Disclaimer: Blah, blah, blah. I don't own Kingdom Hearts. If I did, would I be writing fan fiction? Okay, I probably would, but I don't. xD
Fall of the Keyblade Master
By TheMysticWanderer
Chapter 1: Mission of Creation
"Are you sure this is going to work?"
"It will. The seven preliminary tests were successful, and it's of utmost importance I place the Nobodies into bodies before they fade away; that's what'll happen to the Nobodies whose original bodies have faded, even if they are in my containment equipment."
"So whose Nobodies are you trying to place into a body?"
"Do I look like I've been doing anagram puzzles? All I know are the names of the Nobodies."
"Well? Tell me their names, so I can at least give them a proper greeting when they come to."
"Greetings? I doubt they'll want to stay for tea."
"Just tell me already."
"Fine, fine… the names of the four Nobodies I managed to contact and contain are Luxord, Marluxia, Demyx, and Zexion, four members of a group of thirteen Nobodies called Organization XIII."
"How did you come into contact with them anyways?"
"Simple. Even after a Nobody's body is destroyed, their essence remains for awhile before disappearing. My equipment first located the essence of Marluxia. I managed to draw his essence to me using Sora's heart wavelength I acquired."
"Wait, you obtained the heart wavelength of the Keyblade Master? How did you obtain something like that?"
"You didn't feel it? When he became a Heartless, his heart became static. When he was returned to normal, his heart burst into life, radiating energy. I captured and copied this energy."
"Interesting. So, did you converse with the essence of Marluxia?"
"Yes. His story was of rage, anger… disappointment. As I understand, he was destroyed by the Keyblade Master when he attempted to use another Nobody, Namine, to twist Sora's memories so he would offer no resistance to becoming his puppet."
"He underestimated the heart of the Keyblade Master, then…"
"Correct. Then I drew the essence of Zexion to me. Zexion was a member working in the many basements of Castle Oblivion, only he had nothing to do with Marluxia's plot. He instead attempted to destroy the previous Keyblade Master, Riku, but failed and was destroyed."
"Riku… Riku… do you have his heart wavelength on file?"
"Yes, I acquired it when Riku's heart fought against the Heartless of Xehanort. It is inferior to Sora's, however."
"Mmhmm. So tell me of the other two essences."
"It was rather recently that I picked out the essence of Demyx, which-"
"Wait, picked out? What do you mean by that?"
"There's been an amalgamation of Nobody essence recently. There were only about four unique essences, which I took two of: Demyx's, and Luxord's."
"Aha."
"Anyways, Demyx was told by the higher-ups of Organization XIII to destroy the Keyblade Master unless he allowed his Nobody, Roxas, to emerge and return to the Organization. Demyx did not wish to fight, but had to and was ultimately destroyed."
"… How depressing. Couldn't he not have fought?"
"Unlikely. The inability to feel prevents Nobodies from rebelling."
"What of Axel, then? And Namine?"
"Axel's previous relationship with Roxas and ability to mimic emotion led to his rebelling. It was more instinct than a feeling from the heart. Namine's original body, the Princess of Heart known as Kairi, was still in existence. Also, the relationship between Kairi and Sora had rubbed off onto her, but like with Axel, it was more like instinct than actual feelings."
"Interesting. Please, continue onto the last essence."
"Luxord's essence is the most recent of the essences. He was one of the last Organization members to fall by Sora's hand. He performed experiments on their behalf, and eventually fought with Sora, but also lost and disappeared."
"Hmm. I've noticed something strange for the readings on all four essences. Care to explain that as well?"
"Each Organization member has a different power… Marluxia had the ability to manipulate shadows and certain magical flowers, Zexion could create nearly flawless illusions and change the appearance of his body, Demyx could control and create water merely by playing on a Sitar, and Luxord could manipulate both cards and Time itself."
"… Yet still, they lost to Sora and Riku? This is truly interesting… but I've still got questions that need to be answered before you can begin the process."
"Well, please hurry up. The essences are on the clock; I can't have them dissipating on me."
"What did you think of Kingdom Hearts?"
"Please. You know how I feel about Kingdom Hearts."
"Heh… fine. In that case, I'll withhold my other questions until later. You may begin."
The circular room lit up eerily as twelve liquid-filled capsules hummed to life, several hearts floating around in the fluid of each capsule. An overhead light came to life, casting a yellowish glow over the room and causing the two hooded figures to cast shadows against the walls and a few of the capsules. One of the figures moved to the center of the room and pulled a small orb filled with white smoke from its coat pocket, then set it in the middle. The figure then crossed its hands over one another and held them above the orb, each of the capsules beginning to glow brightly.
The light from the capsules slowly increased in brightness until the entire room was almost cast in pure white, then there was a loud, booming sound and the light was cut, casting the room into darkness with a deep cry of pain. There was deep breathing, then a pale orb of light flickered to in the hand of one of the figures, illuminating the area and revealing a new figure where the orb once was. It was clad in the exact same coat as the other two figures, only it's hood was down, revealing short, whitish-blond hair, eyes with a blue-green hue, and a nicely groomed moustache and goatee.
"Where… I'm…" mumbled the figure, looking around confusedly and attempting to stand up, but failing and falling on his side.
"Calm down… you're fine. You may have not been out of a body that long, but the process you underwent is very taxing to the heart, Luxord."
"H-heart? Impossible… Nobody… no heart.." groaned Luxord, managing to lift himself up to a sitting position. A second later, his eyes went wide, and he grasped at his chest, mouth now agape. The figure closest to him tossed the pale orb into the air, letting it hover there, then kneeled down to the man's level, pulling back it's hood and revealing a young face with low hanging brown-red hair, and pale orange-yellow eyes with a violet hem.
"You… your eyes… the color of…" started Luxord, but the other male gestured for him to be quiet. "Yes, I know. The color of Kingdom Hearts. However… can you tell me your name?" inquired the man, but Luxord continued to stare into those eyes, absolutely speechless for nearly half a minute before he shook his head and looked down at the ground. "Luxord... Number Ten in the Organization… and now that I've… given you my name, I require yours… as well as an... explanation…"
"Well, well, Luxord… I'm going to have to keep my name for the time being, but I'll tell you what's going on… you were killed by the Keyblade Master, Sora. Your essence then floated around the worlds, until I called it to me."
"Wait a second." piped in the still-hooded figure. "Shouldn't he remember that you found his essence?"
"No. The process obliterates those memories. Anyways, I created a body to fit your essence, which is how you are right now."
"Impossible… and this… this feeling…" gasped Luxord, scratching at his chest as if he were trying to get something off of it. The unnamed man nodded with a smirk, tapping his own chest a few times. "Yes. The feeling of a heart. You have one. Are the sensations to your liking?" queried the man, perking an eyebrow. Luxord looked up into those pale eyes one more time, then promptly fainted. The man, however, managed to catch him, and looked over to the hooded figure. "Please, take him to one of the rooms I prepared. I've still got three more bodies to create, and preparing the machines takes an hour. I must hurry."
The figure moved over and kneeled down, sliding its arms under Luxord's and lifting up the unconscious man with a little difficulty and dragging him off, exiting the room between two of the capsules. The remaining man took another smoke-filled orb from his pocket and placed it where Luxord had appeared, then standing up and moving over to one of the capsules. He kneeled down and placed his hands onto the glass, the fluid beginning to glow, only devoid of the hearts that were in it originally.
There was a bright flash, and the liquid stopped glowing, but now several hearts floated around within it. The man sighed softly, lifting a hand to his head and rubbing at his temple.
"Creating hearts is such taxing work…"
Luxord came to, eyes gazing upon a beautifully painted ceiling… and his eyes widened. He sat up in the bed and stared carefully at the ceiling; it showed hundreds upon hundreds of hearts conglomerating together to form one gigantic heart. Luxord shook his head and looked around the room, tossing the covers aside. It was a very nice room, of which he guessed was that of a mansion's. The walls had simple wallpaper and were decorated with fine art, and the carpet beneath his feet looked lush and beautiful with it's floral designs. The small table at his side had a note upon it, as well as a deck of playing cards and a pair of die.
"This is truly interesting… it certainly is a gamble, but I think I'll chance trying to figure out more about this place… and about this 'heart' he says I have." mumbled Luxord to himself, walking over and taking the deck of cards from their case and flipping them between each hand before hiding them in his coat sleeves along with the dice.
"Can't you feel anything, Luxord?" came a voice from the opposite side of the room, and Luxord spun around, pulling two huge cards from his sleeves like magic and taking a defensive position. There was a man with rugged brown hair that dangled around his shoulders, and a sneer on his face. "My memories of Sora provoke rage within me. Rage I know is real, not just some emulated emotion."
"Marluxia. You know it's impossible for us to feel. For us to have been reconstructed and given hearts is a feat only Kingdom Hearts itself could have accomplished."
"Feh. I could care less what power has given me a heart. I only care about exacting my revenge upon Sora."
"Foolish. You know you cannot defeat someone with a heart that strong. Also… if we do have hearts, where are our memories? Should we not have the memories of our original bodies back?"
"No. When I gave you bodies and hearts, they were blank slates, ready to be etched upon. The only memories you will have are the memories of being in that organization." came the voice of the same man Luxord saw earlier, his body materializing in front of the door to the hall, his hood still down. Luxord grinned and made the cards in his hands disappear, then ran his fingers over his goatee. Marluxia merely remained silent, toying with a few flower petals in his right hand.
"And how did you manage such a feat? I can most certainly tell you aren't a part of Organization XIII…" asked Luxord, perking an eyebrow. The man crossed his arms and leaned back against the door, looking upwards. "Kingdom Hearts… the amalgamation of countless hearts into a single heart of unimaginable power. One who controls Kingdom Hearts can control the power of the heart itself." muttered the man with another sigh.
"You give Luxord and I old news. Tell us how you performed such a feat as the creation of hearts." spat Marluxia, clenching his hands into fists.
"… I do suppose you have a right to know. Firstly… my name is Eiriz. It's a pleasure to meet you both. On the subject of heart creation… it is no easy task. First, no Heartless nor Nobody can accomplish it. Second, you must have amazing control over your own heart, as well as a pure one. Third, you must have at least stepped foot in Kingdom Hearts, and seen it's pure glory."
"You've stepped foot in Kingdom Hearts? Was Master Xehanort successful?" asked Luxord, his eyes lighting up.
"No, your Master has fallen, destroyed in that pure place. I, however, was created in Kingdom Hearts several hundred years ago, just before the Keyblade War."
"Created… in Kingdom Hearts? Surely you jest…" whispered Luxord, as if someone was listening in on their conversation.
"I do not. I was created in Kingdom Hearts as a weapon. A living weapon, immune to the power of the Keyblades. However, while I was immune to the sealing power of the Keyblades, the door to Kingdom Hearts was not. I was sealed inside before I was able to leave, locked in until most recently, when Kingdom Hearts began to form again. That was when the sealing began to weaken, and I was able to obtain my freedom." said Eiriz, his expression free of all emotion.
"Then… do you have a heart?" asked Luxord, both interested and mortified at the same time. Eiriz shook his head, then smiled softly. "I AM a heart. I am not human, nor am I Heartless or Nobody... I am the physical representation of Kingdom Hearts. A heart that cannot be locked, nor set free… this alone grants me immunity from the power of the six Keyblades."
"Hold on a second. Why in the world would someone as 'pure' as you revive those who attempted to destroy or manipulate those who fought to keep the place where you were created pure?" asked Marluxia, taking on a rather aggravated pose. "I felt the emotion known as 'compassion'." responded Eiriz, brushing off the front of his coat. "It was unbearable. You only wished to have hearts… to feel. To remember. And Sora took that away from you, merely because of your involvement with the Heartless. One tiny bit of use, and he deemed you unfit to have hearts, saying you do not have emotions, yet he cares for Roxas and Namine, two other Nobodies. It's quite hypocritical. This alone brought me the emotion of 'rage'."
"I felt such anger and resentment towards one who is supposed to work towards the preservation of the heart. So, I quickly decided to revive some of the Organization, to bring you back to this world, and give you hearts to feel with." said Eiriz, now smiling brightly.
"You did this, knowing we would seek revenge against the Keyblade Master?" asked Marluxia with a smirk, to which Eiriz nodded and said, "Yes. The hearts I have given you are much different than normal hearts. They contain part of my power as the representation of Kingdom Hearts, and thusly offer some protection against the power of the Keyblades." Luxord scratched at his chin in thought for a second, then spoke up, "So, not only have you, the representation of all hearts, given us life and partial protection from the Keyblades, but you actually care less if we attack the Keyblade Master?"
"I feel as though I have the ability to judge if the Keyblade Master is worthy or not… and I find his pell-mell sense of judgment and hypocritical deductions unbecoming of a true Keyblade Master. His heart may be strong, as is his bond with his friends, but those things alone do not make a Keyblade Master. I find him terribly unworthy as of late, and wish to use the four Organization members I have revived to take his Keyblade from him." said Eiriz, his face once again returning to its emotionless state.
"Who were the other two members you revived? And how could we possibly 'take' his Keyblade? It answers to no other person." asked Luxord, beginning to fiddle with his cards, flipping them between his fingers. "I revived Zexion and Demyx. However, the process was a bit more taxing on them than on you two, and they'll require nearly four times the amount of recovery time before they're ready to even stand. As for your second question, it's quite simple… do you know of the six Keyblades?"
"I know of only one, Sora's. What about you, Luxord?" asked Marluxia, turning towards his fellow member. Luxord shook his head. "I too, know of only one Keyblade." Eiriz smiled and extended his hand, and with a small flash of light, a Keyblade materialized in his hand. It was identical to Sora's, only the handle was the exact color of his eyes, and the metal seemed to be darker "This is my Keyblade, Key of the Heart, and its power controls the heart. This is one of six legendary Keyblades… one is held by Sora, known as the Kingdom Key, that which can lock hearts."
"Another is held by Riku, the Way to the Dawn, which can unlock the heart. King Mickey also holds one, the Heart of Worlds, which can purify the heart. That leaves two Keyblades, which I have one of. I will give one of you the Keyblade… you must support it with your heart."
Luxord and Marluxia both shook their heads at the same time. "My cards and games are all I need." said Luxord, gesturing to the cards in his hands. Marluxia raised one of his hands upward and spread his fingers out, and a large pink scythe appeared in the palm of his hand with a burst of flower petals. "My scythe is the only weapon I use. Try giving your Keyblade to Zexion. His power is that of mimicry… perhaps he can mimic a form suitable for that disgusting weapon."
"Zexion requires at least a week of rest before he can do anything at all. Perhaps you two alone can take Sora's Keyblade from him… but you'll need to act smart. Appearing out of nowhere and attacking him will only merit the wrath of both him and his friend Riku, which is the mistake your master made. You must first make sure neither Riku or Kairi are near Sora when you make your move. Donald and Goofy are merely annoyances… dispose of them if you wish."
Marluxia's smile grew wide with those words. "Oh, that sounds wonderful… I'll dispose of them all. But what makes you trust us? I betrayed the Organization… what makes you think I won't betray you?" The mere gall of that inquiry made Eiriz smile once more. "Because the rage in your heart wants to do something that fulfills my objective in the end." Luxord put his cards away and gave a bow. "Well, I know it's certainly a gamble to do what you want… but my life has been a game of chance, so I think I'll just go with it."
Marluxia said nothing, but did laugh as black shadow wrapped around him, teleporting him out of the room. Shortly thereafter, shadows whirled up around Luxord, taking him away as well. Eiriz's Keyblade disappeared from his hand, and he gave a deep sigh, walking over to the bed and sprawling out upon it, staring at the ceiling. "I wonder… will the Keyblade Master falter? Will my plan succeed? It's… hard to tell, but I feel as though something is going to happen… something that will be a double-edged sword."
I know, totally interesting. xD
And I didn't even give a name to Hooded Figure #2 :o
Stay tuned for the next exciting installment!