Kingdom Come 14

Sid knew something was not right. This was not how it had supposed to be. The elemental reinforcements had come, and with their added might they continued to push the demons back. Sid had wasted much of his gathered energy and in the time it took for him to recover, he continued to mull over the problem.

This is too easy, Sid said. Why are they not putting up more of a fight? Sid could see through the deception, though what deception exactly he did not know. The demons were by no means making it easy for them, but they were gaining ground at a steady pace. Soon they would be able to see the portal from where the demons come from and use its properties to seal them away from Kingdom Hearts.

And if that did not work, Sid always had a backup plan.

But that still did nothing about his current worries. He needed to know why this army was so small, compared to how its true size could be.

The front line of demons exploded. They just simply exploded, and it was not caused by any spell that he nor any of the others did. They flew back, while the remaining demons continued on, preparing to slaughter them all. Dust rose up and when it settled revealed the demon Sid did not want to see again. Archimonde smiled at him.

"We meet again, planeswalker." He was dangerously close to Sid. With a thought, he could melt his brain.

"For the last time, demon." Sid said.

"Indeed, it shall be." The demon lord said. The two engaged in their private battle, each sending spells at each other, trying to strike each other down. Neither the other defenders or demons dared interfered.

The battle raged on. The demons fought the elementals, each take many other down. But many demons fell for every elemental. The other defenders, Sora, Luke Skywalker, and the rest, took no casualties, at least not yet. They were beginning to get weary, after fighting for so long. The demon's however continued on with their assault. At one point, Luke went into a battle meditation trance to enhance his abilities and the abilities of the others, while weakening the resolve of the demons. It worked for a time, but soon that too wore him out, especially after already fighting for so long. But still, none of them fell.

The battle between Sid and Archimonde continued as well, as before neither gaining any advantage over the other. It took all Sid had to withstand the brutal attacks from the demon lord, but he still managed.

"Tiring yet planeswalker?" Archimonde taunted during a break in their one on one fight.

"Never, demon." Sid said, though he was sure Archimonde could see through his lie.

"You have many unanswered questions." Archimonde stated. "Would you like me to answer them?"

"What do you mean?"

"Have you not wondered why you are gaining ground on my demons?"

Sid did not respond.

"Kaj told us of what the two of you planned. A foolish, pitiful attempt. You have no idea of the power Lord Sargeras has, enough to make your plan worthless."
"What?" Sid said, responding involuntarily, but needing to know more.

"You may have thought this plane blocks our realm, but you are, simply, wrong. There is no way to contain us. Already, we have opened hundreds of portals across hundreds of world, all falling to the Burning Legion. And even if you manage to seal this portal, which Lord Sargeras created to deceive you, you will never manage to prevent us from getting to Kingdom Hearts."

"Why is that?" Sid said. He needed to know.

"I wonder how it would feel to understand what shall occur yet know there is nothing you can do to stop it?" Archimonde said. "have you not wondered why portals are opening up everywhere, and why Heartless are beginning to appear?" The sounds of battle died away as Sid listened intently to the demon. "As the portals open, the barrier between worlds weakens, allowing Heartless to flow in through our efforts. A mere side effect. But with this weakening, so does the barrier protecting Kingdo Hearts. It was sealed off to us, but the more portals we open, the weaker the protection around Kingdom Hearts will get, allowing us to open a gateway their. Then, well I think you know."

"But then that means that you do not need the Keyblade." Sid said, as he realized.

"Yes, the Keyblade is meaningless to us now. Only the power of Kingdom Hearts concerns. But, even more importantly, do we not need the Keyblade, we do not the need the Keyblade Master either."

Archimonde raised his hand. Sid expected to be attacked by a spell but instead he saw something else. Something that made him fill with dread. Above the din of the battle, he saw Sora rise into the air, writhing in pain.

"Let him go." Sid demanded.

"If I had wanted to, I could have killed him already."

"Then why don't you?"

"Because you still need him, do you not?" Archimonde said. "You still need the power of the Keyblade for what you have planned. A meaningless effort, the Keyblade is nothing compared to the power of the Legion. And soon, all shall be consumed in darkness, then reborn under the rule of the great Sargeras. Now, say goodbye to your Keyblade Master."

Archimonde clenched his hand. Sid braced for Sora's death cry. But it never came. He looked over to where Sora had floated, but he was no longer there. He looked back at Archimonde, and held back gasp.

Tentacles emerged from his chest, having taken him by surprise. He was not mortally wounded, much to Sid's disappointment, but he was still wounded. If he had been a normal demon, he would have dropped dead, but he was not a normal demon. He had powerful dark magic protecting him.

He looked to see who the tentacles belonged to, following them behind the demon lord. There standing right behind Archimonde, was Naraku, who retracted his tentacles.

"Damn you, fool." Archimonde said. He turned to strike at Naraku.

"Avada Kadavra." A raspy voice said. Green light struck Archimonde, and if it was not for his protective magic would have killed him. Voldermort appeared beside Naraku.

"Foolish wizard, you will die." Archimonde said, still continuing.

There was a flash of light, and a gigantic stone snake emerged from the ground. It opened its jaws wide to consume Archimonde and reached him. Archimonde grabbed the jaws, preventing him from swallowing him, just managing to hold the head back. But with his new wounds, he had been worn out and slipped. The snake swallowed him all, then promptly shattered. There were no remains of the demon lord.

"Is he dead?" Dante asked.

"No, he survived. Must have teleported away." Sid said as he approached them. "I don't even know where to begin. How are you three here?"

"I don't know about these two, but I was attacked by what I assumed was the demons you told me about." Naraku said. "I even decided to help Inuyasha's friends but as the fighting developed, we got separated. Not that I care about those others, but when I decided to fight the demons, I wanted to make sure I destroyed them to the last. Then during the fighting, there was a light, and I turned up here.

"A similar turn of events occurred with me." Dante said. "I don't know how I turned up here either.

"Nor me." Voldemort said. "But what is here though?"

"This is what should have been the final battle, but did not turn out so." Sid said. "I wonder what that light was?"

"It was their desire to come here and help that brought them here," Sora said appearing from behind Sid. "I rushed over here after I was lifted in the air and came here to see what happened. I heard what Naraku said. It was the power of your heart that helped bring you here. Your willingness to protect your world allowed you to come here to help us."

Naraku laughed. "You are naïve boy."

"What a foolish sentiment." Voldemort said. "How have you managed to survive for so long?"

Dante did not say a word.

"Think what you want, but I know that it is true." Sora said,

"Regardless, just be grateful that they have come," Sid said. "But we hae wasted too much time here discussing this turn of events. With Archimonde gone our work will be much easier, and this battle shall be over soon. Now we must go rejoin the fight." The other followed. Naraku lanced a demon about to impale Inuyasha, much to the latter's surprise. Voldemort took out a Doomgaurd flying straight for Harry. An Infernal came rumbling through, not giving Ed Elric enough time to perform his alchemy, but Dante saved him at the last minute when the ground opened up once more.

The battle was joined by the enemies of the defenders. Now with these reinforcements, Sid thought, they shall not fail.

Then this will all be finished.

-

Sargeras watched as the events unfolded, with Kaj nearby watching as well. More demons were sent through the portal, returning from their other worldly victories. The demon lord smiled.

Soon this will all be finished.