He knew exactly what this Organization XIII was planning.
He knew pretty much everything there was to know about their little business with a force known as Kingdom Hearts.
He knew this dark city like the back of his hand.
And it seemed...
...the Guardians may need his help.
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Fragment Crossing
The group had split up to scout out this mysterious dark city that formed the core of the Organization's stronghold. It seemed to mesmerize them. The dark buildings were literally high-rise and seemed to ascend forever. In the downtown district sat a mysterious skyscraper that seemed to glow the colors of the moon.
And, in the very center of it all sat a humongous castle emblazoned with the symbol of the Nobodies.
The city had given itself a fitting name, I suppose...
The World That Never Was.
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Riddled ImpasseIn a mysterious room somewhere in the castle, a hooded man with long, blue hair was reporting to Xemnas.
"Master Xemnas," the blue-haired man said. "Shall I proceed with the plan?"
"Indeed you may, Saïx," Xemnas replied, turning to a boy tied to a nearby pillar. Xemnas quickly disappeared.
"Your lover will make the perfect bait," Saïx said, turning to the boy.
"HEY!"
Saïx turned around to see Cornelia, quite enraged, flying onto the scene, flanked by Taranee and Donald.
"Let go of Caleb!" Cornelia exclaimed, materializing Seismic Star.
"I don't think so, little girl," Saïx replied, drawing what appeared to be a claymore. "You have fallen right into my trap."
With that, a mysterious light shined down from the heart-shaped moon and cast its radiance over Saïx. "Moon, shine down!"
The claymore he was holding began glowing with a blue light. Before anyone could react, Saïx began slamming the ground rapidly with his weapon, releasing numerous shockwaves of energy.
"Look out!" Donald shouted, casting Reflect to protect the team from Saïx's attack, but it was no use, as he just kept attacking.
"All shall be lost to you!" Saïx shouted.
"Not on my watch," Cornelia said angrily, charging straight for Saïx.
"Pathetic," Saïx said to himself before continuing his assault. What he didn't expect was for Cornelia to summon a large quantity of rocks and fling each one for him. The large boulders pelted at Saïx's very non-being for a while, until he'd had just about enough.
"Very well, then. If you don't care for how you defeat me, let's see how you care for your pathetic lover," Saïx said, aiming an attack straight for Caleb.
But, all of a sudden, he stopped, feeling something pierce through his body. He looked down and saw what appeared to be a thin, but ultra-sharp needle made of rock protruding from his very essence. He looked over to Cornelia, whose hand was glowing a bright green and yellow.
"I warned you," Cornelia said smugly.
She released the rock blade from Saïx, who promptly fell to the ground, clutching his chest as he slowly began to fade away.
"Kingdom Hearts..." he said weakly, raising a hand towards the heart-shaped moon. "Where... is my... heart?"
And with that, Saïx disappeared completely.
"Wow, Cornelia, that was awesome!" Donald exclaimed, but Cornelia had already rushed off to free Caleb from his bindings.
"Caleb! You're all right!" Cornelia exclaimed as Caleb dropped to the ground, holding what appeared to be a Keyblade.
"I am now, thanks to you," the rebel leader replied, and with that, the two shared a long kiss.
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Memory's SkyscraperMeanwhile, Goofy, Will and Hay Lin had decided on trying a bit of aerial reconnaissance, scouting the skies for any sign of Organization XIII.
"See anything, Will?" Hay Lin asked as she flew over a long pathway that extended from the top of the castle.
"Nothing yet, Hay Lin," Will replied. "I don't know who these Organization XIII freaks are, but they've caused enough trouble in our world!"
"That's what we do," a familiar voice said, causing Will and Hay Lin to turn around and materialize Hero's Crest and Sword of the Storm, respectively. Standing there was Xigbar!
"You little sneaks are clever," Xigbar said in a mocking tone.
"We don't have time for you!" Will shouted.
"Move it, or we'll MAKE you move!" Hay Lin added.
"Me? Move? As if! My orders are to destroy all of you Guardian losers," Xigbar retorted, drawing his dual light guns.
"All right, then. You asked for it," Will stated, facing down Xigbar.
Suddenly, Xigbar disappeared.
"Where'd he go?" Goofy asked, only to have something knock him down.
The girls saw Xigbar standing upside down in the air, still firing his guns.
"How's that possible?" Hay Lin asked, deflecting a large number of lasers with Sword of the Storm.
"I control space and time itself," Xigbar stated with a grin on his face. "That basically means you can't win!"
"Yeah?" Will replied. "Then you obviously don't know us very well!"
With that, Will teleported around, reacting to the shots Xigbar fired, rapidly kicking the laser bullets back towards their owner.
"Clever little sneak," Xigbar retorted before joining his guns together and slowly pulling the trigger. As he did, the gun's barrel began glowing brightly.
"Oh, crud! MOVE!" Will shouted as Xigbar fired a gigantic bullet that struck the top of one of the skyscrapers, blowing a massive hole in it.
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The Brink of DespairNick, Irma, and Sora had chosen to check out the path that led to the castle where Xemnas and Nerissa were waiting.
"So this is really it, huh?" Irma said, cautiously twirling Mysterious Abyss behind her, as if an enemy were about to ambush them.
"Must be. That castle's got 'Nobody Fortress' practically written all over it," Nick replied, practicing with Divine Rose.
"It's definitely oddball enough," Sora continued, looking up at what seemed to be the moon.
"Hey, why is the moon shaped like a heart?" Nick asked, also looking up at said moon.
Suddenly, Sora gasped in shock. "Guys. That's no moon!"
"You sure?" Irma asked.
"More than anything," Sora replied.
"Okay, then if it's not a moon, what is it?" Nick asked, holding Divine Rose in front of him.
Only two words escaped Sora's mouth.
"Kingdom Hearts..."
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(We all know that light and darkness are eternal. Nothingness probably goes on forever, too. But what of the force that stands between these elements?)
S.P.D. Gold Ranger presents:
W.I.T.C.H. in: "K is for Keyblade"
Genre: Romance/Action/Adventure
Rating: T for some violence, 'moments' and a bit of harsh language
Summary: Nerissa, the Guardian's new enemy, has found and unearthed an ancient evil force, one that consumed Nick's old friend. What wicked plans does Nerissa have for the Dark Keyblade? Can the Guardians stop her and save their home from the darkness? Features Nick, my original character.
Today: The team finally arrives at the Organization's stronghold: The World That Never Was. After battles with more members of the Organization, Xemnas and Nerissa team up to give the Guardians and the Keyblade bearers a really hard time. Can they pull through?
W.I.T.C.H. is copyright SIP Animation and JETIX. Kingdom Hearts is copyright Disney, Square Enix, and Buena Vista Games. This story is copyright S.P.D. Gold Ranger, July 2006. This takes place during the animated series, even though the Knights of Vengeance I'm using for this story are from the comics.
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Chapter 7: "C is for Confrontations"
The World That Never Was suddenly turned into an explosion of activity as the separate groups did battle with what little was left of Organization XIII.
Cornelia, Taranee and Donald had taken out Saïx, the Organization's number VII, in order to save Caleb, rebel leader and Cornelia's lover.
Will, Hay Lin, and Goofy were fighting Xigbar, the number II, at the very top of Memory's Skyscraper.
Nick, Irma, and Sora were trying to find a way into the castle through The Brink of Despair.
It appeared that this would be the final stand.
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Xigbar was shooting giant bullets of energy everywhere, not giving Will, Goofy, or Hay Lin any time to counterattack.
"You can't beat me now, dudes!" Xigbar shouted, feeling very confident. He felt like he was the only one who could take on these freaks. He wasn't afraid. He was never afraid. He was...
"Take THAT!"
...knocked forward by a sneak attack from the redhead.
"I've had enough of this!" Will shouted, Hero's Crest glowing brightly.
"So have I!" Hay Lin added, Sword of the Storm glowing.
Will and Hay Lin crossed their Keyblades together, and their tips were surrounded by a spiral of energy, like whenever Sora sealed a keyhole or opened up a new road. After a few seconds, the Keyblades shot a bright beam of light, which quickly pierced through Xigbar.
As Xigbar began to fade away, he started talking again. "You... you girls are good. If... if you see a kid named Roxas, tell him... that his time... is up..." And with that, Xigbar disappeared.
"YES!" Will and Hay Lin shouted, giving each other a high five.
"That's another one down," Goofy said. "I think only that Xemnas guy is left."
"We'd better find the others," Hay Lin said. "We're going to need full Guardian power if we're going to take on Xemnas AND Nerissa at the same time!"
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Hall of Empty Melodies
After a while, everyone, including Caleb, had united in the Hall of Empty Melodies, discussing what to do next.
"Nerissa alone was tough enough. If she teams up with Xemnas, I don't know if we can win!" Nick said, swinging Divine Rose all the while.
"You're looking for Xemnas, right?" a mysterious, yet familiar voice, said.
"How many times is this going to happen?" Nick said before turning around and looking at yet another guy in a black robe. The weird thing about this guy was that he was carrying two Keyblades!
"I can help you find them," the boy replied.
"Let me guess. You're Roxas, right?" Nick stated.
"Why do YOU have the Keyblade, Roxas?" Sora asked.
"Because, Sora... I'm a part of you. I'm your Nobody."
Everyone stared on, too stunned to speak. Suddenly, Irma spoke up. "Let me see if I've got this right, Roxas. You were born as Sora's Nobody when Sora attacked himself with Riku's Dark Keyblade at Hollow Bastion, but you couldn't remember Sora because he wasn't a Heartless for very long, right?"
Roxas nodded. "You're pretty good."
"I have Sora to thank for that," Irma said, quickly sticking her tongue out at Cornelia and turning back to Roxas.
"Okay. If you're with the Organization, why did you betray them, Roxas?" Irma asked.
"I wanted to see Sora," was Roxas's simple reply. "I can use the Keyblade because I'm Sora's Nobody. That's probably why the Organization wanted me in their ranks."
"I fought with Riku in the city once. I beat him, but the next time we met, he'd used the power of darkness and defeated me. I don't remember much after that."
"Just a while after I met Axel again, I finally remembered why I had been chosen to join the Organization. Everything after that was a blank."
Everyone looked on as Roxas finished his tale.
"Wow," Caleb said, holding his Fenrir Keyblade. "I've heard some incredible stories, but nothing quite like this."
"Chosen wielders of the Keyblade. You must find and destroy Xemnas, the Organization's last survivor. I'll show you the way," Roxas said, holding out his Keyblades and using them to open a portal to where Xemnas was waiting. Roxas began disappearing via a column of darkness. "Oh, and if you see a girl named Naminé, tell her I'm waiting."
Once Roxas had vanished, Nick looked into the portal and saw both Nerissa and Xemnas in front of Kingdom Hearts!
"Come on! We can't let them take Kingdom Hearts!" Nick shouted, and with that, everyone dived into the rift.
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The Altar of Naught
Xemnas raised his hands and beckoned towards Kingdom Hearts. "My Kingdom Hearts... lend me your power so we may become complete together..."
"Xemnas!" Nick shouted, drawing Oathkeeper and Divine Rose, flanked by Sora, Donald, Goofy, Caleb, and the Guardians.
"So. I was wondering who had done away with my accomplices," Xemnas responded emotionlessly.
"We're not letting you take Kingdom Hearts!" Nick exclaimed.
"A boy. Is this the true face of the chosen one?" Xemnas mocked.
"Oh, don't you give me that!" Nick shouted, charging for Xemnas.
Xemnas raised his hands again, and a bright circle of light surrounded the two. When it cleared, everyone but Nick and Xemnas had disappeared, and the two were standing in front of Memory's Skyscraper.
"What kind of game is this, Xemnas?" Nick shouted.
"I wish to test your strength as the Keyblade Bearer," Xemnas replied, holding out his hands and surrounding Nick with dark crystals that slowly sapped his strength. Xemnas quickly leapt to the top of the skyscraper. Nick ran up to the base of the high tower, and focusing on the power of his Keyblade, dispelled the crystals and looked up at Xemnas.
With that, he leapt and started running up the sky scraper, Oathkeeper and Divine Rose trailing behind him. Xemnas also leapt from his position, materializing some kind of red energy blades in his hands.
As they drew closer, Nick reacted quickly, placing his hand on Xemnas' head and vaulting over him. He landed on the side of the skyscraper, but quickly propelled himself back towards Xemnas. He struck with Oathkeeper, knocking Xemnas downwards a ways. Nick quickly came back for more, continually attacking until he eventually drove the Keyblades into Xemnas' stomach, slamming him clear into the skyscraper, a sort of shockwave emanating from Xemnas at the point of impact.
As Nick dropped to the ground, Xemnas fell, quite visibly stunned. Nick took advantage of this moment and began attacking, ending in the telekinetic sweep attack he used on Nerissa at the Battle of Meridian Plains. The force of the attack knocked Xemnas far back. Nick was about to attack again, but Xemnas was surrounded by dark energy, and Nick's Keyblades only struck air. The dark ball moved right behind Nick, and Xemnas came out of it attacking relentlessly (but quite gracefully) with his laser swords. A few of the attacks knocked Nick straight into the air, just as Xemnas expected. What Xemnas didn't expect was for Nick to make a quick aerial recovery and continue his own assault, mercilessly slamming the Keyblades into his very being. Before Nick could deliver the finishing move, Xemnas blocked the attack with his laser blades. Nick hopped back and charged forward.
"Guard!" Xemnas shouted, conjuring up a glowing shield. Nick couldn't react in time (or so Xemnas thought) and slammed into the shield, its power knocking him far back. As Nick lay there, Xemnas grinned. However, his grin quickly faded.
"Got you."
Before Xemnas could turn around, Nick began attacking, slamming Oathkeeper and Divine Rose into Xemnas' very being. After a while of this, Nick performed a step vault onto Xemnas' head and leapt to the very top of the skyscraper, again using his terminal velocity to aim a final attack straight for Xemnas. Xemnas put up yet another shield, but it proved no use, as Nick cut through the shield and struck.
As Xemnas clutched his wounded chest, Memory's Skyscraper evaporated, and Nick was once again surrounded by his friends.
"Not so tough now, are you, Xemnas?" Nick replied.
It was just then that Nick noticed that Xemnas wasn't on the platform, but he was trying to merge with Kingdom Hearts!
"O Kingdom Hearts," Xemnas said, feeding on the power of the massive heart. "Lend me your strength so we may be complete."
"Xemnas! STOP! You don't know what that kind of power will do to you!" Will shouted.
"Hearts quivering with hatred... hearts scarred by envy... hearts burning with rage... . That fool Ansem said that the heart's true nature was beyond our understanding. Well, it isn't beyond mine!"
Suddenly, Kingdom Hearts began glowing brightly, covering the entire area in a bright light. When it cleared, Xemnas had disappeared, leaving only a glowing portal behind, one that looked like it could close at any minute.
"We have to stop them!" Sora exclaimed, everyone rushing for the portal, only to be stopped by Nick.
"You guys, wait!" Nick shouted. "I don't like the looks of this. That portal looks extremely unstable. Who knows what it could do to us?"
"But we need to stop them! I don't want our world to be destroyed!" Will exclaimed.
"Only two people can get through that portal without it collapsing on us," Nick explained. He turned to the portal. "I'm going in."
Before he could walk in, however, he felt someone stop him. It was Irma. "Nick... I'm going with you. I couldn't stand to lose you."
"You guys do realize that if that portal closes, you'll never be able to come back, even if you manage to defeat Nerissa and Xemnas!" Will exclaimed, worried about her friends' safety.
"I know that, Will," Nick said in a soft tone – one that didn't sound like him at all. "And I'm willing to make that sacrifice for my friends."
Will nodded in understanding.
"Everybody, I need you to do me one last favor, okay? When Irma and I go in, I want you to seal the portal with your Keyblades, so those freaks can't get out and cause anymore trouble in our world," Nick explained. Everyone nodded.
"I'll miss you guys," Cornelia said, a rare moment of emotion washing over her.
"We'll be fine. I promise that we'll find a way out one day."
Nick turned to Sora, Donald, and Goofy.
"Sora. Kairi's waiting for you on Destiny Islands, right?"
"But what about Riku?" Sora replied.
"He just contacted me. He's waiting, too," Nick replied. Holding Oathkeeper out, it shot a beam of light towards the other side of the Altar of Naught, and opened a portal leading to the Destiny Islands.
"You guys are the best friends I could have EVER asked for," Nick said. "This last battle is for all of us."
Nick turned to his lover. "You ready?"
Irma nodded, materializing Mysterious Abyss. "As I'll ever be."
Together, Nick and Irma walked into the portal. As per Nick's request, everyone on the scene who wielded a Keyblade raised it towards the portal. The mystical blades began shining brightly. After a few seconds, many beams of light flowed straight into the portal, closing it off from the realm of light.
"Nick... Irma... I know you can do it," Will said to herself.
(Author's Note: The scenery for this part is the background seen during the final battle of Kingdom Hearts II.)
In the creepy subspace realm, Nick and Irma began wandering around for a bit, wondering where to head next. All of a sudden, all four of the Knights of Vengeance appeared in front of the two. Nick held up Oathkeeper, which was glowing brightly.
"I don't have time for the likes of you!" Nick shouted, striking with Oathkeeper. A beam of light tore through the Knights, making them disappear instantly.
"So. Your little blade has more power than I imagined," Nerissa's voice echoed across the realm of nothingness.
"Heroes from the realm of light," Xemnas continued. "I will not allow it to end this way. Not yet. If light and darkness are eternal, then we nothings must be the same... eternal."
"You're right," Irma responded. "Light and darkness are eternal. Nothing probably goes on forever, too. But guess what, you freaks?"
"That doesn't mean YOU'RE eternal!" Nick retorted as Nerissa drew the Dark Keyblade.
Irma looked on as Nerissa was about to strike with the Dark Keyblade, but Nick easily countered the strike. "I'll take that, thank you," Nick said sarcastically, doing a backflip and snatching the Dark Keyblade out of Nerissa's hands.
"What? Why aren't you being consumed by the darkness?" Nerissa asked in shock after seeing Nick in a fighting stance with the Dark Keyblade and Oathkeeper, respectively.
"You said it yourself, Nerissa. The Dark Keyblade feeds on a person's dark thoughts. I don't have a single one in my head," Nick explained. "So there."
"So, you're smarter than I thought you were," Nerissa replied. She turned to Xemnas. "I'm sorry if I have to do this."
With that, Nerissa materialized another Dark Keyblade (AN: this one is the REAL Dark Keyblade. The one Nick is using right now is the one from Heatherfield in chapter 2) and struck Xemnas with it.
"Why... you traitor..." Xemnas said before breaking up, his remains surrounding Nerissa. A bright flash engulfed the area, and when it cleared, Nerissa had changed. She was now in her teenage form, but wearing Xemnas' black and white robes.
"I hope you like oblivion, because that's where the two of you are headed!" Nerissa shouted.
"Stop your yammering and bring it on!" Nick retorted, and together, he and Irma charged for Nerissa, thus beginning the battle that would decide the fate of the world.
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Next time:
Chapter 8: "C is for Conclusions"
At last, it's the final battle! Can Nick and Irma hold on and destroy Nerissa once and for all? Or is it already too late?
'Till next,
S.P.D. Gold Ranger