Summary: Just after Sora, Donald, and Goofy defeated Ansem and closed the door to Kingdom Hearts, it was thought that the universe would return to normal. However, the Heartless still exist, and Leon, Yuffie and their comrades must abandon the Hollow Bastion once again. They enter a dangerous world where they are separated and captured by a force that rules over the world. Tensions run deep as Leon and Yuffie try to free the world and be true to their hearts. Action, love, old friends and old enemies await.
Rated: PG-13
Disclaimer: I do not own any of the areas or characters in Kingdom Hearts, nor do I own any of the Final Fantasy characters. Square-Enix and Disney own them all.
BIG WARNING: I am terribly sorry to any FF fan that reads this fic. The FF characters that this story revolves around are all based on their KH incarnations. Because of this, their backgrounds and personalities may be very different than the way they are in their respective FF games. Unfortunately, I have played very little FF, and the only one I've had an opportunity to play to the very end was FFX. Also, for anyone who reviews and has played FFVII or VIII, please describe to me about the characters' special attacks, i.e. Limit Breaks, so I can use them in this fic. Thank you for your help!
Hey folks! Second chapter to my fan fic: True Hearts! A vicious battle is about to start, so sit back and enjoy. I'm sorry that it took so long to post, but school's starting so the next chapter will be a while too. Thanks for the review DrAgOuS! Well, here goes chapter 2!
Chapter 2: Final Heaven!
Leon and Yuffie stared at the strange guest with curiosity and caution. The woman stood before them looking as if she expected them to answer her immediately. However, Leon was not about to give information about the whereabouts of his comrade to this stranger.
"What do you want with Cloud?" Leon asked challengingly. He felt there was no reason to pretend he wasn't here.
"I'm not going to ask you again… WHERE THE HELL IS HE?" She yelled angrily and almost manically. Her voice echoed through the hall.
"You're crazy," growled Yuffie from behind Leon. She was slightly shocked by the woman's out burst. "We're not gonna tell you anything!" Yuffie then rudely gestured at the woman with her middle finger.
The woman looked from Yuffie to Leon. She grunted and took a threatening step closer. "I know he's here," she said dreamily. "I can feel him…" Yuffie's eyes widened. Leon wasn't sure if it was due to fear or surprise.
"I'm sorry," Leon grunted. "But you can't just barge in here like that and ask us for such information, without…" Leon narrowed his eyes and tightened his grip on his Gunblade. "Introducing yourself."
The woman punched her right fist into her open left palm. "I'll give you your damn introduction."
Leon smiled mirthlessly, bringing the sword in front of himself. Leon felt an anxious excitement in his stomach that he only felt when he knew he was about to fight a difficult opponent. He remembered Sora, who he crossed blades with on more than one occasion. He had the same feeling before he fought Sora each time, and each time he had lost.
I'm not going to loose right now, Leon though to himself. "Let's get acquainted."
Yuffie decided to give Leon room to work. She leapt quickly backwards and landed in front of the door, which they had entered by. As soon as Yuffie had left, the strange woman charged at Leon head on. He was very surprised by her speed, and just as she came within range, he drew his sword back and preformed a lightning fast horizontal slash. His attacker jumped over his slash, flipped, twisting her body to face him, and landed behind him. She then launched a punch with her right fist. Leon immediately spun around and crossed his arms in front of his face to block her attack. The force of her punch was so strong, Leon's guard was useless as he was knocked to the ground. With a look of utter surprise, he stared at his attacker.
I'm going to have to be more careful, he thought to himself as picked himself up off the ground. The woman was standing with her fists in front like a boxer and scowling at him.
"If that's all you got, you're going to die…"
"Let's go," Leon said shortly and dashed forward, stabbing at her. She spun to the left, and swung her leg around to kick him. Leon however, saw her attack coming and ducked as her foot just barely missed the top of his head. From his duck, he kicked low, trying to trip her. As soon as she had finished her kick, she jumped back and avoided his attack.
She's so fast! Leon though to himself as he stood up straight to look at her. With her un-armed combat style, she can't block my sword, but she's fast enough to dodge it…I'm going to have to fight with an aim to kill if I want to subdue her…
"Stop day dreaming!" she yelled as she charged him again. She punched at Leon, but he dodged to the side, immediately performing a quick spinning slash. The woman just barely jumped out of the way, but the sword nicked her side, drawing a little blood. She took no notice of her wound and dashed in close and smashed her right elbow into his chest before he could even recover from his last attack. Leon grunted, and jumped back to avoid her follow up spin kick. Leon quickly stepped forward as soon as his feet touched the ground, and brought his sword down in a vertical slash. His opponent was still recovering from her kick, and he knew she couldn't dodge and with her lack of weapon, couldn't possibly parry.
Time seemed to move in slow motion as Leon brought his sword down. The woman was still spinning from completing her kick. She was looking back at him, his dark blue eyes meeting her ruby red ones. He saw her eyes widen in surprise and fear. Fear of death and fear of failure played across her eyes wildly. That look was painfully familiar to Leon.
Nine years ago, shortly after he escaped from a ravaged Hollow Bastion, a fifteen-year-old boy looked in a mirror with the same expression on his face. Hating himself for failing to protect his home, and fearing that he was going to die.
Leon continued to bring his sword down, but with his mind distracted, his attack slowed down, very slightly. Still looking into her eyes, he saw her change drastically. They became fiery with pure determination. As fast as lightning, she continued her spin and brought her foot up in a spinning wheel kick - her left foot. The metal plate on her foot intercepted the slash, knocking his blade harmlessly to the side. Leon was surprised by her parry and was left wide open. When her left foot hit the ground, she brought her right foot up and kicked him hard in the chest with terrific force. Leon felt as if a very large and dense hammer had just been smashed into his chest. His vision blurred as all the air was knocked out of his lungs. He felt like he was flying… until he realized that he was flying! Her kick sent him into the air. Before he could gain his bearing on what was going on, he faintly saw the woman jump over him, then she hammered him in the chest with a double fist smash. Leon's world was spinning until his back smashed into the rock hard floor of the hall. He grunted as the pain spiked through his back. What…? Leon thought hysterically. The pain in his chest and his back was obscuring his thoughts. His vision was blurred and he vaguely saw the fuzzy out line of the woman land on the ground, not very far from him.
Leon was struggling to even remember what was going on. This woman… Why are we fighting…? Leon, despite the pain that coursed through his whole body, forced himself to stand up and face his attacker. His breathing was ragged, and his focus was off. The woman clearly realized this and rushed up to Leon. She grabbed the collar of his shirt and effortlessly lifted a dazed Leon above her head. She looked up at him with piercing red eyes, full of fire. With his unfocused eyes, he gazed into her glare. She brought him down slowly, and put her mouth to his ear. I have to focus…I have to FOCUS…Leon tried to convince himself, but she had dealt him a very daunting blow. The woman then whispered into his ear, completely void of emotion, "die." Leon felt his eyes widen with fear.
Leon felt her let go of his collar, but as soon as he was free, she punched him hard in the stomach, then in the face, then in the chest. Soon his opponent was punching him continuously, pummelling the front of his upper body wildly. Leon felt the force of a hundred hammers hitting him one after another, never giving him a chance to breath. Leon was rocked violently by each staggering blow. Finally, the woman delivered one last blow, knocking Leon to the ground. Without a pause, the woman jumped high into the air. It took a great deal of effort for Leon to not pass out as he watched the woman rise into the air above him. While in mid air, she held her right fist above her, and a glowing yellow aura, like a small sun in her hand, began to wrap itself around her fist. She then came down toward Leon, diving head first, with her glowing fist poised to strike him. Her face was a mask of determination and fury.
"Final Heaven!" She bellowed with pure rage as she struck her fist down at Leon. He only had a second to instinctively raise his sword in a petty defence. Her fist struck the flat side of his Gunblade. He saw a brilliant flash of light from the contact, and heard a dull boom for a split second. The next second, his whole world went black.
Yuffie shielded her face with her arms as the contact from the woman's attack hit Leon. The stranger's attack caused a devastating explosion that had engulfed Leon completely. The explosion caused a large shock wave that Yuffie was struggling to stand against, and there was a resounding blast that howled throughout the hall. As the explosion dissipated into a cloud of dust and smoke, Yuffie threw down her arms and looked on in horror at a large and jagged crater that had been created in the middle of the room. She saw the attacker flipping gracefully in mid air, thrown clear by the blast, and land at the mouth of the crater, her back facing Yuffie. The woman's dark hair fell gracefully past her shoulders. For an insane moment, to Yuffie, the woman appeared as a beautiful goddess of destruction.
"Squall!" Yuffie screamed, almost on the verge of tears. He's going to get up! Her mind raced hysterically. He's just getting his wind back!
The woman looked over her shoulder, at Yuffie. She was struck by how her ruby eyes gleamed sorrowfully, while the rest of her face was set and emotionless. "I must find him," the woman droned. "Your friend got in my way… are you going to as well?"
"Squall…" Yuffie sobbed sadly. Tears now began to sting her eyes. Her sorrowful expression, however, was quickly replaced by rage. "Damn you… CRAZY BITCH!" she yelled insanely. Yuffie called the woman a few other rude things too, and she saw the woman's eyes widen in surprise. Yuffie had always prided herself on her ability to swear vulgarly and fluently when needed. If she had been watching herself now, she would have applauded, but she was full of a flurry of emotions and didn't care at the moment.
The woman's eyes narrowed to slits when Yuffie stopped cussing to take a breath. "You… want to fight me too?" the woman asked in monotone.
"I do," Yuffie answered savagely. "You won't get away with this… you won't!" With this, Yuffie jumped from where she stood at the top of the stairs, flipped, and landed in front of the intruder in a crouched position, one hand touching the ground. Yuffie stood up and glared at the woman, her brown eyes flashing with anger. The woman was not as tall as Leon, but she was still taller than Yuffie.
Light amusement played across the woman's eyes as she looked Yuffie over. "You look like you're ready for a nap," she mused dully. "It's a shame you're going to be buried dressed like that, shrimp."
"You'll look worse when I'm finished," Yuffie hissed through gritted teeth.
The woman gazed dully at Yuffie, but she then leered at her and threw a quick punch. Yuffie easily swayed out of the way. The woman continued to attack her in a similar fashion as her assault on Leon. Yuffie, however, saw her attacks coming. She nimbly and impressively dodged, swayed, and ducked out of the way of every single blow. Her hair was blown wildly by every blow that passed her head. The woman unexpectedly sidestepped and delivered a quick jumping sidekick. Yuffie preformed a backward handspring to evade the attack.
As the dust that had risen from the intensity of the woman's attacks began to settle, the two combatants glared at each other, Yuffie's cold brown gaze clashing with her opponent's blazing red glare. "You've got some skill," the woman observed, raising an eyebrow.
"Idiot. I'm a ninja."
"Hmm."
The woman ran at Yuffie and tried to hit her with a shoulder charge, but Yuffie dodged around the attack and kicked at her opponent's exposed back. The woman stumbled, and then spun around, swinging at Yuffie with the back of her fist. Yuffie swayed out of the way and jumped into the air, kicking the woman in the face. The woman was clearly thrown off by Yuffie's agile movements, but she recovered quickly, and to Yuffie's horror, grabbed her outstretched leg. The woman effortlessly swung Yuffie around and threw her towards a wall. Yuffie's world spun out of control as she hurtled through the air. She felt her back smash against one of the vases that was against the wall. The vase shattered, raining tiny ceramic shards all around her as she fell to the ground. Despite the pain that was burning in her back, she struggled to stand up. Dammit, Yuffie thought sourly. If only I listened to Squall and prepared for the worst… I would have brought my shurikens with me… Yuffie looked at her opponent, seeing that she was in perfect range for her to use throwing stars very effectively. Throwing stars were Yuffie's weapons of choice and she always had them when she was going somewhere dangerous, but right now she was totally unarmed. Her hand-to-hand combat was better than average, but her skill in this area was far inferior to this stranger's skill.
"You can't win…" the woman said, her voice low and cold. She stepped towards Yuffie, and then raised her eyebrow, curiously. Yuffie was barely aware of what the woman was doing. She was looking past the crimson clad fighter.
Yuffie saw a man rising slowly out of the crater, holding his sword forward, poised like a gun. The Gunblade… Squall! Yuffie made a ninja seal with her hands and raised them in front of her chest. "Tranquil," she muttered as her opponent's eyes widened here eyes.
"Hey," a rough voice said from behind the woman. She turned around and looked at whom Yuffie had been gazing at. "Thanks for the healing spell, Yuffie. But my name is Leon…"
Leon was standing up, his clothes tattered and his shoulder length brown hair incredibly messy. Other than that, Leon looked in perfect condition. The only visible mark on his body was the single thin scar that was in the middle of his face, crossing the bridge of his nose. He was holding his Gunblade with both hands pointing it strait at the intruder, holding it like a gun.
"Squa… Leon!" Yuffie said happily.
"My god…you're alive…" the woman said as if she was seeing a ghost.
"Heh," Leon laughed shortly and humourlessly. "I used a Protect spell before you hit me. Although I was sure I was still going to die for a second…"
"Idiot!" Yuffie screamed, almost hysterically. "Don't talk about dying like that so lightly!"
Leon took his gaze off Yuffie and glared at the woman, still pointing the Gunblade at her. His blue eyes narrowed to slits as if he were aiming. He smiled mirthlessly and muttered, "Bang."
Leon pulled the trigger of his Gunblade, and a glowing beam of light quickly lanced out from the blade of his sword and struck the woman in the shoulder. The blast caused a brilliant flash of light and fire as the woman wailed in surprise and pain and dropped to the floor, clutching her shoulder.
"No… I can't loose…" she said through gritted teeth as she struggled to her feet. At that moment, Yuffie heard the creaking of a door opening. Her head darted to the side to look at the door that she and Leon entered. The door was open and a very distraught Cid had entered the room.
"What the hell is going on…" he began, but his gaze stopped on the woman. His eyes widened. "What…?"
Yuffie looked back at the woman, who had a similar look on her face. "The hell…? You know her!" Yuffie asked Cid.
Before Cid could even respond, Cloud and Aerith entered the hall together. The woman's gaze was set on Cloud, who had a look of utter astonishment that Yuffie had never seen on his face before. "Cloud…" The woman said, breathlessly.
Cloud responded in the exact same tone as the woman, their eyes locked on each other. "Tifa…"
End Chapter 2
I'm sure you all saw that coming! Tifa's in the house, but things get ugly for Cloud. Unfortunately, there are even larger problems when our heroes realize that the Hollow Bastion isn't exactly safe. Romance and action in the next chapter: Promise
