Hey everyone,
Okay, in this chapter I am going to cover a bit of the two year time period between BBS and KH 1 – as I determined in an earlier chapter AN – as well as KH 1, or at least most of it. However, it won't just be someone on the Team talking and the students listening. They are going to be asking questions and that is what this chapter – and most of the upcoming chapters – will start with. The story is epic, after all, but also confusing.
It is KH, after all,

Venquine1990

Chapter 29
A Tale Is Told – Part 02

23rd of September 1995
Great Hall, Hogwarts
Harry's POV

The shock of the students lasts another minute or so and then Hannah stutters as she tries to ask about when this part of the story took place. Master Yen Sid takes pity on her and answers that it all took place shortly before he sent me back to live with the Muggles, right when he first started to see signs that things were about to take a turn for the worst. A lot of students look shocked and one asks: "Wait, this isn't the whole story?"
Master Yen Sid shakes his head and Naminé mumbles how it's only part of the story, more like the prologue than anything else. The shock of most of the staff and the students seems to increase, yet I also notice something else that worries me. The more he hears, the more Snape seems to get angered and agitated. I worry for this, but spot Even sending me a reassuring look. And because I know my mentor, I know he'll handle it if necessary.

Then Ernie, who I heard got detention for a month and who was almost suspended after his outburst on Friday, asks what happened next. Yet instead of Aqua, Terra answers him: "After Ven won the fight and transfered his heart inside Sora for safe-keeping, Xehanort, who believed he had won, decided to go on with the next step of his plan; taking over my body. Only, when I realized what he was going to do, I tried to defend myself – with this."
The man stands up and slams his fist into the bit of metal armor on his shoulder. Instantly a light bursts out and everyone shields their eyes for a few minutes. When the light dissipates, most eyes widen as Terra is now covered from head to toe in brown, beige, yellow and golden pieces of armor with two horns sticking out of the back of his head. Yet as thick as the armor is, it doesn't hinder his voice as he still speaks clearly:
"Xehanort's heart hit and merged with me just as I got fully encased in my armor. Because of this, part of me merged with my very armor while the rest of me got trapped within my own body. Yet thanks to Master Eraqus and the light of his heart merging with my own upon his passing, I was able to keep my own heart safe from Xehanort. That, however, didn't mean I had any control over my own body, not anymore. My body became – as Sora called it – Terranort."

Terra then undoes himself of his armor and returns to his actual looks while Aqua sighs and says: "I was oblivious to all of this. When Ven won his fight against Vanitas, it caused for the unfinished X-Blade to shatter. This caused a shockwave that shot me far away from Ven. Therefore, I didn't find out what had happened to Ven until we returned to the Master's Tower.
And I didn't find out what had happened to Terra until I met him again, in Radiant Garden. Terranort – tried to kill me, but Terra's heart was still strong within him and he was able to resist Terranort long enough that I could escape his grasp as he had me in a chokehold. This small sign motivated me and I felt sure I could help Terra free himself from Terranort. We fought against each other, though it felt more like I was fighting Terranort than Terra.

And when I won the battle, Terranort proved how much he was an all or nothing kind of person. He struck himself with his own Keyblade once again, declaring that if he couldn't have Terra's body, then nobody would. But instead of releasing his heart once again, this act opened a corridor straight into the Realm of Darkness. And Terranort let Terra's body fall into it. I jumped after them and tried what I could to reach them.
But while I was able to use my own armor to protect me from the darkness and while I was able to transform my Keyblade into my Keyblade Glider – another time – by the time I reached them we were already very, very close to the Realm of Darkness and far away from the Realm of Light and Radiant Garden. The battle had worn me out and I didn't have enough power to keep the Glider going and get both me and Terra back.
So instead, I gave up my Glider, my armor and my chance to return. Instead, I cast a spell on Terra and my armor to make sure that my armor would take Terra back for me. After this I myself ended up in the Realm of Darkness, where I stayed for almost four years. However before I met Terranort, I had first learned about Ven's state of being and so I decided to ensure his safety first. I took him home and then locked up our home.
I changed the Land of Departure into Castle Oblivion. Also, during my first visit to Radiant Garden, I met young Kairi, who was only twelve years old at the time. Just that one short meeting made me know that Kairi was special, so I put a charm on her that would protect her in case I couldn't. And it wasn't until after my return to the Realm of Light that I discovered two things. My charm on Kairi had worked, but my attempt to save Terra had failed."

Everyone turns from the young woman to the man she is almost constantly with and Terra sighs as he says: "Xehanort's last attack on my body caused amnesia. But it wasn't me that recovered, it was Xehanort. As such, my body really became Terranort and he was able to do terrible things. Aqua's spell did manage to get my body back to Radiant Garden and there I was taken in by Ansem the Wise, the leader of that world.
But as Xehanort recovered, we learned about new ways that light and darkness can affect someone. We learned about the Heartless and the Nobodies. And while Master Ansem was steadfast against further research into all this, Xehanort didn't care. Like Aqua, he threw Master Ansem into the Realm of Darkness. He then actually did the same thing as he did in the Keyblade Graveyard. Only this time it had different results.
This time Ansem, the Seeker of Darkness and Xemnas, the leader of Organization XIII were born. And my heart? What was left of me after all this happened? Lost in between the Realm of Light and the Realm of Darkness. Waiting for both of these – these monsters to be slain down so that my hear could once more inhabit a body. Yet not all of me was gone. Not all of me was lost. A part of me became a part of Ansem; and he used that bit as his guardian."

Hate, rage, anger, fury and other negative emotions course through me as I listen, as I hear this story, as I learn how one man could have ruined so many lives all for his own sick goals. Then Hermione voices a few of my thoughts as she asked what happened. And my heart sinks straight through the floor as Lea sighs and says: "Ansem convinced the other apprentices – as well as Isa and myself as we had snuck into the castle on that fateful day – to forsake our own hearts.
Our own Heartless were born and so were Xigbar, Xaldin, Vexen, Lexaeus, Zexion, Saïx and Axel. The first seven members of Organization XIII. Ansem in the mean time worked together with a dark fairy known as Maleficent and turned Radiant Garden into Hollow Bastion where Maleficent build herself her very own bastion of a castle and after which she started to hunt down the Seven Princesses Pure of Heart."
The minute Isa's new name – or better said the name of his Nobody – is said, I am rushing for my dearest and closest friend. Isa pulls me into a comforting embrace and while I don't want to interrupt him, I still reach an arm out to Lea. And while he continues his story, both Lea and Axel grab hold of my hand and arm respectively and squeeze in reassurance that everything's okay now. Vaguely I register students yelping at the fairy's name.

For a few minutes silence rings through the hall as everyone tries to process what they've just been told. Then Master Yen Sid gently and softly reminds everyone that, if they want, they are free to leave. The man even goes so far as to negate his earlier rule that those who leave are to study instead. And with grateful and relieved smiles a lot of students, especially First, Second and a few Third years, quietly leave the hall, Madam Pomfrey following them.
Then, once she apparently feels sure that the students have left, a girl who sits close to Cho Chang, speaks up. "So let me see if I get this straight. Master Xehanort is basically evil incarnate and too arrogant for his own good as he will see his plans through no matter what. Ventus is – asleep, Aqua stuck in the Realm of Darkness, Terra a prisoner in his own body and Xehanort turned several of you into Heartless and Nobodies?"

Terra and a few others nod and Even says: "It truly is a crude summary, but that is also indeed basically our story so far in a nutshell, yes." Then suddenly Sirius turns to Rachel and asks her what happened to her. Rachel sighs and says: "I left. When we saw Maleficent invade Radiant Garden with the Heartless, Leon, Yuffie, Aerith, Cid, Cloud, Huey, Dewey, Louie, Emily and I all fled. We ended up in a world called Traverse Town and stayed there, for two years."
Sirius, who had pulled Rachel close in fright when he asked his question, sighs in relief, yet he still keeps holding Rachel close. And because I am just so worried about my two closest friend, my brothers, I do the same with Lea, Axel and Isa. Then Kairi says that it's her turn and she stands up. And just like with Aqua, it's obvious that Kairi has gone through a lot, just by her stance, and that like Aqua she refuses to give up on how she feels.
I feel an extreme level of pride for my pseudo older sister as she walks over to replace Aqua at the Owl Stand. "As Aqua said, she placed a charm on me upon our firs meeting. I will admit that I really don't remember much of those times. The whole thing with Master Ansem disappearing and the Heartless attacking frightened me so much, I fainted before the charm activated and took me somewhere safe. I got amnesia as a result.

I ended up on Destiny Islands, a world that is almost on the very outskirt of our universe, whereas Radiant Garden was at the near epicenter of the universe. There I met Sora and Riku. Sora, like me, was twelve and Riku was thirteen. We lived happy lives for about two years, but my arrival caused something. It made Sora and Riku curious about the outside world. So, as we grew older, we started devising ways we could visit those worlds."
The teenage woman who is only three years older than me giggles and says: "Our first idea proved just how naïve and gullible we were. We thought we could visit the outside worlds – by building a raft and just sailing away from the islands. It was completely ridiculous, but we were teenagers. We were dumb, a little bit arrogant and believed it was our best bet. But on the day that we actually finished our raft, the Islands came true to their name.

Ansem, the Seeker of Darkness, had come to the Islands. He had spoken to Riku and had told him of another, more fireproof way to get off the Islands. Just like his original-self had done to Terra, the Heartless manipulated Riku and convinced him to side with the Darkness. This allowed for a storm of Darkness to swallow up Destiny Islands, just like two years previous a storm had destroyed the better part of the Land of Departure.
Riku got off the Islands through the Darkness. But while I didn't know it at the time, I was one of the Princesses Pure of Heart that Maleficent was looking for. However, the whole thing had brought back some of my more painful memories and I feared that what had happened to my old home would happen again, that this time I wouldn't be able to escape it. Because of this, my Pure Heart sought shelter – and yet again Sora provided this.
Now I'm sure you're wondering what it means to be a Princess Pure of Heart. It means that our Hearts are so full of Light, they can't be forsaken and turned into Heartless. However, because I gave up my body in order to have my heart be kept safe inside Sora, I still gained a Nobody; Naminé. Though her story – and that of Roxas and Xion – will come later. For now, I will leave the rest of our story to Sora." The girl returns to her seat.

Both her best friends quickly give her a warm hug before they are replaced with Xion and Namine, while Roxas and Axel sit in between them and Isa, Lea and myself. Then both boys head for the Owl Stand. And while Riku takes a bit of a reassuring, supporting stance behind Sora, the boy starts his own part of the story. "After Kairi had, instinctively, secured her heart inside of me, I fought the first real Boss Heartless.
After this, I too was pulled into the storm. But instead of ending up in the Realm of Darkness, I ended up in Traverse Town. And this was where I met Leon, Cid, Yuffie, Aerith, Huey, Dewey and Louie, as well as Donald and Goofy, who became my two lifelong friends and my companions on our journey across the worlds. They had come to Traverse Town as King Mickey had ordered them to find the Key, aka the Keyblade."

At this Riku sighs and says: "I know that Aqua summarized most of her journey, but all three of them had visited the Islands. Terra had come first and he had actually passed the power of the Keyblade upon me. Aqua had come after and she had made Sora promise that he would always be there to help me and guide me if I ever strayed from the chosen path. And while neither of us knew it, Ventus had also ended up visiting the Islands, though only shortly.
Either way, while Sora had ended up in Traverse Town, I had ended up in Hollow Bastion, where Maleficent found me. And while Donald and Goofy kept Sora and his inner Light safe, Maleficent festered and fostered the Darkness inside me, the same Darkness that had led Ansem to me and the same Darkness that made the Keyblade pass onto me from Sora, as it no longer considered me worthy. And at the time, it was right."

Everyone looks at the young adult man in awe and concern. Yet at the same time I also notice something happening behind the man, something that astounds me. Professor McGonagall seems to notice the direction of my stare and turns to it before she gasps and asks the Headmaster what's wrong. Instantly I want to turn my head to Snape as part of me suspects him to be behind this somehow, but Dumbledore's words negate this.
The man is actually crying, yet a huge grin is on his face as he says: "Forgive me, Minerva, it's just –. You, our colleagues, my adversaries and companions and most of our world all know how much I have always believed in Second Chances, in the notion that almost anyone can be redeemed if given the chance. And now, because I know that their tale is in the past and see them before me, I feel like they are the living embodiment of my belief.
All these people – or at least most of them – turned to Darkness at one point in their life or another. But look at them now, Minerva. True Guardians of Light who strive to protect the most valuable treasure our world has to offer; our future, these children. It just makes me so happy to see them like this, to learn this about them." And as he says this, the man's voice is full of pride, joy and a deep, true sense of respect for my friends.

Again I notice Snape sneering at my friends and the fact that he still thinks so low of all these incredible people after all we've heard so far angers me almost enough I summon my Keyblade. But Lea, who now has me seated between himself and Isa, senses me tensing and gently he moves my head so that it lies on his shoulder. And just like all the times in the past where he would do this, I slowly feel my annoyance ebbing away.
Sora continues to talk. "Like I said, we travelled across various worlds, Donald and Goofy looking for King Mickey and me looking for Riku and Kairi. I had no idea that Kairi's heart was inside me, not until the end. On our journey we went to Wonderland, where we, unknowingly, met another Princess Pure of Heart named Alice. We also travelled to Deep Jungle and to the Olympus Coliseum. After this we went back to Traverse Town.
At the Coliseum we met Cloud, who was friends with Leon and the others, though he's also a bit of a loner. And in both Wonderland and Deep Jungle, I discovered the main purpose of the Keyblade; to lock up the Heart of the World and protect it from the darkness of the Heartless. Though until we returned to Traverse Town, I didn't even known about it, the Keyblade just did the work for me and I complied out of nothing but sheer instinct.

Either way, in Traverse Town, I reunited with Leon and the others and also had a short reunion with Riku. One that Donald over here completely ruined." Sora's voice is full of faux anger and the duck in question quacks and argues that he apologized. Sora laughs at this and laughs even harder, alongside Riku and some of the others, when they see Donald glare at him. Yet after Sora calms down, he drops one hell of a shell-shock bomb on all of us as he says:
"Oh yeah, that was also the first time that I met Merlin, though I'm not sure if it's the same Merlin as the one from your legends." And while the boy sounds very lighthearted about this, his words make everyone gape at him in utter shock. Yet then Sirius says that it isn't and when some students ask him how he knows, he shrugs and tells them that he also met the guy and asked him. Again for a few minutes the students gape, but then Sora continues.

Anyway, after this Donald, Goofy and I travelled to 4 more worlds, five if you count Monstro, though he really was just a huge whale that was somehow able to swim through space as if it was some kind of huge ocean or something. We went to Agrabah, where we met Jasmine, another Princess Pure of Heart, Atlantica, Halloween Town and Neverland. And it was in both Neverland and inside Monstro that I had short reunions with Riku."
The young adult himself sighs and takes over as he says: "While Sora had all these journeys, I got taught and trained by Maleficent. She was able to sense the Darkness in my heart and believed that she could use it and the Princesses Pure of Heart to conquer all worlds and envelop them in Darkness. And because I was a stupid, hormonal teenager who just wanted the power to protect and be a leader to his friends, I was easily swayed to her side and beliefs.
It certainly didn't help that she told me that Sora had replaced Kairi and me with Donald and Goofy or that I misunderstood what Sora was doing in the other worlds. How he was helping the people of those worlds keeping the Darkness at bay and beating people that were willing to use the Darkness to not just take what they wanted, but also hurt whoever stood in their way. People like Ursula the sea-witch in Atlantica and Jafar in Agrabah.

Finally, we had our last reunion in Hollow Bastion. By this point Maleficent had already gathered all seven Princesses Pure of Heart. Alice, Belle, Cinderella, Snow White, Jasmine, Aurora and Kairi, whose body Maleficent had somehow managed to bring back. You know, to this day I still don't get how she managed to do that, seeing Naminé and all." Riku mumbles to himself at the end, yet he shrugs a moment later.
Sora smiles at his friend, yet something about the smile sparks my intrigue. I can't really place it and just focus on Sora continuing the story instead. "Either way, this was the point where everything came to a head. Maleficent had awakened all of Riku's power within him, all the while feeding and festering the Darkness in his heart. Yet because of this he was once more able to lay claim on the Keyblade and for a short while, he stole it from me.
Now like I said, Donald and Goofy had been ordered by the King to find and follow the Key. They – took that a bit too literally, so when Riku left with the Keyblade, they followed after him. I, in the meantime, got Beast to help me and after we reunited with Donald, Goofy and Riku inside Maleficent's stronghold, I managed to regain the rights of the Keyblade. Riku and I fought and I managed to beat him.

And just like the manipulative coward that he is, Ansem took advantage of that, and convinced Riku to let him into his heart. Yeah, more like he took over Riku's body and sent Riku's heart into the Realm of Darkness. Naturally, at the top of Maleficent's stronghold, Donald, Goofy, Beast and I fought her twice, once in her regular form, once in her dragon form. We managed to beat her both times and after this reached the room with Kairi and the others.
This was where I had my first real fight against Ansem. And in Riku's body and with all the gifts that Maleficent had taught and trained him, he was a real challenge. But my Strike Raid attack and other slights, as well as the fact that I was able to fly as of my arrival in Neverland, helped me beat him. Though just before the three fights, Maleficent and Ansem had tried to open another version of Kingdom Hearts – don't ask."

The dry way that Sora says those last two words makes a lot of us laugh. Then suddenly I notice that Snape is no longer in his seat. For a moment concern and worry overcome me, but then Lea whispers that Even has gone after him and I feel my darker emotions getting replaced with relief. Sora then continues and explains how, because Kairi's heart was inside him, the Keyhole that was meant to lead to Kingdom Hearts was incomplete.
"And while Ansem had managed to forge a Keyblade that had the power to unlock people's hearts, it had not helped him in his fight against me. But after he vanished, I used it to free Kairi's heart from inside me. Because of this, because I willingly sacrificed myself, Roxas was born. And because I had so little darkness in my heart, I became a mere Shadow Heartless. I followed Kairi, Donald and Goofy back to the foyer of the castle.
There Kairi was able to help me regain my human form. Yet Kairi regaining her heart, somehow, activated the Keyhole and this made more and more and more Heartless spawn as they were all drawn to the Light of Kingdom Hearts. Because of this, while Beast stayed behind to protect Belle and the other Princesses, Donald, Goofy and I took Kairi back to Traverse Town for safekeeping. However, the three of us went back.

We had to properly close off the Keyhole, not to mention that I was desperate to find and save Riku. So we went back, closed the Keyhole and then I discovered something I hadn't expected. Ansem, Xehanort and the rest of them might have caused for the pathways between worlds to become known and accessible, but closing off Kingdom Hearts – which we'd be able to do once we reached the right world – would close those pathways once again.
Needless to say, the idea that I might never again see Cloud, Yuffie, Aerith, Leon, Donald, Goofy or any of the other friends I had made along the way was a real blow. But Darkness be Darkness and even after we reached the End of the World – yes, that's literally what that's world's called – and managed to beat Ansem not once, not twice, but three bloody times, Darkness still had ways to keep the gateways opened, at least for them.
What's more is that, while we fought against Ansem and reached the doors to the Realm of Darkness, where Ansem believed Kingdom Hearts to be hidden, Riku and King Mickey managed to get to the doors as well, from the other side. And because the doors needed to be locked by a Keyblade on both sides, they decided to remain there, on the other side." And while it has obviously been a few years, Sora is still clearly affected by this.

He turns around and hugs Riku tightly around the waist. And Riku instantly responds as he rubs Sora's back in a comforting, reassuring manner. Many students are staring at the two in horror and shock and awe. I softly hear Ron whisper at Hermione how he thought that our adventures were crazy and also hear Sirius mutter that he feels as if the Realm of Darkness could give Azkaban a run for its money. Silently I agree with both statements.

Indeed, Harry.
Okay, so that's BBS and KH I done. Next we'll summarize Chain and 358 and then move onto KH II. I'm not really sure how much of that I will cover and how much I'll summarize. I really want to go a bit more in the same vain as this chapter, but then again KH II is bloody massive and you visit all worlds at least twice, so I might just summarize most of the worlds and only cover the really important meetings in the really vital ones.
That cool? Good,

Venquine1990
PS. Expect a bit of a summary of A Fragmentary Passage in the next chapter.