Fish Mooney and Solomon Grundy made their way into the Hall of Empty Melodies, having fought their way through a squadron of dancer Nobodies in the room prior... Or, rather, Grundy tore through them while Fish watched. In the corner of the room, a young man with a blonde mullet was sitting in a foldable chair tuning a large blue sitar. Fish wouldn't have paid him much mind if he hadn't been wearing the cloak of Organization XIII.
Fish drew her pistol cautiously and made a motion to Grundy to indicate her intent. As the duo approached Demyx, the seated Xehanort, his face started to scrunch up and he sniffed the air loudly.
"UGH, it smells like something DIED in here!" Demyx said as he looked up to face them. Upon noticing Grundy he added, "Oh. That's why. Zombies. Great. Did they ever pick the wrong guy for this post."
Fish and Grundy shared a look of confusion at Demyx's casual demeanor. Grundy simply shrugged and barreled forwards towards Demyx. The Xehanort vessel strummed a chord on his sitar, and, as he did, a jet of water erupted under Grundy, sending the zombie sliding backwards.
"So you're not completely powerless," Fish remarked.
"I'm a Xehanort," Demyx said in a voice much colder than the one he had before. "Of course I'm not powerless."
Demyx got up from his chair and strummed another progression of notes on his sitar. At the sitar's command giant bubbles of water rocketed out of thin air. Fish managed to dive out of the way of the attacks, but when the bubbles hit the ground, they splashed outward, soaking Fish's hair. Fish wiped the water off and screamed out angrily.
"If this hair goes frizzy, I will personally scalp you and turn your hair into a new wig to replace this one!" Fish yelled through gritted teeth.
Demyx scoffed and began to play a little melody. "DANCE WATER, DANCE!"
From out of the sitar, a swarm of water forms resembling colorless clones of Demyx emerged, each weilding a watery sitar of their own. Grundy started punching them left and right, but every clone he destroyed just got replaced by another. Several water clones surrounded Fish on all sides, and she could tell that they meant to drown her.
"Impressive trick," Fish commented. "But I'll do you one better."
Unfortunately for Demyx, Ursula had been training Fish how to become a sea witch, and one of the many talents Fish learned was how to project her toxin through magic. Fish extended her hand outward and touched one of the water clones The watery form instantly turned a toxic green and morphed from a replica of Demyx to one of Fish Mooney. The toxin clone then touched the two forms next to it and changed them as well. This continued until all of Demyx's water clones had become Fish's toxin clones.
Demyx backed away from Fish's clones slowly with a mildly horrified look on his face. "Hey, uh, we can talk about this right? Y'know, I never really wanted to fight you. That was all Xehanort's heart."
"You remind me of a certain penguin before he made something of himself," Fish said. "Just a little bitch splashing in a pond he's not ready for."
The toxin clones created a semicircle behind Demyx, forcing him to move closer to Fish herself. Demyx, unwilling to go down without a fight, attempted to bludgeon Fish with the head of his sitar, but Grundy intercepted his attack. The zombie tugged the sitar out of Demyx's hand and tossed the instrument off to the side. With Demyx having no means left of defending himself, Fish was easily able to grab her opponent by the jaw and allow her toxin to seep into his veins.
"Now you listen good," Fish said. "I'm talking to you, Xehanort. Your heart is going to vacate this young man, and it's never going to come back to him. You hear me?"
Demyx gasped as a glowing pink orb clouded with darkness shot out of his chest and vanished into the air. Demyx's eyes instantly turned from a deep amber to a light shade of teal. His hair seemed to become even more vibrantly blonde as well. Fish let go of the young man, and he collapsed to the floor, dazed by what had just transpired.
"You... set me free...," Demyx said, clutching his chest. "I guess now you're gonna kill me for real since you can now, right?"
Fish shook her head. "No, I'm not. Actually, it just so happens that I have a job opening for a new umbrella boy. You can make it up to me for getting my hair wet earlier."
"Umbrella boy? Ugh, that sounds like work," Demyx whined.
"You don't like it?" Fish asked. "Well then perhaps my girls here can cut you a better deal."
All of Fish's toxin clones sprouted watery machetes in their hands and gestured threateningly at Demyx. Demyx laughed uncomfortably.
"On second thought it sounds like a great idea," he said.
Fish grinned devilishly. "I knew you'd come around."
Russell and Steve had parted ways back at the Proof of Existence, and Russell made his way into the Addled Impasse. The wall of windows looked out to what seemed to be the remnants of a heart moon overhead. A plume of smoke put Russell on the edge, but he relaxed when he saw that it was just Hades.
"So what's up with the moon?" Russell asked.
"Oy, something complicated and convoluted," Hades said. "I think it's supposed to be a portal to Kingdom Hearts or somethin', but it got broken by Sora a couple years back. Don't worry 'bout it. Eyes on the prize."
A pink laser arrow landed at Hades and Russell's feet. The two looked up to see a barrage of pink bullets raining down upon them. Russell swiftly dodged every single one, and Hades set up a wall of fire to burn them before they could hit him. Xigbar leaped down from the rafters, arrow guns in hand, revealing himself as the culprit behind the onslaught.
"You guys don't like standing still," Xigbar scolded, wagging his finger in mock disappointment.
"Never been one of my strong suits," Russell replied.
"Helloooooo, remember me? Lil' ole Lord of the Underworld?" Hades said, his hands lighting on fire. "Cuz I've gotta a special place reserved for you, kiddo."
Xigbar scoffed. "As if! I'm a Dark One. Can't be killed!"
"Unfortunately, the same is not true of our guests!" a second voice said.
Russell and Hades barely had time to turn around before Saïx unleashed a powerful gust of lunar wind that blew out Hades's hair and knocked both him and Russell into the windows. Hades rubbed his hand on his bald head in annoyance and cracked his neck, lighting his hair back up.
"Now you're just TRYING to tick me off," Hades said, turning a bright shade of orange. "Well guess what? YOU GOT IT!"
Hades's arms extended into a column of flames aimed directly at Xigbar, but the Xehanort teleported out of the way of Hades's blast. Xigbar reappeared, floating upside down several feet away and fired relentlessly upon Hades. Hades was forced to teleport out of the way.
Saïx, meanwhile, began to float into the air and became engulfed in lunar light. "Moon shine down!"
Russell lunged for Saïx, yet found himself knocked back by a berserk swing of Saïx's claymore. Russell staggered back to his feet just in time to zip out of the way of Saïx unleashing three streaks of lunar energy flames towards him. As Russell dashed out of the way, he noticed a replica of Saïx's claymore had appeared on the floor. Russell picked up the weapon and found that he could practically slide across the floor with it. Russell swung the claymore, slamming into Saïx's jaw and sending the Xehanort stumbling backwards.
Hades reappeared closer to Xigbar and prepared to hurl a fireball at the Xehanort, yet Xigbar was prepared form him.
"NEW BACKDROP!" Xigbar shouted, changing the entire landscape of the Addled Impasse.
Suddenly, Hades and Xigbar were on opposite ends of the room with Russell and Saïx in between them. Hades realized the change too late and unleashed his fireball right into Russell. The vampire roared in pain as he caught fire and quickly attempted to stop, drop, and roll. Burn marks scorched Russell's skin, but he knew they would heal.
"Watch it, flame brain!" Russell spat.
This distraction was all the opening Saïx needed to begin spinning his claymore around rapidly, creating large blue energy shockwaves that radiated across the entire floor, knocking around both Russell and Hades. Xigbar, floating above, was spared from the attack. Saïx was unrelenting and seemed to never get tired. Every time Hades or Russell tried to recover, they found themselves hit by another wave of energy. Though they each were quite durable, they knew they couldn't take much more of this.
"IT'S THE MOON!" Russell yelled between waves. "We've gotta cut off his access to its power!"
Hades nodded and snapped his fingers, teleporting away. Hades appeared on the other side of the large window and erected a wall of flames, blocking the window's view of the moon. For Saïx, it was if he'd just been hit by a horse tranquilizer. He dropped to his knees and started panting profusely.
"Clever little sneak!" Xigbar remarked as Hades re-entered the room.
Xigbar, however, shifted the arrangement of the room once more so that the wall of windows moved away from the flames. With his access to the moon restored, Saïx began to perk back up with energy.
"We're never gonna beat these two as long as they're together," Russell remarked.
"Then it's time to divide and conquer, babe!" Hades said, teleporting behind Xigbar.
Hades grabbed Xigbar from behind and teleported them both away before Xigbar could warp out of his clutches. With Xigbar gone, the glass wall of the Impasse returned to its proper location, still blocked by the flames. Saïx once again shrank down. Russell quickly dashed over to him and sunk his fangs into Saïx's neck. The Xehanort cried out in pain as Russell drained him of every drop of blood in his body. Russell tossed Saïx's body aside, knowing that it would be only a few moments before the Dark One magic revived the blue haired Xehanort.
Russell knelt down over Saïx. His hands began to glow with fairy magic. Russell smirked and with a thrust, unleashed the blast of light energy into Saïx's abdomen. The darkness in Saïx's body hissed in agony, and, fearing the light, Xehanort's heart abandoned its host body. Without the immortal powers of Xehanort's heart keeping him alive, Saïx's body faded into the darkness, dead at long last.
Hades and Xigbar reappeared down in the Underworld, on a ledge overlooking the River Styx. This cavern radiated a sickly green glow, and the Styx below circled slowly as if it were a maelstrom with all the time in the world.
"Teleporting? As if!" Xigbar laughed when he noticed his surroundings. "Did you forget what my powers are?"
Xigbar attempted to teleport away or shift the space to fit his desires, but he found he couldn't.
"Huh? What the-?" Xigbar said.
"Handy dandy thing about being Lord of the Dead," Hades said. "Ya see, ya can't use any powers down here without my permission or an Olympus Stone. Perks of the job. Which means..."
Hades pointed his fingers at Xigbar in the shape of a gun. "You lose!"
Hades fired a bullet of flame from his finger gun. Xigbar was struck in chest and toppled backwards, hurdling down into the Styx below. He attempted to swim free, but he found himself quickly hounded by souls dragging him under.
Hades grinned and shouted down after Xigbar. "Told ya I had a special place reserved for ya!"
Loki proceeded through the highest outdoor walkway of the Castle That Never Was known as the Verge of Chaos. Loki found the name rather amusing. If the verge of chaos was what Xehanort desired, how then would the God of Mischief deny him such a treat? The circular arena atop the Verge of Chaos roared with the sounds of battle. Loki, never one to shy away from watching a battle to witness any potential ways to turn the tides in his favor, teleported up to the edge of the arena and watched silently.
The Minotaur roared as it charged directly for a man with long pink hair wearing an organization cloak. Marluxia waited until the last possible second before vaulting over the Minotaur and landing safely behind the beast. Marluxia then, with incredible speed, swung his scythe and took the head of the Minotaur clean off before the creature could even realize that his attack had been a failure. Rose petals descended upon the ground as the blade swung. Loki had to admit that this assassin was incredibly graceful... Seemed a shame to destroy him.
"A rose by any other name would still smell as sweet," Loki said as he emerged from his hiding place. "And a reaper would still be as deadly."
Marluxia smirked in such a way that made Loki feel as though he were looking into a mirror.
"And a God of Lies would still be as dishonest," Marluxia remarked. "I recognize you well, Loki of Asgard. Your reputation proceeds you."
"I do wish I could say the same, but Xehanort's kept his associates quite homogenized," Loki replied.
A flicker of disappointment crossed over Marluxia's expression. This subtle shift in demeanour drew attention to the pink eyeliner that outlined his unnaturally amber eyes. For all Xehanort's efforts to make his acolytes as much like him as possible, this Marluxia figure seemed to stand out.
"I had not thought the god told of in inspiring tales would subject himself to the hegemony of a second rate Mistress of All Evil," Marluxia said.
Loki scoffed at that. "Do not confuse working in tandem with hegemony, my dear boy. Though you're certainly one to talk of subjecting oneself, considering you current predicament."
Marluxia chuckled. "I had not thought the God of Lies capable of deceiving himself either. Mine is a temporary subjugation, I assure you. Can you say the same of yours?"
Loki scowled. "At least mine allows me to retain my sense of self."
"A disadvantage I've accounted for," Marluxia assured his opponent. "But I grow weary of this conversation. I wish to test my mettle against one who would call himself a god."
A scepter appeared in Loki's hand. "You may come to regret that decision."
The two men rushed into battle, Marluxia swinging his scythe swiftly and deftly every time Loki got in range. It took all of the God of Mischief's skill to avoid the attacks. It became readily apparently once Marluxia successfully sliced a gash into Loki's leg that the Graceful Assassin outmatched Loki in speed. To win this battle, Loki would need to outmatch Marluxia in other manners.
Loki fired two bolts of green energy from his staff that Marluxia expertly dodged and danced out of the way of. A flash of green washed over the arena, and suddenly a dozen Lokis were dancing around Marluxia. The Graceful Assassin struck out at those near to him, but when they dissolved into green light and others began to appear, it became clear to him that he required a different strategy. Marluxia activated a spell that caused the arena to become coated with three large pools of blackish-pink energy that sprouted letal thorns. The attack struck most of Loki's illusions, causing them to fade.
Loki growled in frustration at his dilemma. Marluxia had only left a very small percentage of the floor space available to battle. This meant that dodging Marluxia's scythe would be all the trickier. This fear was quickly proven warranted when Loki found himself pinned between two energy traps with a swiftly strking Marluxia closing in. Loki attempted to fence back Marluxia's attacks whilst working on a counter spell, but the speed of his opponent required his undivided attention.
Loki's focus was locked on Marluxia so fiercely that the God of Mischief didn't watch where his feet were going. As Loki stepped in one of Marluxia's energy pools, he was himself shocked by the dark magic. His flinching in pain was all the opening Marluxia needed to strike. With a swift swing of his scythe, Marluxia sliced Loki's hand holding the scepter clean off. Loki cried out in pain and staggered backwards, clutching the bleeding stump in his cape.
Loki attempted a spell to retreat, but before he could manage it, Marluxia drove the point of the scythe into Loki's chest. Loki gasped out in pain, spilling his blood over the pink blade, as Marluxia held the dying god in the air triumphantly. With a flick of his scythe, he threw Loki down to the tiles to bleed out.
"Marluxia, the God-Slayer!" he proclaimed proudly. "Nothing can stand in my way now!"
"Our way!" Master Xehanort corrected as he arrived via Corridor of Darkness. "Do not forget, Marluxia, you serve at my pleasure!"
"Not anymore," Marluxia said with a devious grin. "Such a mistake you made, linking thirteen hearts together. You never know when the link might turn in a different direction."
A pink floral rune appeared over Marluxia and Xehanort's chests. Energy surged within them, and rose petals swirled around them like a tornado. As the flowers danced around the men, both of their eyes turned from amber to a vibrant magenta. Xehanort gasped out in rage as he realized what was happening.
"Now it is thirteen vessels of my heart instead, old man!" Marluxia proclaimed. "And only I will rule all the worlds!"
Loki sliced off another piece of his apple and took a bite as he watched Marluxia dancing around proclaiming his own dominance. Mortals weren't complicated, no matter how powerful they were: they'd always believe a lie if it was a lie they wanted to believe. Trapping Marluxia in that illusion was truly a kinder fate than he deserved, but it was also the only fate that he could count on Marluxia himself to maintain. Marluxia had lost the battle the second he'd become convinced that there ever was a battle.
Satisfied that Marluxia was one Xehanort that would trouble him no further, Loki proceeded onwards.
Maleficent had specifically warned her Overtakers against using Corridors of Darkness whilst in the World That Never Was, and, like all sensible suggestions that came from others, Doctor Doom elected to ignore it. He knew Xehanort would be hiding in the Darkest Abyss, and so, with the assumption in the back of his mind that he could simply use his time platform to undo any mistakes, Doom plunged into the darkness. He found himself in the area known as Darkest End, a long tunnel of crystalized dark stones floating amidst a violet sky of nothing.
"One must be very brave or very foolish to plunge whole-heartedly into the Darkness," a handsome man with long silver hair said as he descended from above.
This man, Ansem, did not wear the traditional garb of Organization XIII, but, instead, a black and gray trenchcoat that hung open to reveal a Heartless insignia attached to his chest.
"Have a care," Doom warned. "You speak to Doctor Doom."
"A name that is utterly meaningless here," Ansem said. "Do you think the Darkness gives a care to your reputation? Foolish king."
Doom roared out angrily and blasted Ansem with a beam of green energy.
"Come Guardian!" Ansem called out, and a muscular Heartless manifested in front of Ansem.
Doom's blasts harmlessly ricocheted off the Guardian's chest. Doom growled under his breath and ran to strike at Ansem's undefended backside.
"SUBMIT!" Ansem called out as the Guardian lashed out at Doom.
The beast struck Doom and vanished from sight. It was only when Doom attempted to attack Ansem with another bolt of energy that the Guardian exited Doom's body and restrained him. Unable to move, Doom was all too vulnerable to Ansem's energy attack. If not for the enchantments in his armor, Doom could have been seriously injured. As the creature slithered back into Doom's body, the armor clad Overtaker attempted to cast a spell to repel the invading force. However, as he began the spell, the Guardian grabbed and restrained him once again, causing him to suffer another attack from Ansem.
"You hide behind your creature to prevent me from striking you," Doom spat. "What a cowardly tactic, you miserable wretch!"
"Such are the insults lobbied from the losing side," Ansem replied.
"Very well," Doom said, standing tall. "If you would block out my ability to attack, then this contest will take a different form."
Ansem raised an eyebrow in interest. "Your move, Doctor."
Doom telepathically activated his suit's matter expanding technology. When he did, from a compartment in his belt, five tic-tac sized robots expanded out to human size. All of them bore a striking resemblence to Doctor Doom. Back before Niffleheim, Doom had commanded a legion of Doombots, but now he had considerably less and they had to be used sparingly. However, now was the ideal time.
The Doombots instantly began to fire upon Ansem, and the Xehanort flew backwards to recoil from the barrage of laser blasts stinging his chest. With a lurch, Doom felt the Guardian vacate his body to defend its master. Doom smiled beneath his mask. All according to plan.
"Your mechanical replicas are impressive," Ansem asked. "Though I do have to wonder why you've elected to have them all resemble you."
As the Doombots clashed with Ansem and the Xehanort returned fire with blasts of darkness, Doom crossed his arms and chuckled loudly.
"Does it not create the possibility that I am one?" Doom asked. "That Doom may, at any given moment, be a mere machine? That I am not myself? If I am ever defeated or dishonored, if I ever act in ways unworthy of myself, if I ever die, then the word goes out: it must have been a Doombot. The reverse is often true as well. My robots fool my foes – I may be a robot now speaking these words. How would you know?"
Ansem's Guardian smashed two Doombots together, causing them to crumble into scrap metal. Ansem then turned his attention back to Doom himself. The Guardian hurdled spinning blades of dark energy at Doom. Doom evaded them without so much as tearing his cape.
"What is Doom?" Doom continued. "The flesh and blood that I can swap in and out of at my convenience? The mind I have copied to thousands of machines? No. Doom cannot fit in such small containers. I am not my body. I am not my mind."
"You boast this to one whose heart has come to inhabit a myriad of vessels," Ansem shouted out as he and the Guardian charged Doom; Doom teleported himself out of the way. "You think your pathetic machines give you power beyond yourself? You do not even begin to understand the meaning of the concept!"
"Think you so?" Doom asked as he fired blasts upon Ansem that were once again deflected by the Guardian. "You're still your heart, however fractioned. You're a mystical parasite, nothing more. Doom, however? Doom is the old trunk filled with ancient mysteries, the explosion at the college laboratory, the iron mask that burns with the fires of vengeance, the legend that unites an entire nation! I am the story of Doom!"
"A story that will soon END!" Ansem cried out.
Ansem began to glow light blue, and the Guardian vanished as the entire area was cast in shade. From below Doom's feet, the Guardian punched out from the ground with an immense influx of dark energy. Doom quickly activated his jet boots and began to fly in a circle around Ansem, narrowly avoiding the Guardian's attack chasing after him.
"Oh? Think you that the story of Doom can come to an end?" Doom asked.
"Once you perish, it will," Ansem vowed. "Yet, I have cast my very body aside! I can move through time itself! My story will be that of the very secrets of the universe! The story of Xehanort will be neverending!"
The Guardian returned to its master and unleashed an expanding wave of dark energy outward that Doom narrowly avoided.
"Then mine is a better story than yours," Doom replied. "You are mine!"
Doom activated the time cube in his suit which expanded outwards and wrapped itself around Ansem. The Xehanort vessel looked around him with great distaste.
"Time plus space equals narrative," Doom explained. "A time machine is a space machine is a machine for moving through narrative. And if we can move..."
Ansem suddenly found himself frozen, unable to move a muscle or even blink.
"Then we can also be still," Doom said as he rested his hand on the outside of the time cube. "I have made you a prison without time, without space, without story. Your narrative is on pause, forever!"
Jafar and Maleficent made their way through Ruin and Creation's Pass. Beyond the door at the far side of the room, Master Xehanort himself would be waiting. The two sorcerers stepped onto the final platform and made their way to the exit when a Corridor of Darkness blocked their path. From that Corridor emerged Xemnas. Maleficent seethed with rage at the sight of him, but Jafar placed a hand on her arm.
"Go, my dear," Jafar said. "The time for petty grudges is behind us. I shall handle this infuriating fool. You just take care of Xehanort himself."
Maleficent nodded reluctantly and vanished into a flurry of green flames, leaving Xemnas and Jafar to circle one another in anticipation of the battle.
"Ever the lapdog of the evil fairy?" Xemnas remarked. "I pity your servitude, Jafar, for it must smart considerably to subject oneself to the whims of another who does not share your same intellect and ambition. I cannot imagine how-"
"Spare me your rambling!" Jafar interrupted. "You're starting to bore me!"
"Boredom is naught but another fallacious delusion crafted within the heart," Xemnas replied. "Due to my absence of a heart, I cannot truly feel boredom. Boredom is not an emotion I am capable of grasping. Therefore can one without a heart truly be boring? After all, emotions are crafted when one heart meets another. So tell me how such an emotion as boredom can exist when the heart meets the non-existent. The truth of the matter is that one must feel emotions in order to invoke them in-"
Xemnas's monologue was interrupted by a blast of Jafar's magic knocking him onto his back.
"Pretty things like you should be seen and not heard," Jafar spat as he knelt down to Xemnas and pressed his hand against the Xehanort's throat.
Jafar held the head of his snake staff up to Xemnas's face so that the red jeweled eyes could meet Xemnas's. Xemnas tried to look away, but all he could see after a couple seconds were the eyes.
"You will give me the Dark One dagger," Jafar ordered.
The dagger appeared in Xemnas's hand. He handed it over to Jafar who grabbed it greedily.
"You will stay perfectly still," Jafar commanded. "And SILENT!"
Jafar then set his staff aside and lifted the dagger triumphantly into the air. With this dagger, he could become the new Dark One. With that kind of power, not even Maleficent could rival him. Jafar let out a maniacal laugh as he brought down the dagger to Xemnas's chest...
...But the laughter stopped when he found he'd hit a magical barrier. Jafar's wrists glowed with golden manacles. He was still bound by the rules of a genie, which meant he still could not kill. Jafar threw the Dark One dagger off to the side with a cry of anger, for he knew now he could never claim the greatest dark magic in the universe.
Maleficent approached the Altar of Naught where Xehanort stood, waiting. The old Keyblade master smirked when he heard her approaching.
"I suppose giving you an ultimatum did not serve as a deterrent," Xehanort remarked.
"I've never been one to bow to the wiles of others," Maleficent answered.
"More's the pity," Xehanort said. "You would have made an excellent host for my heart. Your Overtakers have been most successful in thwarting my vessels. Perhaps I overestimated them or underestimated you. Either way, it is a mistake I will not be eager to repeat."
Xehanort turned to face Maleficent. Their eyes locked in an unbreaking stare off: the Keyblade master who bent the Darkness to his will and the Mistress of All Evil who rose past his influence to strike out on her own.
"Your life is forfeit, Xehanort," Maleficent warned.
Xehanort let out a raspy chuckle. "There is a fine line between confidence and delusion." A black Keyblade with the emblem of a goat's head appeared in Xehanort's hands. "And you, my dear, have crossed it!"
Maleficent hurled a bolt of lightning from her staff at Xehanort, but the old master simply absorbed the attack on his Keyblade and retaliated with a blast of dark energy. Maleficent vanished into flames and reappeared behind Xehanort, yet before she could strike him, he quickly turned around and swung his blade. Maleficent barely managed to parry the blow with her staff.
"Meteors of Heaven!" Maleficent called out. "Unleash thy fury!"
Xehanort vanished into a dark blur as a dark portal opened behind her and large blue meteors flew out. Xehanort reappeared off to the side and loosed a blizzard spell aimed for the evil fairy. Maleficent, distracted by her own spell, took the icy blast. Her concentration broken, the meteors disappeared. Maleficent attempted to cast a cloak of fire around herself to destroy the ice, but Xehanort's teleportation was too fast. He again lashed out with his Keyblade and, this time, managed to cut her staff clean in two.
Maleficent cried out in rage. She didn't need her staff to cast magic spells, but her powers were considerably weaker without it. Tongues of flame danced at the tips of Maleficent's fingers as she attempted to muster a fire attack, but Xehanort was unrelenting. He swung his blade again, this time aiming to chop Maleficent's head clean off. Maleficent barely had the chance to duck, and when she did, Xehanort sliced off one of the horns of her headdress. Xehanort chuckled as he kicked the evil fairy to the ground and pinned her down under his boot.
"What hope did an exiled fairy have against all that I have become?" Xehanort asked as he held the blade to Maleficent's throat. "Even without using the powers of the Dark One, you're still no match for me!"
"Then perhaps we should test that," a third voice called out.
Maleficent and Xehanort turned to see Yen Sid standing there with the magical hat in hand. Xehanort cried out in protest as Yen Sid activated the spell and caused the hat to suck the darkness out of Xehanort. Maleficent watched, dumbfounded, as the Dark One's power slithered into the star and galaxy patterned headpiece. Xehanort let out a gasp and held his ribs in pain after the deed was done.
"You would choose the witch over your brother in arms?" Xehanort asked.
"I choose as I have always chose: to stand against the darkest ones who threaten our worlds," Yen Sid answered. "And this day, that threat is you."
"Make all the excuses you want, you old fool," Xehanort spat. "I see your motives clearly. You still love the wretched woman, even after all the misery she has brought upon you and countless others. But I'll not be defeated by something as insignificant as love."
Xehanort levitated into the air and flew up to the shattered heart shaped moon overhead. Maleficent gasped as Xehanort disappeared inside of it. Yen Sid walked over to Maleficent and offered his hand to her. Maleficent made a soud of disgust and pushed the hand away.
"I need no help from you, you sentimental fool," Maleficent said as she stood up. "If you think this changes anything-"
Yen Sid held up his hand to stop her. "I am well aware that what is done is indeed done. We are as we ever have been: that which never was and never will be. Yet Xehanort's threat looms still."
"He's no longer the Dark One," Maleficent said. "He can be destroyed at last. He has no thirteen darknesses, no χ-blade, and no Kingdom Hearts to take possesion of. His threat is merely that of a cockroach scurrying away."
"Not so," Yen Sid said, shaking his head. "This moon was an artificial Kingdom Hearts created by Xemnas years back. Though broken and not a true manifestation of Kingdom Hearts, its power is still enough to allow him to spread his darkness enough to salvage his plans."
"Then we end it," Maleficent said.
Maleficent turned herself into a magical wisp and flew up to the moon after Xehanort. Yen Sid, chuckling lightly at this turn of events, did the same, for he was one of the few who truly could follow her in such a manner.
Inside the heart shaped moon, ruin and creation seemed to coexist like old friends. The passages and platforms were fragmented and ill-defined, yet somehow also majestic and beautiful. Sitting on a throne on the far side of the passage was Xehanort, clad in extravagant silver armor bearing a large crown. In this form, he'd been known in the past as No Heart, an anagram of his name with the X removed.
"Now, Xehanort, we shall end this!" Maleficent warned. "And you shall know all the powers of HELL!"
In an explosion of green fire, Maleficent assumed her fearsome dragon form. Xehanort silently stood from his throne and drew his Keyblade as the dragon soared towards him. Yen Sid summoned the Star Seeker Keyblade to his hand and charged towards Xehanort alongside his former love. Maleficent reared her head backwards and unleashed a jet of flames for Xehanort. Xehanort put up a dark reflection shield to protect himself until the flames subsided.
Xehanort, from his Keyblade, unleashed forty dark bullets to converge upon Yen Sid. The sorcerer quickly became occupied with deflecting them, leaving Xehanort open to focus on Maleficent. With incredible speed and strength, Xehanort launched himself into the air and struck at the dragon's side. However, her hide was too thick for him to do any real damage. Maleficent rolled in mid air to try to shake Xehanort off of her, but the old Keyblade master grabbed onto one of her spikes and held firm.
With the roll now past, Xehanort made a beeline for Maleficent's wings in order to ground her, but before he could reach them, a lasso of light pulled him back down to the ground. Despite his age, Yen Sid was swift. He crossed blades with Xehanort and matched him blow for blow. Maleficent landed with a powerful shockwave and attempted to strike Xehanort with her jaws from behind. However, the old villain teleported clear, and, for a moment, Yen Sid feared she would strike him instead. Maleficent, however, refrained. The two turned to see Xehanort reappearing several yards away.
Maleficent unleashed a fireball that Xehanort dispelled with a blizzard spell easily. Xehanort's armor started to radiate with the powers of darkness and, with a gesture, he unleashed an immense Keyblade made of dark energy. Maleficent could tell that the blade was aimed at the vulnerable underbelly of her neck. If it struck her there, she'd be done for, yet she had no time to get airborn and she was took large to roll out of the way. Maleficent tried to turn her shoulder to take the brunt of the attack, and she closed her eyes, preparing for the worst.
Maleficent heard the Keyblade sink into flesh, yet she felt nothing. She opened her eyes and saw why that was: the energy blade had speared Yen Sid directly through the chest. He'd jumped in front of the attack to protect her. The old sorcerer fell limply to the ground as the blade vanished into the darkness. Maleficent's mind was racing, trying to process what had transpired, but one feeling overpowered all the others: rage.
With a roar of fury, Maleficent bounded over to Xehanort. He attempted to strike her with his blade, yet she quickly spun around, slamming into him with her powerful tail. Xehanort staggered backwards, and, as he did, Maleficent brought down her mighty claw, puncturing the armor and piercing the skin of Xehanort's stomach. Maleficent hissed at her opponent. She dearly wished she could see the look in his eyes, but her imagination would suffice. Like a serpent, Maleficent struck out with her jaws. She ripped Xehanort's head clean off his shoulders, armor and all. Just to make sure she'd received no trouble from the corpse, Maleficent showered Xehanort's headless body with flames until it dissolved into the darkness.
Master Xehanort was dead.
Maleficent reverted back to her true form and rushed over to Yen Sid's body. She knelt down where the old sorcerer lied still. Her magic was too weak without the staff to muster a healing spell, and Yen Sid seemed beyond such measures.
"You damned insane fool," Maleficent whispered. "Why? Why did you do that?"
"For... for the woman I knew long ago... the woman who was like me," Yen Sid sputtered out. "And... and... for the woman who I never stopped loving... not even for an instant."
His final declaration of love said, Yen Sid's eyes rolled back in his head and his breathing stilled. Maleficent felt twinges of pain behind her eyes and in her chest. She bit them back. They were unbecoming of a Mistress of All Evil. She closed Yen Sid's eyelids and slung his arm over her shoulders. She would not leave his body in such a place. That would be far too undignified for the life he had led.
As Maleficent hobbled towards the portal out, the entire area began to shake and crumble. Xehanort had taken on far too much of the realm's power, and, without him, its moments were numbered. From up above, an avalanche of rubble crashed directly in front of her. Maleficent threw up her free arm to block the debris from getting into her eyes, and when the smoke cleared, there were two immense fragments of buildings blocking her route to the exit.
Maleficent looked desperately at Yen Sid's corpse. If it weren't for him, she could just turn into a wisp and fly away, but that would mean abandoning him to make this desolate realm his final resting place. As she contemplated this, she heard two voices from the other side of the rubble.
"MALEFICENT!"
"I'm here! Trapped behind this rubble!" Maleficent called out. "My magic is weakened. I cannot escape on my own!"
From the other side, the rubble began to give way slowly but sure. Maleficent could see Hades struggling under the weight of the two building fragments to create a path out.
"I've... got it... for a second," Hades managed to strain himself to say.
"Maleficent!" Pete called out, rushing past Hades to his Mistress's side. "Are ya hurt? D'ya need me to carry ya?"
Maleficent didn't have time to fully process Pete's presence here. They needed to go right away.
"No, no, not me," Maleficent. "Get Yen Sid!"
"Yen Sid?" Pete asked. "But he's-"
"DO NOT QUESTION!" Maleficent yelled. "Obey!"
"HURRY!" Hades said, the veins in his muscles bulging at the effort.
Pete scooped up Yen Sid's corpse in his arms and made a beeline for the portal. Maleficent slipped through the opening, and Hades dropped buildings back to the ground. Hades and Maleficent wrapped their arms around each other and ran out the portal. In a flash of light, they found themselves back on the Altar of Naught in time to see the broken heart shaped moon fall to pieces from the sky.
Maleficent, exhausted from the battle, sunk the floor next to where Pete had laid Yen Sid's corpse. The other Overtakers, upon seeing that she was out, immediately crowded around her and began talking in unison.
"Maleficent!"
"Are you hurt?"
"What happened?"
"Is Xehanort alive?"
"Guys, GUYS, back up!" Fish Mooney ordered, pushing the crowd back. "Give her some air for a goddamn second.
Hades sat next to Maleficent and wrapped his arm around her. It was not at all an unpleasant or unwelcomed touch. Maleficent rested her hand atop Hades's and ran her fingers across his. Maleficent promised herself that she would never take this for granted.
"Xehanort is dead," Maleficent declared with a nod.
The Overtakers weren't sure if it was appropriate to cheer or silently nod at that, though everyone was happy for the victory regardless. Maleficent looked down at Yen Sid's corpse, and thought back to their time together. Grief didn't seem altogether appropriate, but it wasn't worth nothing, no matter how hard she tried to convince herself that it was. Hades seemed to sense her thoughts, as he rocked her slightly back and forth. Maleficent kissed her index and middle fingers, and then pressed them to Yen Sid's lips.
One last kiss to say good-bye.