Hello, fellow readers! Welcome back to Wayward Dawn! And here's the reviews:
johannvanguard: We shall see.
With that said, let's get going!
Chapter 2: Misguided Intentions
As Sunset was heading towards her tent where Twilight is, she stops upon noticing someone entering the woods. It was brief, but she could have sworn it was-
"Hey!"
She hears Riku as he runs over to her, "There's something I gotta ask you real quick."
"I can't right now." She quickly said, looking back at the woods.
"Why not?... Did you see something?"
"Yeah. That's the way to the rock quarry, right?"
He recalls the route to it and gets what she meant, "Yeah, why?"
"I was told that it was off limits, so the only ones that can go are the counselors. If there are no heartless there, then..."
Riku knows what's there already and only two scenarios come to mind... neither are good.
"Follow me." He takes off in that direction with Sunset quickly following behind.
As the two navigate the woods, Riku was following the route when they suddenly felt the ground shake. It was thankfully brief, but only gave him a gut feeling worse than before.
Upon reaching their destination, they stood outside the entrance from the trees. The immediate detail he notices was one of the rocks was slightly moved, leaving a wider crack.
"This is it." He points out, "Who do you think it's in there?"
"That's just it. Could be one of them, maybe both?"
"Let's find out."
Riku lead the way as they enter the cavern, the glowing crystals catching Sunset's eye before she felt something. Something very familiar.
"There's... Equestrian magic here."
"From your world, right?"
"Yeah, I can feel it."
He sees the monolith was untouched as the two remaining geodes were still there. Yet, why does something feel wrong?
"Show yourself." He calls out, expecting some sort of reaction.
Sunset was confused by that before they heard something nearby. Turning towards the noise, they saw a familiar face with her signature flower crown:
"Gloriosa?"
"Oh, it's just you two. I thought I heard one of those heartless following me."
"So, were you just hiding?"
"Of course! Now, how about we start heading back before one actually does show up?"
Riku notices something was off, or more off than usual. "Why in such a rush?"
"R-Rush? No one's rushing, I'm just looking after everyone's safety!"
Sunset catches onto what he meant before grabbing Gloriosa's wrist, activating her new power. Her vision blurs white as a memory surfaces:
FB1
"Oh my, it seems you fell behind on your payments. Don't worry though, I own the land now."
She sees a familiar businessman talking with her, one she saw soon after arriving at the camp. Memory serves, his name was Filthy Rich.
"Please, my great-grandparents founded this place! It's been in our family for generations, you have to let it stay!" She pleads.
"I could, but you know the new generation would rather go to a mall or a resort. Sorry to say it, but not many are interested in the outdoors anymore."
"PLEASE, I just need a little more time!"
He eventually relents after a moment, "Fine, you have until the end of the month."
FB2
"What will I do?"
Gloriosa is now at a small pond, sitting on a log to cry when something flies across the sky above. She sees it and follows right to the rock quarry, where the crystal monolith was as well as the seven geodes. Curious, she tries to examine them when her hand suddenly gets jolted by their power.
She flies backwards, only for a bunch of vines to emerge and break her fall. Turns out, she managed to grab five of the seven.
FB3
"You don't even know what those things are!"
It changes again, this time with her talking with Timber on the new geodes.
"But I know what they can do!" She proves this by summoning two vines from potted plants hanging above them, grabbing nearby objects rather well. "I've been practicing, I can control their powers now!"
Her brother was still not convinced, "You don't know that for sure!"
"This is OUR camp, and it's being taken away! If this is our last week, I'm doing whatever it takes to make it count!"
FB4
It changes to her watching two of the campers on a boat, where no wind was blowing in the middle of the lake. Wanting to help, she uses her vines to give it a good push. Sadly, the push was too good as it made the boat crash into the dock.
FB5
She sees two other campers watching to go fishing, but the river unfortunately dried up. Looking around for the cause, she sees a pile of rocks blocking the current. Using her magic, the vines shot out with enough force to free the water to fill the river back up.
Though, the rock slide was big enough to cause the ground to shake quite a bit.
FB6
"You were using magic all over the place, I had to come up with something to cover for you!"
The scene changes to another conversation with Timber, this one being more recent.
"What did you want me to do!?"
"I just wish you didn't tell them that stupid myth!"
"Agh, this is too much for you! You have to let it go!"
Present
All of that, yet it was only a mere second in real time as Sunset lets go of Gloriosa's wrist:
"Timber did all that, just to cover for you?"
"What are you talking about?" Gloriosa asks, to which Riku was curious too.
"All you did, every time you used the geodes' magic to make this the best week ever, all it did was cause a problem somewhere else."
"How do you know about the geodes?"
"I recently got these powers that allow me to see things. Obviously, me and my friends know about magic too."
"So, Timber was right about them being dangerous." Riku chimes in, "But why resort to using magic?"
"She already saw it, but fine." Gloriosa mutters before answering, "This camp has been in my family for generations, and I refuse to give it over to some greedy wolf that doesn't see its true value!"
"I'll do whatever it takes to keep it here and to do that, I need all seven!" She finishes before taking off to the monolith.
Sunset quickly runs after her with Riku as the latter notices something flickering inside said monolith, "Wait!"
She ignores them, reaching for the remaining geodes as the two sprints towards her to try and stop her. Upon grabbing them though:
The monolith cracks.
SHATTER!
The three get blown back by a powerful gust of wind, knocking them to the ground. Riku was the first to recover and sees the monolith destroyed, unleashing a mass of darkness in its wake. It starts to absorb into itself, strong enough to rip the crystals from the cavern walls.
Gloriosa was the closest, grabbing the dirt tight to avoid falling in. Riku didn't hesitate to slide in closer, but was just out of reach as the ground was ripped away from under her. The last thing he saw was her fear before disappearing into the dark hole.
"Gloriosa!" Sunset calls out, gripping a pillar for dear life before suddenly...
It stops.
The gravitational pull they felt was gone, yet the dark mass remains before starting to grow. It grew and starts to form a shape, that of a human before becoming more monstrous. Riku leaps back to a safe distance as Sunset drops down to the ground, the latter starting to recognize the monster's appearance.
"Wild hair like the roots of a tree... jagged rock teeth... pools of black tar... shimmering aura... gemstone dust..." She lists off what she heard from Timber's story, each one of them dead on.
"What are you talking about? What is that?" Riku wonders, which Sunset answers:
"...Gaia Everfree."
The monster completes its transformation, its glowing green eyes staring upon the two before a deep and hollow voice spoke:
"I have returned, to reclaim my dominion. Those mortals long ago have shown the beauty of my forest long enough..."
"What are you planning to do!?" Riku flat out questions.
"As I said, I'm reclaiming what's mine. And these geodes will help in doing just that..."
Sunset notices the geodes hanging on her leave ascot before Gaia lifts them up in a purple aura:
"Do NOT interfere... if you do not want to join the forest."
Tossing them aside, the two landed in vines that entangles them as Gaia leaves the cavern and traps them in with the boulders.
Meanwhile, back at camp
Twilight was still sleeping at high noon with Spike doing the same, though her slumber was anything but peaceful. Her thoughts linger to her friends and in turn... Midnight:
"Are you afraid?"
In her dream, she stood in the forest as a crescent moon shines in the night sky. The campfire has long gone out, leaving only smoke and ash to be blown in the howling wind:
"Does it frighten you? Make your heart quiver?"
Twilight looks around, but couldn't see where her voice was coming from. As much as she wants to try and talk back, her words get caught in her throat. Upon looking at the moon, she sees it now resembling that of a toothy smile...
And it was growing wider.
"No matter what you do, I'll ALWAYS come back!"
The familiar fiery-ringed eyes stare down with an eerie glow before Twilight suddenly feels gravity disappear. The ground breaks with the trees shattering apart, leaving nothing but the massive form of Midnight surrounded by the debris.
She then starts to reach for Twilight, who was paralyzed in fear as the giant hand starts to surround her-
"NOOO!"
She snaps awake, sitting up as her yell scares Spike awake too:
"Twilight, you all right!?"
She felt sweat dripping down on her face, which she quickly wipes off before simply saying:
"Where's Sunset?"
"I don't know, why?"
"I need to talk with her." Upon saying that, Twilight shoots out of bed and quickly changes into her camp attire.
Once she does, she exits the tent with Spike in tow and sees her friends practicing Rarity's camp fashion show. It seems that they already finished, which was pretty good timing. Upon reaching the dock, Rarity was the first to notice her:
"Twilight, there you are- Where's Sunset?"
"Sunset? I was about to ask if you knew where she went." She admits.
"She went to look for you. But if you're here, then..." AJ trails off upon noticing something.
The others follow her gaze to see what she was seeing. The other campers watch as a monster they heard about two nights ago was now here in front of their eyes:
"It's Gaia Everfree!"
"S-She's real!"
"AH! We're doomed!"
Timber wasn't sure how to process this. The story he told at the campfire was a myth that he was told back then, but now that it's real...
They watch Gaia as it looks upon the campgrounds with a face of disgust:
"How revolting... you mortals can never be satisfied. If you like the forest so much, I won't stop you... I'll just keep you here!"
She stabs one of her limbs into the ground, shaking the earth as giant brambles grew rapidly around them. As it forms a circular prison around the camp, the girls quickly move of the way as the new dock was caught in the crossfire.
"Oh come on, we just fixed that!" Rainbow was understandably frustrated about that.
The group take cover behind a pair of boats as Fluttershy brings up a good point, "Why does this stuff always happen to us?"
"This is different from before. Instead of a possessed person, we're dealing with an actual monster." Rarity points out, "What are we gonna do with that?"
"The same thing we always do." Rainbow stands up before holding her hand out, "Save the day!"
They agree on that notion before placing their hands on hers, soon breaking away with a cheer. Twilight and Spike were in the background during this, with the former being really nervous on how this will play out.
Back at the quarry
Riku burns off the vines on him with Dark Firaga before doing the same for Sunset. Once that's done, they turn their attention to the blocked entrance:
"Shoot! If I found Twilight beforehand, she can move this for us." Sunset mentions.
"What's her power?" Riku wonders.
"Levitation. She was actually the first one to get powers when we first got to camp."
"That explains a lot." He then summons his keyblade again, "Stand clear."
She keeps her distance as Riku starts to charge light and dark energy into his blade, forming a larger energy blade before swinging it with all his might. The attack not only sliced the boulder in half, it even made the halves shatter to dust. Dispersing the energy, he leads the way as the two left the caverns to reach the camp.
On the way, she remembers that he was wanted to ask her something:
"I know this isn't a good time, but what did you want to ask?"
"Oh. Well first thing, I'm sorry."
"Huh?"
"Last night, I was patrolling for heartless when I heard you two and may have eavesdropped on your conversation. As for the question, do you think Midnight bought the heartless to this world?"
"...Yes, I think so."
The stern answer was enough to hear, "Then we better hurry!"
The two sprint as fast as they could towards the bramble dome, where their friends were...
At Camp
Twilight hid behind a boat as she watches her friends attempt to break the other campers out. Whether it's Pinkie exploding holes in the brambles, Applejack throwing rocks into said brambles, or even Fluttershy asking animals for an escape, each one was only blocked out by Gaia.
The girls try to fight the force of nature head on, but every attack was unsuccessful due to Gaia having a familiar power. One she instantly recognizes:
"How? If she's a creature of the forest, wouldn't it make more sense to have earth-like powers?" She wonders out loud.
"Look!" Spike points out, "There's a glow, where the leaves are on her neck!"
Taking a closer look, as well as waiting for a better angle, she saw geodes where the main leaf was. When Gaia uses it, a purple glow appears from there.
"What are those?" She mutters, only to hear a familiar voice in her head:
"Another question for the ages."
"What- How-"
"This shouldn't be a surprise. I am inside your heart, after all."
Twilight should have figured that part.
"What I do know is your friends will win, if you take those away."
"Are you sure?"
"Positive. I can feel it from here, those geodes share similar properties to your magic. Just allow me to help-"
"Help!? You'll only make things worse!"
Midnight actually scoffs at this, "Why not? In case you haven't realized, I haven't done anything since you came to camp."
"Then... what about my friends' powers?"
"That's their doing. Think about it! If the campgrounds are where they got them, it's likely an outside force! Just like your pendant at the Games!"
This made Twilight connect the dots, "Then... the geodes are the source?"
"Most likely. And if that 'Gaia' keeps using them, your friends will not win. That is... if you refuse to act."
She sees her friends are now backed into a forced corner by more brambles. Rarity was trying to prevent them from being trapped with her barrier, but it could only last for so long. Seeing how dire it's become, she makes her choice:
"...Fine."
All Spike heard after a minute of silence was her utter that, before a sudden gust of wind blows him back. Recovering from it, he sees her become veiled in darkness before sprouting wings and a familiar appearance.
"Twilight..." He mutters in pure shock before she flies off into battle.
It was instant. Gaia didn't see her coming, caught in her levitation before the geodes were removed before she blinked:
"NO! What are you doing!?"
"They don't belong to you."
The others were able to break out from the brambles, only to see a strange sight and the geodes landing near them.
Gaia actually grew unstable soon after, her leaves starting to turn red as dark wisps burn off her skin. Eventually, all that was left was an unconscious Gloriosa on the ground and a strong dark power leaving her body.
The other Rainbooms were flabbergasted before hearing brambles get cut, looking back to see Riku and Sunset enter from a hole he made.
"Girls! Are you all right?" Sunset asks upon reaching them.
"Y-Yeah, felt better." Rainbow answers, "But uh..."
"But what?" Right after saying that, Sunset and Riku saw what they meant.
Midnight looks at the dark orb floating in the air, concluding that it was controlling Gloriosa in that Gaia form before hearing someone:
"Twilight!?"
She sees Sunset and Riku had finally arrived, failing to notice the orb starting to move before jolting right for her!
"Look out!" Riku shouts a warning.
She just managed to see it coming before it hits her dead on, consuming her inside a dark cloud. Riku quickly goes to help before the cloud suddenly burst, pushing him and the others back. Looking back up to see Midnight, he saw that she looks mostly the same.
The only differences were her eyes and horn. Her pupils were yellow with black irises, the fiery rings becoming black as the horn radiates dark energy.
"...Hahahaha! This power, I feel MUCH stronger than before!"
She flies down to their level as her eyes set on Riku, "I've heard of your exploits, keyblade master. Now show me!"
He knew that wasn't a request, but a demand. He readies for a fight as Sunset calls out to her:
"Twilight, stop this!"
"You misunderstand, Sunset... I'm NOT Twilight Sparkle!"
"Get back! I'll hold her off!" Riku orders the girls.
Midnight seems to agree, levitating them away before creating an arena for the two within a circular barrier:
"My curiosity has peaked! Show me your power!"
Objective: Subdue Midnight Sparkle! (BGM: Night of Fate - KH1.5)
Riku steadies himself as her hands start to glow, emitting dark energy before swinging waves at him. He fires a burst of dark fireballs to intercept them while leaping back, landing on the barrier to jump off towards his opponent.
Midnight gently raises her hand, creating spheres out of the earth before flicking them upwards. Riku quickly fires a strong bolt of lightning, shattering them before flipping forward with a strong swing. She quickly uses an energy sphere to intercept, the two clashing before cancelling out.
He gains the upper hand in close range, forcing her on the defense as she blocks with spheres in her palms. Leaping back, she quickly fires a beam point blank, only for him to block with barrier and counter bursts.
Upon recovering, she fires a shockwave of kinetic energy that sends him flying across the arena. He stabs his keyblade into the ground to stop, landing on his feet before seeing Midnight teleport.
When she reappears, two shadowy clones also appeared before they began firing a barrage of projectiles. Immediately, Riku tries his best to avoid them with his Dark Roll or Barrier as he tries to find an opening.
Meanwhile on the outside, the other Rainbooms were trying to come up with something:
"We have to get in there!" Sunset suggests.
"Are ya crazy!? You'll be smoke before you know it!" AJ argues.
"Twilight's still in there, we just have to bring her back out! Our best chance is for me to get close to her!"
"How!? She can easily push you away!"
"Better to try!" She then turns to Fluttershy, "Think your little friends can help us out?"
The animal talker nods, knocking on the ground to get three moles to pop out again. "Hi, we need your help again. We need to reach our friends in there."
As they were doing that, the fight kept up its intensity as Riku starts to deflect the attacks back. This allowed for cover with smokescreens to try closing the distance before she changed the plan.
Midnight absorbs her shadows into orbs before firing them upwards to create a massive one:
"Take this!"
Riku stops to see the orb heading right for him, quickly thrusting his keyblade forward to halt its advance. While it started to push him back, he firmly plants his feet in and channels energy into the tip to fire the attack back. Midnight was quick to block, only for it to explode and break her guard.
Taking the opening, Riku fires a Dark Firaga to keep her staggered before leaping forward. Using a flip for momentum, he slams his keyblade into the ground hard enough to make a shockwave that smacks her against the barrier.
"Enough, Midnight! Let Twilight go!" He calls out.
Midnight pushes herself off before retorting, "Why? She was the one that chose to become this again."
"What!?"
"I offered her the power to help her friends win, and I did. Obviously, she didn't think that far ahead."
Riku clenches his fists, this was sounding too familiar. "All she wanted was to protect them..."
"From herself, and yet she chose them over her own freedom. Her own fear is to blame."
She then fires off a dark orb without warning, attempting to get an advantage before it was swatted away by Riku:
"Twilight..." He then straightens his stance, "I don't know if you can hear me, but... I promise to free you from this nightmare!"
He leaps right for her with a powerful swing, forcing her to block with a barrier that shatters upon impact. She quickly fires a kinetic wave to push him back, but proves futile as he leaps right back.
From where he ran from, a large hole was being dug from underneath where three moles was doing said digging. Once they popped out, they moved themselves to allow Fluttershy and her friends out to the arena.
Sunset was the second out of the hole and immediately sees the battle, easing her way closer for the chance to jump in. The two sides exchange blows, but it's clear that Midnight was currently on the back foot. The others were not too far behind, just in case she needs the extra help.
Riku knocks her away with an upper slash, staggering Midnight just long enough for Sunset to grab her from behind and activates her power:
"Twilight, I know you're stronger than her!"
Mindscape
The void inside was a dark purple, black wisps of dark energy flowing through as Twilight was asleep in a dark cocoon. Sunset sees that she has a transparent form here before hearing laughter:
"Welcome to my world!"
She sees Midnight Sparkle, now the size of a giant as her yellow eyes stare down at her. The other Rainbooms arrive, also in transparent forms, as they see what's become of Twilight:
"Twilight, wake up!" Rainbow calls out.
"Up and at' em! We're not giving up on ya!" AJ follows, only to hear Midnight gloat:
"No matter what you say, her slumber is too deep. Soon, I will be the dominant side permanently!"
"We WON'T let that happen!" Sunset shouts back.
Midnight scoffs before flicking a finger, causing dark wisps to suddenly surround them:
"How reckless you are, Sunset. That power lets you see into others' minds, but... aren't you also leaving yours exposed?"
Sunset's eyes widen upon realizing what it means before hearing her ask, "What would happen if it went the other way?"
She flicks her finger again, commanding the dark wisps to attack the group. Rarity puts up a barrier by reflex, but Midnight simply adds more pressure to break it down-
SHATTER!
It breaks open with a burst of light, strong enough to blind Midnight and leave fragments in its wake. The light dies down to reveal Riku as he steps in front of the Rainbooms:
"You won't harm them!"
Midnight glares right at him, "Imbecile... I RULE HERE!"
With a swing of her hand, an arena was made under them that resembles a stained glass mural. Riku recalls this from the Mark of Mastery Exam, when he went to save Sora. Though, this one is much different.
It shows Twilight and Midnight on opposite sides, similar to yin and yang. Twilight's side was purple with black outlines while Midnight's was reversed, black with purple outlines. Her friends were shown in pictures between the two, bordered by their respective colors with a black circle right in the center of it.
Briefly distracted by the familiar setting, Midnight clenches her fist to command a wave of darkness to swallow Riku whole. He quickly puts up his barrier, but the pressure was much stronger as it starts to seep inside. However, he isn't worried...
"Darkness!"
His barrier bursts, wisps of light and darkness dispersing as he backflips swiftly back onto his feet. The Rainbooms notice some minor changes to his attire with a major one in his hand:
A second keyblade.
Riku holds up his left hand, recognizing his Way to the Dawn and smirks before getting into his battle stance.
"Two!?" Midnight blurts out before regaining her composure, "So what? I ain't afraid of you!"
Riku simply retorts, "You should be. I'm what nightmares fear!"
Objective: Free Twilight from Midnight! (BGM: Unbreakable Chains - KH BBS)
He held his keyblades firm as Midnight summons shadow clones to swarm him. Two of them rush him, which he swiftly weaves and strikes down as three more fire orbs from above. He spirals upwards to slash them away, both blades cloaked in lightning before performing a spinning slash to take them out.
Sunset was currently piecing together what her power was capable of, thanks to Midnight's theory earlier. Perhaps she can do more than just read minds...
"Girls, link up!" She orders, getting their attention.
Holding hands together, their forms glow bright in their respective colors as she starts to focus on Riku who backs off briefly:
"Riku, can you hear me?"
He hears Sunset... in his head?
"This is your power, right?"
"Yeah, sorry if it's a little crowded."
"Crowded?"
"Yeah, we're all in your head!" Pinkie answers.
"Cool, but also weird." Rainbow comments.
"O-One at a time, I don't want a headache." Riku quickly said.
"Sorry." Sunset steps back in, "Right now, Midnight is in control, but we have to try waking Twilight up! It's our best chance to weaken her!"
He looks up to where the cocoon is, floating up high like a makeshift moon.
"Um, how are we gonna get there?" Fluttershy wonders.
Unbeknownst to them, the circle in the center briefly glows before stained glass windows appear to form a staircase there:
"That's one beautiful way." Rarity comments.
Riku runs for the staircase, though way faster than before as his feet glows blue.
Rainbow picks up on this, "Whoa, that's my superspeed!"
"I had a hunch. By linking ourselves to you, you should be able to use our abilities too!" Sunset briefly explains.
"Thanks, girls!" Riku simply said before jumping forward, barely avoiding an attack from a shadow clone.
The clones try to stop him by either attacking or blocking him, the superspeed made it easy to dodge and slash them away like flies. Eventually, Midnight ceases the shadows and attacks more directly.
He leaps back to avoid a giant fist smashing the tiles, leaving a massive gap between him and Twilight. Midnight attempts a point blank blast, only for Riku to use Pinkie's explosive shot to destroy it. Its premature burst stuns her, shaking her hand from the recoil while he tries to close the gap.
He uses superspeed for a running start and takes a giant leap with AJ's super strength boost. Using his double jump for extra height, he forms a line up to the tiles with Rarity's diamond shields and runs up them onto the other side.
Midnight recovers and tries attacking again, channeling energy into her hands to charge up a beam:
"Look out!" Sunset warns him.
He leaps skyward as it goes off, barely avoiding it before seeing it tilt upwards. He conjures his upgraded barrier, blocking the attack as he fires a large burst of dark fire to rocket himself towards the giant demon.
Channeling energy into his fist, he slams it against the barrier hard to shatter it and disrupts the beam completely. Leaving Midnight stunned again, his punch was enough to propel him sky high and uses both blades to slash her horn in half.
"NO!" Midnight shouts as her horn shatters, causing her giant form to fade into the darkness.
To his surprise, it turns out to be an illusion as she reappears and uses her telekinesis to throw him back down. He quickly recovers, landing on his feet as Midnight warps to the pillar:
"Your persistence is annoying me. Just disappear!" A dark aura begins to show, signifying a more aggressive side.
Riku steadies himself as she channels it into her hands, swinging them to fire energy waves. He quickly dodges them and counters, holding a keyblade in reverse grip before plunging it down to fire a razor wave of dark energy.
She narrowly avoids it, but it was enough to close the distance as the two clash blows. Her orbs match his keyblade strikes and even used her wings to try swiping him away. Despite that, he outspeeds her before slamming both blades down, creating a pillar of light and dark energy.
The resulting shockwave knocks her away, making her resort to warping around the arena firing homing orbs at him. He simply blocks them all before she reappears point blank to attack, countering with a barrier burst:
"Time's up, Midnight!"
He activates his partial shotlock, suddenly warping around Midnight as a myriad of slashes surrounds her. With a final slash, he reappears on the ground before activating his finisher:
"You're gonna lose it ALL!"
Braveheart bathes in light as Way to the Dawn cloaks in darkness, tossing them into the air before stopping mid-flight to face each other. Creating a strong magnet to draw Midnight between them, their auras burst and fire a barrage of energy shots upon her before both blow up simultaneously.
Calling back his keyblades, he sees the cocoon float to the pillar before fading to release Twilight. Dismissing them, he catches her in his arms:
"Why..."
The dust settles, showing a weakened Midnight as the dark aura fades away:
"Why save her? I'M the stronger one!"
Twilight then begins to wake, which Riku gently puts her back on her feet:
"Wha... what happened?"
The Rainbooms reappear by them as he answers, "You allowed Midnight to take over, remember?"
"...Oh, that's right."
Midnight tries to stand up, only to fall back on her knees. Twilight takes this chance to approach her:
"Midnight. I know you want to know everything there is, but there are some things no one should ever know."
"...Our curiosity, is why I exist. Our only difference, is that you hesitate to seek those answers."
Twilight pauses briefly before speaking again, "Yeah. Ever since the Games, I was scared. I chose to mess with something I didn't understand and now, I am talking to you inside this... what is this place?"
"We call it a 'Dive to the Heart'." Riku clarifies, "Or rather, your soul. The mural itself represents your deepest connections."
Sunset was rather curious at that, "Fascinating..."
Twilight connects the dots from there, "You're apart of me... then why the nightmares? Why can't we work together?"
Midnight eventually spoke with a hint of somber, "When I came here, I immediately knew... I would disappear. I couldn't accept that, I refuse to! That dark energy made me believe I could break free... clearly, it wasn't enough."
"...Why didn't you just tell me!?"
"...We can be quite stubborn sometimes."
Riku recalls a similar situation and suggests a solution, "Actually, it's possible for you two to co-exist separately."
The two, as well as the Rainbooms, perk up at this as he clarifies:
"There are methods, but it's risky to do as it could damage your heart."
"Whoa, whoa, whoa!" Rainbow speaks up, "Don't you know what you're about to do!? If Midnight gets free, she might just try to destroy our world again!"
"Rainbow's right. I know you want to help Twilight, but that's just crazy." AJ agrees.
"Now now, there's likely a catch." Rarity points out, "If they separate, it could make Midnight not have her powers."
"I'm just thinking about having three Twilights to talk with." Pinkie admits, "That's gonna be REALLY confusing for awhile."
"While Midnight can be scary, we'll be there to watch over her so she doesn't go scary again." Fluttershy chimes in.
Kinda two for two on this, since Pinkie is rather vague with her words, this leaves Sunset for the final verdict:
"She has done that in the past, but it's different now. Power or no power, it just doesn't feel right to leave her to fade away. My gripe is Twilight's heart getting damaged. Is it permanent?"
"A friend of mine told me that it's possible to heal through a connection. Clearly, she has you guys for that." Riku answers, gesturing to the mural.
Twilight heard all of their points, but knew the answer as she looks back at Midnight and reaches her hand out:
"It's up to you, Midnight."
Her dark side looks up at her before accepting her hand and gets pulled up to her feet, "All right."
With the decision made, Riku summons his keyblades and points them downwards at the mural. The center glows white before revealing a keyhole, allowing the two beams to connect and unlock their hearts in a bright light.
And done! This took a bit to finish as I wasn't sure if I wanted to do this idea for Midnight, but I figured to give it a shot anyways.
So, what do we have here:
I originally thought of having Gaia as a boss, but I changed my mind to having a two-phase Midnight boss battle that honestly worked out better. It allowed me to be more creative, along with having a character moment for Riku due to his experiences.
Plus, I finally get to show off a form I created for Riku! My boy's a Keyblade Master, yet he can't dual wield... why? Fine, I'll do it then! Don't worry, I'll present the cosmetics of this form next chapter.
Of course I didn't want the Rainbooms to miss the action, but I doubt most can use their powers in those transparent forms so I improvised. It was really fun to do, no lie.
As for Midnight herself, she always intrigued me. Unlike Demon Sunset who was just Bad Sunset to the extreme, Midnight was created inside Twilight who wasn't evil to begin with. As such, she became more of her own entity during the fourth movie. With that in mind, I figured why not and pulled a Kingdom Hearts.
When this gets posted, it's my birthday! I figured why not and just do what I wanted to do for some time, which is return to Kingdom Hearts stories. I have two already in the works, which is this and another one for two separate reasons:
Wayward Dawn is a way for me to get familiar with the extended KH cast. Riku will be my main lead, but expect the others to drop by here and there.
KH2 Final Mix: WIP is me not only getting familiar with the trio dynamic of Sora Donald and Goofy, but also recontextualizing the MLP movies in a KH fashion. I'm personally excited for this as I'm most familiar with KH2 in general.
With all of that said, thanks for reading and I'll see you next chapter!