AUTHOR'S NOTES:
Firstly I want to say a huge thank you to everyone who is following this story and everyone who had favourited it. Honestly every time I get an e-mail to let me know that someone is following this fic it makes me so so happy - so thank you, everyone, for adding it to your follow and/or favourite list. I'd love to know the point at which you decided you wanted to see where this goes!
For now: Once more unto the breach, dear friends, once more…
CHAPTER FOURTEEN | SEVEN AND THIRTEEN
The Keyblade Graveyard was just as cold and haunted as Kairi remembered. She closed her eyes and stifled a shiver that threatened to run the length of her spine as she reached out with her senses. There was a darkness here, lying in wait for them. She forced out a steady breath as the others arrived, disembarking from ships or dropping from their gliders. Aqua, Terra and Ven stayed in their armour, helmets tucked under their arms as they gazed at their surroundings.
"Where to now, Kairi?" Axel asked. She kept her eyes on the barren landscape ahead as she felt them all fall in behind her.
"Nowhere," she answered. "They know we're here."
True to her word a swirling vortex of darkness appeared before them and Luxu emerged, a smug grin plastered over his face as he spread his arms wide to greet them.
"Well hey there, poppet! Glad to see you up and about again. Y'know for a minute there we thought we'd lost you." Kairi remained silent and he arched an eyebrow in response. "Not talking today? That's a shame. Still, not like you need to host any introductions. I know all of your friends already."
"I see you are no less arrogant than before," Isa sneered. Luxu grinned.
"Y'know, I was really hoping you would switch sides," he retorted. "It'll be nice to see what you're really made of. How about we find out whether you really deserved being Xemnas' right-hand man."
"As opposed to who? You?" he asked. "You were an arrogant upstart-"
"Careful," he warned with a smirk. "We're just making small talk. Save the insults for the real fight."
"Where is Sora?" Ven demanded.
"Don't worry, we'll get to Sora soon enough," he said. "First, I want to introduce you to my friends." The still swirling portal behind him seemed to pulse ominously, emitting a belch of darkness that made Kairi's stomach bubble. The Apprentices emerged one by one as Luxu introduced them by name.
Ira came first. He towered over Luxu; the silver hair of his unicorn mask danced in the breeze as he emerged, clad in his blue and white robes. The golden trim gleamed as the purple gems danced. Aced followed close behind, the eyes of his bear mask glowing sickly yellow. He was a broad man, dressed in brown robes with a black trim. His golden tassels glinted as he fell in beside Ira. Gula took his place on Luxu's other side, his leopard mask peering out from beneath the pale yellow hood of his cloak. Like Aced, the trim of his robes was black, but his gems and tassels were bright blue. The final introduction was for Invi, the only female apprentice. She was dressed in blue from head to toe, her hood pulled down low in order to conceal the snake-like mask that hid her face. Her robes were trimmed in gold, like Ira's, but her gems and tassels were pale blue.
All in all, the five of them weren't particularly frightening. Kairi could almost sense the others as they examined them closely, no doubt underestimating them just like Sora had. Kairi wished she didn't know just how strong they truly were. She felt Aced's eyes on her and she shivered; no doubt he could taste her fear.
Luxu folded his arms and narrowed his good eye, muttering under his breath as he pointed to each of his opponents in turn like he was counting. When he was done he held his chin with a thoughtful smirk.
"Well isn't this interesting?" he said at last. "Last time we were here, there were thirteen of us against seven of you. Now it's thirteen of you, against seven of us. Destiny's got a weird sense of humour, don't you think?"
"There are only five of you," Roxas pointed out. "You're two short." Kairi's heart leapt to her throat. She closed her eyes, reaching for Sora, only to find… nothing. The emptiness on the other side of their connection gave her more cause for fear than all five of the wielders standing across from her. She searched her own heart, relieved to find the shard of Sora's still safe and sound. Luxu laughed and she forced her eyes open again.
"Oh yeah, about them," he said. "See I didn't think they'd need an introduction as you've already met them." The swirl of green fire was accompanied by a sickening jolt of darkness that left Kairi breathless as an all-too familiar figure emerged from the flames.
"Maleficent!" Riku was angry. Donald, Goofy and Mickey were horrified. Terra was furious. The others remained silent, watching her closely as she smiled at them.
"Why, I'm so glad you remember me," she said, her voice dripping venom as she stared at them each in turn. Her eyes settled on Aqua, Terra and Ven and her smile soured. "I had been told that you had all returned from your misadventures. How disappointing. You especially, Terra. A shame that you chose to quell the powers of darkness rather than embrace them. You could have been so much more." Terra glowered in response.
"I'm more than enough with the powers of light," he answered curtly. Maleficent sniffed.
"Suit yourself."
"That still leaves you one short," said Riku. His face was calm but his hands were clenched in to fists. She wondered if he'd figured it out too. Perhaps they all had. She felt Axel and Naminé step closer towards her, the former placing himself at her side whilst the latter stood at her back, clutching her hand tightly. Luxu grinned at them. Kairi squeezed back.
"Don't worry, he's here too."
The portal pulsed and a shadow emerged; a shadow in the shape of Sora. His body was black from head to toe, save for two yellow, glowing eyes. Darkness seeped off him in wisps that rose like steam, dissipating in to the air around him. He scrambled on all fours, taking his place in line opposite Maleficent where he crouched – one hand on the floor for balance and the other drawn back, ready to strike. Kairi's whole body ached, her stomach twisted in agony, and when the shadow's eyes met hers she swallowed bile.
I'd never do anything to hurt you.
"Sora!" Riku cried. Several others called his name. Naminé let out out a sob. Kairi reached for him again, a hand clutched over her heart as she sought out his connection only to be met with that same hollow emptiness.
"Don't worry," Donald huffed. "He does this sometimes. He'll cool off in a minute or two, right Goofy?" Goofy nodded, but his eyes were wide and filled with terror. Luxu laughed.
"Oh sure, that's how it started," said Luxu, "but you see now I have this." He dipped a hand inside his cloak and emerged with a glass jar. A crystalline heart floated in the middle, spinning lazy circles and emitting gentle pulses of light like a heartbeat. It turned around and Kairi saw the space where a chunk of the heart was missing. "There is no heart left in Sora, and so long as it stays that way he is stuck in this form, fully under my control."
Sora bobbed from side to side, his eyes twitching this way and that as the darkness continue to pour off him. Kairi turned on her heel, tugging Naminé closer to Axel.
"Get her out of here," she ordered. He nodded and flicked his fingers, only to come up empty. He tried again and again, each attempt as unsuccessful as the last. Luxu laughed.
"Don't bother," he called. "You're not leaving until we get what we want, and we're not interested in her. We're interested in you, Princess. Or, rather, what's in your heart." She stiffed and turned slowly back to Luxu who grinned malevolently at her.
"Haven't you done enough damage to her heart already?" Ven snapped.
"Weren't you listening? We want what's inside it. See poppet here is looking after a fragment of dear old Sora's heart, and we kinda need it."
"Why?" Riku asked.
"That's for us to know," he said. "You'd find out a lot faster if poppet just gave it up, but somehow I don't see that happening."
"Not a chance," Kairi answered. He folded his arms.
"Yeah, I thought as much," he said. "Looks like we're gonna have to take it by force."
"Well good luck trying," Ven spat. "You're outnumbered."
"Seven of you beat thirteen of us," Luxu said. "I'm just sayin' that I wouldn't bet against those odds, especially when only twelve of you are actually fighting." Kairi stepped closer to Naminé and felt Axel and Roxas do the same.
"Let her go!" cried Roxas.
"Y'know, I don't think I will," Luxu replied. "You're the ones who brought her here, so you can be the ones to look out for her. You do outnumber us, after all. I'm sure one of you can stay by her side."
"I'll do it," Xion said firmly before anyone could stop her. Roxas made to object but she cut him off before he'd barely opened his mouth. "Help Axel protect Kairi."
"Tell you what," Luxu began with a grin, "why don't we take this slow? Ira, would you like to start us off?" Ira nodded solemnly and stepped forwards. The horn of his unicorn mask gleamed as his keyblade appeared, a sleek silver-white shaft with a black handle.
"Summon your weapons," Ira commanded, holding his keyblade level. Kairi wanted nothing more than to turn and run, and it took everything she had stand her ground and call Destiny's Embrace in to her hand. She locked eyes with Sora, wishing he was by her side as Ira charged. Riku rushed out to meet him and their blades clashed with a deafening CLANG. Ira was the first to recover, pulling back with one hand while the other blasted Riku in the chest and sent him stumbling backwards. Mickey was by his side in a heartbeat, circling around Riku as he fired time magic at Ira who deftly sidestepped the attack. With a flick of his wrist he conjured pillars of light that sprouted from the ground around Mickey and Riku. As soon as they were formed Ira made a slicing motion with his keyblade, shattering the pillars and sending the shards hurtling towards Riku and Mickey. Aqua charged towards them, throwing burst of magic towards them which formed a shield in the nick of time, though it quickly shattered under the pressure.
"Aced," Luxu called, "you're up." Aced stormed forwards, catching Aqua's charge and easily throwing her off-course. She skidded through the dirt and rolled to her feet, only to be caught off-guard as he slammed his keyblade to the floor and created a fissure that made the ground underfoot tremble. The blade's black teeth, curved like a crescent, gleamed as he charged towards her. He was intercepted by Earthshaker which span across his path from Terra's well-timed throw. Terra charged forwards to reclaim his keyblade and he brought it down on Aced with a guttural roar. Aced merely snarled and deflected the attack before landing a powerful blow that left Terra staggering.
"Your turn, Gula." Gula summoned is blade – teeth like lightning that danced down the shaft and split to form a jagged, electric guard – and darted forwards, the gleaming eyes of his leopard mask fixed on Terra. He was fast but Ven was faster; he barrelled in to Gula and the two went tumbling through the dirt. Donald and Goofy were at his side in an instant; Donald sent several blasts of fire towards Gula who danced nimbly out of the way as Goofy hauled Ven to his feet. Gula charged again, knocking Donald aside with ease before setting his sights on Goofy who turned at the last second, blocking the attack with his shield. Luxu grinned.
"Invi, why don't you join them?" Invi stepped forwards, keyblade in hand. It was long and delicate; grey and navy at its core and decorated with silver swirls and leaves. Roxas shared a nod with Axel before sprinting forwards, his keyblade emitting several sharp blasts of ice as he charged. Invi sliced through the air with her keyblade and the icicles melted, turning to water that fell to the ground with a small splash. She retaliated with a powerful gust of wind that send Roxas spiralling in to the air with a surprised yell, tumbling higher and higher.
"Roxas!" Axel called, ready to charge. Isa gripped his shoulder tightly.
"Stay here," he ordered. His lunatic claymore appeared with a flash and he charged, circling the blade over his head and swinging at Invi. She barely flinched as he approached, waiting until the last second to summon a wall of ice at her side to block the blade. The claymore stuck fast, leaving Isa completely vulnerable as she began a sequence of powerful blows that sent him staggering backwards. Roxas tumbled to the ground behind her and dragged himself to his feet only to be blasted back down by a burst of lightning from her free hand.
"Enough of this," Maleficent hissed. She raised her staff high overhead and the orb began to glow a sickening green. Kairi placed herself infront of Naminé while Xion moved to stand should to shoulder with Axel who had dropped in to a crouch, ready to strike. Maleficent slammed her staff against the ground, sending a shockwave of darkness out in to the dirt. At once the heartless began to rise in droves; shadows and darkballs and soldiers interspersed with large bodies and phantoms.
"Naminé-" Xion began.
"I can make a shield," she said firmly. "Go, protect Kairi." She danced back then, crouching low to the ground and spreading her hands wide to form a bubble-like shield. The heartless were turning towards them, their beady eyes glistening hungrily as they started to charge.
"Axel!" Xion snapped.
"Gotcha!" Axel replied. They took up positions again, leaving Kairi trapped between them and Naminé's shield. She gripped Destiny's Embrace tightly as they clashed with the first heartless, dispatching them with ease, but it wasn't long until the shadows started attacking from the side. Kairi grit her teeth, her knuckles white as she looked at the oncoming hoarde.
"Kairi," Naminé called, "I'm going to try and strengthen your connection to Sora. Maybe if you can reach him, you can break Luxu's control over him." Kairi nodded, throwing her own shield over Naminé's before turning to face the heartless.
"Light!" It blossomed in the air around her, forming stars that fell like meteors to obliterate the heartless below. She darted forwards, lashing out to protect Xion's blind spot as a shadow leapt for her head. With her free hand she summoned a wall of ice by Axel's side to intercept a charging large body. It hit the wall headfirst and rebounded, stuned long enough for Kairi to dart over and finish it off. She threw her healing magic wide, wrapping it around Axel and Xion who thanked her before darting forwards for their next opponents. Kairi swung her keyblade wide, knocking back several smaller shadows as she sought out the next threat. A darkball hovered several feet away, its beady eyes trained on her as it released a belch of darkness that flew straight for her. She blocked it, letting it dissipate against her keyblade, but in her moment of distraction the darkball had disappeared. She felt it behind her, heard its snarl, and threw herself forward to avoid its gleaming teeth.
"Ice!" The shard slipped through the darkball's open jaw and speared it through. It emitted a final wheeze as it faded like smoke to reveal the incoming phantom behind it. The heartless looked like a ragged cloak worn by an invisible figure, and its tattered claw-like hand reached for her as it approach. Kairi crouched low, waiting until it was in range before she leapt high in to the air to bring her keyblade crashing down across the heartless' back. It twisted with a roar, swiping at her as it passed. She deflected the blow more out of luck than skill. She landed and rolled to avoid a leaping shadow. The phantom span to face her, its robe fluttering open to reveal the glowing orb at its core. It was glowing red, but by the time her fire attack had reached it the orb had shifted to yellow. She cursed under her breath, watching the phantom carefully as its hands shifted. Its fingers twitched and danced as it formed a sphere between its palms which grew and grew until the phantom pushed it forwards. Kairi darted aside to dodge the attack but found herself in the path of a barrelling large body that caught her off-guard and sent her flying back in to the path of the phantom's sphere.
It sent an icy chill coursing through her body. Her limbs felt like lead and she tumbled to the ground, unable to catch herself. Her head hit the floor and for a moment the world was lost behind a blinding flash of pain. She winced, curling in on herself as exhaustion set in. The phantom hovered nearby, fingers dancing, and Kairi groaned. The phantom was draining her energy, but it wouldn't last long. Sora had told her about these heartless; the effects were awful but temporary. She threw up a shield and buried her face in her knees, waiting for it to pass. At long last she felt warmth creeping back in to her limbs and she sighed with relief.
"Heal!" It wiped the last of the chill from her fingers and replaced the strength the phantom had stolen. She dropped the shield and rolled back to her feet, fixing the phantom in her sights as she unleashed a barrage of fire that took to its robes. The heartless went up in flames, emitting a terrifying shriek as it arched back. The orb at its centre shifted to white and Kairi sent a beam of light lancing towards it chest, silencing it.
She glanced around, taking stock of the fight. She could still hear Axel and Xion but she could no longer see them. She assumed they were in the middle of the nearest cluster of heartless. She could hear the others too – Riku's bellowing roar, Aqua's shout, Roxas' yell – but they too were lost somewhere in the swathes of heartless. Kairi found an ether in her pocket and swallowed it in a single gulp as she turned back to check on Naminé.
Her eyes were wide, tears racing down her cheeks. Her hands were clamped over her mouth in horror as she stared at something unseen. Both shields had fallen, leaving her completely exposed, which might not have been a problem were it not for the hulking figure slowly making his way towards her. Aced, keyblade in hand, the gleaming eyes of his bear mask fixed firmly on Kairi.
"No!" she cried. A formless blast of magic struck Naminé from behind and she slumped to the ground as Aced brought his keyblade high overhead. Kairi's heart raced, she would never reach Naminé in time to pull her to safety. Aced slammed his blade in the ground at his feet, splitting the dirt and starting a crevice that raced towards Naminé.
"Wind!" Kairi bellowed. The gust was just enough to toss Naminé to the side, out of the way of the fissure, but it left Kairi with no time to defend herself. The ground fell away as she jumped, leaving her at less than half-power as the ground opened up below. She floundered for several seconds, panicked and desperately trying to form a plan. She threw her hand out to create an icy path that sprouted from the ground and came up to catch her. She slid to safety with such speed that she couldn't stop, and she went sprawling through the dirt until she bumped in to something tall and firm.
"And here I thought I'd have to plan some complicated scheme to get you on your own. Y'know, princess, sometimes you make it too easy." She lashed out blindly and Luxu leapt back, giving her enough room to stand. She held her keyblade level, aware of the tremors running down her arm at the effort.
"Why are you doing this?" she asked.
"You know why," he said. "I need the missing piece of Sora's heart."
"But why?"
"So that Sora can fulfil his destiny," Luxu answered. He folded his arms with a smirk. "This all could've been avoided if he'd just been a good little boy like he was told, but no… Sora had to be, well, Sora." Kairi pressed her free hand over her heart and glared.
"You'll never take it from me," she hissed. Luxu chuckled.
"Don't worry, princess, I don't plan to. I figured I'd let Sora take it for himself." He stepped aside to reveal Sora waiting behind him, dripping darkness and poised ready to strike. His beady eyes landed on hers and she felt her heart stop.
If I can reach him, I can set him free, she thought. It wouldn't be the first time, after all. Hollow Bastion was so long ago but she could still remember it so clearly; watching the shadow approaching her so nervously, feeling so sure in the knowledge that it was Sora – her Sora – just waiting for the light.
Sora charged, leaving wisps of darkness on his wake, and she drew herself up tall. Destiny's Embrace fell away in a shower of sparks and she spread her arms wide, reaching her heart out to his. This had to work. It had to-
Gold eyes flickered green and Sora skidded to a halt several paces away. She watched the battle raging in his eyes – flashing gold and green as he fought for control. She took a step closer and he shied away.
"It's okay," she whispered, reaching for him. "It's going to be okay. Come back to me, Sora." Green eyes turned to blue for the briefest moment, filling her with such hope she thought she might explode. She took another step closer, holding her hand out towards him. Luxu chuckled.
"How cute."
It was all the warning she got. Sora's eyes gleamed yellow and he barrelled towards her, closing the distance between them in a single bound. Claw-like fingers swiped at her, the darkness and the light colliding with such force that she was flung back. Her body went limp with shock as she flew threw the air, unable to take her eyes off Sora. Beady yellow eyes watched her go as he bobbed from side to side, crouching down again. Voices called her name.
She hit the ground hard; the force knocked the wind from her lungs as she slowly rolled to a stop. She pushed herself up on shaking elbows, placing a hand over her heart where Sora had struck her. Her fingers came away sticky, covered in blood, and acrid bile rose in her throat. Her side ached. She couldn't catch her breath. She looked up; the world was spinning. Voices were calling to her from all sides, but she couldn't see them. The heartless had formed a ring around her, keeping the others at bay and leaving her alone with Sora who was charging again.
"Sora, please…" She tried to stand but the world span and she tilted back in to the dirt. Sora was quickly closing in on her, scrambling towards her. Her heart leapt to her throat. "Sora, please!" Her cries went unanswered as Sora continued to charge, leaping high in the air, his blood-stained claws gleaming as he brought them down towards her. Kairi closed her eyes, screaming his name and hoping for a miracle.
The blow never came. She heard a low growl followed by frantic scrabbling but she remained untouched. A sudden pressure in her chest made her gasp and her eyes flew open.
She was surrounded by darkness. The heartless had formed a shield around her, their bodies twisting and writhing together. Sora was attacking from the outside, trying to claw his way through, but for every heartless he destroyed another appeared to take its place.
It didn't make any sense. The heartless were under Maleficent's control, and she was most definitely on Luxu's side. Part of her hoped that perhaps it was Sora – that somehow in this strange form he was able to reach out and take control – but that didn't seem likely based on how desperately he was trying to destroy them. Kairi reached out, hand trembling as she reached towards the nearest shadow. It turned sharply and she recoiled with a gasp; this wasn't a heartless. Its face was sharp and tinted purple, its nose sharp and pointed. Two jagged antenna rose from either side of its head, falling backwards instead of forwards, and its glowing red eyes blinked slowly at her once – twice – before it turned back to the wall of bodies to fill a gap caused by its destroyed neighbour. Kairi's heart ached.
You have to run.
The voice echoed inside her head, louder than her own thoughts. She swallowed a scream, searching wildly for the source, but all she found were the not-heartless (familiar, so familiar) surrounding her – protecting her – on all sides.
"I can't," she said. "Sora-"
You can't help Sora right now, the voice retorted sharply. It was a male voice, familiar in a way that made her shudder. So close to being right that it sounded wrong. If you don't leave, he'll only do something that you'll both regret.
The voice was right, of course. She glanced down at the weeping lines across her chest. The front of her pink dress was stained crimson. Sora would already regret that. He lamented enough over all the marks that other people had given her; she didn't know how he would cope with the thought of having scarred her himself. She winced as a jolt of pain ran through her heart. Another hole appeared in the wall and more creatures emerged to fill it.
"How can I get out?" she asked. "Luxu has us trapped."
You try one option and accept defeat when it doesn't work? the voice scoffed. Your friend couldn't make a corridor of darkness, but that doesn't mean you can't fly out of here. He has a barrier around this world but you can break it, and when you do your friends will be free to follow.
"How do you know for sure?" she asked.
I saw him create it, the voice answered. Now get ready to run. One… Two… THREE
The creatures launched themselves away from her, swarming Sora and holding him back. Kairi didn't hesitate; she scrambled to her feet and took off running.
"Luxu!" she head Invi cry. She launched Destiny's Embrace in to the air, sending it spiralling up in to the clouds. Luxu laughed.
"Let her go," he shouted. "I wanna see how this plays out." The heartless parted before her and she spied Naminé, lying still in the dirt. Kairi changed her course, snatching Naminé in to her arms and leaping over the crevice. Her glider swooped underneath her and she held on as best she could, draping Naminé over the handlebars as she pointed her glider towards the sky. She felt Luxu's barrier approaching and she held a hand out in front of her.
"LIGHT!"
A gossamer wall appeared for the briefest moment as the beam of light hit before it shattered like glass. Kairi pressed her glider forwards, slipping in to the Lanes Between and leaving Luxu's surprised laughter far behind.
And the Foretellers finally appear. Of course, Kairi doesn't know them as the Foretellers, so as far as she (and the rest of the Guardians) are concerned they are known as The Apprentices because this is how Luxu introduced them.
I know I said that this story wouldn't be influenced by the Re:Mind DLC, but daaaamn Kairi's attack from the trailer was just too good. We see a low-level version of it here, but I will no doubt be using the fully-powered version we glimpsed in the trailer at some point. Also, I believe that Something Big has happened in Union Cross. I will be catching up at some point soon, but as I've mentioned before the story structure for this fic is outlined (in no small amount of detail). Whatever the Something in Union Cross is, it will not be a part of this story (unless of course I have somehow managed to figure it out and my headcanon is, in fact, canon).
As for the mysterious voice, did you figure it out?
See you next time!