In case you aren't aware I've already posted the second story to this series, Space Between Stars. I'm going to be posting the chapters between the stories in chronological order. So keep an eye out on the series.
Chapter XLIV- Hollow Bastion (Part 5)
Kairi's eyes snapped open. She sits up and turns her head to see Koga next to her on the ground. He looked at her and silently smiled before he closed his eyes. And then he vanished in a sparkle of light. She stared in shock, she didn't even get time to say anything.
"Koga..." She said, eyes widened.
"SORA, SORA!" Someone shrieked. She turned and saw two people running towards her friend Sora. The spiky haired boy was sparking in light as he fell backwards.
"Sora!" She yelled, jumping on her feet. As fast as her legs can take her, she dashed to her friend in an attempt to catch him. Right before her hands even touched him he vanished in light just like his brother.
All of them watched in horror as the little sparkles of light that was once Sora and Koga fade away. Falling into darkness.
"Sora... Koga..." She whispered, tears welling up in her eyes. "No... I won't let them go!"
"Kairi?"
The redhead turned and finally noticed the people in the room. Without skipping a beat she said their names.
"Donald, Goofy, and Jiminy Cricket." She said also noticing the small cricket on Goofy's shoulder.
"You know us Kairi?" Jiminy asked.
She nodded. "Yeah, I was... watching through Sora and Koga's Hearts. It was strange, being split in two. It was like my eyes were pointing in completely different directions."
Kairi saw everything Sora and Koga went through since they left the islands. All the battles, hardships, the friends they made, and the enemies they made. So badly she wished she could've been able to talk with them, reassure them that she was okay. But now it was too late.
Donald frowned looking down ashamed. "Kairi, we're sorry we couldn't save Koga and Sora."
"Don't... he's not gone."
Goofy tilted his head. "How do you know?"
"I can feel it."
"So, you've awakened at last princess."
Everyone turned their heads to the source of the voice. It was a tall tanned man with long silver hair smiling devilishly at them with his yellow eyes. He had white gloves and a black overcoat over an open white vest that exposes his bare muscular chest. On his chest was the emblem of the Heartless.
"Ansem." Kairi gasped taking a step back closer to Donald and Goofy.
"Pleasure to meet your acquaintance." He said bowing. "Forgive the change in appearance but I wanted to shape this vessel's body to one more like my original self." He turned his gaze to the Final Keyhole, now complete with Kairi being awakened. A portal was opened and darkness spilled out of it. "I must thank you for your help in completing what I couldn't finish ten years ago."
"What is happening?" Goofy asked.
"With the Final Keyhole completed, the door to the realm of darkness is now open. And now all the Heartless are at my control, to do my bidding as the Seeker of Darkness." Darkness, pure unadulterated Darkness, pulsed from the Keyhole and surrounded Ansem. He smiled in bliss as it coursed through his body. "You have served your purpose well princess but I no longer have a use for you or the king's foolish companions." He slowly stalked towards them, the room darkening and dropping in temperature.
Donald and Goofy stood in front of Kairi protectively, ready to attack.
"You better stay back!" Donald shouted angrily.
"Do you think we can take him?" Goofy asked his feathered friend.
"I don't know but Sora and Koga would've wanted us to protect Kairi."
Suddenly Ansem stopped in place as he clenched his teeth and struggled to move his muscles. "No, impossible..."
A bright glow appeared in front of the Seeker of Darkness, taking the shape of their silver haired friend Riku.
"No. You won't use me for this!" Riku declared, a hitch in his breath as he battle Ansem for control.
"Riku!" Kairi shouted, trying to reach for him but Donald and Goofy stopping her from getting near Ansem.
"Kairi, you've got to run! The Heartless are coming!" As he said that Shadows were crawling out of the Final Keyhole like a swarm of ants. There was so many, and more were coming out.
"I'm not leaving you!" Kairi said stubbornly.
"Kairi please. I can't hold on for much longer!" Riku begged, his form slowly fading.
The redhead bit her lip and nodded. Together the group ran away from the Keyhole.
"We have to get to the gummi ship fast!" Donald shouted.
Goofy looked back at the Final Keyhole and the other princesses stirring awake.
"What about the other princesses?"
"There's no time!" Donald replied as they cleared out of the room.
Where am I...
..I'm.. not dead...
So dark...
Scared...
alone... alone...
...pain...
Hungry... Hungry...
Light... danger...
No...
...Brother?
...like me...
...weird smell...
...Heart?
...tasty -no-
...consume -No-
...Kill -NO!-
...no?
...light, is familiar...
...protect, must protect light.
...but the light burns...
Should we kill?
No, we must defend her!
"Kairi, hurry!" Goofy called out. They made it to the entrance hall where they first fought Riku. Donald and Goofy were at the bottom of the stairs while Kairi was trailing behind. Despite listening to Riku she was hesitant to leave. Despite all that Riku has done he is still their friend and even Koga wouldn't have left him like that.
Turning back she saw two Shadows coming down the hall running straight at her. Seeing the potential danger she ran down the stairs as fast as she could go. She had no means to fight back and would be helpless against them. The Heartless were catching up to her and she shrieked when they tackled her to the ground. But strangely they didn't attack her like most Heartless would. No, instead they were... cuddling her.
She stared dumbfounded as these to creatures of darkness had their arms wrapped tightly against her and nuzzling their heads into her face.
"Hey, back off you stupid Heartless!" Donald yelled angrily bonking them on their heads since using magic would be too dangerous with them right against Kairi.
"Wait, hold on Donald." Jiminy said observing the two Heartless. "These two are somehow different."
Kairi pulled them back and looked into their faces. They looked no different than the other Shadows as they both stared at her with their beady eyes. But she felt something deep down in that darkness, a familiar light coming from each of them.
"Sora, Koga?" She asked. The Shadows stared at her with a blank face but she didn't need an answer, this is the twin boys she grew up with. Consumed by darkness they became Heartless.
Tears poured down her cheeks as she pulled them to her, hugging them close. Their bodies felt cold as ice but her warmth slowly spread to them. And it felt like they were growing in size as they got warmer. Suddenly she felt two pairs of hands hug her back.
She opened her eyes and widened when she saw brown hair and tan faces looking at her. Letting out a shaky breath, Sora and Koga looked at each other in shock.
"I'm alive? I'm me again!" Sora exclaimed feeling his body to make sure it was real.
"Kairi, you brought us back?" Koga said looking at her with wide eyes.
"Sora, Koga." Kairi said still crying. She then punched them on the chest, making them yelp in pain. "Don't ever do that again!" The twins teared up as well as Koga let out a laugh and wrap his arms around both his brother and his best friend. As he half laughed, half hiccuped, he lifted the two of them up and bounced in place. Kairi laughed alongside them, her tears starting to dry.
"Welcome back fellas!" Goofy said happily, springing up behind them and joined the hug.
"Guys, now's not the time!" Donald screeched.
All around them Heartless were coming out of the ground. They quickly surrounded them, blocking their exit. Sora and Koga quickly pulled themselves away from Kairi and did a battle stance.
"Stay back Kairi!" Sora said summoning his Keyblade. He felt pretty fatigued but he will keep fighting if he has to.
Koga followed his brother summoning his "We'll prot-" Then out of nowhere Koga felt a intense pain in his skull, like his brain was being split in two. He screamed as he fell on the ground clutching his skull.
"Koga, what's wrong with you?" Kairi gasped putting a hand on his shoulder. Sora turned to his brother for a second and almost got tackled by a Shadow which he quickly took out. He grimaced, remembering not even a minute ago he was one of them.
"AHHHH, MY HEAD!" Koga cried out curling up into a ball. "MAKE IT STOP!" A Darkball saw an opportunity to charge at him.
"No!" Kairi put her hands out in defense and light burst out of her hands, destroying the Heartless immediately. She looked at her hands astonished but remembered her friend is in trouble. She turned back and saw that Koga had passed out. More and more Heartless were coming towards them.
Suddenly a loud roar echoed across the room. They looked up the top of the stairs and saw the Beast ripping the Heartless to shreds. He jumped across the entire room and broke an path out of the castle.
"Go now!" Beast yelled as a Shadow jumped on his back and clawed at him. He roared in pain as he reached back and threw the Heartless across the room. He then pinned a Defender against the wall as he ordered the heroes to flee. "I will hold them off but you need to leave."
"Wait, come with us Beast!" Sora begged. The Beast may be strong but he can't take on all the Heartless, not alone.
"I told you I will not leave without Belle, just take your brother and the others before it's too late!"
Sora nodded and helped Kairi carry his unconscious brother out and leave Beast behind.
Koga gasped.
His eyes flew open as he look at the slowly rotating fan on the ceiling.
"Thank god, you're finally awake."
Kairi leaned over him putting a damp cloth on his forehead.
With the cooling sensation on his forehead Koga's senses started to work again. His body felt overheated and his head ached something fierce.
"W-w-Where am I?" Koga asked, his voice cracking as he opened his mouth.
"We're in Traverse Town." Sora said, leaning into his field of view, his eyes were red and puffy as if he's been crying for awhile.
"What's with the glum looks?" Koga asked sitting up. He looked around and saw they were in the old house that Leon and the gang turned into their HQ. He was laying on the only bed in this one room house.
"You don't remember you passing out?"
"I... I think so." He replied, the memories coming back to him. "Ugh, I remember the feeling. I've gotten headaches before but nothing this bad. I felt like my brain was being overworked as if it was controlling more than one body. Heh, sounds crazy when you say it aloud."
Kairi put a hand on Koga's shoulder. "I'm just glad you're alright."
Koga smiled back. "Ditto." He threw his legs over the bed as he stretched his muscles, the remnants of that fever diminishing. "Anyway, how long was I out?"
"Koga it's been a year." The starry eyed youth snapped his head to his brother with a stupefied expression. Sora chuckled and lightly punched his brother's shoulder. "Just kidding, it's been two and a half days."
"Whew, you almost had me." Koga chuckled nervously. "So where's Leon and the other's?"
"Right here."
All three teens snapped their heads to the door and saw Leon walking in, Aerith, Yuffie, Donald, Goofy, and Jiminy following in.
"We were checking out the town after the last Heartless attack. Donald Goofy and Jiminy caught us up with what's been going on."
"Heartless? But we drove them out of this world when we sealed the Keyhole."
Leon sighed. "Well, that's what was supposed to happen but not anymore."
Aerith looked exhausted gripping a long metallic staff. "When you returned Kairi's Heart you accidentally opened up the Final Keyhole.
"Which also happen to lead to the realm of darkness." Yuffie said trying to keep an uppity attitude despite the tired bags under her eyes.
"With it remaining open all the worlds are being swarmed by ten times more Heartless than before. Despite the Keyhole of this world being sealed they are overwhelming us in numbers."
"Well what are we waiting for, we've got to stop them!" Koga said getting on his feet.
"Hold on Koga!" Sora warned his brother but he was already out the door. He was face to face with a large group of Darkballs and Defenders. He froze in place in terror as these strong Heartless slowly turned their gaze at the boy. A Powerwild, despite only encountering them in Deep Jungle, jumped at him.
"Hey kid, quit gawking at the Heartless!"
A volley of fireballs was shot and the Powerwild went down. Koga snapped out of it when he felt something crawl up his body. He turned and saw a small, red, serpentine creature crawl on his shoulder.
"What kind of lizard are you?" Koga asked. His mom always taught him to not play with wild reptiles but this one is different.
The red lizard huffed, smoke coming out of his nostrils. "First of all, I am a dragon. Second, I am Mushu! Sora and some Fairy Lady helped get me out of a summon charm. Now enough chit chat, we got more baddies to take care of!"
Koga turned to the group of Heartless and readied to fight. As he shot at them Mushu jumped on top of his head and spit fireballs at the Heartless, acting like a mini turret for Koga. As they took on the Heartless they realized they were fighting a losing battle.
Then Donald and Goofy ran out and pulled Koga back inside the house, locking up the door tight.
"Don't pull something like that again." Leon warned.
"Hey Mushu." Sora said to the dragon.
"Heya Sora, who's this kid?" Mushu asked hopping on top of a dresser.
"It's my brother."
"Oh, he's the Koga that's everyone is talking about? Well if it wasn't for me he would have been Heartless chow."
"Listen kid." Yuffie said. "I know you want to help but there is just too many of them. Not just here but I'm sure all the other worlds are struggling just as bad."
"Then what are we going to do?" Koga asked frustrated.
"We've been trying to figure that out. Koga, we were recently looking through the Ansem reports you collected, trying to come up with a plan." Aerith said.
The boy turned to his brother with narrowed eyes. "You went through my bag?" They might be brothers but he is really doesn't like people going through his private stuff. Sora mouth 'sorry' with a sad expression.
"Well we just stumbled upon this one report and it's different from the rest." Leon handed him a piece of paper. "Wanna give us your input?"
Snatching the paper, Koga read the secret report out loud.
"Ones born of the Heart and darkness, devoid of Hearts, ravage all worlds and bring desolation. Seize all Hearts and consummate the great Heart. All Hearts to be one, one Heart to encompass all. Realize the destiny: the realm of Kingdom Hearts. The great darkness sealed within the great Heart. Progeny of darkness, come back to the eternal darkness. For the Heart of light shall unseal the path. The door of darkness, tied by two keys. The door to darkness to seal the light. None shall pass but shadows returning to the darkness. Ones born of the Heart and darkness, hunger for every Heart until the dark door opens."
The boy took a deep breath before looking at the others. "Well Ansem definitely got an A+ in Literature class."
"So what does that mean?" Goofy asked scratching her head.
"I DON'T KNOW!" Koga exclaimed. "Who writes like this? It's complete nonsense!"
"Well, it sounds like it's saying that the Heartless are gathering the Hearts of worlds to make this 'Kingdom Hearts' I think." Kairi stated leaning over Sora and reading the paper.
Koga looked at her then back to him. "Kairi... you are a genius!" The redhead blushed at the compliment. "Alright, so the Heartless are trying to make Kingdom Hearts, or the door to darkness, which I guess is like a amalgamation of the Heart's of the worlds. It also sounds like it's the main entry way for the Heartless to enter the worlds."
"The Final Keyhole must be a doorway to the edge of where all the destroyed worlds are."
"And in it's center, the door to the realm of darkness." Donald said nervously.
"As long as it's opened the Heartless will just keep coming until everything is destroyed." Leon said.
"So two Keys are needed to close the door to darkness." Sora said summoning his Key. "This Keyblade is the one the King wanted you two to protect so it must be one of the pair. And Koga's must be the other one."
Koga shook his head. "Sorry Sora, I'd love to say I am but I'm not the one that's needed. It's your Keyblade that is part of the pair." Koga shrugged. "Riku may have been spitting insults to my face but he was right."
"So then the King must have went to find the other Keyblade." Goofy said.
"We got to rendezvous with the King at the door and then help him seal it." Koga said before looking at the others. "We got to get back to Hollow Bastion."
"There is way too many Heartless there, you will be destroyed." Leon said.
Sora narrowed his eyes. "Well, we can't just stay here. We have to do something. I've got a friend back there."
"And the other Princesses are still there." Kairi added.
"Kid's right." They saw Cid enter the room, holding a lance in his hand. The space was starting to get crowded with all the people entering. "Sounds like the eye of the storm is where you need to go."
"So are we going back?" Sora asked hopefully.
"Can't let you do that. Way too many Heartless that'll eat your ship up like kids in a candy store." Cid snorted. "Luckily I got a solution. I happen to have a navigation gummi that can take you 'round to Hollow Bastion, less Heartless in the way. Just give me a day or two and you'll be ready to give it to Ansem and the Heartless."
With everything settled, the Traverse town gang decided to head out to give the other's some privacy, Donald and Goofy following along. As they wait for their plan to unfold, Koga, Sora, and Kairi decide to catch up.
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