Face Yourself
(Kingdom Hearts OST Dearly Beloved)
"JAUNE!"
Blue eyes opened as he found himself falling in a black void. Looking up, he found a bright light zooming down towards him before taking on a transparent form.
It was a girl two years younger than him with red hair and green eyes dressed in bronze armor.
"Pyhrra..." He gasped, tearing up. "Your back..."
"Oh Jaune..." Pyhrra smiled softly. "I never left."
"B-B-but... but how?" He croaked.
"Cinder may have destroyed my body, but my Heart lived on. It sought you out and thus, I've been watching over you ever since." Pyhrra explained.
June looked sad. "Guess that means you saw how badly we messed up, huh?"
"Jaune... Jaune, look at me." Pyhrra put her hands on his shoulders. "Could you have been better? Yes. Should you have been honest with Ironwood? Yes. But it is neither you nor Oz or even Oscar's fault for what happened to Remnant. You couldn't have known that THIS would happen."
"But..."
"No buts." Pyhrra cut him off. "Wasting time on this isn't going to fix anything... nor is it healthy."
She smiled. "We can argue 'what ifs' or 'what could've beens' but it won't matter. It'd be like discussing how the Great War could've been avoided, nothing will change the present."
Jaune still looked unsure. "What if I mess up again...?"
"I've seen all the good you've done, all the bad too." Pyhrra gave a comforting smile. "You're a good person, Jaune... despite the haircut."
Jaune snorted at the joke. "That bad?"
"A little bit." Pyhrra giggled.
Jaune looked around the void they were floating in, before his eyes steeled. "I gotta get back there."
At that moment a light shined from his Heart as his body began glowing. "W-whoa! What's happening?!"
Pyhrra just smiled as the light consumed him and she gave one last piece of advice as the light shot off like a comet towards the four Maidens who needed him most.
"Good luck, Jaune, and may your Heart be your guiding key."
(Kingdom Hearts OST Dearly Beloved Ends)
Xxx
"The nerve of that overgrown house plan. How dare she attempt to command us?" Nimue snarled as she blasted away the ground of her own domain, incinerating trees that surrounded the lake she would normally sleep in. "Not only that, but she seeks to take the place of the Brother Gods. Blasphemy!"
"It cannot be helped." The elderly face of Janus spoke, followed by the female face. "Drasil is hardly the first creation of the Brothers to turn against them."
After being sent away by Drasil, the four spirits of the Relics gathered in their realm, each stopping at the crossroads that led to their respective domains.
"Speaking off, Jinn, did you find out what that 'Starro' creature was?" Ambrosius turned and looked at the Spirit of Knowledge who nodded.
"Yes. Though my ability to see into worlds beyond Yggdrasil Experiment-"
"What?" Nimue cut in.
"It's what our reality has been designated by the wielders of the Keyblade. An umbrella term to describe all the worlds created by the Brothers." Jinn answered.
Nimue raised an eyebrow. "I see. Continue."
"While I am indeed unable to look beyond Yggdrasil Experiment, I was able to get a glimpse when Jessica Cruz entered. Both Miss Cruz and Starro originate from a world called New 52." Jinn continued.
"'New 52'?" The female face of Janus questioned.
"It is divided into many layers. The first is the Orrey of Worlds, consisting of 52 different earth's. Then the Sphere of the God's, where all the deities of this world reside. And finally, the Source Wall, which is the very edge of the New 52." Jinn explained.
"Interesting." Ambrosius rubbed his chin. "To think this would all be possible. I wonder if the Brothers ever considered something like this happening."
"They did once they met Aqua." Jinn replied. "She opened their eyes to worlds beyond this one. When the First World fell into the Realm of Darkness, I was able to learn more about the worlds that had become part of that dark world alongside the First World, thus I learned how to restore it when Aqua came to ask me how."
"This chain of events only had a one in a million chances of happening." The female face of Janus spoke, followed by the elder. "However, Drasil's plans present a danger to not just the experiment, but to potentially all the other worlds as well."
"Yes." Jinn crossed her arms. "It does." With a rave of her hand, Jinn conjured a blue mist and from appeared two glowing spheres: one of light and the other of darkness. "The Realms of Light and Darkness, existing in perfect balance and existing in tandem with these realms are countless worlds. Aqua came from the Realm of Light and discovered the First World to be a Nexus in the center Realm of Darkness, something she did not think could exist. Despite the alignment of these worlds, whether they are with the Realms of Light or Darkness, each world has its own heart that is made up of both light and darkness, existing in balance with its own set of rules while kept separate from each other by the invisible walls."
"And in a one out of a million chances, a denizen of the Realm of Light appeared here because of those Maidens who used my power to forge a bridge across time and space." Ambrosius mused.
"And it brought her to Drasil of all people." Nimue snorted. "Where she proceeded to change everything beyond even the expectations of the Brothers, even daring to give them names of all things."
"Names that the Brothers found themselves accepting, if only because she had earned their respect." The female face of Janus spoke up with the elderly male face speaking next. "She took great care in choosing their names and found themselves liking them even before she faced down that woman's followers for them."
"When the Brothers created the First World, they were content to live among their creations, grant them gifts to see how they would be used. When they left, the Brothers sought for other worlds to create and mold, experimenting while learning from the failure of the First World, discovering new things that they had not considered. We represent the four main gifts to mankind: Knowledge," She gestured to herself and then looked to each spirit as she spoke of what they represented. "Creation, Destruction and Choice. They found that the four gifts we embody can be the foundations for so much more and thus they chose to create more, to experiment based on our ideas and even mixed them together to see what could be made."
"And then they followed Aqua's original description about Drasil, how she came to be born as an ideal from the collective consciousness of mankind itself brought to life when the Brothers created life, beginning with the first tree itself." Ambrosius cut in. "An entity born in complete opposite to the physical world outside of the universe as mortals knew and understood and so they experimented there, forging the entity that became Drasil with the four main gifts we were born from and based on what Aqua had told them."
"And because it exists outside the known universe, time has no meaning there so it could observe the beginning," The elderly man face of Janus continued with the young woman face speaking next. "The end."
And both faces spoke in unison. "And all that lied in between."
"And because of that, Drasil was remade into a link to all worlds the Brothers had created. From her corner of nonexistence she would see everything that the Brothers had touched, no matter what form they might take." Nimue spoke next, crossing her arms. "Including our realm. Only now it seems Drasil's ambition has gotten the better of her."
"This was a foreseen possibility but one left as a test by the Brothers." Jinn pointed out but nodded in agreement.
"To who though? Us? The denizens of the First World?" Ambrosius asked, rubbing his chin.
"Ozma or his four Maidens?" Nimue asked next.
"Or the Lost Keyblade Master who fell through the world?" Both faces of Janus finished. "And do we take part in this test?"
That was perhaps the biggest question the four spirits had.
Xxx
(Kingdom Hearts III OST Defense of the Virtuous)
"RAH!" Weiss screamed as she charged at Aqua.
The Winder Maiden's power circling around her sword, ice and wind spinning around her blade as she thrust it forward. A fiery Aura surrounded Aqua as she blocked the strike, the fire and ice creating a shockwave of steam upon collision. Aqua then glowed yellow and electricity raced down Weiss' sword, shocking her and knocking her back out of the cloud of steam.
"That's enough of this, Weiss." Aqua stepped out of the cloud as it faded a second later. "We're not your enemy."
"You are not my friend either." Weiss retorted as she stood back up, glaring harshly at Aqua. "You threw yourself and your friends in with that psychotic wench Neopolitian. Do you even know what she was done?"
"Yes I do. Neo actually told me what happened." Aqua answered honestly.
"And you not only helped her but gave her a Keyblade, a weapon like yours!?" Weiss shouted at the sheer absurdity of such an idea. "How could a supposed virtuous warrior that you claim to be ever cooperate with someone like her?!"
"It's not that simple and you don't know me or even Neo well enough to properly understand even if I do tell you." Aqua stated, remaining calm. "Your personal enmity with Neo remains between the two of you. I have nothing to do with that."
Weiss narrowed her eyes. "So you care nothing for the lives that have suffered because of her."
"Right now, I care about you and your friends, Weiss. You are obviously hurting…" Aqua took one small step forward and held out one hand. "I know what it's like to feel like you've lost everything. That's why I don't want to fight you or the others but fighting us and even killing Neo won't help. Please, stop this before you and the others travel down a path you cannot come back from…"
Weiss bitterly chuckled as her eyes flared. "We're long past that, Aqua…We said good-bye to all the things we loved…Gave up our lives…Just to find it was not enough. Hope has no place here, Aqua and neither do you!"
She gathered ice and wind around her sword and swung it forward, causing spikes of ice to sprout from the ground leading up to Aqua who created a barrier, easily blocking the ice that shattered on impact. Aqua watched as Weiss flew at her, slashing at her. They both leapt forward, spinning as the two delivered the first clash that sparked on impact between Stormfall and the Myrtenaster. Aqua swung her Keyblade up at Weiss who jumped back, the Keyblade missing her face by mere inches.
Weiss landed on her feet first and shot forward, clashing with Aqua again. After two slashes Weiss swung at Aqua who ducked and cartwheeled to the side and then held up her Keyblade.
"Fire!" From her Keyblade blasted a single fire ball that shot past Weiss as she dodged.
Aqua leapt forward and attempted a spinning slash, her Keyblade being parried by Myrtenaster twice before Aqua somersaulted and aimed her foot down on Weiss who jumped back, parrying the kick with her weapon. She shot forward, thrusting her blade straight at Aqua's heart but Aqua blocked. Weiss flew past and spun around before leaping at the Keyblade Master, swinging her blade down. Aqua blocked the first slash, stepping back as she blocked the next two but was taken back by the next one that was reinforced by a blast of wind that sent her flying back.
Aqua cartwheeled as she flew back and landed on her feet before charging back at Weiss, the two clashing their weapons again. The two seemed evenly matched, their skills seemingly matching before Aqua kicked Weiss away. Weiss landed several feet away, grunting slightly and looked up with blazing blue eyes. She pointed two fingers at Aqua who looked down to see a glyph appear under her.
WHOOSH!
With a single gesture from Weiss, Aqua was launched right up into the air by a spiraling blast of wind. Weiss summoned several more glyphs around Aqua and then underneath her, using it to catapult up and flew straight at Aqua with her sword now on fire thanks to her Maiden powers. She delivered one slash before landing on the nearest glyph and then attacked again and again, slashing at Aqua until there was one final glyph that served as the finishing touch.
BOOM!
Weiss had added an extra dose of fire as she slashed her blade down on Aqua who hastily blocked with her Keyblade but the blast still sent her crashing into the ground.
Weiss landed perfectly on the ground, thinking that she had actually won...
And then turned to see Aqua hurl her Keyblade at her.
Weiss had no time to react as it slammed into her and sent her crashing into the ground again. Stormfall flew back into Aqua's hands as she approached.
"That's enough." Aqua said, stopping in front of Weiss. "You can't beat me."
"I...don't...CARE!" Weiss shouted as light exploded around her followed by an actual tornado. "I AM NOT GOING TO LET YOU STAND AND REMIND ME OF EVERYTHING I AND MY FRIENDS HATE ABOUT OURSELVES!"
Aqua jumped back and watched as the giant suit of armor she had seen before appeared to protect Weiss. Only now the armor was blazing with a fiery aura surrounding it, much like Aqua's own Firestorm shotlock.
"I DIDN'T ASK FOR THIS! I DIDN'T ASK TO BE IN CHARGE OF THE FATE OF THE WORLD!" Weiss shouted as the Arma Gigas swung its sword down at Aqua.
Aqua rolled out of the way as the sword impacting the ground, creating a deep scorching crater, burning from the heat surrounding the giant sword.
"Hi-ya!" Aqua leapt in, twirling through the air and demonstrating her own skills as she hammered at the Armor's legs with her Keyblade.
Weiss made a gesture with her hand and a bright glyph appeared on the chest of the Arma Gigas and wind and fire through it, heating the air and focusing it into a single beam of focused heat. The armored summon remained still as its master gathered a large amount of energy and released it from the glyph above its torso in the form of a bright red fiery beam as it slowly spun in a circle to hit its opponent. Aqua rolled under it and then leapt up, activating her shotlock Thunderstorm again and hammered it with small lightning bolts. She first used several combo attacks before activating her Spellweaver Command Style, using the magic to enhance her speed, ability, and strength as she hammered away at the armored legs of the monster.
Weiss then summoned glyphs all around the Arma Gigas, focusing all of her power through it and the glyphs released all of the gathered power, firing lasers in all directions with a few hitting Aqua who cried out as she stepped back but quickly cast a Cura, healing herself quickly. She then used her Thunderstorm for a third time and in a blast of light destroyed the armor. Weiss groaned as the armor shattered, her Aura breaking from her summoning and empowering all those glyphs with her Maiden powers.
(Kingdom Hearts III OST Defense of the Virtuous Ends)
She fell to her knees, clutching them tightly but she was able to lift her head up at Aqua who could see the tears slipping down her cheeks. "I never asked for this…"
Aqua slowly approached her.
"I never asked to try and save the world…All I wanted…I wanted to show everyone my family wasn't like…Him…" Weiss sniffed as she looked back down at the ground. "Now it's all gone…There's nothing left to fight for anymore….Because we…Because I…I could save them."
"Weiss…" Aqua knelt down slowly, offering out a hand…
And was surprised Weiss shot forward and pulled Aqua into a hug, crying all of her pain into Aqua's shoulder. Aqua carefully and softly hugged her back, just sitting there and holding the heart broken Winter Maiden…
And then a large explosion shook the island.
BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!
Weiss' head shot up in the direction of the explosion. "RUBY!"
She pushed Aqua away and tried to get up but staggered and fell, still too weak from her battle to move as she wanted. "No…Ruby!"
"Heal."
Weiss opened her eyes, seeing a green light shining over her for a brief second and felt much better. She looked up and saw Aqua holding out her hand to her.
"Come on." Aqua simply said. "I don't want her and Neo killing each other."
Reaching out slowly, Weiss accepted Aqua's hand and Aqua pulled her to her feet. The two then started making their way to battlefield where Neo and Ruby were at.
Xxx
"And so one by one, the Maidens will fall into battle. Their power is great but it seems still pales in comparison to the power of the Keyblade."
Drasil had no allusions the Maidens could defeat three Keyblade Wielders in battle. If it was four on one, maybe they would have stood a chance but four against three?
Well, even the lucky ones eventually run out of luck.
Still, she needed both the Maidens and the Keyblade Wielders.
"The First World is still submerged in Sleep. I cannot enter it as it or I would succumb to the same fate as the boy who held Ozma's soul. The union of my mind, heart and body broken apart. I doubt even Ozma could come back from that and even if he could there is such a small number of potential bodies for him to inhabit." Drasil muttered, conjuring an image of Remnant in front of her. "Just as the Maiden powers are only passed to young women, Ozma only inhabits the bodies of men who share a similar mindset to him. He will not be a threat. The Keyblade Wielders will be necessary to awaken it…And the Maidens will give me the power I need to enter their world."
Once she is there, she will merge with the world and grant all of humanity's hopes and wishes.
It will be a paradise beyond all others.
For so long she had watched this world succumb to hatred, destruction and death.
Abandoned by the Brother Gods who had abandoned her as well.
Well, she would prove to them she could be a better ruler and deity than the both of them combined when she merged the unconscious and material worlds together.
"It is close, Lokai." She spoke to the other person present with her, or rather within her main body. "The Maidens just need a bit more pushing and then they will be ready. Once they have been beaten down, I will be there to save them and upon seeing me, they would see their dear friend returned and would rush to help me claim my prize."
Lokai stood straight and tall with his arms folded behind his back. "You had me bless those who became the Faunus when I was able to manifest myself briefly in the First World. A mere sample of what you could give them."
"And when I merge with their world I will be capable of anything." Drasil grinned. "I shall take each and every desire, make it a reality for them all and they in turn will love and worship me. I will become even greater than the Brothers themselves."
"What about the Keyblade Wielders?" Lokai questioned.
"What about them? When I merge with the First World, I will literally be a new world. They are not allowed to interfere as per their World Order. They can only interfere if Darkness falls across my world and I would not let that happen." Drasil replied with a confident smile. "To defy me would be defying their own laws. Dear Aqua worked hard to ensure that she would not break that world in the First World's long past. She won't break that rule when she sees the utopia I will create and will be content to just leave and return back to her realm."
Before anything else could be said, Drasil felt a presence creeping inside of her, something trying to wrestle control of her new body. 'Curious. Let's see who is foolish enough to defy my plans.'
She then proceeded to dive within.
...
…
…
Drasil opened eyes and found herself standing on a platform depicting her current body with several images.
An elderly man with a beard, glasses, and a green hat.
A girl with silver eyes and a red cloak.
A woman with white hair in a bun and blue eyes.
An elderly woman with white hair and a kind smile.
"YOU!"
Drasil looked over to find a ginger girl with green eyes glaring at her. She wore white-and-green dress and was currently barefoot.
"Penny Polendina." Drasil was mildly surprised. "What a surprise. I didn't consider my possessing of this body would allow you to return."
"I know who you are, what you are." Penny glared. "What you're planning."
"Oh?"
"Ever since you possessed me and I appeared here, I was assaulted by your memories." Her glare hardened. "It took a while, but I know what you've done. What you've done to my friends!"
Drasil raised a brow as emerald flames gathered around Penny's eyes. "So your connection to the Winter Maiden power still exists... interesting..."
"You won't win." Penny spoke with confidence in her voice. "There will always be someone to stop you."
"And just who is that? Aqua? The Maidens? You?" Drasil scoffed. "While I admit the powers of a true Keyblade Master are nothing I could hope to match, I also know that unless the Heartless come here, they'll ignore my plans."
"But I won't!" Penny vowed with conviction as she created her knives. "I am stopping you here and now, Drasil!"
With that declaration, she shot forward via her Maiden power, sending a fire powered fist towards the Spirit.
KA-BOOM!
And just like that, the battle against the Protector of Mantle and the Avatar of Yggdrasil had begun.
The scenes with Pyrrha and Jaune along with Penny appearing inside Drasil's heart were sent to me by a Guest reviewer whose ideas I liked and so they have been added on. Thank you.
