Alrighty! So here we go with something of a fun little interval chapter that I really enjoyed working on and finished up pretty quickly. I gotta say it was weird that we didn't hear from any of the Disney Castle gang outside of the classic trio and like... Chip and Dale in KH3 so this is sort of my way of rectifying that. What I can I say? I have a soft spot for these characters. And we get to hang out with Kairi and Axel too, who I also have a huge soft spot for. As well as... someone else we haven't seen in awhile hahahaha. Anyway with all that out of the way, enjoy! (UPDATED 11/9/20)
Chapter 28: Firsthand Experience
Lose, soon I'll have nothing to
He's always hated this world, ever since his first brief venture here over a decade ago. It's far too lively, far too colorful, far too bright to the point that simply being in it practically makes him sick. Scattering his Unversed throughout it back then had done relatively little to dull that brightness, which was why he has no real intentions of repeating his previous course of action until he really needs to. Because this time, he has a much more specific purpose in mind for coming here than he did before, a purpose that will require perfect timing and precision if he hopes to see it through to the end.
Still, that doesn't mean he can't take the time to harbor at least some disdain for the downright garish town that lay before him. Its residents meander about the chronically cheerful streets below, innocently going about their daily routines, oblivious to the lurking figure watching them from the shadows of a rooftop. He hardly pays any of them much mind, however, instead setting his sights toward the pure, glistening towers of the pristine castle just down the path before him.
The Unversed will make slipping into its walls easy enough, and once inside, he isn't expecting to see much resistance given the relatively unintimidating denizens this world is home to. Certainly it won't take long for those denizens to buckle under the strain the Unversed will put them under, and it'll only be a matter of time before their pleas for help reach his intended target. And once that target, his near-twin, hears those cries, it won't be long before he'll "heroically" come running to save them. Only to run right into a well-crafted trap instead.
He's just about ready to begin putting that trap together, when a sudden burst of blinding pain shoots its way through his chest seemingly out of nowhere. He stumbles back, stifling an agonized groan before he ultimately collapses onto the rooftop he's taken refuge on, fortunately not catching anyone's attention down below. Wave upon wave of that same brutal sting strikes him, hitting right at his heart as he lay still, practically paralyzed by its electrifying pulse. Out of the corner of his eye, he can see it happening again, harsh, radiant light swelling over his limbs, overtaking him far faster than he could ever hope to stop it. Despite his body being tormented by that aggressive light, it numbs his mind to the point of incoherence as he helplessly succumbs to it completely. And, consumed by that obliterating, oppressive golden glow, there he lay, completely still, unable to move, unable to speak, unable to even think as that unwelcome, unwanted light clashes violently with the immense darkness his own heart is composed of.
And, after what feels like hours of being all but lost to the mindless oblivion of the light, it's over just as quickly as it started. His autonomy returns to him, his pain finally dulling as he slowly, weakly opens his eyes. With a tired groan, he sits up, placing a ginger hand against his helmet-covered head as bitter frustration fills him in place of the light that is now thankfully gone. This entire ordeal isn't anything new to him; it's been happening every now and again ever since his former master brought him forward into the present. And while at first it had been an absolute, unsettling mystery as to why, his plethora of questions had all been answered upon meeting his incidental twin face to face for the first time. The boy who had not only managed to form a connection with Ventus long ago, but had also inexplicably done the same with him as well.
It's a connection that he doesn't want, a connection he downright hates for poisoning him with this torturous blight while his false twin steals some of his own powerful darkness in its place. He hates that connection, every bit as much as he hates the interloping, idiotic boy who had formed it in the first place.
The boy Vanitas has absolutely no qualms about bringing to a swift and violent end as long as it means he'll finally get what was rightfully his, once and for all.
Kairi hums softly to herself, a small, but contented smile on her face as she goes about her usual morning chores. At the same time, Axel tends to his own, failing to suppress a tired yawn as he dusts some of the bookshelves off, bored as ever by the drudgery of the far-too-early routine Merlin sets them on each day before their training begins. Still, he can't help but notice his fellow-pupil's clearly upbeat, almost dreamy manner, her smile fond and her eyes closed as she practically dances around the room with the broom she's supposed to be sweeping with. Axel lets out a small, amused chuckle as he puts his feather duster aside to watch her meander about, before finally catching her completely off guard by speaking to her blissful behavior.
"You know, I hate to break it to you," he smirks, crossing his arms. "But a broom makes for a pretty stiff dancing partner, don'tcha think?"
Kairi starts, flustered as she stops mid-spin, looking to Axel in disgruntled alarm. "I-I wasn't dancing! I was cleaning," she corrects sternly as she quickly resumes her sweeping. "Which is what you should be doing too before Merlin comes in and catches you slacking off, again."
"Yeah, yeah, I'm cleaning," Axel huffs as he turns back to his dusting. "But what's got you in such a good mood anyway? You had a pleasant dream last night or something?"
"Even better," Kairi grins with a sweet, reminiscent smile. "Sora called me last night. He was in a world where they have this festival where they send up hundreds of beautiful floating lanterns and I got to see them! He even…" she trails off, her smile growing a bit as she tries to hide the rush of red filling her cheeks, knowing that Axel will tease her for it.
And teasing certainly seems to be his intent as he urges her to go on in a curious, but clearly cloying tone. "Even what?"
"...He even sent one of those lanterns up for both of us," she says with a wistful sigh. "And at the same time, I managed to help him find the next Key he was looking for. The entire call didn't even last that long but still… seeing Sora that happy again after everything he's been through… I guess it has me feeling pretty happy too."
"Aw, sounds like you two had a really nice date," Axel remarks, his tone light and wry despite Kairi's embarrassed reaction to such a thought.
"I-It wasn't a date!" she protests, blushing.
"Suuuure, it wasn't," Axel rolls his eyes knowingly. "Just like all of those walks around town the two of you used to go on when Sora was staying here weren't 'dates' either."
Kairi scoffs, playfully swinging the soft end of her broom at her fellow pupil. "You're the worst, Axel," she chuckles as he easily dodges her faux "attack".
"And that's a fact I pride myself on," he quips, still upholding a smug smile. "Still, you must be getting pretty excited. You heard what the old man said the other day, about how our training is set to wrap up soon. And once it does, you'll have plenty of time to spend with your boyfriend."
This time, the broom actually connects with Axel's gut in a swing he isn't ready for, one that had plenty of adamant resistance behind it. "For the last time, Axel," Kairi huffs, though she still manages a small smile all the same. "Sora and I are just friends!"
"Yeah, that's how it starts," Axel nods, rubbing his now-sore abdomen. "You're 'just friends' at first, and then you go from there, and… if you're lucky, you get to be a little more than that. If not… well…" He trails off, his smile finally fading as remorse slowly finds a place in his expression. Remorse that always seems to follow any thought he has about Saïx anymore.
"...Axel?" Kairi ventures with newfound concern as she puts her broom aside. However, despite that concern, and despite Axel's hasty attempt at shaking off his solemn mood, neither of them have a chance to press the matter any further as a stark, blaring alarm suddenly erupts through the room.
Said alarm comes from Cid's computer, its several screens flashing with an array of urgent messages as its noisy alerts continue echoing in a hectic chorus of beeps and sirens. Kairi and Axel only have the sparest of moments to exchange a startled glance before Merlin bursts into the room from his private chambers, clearly annoyed by the irksome clamor that can be heard from practically any point in the house.
"Oh, blast it all!" he exclaims, slamming the book in his hands shut as he trudges out into the main room. "Can't a wizard get a little light morning reading done without being rudely interrupted by some ridiculous ruckus!? Where is all of that awful noise even coming from?"
"Uh, Cid's computer-"
"Oh, of course it would be that confounded contraption!" Merlin interrupts Kairi as he makes his way over to the still-blaring machine. "I knew I should have never allowed him to build this disaster of a device inside my home. And of all the times for the others to be out on their patrol." He pauses, turning to his pair of pupils for much needed aid. "I may have undisputed mastery over magic, but admittedly, I'm an absolute novice when it comes to matters such as these. Do either of you have any experience when it comes to computers?"
"Step aside, gramps," Axel grins, cracking his knuckles as he steps up to the computer. "I'm sure I can get this thing to shut up real quick. Who knows? Maybe I won't even have to bust its screens in."
"Do whatever you must just as long as you get it to stop," Merlin grumbles, impatiently covering his ears against the relentless din.
"Alrighty, let's see here…" Axel muses, glancing between the large keyboard and the screens above it. Kairi joins him, largely out of curiosity alone given her own relative lack of experience with such advanced technology. But from as far as she can tell, Axel's own confidence with the machine seems to falter as well now that he's actually in front of the computer himself. "Ok, all you gotta do is press… uh… hm…" he frowns, looking over the complex machine with growing confusion. At the same time, Kairi turns her attention to its multitude of screens, noticing that at least one of the smaller ones is flashing with the message: "incoming call".
"Um… maybe try this one?" she suggests, pressing one of the several smaller keys that reads "answer". The alarms finally silence at this as the computer begins to connect to whoever is on the other end of the call, much to Merlin's immense relief.
"Ah! A piece of peace and quiet at last!" the wizard sighs contentedly.
"Tch, I could have figured that out," Axel sends Kairi a critical look.
"Sure you could have," she teases, playfully nudging him with her elbow.
The levity in the room quickly shifts, however as the call comes through and a panicked pair pops up on screen. "Master Merlin! Thank goodness we finally got a hold of someone!"
"My my, if it isn't Chip and Dale!" Merlin greets the duo of engineers cordially. "It's been quite awhile since I've last heard from you two. Now, what has you boys in such a tizzy?"
"Oh, i-its awful!" Chip squeaks fretfully.
"Terrible!" Dale adds just as anxiously.
"Unspeakable!"
"Well, would you mind speaking it so we'll actually know what's going on?" Merlin presses, crossing his arms.
The pair of chipmunks exchange a tight glance before they both blurt out the disastrous straits they've found themselves in at the same time. "Disney Castle is under attack!"
"What?!" Merlin exclaims in apt alarm, alarm that Kairi and Axel share as they exchange a startled glance. "But how could that be? The Cornerstone of Light should be protecting the castle from the likes of any intruding Heartless!"
"T-that's just it! These monsters aren't Heartless!" Dale corrects, waving his arms frantically. "It's been years since we've seen anything like them around here! They're… uh… well…"
"We don't really know what they are!" Chip bemoans. "They're these shadowy, pointy fellas, and they're really dangerous at that! There's a whole bunch of 'em roaming through the palace halls and none of us know how to get rid of 'em!"
"We tried callin' the king and Riku to see if they could come help get rid of them," Dale explains. "But they didn't answer!"
"And neither did Sora, Donald, and Goofy when we called them!" Chip adds, just as stressed.
"What…?" Kairi mutters in newfound confusion upon hearing this. She understands why Riku might not have been able to answer; as far as any of them know, him and the king could very well be back in the Realm of Darkness by now in their continued search for Aqua, a place where they're all but unreachable, even by Gummi Phone. But by all accounts, Sora should have been much more capable of responding, especially given the fact that she'd just spoken with him over the phone just a few hours prior. So then, what could have kept him from answering such an urgent cry for help?
"After we couldn't get through to any of them, the queen asked us to reach out to you, Merlin," Dale says, a hint of pleading in his tone. "She said she'd really appreciate any help you might be able to give us right now-"
"And so would we!" Chip says earnestly.
"Mm… yes…" Merlin nods, stroking his long beard thoughtfully. "Well, I'm willing to do whatever I can to assist, of course. Tell Her Majesty that I'll be there in just a-"
"Wait," Kairi suddenly interjects, catching everyone off guard as she acts on both impulse and the newfound idea that's just struck her. "Maybe… maybe Axel and I could go help instead."
"We could?" Axel balks as he turns to his fellow pupil.
"You could…?" Merlin echoes just as incredulously. Despite his initial doubts, however, a moment or two of pondering the proposal seems to change his tune. "Hm… perhaps you could…" he muses, much to Kairi's excitement and Axel's bewilderment. "After all, I was just in the process of trying to put together your next exam… and if you're both looking for the chance to truly prove yourselves, then this could prove to be exactly that. But then again, the nature of the monsters attacking the castle is a relative unknown… Facing them on your own could prove to be quite a risky endeavor."
"W-we can handle them!" Kairi insists brazenly. "After all, we've faced off against plenty of Heartless while training before, haven't we, Axel?"
"Er… yeah, but… this isn't gonna be another round of training," Axel points out with a worried frown. "It's the real deal, and like the old man said, it could be dangerous. I know I'm up for it, but… are you sure you are, Kairi?"
"Of course, I am!" Kairi snaps, appalled that he'd even ask such a question. Especially after how she'd bravely managed to hold her own during their daunting mission to rescue Sora from Maleficent. A mission that Merlin still doesn't know anything about, but Axel certainly does given the fact that he'd actually been there to see it firsthand. "You know I am," she adds, her tone softer but still every bit as rigid.
Axel catches her drift at this, quickly relenting as he lets out a small sigh amidst a reassured smile. "Right, 'course you are. So, Gramps," he turns back to Merlin. "You gonna let us go knock in a few monsters' heads, or not?"
"Well, if you both believe you're ready to face such a genuine threat, then I see no reason to hold either of you back," Merlin concludes as he calls upon his magic wand. "After all, I've always found that the best lessons come from firsthand experience. Even so, I advise both of you to take care out there; and if at any time you feel as though you're a bit in over your heads, all you need to holler for help and I'll be there to lend a hand in a jiffy."
"Thank you, Merlin," Kairi says, relieved to receive his blessing for such an arduous mission.
"I have a feeling we won't be needing any extra help though," Axel remarks with a confident, almost cocky smirk.
"...We'll see," Merlin replies dryly, using his wand to conjure up a portal to the castle. "Chip, Dale, inform Her Majesty that the cavalry will be arriving momentarily."
"Aye, aye, Master Merlin!" Chip exclaims as him and Dale offer a hearty salute just shy of their call coming to a close.
"And as for you two," the wizard addresses his students as he prepares to see them off. "Remember what I've taught you; keep your focus sharp, utilize your strengths and your enemies' weaknesses, and work together." The pair nods, ready for this decisive mission and whatever it might entail as they step forward into the portal to face it. "And most importantly," Merlin calls after them as they leave. "Be sure to make this old spellcaster proud!"
Queen Minnie found herself in a similar predicament before, surprisingly not too long ago at that. It's a comparable catastrophe to the one her castle is in now; with forign darkness swelling in its pristine, radiant halls. Before, she'd been able to rely on the stalwart strength and courage of her own court magician and captain of the guard, along with their young, spirited Keyblade-wielding companion to drive that darkness away and restore Disney Castle to its proper light and glory. But now, the situation is much more uncertain as her relatively defenseless palace is bombarded by darkness once more, though of an entirely different kind. A darkness that the queen and the only other inhabitants of the castle are kept safe from thanks to the relative security the library offers.
"Ease up a bit, your highness," Daisy speaks up with her best attempt at quelling Minnie's mounting dread. "If you keep on pacing like that, you're going to end up running a rut into the floor before it's all over with."
"Oh, you know I don't mean to worry so much, Daisy, but I can't help it," the queen frowns fretfully. "Who knows what kind of havoc those monsters are wreaking right outside that door? I'd feel much better if the king were here to fend them off…" She sighs, wishing that Mickey had actually answered their call for help. After all, even though Minnie knows his own mission is highly important for the safety of the worlds at large, he still has a duty to his own kingdom all the same.
"...Yeah, I can't argue with you there," Daisy agrees with a small sigh. "This whole mess kind of has me wishing Donald were here too. I'm sure he'd give those pests what for! N-not that I like to give him too much credit. Otherwise it might all go to his head, and that's already big enough as it is…"
The pair shares a small chuckle, their spirits lifting over this bout of fond levity, if only slightly given what they're up against. "Still, you don't have to worry that much, Mins," Daisy continues, placing a reassuring hand on her friend's shoulder. "You heard what Chip and Dale said: Merlin's sending his students to come help us! I'm sure they're on their way here even as we speak."
"Actually," Dale pipes up as he and Chip turn to the fledgling spark of light forming in the far corner of the library. "It looks like they're finally here now!"
Sure enough, that light soon blooms into a portal and out of that portal, Kairi and Axel emerge, both of them already on high alert for whatever threat they might face first. They are, however, admittedly rather surprised to be met with a relative lack of monsters, and instead a collection of friendly faces waiting for them upon their arrival.
"Oh thank goodness, you both made it!" Minnie clasps her hands together in delight. She wastes no time in rushing over to greet the pair. "We're all so grateful to have you here, especially at a time like this," she begins, looking between the duo warmly. "...Lea, was it?" She addresses the former assassin first, recognizing him from another timely save not too long ago. "It's good to see you again."
"Yeah," Axel offers the queen a small, respectful nod and a smile. "Wish it was under better circumstances though."
"If only it was…" Minnie frowns briefly, though she's quick to perk up upon turning to Merlin's other student. "And you must be Kairi."
"Yes, ma'am," Kairi says with a bit of a polite bow. "It's an honor to meet you, Your Majesty."
"The honor's all mine," Minnie smiles kindly. "The king told me that you're one of the Princesses of Heart. I've never met any of the others myself, but I've heard your hearts are full of pure, powerful light."
"S-so everyone keeps telling me…" Kairi lets out something of an uneasy chuckle at this additional reminder of just how special she supposedly is.
"We could definitely use a whole lot of light right about now," Daisy speaks up as she comes to stand by Minnie's side. "What with all those monsters running around all over the place."
"About those monsters," Kairi begins, curious to know more about what they'll be up against. "When did they start showing up here?"
"Only a few hours ago, by my count," Chip says from his and Dale's spot on the nearby desk.
"And they've been causing all sorts of trouble ever since!" Dale adds petulantly.
"Don't you guys have some kind of guards that are supposed to deal with things like this?" Axel asks, hands on his hips.
"Well, normally our Cornerstone of Light, hidden deep underneath the castle, would protect us from any invading evil," Minnie explains, shaking her head worriedly. "But even its great power has been able to do little to ward off these monsters. I cast a spell not too long ago to secure this room to keep any of them from attacking any of us, but I can only imagine what they're doing to the rest of the castle. And even worse, if we don't contain them soon, they might find a way to spill out into town, putting all of the poor folks who live there in terrible danger!"
"We won't let that happen, Your Majesty," Kairi says, resolved to do whatever she can to help the innocent inhabitants of this world. "Axel and I will find a way to stop those monsters and get rid of them before things can get any worse."
"Oh, thank you!" Minnie smiles with a genuine sigh of immense relief.
"You sure do sound confident about that," Daisy notes with a bit of a smirk.
"She always does," Axel adds wryly, catching the playful pout Kairi sends his way. "Especially when she's about to do something risky and even more so when she doesn't have a plan."
Kairi responds to this sarcastic remark with another elbow jab aimed right at Axel's stomach. He takes it well enough, letting out a small chuckle that Kairi can't help but join in on after a moment or two. Still, they cut this bout of teasing short for the sake of the situation, knowing that there will be plenty of time for such lighthearted sentiments after the threat besieging the castle is taken care of.
"So you two said these things weren't Heartless, right?" Axel asks, glancing over at Chip and Dale. The pair shake their heads in response. "Well, if they're not Heartless, then what are they exactly?"
Before anyone can even try to answer, a sudden bang on the large library doors rattles through the entire room, sparking a jolt of apt alarm through just about everyone present. "They're here!" Chip squeaks in terror, leaping to hide behind Dale.
"Queen Minnie, w-what should we do?!" Dale asks, shuddering in fear as the clamor at the door continues.
"Now, now," Minnie tries her best to ease the frightened pair. "We'll figure something out to-"
"Y-your Majesty!" A frantic voice suddenly rises up between the hectic pounding on the other side of the door. "C-could you open the door please? Like, right now, if it's not too much trouble?!"
"Oh my!" Minnie gasps, not hesitating to raise a hand as light envelopes it. Her magic briefly undoes the seal on the door, allowing a beleaguered, battle-weary figure to stumble in through it. "Are you alright, Max?"
Max nods, pressing his full weight against the door upon closing it to keep the monsters still roaming the halls out. "Y-yeah, just a little winded from running from those things," He scowls back at the door in annoyance as he lets his weapon, a sturdy, well-crafted spear, fall out of his grip. "Turns out a spear isn't exactly the best thing to go up against those guys with…"
"Well, we may just have a solution for that," Minnie says with a growing smile as she glances back at the pair behind her. "Max, this is Kairi and Lea. They're students of Master Merlin and they're here to help us with our monster problem. Kairi, Lea, this is Max; he's Goofy's son and he's training to become co-captain of the castle guard someday."
"Eh, I'd say I'm more on the level of assistant captain right now," Max shrugs, rubbing the back of his neck. "But sure, we'll go with that."
"Nice to meet ya, kid," Axel says with a cool, friendly grin.
"I didn't know Goofy had a son," Kairi adds as she cordially shakes the future co-captain's hand.
"Eh, well, you know, I don't really tend to go 'out of the world' as much as Dad does," Max says with something of an awkward chuckle.
Even so, the family resemblance between Max and Goofy is easy to see. The future co-captain is roughly around Kairi's age, a teenager by all accounts despite the lightly-armored official uniform he's wearing. Clearly, he's quite young to be placed in the daunting position he's in, but then again, Kairi figures, her, Sora, and Riku are rather young to be upholding the immense responsibilities they've all been forced to carry too.
"So how's it looking out there anyway?" Daisy asks Max. "Are we still being overrun by… whatever those things are?"
"Unversed," Max says, eliciting a round of confused glances from everyone present until he explains. "Those monsters are called Unversed. I remember overhearing Dad and Uncle Donald talking about them a long time ago, when I was little. I think they said King Mickey fought them before, o-or something like that, I'm not sure."
"Oh! That's right!" Minnie exclaims with newfound realization. "Mickey did fight those creatures in other worlds, but they also attacked the town around that same time, during the Dream Festival if I remember right. At least until those three kind heroes showed up and got rid of them for us."
"But that was years ago," Daisy points out. "What could be making these things show up again now?"
"...You don't think they could be with the Organization, do you?" Kairi asks Axel, aside.
"Doubt it," Axel shrugs. "They deal in Heartless and Nobodies. Never heard of 'em using anything called "Unversed" before, unless they have some new trick up their sleeves."
"But if they are using these… Unversed, then what could they want here?" Kairi continues to speculate, realizing the situation might be a bit more than either of them bargained for. "One of the Keys to Kingdom Hearts?"
"Again, I don't think that's super likely," Axel shakes his head. "I mean, think about it. If there were one of those Keys here, then the Organization wouldn't be the only ones here looking high and low for it; Sora, Donald, and Goofy would be too, right?"
"...Right…" Kairi nods. She does well to hide that she's still rather unsettled by the fact that Sora hadn't been the one to answer the call for help that had come from this world when he so easily could have.
"Actually," Max interjects. "I think I might have a clue about who's behind all this. While I was out on my recon round, I noticed some shadowy guy wandering around near the grand hall. I couldn't really make out too much about him-he was wearing a dark helmet that hid most of his face-but before I could get any closer, he sicked a bunch of Unversed on me and then took off into the hall. I wasn't able to fight my way through the crowd to go after him, w-which was why I came back here to fill everyone in."
"So someone is controlling these things after all, huh?" Axel asks, arcing a suspicious eyebrow.
"Then it's our job to find out who they are and stop them," Kairi says, determined.
"Well, if you really want to try, then I can lead you to where I last saw this guy," Max volunteers. "But be warned: there's gonna be plenty of those Unversed along the way."
"I don't think that'll be too much of a problem for the two of us," Axel smirks as both he and Kairi call upon their respective Keyblades.
"Whoa!" Max exclaims, immensely fascinated by the mere sight of the mythical weapons. Weapons that he's only ever heard about through stories of his father's adventures alongside one of their young wielders, weapons that he's only ever gotten to see put into action by King Mickey himself. "You guys can use Keyblades?!"
"Eh, we're still sort of rookies with 'em, but yeah," Axel nods, perching his Keyblade over his shoulder. "We're working our way through the ranks."
"Wow, t-that's so… so cool!" Max grins, clearly impressed. "As long as you have those, the Unversed will be no match for either of you. But, uh, I guess that was the whole point of you guys coming here to help, huh?"
Kairi can't help but let out a small, warm chuckle at this, appreciating Max's clear enthusiasm. "Speaking of which, we should probably get going. I doubt those Unversed are going to leave on their own anytime soon."
"Right," Max nods in agreement as he begins to pry the library doors open once more. "Don't worry, Your Majesty. We'll have the castle cleared out from all these monsters before you know it."
"I have no doubts that you will," Minnie smiles as she stands alongside Daisy, Chip and Dale to see the trio off. "Best of luck to you all!"
"Be careful out there!" Daisy adds with a wave of farewell.
"And be sure to give those mean ol' monsters a good thrashing for all of us!" Dale encourages as Chip excitedly hops up and down on the desk beside him.
And so the trio set off to rid Disney Castle of the sinister pall of monsters that's fallen upon it. And, unbeknownst to any of them, to face the unknown, mysterious entity those monsters had come from to begin with.
Despite Max's prior warnings, the central halls of the castle are strangely empty and silent, devoid of any signs of the invading monsters Kairi and Axel thought they'd see. Still, their strange momentary absence is something of a relief, allowing the trio to mentally ready themselves for their arrival as Max leads the way to the grand hall through the castle's lofty corridors. Corridors that usually are filled with light and life, but only feel cold, dark, and foreboding now thanks to the unnerving presence lurking somewhere among them.
"I probably sound like a broken record by this point, but I still can't get over you guys being real Keyblade wielders!" Max professes with a bright grin. "Whenever Dad's home he always spends a lot of time telling me about all of the amazing things he's seen the king or Sora do with theirs. I don't like to act too interested whenever he does-don't want him thinking I still get worked up over 'story time' like I used to when I was a kid-but I gotta admit, all of the stuff you guys get to do sounds so… so exciting."
"Eh, it probably is pretty exciting when you're not still in training like we are," Axel remarks with a small shrug. "But for the two of us, it's mostly a bunch of drills and lessons and griping from the old man about how 'practice makes perfect'. Nothing you can really call "thrilling" just yet."
"Heh, I know how that feels," Max says as his smile fads a bit. "Thanks to the Cornerstone, the castle's usually a pretty safe place. Which leaves a "co-captain of the guard in training" like me with… not a whole lot to do, especially when Dad's away. Heck, this whole Unversed thing is probably the most action I've ever gotten to see. To be honest, it kinda makes me wish Dad was here to help. Or at least to make me feel like I'm doing a better job at this."
"You must miss him when he leaves, huh?" Kairi asks, empathizing well with the future co-captain of the guard. After all, she's spent more than her fair share of time wistfully waiting behind for Sora and Riku to return from their grand excursions. Time that she hopes is very soon about to come to an end once she actually manages to join them on those missions.
"Yeah," Max nods with a small, wistful sigh. "B-but I know he's out there doing really important work with Sora and Uncle Donald. And besides, somebody's gotta stay behind to take care of things back home. Which is something I'm more than happy to do, at least for now."
"For now?" Kairi asks, curious.
"Eh, yeah…" Max admits, glancing aside hesitantly. "Truth is, I'm not so sure I'm really cut out for being co-captain on a long-term basis. I only really started training for it a few years back because I knew it'd make Dad proud. A-and don't get me wrong, I still wanna make him proud, but… I'm just not sure I want to do it… like this."
Surprisingly, Axel is the first to speak to this bout of earnestly after a moment or two of thoughtful silence. "You're still trying to figure out which way you wanna take in the world," he says easily. His tone is filled with something Kairi almost thinks is rare wisdom as she wonders where it's coming from. "Everybody goes through that. It's just a part of growing up. I'm sure your dad will understand if you don't wanna follow in his footsteps exactly."
"Y-you think so?" Max asks, hopeful.
"Of course," Kairi soundly agrees. "Goofy's very patient and kind; I can't imagine him getting upset just because you want to take a different path than he did. You should tell him how you feel about all this next time you see him."
Max hesitates at the thought, knowing that the absolute last thing he would ever want to do is let his father down. Even if he doesn't always see eye-to-eye with the captain, he still respects him deeply, both as a role model and as the only family he has. But even so, if he knows his father, he knows he was a lighthearted, gentle soul, one who scarcely ever gets cross or overly stern with him. Which means he really has no reason to expect such a harsh reaction out of him now, not even over something as fundamentally life-changing as this. "Yeah…" Max agrees with a rising sense of confidence. "Yeah, I think I will! Thanks for the advice, you guys. I've been thinking about this whole thing a lot lately and… I really needed to hear something like that."
"Of course," Kairi says with an encouraging smile. "We're happy to help."
"Yep," Axel adds, maintaining his smooth stride. "That's just what we Keyblade wielders do. We help people."
"Nice new motto," Kairi quips, her grin taking on an air of teasing. "You come up with it all on your own?"
"Tch, yeah right," he sneers. "I've only picked up on that level of sentimental sappiness from hanging out with the likes of you. And personally? I can't say I pull it off anywhere near as good as you do."
"Well, what can I say?" Kairi chuckles. "I've had plenty of time to perfect it. Unlike you."
By this point, Max joins in on the light laughter and eventually Axel picks up on it too. It's a welcome burst of levity, one that almost makes the trio forget about the danger that could be lying in wait around practically any corner they pass. At least until Kairi happens to pick up on that first hint of that danger even from a distance.
Her laughter is broken by a sharp, startled gasp, her senses going haywire as they latch onto a strange presence lurking somewhere up ahead. An aura that radiates darkness so deep that she hasn't felt anything like it, not since that horrific day back in Radiant Garden several weeks ago. The day she'd seen that very same darkness selfishly submerge Sora's heart and mind, corrupting both of them completely.
"W-what was that?" she asks tensely. Destiny's Embrace flashes into her grip once more as she stares at the empty hall ahead of them.
"What was what?" Max asks, peering ahead only to find not a single monster in sight.
"I-I… I felt something… something… unsettling," she scowls, working up the nerve to inch forward. "Are we close to where you saw the person who's controlling these monsters?" she asks Max.
"Yeah, the grand hall is just a few turns away," Max nods, gripping his spear a bit tighter out of newfound worry.
"Well if that's the case, then why haven't any of those Unversed things reared their ugly heads…?" Axel asks, aptly suspicious.
"I-I don't know," Max shakes his head. "Maybe they're finally gone?"
"It's wishful thinking but… I doubt it…" Kairi purses her lips, not liking the sound of her own boots echoing across the castle's marble floors. She takes the lead, perhaps against her better judgement, following Max's terse directions on where to go next. Each new turn offers a new opportunity for an ambush, a new possibility of a trap for them to walk right into. Their prior conversation is all but dead now in light of maintaining the focus needed to get them to their destination safely, a chance that seems strangely likely the closer they get to the grand hall. At least until the opposition they've been expecting finally rushes right at them, not from ahead, but from behind.
Max is the first to catch onto the rising din behind them, spinning around with his spear at the ready before Kairi and Axel even have the chance to. "Look out!" he warns, jutting his weapon forward to land the first strike on one of the smaller creatures in the horde besetting them. Said horde is composed of all sorts of shadowy beasts both big and small, none that Kairi or Axel recognize to be Heartless or Nobodies, further adding onto the evidence that they're something else, a new threat entirely. The Unversed.
While Max's spear works to repel the first of the Unversed back, a wave of fire from Axel is what obliterates them completely. In wake of those flames, Kairi charges forward next, cutting her Keyblade into several of the smaller creatures before unleashing a lightning spell to stun some of the larger ones. From there, the trio continues working through their forces with a barrage of steady, confident blows, evading any of the attacks the Unversed try to send their way in the process. Eventually, they mostly wipe out the first horde, only to find another, much larger group skittering toward them from the opposite end of the corridor. While Axel and Max already begin to take the shadowy collection head on, Kairi takes pause, a small, startled gasp escaping her as she senses that darkened presence once more. It's close, she can tell, but by all accounts, it isn't in the direction of the Unversed her companions are squaring off against.
"Hey!" she calls to the pair, already taking off down the now-empty hall they'd just come through. "Forget about those little guys! I think the one responsible for all this is up ahead!"
Axel and Max don't question this as they deflect a final wave of attacks from the Unversed, with Axel managing to blow them back with another powerful burst of flame. From there, they follow Kairi deeper into the castle, trusting her instincts as they plow through any random Unversed in their path. Unfortunately though, it doesn't take long for those instincts to lead them to a dead end, a long hallway capped off by nothing more than a brick wall before them.
And to make matters even worse, on top of that dead end comes a whole host of Unversed to corner them. The trio is heavily outnumbered, especially in terms of the more powerful monsters that have shown up to attack them. Still, the group wastes no time on talk as they keep their brazen fight up, whacking and slashing away at any Unversed that happen to come too close.
Between swings and spells, Kairi tries to pin the location of that elusive dark presence down, unnerved by its very existence as she continues to feel it lurking through the area. She briefly curses just how little refinement her own senses really have when it comes to these things, knowing it's an area she has every intention of improving moving forward. But for now, working off what little control over it she has will just have to do.
Fortunately though, she finds she won't have to rely on it too much longer for as she takes down another winged Unversed, right out of the corner of her eye, she spots them. A lone figure standing at the far end of the hallway, any discerning features about them completely obscured by both distance and the shadows they seem to be steeped in.
"Who…?" Kairi trails off, squinting her eyes to get a better glimpse of this unknown person. A person that, sure enough, she's able to sense a practically overwhelming aura of incredible darkness from.
"T-that's him!" Max exclaims, having spotted the figure too. "That's the guy I saw earlier!"
"Axel!" Kairi calls to her fellow student, narrowing her eyes at the shadowy figure all the while. "We need to-"
"On it!" Axel answers, swiftly trading his Keyblade out for his pair of chakrams. He takes up a low position, positioning the flat weapons out in front of him before looking back to Kairi. "Hop on. I'll launch you over the crowd."
Kairi wastes no time acting on this plan, getting a running start before she leaps onto the chakrams, which Axel uses as a springboard to propel her upward over the Unversed. She manages to cast a timely ice spell as she gracefully flies over the creatures, grounding several of the larger beasts in particular, though plenty of them still remain actively attacking. Kairi lands smoothly on the other side of the horde, most of which pay her little mind in favor of stalling the pair that had stayed behind.
"Axel! Max!" she calls to them, concerned as she realized the Unversed have effectively formed a barricade to keep them cornered.
"Don't worry about us!" Max replies as he swings his spear at another smaller creature. "Go after that guy instead!"
"Yeah, you've got this," Axel offers her a confident grin while tossing his chakrams at the monsters. "We'll be right behind you. Got it memorized?"
Kairi nods, returning his smile before turning to confront the shadowy figure. Just as she does, that figure suddenly passes through to the next corridor, presenting her with a unspoken challenge to chase him, a challenge that she isn't about to leave unanswered. After sparing one final glance back at Axel and Max, she pushes onward, Keyblade in hand as she runs in the direction their unknown foe has taken off in. A few Unversed pop up in her path every now and then, but for the most part she ignores them, knowing she has a much more significant target in mind. For certainly, if they manage to get rid of the person in charge of these monsters, then the castle will finally be rid of them too, right?
As she rounds another corner she spots her target once more, still afar in the distance as he casually strides into the large set of doors that stand at the end of the corridor. Righteous rage pounds through Kairi's veins as she races after him, put off by the sheer audacity of whoever this person is. Because how dare he sick such vicious monsters upon a pristine castle filled with innocent people, upon a peaceful world that has done nothing to deserve such peril. Axel has told her more than once before that the worlds are all filled with injustices both large and small, and that she can't let each and every one of those injustices infuriate her as much as they always seem to do. But she can't help it; as a past victim of several injustices herself, she knows she'll always strive to protect and deliver anyone else who faces such disaster and danger themselves. Especially now that she finally possesses at least some of the strength required to do so.
The large doors strangely remain open, long enough for her slip in through them unfettered. As soon as she does, however, they slam shut behind her instantly, essentially trapping her in none other than the castle's great hall itself.
Normally, the great hall would be absolutely radiant, its lengthy, ornate dining table lined with all sorts of food and drink for whatever feast the king and queen might be holding. The crystal chandelier hanging high above would be brightly lit, the large windows lining the far side of the room allowing a grand view of the cascading kingdom outside the palace walls. It should be a room filled with light and warmth and laughter and festivity. It should be… but it isn't.
The thick curtains surrounding the wide windows have been closed, blocking out most of the natural sunlight that might have spilled into the room. The sparse specks of light that are spilling through cast a dull, almost colorless pallor throughout the now-darkened space, silence echoing across its tall, stately walls. Several of the chairs surrounding the table have been overturned, a few even destroyed completely-the handiwork of the Unversed, no doubt. And as Kairi takes a small, tentative step toward the table, she finally gets her first concrete look at who's behind this whole mess to begin with.
"Hello, princess," he says. He sits as what should be the seat of honor, his feet thoughtlessly propped up on the table as he reclines back in his elegant chair. "Glad to see you finally caught up."
His voice is so startlingly, bizarrely familiar that Kairi nearly drops her Keyblade as soon as she hears it. She rushes to shake the most immediate, ridiculous thought away as she silently takes stock of his appearance instead. He's clad in a dark, sturdy bodysuit, the helmet covering his head even darker as it conceals his face. Well, most of his face, since the glass of that helmet is damaged, a large, deep crack running across its reflective surface to the point that an entire piece of it has been chipped away, revealing his mouth, which is set in what's probably a scowl. Even though the table creates a large gap of distance between the two of them, Kairi can practically feel the darkness radiating from this mysterious boy, darkness that, much like his voice, seems so familiar that it sends a palpable chill down her spine. Not that she lets that unsteadiness show as she grips her Keyblade even tighter and takes up a defensive stance.
"W-who are you?" she asks, forcing her voice to be as firm and authoritative as possible.
"I could ask you the same thing," the masked boy practically deadpans, hanging his arms behind his head as he leans further back into his chair. "If I didn't already know. You're not who I was expecting to show up."
A harsh scoff escapes Kairi at this, her brows furrowing in anger as she takes another daring step forward. "Sorry to disappoint you," she remarks coldly, unapologetically. "But if you don't mind me asking, who exactly were you hoping to get to show up by unleashing a bunch of violent monsters on an unsuspecting castle?"
The masked boy says nothing for a long moment as he finally sits upright in his chair, leaning forward a bit, almost as if her question intrigues him. The small glimpse of his face she can actually see betrays nothing about what he might be thinking as his mouth is set in a thin, unreadable line. At least until it spreads into a wide, unnerving grin.
"You really want to know?" he stands, gripping the sides of his helmet as his icy smile remains. "Ok. Why don't I just show you…?"
Kairi frowns, confused by his unknown intent as he begins to remove his helmet. But as soon as she gets her first full look at his face, her Keyblade finally does fall out of her hand, dully clattering onto the ground while her shocked cry echoes through the room at the exact same time.
Nothing about this makes any sense, that's her first thought. Because she'd seen him, she'd talked to him just a few short hours ago. When he'd smiled warmly and kindly and made her heart feel light and airy even long after their conversation was over. But now, against all odds, he stands before her now, seemingly a twisted shadow of the boy she'd spoken to just last night.
"N-no…" she whispers, her eyes wide as she stares at that face. A face her heart always loves to see but one that looks so wrong now. So unlike how she knows he should be. "N-no, you… you're not… y-you can't be-"
"What's the matter, Kairi?" he asks, his voice matching his face in a way that still seems so off. Every bit as off as the glint of satisistic mischief in his haunting golden eyes as he begins to slowly approach her. "You don't like my 'new look'?"
She falters, backing away from him as she searches his appearance for any sign of the chestnut brown hair and ocean blue eyes that have been inexplicably replaced by ebony black and crisp gold. But even beyond those superficial, surface-layer traits, her eyes begin to grow wet as she notes the complete lack of empathy, the absolute absence of any kind of kindness or warmth she knows he always carries. Because instead, his yellow eyes only reflect the very same darkness that seem to flood his being from the inside out. Darkness and danger that continues to draw ever closer to her.
"W-what…. I-I don't understand," she chokes, flinching as her back brushes up against the sealed doors behind her. "H-how did this… why do you…" She trails off, unable to think of all of the countless questions she wants to pose until one of them finally ends up spilling out of her. "W-what happened to you…?" she whispers. She wants to place a gentle hand against his face and dreads what might become of her if she so much as tries.
He laughs, a mirthless, empty chuckle that's still his own, but deeper, more twisted than anything she's ever heard out of him before. "Wouldn't you like to know?" he replies simply as he successfully manages to corner her. Fear explodes through her mind as he stands over her, still just a head taller than her as he always is. She's shaking, unable to call upon her Keyblade as he presses his hands against the door on either side of her, trapping her without even making contact. He's close, a closeness she usually would relish but now found disconcerting and unwanted, especially as he leaned his face in even closer. His grim smile softens up a bit, and if she didn't know any better, she might have almost found it sweet or flirtatious if not for the obvious sinister intent behind it.
She feels like her throat is going to close up completely when he reaches out to touch her, his covered fingertips lightly skimming her chin to guide her gaze up to meet his. "Your heart is filled with light," he says, his smile finally drifting into a look of careful inspection. "I can feel it. I'm looking for another heart of pure light, just like yours. Maybe you can help me find it, Kairi…"
His leering grin returns at this, his grip on her face tightening as he clearly takes pleasure in making her feel small and feeble and helpless. Making her feel weak compared to him. Something she knows he'd never, ever do. At least, not the real him.
She reaches her limit as he slowly reaches his other hand out to graze the small of her back. Panic overtakes her and at that moment, she doesn't care who he is; she will not let anyone treat her like this for a second longer. "Get away from me!" she shouts, her voice bouncing off the high walls as she shoves him back. She lets a powerful light spell explode from her palms as she does, and the force of it is enough to knock him off his feet with a loud, pained cry. In an instant, her Keyblade is in her hands again as she points it down at him, though he shows no hints of retaliation as he lay on the ground, his face wrenched in obvious agony as he tightly clutches the spot on his chest where her magic had struck him.
Kairi stills briefly as she watches him, a stark realization hitting her as she does. Light hurts him… she thinks, that one thought quickly giving way to another. Namely, the memory of how her own light had hurt him, or rather, as she's quickly starting to deduce, someone else entirely. How it had hurt Sora when he had been engulfed in the very same shroud of darkness that seems to hang over whoever this boy actually is.
"Enough," she says, shaking her head clear of this mystifying revelation as she keeps her Keyblade trained on him. "I know you're not… r-really him, so quit pretending and tell me who you really are."
The boy at her feet slowly begins to pick himself up, sending her a hateful glare as he continues to nurse the burns her light has left him with. "You're smarter than you look, princess," he sneers disdainfully. "But fine, you're right. I'm not your brainless little boyfriend, who should have been the one to come here instead of you." Kairi keeps her distrustful sights on him as he uses the table to support his weight so he can properly stand and introduce himself. "My name is Vanitas."
"Vanitas…" she repeats tensely, refusing to turn her Keyblade away from him. "S-so I'm guessing Sora is the one you're looking for, right? That's why you brought all these monsters here, to lure him out so you could…. fight him?" she ventures, having a complete lack of context to any of this. Because even now, nothing about this situation makes any sort of sense; as far as she knows, Sora might not even know Vanitas, despite how nearly identical the two of them seem to be, even exists. And if he does, he's certainly never mentioned any sort of history between the two of them to Kairi before.
"If you want to put it in the most basic, simpleminded terms possible, then sure," Vanitas says, still clutching his chest as he leans against the edge of the table. "But if you really want the truth, then I could honestly care less about my weakling of a twin."
The way he'd said "weakling" gives Kairi the impression that he actually had encountered Sora before, even if she adamantly disagrees with his passive judgement about him. "Then what are you after?" she asks, far past tired of playing games with him by this point.
By now, Vanitas has largely recovered, pulling himself back up to his full height as his expression darkens. "I want what he's been harboring inside his heart for the past 12 years. A heart that's hidden well within the depths of his own, one that's filled with light, just like yours. I want Ventus…"
Kairi gapes at this mention of one of the three missing Keyblade wielders, even more so at what Vanitas seems to be suggesting, that Ventus' heart is somehow tucked away deep inside of Sora's. Then again, it wouldn't be the most surprising revelation in the world; after all, her very own heart had been safely sheltered within Sora for a time before too, so who was to say another can't be as well?
"Why?" she dares to ask, already able to tell that Vanitas' ambitions are anything but good.
"I don't think that's any of your business, princess," he rebuffs haughtily as he reclaims his helmet and slides it back on. Kairi nearly lets out a sigh of relief as he does, glad that she doesn't have to remind herself of who he isn't every time she looks at him with his face recovered as it is now. "Still, it looks like this entire venture was nothing more than a bust. If he's not gonna show, then I don't have any further business in this eyesore of a world. So I guess I'll just take my Unversed and be on my way."
"R-really?" Kairi starts, aptly surprised as Vanitas turns away from her, seemingly for the sake of leaving.
"Sure," he shrugs coolly. He still glances back at her with a knowing smirk all the same. "Then again…" He bridges the room's-length distance between them in an instant, catching her by surprise before she can even think to retaliate. She has no idea how he's able to move so fast, but he does, somehow ending up behind her as he tightly grasps her free arm and pulls it painfully behind her back. While she still maintains a hold on her Keyblade, he calls upon his own, a dark, gear-bound weapon that he wastes no time pressing directly against her neck as he keeps her held in a precarious, downlight perilous position she can't easily fight back against. "My previous offer still stands. I could use your help in tracking him down."
"W-what are you talking about?" Kairi hisses, trying to wriggle out of his hold despite the fact that his hand is practically crushing her arm.
"I don't just have the misfortune of sharing his face, you know," Vanitas says crossly, leaning in closer to her over her shoulder. "I have more than a few of his memories too. He 'cares' about you, doesn't he? You're something special to him, I can tell. How pathetic."
She lets out a harsh, bitter huff of air at this. "So what?"
"So," he grins, and she can practically imagine his golden eyes sparkling with malice as he does. "That makes you perfect bait to use against him. If attacking a world he has ties to won't get him where I want him, then maybe you can. After all, he'd do anything for you, even to the point of ripping his own heart out of his body. He's done it before, and I'm sure he'd be willing to do it again if it meant keeping you safe."
This is something Kairi has faced before, something she hates now every bit as much as she hated it back then. She's been used as leverage against Sora far too many times to count by far too many people: Ansem, Axel, Xemnas, they'd all put her in peril in the past, all in the hopes of luring him into a deadly trap. Vanitas is no different, seeking to do the very same thing without so much as a single second thought toward what she might think about the matter. But this time, things are different. This time, she has a Keyblade in her hand and powerful light brimming from her heart.
This time, she can finally stop this twisted cycle from repeating itself all over again, once at for all. This time, she can fight back.
"So princess-" His guard is lowering, she can sense it. She knows he doesn't see her as a threat, even despite the painful blow she'd landed on him before. Good, she thinks, her expression an unreadable mask as her plan solidifies inside her mind. I want him to underestimate me. That'll only make this easier. "What do you say?"
"Hm, what an offer," she muses, her tone demure, cloying as she feigns a sense of helplessness. "Unfortunately, I'm going to have to turn it down. See, my days of being used as bait against my best friend are behind me now."
Vanitas' hold on her arm constricts and if she hadn't been expecting it, she might have flinched out of pain. Instead, she stays the course, even as frustration begins to spill into his tone. "Who said you had a choice?"
"I did," she retorts just as quietly before acting on her plan. With her free hand, she throws the tip of her Keyblade skyward, blinding light blossoming from it as it explodes across the entire hall. An immense cry of pain escapes Vanitas as he stumbles backward, his Keyblade narrowly missing hitting her neck as she ducks out of its path just in time. She could easily stop there, but she doesn't, fueled by fury so raw and hot that she can feel its sting upon her heart. That fury keeps her going, light still enveloping Destiny's Embrace as she launches a wave of it at him full force. Vanitas shouts, agonized as that light strikes him, acting against his own darkness in a violent clash he can feel surging its way through every fiber of his being.
He retaliates by reaching a shaking hand forward, calling forth a flock of smaller Unversed from the shadows to fend Kairi off in his stead. But riding the wave of adrenaline and anger that she's currently on, the creatures prove to be little match for her as she knocks them all out with a single strong water spell. She's quick to turn her focus back on Vanitas as he regains his grip on his Keyblade, though he's still struggling to reinvigorate his energy as he places his free hand against his aching chest. Her previous attack had caused the dull side of his Keyblade to bounce off his helmet, worsening the already prominent crack torn across it. As a result, another piece of its obscuring glass has fallen off, revealing a bit more of his face, including one of his shining yellow eyes. An eye that's currently set with brutal glare aimed at Kairi, one that's filled with nothing less than unimaginable hatred and disdain.
But despite that, Kairi doesn't flinch or skip a single beat. She only barely stills her hand from unleashing more light upon him, but she keeps her Keyblade aimed right at him as they stand only a few paces apart. "I don't care what you want or what you think you're trying to do," she says sternly, unflinchingly, with a sort of ferocity in her voice that sounds forign even to her. "But I will never let you or anyone else use me to hurt Sora ever again!"
Vanitas opens his mouth to counter her resolved declaration, but before he can get a single word out, a loud call from just outside of the hall rings out. "Kairi!" Axel shouts, his Keyblade doing the trick to undo whatever seal Vanitas might have put on it. Him and Max both burst in, their respective weapons at the ready to fight any more Unversed on top of the incredible horde they'd had to go through to get there.
The moment the pair arrives, Vanitas takes the opportunity to put some much-needed space between himself and Kairi. He leaps high above her, landing squarely onto the table as he takes up a fighting stance against the trio standing before him.
"So this is the guy behind our little monster problem, huh?" Axel asks, eyeing the masked boy with a scowl. "What's your deal, kid? You pulling some kind of prank or something?"
Vanitas nearly answers, but once again he's cut off, this time by Kairi. "He was just leaving," she says sternly, allowing the briefest sparks of light to wash over her Keyblade as she does. An unspoken threat rising up with those sparks in the event that he doesn't comply with her demands. "And he's never coming back here again if he knows what's good for him."
"Y-yeah, and take those monsters with you too!" Max pipes up, his tone decidedly less certain and steady than Kairi's.
For what seems like ages, Vanitas says nothing, his visible eye casting a vicious, piercing glare at the trio over the stalemate they've just come to. He could easily rend off the pair of newcomers without so much as easily breaking a sweat, but a Princess of Heart is more than he'd bargained for. Especially one who actually knows a thing or two about using her natural power like Kairi somehow seems to.
"Fine," he sneers bitterly, allowing his Keyblade to disappear. "Like I said before, I'm wasting my time on such a boring old world anyway. After all, there's someone I should be getting back to looking for…" With this, he summons a dark corridor, finally preparing to leave this world behind with the Unversed in tow. Though not before he offers one final icy, ominous statement first. "But mark my words, princess," he says, his golden eye glaring over his shoulder at Kairi in particular. "When I do get my hands on him, I'm gonna make sure you have a front row seat when I tear his heart to shreds."
And with that, Vanitas disappears into the very darkness he'd come from, supposedly taking his whole host of unsavory company with him. Kairi can feel it as he leaves, the veil of shadows that had fallen upon the castle finally starting to lift to allow its natural light to shine through. The grand hall's curtains part on their own, allowing the still-disheveled room to fill in with sunshine eagerly pouring into it from outside. Even despite this reassuring sign that all is well once more, the trio left behind finds themselves still rather unsettled by their mysterious foe even now that he's gone.
"Geez," Axel remarks as his Keyblade disappears. "What a creep that guy was, huh?"
"You have no idea…" Kairi shudders. She places a ginger hand against her wrist, which now sports a blackened bruise thanks to Vanitas.
"Who was he anyway?" Axel presses, hands on his hips. "And who's heart was he talking about 'tearing to shreds'?" Kairi doesn't respond verbally, but her terse, tense glance is enough to give Axel an answer to his second question at least. "Ah," he nods, immediately understanding. After all, Kairi always seems to wear that exact same look whenever she's worried about Sora, something he knows she does all too frequently. "Gotcha."
"D-did… we do it?" Max ventures, still holding onto his spear in the event of any stray Unversed appearing. "Are they all finally gone?"
"...I think so," Kairi says with a diffident smile, glad that, if nothing else, Vanitas has left this world behind. Yet even so, she doubts that'll be the last she'll see of him, especially if he has any intention of keeping the violent vow he'd just made to her.
"Still," Axel speaks up. "We might want to check the entire castle, just to be sure."
"Right," Max agrees, already leading the way to do just that. "Then let's get going. This could take a while…"
And indeed, given the castle's size and scale, it does take quite a while to check through every room and corridor for any remaining Unversed. Fortunately, after hours of thorough searching, the trio is mutually relieved to find not a single monster left invading the palace's perimeter, a fact that they're more than happy to return to Queen Minnie to report.
"So it's true?" she asks with a growing, hopeful smile as everyone congregates in the library once more. "Those horrible monsters really are all gone?"
"Yes, they are," Max nods with a wide, dutiful smile. "The castle's all safe and secure, Your Majesty."
"Oh, that's wonderful!" Minnie exclaims joyously. At the same time Daisy warmly applauds as Chip and Dale dance around the desk in exuberant celebration. "I knew the three of you could do it! Max, your father will be very proud once he hears about how brave you were today."
"Heh, yeah…" Max says, rubbing the back of his neck with something of a fretful sigh. The worry in it is quick to vanish however, upon meeting the reassuring nods both Axel and Kairi send his way. A nod that he returns as he remembers his own resolve to make his father proud, no matter what path he decides to take.
"And Lea, Kairi, we can't thank you enough for coming all this way to help us when we needed it most," Minnie continues, offering the pair a kind smile. "I know you're still in training, but as far as I'm concerned, you both have proved that you have the spirits and hearts of true masters!"
"I couldn't agree more, Your Majesty!"
A ripple of confusion fills the room at this unseen voice, but sure enough, its owner quickly makes itself known as a portal of light appears on the far side of the room. And out of that portal steps out none other than the pair's master himself.
"Merlin?" Kari asks, exchanging an incredulous glance with Axel. "What are you doing here?"
"I've come to congratulate you both on a job well done," the wizard smiles as he steps up to his students. "I was watching the entire mission as it unfolded, you know, and I couldn't be prouder of how splendid your work here has been. You both utilized just about every lesson I've imparted to you to rid the castle of those uncouth beasts, as well as the one who sent them-bonus points goes to you on that front, Kairi."
"Thank you," Kairi say, finally allowing herself a genuine smile, the first she's really worn since her encounter with Vanitas.
"Hey, what about me, gramps?" Axel protests dramatically. "I fought off a whole army of those things without even breaking a sweat! That's gotta count for something, right?"
"Ah yes, it certainly does," Merlin assures. "Especially since you managed to accomplish all that without needing to call upon my assistance, even though that was always an option available for the two of you."
"Yeah, well, we didn't need it," Axel says confidently. Kairi shakes her head at him, disapproving of his usual arrogance in front of their master. "We handled this mess all on our own. You didn't need to worry about us in the slightest, gramps."
"Yes, it seems as though I didn't…" Merlin scowls briefly at this remark before perking up once more. "But to the real reason why I came all this way is to deliver your scores on what was, in fact, your final exam."
"Wait, this was our final exam?" Kairi asks, alarmed. "W-we didn't even know, we didn't have time to study or to prepare!"
"Precisely, my dear," Merlin nods. "Like I said before, the entire point of sending you out on this excursion was to essentially put your skills to the test in the field. And it just so happened that this occasion was quite serendipitous when it came down to timing, n-no offense to you or your staff, Your Majesty."
"None taken," Minnie chuckles blithely.
"So… did we pass or not?" Axel interjects somewhat impatiently.
"Well, if you must know…" Merlin pauses, likely for dramatic effect before breaking out into a wide, celebratory smile. "You both passed with flying colors!"
"W-we did?" Kairi asks, stunned by such exciting news as the queen and her staff break into a round of hearty cheers in the pairs' honor.
"But of course," Merlin nods proudly. "Really, there's nothing more that I can teach you that you won't learn out among the worlds for yourselves. You're still both quite a ways from the fortitude of true Keyblade Masters, of course, but with time and effort, I'm sure you'll get there eventually."
"So, what happens now?" Axel asks, every bit as caught off guard by the sudden completion of their training as Kairi is.
"Well… now I suppose you two are ready to take your proper places among the other guardians of light," Merlin muses. "I'll send word to Yen Sid as soon as we get home, but for now, I do believe a proper celebration is in order! It's not every day a pair of Keyblade students graduate to professionals after all."
With this, the wizard conjures up an entire feast in his students' honor, complete with cake and tea and all sorts of other treats in between. Chip and Dale are the first to dive right into the festive meal, with Max, Daisy, Minnie, and Merlin not too far behind as they all offer Kairi and Axel plenty of congratulatory sentiments. The small, impromptu party is a warm and welcome one, but even so, the pair of now-graduated students can't help but feel rather lost in the shuffle amidst their shared accomplishment. Because even despite the light hearted spirit filling the room all around them, the weight of what that graduation really means, of the great responsibility they now have to bear, weighs down on them both all the while. A weight that they still feel neither of them are truly ready for, at least not quite yet.
In time, the party came to a close and Merlin, Kairi, and Axel bid their farewells to the crew at Disney Castle to head back to Radiant Garden. The wizard advised them to begin packing their things so they could prepare to begin the move to the Mysterious Tower within the next few days, though not without another celebration with the Restoration Committee in attendance to see them off first. But as the pair begins to head upstairs to do just that, they can't pass up the chance to finally speak to the daunting transition they both now face in private.
"So…" Axel says, his tone more solemn than it usually is. "I guess we've finally hit the big leagues now, huh?"
"Yeah, I guess we have," Kairi nods rather flatly. "Are you feeling ready for whatever step comes next?"
"Ready as I'll ever be, I guess," Axel stretches as he stands in the hall just outside his room. "What about you? You feeling up to all this?"
"I… don't think either of us really have a choice to be," Kairi says with something of a grim smile. "But… we'll be ok. If we made it through today, then I think we can make it through just about anything."
"That's the spirit," Axel chuckles. "Bet you're especially excited. Heading back means you'll finally get to be with both of your boys again."
"Axel!" Kairi groans, her face flushing with an embarrassed blush. Even so, she can't deny just how nice the thought of getting to consistently be in both Sora and Riku's company again really sounds. A thought that seems like it's at long last about to become a reality.
"You know the teasing's only gonna get worse once we actually meet up with them again," Axel reminds playfully. His verve is quickly lost however by the sudden surprise dousing Kairi gives him through a discreet, yet plentiful water spell. "Hey!" he shouts, now drenched from head to toe.
"Then you better get used to wringing out that coat," she shoots back wryly before heading into her room. Once inside, she reaches for her Gummi Phone almost right away, wanting to call Riku and especially wanting to call Sora to let them both know what's happening. And yet, despite her excitement, she refrains, knowing that it'll be much more satisfying to surprise them both with the wonderful news the next time they meet up. A time that had once seemed like a far off, distant dream, but is now only just a few short days away. And even despite how close that now is, she finds she can hardly stand the wait.
Because once those days have, they'll no longer be worlds away from each other like they've been for what felt like years now. They'll be together again, united, all three of them finally together again, just like they always used to be. Working together, fighting together, staying together this time, ready to face and overcome whatever dare to try to tear them apart.
And all the while, they'll stand together, fighting for each other, protecting each other from harm. Briefly, Kairi hears Vanitas' sinister final threat echo in her mind every bit as harshly as the similar one Maleficent had also issued upon Sora's life weeks ago. They both intermingle into a grave, shadowy sort of danger, much more than one danger really, all threats she knows they'll have to face someday. But she's determined to be ready for them all, to fight for him just as he's always fought for her in the past.
"Sora…" she whispers warmly, her hands close to her heart as she imagines seeing him, the real him again so very soon. As she begins thinking and dreaming of everything she wants to say to him once they're finally together again. "You've always protected me, so now... I'll do whatever it takes to protect you… I promise."
Oh my, it almost seems like I'm setting up for a certain reunion between a certain favorite trio of mine in just a few chapters... ;) A reunion between these three now would be pretty... interesting given certain developments... But even so, that's all for another time. Next time around we've got ourselves another Disney world, one that just so happens to be based around my personal favorite Pixar movie, and a very... festive one at that. But until then, don't forget to let me know what you thought of this chapter in the REVIEWS! Until next time!
