged each other. Dante and Vergil's blades clashed and each hit ignited the air around the impact. As they fought, Dante saw something in Vergil's expression. Dante was stronger than when they existed at that age. This was the first time that Vergil was really feeling it. As the two of them separated, Vergil seemed frustrated. Vergil sheathed his blade and Dante felt the stillness of the air as he dashed to the left three times, dodging multiple sudden spheres, displaced by a massive number of swings appearing in those areas.
"Why? Why do you remain so much stronger than me?" Vergil asked. "We're both sons of Sparda. The same blood flows through our veins."
Dante shook his head and said, "A second chance to understand and you still don't get it. You've made sure to give yourself nothing to lose, Vergil. Training will only take you so far. But with no real motivation you're always going to fall short of others. You're too used to being the strongest person in the room. You don't know how to deal with someone who has the power to take the things that are important to you away. Until you learn that like I did, I will always find a way to defeat you."
Vergil charged forward blade in hand. Dante did the same. This clash would decide it.
Aqua and Terra's fight was much more a display of individual skill rather than a direct comparison of strength. Aqua dodged nimbly around attacks while Terra deflected her attempts to cast spells at him. The only thing keeping the fight firmly in Terra's favor was the Guardian supplied to him by Ansem. The being was a constant thorn in Aqua's side anytime she could out maneuver Terra.
Blasting the Guardian with a massive fireball. Aqua ran towards Terra and as she did, she took on a light purple aura as she achieved her Spellweaver form. Her keyblade began to leave her hand as the magic flowed through her body. The blade spun fast as it lashed forward at Terra. Terra rolled out of the way, but the follow up attack reached out further. Terra took the impact and the Guardian faded. Suddenly, blue chains flew from Terra's body and charged at Aqua. Aqua seemed to float as she dodged between them barely managing to not get grabbed several times until her aura took on a yellow glow and she pointed her keyblade back towards the storm of chains chasing after her. Yellow chains flowed forth from her keyblade entwining with the blue chains floating about the area. The power of Wayfinder was flowing forth from her.
"Terra! Please! It's me! You have to fight back against the darkness. Push it back out!" Aqua pleaded.
Terra laughed and said, "Your friend has been trapped for many years, what makes you think he will hear your voice now? Nothing will bring him back to the light. And he'll destroy you just to prove it!"
"No! I know he is still there. Give him back!" Aqua yelled back. She began to walk toward him fighting back with her Wayfinder ability against the force of his blue chains as he tried to get them to collapse down on her.
The Replica Riku was a lot faster than Sora remembered. But the magic that had once seemed impossibly strong now simply deflected from Sora's blade without much problem. Sora leapt over a dark fireball and then dashed forward through the air towards the smaller frame of the Replica. Their blades clashed in a storm of stars and dark ribbons. The two of them almost seemed to blink in-and-out of existence as they began to increase the speed of their combat. The easiest way to track their fight was by the essense left behind by their clashes.
Replica Riku reappeared behind Sora, launching a storm of Fireballs before reappearing before him again. Sora rolled out of the way of the ball but felt the sting of the Soul Eater blade as it made contact with his leg. Sora spun on his other foot smacking the Replica upside the head. They traded some more guarded swings before the Replica lept backwards and rested in a kneeling position.
"I don't understand you sometimes," Replica Riku commented bitterly.
Sora rested the keyblade on his shoulder as he asked, "Well then talk to me. You'll never learn if you don't ask questions."
Riku shook his head saying, "Don't act like you're better than me. I'm still smarter than you'll ever be."
Sora sat down as he said, "This isn't me pretending to be better than you." This got a weird reaction out of Riku. Disarmed was the best word for it in Sora's mind. "You know, the original Riku and I figured this out a while ago. We aren't each other. There are things you'll always be better at than me. There will always be things that I am better at than you. I had a pocket full of Pretty Stones to prove it once. But it's just jealousy that fuels our rivalry. When you learn to set aside the rest of that stuff and talk, you can figure out a lot."
Replica Riku looked like he wanted to retort but he stopped. Then something Sora never thought he would see on the Replica's face happened. A genuine smile. "Well then, can I ask you something? What does Namine think of your new maturity?"
"I don't know. She hasn't had her own body for a while now. I know the heart she made for herself is out there somewhere, but she doesn't have a form to return to, y'know? Not one outside of Kairi at least," Sora replied. "But if I had to guess, I think she would approve."
Replica Riku looked at Sora for a moment before he closed his eyes. "Sora, you're lucky," he said after another brief pause. His body began to glow with a white aura. "Save her for me, would you?"
"What?"
The Replica's face began to turn to white as the essence of Replica Riku left it, as a large store of darkness seemed to geyser from the body. The now empty body fell forward. Sora got back to his feet and turned away from the empty body. He knew what needed to happen. But first he needed to help finish something.
Dante and Vergil's charge met in the middle ground as they both took one single swing. The force of Dante's swing carried him forward another foot as Vergil's swing ended in the same position that he started it in. Both brother's waited for a moment as they both waited for the sting. The sudden sprays of blood from both of them brought them both to a knee, Vergil dropping his blade.
"I give you a free one and that's all you had?" Dante asked as he reached up and wiped his thumb across the deep gash across his face. He realized that it was the mirrored opposite of the scar given to him by Adam Taurus on Remnant. With a small hiss, the new wound healed, leaving Dante's skin unharmed, the other scar still remaining.
Vergil gave a dry chuckle as he replied, "What? You think I am going to let that Adam Taurus boy be the only one to leave a scar on you?" Vergil turned on his knee, gripping his chest. His eyes widened to see that the slash had healed with no sign. The other scar still adorned Dante's face.
Dante shook his head as he regained his footing. Walking over to Vergil who reached for his blade, Dante stepped down on it. "You think I couldn't heal this scar whenever I wanted? I don't know what I find more insulting, that you think you've never left a scar on me, or that you think I have such poor control over my ability to physically heal." Vergil just glared at Dante. "I keep this scar to remind me of my failure. I wasn't strong enough to protect the lives of people who are important to me. I couldn't let myself be the only one who walked away unchanged. No, the scars you left on me run deeper big brother. But they don't show here." He pointed at his face. His finger then fell to his chest. He said nothing else as he set his sword on his shoulder.
"Oh, did I hurt your feelings brother?" Vergil taunted. He yanked the Yamato from the sheath and spun around to swing it at Dante. Dante reeled his arm back and nailed Vergil to the dirty ground with Rebellion.
Dante's voice was even, maybe just a little too even, as he spoke. "You still don't get it. I never wanted you to die. I'd once hoped that we could go back to being good brothers. But you can't stop going down paths that I can't let myself follow you down. But the only way to stop you... that'd require you to care about something more than you care about yourself. And I know you're too much of a coward to have cared about something that much. If any part of you actually does care though… make this the last time I have to watch you die." Dante twisted his blade. A massive store of darkness flew away from Vergil as his body faded. Dante knelt down and scooped up the Yamato.
"Gotta take this back to the kid," Dante said as he stood up straight and tied the blade to his belt.
Aqua finally managed to make it to Terra and as she did she looked him directly in the eye as she left the yellow chains disappear. Terra's dark chains collapsed down on her and began to squeeze her tight. The air was pushed from her lungs as she continued to stare him in the eyes. A small wheezing whisper escaped her throat as the last of the air left her. The tears gathered in her eyes as the pain began to become too much for her.
"Foolish gi-," Terra began darkly. His was stopped when he felt the Guardian rise from behind him. He looked back and demanded, "What are you-?"
The Guardian grabbed his face and lifted him up into the air. The chains began to go slack around Aqua who gasped back in air.
The Guardian seemed like it was trying to speak until it reached up with a free hand and tore open the bindings across its map. "One day… I… will… set… this… right…" the Guardian said.
As Aqua's breath heaved she gasped out, "Terra?"
"One day… I will set… this right," the Guardian said again raising Terra up into the air. "I will return to this land and protect my friends!"
"Terra, now!" Sora called out tapping into the Power of Waking. A beam was launched forward from his blade as it pierced the form of Terra's body. The Guardian began to disappear the same mass of darkness exploding upward. The white hair turned to brown as Terra's body fell to the ground no longer held up.
The chains dispersed as Aqua finally fell to her knees and crawled forward to his side. She laid a hand on his head and said, "Terra? Is it really you?"
Terra's eyes opened and they focused on her. "Aqua, you never stopped lighting my way back." He pushed himself into a sitting position. He looked over to see Dante and Sora as they approached.
"Terra, you're alright!" Sora cheered.
Dante walked over and said, "Welcome back."
Terra looked and focused on Sora. "You're Sora aren't you?"
"You know about me?" Sora asked.
Terra nodded and said, "When I was lost, I came across a lot of interesting things. But the only one I came across multiple times was a strange woman in a blue outfit. She sought me out. Her name was Elizabeth and she told me a keybearer named Sora who was going to be the one to help me come back to the Realm of Light."
"You met Elizabeth?" Sora asked.
Terra nodded. "I had met the man she called master before. A man called Igor. When she learned of my existence she had tried to find me to ask about the Keyblade. Well she found me again after a chance meeting with a boy named Sora who also wielded a keyblade. You leave a good impression on people," Terra complimented. He struggled to his feet and as he stood up he found himself having to look up to see the face of the last newcomer.
Dante saw Terra looking at him longer than he was comfortable. "Something on my face?"
Terra rested his hand on Dante's shoulder and said, "You make sure you take care of her."
Dante realized immediately what he was going on about and said, "I don't know how much you've been able to see, but she doesn't need anyone to take care of her. But I get what you're saying there, buddy."
Sora turned his head toward a now open route through the maze. "You guys get some rest, I am going to go look for the others," Sora said.
"Wait," Dante called as Sora started off. "I'll go with you."
"Keep an eye on them. Terra needs some rest and I am sure Aqua will as well," Sora replied. "We can't rush things now that we're so close."
Dante nodded and he watched Sora run off. He turned back to the two resting key bearers. "So now we wait," Dante said as he leaned against the stone wall.
Aqua looked at the katana hanging off his belt. "So, that is the Yamato. What are you going to do with it?" she asked.
Dante looked down at the blade and said, "I've already given it to his son once. I have to return it to him. It isn't my blade to wield. Never was, never will be." Dante rested his hand on the hilt of the katana and then batted it away as he left the blade in its place. This earned him an interesting look from Terra.
"Why not?" Terra asked. "I've seen the blade in action. It may even be stronger than the Keyblade."
Dante looked at him and seeing that Terra's interest was genuine he answered, "The Yamato was a weapon used to separate the human world from the demon world. Much like my brother who always tried to keep his human side and demonic side separate so that he could fully embrace one or the other. My blade, the Rebellion was created as a counter balance when my father split his power into three. Which also lines up with my own view which has been to unite the two halves of me. Embracing both my humanity and my demonic heritage."
Aqua rested her hand on his and said, "I think you made the right choice."
"I don't know how much of a choice it was though," Dante replied. "The moment our destinies diverged was when our family was attacked. My mother found me, she died before she could find him. It was a loss for both of us, but it hurt us in different ways."
Terra thought about this for a moment and said, "So then how did he have a kid?"
Dante shrugged. "Maybe he thought that the thing that made our father strong was the love he felt for humanity. If that's so, then the only example of it he could likely think of was the love between our parents. But that's only a guess," Dante replied.
The three were left to think on this for a while as Aqua and Terra both recovered their strength.
Author's Note Too: So you remember way back in Chapter 10 when I detailed a strange off meeting with Igor and Terra? There are some forces in the whole entire multiverse of Kingdom Hearts that can travel by ways outside of Keyblades and Corridors of Darkness.