Final Fantasy XV - Kingdom Hearts

Part 15

Summary: Two warriors of Light, the Chosen King and Keyblade Master, face an unseen Darkness

The drive to Lestallum was quiet, barely a word spoken between the four in the car. Riku was looking out the window to see the world growing darker and greyer as the clouds above gathered, rumbles of thunder boomed in the distance.

Aqua hadn't spoken since they got in the car and drove, her eyes set on the road as her hands were tightly gripping the wheel. Not out of worry for Kairi, the boy knew that, but more so because she was still a novice with driving a vehicle and she wanted to get to Lestallum safely without worrying about surviving a car crash.

A test Riku was more than happy to postpone for as long as possible.

In the back Sora was mostly keeping quiet while taking care of Kairi, even throwing his jacket around her to keep the sleeping girl warm. Though Riku wasn't certain if she was cold, he knew in some part it was mostly done by Sora to keep himself busy and not worry about her. He was stroking her hair too, like it helped him stay calm.

Then he felt his phone vibrate in his pocket, making him sit up and pull it out, answering it. 'Hello?'.

'Hey Riku', a voice replied.

Riku straightened up at Iris' voice and cleared his throat. 'Iris, hey. What's up?', he asked, ignoring the strange look Aqua gave him. 'Just checking in on you guys, we haven't heard a word from you for days', she explained. 'Sorry about that, we've been on the run since we dropped you guys off in that motel, just got another royal arm after the empire gave up', he said, running a hand through his hair. 'That's great to hear!', she praised.

'What about you guys? Everything alright?'.

'Yeah, after the empire left Lestallum we managed to get a ride back there, we're staying in the same hotel again', Iris said. 'So far there hasn't been any more sightings of those bucket heads or that general'.

'That's good, we're actually on our back there too', he revealed, 'Kairi's sick, and we're just bringing her there to heal up'.

There was silence on the other end, which made Riku check if he lost connection or something was interfering with their call, so he looked at his device and saw the call was still going. 'Iris? Hello?', he called back.

'W-Wait, you're coming back, right now?', she asked, almost surprised and…panicky?

'Yeah? I mean, we're what…a half an hour away?', he said, guessing.

'Yeah half an hour', Aqua replied, eyes on the road. 'Yup, half an hour', Riku confirmed.

There was shuffling and quick movement on Iris end, her voice sounded like she was in a frenzy as if she was trying to find something. 'Iris, you ok?', Riku asked. 'Yes! Yes, I'm fine!', she squeaked loudly, something fell on her end. 'Gotta go see ya later stay safe bye!', she said in one sentence before ending the call, which left a flabbergasted Riku on the other end. He blinked before slowly putting his phone away.

'…what just happened?', he asked.

Aqua shrugged in response while Sora, when he turned to the younger boy, shook his head. Sighing to himself Riku returned to looking outside the window as the rain began to fall. 'So, we're really going to tell them about…everything?', Sora asked, not taking his eyes off Kairi's sleeping face. Aqua exhaled from her mouth and while turning the car, said: 'Yes, especially if the Organization is getting involved with the empire'.

'Much as I'd prefer keeping the Order upheld, Aqua's right', Riku sighed, 'Xigbar said he's after either Noctis or Kairi. Plus, the nobody he summoned was too much for them'.

'We've put them in more danger than ever because of our interaction with them, therefore we're responsible for them', Aqua said. 'If Riku, Donald and Goofy hadn't helped them…'.

'Not to mention the heartless', Riku added, 'And so long as it's gonna take for Cindy to fix the ship, we're not going anywhere'.

Sora hummed in agreement, then he felt Kairi stir in her slumber, making small noises. He looked down to see the red head squinting her eyes before weakly opening them up to see Sora. 'Sora…?', she said croakily like her throat was dried up. 'Hey there', he greeted, smiling. Kairi looked around her surroundings, confusion etched on her weary face. Blinking tiredly, she looked to the front seats, Riku looking at her.

'You alright Kairi?', he asked.

'Riku…what's going on?', she questioned.

'We're on our back to Lestallum, Noctis grabbed that royal arm', he elaborated, 'but uh, we've ran into a problem'.

'Xigbar attacked them while they were looking for it, and Gladiolus…well, he wasn't too pleased that our enemies are now their enemies', Aqua joined in. 'So now, we're gonna tell them what's going on'.

'Oh…okay', Kairi hummed. Sora glanced at Riku worriedly, not exactly liking how easy going Kairi was regarding revealing other worlds to their new friends. Though Sora did tell them Kairi wanted to at least warn Noctis' company about the Organization, other worlds weren't part of the deal. 'How you are holding up?', Riku asked, changing the subject. Kairi's eyes looked heavy as she skin was still pale, and the boys could still see some dried sweat in her face. 'Tired…', she slurred.

'Anything else? Nauseas? Queasy?', Sora asked.

She giggled. 'Those are the same thing, dork…', Kairi sighed, a small smile graced her features.

'But do you feel like that?', he said, a small smile appearing on his own face.

She shook her head lightly, looking up at Sora. 'Just tired…and cold', she confessed the last part softly. Riku then took his own jacket off before Sora could take his tank top off, last thing he needed were two of his friends to be sick and handed it to the boy. Sora placed it on Kairi's legs and tucked it under her, creating a blanket out of jackets for her. Kairi let out a content sigh, closing her eyes again. 'Go back to sleep Kairi, we'll be at Lestallum in an hour or two', Aqua lied.

'…ok', she breathed, slowly drifting off to sleep.

With the princess of light returning to the dream world, the three wielders of the key sat there in silence, worries tugging their hearts as the rain grew heavier…

*Lestallum*

Arriving to the town just as the rain turned in a storm, the party quickly made their way to the hotel with Sora and Riku wrapped Kairi up entirely in a cocoon of jackets and even pulled her hoodie over her head to protect her from the rain. Sora carried her through the town as fast as possible which left the others in the dust. They got to the hotel the thunder was booming from above.

Once inside and after paying for their rooms, they were greeted by Iris in the lobby. The brunette smiled at the group but then frowned when she sees the red head's condition in Sora's arms. 'Is she gonna be ok?', she asked.

'She said she's tired and cold, but that's all', Riku assured, 'A good sleep and maybe a hot bath and she'll be right as rain'. 'That's good to hear, everyone else ok?'.

'Aside from having some scratches, wet socks and maybe some green in our hair? Peachy', Noctis commented, earning a snicker from Prompto. Iris gave the prince a smile but the oldest Amicitia noticed something different about the smile. It wasn't the "I'm crushing on you" smile she used to give him, but just a regular happy smile. Gladiolus raised a brow at that change, not sure if he should be relived or worried.

'Sora, why don't you take Kairi to your room and see if she's up for the bath', Ignis suggested. Sora nodded and headed up, bidding everyone a "see you" as he ascended the stairs. Inside their room, Sora gently laid Kairi on the bed as she slowly woke up from her small nap, likely from Sora laying her down. 'Wha…', she whispered.

'We're at the hotel', Sora explained, letting a sneeze.

Kairi looked at him, concerned but he waved her off. 'I'm fine, just a sneeze', he promised. Kairi slowly sat up, groaning weakly and rubbed her forehead. 'This sucks…I feel like crap', she whined softly, already done with being ill. Sora could imagine, remembering all those times he caught something and was under the care of Donald and Goofy. He loved them dearly, but boy did Donald have a terrible bed side manner.

Not his fault he caught a cold after being submerged in snow…

'Well if you feel up to it, you can have a hot bath', he suggested. At the offer, Kairi let out a sigh. 'That sounds so good right now…', she confessed, slowly getting to her feet. But Sora stopped her almost instantly, placing his hands on her shoulders. 'I got it, you just rest up ok?', he offered. After a second passed, Kairi nodded and gratefully, sat back down on the bed. The fact she didn't even attempt to argue with him only told him just how weary she was.

As much he liked it when she wasn't stubborn, he appreciated a lot more than her being this sick and weak.

In the bathroom, which was a decent size for a two bedroom, he got to work on filling the tub with hot water and even checked the compartments and cabinets for soap or bath oils. He did find some small scented candles among the bathing oils, an idea coming to mind.

Outside, Kairi went from sitting to laying flat on her side facing the patio outside, the rain pelting the glass wildly as the heavy winds rang throughout the windows. Just looking at the rain and wind made her shiver in discomfort, already feeling the chill seep deeper into her bones, and if she wasn't having a bath soon, she'd wrap herself up in likely all the blankets this room had.

Sora exited the bathroom with a toothy grin and then approached her. As she sat up, she sees he had a towel around his arm, his posture was straightened up and he bowed to her. 'Your bath is ready, madame', he said in an accent that sounded as if he was trying to mimic Ignis except he's never heard him speak.

She giggled, clasping a hand around her mouth to stifle them though her grin was showing through her hand. 'Thank you, good sir,', she said kindly, getting to her feet. Sora bowed again, stepping backwards to allow her to walk forward. Inside the bathroom, Kairi had to pause and gasp at the sight.

The room was dimly lit with only the candles being the only light source in the room, the smells of vanilla tickled her nose and lulled her into a sense of serenity and peace, along with the smells of coconut oils from the tub. She turned to Sora, who winked. 'Enjoy yourself', he encouraged, closing the door behind him.

Kairi smiled warmly, her heart swelled with joy. She looked to the tub and started to strip. Once she slipped into the tub, she exhaled a breath of pure elevation, leaning against the tub as she felt the cold that had sunk into her bones melt away to the heat of the tub. Closing her eyes in delight, she smiled thinking of Sora as she started to close her eyes, and rest.

*Other Room*

'Thought we were going to wait till Kairi gets better', Gladiolus asked, sitting on a chair.

'We've already told her we're telling you guys, so Sora can give her the run down once we're done', Riku said, on the bed. The moment of truth was here, Riku could feel Donald's glare bore into him from behind, while Goofy just looked uncomfortable at this confrontation. Aqua though kept a passive look on her face, her eyes were fixed on the topic about to unfold.

'Right…so…where do you wanna start?', Noctis asked.

'…First, we need all four of you to swear, this will not leave this room', Aqua started. 'What we tell you, stays in this room. No one can know about this, not even Iris'. Gladiolus nodded in agreement, the less his sister got involved in this the better he believed. 'Ok sure', Noctis hummed.

'Noct…', Ignis stressed.

'Okay, we swear on our lives, no one outside this room hears about this', he spoke again.

'We mean it!', Donald pipped.

Aqua raised her hand to calm him, making the duck fold his arms impatiently, whilst grumbling something about the Order and how much trouble they'll be in once their King finds out. Though after several times Sora broke the rules Riku had a good feeling the King wouldn't hold it against them, if his track record was any indication of how much leniency he was given.

Aqua addressed the four. 'You probably figured it out, that we're not from Eos', she started, 'We're from different worlds…'.

'SO YOU ARE ALIENS!', Prompto shouted, pointing at them.

He was then smacked on the back of the head, courtesy of Gladiolus. 'Will you drop that alien garbage already?', he growled, 'and let her finish'. Aqua nodded gratefully to Gladiolus as Prompto rubbed the back of his head with a whine.

'What do you mean other worlds?', Noctis asked.

'Exactly what I mean. There are…other worlds outside of Eos', she explained. 'Myself, I'm from a world called "Land of Departure", whilst Riku, Sora and Kairi are from "Destiny Islands", and Donald and Goofy are from "Disney Castle". To start off with'.

Ignis folded his arms in thought, after carefully comparing the two keyblade masters, Aqua certainly didn't have the islander look based on her clothing whilst Riku's own clothes didn't look islander but his tanned skin looked like he belonged on an island, much like Sora. 'Except…Kairi isn't from the islands…she was born in another before coming to our islands', Riku elaborated. 'Really? Cause she kinda looks like an islander', Prompto hummed.

'That's because she came to our world when she was four', Riku explained.

'How?', Gladiolus asked.

'One thing at a time', Aqua reminded, waving a hand up to stop this. 'Lets not detract from the subject. Once everyone was silenced, she continued. 'My point is, we're from different worlds. And for years it was always been like that, all worlds lived in ignorance of each other'. Aqua then summoned the keyblade in her hands and showed it. 'The keyblade wielders had a task, to protect the light of all worlds from the darkness', she said, 'They…we are the only ones who knew about other worlds, but we always try to remain anonymous when we're exploring or guarding it'.

'The light?', Prompto questioned.

'…That's complicated…', Aqua lamented.

*Twenty minutes later…*

Aqua explained to the four about the Order Donald was so adamant in keeping, about how the worlds were all ignorant of one another, that the keyblade wielders had a task to protect the worlds, and even explained some lore of the keyblade to them.

Then came the realms of light and darkness, to which she had to try and convince Gladiolus about when he started to question the whole thing. Aqua did her best to keep the realm of darkness to a minimum, the less she thought of that place the better.

'So because of the Order no one knows about other world…and the keyblade wielders are the only ones who can know about it', Ignis hummed. 'Yes, and because the keyblade chooses its wielders, be it from a master passing it on, or if it finds a powerful light within the heart', Aqua said.

'Right…so where do the heartless come in? They're beings without hearts, right?', Noctis asked. 'Yes, when a person loses their heart to the darkness, they become a heartless. And the darkness within people's hearts is what attracts them'.

'And as you can imagine, there's darkness within every heart', Riku joined in. 'Except for the Princesses of Light'.

'The what? You sure you aren't just making this up as you go along?', Gladiolus questioned.

'I wish…', Riku sighed. 'But the point is, the heartless are numerous and they never stop coming'. Noctis cupped his chin in thought, puzzled despite having so many answers to his ever-shortening list of questions. If they hard darkness in their hearts, why did it take so long for the heartless to show up? Did the daemons have something to do with it? Or they in league with each other?

'Okay then, what about those things? The nobodies?', Gladiolus asked, 'Are they like the heartless?'. 'Yes…and no', Riku replied. 'When a heartless is created, a shell of the ones whose lose their hearts are left behind. The bodies that remain give nobodies their form, while the abandoned souls give them life', he explained. 'As you saw, they're stronger and while they have littler variety compared to the heartless'.

'But what about that Xigbar guy? Is he a nobody?', Prompto asked, 'Because he just looked like a another human'.

'This is where the diversity between them and the heartless. People with the strongest wills can retain human form when they become nobodies. Like Xigbar, for example', Riku added. 'And there's more people like him?', Ignis questioned. 'That's where Organization XIII comes in', Goofy said, 'They are nobodies who kept their human forms, and are the strongest ones among them'.

'So Xigbar can control the nobodies and even make some right?', Noctis said.

'Yup', Donald confirmed.

Then Noctis said: 'But whose their leader?'.

Aqua's eyes darkened as her fist clenched, Riku's own eyes narrowed and the two members of the King's group gave each other a worried look. Noctis' own eyes showed anxiety, he truly did not like the looks his new friends were showing. 'Guys?', he asked.

'…A man who wants to start another Keyblade War…and someone whose caused more pain than anyone else', Aqua growled, and even Gladiolus was surprised by the barely constraint rage that bubbled within her. 'Master Xehanort…', she spat.

*Sora's Room*

A soft knock on the door woke Kairi up from her light snooze, the water lukewarm now as she sat up. 'Kai? You ok in there?', said Sora from outside. 'Yeah, I'm ok. Just took a nap, that's all', she promised, looking at the door. 'I'm just about to come out'.

'Oh great, hey Iris actually brought some PJS over for you, said you might want to get a little cosier?', he said. Kairi smiled at the thought of something a little cosier for the stay, kinda relived that she didn't have to wear her normal gear for the rest their time here, and coming out of bath and jumping ton PJS sounded delightful. 'That's wonderful, tell her thanks for me', she asked, getting out the tub. 'Will do', he assured.

As she dried herself Kairi smiled in relief when she noticed she wasn't as tired as she was prior to the bath, the cold that plagued her body was gone and her voice was clear as a crystal. As she wrapped the towel around herself, she looked at her clothes she folded back on the toilet, again dried and in pristine condition. But instead of throwing them on again, she knocked on the door. 'Sora? Could you pass me the PJS, please?', she asked.

She heard shuffling from outside and then some footsteps approaching the door, she sees the doorknob jiggle for a second but then it ceased movement. 'Uh…are you…decent?', he asked. She giggled to herself softly, a faint blush painting her cheeks. A part of her wanted to tease him, maybe be bold, but then she looked at the slowly dwindling candles and the bathtub with lukewarm water, she smiled and shook her head.

'Yes, I've my towel around me', she assured.

The door cracked open and slowly she sees a pile of clothes on his hand as Sora slowly pushed the door open and with his free hand firmly clasped around his eyes. 'Here you are', he said, waving the hand around to show her items. Kairi smiled wickedly, deciding a little teasing wasn't going to hurt him.

She gently placed her hands on his mobile one and after she used her free hand to place her PJS on the sink, she grinned. 'Also?', she said softly. 'Yeah?', Sora asked.

'I lied…I've just got out of the tub', she said, making sure she sounded embarrassed.

Sora's response was instant. His form stiffened, his cheeks turned scarlet and his mouth hung. 'GAH! SORRY!', he yelled, almost tripping on his way out and slammed the door behind him. Once the door was closed, Kairi just roared with laughter, clutching her stomach as her eyes were prickled by tears.

She desperately wished she had thought ahead and recorded the whole thing with her phone, (Prompto showed her before), she could imagine how everyone would've reacted. Though thinking back on it, maybe it wouldn't have sat well with her if she showed everyone a recording of them with the princess in a towel…

Yes, probably should be grateful she didn't think that far ahead.

Then as she continued to laugh, she threw her head back with glee but with too much momentum. She slipped off the tub with a shriek and fell back into the lukewarm water with a huge splash that sent water all over the floors.

Kairi thrashed in the water to turn herself up right, breaking through the water to the surface with a gasp. Looking at the mess she made and the floating towel in her tub, Kairi groaned loudly.

Karma at its finest…

*Other Room*

'Xehanort is gathering the Thirteen Darkness, and you guys have the Seven Guardians of Light, and then when you go fight him…that'll recreate the Keyblade War', Noctis surmised.

'Yes', Aqua confessed, 'Though I'm not sure why he'd want such a thing to happen'. 'Indeed, if the first war caused all worlds to split apart, then who knows what will happen with this one'. 'But wait a second, he needs YOU guys to do it right? I mean, you are the guardians', Prompto asked.

'Yeah?', Riku asked, raising a brow. 'I know you gotta fight them, but that'll cause the war to happen…so? Maybe, DON'T fight him?'.

Everyone looked at him, but before someone could ask, he stood up with hands out saying: 'Hear me out! You said you guys must clash for all that to happen? That Xehabort guy', he listed.

'Xehanort', corrected Riku.

'Right, thank you, anyways, he's gonna need all of you to fight. So, if you don't fight, the war doesn't happen, and then his plans are useless, right?', finished Prompto. The other worlders looked at one another, clarification in their eyes and even Riku looked to contemplate his words. It was true that the Seeker of the Darkness did need them for his goal to be completed, and that would nullify any attempts of assassinations on them as their deaths would only cancel any plans he had.

'That's not a bad idea…', Ignis concurred, holding his chin. 'But it wouldn't work'. 'He's right', Aqua agreed. 'What!? B-But', Prompto gasped. 'Prompto, us not fighting him won't stop him from coming up with alternatives, and worse, he will use whatever he has to goad us into conflict', she explained. 'Example? Attacking other worlds, spreading heartless, nobodies and worse, sending the Organization to capture the Princesses of Light'.

Riku nodded in agreement. 'She's right, we ignore him, and he'll do worse. Fighting him is all we can do'.

'But seeing as you guys are stuck here, think that Xigbar freak is gonna come looking?', Gladiolus questioned. 'Not unless he's told to, even then we don't know why's working with the empire', Riku said. 'That guy's always been an oddball of member, and very unpredictable'.

As they all sat there, some absorbing the information while some trying to wrap their minds around the consequences of the reveal. The brothers shared glances, Aqua spoke up. 'Listen, we know we've put more trouble on your plates, and if we leave you-

'Not gonna happen', Noctis said firmly, getting up. 'Whatever their goals are, Xigbar and his nobodies are with the empire. Which means the empire is your enemy too, if he's promised them something in exchange for you guys'. Aqua looked at him as he offered his hand, 'So like it or not, we're stuck together. And seeing as we're doing well so far, may as well keep it up, right?'.

Aqua looked at the prince, before smiling and taking his hand strongly. 'I guess so', she said.

'Great, so now we've a bunch of literal nobodies to go up against, along with other worldly problems', Gladiolus chuckled, 'Can imagine pops hearing this, and I'm not sure he'd be proud or horrified'.

There was chuckles and laughter made, the tense air faded and as everyone decided to go do what they wanted to do while they enjoy their stay, with the royal retinue having their worlds expanded. Though Noctis decided to visit Sora and Kairi, a question looming on his mind.

*Sora's Room*

He knocked on the door gently, which opened quickly to show Sora with a smile. 'Hey Noct', he greeted. 'Hey Sora, how's Kairi doing?', he asked. Sora stepped aside to let his friend in, and upon entering he sees Kairi on the bed in a set of PJS likely Iris choose for her, the moogle prints were a dead giveaway. 'She's doing good, I'm just heading out for some hot chocolate for us, you want one?', he offered.

'Yeah sure, I've got something to ask her, actually', he said. 'Ok, see you guys soon', Sora said, biding them a "see ya" and left.

Kairi smiled at Noctis, who gave her a courteous bow, 'Your majesty', he greeted with a smirk. Kairi rolled her eyes in response. 'Funny, Prince Noctis', she replied. Noctis chuckled as he sat on the bed. 'So Aqua told you guys everything?', she prodded. 'Yeah…damn, didn't think you guys had that much on your plates', he commented, 'And you're still a newbie?'.

'Yeah…', Kairi sighed, 'But, it means I can finally help keep Sora safe, so that's good!'.

'I get ya…', he mused. 'Listen, I uh, I've been meaning to ask you something, but did you ever have a weird dream?'. Kairi smiled at him and giggled. 'Yup, one time I dreamt I was a kitten, very relaxing', she giggled. 'But not what you mean?'. 'No, but cute', he said. 'Have you ever, woke up in a place where there's nothing but darkness, with only a single beam of light above you?'.

Kairi's smile faded as a look of contemplation took over, sitting up right on her knees. 'Yes actually', she confessed, clutching her necklace. 'After I lost consciousness when Aqua and Gladio found me and Sora, I…I remember a place like that, but it's a vague'.

Kairi looked at Noctis. 'Why do you ask?'.

Noctis then began retelling his own dream…

A/N: Again…one day it took!

So this is a very dialogue heavy chapter, and worst of all trying to add in the KH lore and plot. God help me it hurts.

A guess had asked where does this take place during KH3 so for those wondering, this took place after they found Ventus.

Next time we'll have a small story arc, its time to Bust a Base!

1st Q: Do you think there was something else I should have had the party tell Noctis and company?

2nd Q: Has ANYONE come up with a name for the car?

3rd: Should we do the Assassin's Creed Festival?

As always, thanks for reading Stay Awesome but more importantly Stay Safe!