Authors Note:
Once and for all, I do not own anything in this story, all properties belong to their respective owners.
So, basically the concept here is to take the price of abusing the Power of Waking and running with it. This will be a crossover fic, but the other worlds won't be the main focus. The final pairing is undecided. Lots of Terra bashing 'cause fuck him. I intend for this to be a wild ride. The first few chapters are slow in my opinion, but set the tone going forward. RxR and few free to ask any questions. Story Starts right after the final battle at the Keyblade Graveyard, and at this time the ReMind DLC hasn't come out and I'm not going to change my story later when it does. Enjoy the Story!
Everyone breathed out a sigh of relief. Finally, after years of conflict and terror at the hands of Xehanort, the battle was won and decided. And all in all, not much was lost that wasn't taken back. Terra Aqua and Ventus were back, so were Roxas and Xion. They didn't have much time to slow down and appreciate this fact in the thick of things, but now that things have been settled they allowed themselves this moment to embrace and catch up with each other. All but Sora. Sora was looking off into the distance, replaying the events of the final battle, and tried to wrap his head around it all. There was no way he could just forgive Xehanort for all he has done. Apparently he was able to sell to the others that he was just a misguided good guy. The thought was ridiculous. Sora knew no one was perfect, but some things are just unambiguously bad. Killing a princess of heart turned guardian of light for example. Sora has had the most terrible pain ever since Xehanort struck Kairi down in cold blood. And as he turned and looked at his friends, he felt that pain grow. He did not fault them for their joy, they deserved it. But Kairi should be here with them.
"Sora…" Riku called out.
Sora looked up to who was calling his name and saw Riku, away from the others and closer to him, locking eyes with him.
"You're crying, Sora." He said.
Sora dabbed his fingers on his cheeks and indeed there were streaks of salty wetness on them. Of course he was crying. Kairi should be here!
"Riku...she should be here. She should be celebrating with us." Sora said, his voice only slightly cracking.
"I know. But...there is no way to get her back. She's...gone, Sora" Riku replied, his voice not quite cracking, but not quite as strong as it usually was.
"No! That's not fair!" Sora shouted.
Sora's outburst caught the attention of the remaining group, and they came closer to see what was being discussed. Lea was the first to speak.
"Sora, what's all the yelling about? Did you stub your toe on some darkness?" Lea joked. Sora simply glared at him, leaving no question as to how he felt about Lea's ham fisted attempt at humor.
"Lea, now's not the time for jokes" Riku tried to warn.
"Well it's hardly the time to be all doom and gloom. We won! Everyone is here" Lea said.
As soon as he finished his sentence Sora's face contorted into an uneven mixture of rage and sorrow.
"Of all people I would have thought you had it memorized! After spending the last month training with her! We aren't all here! SHE isn't here!" Sora yelled.
Donald and Goofy were the first at Sora's side as he fell to his knees and began to wale bitterly. They hugged him and whispered meaningless reassurances to him in vain attempts to console him. During their adventures over the last three years they had talked about many many things, a common topic being Sora's unrealized feelings for Kairi. It was only recently that he finally recognized and came to terms with the fact that she wasn't just a friend to him. He literally loved her more than his own soul. He confided in them that after the battle, he was going to take her out to Scoorges new Bistro for a fancy date and properly ask her to be his woman. They had cheered him on, reassuring him that with everything the two of them had been through together there was no way she would say no. But now she wasn't here, and Lea had to just rub it in. Goofy was mostly concerned for Sora, but Donald and his hot temper got riled up at Lea's insensitivity.
"What's the big idea you used tampon! Kairi was killed and you have the nerve to say everyone is here?! Some of us actually cared about her, and don't need you flaunting your insensitivity all over the place!" Donald hollered.
Xion and Aqua blushed at Donalds crude choice of metaphor, and Terra just chuckled at the verbal jab. Roxas and Ventus looked a bit confused, and King Mickey just sighed in resignation. Riku looked ready to punch Lea ever since his comment, and didn't trust himself to speak. Lea just looked on, embarrassed at the comparison and ashamed at letting his happiness cloud his judgment. He actually forgot in his reunion, that it wasn't just his old friends that mattered but the new ones like Kairi, that meant the world to him as well. He was just beginning to become disgusted with himself when Sora settled down and stood up. Sora's face look set and determined, and Lea would not have faulted him for laying into him like Donald had.
"I can't...I just can't. I can't accept that she is gone. I can't live in a world that doesn't have her in it." Sora mumbled to himself, but it was loud enough for everyone to hear. It was Mickey who replied to him.
"Sora, losing someone you love is hard. It's one of the greatest pains one could experience. But we don't have any control over death. Xehanort did what he did, but he never meant to go down that dark path. She is gone. There isn't anything we can do." He said.
"How could any of you buy that crap! Xehanort was evil to the bone! He killed countless, personally sunk thousands of worlds into darkness, manipulated and destroyed people's lives! He was an EVIL PERSON!" Sora spoke, yelling by the end of his tirade.
Everyone looked at Sora and he found they wouldn't hold his gaze. It was if they didn't believe him and honestly thought Xehanort was a hero that just lost his way. It was driving him insane. But then a thought struck him. A memory that seemed to be covered by a thick fog. He tried to reach out and grab it.
"He...He killed us. He killed all of us!" Sora said, pointing at Terra
Terra looked nervously around, wondering why Sora was pointing at him.
"What did I do?" Terra asked.
"When you were possessed by Xehanort, you killed us all. With that shadow tornado as well. It was Kairi, and my own Power Of Waking, that was able to bring us all back." Sora said, as that fog lifted.
Everyone looked at each other wondering how something like that would be possible.
"Sora, that's impossible. The Power Of Waking isn't meant to bring back dead people, only to wake sleeping hearts, like Ventus'." Riku spoke.
"No, see death is an illusion. Right before that endless void, there is a sleeping realm. Much deeper than what Ventus was in, it is the last barrier to true death. We all go there, and that's where we all went at that time. Kairi is a princess of heart, so her light was able to guide me awake enough to piece myself back together and find all of your sleeping hearts" Sora explained.
"Well, even if that is true, you heard what Young Xehanort said, you've been abusing the Power Of Waking using it in a way you're not supposed to. I guess that's what he was referring to. But...oh. No. Sora, you can't, you have no clue what the penalty will be!" Goofy said. Of all the people, he believed Sora the most and knew exactly where Sora was going with this. He always was smarter than he let on.
"If Sora has been abusing it then he should never use it again. There shouldn't really be a reason to now anyway." Mickey said.
Finally, it clicked for Riku. He firmly gripped Sora's shoulders and looked him in the eyes, panic clearly conveyed.
"Sora. Sora please, I'm begging you. I can not lose you. Not you too. Please." Riku begged.
"Riku. I need to save her. Don't you see? We owe everything to her anyway. All this time her and I have been kept apart. She was always just waiting. It was all she could do. She's been alone all this time. Well, not a second more." Sora replied.
Sora gently shook off a now tearing up Riku. He looked at the group. Everyone here he had helped in some way, and cared about to some degree. He knew what he was about to do would work. Even if he didn't make it back himself. He would gladly trade his life for hers, if that's what it took.
"Guys, I'm going to use the Power Of Waking to go get Kairi back" He announced.
The group returned with shocked gasps and mummers of disapproval. All but one.
"Sora. You have saved us all. If it wasn't for you, we wouldn't be here. I will support any decision you make." Aqua said.
Ventus and Terra looked at Aqua clearly shocked that she, who was the most mature and rationale of the bunch, would agree with this terrible plan.
"No!" cried Mickey. "There is no telling what damage you would do, or if it would even work. The risk is too great! We won Sora, we can move on, we can rebuild."
Lea and Xion looked on with concern, but Roxas knew better.
"Sora, I know there is no talking you out of this. Because if it were Xion, there would be no talking me out of it either" Roxas looked back to a slightly blushing Xion before continuing. "Just make sure you bring her back, whatever it takes."
Roxas was born from both Sora and Ventus, but he was mostly Sora's nobody and knew exactly how he felt. As such Kairi was as important to him and she was to Sora in a way, and he felt the urge to go himself although he knew this wasn't his task to complete.
By now the group had settled down and realized that this was Sora's decision to make, and no one had the right to stop him. Still, the King wouldn't let it go.
"If you do this you may die." Mickey gave a final warning.
"I will get Kairi back." Sora replied. He looked over to Riku, and then to Roxas before nodding his head. "Whatever it takes."
With that Sora summoned his keyblade, his reliable Kingdom Key, and pointed it towards the sky. He pulled at the Power Of Waking, feeling the now familiar deep vastness that came with it. It was as if the World was an infinite space and he was at the very center reaching out. Once thoroughly under his control, he utilized the Power Of Waking and felt for Kairi's heart beat. This is how he found the others before, he let the beating of their hearts guide him. He found her, far, far, far away. It was faint, but he was able to lock onto it.
With one final gaze back towards his friends, who all wore looks of concern, and Riku who was feeling completely helpless, he gave a reassuring smile and made a corridor of light in front of him. With that, he threw them a thumbs up and walked right in, the portal closing off as soon as he was in it.
The wasteland was quiet. No one said a word. They were all just processing it. Finally someone spoke.
"Well, no point in staying here any longer really. Let's regroup at Destiny Island, and go from there." Mickey said.
Everyone nodded their agreement. Terra Aqua and Ventus all used their Keyblade transformations to gear up for space travel.
"It's been a while since we've been there. Can someone show us the way?" Aqua asked.
"Sure, I'll call the Gummy ship and you can follow us." Mickey said.
Riku Donald and Goofy all kept quite, clearly emotional at the thought of most likely losing their mutual best friend.
"We can use corridors of darkness to get to Twilight Town, and from there we can find our way to the Islands. See ya there." Lea said. With that he made a portal and stepped in, with Xion and Roxas following, hands held tightly.
The Gummy ship came and the four hopped on board, making their way with the three following behind them. Everyone wondered what was next, and what would become of their two missing friends.
Sora was falling rapidly through what could only be described as a rainbow in darkness. He felt Kairi's heartbeat growing stronger, and it was starting to call out to him. He had no clue how long it had been, or if time even mattered here. But he didn't care, he would fall for two eternities if it meant she was at the end of his journey.
Sure enough, after some more time falling, he began to slow down noticeably and the darkness started to give way to a shining floor. It looked like glass. It was Kairi's Dive to Heart! Excited, Sora willed himself upright, flipping so his feet were under him. He finally landed softly on the stained glass. Looking around he saw the physical representation of Kairi's heart.
"It's..beautiful.." Sora said in awe.
It was her. So fully and wholly her. Images of her and him and Riku, images of her and Lea. Images of just her, waiting off the shores of their home island. Images of her and him sharing that yellow star shaped fruit. These were the things she held dear. It warmed his heart a great deal to see himself included in that number.
Earnestly he walked towards the center where a bright light shined on the glass from the limitless black sky. As he got closer he felt Kairi's heart beat faster, and the glass he walked on seemed to lightly hum in response. He reached for the light, and as his fingers were inches away from it he felt himself get violently thrown backwards. Regaining his footing as he landed, he looked up towards the light and noticed a dark mass seeping from it. It spilled onto the floor and took shape, morphing into a shadow version of Kairi. It reminded Sora of the shadow version of himself he fought way back on Captain Hook's ship. The Dark Kairi twiched and shadow hazed around it in a light mist. What shocked Sora more than anything was when it spoke. It's voice was like a screeching siren.
"How could you let me be killed!? I thought you loved me! Did I mean so little to you! You never take anything seriously, not the battle and much less me! That's why you let me die! I was just a burden to you!" The shadow yelled. It's voice cracked and high pitched. It hurt Sora's ears almost as much as it hurt his heart to hear.
"What?! NO! I would never want harm to come to you. When you were struck down I died as well. But I'm back! I came to save you and set you free" He responded. Sora knew the Dive to Heart well, and that within every heart there is darkness. That the closer you get to the light, the greater your shadow becomes. And he knew he would have to deal with the darkness before him before he would be able to free the light. His Kairi.
"Oh I see. I'm just a damsel in distress again am I? Well I have news for you Sora! I may have gotten taken out by the literal strongest keyblade wielder of our time, but you pale in comparison to him. You, I can take down. You, I can hurt." Kairi said.
Her eyes narrowed and she stretched her right arm out to the side, summoning a twisted version of Destiny's Embrace. This one had rotting flowers instead of the usual colorful lively ones, and a black metal instead of the sunset hues. She readied her weapon, and dashed for Sora.
Emotionally Sora was shocked, but after years of life and death battles there was no way his body would just stand still and take a potentially fatal blow. He instantly summoned Kingdom Key and parried Kairi's swing. Or, at least he tried to. The force behind Kairi's blow was so strong that he was locked in the blocking position, unable to turn his wrist as needed to complete the parry. Both combatants strained against each other, unable to get any ground.
Kairi suddenly smirked, focusing on her free left hand and conjuring a blazing dark fira. She then gripped the keyblade with the lit hand and the fire spread along its length, making it blaze alive in dark hellfire. The flames seemed to suck in the light directly around the keyblade she held and she leapt back disengaging Sora. 20 feet away now, she swung Destiny's Embrace in wide arcs through the empty air in front of her, sending waves of black flames at Sora. Sora ducked and dodged around each one, wondering just how adept Kairi was at magic. He had never thought to use a spell directly on his keyblade and use it as a medium like this. He was taken out of his thoughts when Kairi thrust her keyblade in front of her, creating a straight beam of fire. She turned the Keyblade like she would an actual key, and the stream of fire twisted into a vortex in response. It grew as it spiraled toward Sora.
Sora never was the best at traditional magic, and Donald wasn't around to use wisdom form. So he gripped his Keyblade tightly and invoked four watera spells. The sloshing orbs of water were willed around him and they spun slowly around his waist like in a ring of water. He then leapt head first into the now enormous vortex of flames with his keyblade pointed straight ahead. He called the water to the tip of his keyblade and effectively made a water drill to leap through the fire with. For good measure he summoned some light to combat the special dark attribute of the flames.
Kairi was unfazed by it all, and was ready with a swing that was timed to hit Sora when he made it through. Sora burst through the flames and had just enough time to focus the remaining water towards his head to absorb the impact of the surprise attack. It didn't do much, but he figured it was better than nothing. His head was ringing as he was sent to the ground hard, sliding a few feet. Kairi gave no break to him as she jumped up towards him while encasing her left foot in black ice, doing a somersault and bringing it down hard on Sora's chest. Coughing at the blow, Sora hooked his right hand behind Kairi's left knee and pulled down and in hard, making her leg give out and she fell to the floor as a result. Sora hastened to his feet and began casting a cura spell to help fix his no doubt broken ribs and concussed head.
Kairi was not having her hard work undone however and she quickly cast a potent poison spell on Sora. Instantly Sora felt sick to his stomach and even worse than before. It interrupted his concentration and the cura spell failed. He tried to drink a quick Hi-potion but found as soon as he took the first gulp he violently threw up. Confused and worried he turned to Kairi and saw he shadowed face break out in a hard smile.
"Do you like it? That's actually something I picked up from Merlin himself. An extra potent poison spell that makes any further healing impossible for the duration. I figured it would be pretty bad if I was in a hard fight and my enemy managed to heal themselves and catch me off guard. You won't be able to even stomach anything with curative properties." Kairi explained, as she sauntered over to Sora in a slow deliberate manner, raising her keyblade with each step, clearly intending to finish the battle.
Sora could only look on in amazement and wonder. He had no idea Kairi was this strong. What was really giving her the edge was her ability to make decisions on the fly. She did not waste a single moment and every opportunity was capitalized on. It was a type of brutality only darkness could give. Efficient and decisive.
"Kairi, y-you're amazing! I never knew you were so good at fighting! You kicked my ass!" Sora said, chuckling.
"Well, I did promise myself I would never be useless again. I got owned in the final battle, but that doesn't mean I'm useless. Xehanort himself took me head on! There was no way I was ready for him. Maybe Someone like Luxord or even Saix. But I won't play second fiddle to anyone ever again! Including you, Sora." She said. She was upon him now, keyblade raised over his skull.
"Kairi, I'm so sorry I let you die. But I'm here now, we can go back! We can have a life together. I love you-" Sora was interrupted by a forceful kick to the jaw from Kairi.
"Shut up! I don't want to hear it! I Don't BELIEVE YOU! When I was taken, you didn't come for me then. You stayed and helped everyone else. Everyone else was more important than me! If you loved me you would have ended things as fast as you could. You always have to help everyone Sora! That's why I'm always alone!" by the end Kairi was screeching at him and the words were barely recognizable. She suddenly threw her keyblade to the side, which made it dismiss itself, and jumped on Sora straddling him. She began punching him in the face, each strike hard and unforgiving, as she spoke to him between punches.
"You and Riku! Always! Leaving! I was kidnapped! I was alone! That bastard Saix touched me! I was violated! You were supposed to protect me! You were supposed! To! Love me! Then you left again! And again! And AGAIN!"
Sora was long past feeling any pain, at this point all Kairi's punches did was jerk his head around violently. But he was still conscious, and heard every word she said, and each word hit harder than any punch she gave him. He knew this was the darkness in Kairi, her shadow. Darkness is within every heart. The darkness in one's heart reflects those repressed feelings, the ones you have that are actually how you feel, but you shove it deep down because you knew you needed to. This was Kairi's darkness. She was alone, but had to shove it deep because everyone needed her to be strong. He and Riku needed her to be there waiting for them, so they had something to come home to. He never truly appreciated just how hard it must have been. Being told that he cared but never giving a second thought to going off in some adventure.
"Wh-what makes you think, I-I'd ever want to go back to that hell?" Kairi stammered out, beginning to tear up.
"Kairi, I'm so, so sorry. You...you're more than darkness. You are her heart. You are how she really feels. You were so lonely, weren't you?" Sora managed to get out through busted lips.
"Shut up, don't act as if you care! It's too late! I'm dead. I would rather stay dead, then go back to the way things were before." Kairi said, silently weeping.
"You can't mean that! I-I need you! I love you!" Sora pleaded.
"You had every chance to truly convince me of that. Now I'm convinced you just loved the idea of me. The perfect girl who would just nod her head and accept anything you wanted, and would always wait for you without fuss. Well that's not who I am. I have my own wants and desires, my own dreams. I will not go back to that life. I would rather...I would rather die without you, than live with you but never really have you." Kairi's face got a somber look after saying this.
Suddenly, the light that was constantly shining on the middle of the stained glass began to fade. Kairi looked at it and smiled. She looked down at the beaten and bloodied Sora. Slightly proud that she managed to actually beat him, slightly disgusted with herself that she hurt him so badly.
"It's okay now. I can finally rest. All this waiting. All this battle. All this heartache, because you don't love me as much as I love you...It's over. It's my time." Kairi said.
"No!" Sora yelled, tears freely falling down his face, mixing with his blood. "I don't want you to leave! I'll do anything! Please!" Sora had never felt so much alarm and doom in his life.
"You don't love me. I don't want a life where you don't love me". Kairi stated.
Sora wracked his brain for a solution. Of course he loved her! She just wasn't listening. Though she had great points, about how he just leaves her for the smallest cry for help. But that doesn't mean he doesn't love her! As Sora's mind went into overdrive, he noticed the light almost completely faded from the center of the glass. Suddenly, he recalled a conversation he had with Goofy:
"Hey Goofy, don't you miss your wife? I've met Max, but I don't believe I've ever seen your wife." Sora asked. The group was settling down for the night in a camp they made. Donald was already asleep, snoring loudly, while Sora and Goofy spent some time gazing at the stars.
"I do miss her, everyday. I get to see her, when I can get my hands on a video phone if the world we are visiting happens to have that technology, but we always argue." Goofy replied.
"You? Arguing? I just can't imagine it Goof, you're the calmest person I know. I can only imagine she is pretty nice too." Sora said.
"Oh, she's sweet as honey. But love creates strong emotions. See, she gets lonely when I'm gone. I do too, but I always have the adventure to keep me occupied, so it's out of mind usually. But she just has her regular job, and Max is in the Royal Knights Academy so her nest is empty as well. When I do get to see her between adventures, we always have a nasty fight." Goofy said.
"Wow. I guess it puts a strain on things. Do you think she should be giving you such a hard time though? We are out here saving the worlds after all!" Sora scoffed.
"Heh, she's just lonely Sora. If a woman really loves you, she gets mad at you. I know that sounds weird, but it'll make sense once you get hitched." Goofy said.
Sora looked at Goofy thoughtful, and Goofy looked at him with a raised brow.
"So, what do you do? When she is all pissed? How do you make it better?" Sora asked. He could easily see him being away constantly, and wanted to know how he could help Kairi feel better down the line.
"She is only upset 'cause she loves you, but 'cause you're always away she can forget just how much you love her. She knows that I have to go, I'm a knight, I serve a greater purpose. What helps is when I can be with her, I remind her that I love her." Goofy said.
"But if shes hollering and yelling how can you get a word in?" Sora asked.
"Actions speak much louder than words. You walk up to her, hug her around her waist, and lay a deep passionate kiss on her." Goofy replied, a fond smile on his lips.
"Is that it?" Sora asked, blushing at the thought of doing that to Kairi.
"Well, there is more, but I'll tell ya when you're older haha" Goofy said full of mirth.
"Hey come on, don't hold out on me!" Sora said, cutely pouting at being denied.
Finishing his memory, Sora decided to do what he did best. Just go for it. Just as the last strands of light began to flicker out of existence, he sat up hugging Kairi firmly, keeping her in place. Kairi thought Sora still wanted to fight, but seeing as she would finally face true death when the light faded, she couldn't bring herself to resist him at all. Her eyes widened generously as she saw Sora's face closing the distance between hers, and felt his lips meet hers. She felt him, and her distorted body began to heat up from the inside. He pressed firmly but softly against her, enjoying her taste as much as he could. He kissed her as if when he let go, she would disappear forever. As far as he was concerned, that was exactly what was going to happen, so he had no intention of ever letting her go. Even if he had to stay here, in this position for the rest of time, if it meant he could be with her, he would. Finally, he let go of her lips, but not of her.
"I said, I love you. And if my actions so far have led you to believe that there is a chance that I didn't love you, I will stop them. I promise, on my Heart, that you will not have to return to the same life as before. Because this life will have me in it, and I will never let you go." Sora said, without a single blush and in all seriousness.
Kairi sat there, blushing madly, but with the most cathartic expression she could form. All of her pain, all of her suffering, laid out in soul wracking sobs against her love. She wanted to believe him, that she could be happy alive and with him. That there would be no more waiting. But she couldn't fully face her fears. There was still doubt.
"I'm still afraid Sora." She said in full honesty.
"Kairi, marry me." Sora stated.
"W-what?" Kairi stuttered. She looked in amazement and nervousness, trying to force herself to believe what she just heard. "Marry you?" The light stopped fading, one single yet strong ray connecting with the floor once again.
"Kairi, will you do me the honor of becoming my wife?" Sora asked, realizing he should have asked first.
Kairi started to change. The black haze that was surrounding her began to peel off in slabs of palpable darkness, revealing the red hair and white skin she once had. She was in the clothes she was killed in, and her blue eyes shone ethereally with hope. The light began to expand, growing wider than before engulfing them and eventually shining on the entire Dive to Heart. The dark background began to fade to white and everything was warmth and light. In the absolute light there was but a single, soft voice filled with happiness that spoke.
"Yes!"