Kingdom Hearts III: Final Mix

Disclaimer: I do not own the story or characters featured in this story. They are the sole creation of the Walt Disney Co., Square Enix, Pixar, Tetsuya Nomura and Marvel Comics. Nevertheless, I hope you enjoy.

Chapter 30: Meeting with Yuffie and Leon

The walk through the city was markedly uneventful for Riku, Mickey and Dilan, until just as they reached a cistern close to Ansem's old castle, and Dilan stopped the two Keybearers in their tracks.

"Wait," the former Nobody warned as he brandished his lance. "This location is where the most Heartless activity has been reported lately. We cannot let our guard down for even a second..."

"I see," Mickey replied, as the two visitors summoned forth their Keyblades, eyeing their surroundings cautiously to avoid a potential ambush. Quietly, the trio strolled through the area until just before they could see the row of buildings leading back to civilization. Mickey seized up, feeling the sensation of somebody trailing them from behind. After feeling a dainty digit tap his shoulder, Mickey screamed as he and Riku swung around, ready to fight, only to find there was a young man with short, wind-waved brown hair and a black jacket emblazoned with a lion's head on the back. He was accompanied by a woman with black hair, a two-piece top and cut shorts, and while her accomplice was wielding a sword with the barrel of a firearm (as strange of a sight as it would seem), she was equipped with ninja stars and an oversized shuriken.

"WHO ARE YOU?!" Riku shouted in his paranoia, while the stranger pointed his weapon at the boy.

"I could ask you the same question!" For all we know, you could've brought the Heartless here!" the stranger exclaimed.

"Leon, calm down! This is just a huge misunderstanding," the woman told her partner as she and Mickey approached each other and shook each other's hands. "King Mickey, it feels like it's been forever."

"Yuffie, it's nice to see you and Leon again. Sorry, Dilan warned us about the Heartless..." Mickey explained.

"You don't need to say another thing about it, Your Majesty," Leon responded. "Anyway, I take it this is Sora's friend Riku, right?"

"Uh, yeah, Sora's told me a lot about you two, along with Arieth and Cid," Riku told Leon.

"And Sora speaks pretty highly of you," Yuffie added. "You're pretty handsome too."

"Easy, Yuffie. We've got a Heartless infestation to worry about first," Leon warned, only to see a giant Heartless appear, ready to attack. It was a blue-colored Guard Armor, falling to the ground with a clang before reassembling.

"At last, a more entertaining encounter," Dilan proclaimed with a smirk, ready for battle.

"I think I agree with you there, sideburns," Yuffie snarked. "All the small fry are good for target practice, but it's nice to mix things up."

And so, the battle began, as the five heroes teamed up and destroyed the metallic limbs of the Heartless, leaving it to fall apart again. However, it didn't accept defeat at that moment, as it somehow regrew its limbs and slammed the arms onto the floor as the arms and legs swapped places and its helmet opened to reveal a black void for a face with beady yellow eyes peering from the darkness.

"We need to run to the castle! We'll be safe in there!" Leon explained as the heroes made a mad dash for the path to Ansem's castle, with the Heartless trailing behind them. Riku attempted to slow it down with blasts of Dark Firaga, and while it destroyed the creature's legs, it wasn't enough to completely stop it from following them. Right when they reached the castle doors, they were greeted by a trained guard, who was waiting for the others with a smile.

"Your Majesty, it's good to see you again," the soldier greeted as Mickey and the others ran past.

"We'll save the introductions when we're inside, now quick! Shut the doors!" Leon demanded, as the Restoration Committee member saw Riku rushing forward with the Opposite Armor fast approaching with its gauntlets flying at the Keyblade wielder. Riku had managed to wear it down, but it fought back by firing its gauntlet forward like a missile.

"It's tougher than I thought! We need to get inside!" Riku cried.

"No, I'll take care of it. I knew something like this would happen someday, but I won't let everything Leon and the others have done to restore our home become undone. Get inside and whatever you hear out here, don't come back for me," the soldier ordered.

"But-"

"Stop wasting time and go!" he reiterated sternly as he charged at the gauntlet with a spear, only to be impaled by one of its sharp fingers. With the last of his strength, she released the spear throwing it directly through the armor's chest and into its sealed, tainted heart, which obliterated the Heartless with a shockwave of light, turning the gauntlet that trapped him into ashes as well, resulting in the soldier flopping lifelessly to the ground. After the carnage had ended, a black robed figure approached and removed his hood to reveal a young man with a blonde-mullet hairstyle approach the man's still body and sigh in disgust.

"Yikes, if we were here sooner, things might not have gotten so messy. It looks like we were too late this time, Vexen," the Nobody remarked as he turned his attention towards another hooded figure who revealed himself to be Vexen, the missing apprentice returning back to his home world at last.

And that finishes this new chapter; and what a way to end it, huh? I hope you enjoyed this little update and please remember to leave a review to let me know what you think about the story! Next time, we'll deal with what brings Demyx and Vexen back to Radiant Garden to work out the details of their secret plan. See you next time, and may your heart be your guiding key.

Edit: Also, I noticed that there was confusion about the scenario of Aerith's sacrifice in this chapter, and I realize that I was unclear about it, so I changed the scene to have a generic guard bite the bullet and take down the Guard Armor and I'm moving Arieth's presence over to a post-game Sephrioth battle. Thanks to all my readers for understanding. The current chapters of Radiant Garden are going to be edited to reflect this change.