Author's Note: Thanks for the reviews, guys! Don't worry, this KH3 won't be as completely dark as the real KH3 even though there are some refenences, but I'm making sure to leave out the parts I didn't like about the game. Though there is one that I had in mind since before I posted the last chapter.
Anyway, get ready and here will be a bit of a guest appearance shocker.
I don't own Kingdom Hearts, or Final Fantasy.
CH54: Next Course of Action.
What seemed like forever since Sora, Kairi and Mickey found themselves becoming absorbed into Aqua's heart, but it was really about five minutes or somewhere along the lines. The three descended through the darkness that layed everywhere they fell, holding each other's hands so that they wouldn't get separated. Eventually, they saw a large glass platform coming towards them.
"Is that...?" Kairi began as they got closer while realizing that their falling is slowing down.
"Just like inside my heart." Sora remarked, though unlike the times he'd been into his heart via dreams, something was off with the one which he knew was part of Aqua's heart.
"That's Aqua's Station of Heart." Mickey explained, sensing that they were very close within his friend's point by now. "Every Keyblade Wielder have these Stations of Awakening, whether they find themselves within them or not."
"So how did I do that if I wasn't chosen by the Keyblade?" Sora asked, confused.
"I guess it's since your heart is so strong you were able to do that without being picked, Sora." Mickey suggested, before adding firmly to the two teenagers. "We'd better be careful. Who knows what kind of darkness we'll find here. Just hope Aqua will be okay."
So did Sora and Kairi, but all three of them had to believe that they could do this. They made it this far and they were not about to lose Aqua again. Just before they could land on the surface, the three Keyblade Wielders spun once to land gently on their feet and landed with a faint tap. Though before they had landed, they noticed, to their shock and horror, Aqua's Station was different; it was tainted in silver and black, mainly glowing in the latter colour, the image of their friend was that of Aqua in the middle, her hands over her chest in a sleeping position, but the way how she looked was much like how she did back in the Realm of Light.
Behind the image of Aqua was the familiar shores of the Realm of Darkness.
"Why is the Realm of Darkness behind her?" Sora asked in disbelief and worry.
"I can feel it...her heart is being swallowed by darkness." Kairi muttered, placing her hands over her heart. It was overwhelming and it was giving her a deja vu of when she lost her heart that went into Sora's two years ago when the Islands were being destroyed.
"The darkness here is very similar to Xehanort's, and even though he's gone, a piece of him that was inside Xigbar has now made it's way here, inside Aqua's heart." Mickey said, his heart pounding with dread. Like Kairi, he could feel the darkness swallowing Aqua's heart and wondered if five hours in the real world was still too long, far too late.
'Maybe we should've acted sooner, when Aqua began to see those visions of the other time-line.' Mickey thought to himself, the dread starting to quickly grow.
"You are here."
Mickey, Sora and Kairi jolted their heads upward and ahead of them when they heard that familiar enchanting and beautiful voice but in words of hatred, betrayal and near pure anger. There stood, materializing from the darkness, was Aqua but completely corrupted. A darker transformation to what had happened outside of this place. Now her eyes were the golden yellow.
"But you're too late." Aqua continued darkly, glaring at the three Keyblade Wielders who stood in shock and horror. "The corruption is almost complete."
"Whaddya mean we're too late? We're here to save you!" Sora pointed out. They couldn't be too late. How could the darkness spread so quickly?
Aqua said nothing at first. Instead, she flicked her right wrist which blinked slightly in purple and black mists, then materializing behind her was another Aqua, but in her original self before the corruption. She was glowing in a dim light that was fading away, trapped in a bind of a chain of darkness and hanging above the darkness over the platform. Sora, Kairi and Mickey couldn't help but gasp at this.
"The last of the light within me will soon fade away, leaving behind only misery and despair. Feelings I felt in my time in that Shadowy Prison...where YOU abandoned me and left me to rot, Mickey!" Aqua snarled, gazing at her light form before turning back to the trio and pointed her red-crimson finger at the King who froze at those sharp, cold words that was directed at him, like a sword encasted in ice striking him straight into his chest.
"You knew what that place would do to me, and rather than coming back, you let someone else rescue me. But they then the darkness had already began to take over my heart." She continued coldly.
This wasn't the Aqua he knew, but Mickey couldn't help but begin to believe that this was what his friend was truly feeling and had thought she could fight it back while holding back her true feelings to avoid in making him feel even more guilty. What if she treated him like a child to hide her true feelings? Had she been feeling that betrayed that he hadn't picked it up? His knees began to shake, his heart feeling like it was drowning in the guilt that continued to grow until this point.
"I...I'm so sorry!" Mickey broke down crying, adding between the sobs. "It really is all my fault! If only I moved, then Xigbar wouldn't-"
"Save your excuses, "your majesty"!" Aqua hissed, cutting him off. "If you are sorry, then you should have kept to your promise. But you didn't. You left me stranded in the Realm of Darkness, the times I needed to be saved, you weren't there."
Mickey curled up his fists, agreeing. "I know...I should've known. You were feeling all of this and hidden it from me because...because you hate me, and I deserve it. I'm the worst friend ever."
Aqua didn't buy it. Mickey's tears and guilt meant nothing to her. Instead, she summoned Master Eraqus's Keyblade which too had become corrupted, becoming all pitch black with silver linings. She stood in a fighting position, ready to strike her 'friend' down. Sora and Kairi both stood, tears forming as they witnessed Mickey fully overwhelmed and even worse, the darkness had corrupted Aqua to her being unrecognizable, taking out her fears and anger on the king who wasn't truly at fault of this.
"You have idea how frightening and lonely that place is. I am just a shell of negative emotions...and now, YOU CAN SHARE IT!" Aqua snarled, ready to fight.
Mickey just stood there, head down and eyes closed, not having the heart to fight. Instead, he accepted the consequences of his actions and was about to pay for it. Ready to be punished for the sins he corrupted without even realizing it, for being gullible and naive. He had wanted to believe that Aqua, Ven and Terra were alright, especially when they were now together again. But the King couldn't fool himself anymore. He had been blinded by his own illusions and pretended they were reality. He was about to tell Sora and Kairi to leave while they still could with a heavy ache in his heart that Aqua was now gone, when Sora stood in front of the King, looking at Aqua with a saddened and pleading look on his face that caught Mickey by surprise and shock.
"Don't do this." Sora pleaded to Aqua, tears in both his eyes and voice. When she glared at him at this, he continued. "This is just the darkness speaking out things that aren't true, making you this way, blaming someone who didn't have a choice! It's not the King's fault! He wanted to save you, but getting into the Realm of Darkness was too hard by then!"
"Why should you care?" Aqua questioned darkly.
"Because this isn't you. Why else would we all be here? King Mickey looked every way to save you, with or without our help. It's not too late. We can still save you!" Kairi added, her tears already falling as she silently cried.
"It's gonna be okay, Aqua!" Sora added. Mickey's eyes widened at both the teenage boy's and Kairi's words, before realizing that they were right; it was the darkness that was corrupting Aqua, the way how it corrupted Riku. Having made Isa cold and bitter as Saix. Having made Xehanort...into a monster. This wasn't Aqua at all; but darkness twisting her mind and heart. Still...she was right about a few things; about her being trapped in the Realm of Darkness, but that place was too difficult to get in and out of safely, no matter how hard he tried.
He hadn't come this far just to lose her again. Even with Sora and Kairi's help.
With his resolve renewed and his sorrow and horror turning slowly into courage, Mickey stood beside Sora with determination while Aqua turned her glare back to him.
"The darkness corrupted you, Aqua. You're not the one I know, but none of us will give up. Now it's time to save you and drive away the darkness. Don't let it win!" Mickey shouted, summoning his Kingdom Key-D Keyblade and stood in a fighting stance himself. Both Sora and Kairi, seeing the determination, shared a glance before nodding and followed the King's lead, ready to fight and save Aqua.
The female Keyblade Master said nothing. Instead, she sped forward towards the three of them and prepared to land a heavy strike. But Sora, Kairi and Mickey dodged out of the way though the King had to block his friend's Keyblade with his own, but struggled to push her back. Even though he was a Keyblade Master, he quickly realized that the darkness just made Aqua's strength stronger. Sora and Kairi both dashed to save him by regrettably striking at her with their Keyblades. But she sensed their movements and teleported to avoid them, forcing the two teenagers to skid to a stop while Mickey wobbled a bit after the hold suddenly vanished.
They then had to jump and dodge Aqua's attacks when she reappeared on the other side of the station and flared up dark orbs that came from the darkness corrupting her. Sora responded by tossing his Keyblade at her while Kairi and Mickey both flared up their Orbs of Light at the dark orbs. The attacks exploded in midair, but Aqua just clashed against the three of them who did the same against her, leaping and slashing and had actually managed to give a couple of hits but she still knocked them back where they were sent flying and screaming before crashing onto the ground, nearly falling off the edges of the station and they knew they had to be careful in not falling off. As Sora and his friends stood up, quickly using Curaga to heal themselves and each other, Aqua made to attack Kairi had to jump and narrowly avoided in losing her leg.
Sora, horrified that Kairi was being attacked, dashed forward along with Mickey and Aqua turned her attention to the of them, blocking their attempts to slash her. She then cartwheeled away and was about to cast them in ice with Blizzaraga when Mickey, with a regretful idea, used Stopza which made her freeze briefly in time before he slashed at her in every way he could while Sora hurried over to Kairi who approached him and seeing that she was fine, the two turned back to Mickey who leaped away after finishing some of his attacks when the Stopza wore off, and Aqua quickly felt every hit the king gave her, screaming and grunting in pain. When the attacks stopped, Aqua only grew even more furious and preformed a darker version of her Weaver Drive. At Mickey's warning, the trio leaped and tried to avoid their friend's attacks but she managed to catch them off-guard where they were about to become engulfed by the corrupted Master's magic.
They then had an idea and Mickey held out his hand for Sora and Kairi to grab as the trio jumped and held out their Keyblades while their spinning back to back, forming a large circle of light that spread and blocked Aqua's Dark Weaver, dismissing it. Seeing this, she attempted to strike at the spell, but because the darkness had it's hold on her, she was being painfully hit by the trio's attack as she grunted and failing to attack them at the moment. Unaware to them, the more she was hit, the light from her light-self that was fading was now beginning to glow a bit brighter as the four continued to fight. Though when the trio finished their move, Aqua, weakened but still having energy to fight, then took this as her chance to strike but they managed to block as hard as they could with their Keyblades even though it was becoming difficult since while they were quickly getting exhausted, she wasn't.
Sora then switched into his Valor Form and held two Keyblades and struck Aqua who blocked most of his attacks, much to his shock. Kairi rushed in and attempted to slash her from behind and Mickey doing the same at the right side. Aqua though thrusts at all three of them again and knocking them back, but this time they flipped and landed safely on the ground. Sora then quickly wasted no time as he transformed his two Keyblades into the Star-pistols and held out the weapons which shot out multiple lasers of Light which increased the damage on Aqua before he held them both up and it quickly turned into a driller which he then launched himself towards her.
He didn't want to do this, but at the moment he didn't have a choice. Realizing they were running out of Mana quickly, Mickey tossed both Kairi and Sora Elixirs while jugging down the bottle he had with him to restore their magic as they needed it for this battle, considering how Aqua was a Mage Keyblade Wielder.
Sora, with his Keyblades returning to normal as his Valor Form wore off, rendering him back to just the Kingdom Key but his magic mostly restored thanks to the Elixir the King gave him, struck at Aqua who was about to make her attempts to attack both Kairi and Mickey again, but stopped her from doing so. She responded by blasting Firaga at his chest which knocked back as he cried out and crashed onto the glass floor once again, feeling the burns and winced but used Cure on himself to avoid in using too much of his magic just when it was restored only moments ago.
Kairi in the meantime chanted Blizzaga at Aqua who blocked it at the swipe of her Keyblade, but this was a distraction that Mickey used as he triple-air-sommersaulted, his Keyblade hitting her rapidly at few times while knocking her back and allowing the now former Princess of Heart to cast her Pink Orb of Light which, while having lost her Power and status as a Princess, it was still strong enough to knock Aqua back even further while being careful on not knocking her completely off the platform.
Yet, Aqua once again sped across the platform at the trio who were shocked that she still had enough strength to keep going while hitting them despite their best efforts to block her continious attacks that was really getting to them. But Sora, Kairi and Mickey tried not to give up hope. They had to save Aqua, or she would become a pure Heartless-Hybrid and be lost forever. In desperation, the three Keyblade Wielders used Orbs of Light once again in hopes that Aqua could become covered in it. While she blocked some of them, there was some that managed to hit her as she screamed painfully once again due to being covered in darkness, and her senses begin to become clouded.
The other Aqua in the meantime continued to glow brighter by this chained reaction during the battle. However, when their attacks were done, Aqua unleashed her dark-motion flow and left Sora, Kairi and Mickey no time in dodging as they were hit by her attacks, screaming each time before she eventually stopped, and they slumped low, before weakly dodge-rolling out of the way, but things were not going as they would've liked. None the less, Mickey chanted Thundzaga at Aqua who was engulfed by the electrical magic, and Sora tossed his Keyblade at her once again, hitting her twice before his weapon returned to him. Kairi attempted to use Firaga, but Aqua sensed this and turned to attack her. Sora quickly stepped in front of Kairi and used his Keyblade to block Aqua's attack.
Mickey hurried over to attack again and sucessfully knocked her Keyblade away, before he, Sora and Kairi then joined up and knocked her back in the chest which sent her flying backwards. The moment their Keyblades touched, the other Aqua's eyes finally began to open as her body now glowed in a magnificent blue. Blinking them weakly as her vision was fuzzy at first, it cleared before she saw what was happening and gasped when, the dark version of herself, the one from her nightmares and the same as of the other time-line, was attacking her friends. Especially Mickey, Sora and Kairi. Had they come to save her?
The Darker Aqua landed in a crouch, wincing as darkness began to leave her body in mists. Sora, Kairi and Mickey stood in defense, hesitating in finishing her off. Still, she refused to give in and could only glare angrily despite that her vision began to become fuzzy and disorientated. With a hissing growl despite the darkness weakening, she flared up an orb of darkness in her hand, ready to strike. The trio gasped, realizing what she was about to do.
"Aqua, stop!" Mickey pleaded.
But she wouldn't listen to him. Instead, she was about attack when something strange happened. The entire area jolted loudly like a heart-beat and Sora, Kairi and Mickey actually felt it, almost knocking them off balance. The Lighter Aqua by now began to struggle in the chains that binded her. She had to do something, anything, to save them. Seeing her duplicant about to launch her attack, Aqua began to yell out as her body glowed even brighter, until a final scream caught everyone's attentions. This caused the chains to break completely and disappear, freeing her. She then launched herself towards her other half who was too late to notice and was grabbed by the arms of her lighter-self.
"Aqua!" Sora, Kairi and Mickey exclaimed, fearfully wondering what was going on, until they quickly realized that Aqua was fighting for control.
"...You should fade into darkness! It's too late to save the light within the heart!" The Darker Aqua hissed as she struggled to pull away from her light.
"Shut up! You're the demon that was trying to take control! The darkness that formed in my heart! All the fear and doubt that were just my paranioa! You are what I feared the most; my own worst enemy. But no more!" The Lighter Aqua snapped, holding her other-self tighter. "I'm weak on my own, but my friends...every single one of them...give me the strength to fight!"
With that, she stretched out her right arm just long enough to summon her Rainfall Keyblade which was glowing in light. Aqua then looked up at Sora, Kairi and Mickey, with a look of compassion and slightly sad smile. "Sora, Kairi, Mickey...you know what to do."
"Wait, you can't!" Sora cried out, realizing what she was about to do.
"We can't just leave you! We came here to save you!" Kairi cried out, as she and Mickey both came the same realization.
"I know." Aqua replied, "You still can. Just...let me do this first."
"Aqua, no!" Mickey screamed out, reaching out a hand as he then ran to try and stop her from doing something extremely reckless. Sora and Kairi were only three micro seconds behind.
Aqua didn't stop, as she then began to pull her otherself inside her as the Darker Aqua let out a scream. The lighter Aqua winched before struggling to force her Keyblade's tip towards her chest. "Demon of Darkness of my doubt and fears...BE GONE!"
Time seemed to slow down into a slow motion, and no matter how fast Sora, Kairi and Mickey ran, they were too far and too late as they held out one hand each to stop her, but Aqua by then thrusts her Keyblade right into her chest, hitting the spot where the darkness hit her earlier by Xigbar. She silently chanted 'Light' and the spell from her Keyblade hit that darkness, engulfing it and caused it to emerge and disappear from her body, but formed into a portal underneath her while her Keyblade vanished. She fell to her knees as her eyes closed, as time seemed to run normally again.
"AQUA!" Mickey screamed out in agonized sorrow, catching her in his arms before she could fall face first. But she quickly slipped from his grasp even as Sora and Kairi caught her by her arms as she sank into the darkness, no matter how hard they tried in pulling her up and out. The pool of darkness then engulfed and swallowed her up before shrinking and then disappeared. The platform then began to glow before it shone so brightly that Mickey, Sora and Kairi had to shield their eyes with their arms. When the light faded, the trio looked down and saw that, somehow in Aqua's self-sacrifice, the entire image changed.
It showed Aqua back in her true form, and the image of the realm of darkness had disappeared. The Station was now blue that matched her hair, the image behind her was a large castle that none of them recognized, and there were also circle images added on both sides of her; Terra and Ven. There was also another, one whom they didn't recognize either. It was a man close to his forties, with black hair tied up in a pony tail, dark eyes and a small mustche.
But Mickey wasn't really paying attention at the beauty of the station's restored image. Instead, his thoughts were that how Aqua had just...he couldn't even bring himself into thinking of the word that he knew was true. He failed her. She was gone. Her heart was now in the deepest abyss. Mickey fell to his knees and wept.
"King Mickey." Sora muttered in sympathy, bending on one knee and placing a comforting hand on the distraughted King's shoulder. Mickey felt Sora's touch and tearfully gazed up at his friend who gave his shoulder a comforting squeeze. "We'll find her."
"He's right, your majesty." Kairi added, even though some of her tears fell at what happened. "I can still feel her. We can still rescue Aqua."
Despite that he felt some doubt, Mickey gazed into the eyes of the two teenagers and realized that they still held onto hope. Plus their words made him also realize that he too could still feel Aqua's heart. Wiping away his tears, he stood up as his sorrow slowly turned to that of determination once again.
"Right. We're gonna find her. It's like she always told me. "Follow the hearts and you'll find the way." We're gonna follow with all of our hearts." Mickey said.
"May our hearts be our guiding key." Sora quoted with a nod, before he and two of his friends noticed the Master Eraqus's Keyblade vanished which then returned to normal before vanishing.
Wasting no time, Sora aimed his Keyblade at the image of Aqua's chest which then formed a Keyhole. He, Kairi and Mickey then floated up over the image, knowing that it was time to use the power Sora knew was risky; the Power of Waking. Sora, with both Kairi and Mickey touching his Keyblade, aimed it as it sent out a beam of light, which struck the opening in the middle. The Keyhole unlocked and glowed while fading into a pillar of light.
Seeing this, Sora, Kairi and Mickey braced themselves as they then entered the light, hoping to find Aqua and bring her home.
When the light faded, the trio had their arms over their eyes which were closed due to the brightness. They then felt a warmth of sunlight, before looking up and their eyes widened in surprise and awe.
"Whoa! Is this the Land of Departure?" Sora exclaimed. The place they were in was a mountain range on a clear sunny day with the sky blue, a large castle in front of them with many towers and rooms and chains attatched. They were standing on a stone platform, with a path leading into the mountain hills behind them. In the castle's main centre was a round window that had different kinds of colourful glass which the sun shone onto.
Sora remembered this place. He, Riku and Aqua came here not long after Vincent woke up to wake up Ven. This place, when he first saw it, was Castle Oblivion which Aqua had turned into when Xehanort cast this place into darkness not long after he killed Master Eraqus. Since then, Aqua restored it to it's former glory to make it easier to reach Ven now that they wouldn't have to worry about Xehanort getting to him.
"We must be in the deepest part of Aqua's heart. One in the form of her dreams and memories." Mickey theoried. He'd never seen the Land of Departure in it's original state. Like Sora, Riku, Donald and Goofy, the first time he'd seen this place was when it was Castle Oblivion. While Mickey was aware that this wasn't the real Land of Departure, it was still an amazing place.
"It's beautiful." Kairi breathed, before wondering. "But, where can we find Aqua?"
"Maybe she's inside the castle. Let's take a look." Mickey suggested. He hoped that she was, anyway. He couldn't think of bearing the loss and realizing that she was completely gone.
The others nodded, and walked up the stairs into the castle. Though when they entered the main hallway through the large doors, Sora, Kairi and Mickey gasped softly in surprise as a familiar figure stood there. It was Terra who seemed to be motionless at the moment.
"Terra?" The trio asked, confused as they ran up to him. Before Sora could ask what Terra was here, the older man spoke, though that what the trio had in mind.
"What is it that you're so afraid of?" Terra questioned.
Sora, Kairi and Mickey shared a confused before they turned back to Terra. Suddenly Sora had a sense of deja vu and while he couldn't remember at the moment how or why, instead he crossed his arms and thought before answering with honesty. "Losing something that's important."
As though sastified with the answer, Terra then simply vanished into thin air, alarming the trio who shared another uncertain glance. Shrugging it off after realizing it was just an illusion, Sora, Kairi and Mickey hurried over down the hall way and came across with two stair cases. On the left side, they found another familiar figure; this time it was Ventus.
"Ven!" Sora and Mickey both exclaimed.
"You're here too?" Kairi asked, surprised before remembering that this wasn't the real Ventus.
"What is the one thing you care about more than anything else?" Ven questioned.
'Another question. Hmmm...' Sora thought while Mickey and Kairi gazed at him. He then came up with an answer and replied, "My close friends and...someone I want to protect with my life." though he blushed when he admitted this, as did Kairi who smiled warmly despite blushing herself and Mickey smiled at both of them but decided not to say anything to avoid in embarrasing them.
Ven then disappeared as well, leaving the trio wondering before deciding to check up the upper floor. As they did, Sora, Kairi and Mickey found three brown thrones at the end of the room, as well as a small balcony behind them which was above the main entrance as the round window was shined by the sunlight outside, creating a beautiful image of colours on the floor. Standing just in front of the thrones was a tall man, one that matched on the picture of Aqua's Station of Awakening. He wore a white cape and clothes with a dark shirt underneath and black shoes.
While both Sora and Kairi had no idea who he really was, Mickey, despite not having fully met the man either, somehow knew who he was.
"Master Eraqus!" Mickey exclaimed, which caught his two younger friends by surprise.
"Hold on...this is Master Eraqus?" Sora asked the King who nodded to confirm it.
"What's going on here?" Kairi asked, now even more confused.
Eraqus stood waiting, saying nothing. So the trio, sharing another uncertain glance, hesitately approached him and stopped in front of the late Keyblade Master who then spoke, with a question of his own. "So, you are Sora. What is it that you want most?"
"Um...lets see..." Sora muttered, not sure at first. Then he thought of something that what his heart really wanted, and answered. "To protect everyone close to me."
Nodding at Sora's honest answer, Eraqus then vanished before light shined around the entire area as Sora, Kairi and Mickey had to quickly shield their eyes again. When it faded, they looked up and saw to their confusion that they were back outside of the castle where they started.
"What was that?" Mickey asked, confused.
"That was weird." Sora muttered.
"Look!" Kairi softly asked as she noticed something on the ground, in front of Sora who looked down as did Mickey. On the stone floor was a familiar star-like trinket made of blue glass and a pattern. Sora picked it up and examined it curiously while Kairi and Mickey took a closer look to gaze at it.
"It's Aqua's Good Luck Charm." Mickey realized. "The power of light within it was her guide and strength because of an unbreakable connection between her, Ven and Terra. At least that's what she told me."
"It looks like my own. The one I gave back to Sora." Kairi noted.
Sora, realizing that his friend was right, reached into his pockets and pulled out Kairi's Good Luck Charm made out of Sea-Shells and compared the two. "Do you think she made her Charm to make it similar to the Papou Fruit back at home?"
"Must've been." Kairi nodded.
"I guess she wanted to make those charms close to what Kairi made since this world doesn't have a beach close by." Mickey shrugged, feeling sad that they still haven't found Aqua yet.
"Indeed." a very dark and raspy familiar voice, one that made their blood chilled and frozen and their hearts stopping, spoke close by as it continued. "An unbreakable connection of one's heart; fates intertwined even in the deepest of darkness."
That voice...no, it couldn't be. Sora, Kairi and Mickey spun around and tried to find the source of the voice, and when they did, they sensed the presence behind them and looked behind them at the entrance of the path, standing in front of the stone arch-way. The familiar elder man, one with no hair, the small goatee, the golden eyes, the black cape, white gloves, dark pants and boots, hunched forward with his hands behind his back. It's been ages since they'd seen the man, but they knew without a doubt who he was, and fear entered their hearts. What in the worlds was he doing here in Aqua's heart!?
"Master Xehanort!" Sora, Kairi and Mickey exclaimed angrily, quickly summoning their Keyblades and stood in defense stances, not wanting to take their chances as they suddenly figured that despite being gone, Xehanort somehow survived.
"Why are you here?" Mickey demanded.
"What did you do to Aqua?" Kairi added.
Xehanort just smirked, but he made no movement to attack. Instead, he simply told the trio calmly. "You, the Princess and the little King should settle down, boy."
"That's Sora, Kairi and King Mickey!" Sora snapped, adding, "I thought Riku and I got rid of you!"
"You have indeed destroyed my body and separated pieces of my heart, one that will never be restored. Alas, I am but just a piece left of what remains of my true form. The piece that I had placed within Xigbar, not fully realizing his heart was more than even I originally thought." Xehanort confirmed.
"Whaddya mean?" Mickey asked, angry that Xehanort ignored both his and Kairi's questions. Then again the evil elder Master wasn't one to listen to anyone but himself and expects everyone to listen to him.
Xehanort's smirk faded as he explained, "Seven pieces of Pure Light, Thirteen pieces of Pure Darkness. Those are what are necessary in recreating the X-Blade, to open up Kingdom Hearts, the heart of all worlds. Thirteen pieces of my heart are the keys to it. I placed eleven into the vessels which included Xigbar and Terra. Although my death freed most, Xigbar remained a vessel, but even his heart was strong enough to repel the darkness."
"Yet, the moment you confronted him in the Keyblade Graveyard, he extracted that piece from himself with outside help, using it to test you. However, Aqua, as she had done before twelve years ago, sacrificed herself and slowly become corrupted. Until now." He continued.
"Why did you do that? Why do you want to destroy the Realm of Light that badly?" Sora asked.
The elder man said nothing at first, then approached the trio who quickly braced themselves for a fight, even as Xehanort explained, "The World began in darkness, and from that darkness came light. From the light came the people, and the people had hearts. Evil burgeoned in those hearts, begetting more darkness. And that darkness spread across the world like a plague."
He then approached the side of the courtyard which had Sora, Kairi and Mickey puzzled that Xehanort turned his back to them while stopping on the edge and gazed out into the distance. They lowered their stances but still held into the grips on their Keyblades, not taking any chances.
"The Light, the symbol of the world's hope, was devoured by shadow. Leaving nothing but ruin...an utter failure. But then, came the Power of the Ancients. It was first unleashed only from the seven pure hearts of children. And with that, it swiftly dispelled the dark abyss at it's source. Thus, the first light was created from those seven pure hearts. Though even afterwards, small remnants of darkness remained. If that first light-the Light of Kingdom Hearts, could give us a new start; an empty world, pure and bright." He continued.
"But that's something Bhunivezle tried to do thousands of years ago even without Kingdom Hearts; erasing the people with hearts and remaking them so that he could go into their bodies and read their thoughts and feelings is a terrible idea. An empty world with only light and nobody to live in it is just as bad. Just like the Realm of Darkness." Mickey pointed out.
"It wasn't your decision to make. It never was." Sora added, glaring at Xehanort's back even though it softened a little.
"I know." Xehanort agreed, his expression turning that into a look of guilt and sadness. "You have made me realize that, Sora. And yet, I have yet to learn the meaning of leadership of the world."
"Xehanort...a true leader knows that destiny is beyond his control...and accepts that." Kairi pointed out gently, her anger fading more quickly than Sora's and Mickey's did.
Xehanort glanced at the trio, then grinned lightly. "You three...make me think of an old friend, and have made me see the error of my actions. Just as you had done to that Ancient Master Aced. I never would have guessed that even Ventus had come from the age of fairytales."
"...Neither did anyone else, 'til we met Skuld." Sora admitted, scratching the back of his head. "But that doesn't make a difference since Ven's our friend, just like Aqua and everybody else." Still, he and two of his friends were wary and uncomfortable, still thinking that Xehanort may be up to something.
"For an ordinary boy, you have a heart unlike any, Sora. A heart that connects to so many others, to save them from the hurting. That unique power of your friendship and love for many people, you are the key that will set things right. Believe in that power in yourself and in your dearly beloved ones, and not even Bhunivelze or Chaos will stop you." Xehanort commented.
He turned fully to them and continued, "You and Kairi together are the Light within the Darkness. With your friends by your side and in spirit, the light will grow stronger, the warm light. Not the cold light Bhunivelze holds within his dark heart. In fact, the light in the three of you has awakened and restored Aqua's light, giving her the power to expel the darkness that took form from her darkest emotions, enabling her to destroy it."
"So...where is she?" Mickey asked hesitately.
"All we found was illusions of Terra, Ven and Master Eraqus...and you." Kairi added, worriedly. "Is she...?"
"Fear not, King Mickey and Kairi." Xehanort ensured. "Just because she had impaled herself with her Keyblade does not mean her heart is lost. She used the power of light to destroy the darkness, and keeping her heart intact. What was needed to awaken her was answer the questions that took form of her friends and fallen Master. Now the time has come to form the final key and then use the Power of Waking to revive her."
"...What final key?" Sora asked, nervously.
Xehanort chuckled, before spreading his arms out and declared, "You must destroy me. Strike me with your weapons, not with anger or hate, but for the sake of your friend."
"What!?" Sora, Kairi and Mickey exclaimed in shock and no small amount of horror and suspicion.
"What's the catch?" Sora asked.
"None. As I said, I am but a single piece of myself. One that must be destroyed before Chaos comes looking with those riff-raffs of his; Ardyn Izunia and Blaine. They are locating pieces of my heart to recreate the X-Blade. If they are one or several pieces short, it will never be recreated." Xehanort replied.
Sora, Kairi and Mickey didn't move, the grips on their Keyblades shaking as they shared very uneasy expressions. Was Xehanort telling the truth, or was this some kind of trap? None of them were certain and given how he tricked Terra and all of the horrible things he did, not to mention that in another time-line, Xehanort would've gotten what he wanted. Though they couldn't help but sense and feel that like Xehanort here, he would've finally understood his mistakes before dying. On the other hand, it was starting to make sense given what they learned and then realize that Chaos was gathering pieces of Xehanort's heart as the thirteen darknesses to recreate the X-Blade.
"One last warning, Sora." Xehanort spoke again, causing the trio to turn back to him as he continued. "Do not abuse the power of Waking, or your heart will be lost forever."
"...Thanks for the advice, but I already got the idea. That's why I'm gonna do everything I can to make sure everyone stays safe." Sora replied.
Xehanort chuckled, "A very wise answer. You are indeed a fine young man. Now then, awaken Aqua, and save the Realm of Light."
Still hesitating, Sora closed his eyes while Kairi's grip on her Keyblade loosened slightly and Mickey whimpered softly. Finally, they came to a silent agreement that they had no choice and see if this would help Aqua or cause more problems. Steeling themselves up despite still feeling reluctant, the trio stood in positions and dashed forward, their Keyblades ready as they simultaneously slashed right at Xehanort's entire being from downward to sideways at both sides, gazing at the ground. Xehanort let out a pained grunt, taking a couple steps back as he began to collapse while he began to disappear in a mixture of dark mists and light particles.
Sora, Kairi and Mickey slowly looked up with regret and sadness on their expressions, their hearts heavy at how they had to strike down someone who, having caused so much hurt and destruction, didn't even put up a fight this time.
"...Very well done." Was the last thing Xehanort said solemnly before he faded and both the light and darkness faded and floated away upwards, then simply disappeared completely and leaving not a single trace of him what so ever.
The trio continued to gaze at where Xehanort had disappeared as Sora lowered his gaze to the ground. He felt no happiness in this victory, and he realized that he didn't want to. Sora never took great pleasure in taking another person's life. And he didn't want to do that ever. It was...wrong to kill someone, whether they were bad or good. Sometimes there was no choice.
"Sora." Kairi whispered, gently taking her friend's hand into both of hers while Mickey placed his own onto Sora's other hand.
Sora looked at both of them, then he and Kairi bend down to Mickey's level of height so that the former could hug them both as they returned the embrace in sadness and comfort, as Sora began to softly cry. It was going to take ages for any of them to move on from this part of their adventure, and to think that Xehanort, even just a small piece of him, requested the three of them to strike him down...it was hard to stomach.
After a few moments of needing the comfort, Sora, Kairi and Mickey slowly stood and reluctantly let go of each other, knowing there was one thing left to do and see if they had managed to restore Aqua or not.
"We'd better wake her up now." Mickey suggested to Sora and Kairi who both nodded in agreement.
The three of them stood in the middle of the courtyard as a Keyhole appeared in the sky. Sora, with Kairi and Mickey holding onto him, held up his Keyblade, focusing on his power and aimed it at the Keyhole. It sent out a beam of light, which struck the opening in the middle. The Keyhole unlocked and glowed while fading into a pillar of light. This done, the three of them themselves floating as they covered in the light.
Holding each other's hands, Sora, Kairi and Mickey floated upward towards the light which soon engulfed them.
At first Sora felt groggy and light-headed, as he slowly became aware of the cold steel floor underneath his back and all he saw was blackness. But as he slowly became aware as his eye-lids began to open. He began to hear familiar voices call out his name, as well as Kairi and Mickey. His vision blurred, Sora blinked a few times until his vision cleared, and crouching over him, as well as Mickey and Kairi who both also began to wake up, were Riku, Donald, Goofy, Roxas, Xion, Ven, Terra, Lea, Isa, Namine, Skuld, Ephemer, the Turks, Rufus, Cloud, Tifa, Vincent, Zack, Angeal, Genesis, Yen Sid, Strelitzia, Serah, Lightning, Myde, and...more importantly...
"You're okay." The familiar blue haired woman, now restored to her original self, sighed in relief.
"Aqua!" Sora, Kairi and Mickey exclaimed as they jolted upright, startling everyone else who jumped slightly and Donald let out a surprised squawk.
"Geez, give us all heart attacks why don'tcha?" Myde grumbled, placing a hand to his chest. None the less, he was very relieved that Sora, Kairi, Mickey and Aqua were all okay.
"You're okay!" Sora cried out happily to Aqua, ignoring Myde's commentary.
"How are you feeling?" Kairi asked, very relieved.
"Never better. Thank you, Sora, Kairi, Mickey." Aqua replied warmly in relief, before noticing that Mickey, while also happy that she was safe, awake and back to normal, was averting her gaze nervously.
He hesitated to speak to her, before he began sadly. "I'm so sorry, Aqua. I didn't mean to leave you in the Realm of Darkness for so long. I'm sorry I didn't come sooner. I'm an awful friend."
"No you're not." Aqua insisted, gently placing her hand on Mickey's cheek. "The fact that you saved me with Sora and Kairi's help is enough, and that you still remembered and looked for ways to rescue me. You're a good friend, and sweet too."
Mickey felt his heart ease when his friend said those words, and he knew for certain, Aqua has forgiven him and that she didn't hate him at all. Smiling emotionally, he threw his arms around her shoulders and leaned against her neck. Aqua wrapped her arms around his body, holding him close as the two silently shed tears of happiness and full of emotions.
Seeing this reunion made Sora, Kairi and the rest of the worldly travelers so emotional and brought up to tears themselves they all gathered around and joined in on the embrace, while Cloud, Tifa, Vincent, Zack, Angeal, Genesis, Yen Sid, Strelitzia, Mog, Chirithy who appeared, Serah, Lightning, Ephemer, Skuld who also decided to join in, Rufus, Tseng, Reno, Rude, Elena who was brought into tears of her own, even Shelke, Shalua and Reeve all smiled warmly at this herat-warming scene.
"Welcome back, Aqua." Kairi choked up.
"We did it!" Sora said happily in tears.
While everyone was very relieved that Aqua was safe and sound and so were Sora, Kairi and Mickey who had succeeded in saving her, they all knew that there was still work to do, but given what has happened, they may now be one step ahead of Chaos even though the trials are still up ahead.
Meanwhile, back in Twilight Town, Xigbar, or rather, Luxu, sat on the edge of the Clock Tower as he gazed at the Sunset that lit up the entire town, it's breath-taking beauty never stop amazing anyone who would come up here and marvel it. But he wasn't thinking about the sunset or even in the mood for being his usual cockiness. His mind kept on returning to what happened to Aced back in the Keyblade Graveyard; how that Bear-Masked guy sacrificed himself to save Strelitzia and faded away into nothing.
It's been years since he had been in any contact with the Foretellers, and while he had been doing for what the Master of Masters had told him, there was a lingering sense of guilt and sorrow he hasn't really felt before, not even before meeting Xehanort.
"Never would've thought it would effect this badly." He muttered to himself glumly. He then scoffed, "Heh, but then, me, being totally heartless like that old coot and have no fear? As if."
"Couldn't have said better myself."
Jumping slightly at the voice, Xigbar looked up to see the Master of Master's standing there, his hands behind his back as though having just appeared out of no where as the other man continued, "If a guy thinks he can go on and do stuff and never have fear or emotions like a rock, then they're pretty much stupid."
"Guess that means I'm the stupid one." Xigbar remarked, deciding not to comment about nearly having a heart attack.
"Nah, not a bit." The Master of Masters ensured, waving it off. "Bhunivelze on the other hand; having thought for years he'd never feel anger or hate-now he's the stupid one."
He then put on an awkward posture and scratched the back of his head while admitting, "Though he's pretty much dangerous too. One can never know with the most dangerous God like him. Creating Chaos out of that, influencing those emotions into others with darkness and daemons and whatever else he can come up with, it's a risk factor."
"Never saw either of them before and already they're giving me the heebee jeebees." Xigbar smirked a little while returning his gaze to the sight before him. "Hades doesn't even come close to that weirdly enough and he's a God-guy who summons a giant two-headed rock, an ice-cube, a moving tornado and bloats of lava who get kicked out of the door by a demi-god."
"Ah, don't sweat it. Just because Hades doesn't scare you don't mean some other people aren't either. Everyone has a fear of different things and monsters and ect. You're only human." The Master of Masters pointed out, then cheekily said. "But, just do cheer ya' up a little..."
He then brought both hands from his back as he held out...
"Ta-daaaah!" He proclaimed, showing off two bars of Sea-Salt Ice Cream, handing one to a surprised Xigbar who gazed it. "Just a little something as both a last preparation and...you know, to honor a great fellow pupil."
"Don't think Aced would've liked Sea-Salt Ice Cream, Master." Xigbar chuckled as the other man took a seat next to him, one knee up.
"Yeah, he would've thought of this as completely ridiculous. But hey, I would've tried." The Master of Masters agreed, taking a bite of his ice cream and flinched slightly. "Whoa, this ice cream really is salty! But sweet too."
Xigbar nodded in agreement, "The personal favorite for Axel, Roxas and Xion. Those three kiddos would just come up here eating ice cream and watch the sunset." before sighing.
"Sure had a nice idea." The Master of Masters sighed as well, his tone taking that of sadness which surprised Xigbar who gazed at him as the hooded man said. "You know...I've been thinking lately. I see Sora and his friends go it all out, them managing to create multiple time-lines without even trying and keeping the Light safe, preventing Kingdom Hearts from being opened...then managing to convince Aced how wrong he was...Can't help but think that even I had it all wrong too."
"Uh..." Xigbar muttered, not sure what to say.
"That kid really is something; with some friends and not a whole army in saving the Realm of Light three times from disaster...maybe just a few people, certain people, really do have what it takes. Then Aced gets taken down by sacrificing himself...I think I finally understand how the view life." The Master of Masters continued. "Not to mention losing a pupil before I officially have my real funeral...makes me feel like a parent who lost a son or a little girl who didn't have a chance to go out and see the world or grow up properly."
"Not sure what to say about that." Xigbar admitted.
"Not upset with the fact that Aced's gone?" The Master of Masters asked, half-jokingly as though he sensed what his pupil with him was really thinking.
The eye-patched man scoffed, "As if. You taught us everything we knew about the Keyblade. Man, those were the good ol' times."
"Took the words right out of my mouth." The Master of Masters chuckled lightly. He then turned serious and changed the subject, "The war's about to start soon. Even without all of the pieces, Chaos isn't gonna wait any longer. Sure hope those kids have what it really takes to beat 'im, and Bhunivelze."
"Figures." Xigbar grumbled, nibbling on his ice cream even though it was way too salty for his taste.
"That's why we both have one final role to play." His mentor nodded. "Once Maleficent is out of the way and not taking the Box or the Book, you and me are gonna give Sora and his friends the last test to prove themselves, that way, it'll make up for what I now intend on doing since they had shown me enough to make up my mind."
"For what?" The younger man quiried.
The Master of Masters paused, before gazing at Xigbar and responded with growing determination. "Atonement."
Back in Midgar, Sora, Kairi and Mickey had explained to everyone else what happened while they were inside Aqua's heart and while they were shocked at first given Xehanort's history, the fact that they now knew that there were pieces of Xehanort's heart out there, and they had just erased one, which left Chaos one darkness short despite that he had a piece of Kairi's light. Not long after that, they were in the meeting room Rufus established for a meeting now that Yen Sid was back. The worldly travelers stood before the Powerful Sorcerer as the President of ShinRa decided that it was best to give the older man the authority.
"More than anything, I am grateful that you are all safely unharmed, and I am grateful to you all for having rescued Angeal, Genesis and myself. As such, I am deeply sorry for putting you through such a quest without my guidence. Your adventure has revealed many truths and as such, we must gird ourselves for the great clash that lies before us. The Realm of the Dead have been tampered, as those who were lost are brought back as we speak, while Time in all dimensions are at stake. Thus, Chaos will no longer wait for a strike that will spell the end of all life." Yen Sid proclaimed.
"Could it be...that Cosmos has brought me back, Master Yen Sid? That has caused this to happen?" Strelitzia asked, hesitatedly.
"Hey, don't forget. Me and Angeal were brought back to life too." Zack reminded.
"It's not because you all being brought back." Lightning spoke up, causing everyone to glance at her. "It's the fact that Xehanort and Hojo had tampered with one of the Chaos gene inside Vincent and Nero's power of darkness that allowed Chaos to return. His existance alone is the true danger of the Realms of the Dead."
"So uh, what will happen if we defeat Chaos? Won't the realms like the Underworld and the Locker go back to normal?" Goofy asked, uneasily.
"Not just that. But it'll also fix up the time-lines too, restore them and un-merge with each other. Meaning that no one will enter each different dimension after that." Serah answered this time. "Garland mentioned that if Chaos is destroyed, time will fix itself up."
"But...won't that effect us too?" Sora asked. "I mean, what will happen to us when time does get fixed up? Won't that change our history or something?"
"Not really." Serah shook her head. "We'll still exist and everything will be peaceful for everyone everywhere. When Noel and I changed history to where he isn't the last human anymore, he didn't disappear like he was meant to."
"Disappear?" Roxas asked, feeling very uneasy.
"Knew there was a catch to that, but I guess that just throws the 'You-can't-change-time' right out the window, like the King and Master Yen Sid told us earlier." Lea sighed, while scratching the back of his head uneasily.
"In certain knowledge, time cannot be changed. However, it has become clear that not everything is what is written or foretold. None the less, the war not of Keyblades, but of Gods will be among us, thus we still aqquire Guardians of Light. That is where you all have assembled." Yen Sid confirmed to the worldly travelers who all nodded, except Myde who looked confused and out of place.
"Uh...what 'bout me? I don't have a Keyblade." The mullet-haired man muttered.
"Gee, Myde. Donald and I don't have Keyblades either." Goofy pointed out.
"Neither do the rest of us." Cloud added, referring to himself, Tifa, Vincent, Zack, Angeal, Namine, Genesis, Lightning and Serah who all nodded in agreement.
"None the less, you are all still considered as Guardians of Light." Yen Sid stated.
"While I'm not familiar with the Keyblade War, I agree that you and the others have done more than enough good deeds in protecting the worlds, Cloud." Reeve agreed.
"I just go along with it." Cloud shrugged, sarcastically.
"Let's not forget Noct and the others back in Olympus Coliseum. They should be having an update and ready to help out against Chaos and his army by now." Skuld reminded, which Sora and the others nodded in agreement.
Reno blinked in confusion, and asked, "Who's Noct?"
"A friend of ours and crown Prince. He also can summon and connect with Gods called the Astrals." Mickey explained.
"Wha-No way!" The red haired Turk exclaimed, bewildered. The other Turks and Rufus were admittedly shocked to hear this as well.
"You serious?" Zack asked, while Cloud, Tifa, Vincent and Angeal shared stunned glances.
Lea smirked at those who haven't met Noctis and said with a one shoulder shrug, "I know, right? It takes a while in getting that memorized."
"So was the fact that Captain Jack Sparrow had a Keyblade of his own." Isa added.
"Oh, right. About that..." Sora remembered, realizing that Yen Sid had been out of the loop on that as well and nervously explained to the Sorcerer about how Jack got his Keyblade and what happened a year ago during the second visit to the Caribbean.
Fortunately, Yen Sid shook his head and informed him with a calm smile. "Do not fear, Sora. In spite of you preforming the Keyblade Inheritence Ceremony, the fact remains Captain Jack Sparrow's actions were for the good. If he wishes to become a Keyblade Master, you will know what to do."
Sora sighed in relief and smiled sheepishly.
"I'm not sure if Jack wants to leave his world behind again, though." Riku pointed out. "He's kinda clingy with his ship, even more so since Barbossa was brought back to life."
"Yeah. That's a good point." Tifa giggled, as Kairi, Xion, Aqua, Strelitzia and Skuld giggled at the memories of Jack and Barbossa's bickering over the control of the Black Pearl.
"He's not the only one." Serah said as she remembered something as well. "Stretlizia and I met another Pirate Captain named Sinbad who was more upset that his ship got wrecked at first than the fact he and his crew almost died by Sirens."
"Sirens?" Roxas and Xion both asked, confused.
"I've heard of them." Kairi shuddered slightly, rubbing her arms as though she was feeling cold while smiling in gratitude when Sora and Riku both placed hands onto her shoulders despite them looking spooked too. "In the stories by the sailors, Sirens sing sailors into a hypnotic state and tricking them into a false love before they...well..."
"Um, try thinking those things kinda like the Kraken, only normal size and mostly go after guys." Sora supplied nervously.
"Ugh...I still get nightmares on the Kraken." Zack shuddered.
"Great..." Reno groaned, before shrugging. "At least the Kraken had gotten a crack."
"Reno..." Tseng sighed, exasperated.
Lea shuddered at the very thought of the Sirens while Roxas, Xion, Namine and even Isa looked just as uncomfortable, before the redhead said nervously, "Okay...First Cannibals, then a giant Turtle, then the Kraken, then the giant Lobster and now Sirens. Think we'll just stay out of worlds that have oceans with sea monsters or over-sized fish or people who just want to have others for lunch for a while."
"Well, either way, we have to be very careful. None of us want to go straight into battle and then get lured into a trap that will destroy us. Not like what we saw earlier at the Keyblade Graveyard." Terra reminded firmly. Sora and the others winced, realizing that he was right; given what had happened and the fact that Sora's other self had to resort in using the Power of Waking continously to bring them back and change history at the cost of his life made them even more unsettled.
"Not to mention that we have no clue where Chaos's place is." Myde added another logical fact.
"Uh, actually, I do." Ephemer admitted, nervously. "I was kinda spying on Ardyn and Chaos earlier without them even knowing and uh...well, that place is close to the Realm of Darkness in the worlds between. But I do know a secret world that'll get us there; Scala Ad Caelum."
"Scala Ad what-now?" Reno and Zack both asked, puzzled at the unusual name.
"Uh...can you repeat that?" Myde requested, dumbfounded.
"Scala Ad Caelum; a world where Keyblade Wielders once seated." Yen Sid explained for Ephemer. "It has not been visited upon nor had any wielders of the Keyblade reside there since long after Master Eraqus and Master Xehanort had become Keyblade Masters."
"Seriously!? Master Eraqus and Xehanort trained there?" Sora exclaimed in shock as everyone else shared stunned expressions. "I thought they trained together at the Land of Departure like Ven, Terra and Aqua."
"Did you train there too, Master?" Mickey asked curiously to his mentor who shook his head.
"I once been there long ago, but I trained in a different location during my youth. Yet there were times when Master Eraqus and Master Xehanort would rechieve magical training under my own mentor." Yen Sid answered. "Yet, even I did not know of the secret passage within Scala Ad Caelum, due to a dangerous secret which is now rediscovered."
"I think I woulda prefered it to be kept secret." Myde commented nervously.
"Me too. Especially since was so dangerous that I think Ardyn and Blaine use that as gateways to traveled to other worlds." Namine nodded in agreement.
"Well then, at least we know where to look. We gotta stop the bad guys from getting anywhere near close in getting what they want." Sora declared with determination, and all of his friends and allies all nodded in agreement, though some of them were still nervous but knew, they had to do this as well as being extremely careful and not end up like what happened in the other time-line.
"In the meantime, we'd better give Noct, Herc and the others a heads up on what we found." Ven added.
Even Shelke and Shalua nodded in agreement despite that they still had a lot to do for atonement.
"Be on your guard, as the clash may begin the following dawn." Yen Sid concluded.
Everyone including Rufus nodded in agreement. They were almost there, almost to the final battle. However, there were still a few villain they would have to face before even reaching Chaos; such as the ones who are still looking for the Black Box and the Book of Prophecies, and another who had now learned of a comrade's true colours.
But Sora would not give up, and he will not lose his friends. Not by a long shot.
A/N: I noticed that my chapters were getting ridiculously long. I mean, 14,504 or something words in the last chapter! That's my new record of the longest of all chapters in any of my stories! So I decided to cut this one short a bit to avoid in making things way too long.
That said, there are still Maleficent, Pete, Caius, and two others we have to go through before we even reach the epic clash.
See you in the next chapter!