Disclaimer: I don't own a thing.
Chapter 3:
The Realm Guardian
"You know her?"
"Know her? I was her teacher!"
"Huh?" Everyone jaw-dropped. Meanwhile, Cid immediately ran to the said girl.
"Aki… how?"
"…Professor Cid… it's a long story…"
"Is this really you? Does that mean your research is…"
"Not yet… but I'm working on it."
Sora blinked. "Are you… Maleficent's assistant?"
"…in a matter of speaking…"
"So… you think experimenting with beings that don't have and wish to have heart is fun?" The Dual Keyblade wielder hissed dangerously.
Aki blinked. "What are you talking about?"
"I think it's pretty clear." Sora growled. Both Oblivion and Oathkeeper appeared on both of his hand.
Aki's eyes widened. "Two Keyblades… you don't happen to be Sora… are you?"
"So what if I am?"
Then, all the sudden, the expression on her face turned into that of a great relief. She dropped down on the floor, letting a long sigh. "If… if you're here… am I to assume that Maleficent is… no more?"
Sora eased up a bit. "She's toast."
"Finally… for days I was afraid of what she will do to the rest of the poor Nobodies…"
"Poor Nobodies? What are you talking about? You're putting them in cell for some experiment!"
"NO! I… I did it because Maleficent forced me too! And besides, it's the only way I can study them further!"
"Wasn't that all the same?"
"Don't think that I like seeing them jailed like that! Maleficent forced me to work on them, threatening that she will destroy them if I refused! I couldn't afford to lose more Nobodies! On the other hand, it's the only way I can ensure that they won't attack anyone!"
"…why would you want them alive? And more importantly, how can we trust you now that you've blatantly testify that you were working with Maleficent?" Riku asked coldly.
"…because I was close… so close in finding the cure…"
"Cure?" Kairi blinked.
"A cure… for Heartless… a way to reverse the process. To make them human again! I know there is a way… it's just…"
"…a way to cure… heartless?" Sora immaterialized his weapons.
"Why should we believe you?" Riku spoke up.
"I'll vouch for her." Cid suddenly stepped forward.
"Cid?" Sora looked at the mechanic.
"Sora, I know her. She was my student, and a highly dedicated scientist. She's been investigating a way to cure the Heartless ever since I know her… I believe that she's still trying to find the cure even if she was turned into a Nobody."
Sora blinked. "…"
"I'm sorry if you find me working with Maleficent seem to be uncomfortable with you. But I was on her side not because I want to."
"Then why did you…"
"Because it's the only way I can have access to her vast library of information about Heartless. Maleficent did not only use the Heartless, she studied them too. She was not only a staggering sorceress, in a manner; she's also an outstanding scientist… if only she used her knowledge for good."
"Dream to be wished for." Kairi sighed.
"Guess so… Anyway… if what you've said is true, I guess that means that I'm finally free from Maleficent's clutches. Anything I can do to repay you?"
"Well yeah… actually, we're looking for an engine. A machine that was able to gather heart… the one that form the Kingdom Hearts up there."
"Oh THAT? Follow me. It's in the castle's basement."
Everyone followed the scientist. All the while, Aki began to questioning Sora.
"Sora, I've heard that you once become a Heartless right?"
"Yes. But only for a very short time. I managed to get back though."
"Well yes, that's the point. Tell me… what was it like… when you become a Heartless?"
"It felt horrible… even if you become a Heartless for a second, it felt like hours… pieces of your happy memories slipping away, replaced by insatiable rage… the only thing left felt like… a sense of bestiality."
"Yet you survive… how?"
"…perhaps the most possible explanation was because… that wasn't entirely my heart… a part of it I believe, was Kairi's heart… when I gave the Heart back… it took mine in the process too… turning me into that of a Heartless… Ansem the Wise, in his reports, think that it may because I did it willingly. As for how Kairi gave my Heart back…ask her."
"You did it… willingly? How?"
Sora materialized his Keyblade.
Aki gasped. "You… didn't."
"Oho yes I did. I crash this sword to myself."
Aki gulped. "Why?"
"Because I need to give back something that doesn't belong to me…Kairi's heart."
"At the cost… of your very own Heart?"
"If it needs to."
Aki smiled. She scribbled everything Sora had spoken. Suddenly Riku spoke up. "Are we there yet?"
"Oh just a little further. There, look, the exit is there. The machine was just beyond that door."
"Okay." Everyone hasten their pace. Before long, they've opened the door.
"Whoa…"
It was a massive white circular room. In the center of the area, a shining orb was floating on top of a massive pedestal. The pedestal had hundreds of white cables that filed the floor. The cables itself were connected to the walls in every corner of the room.
"The orb is the generator. The cables are connected to receivers, stationed in every corner of the castle, built in within the walls of the castle itself; generating a force field, powerful enough to gather Hearts from every corner of every worlds. It was so radically advanced; I was wondering how on earth the XIII Order could create such a thing."
'Roxas have you seen anything like it?'
'Only in pictures… I can't believe Xemnas really created that thing. And I've never thought it could be so huge too.'
"Wow… that thing is gathering Hearts from every corner of the worlds?" Cid's mouth was hung open.
"Yes. I've been studying it for 2 years… Would you like to see it?" Aki showed them a half dozen of thick books.
"By all means." Cid immediately took one of the journals. He frowned. "Aki… why is it said… volume… 90,786?"
"Oh, that's the most recent journals I've wrote. The rest is over there." Aki pointed to her left. Everyone looked at the direction and jaw dropped.
"What… is that… a mountain of… bricks?" Sora's jaw nearly touched the ground.
"You… wrote all that? In 2 years?" Riku rubbed his eyes several times.
Cid was the only one who was laughing. "Ha, ha, ha, ha! Typical you. You were a queen of books when you're still in school."
Aki laughed nervously as her face turned red.
Sora shook his head off. "Before you two geniuses get lost in your book heaven, care to do something about the Kingdom Heart up there?"
"Well… this machine was actually designed to sustain the fusion of Hearts. If we turn it off, those hearts will become a heartless once again, for they've lost their body."
"Into a Nobody…"
"Well, we haven't seen its progress for quite some time. We're going to Altar of Naught to check it out. Should we leave some Samurais to protect you guys?" Sora offered.
"That won't be necessary." Aki smirked as she flipped a switch. The ceiling of the room suddenly opened up, revealing the view of the open sky. The now complete Kingdom Heart moon shone brightly up in the sky.
"…the Kingdom Heart is… complete?" Sora looked in disbelief.
"How can that be… there were barely ¾ of them finished when we last see them… how could it revive so quickly?"
"The Samurais… we send them out to defeat the Heartless… it must've quicken the process!" Mickey exclaimed.
Just then, a transmission came from Leon. "Sora, this is Leon. The area is cleared. The last Heartless has just been destroyed."
"Yes I know. The Kingdom Heart has been completed too."
"The hearts released from the Heartless… they all gather into a single Heart?"
"Precisely."
"Do you perhaps need our assistance?"
"Maybe so. But before you do, tell Merlin not to land anybody on my head! You hear that, Merlin?"
All the sudden, Leon and the gang, along with Merlin popped out right behind Sora.
"Yes I can hear you. I'm sorry if I landed him on you. I want to teach that machine freak a little lesson… but apparently I've made some miscalculation in the spell…"
"Yep, as expected from you. Always miscalculating." Cid sneered.
"What did you say you cantankerous gear head?"
"You wanna try me you old coneheaded fart?"
"Hey-hey, cut it out you two! We don't want any damage here-"
Just when Sora had finished his statement, Merlin cast a blizzard as Cid, out of nowhere, pulled out a bazooka. The two attacks colliding midair, creating an explosion, throwing Sora off the ground.
"Sora!" Everyone yelled in unison. The brunette hit the pedestal, causing a sudden short circuit. Abruptly, the place began to shake violently.
"What was that?"
"The Heart! Look!" Everyone looked into the Heart. It shook violently as it began to shine even brighter.
Just then, everyone in the World That Never Was that held the Keyblade felt the weapon began to shake. Sora was no exception.
"What… what's going on?"
"I'm reading an abnormal energy frequency! It's resonating with the Keyblades!" Aki was startled. 'These numbers! How could a weapon like Keyblade had such power within them?'
All the sudden, beams of light burst out from the Kingdom Hearts. "Wha… What is going on?"
"YOUR MAJESTY!" Sora turned around and gasped. Mickey's body was hit by the light and began to dematerialize.
"Mickey!" Riku stretched out his hand to catch Mickey's hand. Just then, the beam struck him too, and he began to immaterialize.
"Riku!" Kairi screamed. All the sudden, a light burst out and head straight towards Kairi. Seeing the danger, Sora immediately lunged himself towards the girl, and the beam struck him instead. "Sora! NO!" Before she could do anything the beam struck her too.
Within seconds, everyone who wields the keyblade disappeared.
Cid and Merlin blinked. Then looked at each other and said: "Your fault!"
Inside Kingdom Hearts…
"Ow… what was that…" Sora woke up with aching body. "…this place!" He was back to that room again. The same room when he first time gained the Keyblade. It was all dark as usual, but something's different. For one, the round platform he was standing was terribly large. Almost 4 times the size of the platform he once knew. The picture on the floor was also different. It consisted of 4 large circles, and in each circle has a picture. One circle had a boy wearing a black hood, and he was carrying a massive and long black and red keyblade, another circle had a girl with long blue hair, she too was carrying a keyblade, which unlike the boy, was at proportional size. The other two circles had pictures of an old man with one of his eye scarred, while the other pictured a knight in a massive full armor. Encircling the 4 giant circles, were pictures of the faces of the 7 princess of hearts: Belle, Snow-white, Ariel, Aurora, Jasmine, Alice and… "Kairi!" Sora snapped.
"Kairi! Riku! Mickey! Donald! Goofy! Everyone! Where are you?"
"Over here." The silver haired boy groaned.
"Riku!" Sora immediately ran towards his friend. "Where's… where's Kairi?"
"I don't know… where's the others?"
"Over here!" Sora turned around and found everyone's in there: Mickey, Hercules, Auron, Cloud, Leon, Jack Skellington and Sparrow, Mulan, Aladdin, and even Tron, who somehow get his physical body into the real world. Everyone who could wield the Keyblade was there… all except Kairi. "Kairi… KAIRI! Where are you?"
Sora frantically looked around. Then she noticed something… or rather, someone. "Who's… that?"
The figure in question was a boy, barely ten year old. He wore a dark blue hood that covered a good part of his face, which upon a closer inspection, showed that his skin was tanned. His outfit featured a long sleeveless dark blue vest that covered his shorts. He also wore black oversized shoes. The boy was riding a large yellow bird that looked like a giant chick. The boy was carrying a person in his left hand. Sora immediately noticed the said person. "KAIRI!"
The hooded boy looked at Sora and then to the unconscious Kairi.
"Give her back. NOW" Sora immediately prepared both of his Keyblades.
The boy nodded and effortlessly raised Kairi with ONE hand and offered her to Sora.
Sora carefully closing in and grab hold of Kairi. He backed away almost immediately. The Dual Keyblader was shaking Kairi. "Kairi, Kairi! Wake up!"
Kairi began to wake up. "S-Sora?"
"Kairi! Are you okay?"
"I'm fine… where are we?"
"I don't know… but I think we'll have the answer soon enough." Sora looked at the boy. Then he noticed something. The boy's outfit. Where he had seen them before? Then it hit him. The boy was the same boy pictured in one of the circles. "Who are you?" was the first sentence managed to come out.
"I am… are what I am. There is no who… just myself."
"What do you mean? Where are we?"
"You ask a lot of questions. I haven't answered your first question yet and you already asked another."
"…" Sora was confused.
"So, which question you want me to answer first?"
"…who are you? Or to be exact, WHAT are you?"
"…I'm what I am. I don't know what I am… but I exist. I'm not Nobody neither I am a Heartless. But I've existed here, for long time. Waiting. And waiting."
"You didn't answer the question."
"Correct. Interesting. That was quicker than your predecessors."
Sora blinked. "Predecessors?"
"You're not the only Keyblader that managed to get here, Sora."
"You know… my name?"
"Kairi's memory told me."
"What have you done to Kairi?"
"I didn't do anything. I was holding her back there because I need to be sure." The boy pointed at Kairi's picture on the floor. "That she was, after all, one of the Princess of Hearts of this realm. And indeed she is."
"You seem to know everything." Mickey walked forward.
"Mickey Mouse, King of Disney Castle, isn't it?"
"Yes. Who are you?"
"Why did you repeat Sora's question?"
"Because you didn't answer it." Riku followed.
"Indeed I am. Because I don't feel like it. I had better things to do rather then answering questions."
"Then can you help us out of here? Then we'll leave you in peace."
Then all the sudden, a smile, a big happy smile spread across the boy's hooded face. "Finally. Now that Sora, is a question I can answer. The question is: will you people be strong enough to receive the answer?"
Sora suddenly got a bad feeling about it. He immediately pulled out the Oathkeeper.
The boy smiled. A massive dark blue keyblade appeared on his right hand. The weapon's dark blue blade looked like a claymore. But near the edge, a symbol that looked like a red sun was imprinted on it. The insignia on the keyblade also supported a pair of what looked to be dragon wings. The handle was large and long. The overall length of the blade was about 1.5 longer than normal average keyblade. The most unbelievable fact was that the boy was carrying the massive Keyblade effortlessly with one hand. "Will you die here, or will you live to see the day… answer me with your strength!"
Everyone immediately pulled out their Keyblades.
Hercules was the first to charge forward. He raised the Hero's crest with both of his hand before leaping upwards and headed straight towards the boy.
The Keyblade slammed into the massive one. Much to Hercules' disbelief, neither the boy nor the bird moved at all.
The boy gently pushed the Hero's crest away. When Hercules had landed, Aladdin immediately dashed forward and slashed the figure rapidly from every direction. Much to everyone's disbelief, the boy moved the sword with such speed, every blow Aladdin landed was gently parried.
By the time Aladdin finished, there wasn't even a scratch.
"First with strength, then with speed… anyway, are you done yet?" The boy smiled incoherently. Suddenly his Keyblade's surface was pulsated with lines of red hot glow. "If so, my turn."
The boy swung his Keyblade once, and a wave of strong gust suddenly burst out, pushing them all backwards.
"What… is this?" Hercules was trying his best to stay on his feet but failed miserably. Aladdin was easily swept all the way back to the rest of the group, who just had as much trouble standing.
"What… power! Dark Wall!" Riku immediately cast the dark wall.
"Hmm? Intriguing… you wielded the keyblade, you came from the world of light… yet you wield the power of darkness? No matter, not that wall will make much of a difference anyway." The boy swayed his Keyblade once again, conjuring another wave of wind, and the next second, the wall was no more.
"What! No way! GAAAH!" The wind blown Riku away and threatened him to fall off from the platform. Sora immediately sent the Oathkeeper to caught his friend using its tip before he pulled him back to safety.
"I see… you've mastered the Keyblade to the point where you no longer need to hold it… impressive. But not good enough I'm afraid." The boy swung the Keyblade once more, sending another wave of angry wind.
"Who the hell is he?" Sora gritted his teeth. After Riku was safe, he immediately impaled the Oathkeeper to the ground and hold on to it for his dear life.
"I don't know… but… I had this strange feeling that… I've seen him before… but from when and where?" Kairi was utterly confused.
The boy still sitting on top of the yellow bird calmly, yawning while looking to another direction, it was as if he didn't pay attention at what he was doing.
"…he didn't even look at us! The nerve of him!" Mulan growled.
"He has the right… he blew us all away with a sweep of his sword and he hasn't even got down from that big bird thing…" Leon was panting.
"Fine, then let's pull him down! Let's go everyone!"
"E-everyone? But Sora, he's just a kid!" Sparrow gaped.
"A KID? Can you still call him a KID after what he had done to US?" Sora growled. "He may hold the ticket to get back home. And even if he doesn't, I have no intention to stay here and get myself killed by him!" Sora warped in the Oblivion. The boy, for the first time, turned his attention fully to Sora.
"Two? Two Keyblades? Well now… that's new." The boy smiled even wider. He snapped his finger and all the sudden, 5 armor clad warrior appeared right between Sora, Mickey and Riku and the rest of the group. The knights bear neither Heartless emblem nor Nobody's crest. And they were all colored in Chromium gold. Everyone gasped when they saw what the knights were wielding: A Grey Keyblade. "The KeySpirits will keep your friends busy for a while. Come, you who wield two Keyblades. Show me what you got."
Sora dashed forward like a madman. The boy swung his keyblade once more, in which Sora blocked it with both Keyblades before he leaped up, intent on slamming both Keyblades on the mysterious boy. Slam it he did. And again the boy didn't even flinch. Riku immediately follow by shooting a barrage of Dark Aura as Mickey shoot a barrage of Pearl beams. The blitz of light and dark aura marched towards the boy. The said target immediately knock Sora off the air and intent on gave another full swing only to feel an extra weight on his weapon. He looked to see that Sora had latched himself on his Keyblade. "Like Hell I'll let you swing this monster!"
The boy smirked. "Fine. Tag along." Then, much to everyone's disbelief, the boy swung the blade ALONG with Sora with the greatest ease. The resulting wind blew away the barrage. Another swing later and Sora was knocked off to the air. The keyblade bearer immediately floated up midair.
Meanwhile, the group, despite having the KeySpirits outnumbered, was having a hard time dealing with the mysterious creature. Tron immediately used his Photon Debugger to create a Complete Compilement. Digital orbs appeared and managed to disturb the KeySpirits movement for a while. "Mr. Leon! Mr. Cloud! My statistics showed that you're the strongest amongst us! Please help Sora! We'll try to miscalculate their movement here!"
Leon immediately rushed forward and began a consecutive rapid slashes, which all of them were parried. Angered, the scarred swordsman generated a large energy blade from his Sleeping Lion. The next second, he swung the blade horizontally. This time, the boy really had to jump out of his ride. "Choco, get to safety!"
"Kweh!" The giant Chick chirped and immediately ran away. Meanwhile, Leon's sword tirade had already begun again. However, the said target was seemingly able to avoid all the attacks easily. The scarred swordsman finally made a vertical cut. Following the cut, massive energy pillars burst out from the ground, heading straight towards the boy. Again, the boy dodged the attack, only to be welcomed by a sudden drop from a giant energy blade. Hit him it did, crushing the platform in the process. When the scarred warrior noticed there's still a lot of movement from the said target, he immediate jumped up, and gave out a 360 degree arc full swing, unleashing a white shockwave. The shockwave went through the boy, followed with a barrage of explosions, destroying everything in its wake, blasting the mysteriously unscratched boy to the air. For a second, Leon could see the boy was still smiling. Disbelieving, he began a series of rapid slashes, all directed towards the boy. Much to his horror, the rapid attacks do next to none to the said boy. 'What the Hell is he?' Just when the attack had finished, both figure landed on the ground, with different conditions. On one side, Leon, tired as Hell, and on the other side, the mysterious boy, totally unscratched.
Just then, Cloud charged forward. The Fenrir emanated a blue aura before the wielder gave a full swing, sending a blue Blade beam towards the boy. Using his keyblade, the boy blocked the attack effortlessly. The impact thought, caused a massive explosion that covered the ground with dust, blocking the view, which exactly what the silent warrior wanted. The blond swordsman thrust his Keyblade into the smoke. After certain that the target was hit, the swordsman continued by swinging his sword like crazy, creating a massive gust of storm that blew the boy upwards. Just then, Cloud followed by slashing his weapon upward in a cutting motion. Once he's on top of the target, he poured out a massive rain of meteors. Rapid explosion pushed the figure back to the ground. As if not enough, the blond swordsman split into 5 and dived down while unleashing a barrage of rapid slashes. After it all ended, a single Cloud remained, gathering up power in his weapon, and slammed the building energy right into the target, dead center. The resulting explosion was enormous. Yet despite all that, Cloud gritted his teeth in anger… for the enemy was still there, unscratched.
"My turn!" Sora glided at high speed towards the smiling boy. The dual Keyblader sent both his weapon spinning towards the boy. The boy managed to dodge the hailstorm of blades and immediately dashed right towards Sora. The Keyblader retracted Oathkeeper and blocked the coming attack. Much to his surprise, it sent him backwards. Regaining his balance immediately, the brunette slammed the white keyblade to the ground, sending a line of pillars of light. The attack hit the boy full as Sora recovered his Oblivion. Without further ado, the key bearer charge forward, spinning both weapons in a 360 degree arc, creating balls of energy in the process. Surely enough, the said boy appeared as the smoke dispersed. "Eat…" Sora raised both weapons as the balls of energy gathered to form a single giant ball. "THIS!" The building energy exploded in a massive pillar of light. Once the light dispersed, the boy's still there with his keyblade still in his hand. Gritting his teeth, Sora flashed out and began attacking the boy from every direction with blinding speed. The boy parried all the attacks with equally blinding speed. When Sora reappeared again, he was welcomed by a horizontal slash. The attack slashed thin air as Sora was now on top of the boy. The dual Keyblader shoot a barrage of energy bullet that hit the boy full, covering him in smoke. When the fog dispersed, a silhouette of the boy was still standing, much to Sora's disbelief.
"Well… since you've gone a bit serious… TORNAGA!"
Three massive tornadoes encircled the caster before joined together creating a gargantuan typhoon. The typhoon float midair, but it sucked everything into it, including the Keyblade wielders, with the exception of Kairi who was still kinda spaced out.
Inside the tornado, everyone felt like they were unable to move as the searing wind cut through their flesh. When it all ended, the whole gang was dropping like flies. Sora was groaning as blood dripping from various cuts and gashes in his body.
"I can't… believe it… it was Tornaga…" Mickey stared with disbelief to the black sky.
"You… know?" Riku gasped in pain.
"Master Yen Sid told me… it was an ancient and powerful spell… Forbidden because of it… the spell was so complicated, that it was said to be nearly impossible to master by mortals…"
"Forbidden… magic?"
"This… kid… there just no way he's a human!" Leon groaned.
"What kind of function he has?" Tron was breathing heavily. Meanwhile, the KeySpirits had disappeared.
Meanwhile, the hooded boy walked steadily towards them. His keyblade was prepared menacingly in his other hand. All the sudden, Kairi stood up on his way.
The boy shook his head. "Stand aside princess. You're an important pillar of this world. I do not wish to do anything that will jeopardize your safety."
"Like hell I'll step aside! You hurt my friends. You messed with one of us then you've messed with all of us!"
"Then I'm afraid I have no choice. Light forgive me." With that, the boy decked Kairi. The punch sent the princess to the side.
"KAIRI!" Sora yelled. He was gritting his teeth in anger. "YOU SONNOVA!"
Riku was also furious. "Kid, I don't care how old you are, but I'm sure you know you've just punched a GIRL?"
"So?"
"Once I get up… you're dead kid!" Sora growled dangerously.
"I don't worry. She's just unconscious. That punch packed barely enough power to overpower her strength. In a word, she'll live."
"Really now? Then I guess I still have the power to do this!" The suddenly awoken Kairi raised her Keyblade to the air. "CURAGA!" A holy light emanated from the tip of her keyblade and enclosed Sora. The next second, the dual Keyblader's wounds were all healed.
"WHRAAAAAAAH!" Sora immediately slammed his Keyblade towards the boy. Using his keyblade, the said boy managed to block the attack. Much to his surprise though, HE was the one that was being thrown off the ground this time.
'What? Where did he get… such power?' The boy looked at Sora and gasped. His entire body was covered with white and gold auras; his Oblivion was covered in red aura whilst his Oathkeeper was covered in blue. Lights colored in red, blue, and yellow swiveling around him.
"I'm going to repay what you've done to Kairi thousands times over. Prepare to get your spanking, BOY!"
"Well… I may not look like it… but I'm a lot older than any of you."
"LIKE I CARE!" Sora rushed forward with unbelievable speed. Within less then a second, the enraged Keyblader was already in front of the hooded boy. With a swing of the Oblivion, the boy was sent to the air. Before the boy could even think of anything, his opponent had already reappeared on his back. The hooded boy slashed the enraged brunette, only to find that he was cutting a mirage. Sora reappeared right below him and began a flurry of macabre sword dance, sending the boy higher into the air. Once the boy stayed midair, Sora immediately threw both of weapons toward the target as he himself disappeared. Just before the two weapons came into contact, Sora reappeared and snatched the Oathkeeper and disappeared, leaving the Oblivion to hit the boy's weapon. Just then, Sora reappeared right on his back and slashed the Oathkeeper right on his back. It hit the boy full. The latter immediately retaliate by swinging the Keyblade to Sora, only to find the said person disappeared again, leaving only Oathkeeper midair. Just then he felt a slash on his side. Sora reappeared and grabbed the Oblivion and performed another slash before disappearing again. The process continued several times, with the boy had little to no success in blocking it. Sora eventually also realized the reason the boy could survive many of their attack. His wounds were regenerating insanely fast almost as soon as the attack landed on him. Nevertheless, he had no intention on stopping soon. 'He's just a boy. He must have his limits! Let's see how long can you go!'
"Tch… this IS troublesome. Tornaga!"
"Reflega!" A barrier appeared around Sora and the tornado was repelled toward the caster.
"Ugh!" Now it's the boy's turn to get cut in every place, whilst Sora still went on with his insane sword dance, creating as many cuts as he could.
Eventually: "Alright, taste destruction! Star Flare!"
Out of nowhere, a rain of red hot light poured down around the boy. Sora yelled. "Reflega!" Much to his surprise, the Star Flare went through the barrier and hit him full, ending his sword tirade and sent him back towards the gawking group. Sora eventually dropped down. The multicolor aura disappeared.
"Sora!" Riku tried to get up, but alas, the pain brought him back.
"At least I still have my last power for this. CURAGA!"
Rain of holy light poured down on every soul in the platform, alleviating everyone from their agony.
"Intriguing, simply intriguing. I've never had so much fun fighting a key-bearer in my life. Not only were you able to gain a full mastery of two Keyblades you were able to make yourself gone beyond your limit… impressive indeed."
"You'll get a lot more pending, so get ready!"
"Hmm… but this is interesting indeed. Perhaps a strong emotional reaction connected with the Heart of one of the pillar princesses had caused a catalytic reaction that resulting in an overflowing power within your heart, hence, it affected you physically… or was it something more… in personal emotion?"
"Just shut up! You're going down kiddo!" Sora roared.
"Alright. Show me what you can do against this." All the sudden, the boy crossed both his arm in front of his chest as massive balls of light appeared around him.
"Oh no! Not that magic!" Mickey was totally frightened.
"What is that?"
"The most destructive and the most powerful magic ever existed…"
"ULTIMA!" The balls of light burst out and form a horde of strings of light that pierced the sky.
Sora gritted his teeth. "Riku! Mickey!" Mickey was snapped out of his fright and saw Sora was preparing for their joint attack. The three immediately met their Keyblades together.
"Everyone gather together!" The group gathered in a single circle. Up there, flashes of lights began to descend down.
"United we stand!" Sora closed his eyes as he concentrated every power in his cell on this attack. The others began sending heir energy into the three Keybladers' weapons. The Ultima beams were already in sight…
"FINAL KINGDOM!" Sora, Riku, And Mickey impaled their Keyblade to the ground. A single gigantic pillar of golden light erupted and covered the entire platform, canceling the Ultima while engulfing the caster in the process.
'What… power!' The boy covered his face as the blast swallowed him.
Outside…
Merlin and Cid were still bickering one with another when the Kingdom Hearts suddenly flashed brightly.
"I'm reading high energy signs!" Aki exclaimed.
Inside…
The pillar of light lasted for a few moments before it dissipate. Sora and the others dropped down, panting.
"We did it… we've survived Ultima…" Mickey was panting heavily.
"I'm out… I'm really out…" Riku was tired as hell.
"At least we've get rid of him."
"I wonder…" A growl echoed throughout the space. The ground suddenly began to shake.
"What the…" Then, before them all, out from the darkness, a huge, serpentine dark blue dragon rose up. Its massive wings opened up and at its back, an insignia resemble that of a sun can be seen, its large claws were crossed in front of its scaly chest. The massive dragon's head was crowned by golden horns of various size and length as its blue eyes glowed brightly. On its massive spiky shoulder, the large yellow chick was standing calmly.
"In the name of all that is Holy…" Aladdin jaw dropped.
"And unholy…" Both Jacks' (Skellington and Sparrow) jaw was hung open.
Kairi's eyes widened. "You…"
"We meet again… Princess Kairi." The dragon's voice echoed.
"Kairi? You know him?"
"That voice… now I remember you! You're… you're one of the holy guardians of the Kingdom Hearts… the Dragon King Bahamut!"
"WHAT?" Everyone yelled.
"Holy guardians of… Kingdom Hearts?" Sora looked at the massive Dragon in awe.
"Denizens of the light… good job in beating my embodiment. But this is not over. Not by a long shot. You've merely felt a spike of my power. But you've won the first round. Now, prepare for round two."
Everyone tensed up. Kairi looked to Bahamut. "Great lord Bahamut. We your subjects have no intention on defiling this place. Please forgive our trespassing. Can you please help us out of here? We shall thank you and we will protect this Heart with our lives."
"Why should I? This Kingdom Hearts was formed not only by the hearts of the denizens of light, but also by the hearts of the Heartless. The creepers of darkness, of which you people had brought unto this world. It is your fault that evil creatures such Heartless existed. So how can you say that you will protect this Heart, if the very thing you do will be corrupting it furthermore with impure hearts of the darkness?"
"Impure Hearts?" Sora tensed up.
"When one's heart lost into the darkness, when their heart become impure, they will become a Heartless. I thought you know this? Keyblader Sora?"
"I knew… because I was one… once. But… who are you to judge those people to be impure! They are poor souls that has fell victim and turned into something they don't want to be!" Sora growled angrily.
"If they're not impure… then what are they? It is the darkness in the Heart of all who life that eventually turned others into that vary creatures you've slain."
"Then ask yourself. Where in this world can you find a heart that bears no darkness at all? Light and Darkness are eternal! Light exists because there is darkness and vice versa!"
"You are weird, Key bearer Sora. If you said there isn't a single heart in this world that bears no darkness at all, then what do you think of the princesses of heart? They are beings who possessed not a stench of darkness. Then how can you say that that the princesses who had never bore any ill will possess darkness in their heart?"
"Kairi stole my tuition fee when she was ten to buy some make up and other stupid girly stuff."
"SORA!" Kairi was bit red.
"There's no such thing… as pure heart… as there is no such thing… as impure hearts! Light and Darkness are one in everyone's Heart! You, you who guard the hearts of the worlds should understand this!"
"I understand this much: The denizens of the light, whom supposedly bear no ill will to each other eventually brought about destruction and chaos through the very same weapon you were carrying right now! I've waited. Millennia after millennia. Waiting when the denizens of the light will realize the errors of their ways. And I'm tired of being disappointed again and again. If perhaps destruction was the only thing they like, then destruction I bring them shall… but first, I will begin by destroying the very thing that held their hope: Keyblades and Kingdom Hearts. Now that I've gathered all of you here, you who wield the Keyblades, now, I shall destroy them!"
Bahamut roared. A burst of red light appeared and the boy reappeared once again. The red Keyblade reappeared on the boy's hand. This time, a purplish red aura was emanating from the boy.
"If so… then get lost you oversized stupid piece of trash of a lizard! If you think destruction is the only way, then we don't need a Guardian like you! We'll guard the Kingdom Heart as the way we see fit!" Sora rose up. But the pain got to him and he began to fall… when everyone's hand suddenly grabbed hold of the boy. "Everyone?"
"Nice speech. But you've just called a guardian a piece of trash." Riku smirked.
"Like I care… I'm beating that punk one way or another!"
"Yeah right… then do it for us too lad." Jack Sparrow grinned. Follow the Wind suddenly vanished from his hand and turned into a bright teal light.
"Sora! I've just planned a perfect plan for Halloween! You HAVE to come!" Jack Skellington's Decisive Pumpkin immaterialized into a dark purple shade.
"All my functions will help you Sora." Tron's Photon Debugger reformatted into a light blue beam.
"Don't worry Sora! We can beat him!" Mulan smiled. Her hidden Dragon vanished into a red hot light.
"Get him Sora!" Aladdin knocked Sora's back lightly. The Wishing Lamp immaterialized into a bright blue glow.
"You've spoke like a true Hero, Sora!" Hercules gave a big thumb as his Hero's Crest immaterialized into white and blue ray.
"Guess your story wasn't so bad after all." Auron smirked. The Guardian Soul vanished into a black and red beam.
"Don't mess up now." Cloud muttered. His Fenrir turned into a beam of dark grey glow.
"We'll always be with you." Leon nodded as his Sleeping Lion disappeared into silver white light.
"Don't give up Sora!" Sora's old Kingdom Keyblade turned into a grey light as it vanished from Mickey's hand.
"Sora. Let's go!" Kairi's keyblade flashed out into pure white light. Meanwhile, Sora's Oathkeeper shine brightly. Following this, the Oblivion also disappeared into a jet black blaze. All the multicolored light gathered on Sora's Oathkeeper as it shone even brighter. Once the light diminished, there rest firmly in Sora's hand, the almighty Ultima Weapon.
Mickey and Riku looked at each other and nodded. Both pointed their dark realm Keyblades. The next second, both Dark World Kingdom Key and the Way to The Dawn merged together to form the Soul Eater. "Sora, use this." Riku handed the Soul Eater to his friend.
Bahamut human form blinked. "Ultima Weapon… and Soul Eater… the ultimate Keyblades of both worlds… So, you want to defeat me by using the power of darkness and light altogether?"
"It's worth the try!" Both ultimate weapons began to float around Sora.
"Show me then. Let's see which one's the strongest. Your Keyblades or my Dragon Heart."
"As you wish!" An enormous light and darkness aura burst out from Sora's body. The Keyblader dashed forward, appearing in front of the boy within less then a few microseconds. The brunette slammed the Ultima Weapon against Bahamut's Dragon Heart. For the first time ever throughout the fight, the Guardian was forced to block the attack with both hands. Not waiting any further, Sora slammed the Soul Eater to the guardian's side. The impact caused a large black explosion upon contact. The explosion threw the Guardian off his feet, burned by black flame in several parts.
"Star Flare!"
A rain of red hot beam poured down from the sky. Amazingly, Sora managed to dodge the massive rain of flames and head straight towards its caster and succeeded in landing a full cross slash right on the Guardian's chest. The moment the blade had went through Bahamut's chest, burst of light and dark energy exploded from within Bahamut's human body. The real Bahamut (the big dragon) winched a little. "Not DONE YET!" Sora spun both Keyblades, creating a massive tornado of black and white light, sending the Guardian's embodiment to the sky. In midair, Sora's zapping around the guardian, giving the said 'boy' beating of the lifetime as the Keyblader slashed rapidly at every corner of his body.
"Meteor!" A single falling meteor forced Sora to pause for a moment as he had to cut the meteor to two. Then he gasped. The guardian had already prepared another Spell: "ULTIMA!"
"You can't beat me with that anymore!" Both Keyblades in Sora's hands glowed in black and white light. "The powers of all my friends are here! FINAL KINGDOM!"
Sora rapidly swung both of his weapons, sending wave after wave of pure energy towards the guardian. The rain of Ultima was cancelled out the moment it made contact with the energy waves. Sora immediately thrust both Keyblades to the ground, creating massive pillars of light that engulfed the Guardian. This time, the real Bahamut really have to growl in pain. 'This is… the power of the worlds? It has grown so strong…'
Sora floated in front of the real Dragon King. "Your puppet's blasted. Now, it's your turn!"
"Stupid humans. I am an embodiment of the world's will! As long as this world exists, so will I. But I must compliment you for getting this far. I'll show my ultimate attack as a reward." With that, Bahamut began gathering energy in his mouth.
Everyone looked at Bahamut.
"Here's a sneak preview. Mega Flare!" The Dragon King shot a bolt of blue flame out. The attack hit the floor and shattered the floor to nothingness. Everyone was gawking at the power.
Sora thought up. 'I could dodge that attack…' Then he looked at his back. Everyone's was there. 'I can… they can't! If I dodge that attack, they'll die…' Sora took a long breath. "Then I'll hold it down!"
"The full extent of that attack has a power to destroy a world in a single shot. Think you can handle it?"
"Well, then here, rest within me, was the power of my friends from various worlds! So go ahead and try me!"
"I salute your valor, brave Keybearer! Farewell!" Bahamut opened his mouth once again. This time, he was gathering even more power.
"Are you NUTS? Sora! You can't block something like that! You have to dodge it!" Jack Skellington yelled.
"No… Sora was able to dodge something like that… but he didn't do it… because we're standing on the Dragon's line of fire! If he dodges, that flame will hit us!" Hercules pointed out. "Come on guys! Get up! We shouldn't become Sora's burden!"
"Damn it…" Auron tried to get up with great difficulty.
"Curaga!" Kairi rejuvenated everyone with her spell. Alas, some of them were still too wounded to walk.
"Ready or not… here I go! MEGA FLARE!" Bahamut mercilessly shoot the massive blue flames. The breath formed a massive laser line that was heading straight towards Sora. The dual Keyblader immediately crossed both weapons in front of him. However…
'Guh! What heat! The air was already burning my skin away… at this rate… will I survive this one?' Sora frowned. Just then he felt someone on his back. It was Riku. He was smiling. "Don't mess up."
"Come on Sora! We'll block it together!" Hercules pushed his back.
"We do this together; we'll put it to an end together!" Mickey also got on his back.
"We're with you till the end." Kairi smiled. Sora looked behind him. Everyone was gathering.
"Okay. Let's stop that thing!" The aura enclosed everyone as the Mega Flare continued its advance. Eventually it hit its target, resulting in a massive explosion.
Bahamut was quite shocked, however, to find that the target was still there. The massive aura had formed a barrier of light. That barrier was holding his supposedly unstoppable Mega Flare! The king Dragon found his mouth wide opened in aghast. Soon, the mega flare dispersed, as do the barrier aura, leaving everyone intact. Alive and well. Sora was breathing heavily before finally both of his weapons disappeared as their master fell out of conscious. Kairi, Riku and Mickey immediately caught him. All 15 Keyblades (Oathkeeper, Oblivion, Dark World Kingdom Chain, Kingdom Chain, Way to the Dawn, Kairi's keyblade, Wishing Lamp, Follow the wind, Photon Debugger, Hidden Dragon, Hero's Crest, Guardian Soul, Decisive Pumpkin, Fenrir, Sleeping Lion) were stuck on the ground, encircling the group.
"Sora! Sora! Wake up!" Kairi shook the boy back and forth. The said keyblade master was as cold as ice.
Bahamut inwardly smiled. Just then, the once black sky suddenly turned into bright white. "Princess Kairi. Allow me to help him."
Kairi looked at Bahamut. There's no longer hostility in his voice.
Riku growled. "Give me a break! First you try to kill us all, and now you're going to help us?"
Bahamut chuckled. He pointed his claw towards Sora's body, "Elixira." A holy light emanated and Sora's face brightened as life returned to his body. The Keyblader immediately woke up in an instant. "Whoa! What, where are we? Do we make it? What?"
"Sora!" Kairi was flooded with tears. She hugged the brunette boy so tightly; Sora's face was pale blue because he can barely breathe.
Bahamut chuckled. "Princess Kairi, if you strangle him like that, you'll kill him, and I can't bring back the dead you know?"
"Oh! Sorry!"
Sora looked at Bahamut. He could've sworn that he saw the Dragon King was smiling. A red burst later, and Bahamut's human form reappeared. "First of all, I'm sorry for everything I've caused you. I did it because I need to test you all."
"You nearly killed us all… and it was all a test?"
"Don't get me wrong. I did not lie that I was waiting for the time when the denizens of light will see its wrongdoings… and to be honest, I'm already well on the edge of my patience."
"So you were planning to destroy our Keyblades?" Mickey spoke up.
"I was… if you had failed the test."
"Seeing our Keyblades are here… does this mean we've passed the test?"
"Yes… and no. All that was actually a test… to see whether or not this generation possessed the quality needed in order to do the real challenge." Bahamut looked at Sora. "What you've said is very true… there's no such thing as pure heart or impure heart… Light and Darkness will always go around for eternity. Many people said that in words only, little who understand them fully. Sora, clearly you're one of those exceptions."
"Care to explain why did you put us in so much trouble?" Sora was trying his best not to scream it out-loud.
Bahamut smiled. Then the Dragon Heart warped in his hand. "The Keyblade was an ancient weapon of old. Used by the denizens of Light for the sole purpose of defeating the darkness, to keep the balance between Light and Dark in check. However, when used on living beings, the weapon turned into a horrible tool of destruction." The guardian snapped his finger and images of horrible wars and horrific scenes of what seem to be ancient battle flashed throughout the room. "Enticed by the power of the Keyblades, terrible evil began to grow in the hearts of the Light. Countless war ravaged the land. It was an age of ruins and destruction. Forbidden spells such as the ones that I've shown you, was used without mercy. Resulting in a war that spread not only in space but also in time… the war became known as… The Keyblade War. Eventually, it all result in the separation of worlds… creating the world you know now."
Bahamut looked at Kairi. "Princess… do you know the true purpose of the Princess of Hearts?"
"As the main pillars that maintain the stability of the worlds. Right?"
Bahamut nodded sadly. "Yes… that was the modern version beliefs. But in the past, Princesses of Hearts were beings with the ability to unleash the true power of the Keyblade. Beings with powers such as yours, Sora."
Sora flinched. "Kairi isn't a weapon! She's a living being!"
"My sentiments exactly; which is why I separated her from her parents from birth in Radiant Garden and shrouded her identity. That is off course, before Xehanort found her and sent her to the Destiny Island… after erasing her memory of the Radiant Garden."
"…" Kairi frowned.
"You knew all that… yet you did nothing?" Sora growled.
"When the world broke apart, we the Guardians swore that we will not allow the nightmare to repeat. Hence, we gathered from every corner of the world, destructive and horrible powers such as Ultima and Meteor, even ourselves… … and we lock it away… in here. In Kingdom Hearts."
"In Kingdom Hearts? But I thought…"
"That this was the place where Heart gathers? True. But the Heart serves only as the power source to maintain the seal. The true purpose of Kingdom Hearts was a prison to keep the most terrible power in the universe locked away… until the time… when the denizens of light is ready to grasp that power again… for good." Bahamut's face brightened. "…and perhaps… the time may have come. Only a true united heart can generate a shield, powerful enough to stop Mega Flare. Nothing. Absolutely nothing… but that."
"And now I looked upon you all… People from every corner of different worlds gather together for a common cause… It quite pleases me that it seems the world may have become a better place indeed. Thus, I shall grant you denizens of the light, one more chance. Let the gate to the new world be opened." The blast of light burst out from the Dragon's mouth and hit Sora.
"WHOA!"
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TBC.
Anybody knows the name of Kairi's Keyblade?
Dragon Heart: Bahamut's Keyblade. Just imagine Sora's Ultima Weapon in first KH. The colors entirely consist of black and dark blue. The blade was colored in red, while there's a symbol of Bahamut (From FF X) with a pair dragon wings sprouting from one of the side near the edge of the blade.
Sora's Ultima Weapon was using the First Kingdom Heart's Ultima Weapon. Because in my opinion, the Ultima Weapon in KH II was downright ugly. It looked like a melting candle! Still, it's up to you people to fantasize.
I want you guys to tell me what new worlds you want me to put in the story. It will range from: Anime, Games, Cartoon, etc! Just give some ideas on what kind of world you want! I've already received one, which will be implemented on the next chapter, but I. NEED. MORE! P.L.E.A.S.E!
Anyway, Read and Review.
