Final Fantasy XV - Kingdom Hearts
Part 93
Summary: Two warriors of Light, the Chosen King and Keyblade Master, face an unseen Darkness.
*Insomnia*
Throughout his journey as a newbie guardian of light and keyblade wielder, Noctis thought the idea of replicas and nobodies looking alike would stop startling him or wouldn't even phase him anymore. Seeing as he's met three boys who could pass off as Sora's siblings, same with Kairi and Riku, even seeing Anti-Aqua somewhat desensitized him to the concept.
Yet walking down the red-carpeted stairs leading up to the throne, his very own clone, or nobody or replica or whatever he is, marching down to him with nothing but cold steel in his blue eyes. The very air around this man is a massive contrast to the guardian of light, it was surging with shadows of a darkened heart, the scent of war and carnage scarring his light and the way he walked was powerful, like a being of war you couldn't even imagine raising your blade against.
"How…is this possible?", Noctis asked, "You're…me". The king merely scoffed with a smirk, yet there is nothing but emptiness with it. "Oh? You've got a lot of nerve to compare me to you, prince", mocks the king as his walk stops at the sixth step. To cast his unamused gaze upon those who he deemed lower than himself. "Then again, who could you even compare yourself to than someone else who bears a lot of similarities to you? Gladiolus? Ignis? Prompto? Pfft…".
Noctis stares at this lookalike, trying to get an idea of how this is happening or better yet figure out what Lunafreya was trying to do by showing him this man. Aside from their bodies and likely Armiger, he could safely say nothing is connecting these two. His eyes perturbed him greatly, the light within them was so small and closer to a fragment with how little empathy or genuine goodness was within those spheres. He sees sadness within them, anger that could rival Ardyn's hate for the royal bloodline, and scars of war.
"So what are you then? A clone? Another me? What?", Noctis demands. The king chuckles with a shake of his head, turning his gaze to the night sky through the glass wall that illuminated the room they conversed in. "Clone? Get real. You'd be lucky if you were anything like me, faker", denounced the king as he lifted his right hand, crystals no bigger than falling snow fluttered around his palm. "I don't what to tell you…but I can say we're not the same "Noctis", no. You are soft and weak like the filthy Nifs, while I am strong and unbending like steel".
"And just as mouthy and arrogant, you both share that in equal measurements", Ravus mocked. The king turned his cruel gaze onto the brother of the Oracle and with a callous smile, asked: "And you are? Are you some wannabe general coming for my head? Or something even lesser?".
Ravus snarls and unsheathes his saber but not even a second after his blade is shown, he is blasted aside by a bolt of magic. Blue lightning flashed so quickly and bright it almost completely caught Noctis off guard. The former commander of the Niflhiem army was thrown across the room and slammed into a wall with a thunderous thud it echoed in the empty throne room, breaking the wall and buried himself into the black stone. He dropped his sword and slumped in his throne in the wall, excusing him from the conversation.
Noctis stares at Ravus' defeated form but quickly returned to the king with fire in his eyes, yet the king barely acknowledges what he had just done. "Now with that out of our way…", he casually remarked, "You're here for something…aren't you?". Noctis flexed his fingers and readied to call his weapons at his command, but the king's smirk turns darker and Noctis swore for a brief second he saw Ardyn's smile. "I can sense your power with the Armiger is impressive, probably greater than any of our ancestors", he mockingly points out, "But still…nothing to me".
Noctis calls for his Ultima Blade just as the king summoned what looked to be the old model of the Engine Blade. The difference was it was sleeker and more refined as an elegant and beautifully crafted sword worthy of the Tenebrae smiths. The king's body shines with white light while Noctis bathed in his blue, the "prince" gritting his teeth while the king smirked cruelly at him like he was barely impressed by this rebel's power. "So you've embraced the Draconian's lies? Your power stinks of his influence", he mocked.
"Screw you…", Noctis barked, "Mine died thanks to my extremely angry ancestor, and this? Is MY power!". Noctis warps to the king and once he reappeared in front of him, he catches his sword and swings it down upon him. But his sword is repelled by a wall of weapons that throw him off like he was struck by the king. Thrown ten feet in the air, Noctis backflipped and warps back down the ground, staring at the king as he walks toward him without that wall. Brandishing his royal blade, the king ceases his smirk and now on his face was a cold look of murder.
He teleports to Noctis in a blink of an eye and wing a well-performed swing of his steel, he struck Noctis' sword and sends him flying out of the throne room through the doors. The metal ornate doors broke apart from Noctis' body as he soars through the air and further down the hallway. He lands on his back with several rolls until by the fourth he managed to roll on his feet and quickly raised his sword to stop the king from cleaving him in half. This attack pushed the keyblade wielder backward even as his heels dig into the ground, ripping the carpet like a knife cutting through paper.
He throws the king over himself and while he had him in the air, he calls for Bow of the Clever and fires at the king. The king's wall shines and easily repels Noctis' attacks as he performs a front flip and lands a few feet from the keyblade wielder. With a cocky smirk, he aims his hand at him, sparks of electricity covers his gloved limb. A burst of blue lightning rockets from his hand and almost reached Noctis, but the chosen one retaliated by shooting his bolt of yellow lightning at his. Their magic clashed and boomed so loudly the windows surrounding the hallway shattered to shards.
Noctis warps again through the lightning and with Axe of the Conqueror, he swung his weapon down upon the king. Again the wall shines and holds back the attack, the impact alone shakes the entire hallway and even leaves a small crater in the ground beneath the king. Noctis gritted his teeth as he applied more pressure to his attack yet the man beneath him refused to even move on the spot, casually standing in his castle of magic watching Noctis struggle. With a simple wave of his hand, he dissipates his wall and calls for a polearm of his own.
The Axe of the Conqueror appeared in the king's hand and he swung it against Noctis's axe. Easily knocking it out of his hands, he then leaped and kicked Noctis in the stomach, knocking the air out of him and sends him flying. Noctis flips in the air and lands on his feet with a grimace, recalling his sword just as the king fires off blade-shaped energy bolts at him. He runs at them and cuts down the attacks with trained strikes and timing, then pulls out a magic flask and chucked it at the king ahead of him. The flask lands a foot before the king of the castle and a shining burst of lightning explodes from the flask.
The king's wall comes up again to shield him, though the explosion throws him a few feet from it while Noctis phased through the explosion and reappears before the king. He summons the Swords of the Wanderer and unleashes a storm of strikes upon the wall that protected the king before him. Each strike upon the wall lit up the room with magic, steel clashing echoes throughout the room as Noctis pushed the king to step back and even one or three attacks were enough to send him flying a foot away.
The king calls for his twin blades and engaged Noctis in battle, both kings striking at the other wildly and furiously like two wild animals hungry for flesh. The king's attacks were something entirely different from Noctis', where the keyblade wielder is proficient in wielding multiple weapons and even showing a lot of promises with arms he's never been trained with. The king, however, fought with those weapons as if he had been trained all his life to master them, each attack was perfectly timed, striking the right moment to either halt Noctis or nearly cut his arms off.
His footwork isn't anything to scoff at either, he was backing up certainly but never cowering or surrendering. Baiting and waiting for the right moment. Noctis' left arm managed to pin the king's right-handed weapon and with perfect timing thanks to Ignis' instructions, Noctis even parried the left-handed weapon and with the right amount of force, knocks it aside. He plunges the blade at the king's chest, but instead of the wall saving him, the king leans to his left and managed to sidestep Noctis entirely. With the keyblade wielder taking his spot, the king delivered a roundhouse kick to the back of his head and sends him to the ground.
Noctis falls to his stomach but without missing a beat he rolled onto his back and with one of his guns, he shoots at the king. Futile as it was since the wall immediately repelled the bullet, Noctis used this to slam his hand into the ground, the palm coated with white mist. Instantly a barrage of icicles shoots up from the ground toward the king, the keyblade wielder thinking if straight forward attacks can't get through the wall then maybe going from below could work. His quick thinking did catch the king off guard as he leaped back from being impaled.
Noctis jumps to his feet and with Bow of the Clever, he shoots another barrage of magic arrows at the man. The king huffed and with a raised hand during his backward jumping, he unleashed a large ball of flame that flies to Noctis. The arrows were turned into nothing from the attack and almost closes the gap between the king and keyblade wielder. Noctis summons Sword of the Tall and with a growl, he brings down the massive blade onto the fireball and combined with the magic of the sword, demolishes the ball. The fireball is no more.
But this victory is short-lived for when Noctis looked up, he sees the king appear before him and his palm directly in his face. He is blasted by an invisible force that sends him rocketing through the hallway and thrown out of a window at the end of it all. He falls from the building with the remnants of his exit. Noctis flails in the air and looks to warp to safety, a tall building that overlooked the city. His sword planted in the wall with him hanging from it, he pants and grunts in pain, but he takes a breath and then warps to the very top of the building.
Panting from this fight, he looks around this replica of his world and somehow feels a sense of desolation and isolation. The world felt darker, empty, and even more inhuman than Niflheim when it was the literal world of darkness. The city lights were so dim and barely visible it was like this world's light was slowly fading away, a tall building with a circular head was rotating ahead of him, the signs of war with ruined buildings and bridges painted the story for him perfectly. He could even see destroyed MT drop ships scattered around the area.
He hissed when he hears the familiar magical sounds of a warp and spins on his heels to see the king standing on the edge of the building before him. The king opens his arms to gesture to the world around him as he stepped off the ledge. "This is my kingdom…but I'm willing to wager you knew that", he says obviously, "Tell me…is your home any better or worse than mine?". Noctis faces him with the same kingly gaze he gave Ardyn, a sense of pride surged when he thought of his home. "We lost it to the Nifs a while ago…but through my friends, I reclaimed my throne".
This makes the king laugh and with a shake of his head, he granted the wielder of the keyblade a look of amusement. "Reclaimed your throne? Pfft, you probably never even sat upon it!", he mocked, "I assumed you were able to HOLD it for more than a day, but no". Noctis snarls and barked: "And you? Did you keep it!?".
"What sort of king would I be if couldn't?", the king replied easily, "Oh wait don't answer that one, I'm talking to the answer". Noctis growls, calling his sword again while the king looks around and then fixed his eyes on the king. Slowly though that smirk withered away when he takes a look at him as he had just seen something unexpected.
"Your eyes…", he notes, "They're not eyes of loss like mine…".
"The hell are you talking about? I DID lose people!", Noctis bellowed as with a stomp forward, his Armiger burst, and he unconsciously unleashed its power. "I lost my dad, my home, friends! And I've lost Luna and another good friend!". The king's eyes glowered and darken as his own Armiger becomes visible and started to properly manifests before him. Like Noctis thought, they were all the same royal arms he's obtained, minus Ardyn's and the keyblade, but their blue light felt so cold even from here he could swear he'd catch frostbite if he so much as brushed his fingertips across their surfaces.
"Luna? Don't you mean Stella? Stella Nox Fleuret?", challenges the king as his lips curl into a cold snarl, "Whose this worthless woman you refer to as Luna!?". "DON'T YOU DARE CALL HER THAT!", roars Noctis as he charges forth with his Armiger. All his weapons struck the king's magic wall as they flew off the building and into the city sky, soaring as fast as bullets. In the air, Noctis grabbed his keyblade, and with an enraged roar, he cleaves through the wall that denied him the right to harm this false king. The king's eyes widened with disbelief when he almost lost the tip of his nose to the strange weapon.
He growls and with one hand blasted Noctis into the sky with a burst of magic. Yet even this only angers Noctis because he barely went five feet away from the king, using his training to recover quickly and maintain control in the air. He aims his keyblade at the king and sends seven of his royal arms at him. The king raised the Shield of the Tall to protect himself, blocking the weapons, and then teleports higher up in the air Noctis. He calls for the Katana of the Warrior and performs several slashes in the air during his flight.
Flashes of light shine along the buildings surround Noctis and slowly they begin to collapse and fall upon the chosen king of light. Noctis grabbed Sword of the Father and Ultima Blade and flies up to the buildings. He slashes and cuts through them with overwhelming power that splits the buildings apart like they weren't made of stone but wet clay. He uses several broken buildings as steppingstones and runs up one slanted piece of the building and cleaves another in an X pattern, propelling himself through it when he saw the king.
The king calls for Mace of the Fierce to meet Noctis' Sword of the Tall and the moment their weapon made contact; a shockwave emits from their collision. Every window and or glass piece of the buildings surround them shattered to nothing but shards, sparkling in the dim light of their Armigers, the force even bends some of the steel structure of the buildings and even cracked the roads beneath them despite being a hundred feet in the air. Armiger sparks between the weapons of the royal children as Noctis' fury meets with the king's rage.
They break their deadlock and began to wail on each other like their giant weapons, each force emitting a shockwave not as lethal as their first, but it would have been enough to destroy the ground beneath them had they fought on the ground. The king strikes Noctis downward and as Noctis descends to the ground, he shoots a web of lighting at the keyblade wielder. In response, Noctis called his Star of the Rogue and flings the weapon at the lightning while it was spinning quickly. It cuts through the lightning and even takes some of the blue magic with it, coating it in lightning.
While the star zooms to the king, Noctis summons Night's Sky and begins to strike at the lightning, throwing arcs shaped like blade slashes. The magical attack slices through the spell as the star reached the king, forcing him to call for Blade of the Mystic and slam the steel in between the star blades to hold it in place. He managed to toss it aside in time to deal with Noctis' second attack and calls for his wall to shield him from the attack. The wall managed to keep the king safe from being harmed but each impact only sends him further up in the air until he reached the top of the spinning building.
Once he hovered above the building, Noctis reappears before him with Night's Sky and brought down the blade upon his foe. This attack managed to give the king a taste of his own medicine as he lands onto the building, on his feet, and even cracked the roof from the force. He swings his engine sword at Noctis and blasted a wave of Armiger magic at the chosen king, only for the keyblade to slice it in half and spare Noctis the pain as he warps down to the rooftop and stands before him as the clouds darken above, a boom of thunder rumbles in the dark clouds.
Armiger's at the fullest potential, each weapon surrounding the two as they stared down each other like two old enemies about to end their bitter rivalry for the final time.
They both charged at each other with yells and cries, all their weapons striking each other like a pack of animals getting into the most fierce cage match the world has ever seen. Sparks practically brightening the spot like the sun was sorely focused on this one battleground, every ghostly weapon clashing like warriors fighting on the battlefield, Noctis and the king striking at each other with their signature weapons but neither landing a hit. They would dance around each other's attacks, parry them and block them, warp, teleport, and phase through the attacks.
The collision of their weapons cracked and broke apart the rooftop they stood upon, their steels slicing the spaces not occupied by the two kings, and the light between them shined so brightly as the world weeps with rain. Noctis' keyblade is being swung so fast it was like he was wielding light itself while the king's cold fury is manifested in his own hands, controlled and tempered yet misguided and misused. When they land hits on the other, their foe would retaliate in kind with the same equal amount of pain and skill. The chosen king manages to slice his shoulder and draw blood, but he would have a gnash on his hip.
The king would stab at his thigh and cut the side, but Noctis would slam the keyblade's body upon his shoulder with enough force to break a normal man's shoulder to pieces. This attack finally demolishes the floor between them and together they fall through still striking at each other with their swords. Landing on the floor doesn't stop their dance of arms, but it granted them more flat ground to work with, and they began to flip and warp around the room like a ballroom dance in the air. The furniture gets smashed, cut, or simply obliterated by their attacks, the carpet ripped apart and the glass window breaks apart from their fight.
Noctis throws three royal arms at the king and with his keyblade, he warps at him. The king uses the Shield of the Tall to bash aside the weapons and when he struck the third, he spins around and swings his katana at the wielder of the key, holding back his divine weapon. Eyes bore into each other as the king throws aside Noctis and while he digs his heels into the carpet, the king runs at him and performs a quick draw, slashing at him with invisible speed. Noctis parries these invisible strikes with the equal grace and skill of a samurai.
The king stabs at the guardian of light and is disarmed by a perfect parry by the younger king. The katana flies out of the king's hand but he quickly called for his engine sword in time to stop Noctis from taking his head. Locked again in a deadly deadlock, they fought for supremacy as Noctis stares down at him. "This Luna…does she carry the blood of the Oracles?", interrogates the king. "Damn right! And you're in my way to save her!", snarls Noctis, "So do me a favor you copycat, and GET OUT OF MY WAY!".
Noctis breaks the lock and with a quick summoning of his Ultima Blade, he manages to strike at the king's chest and knock him back. The king lands on his feet and buried his booted heels to stop himself from being thrown out of the window and into the heavy rainfall bathing his city. The king glowers at him, and boldly claims: "So you failed to keep her safe too? And there I was thinking you were a complete failure". Noctis hisses and replied: "And are you any better? Did you save your Luna, or Stella or whatever the hell yours is called!?".
"…no…I killed her".
Noctis feels his blood turn to ice as the rage that once fuelled his will to fight is suddenly put out, while the king relaxes his posture and stands tall, weapon still in hand. "…she was like me, able to see the souls of the dead once Etro, the goddess of death, opened the Unseen Gate", he says looking to the clouds behind him. "Our home was attacked by the Nifs, like your own, and even despite us fighting and killing everyone who stood in our way, we lost it all", he continues, "My father slaughtered, the men and women who fought to keep our home all butchered thanks to the traitors".
Noctis watches him as his eyes darkened and turned colder than before as his story goes on. "Stella was the one who kept me safe, using our meeting as bait to get me and my guards away from the assault…and even tried to kill me", he says with a humorless laugh, "All to see if we were able to save this kingdom from those whose own lust for progress, blinded by greed for power…and in the end, the accursed Draconian dictated we would be damned to lose it all". He faces Noctis and then summons three weapons, each of them triggering something within Noctis' heart.
Two daggers that were broken in half, a great sword broke in half, and a gun in three pieces. "My guards, brothers, died to ensure I'd reach the crystal, my father left bleeding by those who swore they'd keep him safe, and when I thought the price for my throne had been more than compensated by the gods…guess what? That bastard of a dragon decides *I* had yet to prove my strength as a king", he mocking sings, "And that was to see if all I had ever lost would hold me back from fulfilling my destiny! And even Etro, the very goddess we worshiped and revered found me unworthy of the throne unless I pay the price!".
"And that was…", Noctis says barely above a whisper.
"To kill Stella…and she willing jumped onto my sword for our gods…", the king reveals. He grabbed his forehead and shakes with laughter, anger seeping from him. "My home in ruins, my kingdom is gone, my brothers, father, and even someone who I called a lover, TAKEN from me! And for what!? So I could sit on the throne of a dead kingdom!?", he rants. "But you…you…". His fury takes hold as he glares at Noctis. "But you got it all! You saved your home didn't you!? Your brothers are still alive, your future is YOURS to decide, and even now, you still couldn't keep her safe!?".
But then, his anger withered away as a cruel smirk appeared on his lips, and then with one gesture of his left hand, a shard of Lunafreya's heart appears floating above his palm. The final piece to restore her just a foot away from Noctis, yet never before did he stare down someone with contempt and barely restrains his anger. "I wondered what this was…but if I have to guess, I'd say it's a piece of her, isn't it?", the king asked.
"So what happens if…I destroy it?".
"Simple…I'll break you", Noctis threatens, aiming his keyblade at him, "You wanna hate the gods, go ahead. I've got no love for those jerks, nor do I give a rats ass about destiny or that fate garbage you had to deal with, but Luna had nothing to do with what happened to you!". The king raised a darkened brow at him, insulted. "You've got a lot of nerve, brat. Someone like you who hasn't suffered as I have, and you DARE threaten me?", he accused. "I've been kicking your ass all day, "your majesty", I think we're well past that stage!", Noctis rebuked, "I did suffer! I was chosen over hundreds to be saved, I lost people left and right, and I was supposed to die with Luna!".
He curses and takes a step forward and continues: "But…I didn't. I was saved by my brothers and our friends…I got a second chance to see the end with those I held dear". He bravely dismissed his keyblade and stood before the king still holding the shard. "…I dunno how bad it was for you, and you've got every right to be angry at them…but Luna didn't do anything to you, nor me or anyone I know…", he says, "But that darkness in your heart? That's not doing you any favors. You…gotta let go of it".
The king looks at him and opens his mouth to roar but then he stills and looks at the shard, then surveys the destruction of his city and the room they were in, nothing but destruction and chaos left in their wake. Destruction and death, his life circled those two things, and yet before he stands someone who looked like him and even defied his fate. It wasn't fair, why was it him who had to suffer while another him had a chance to obtain a future where his love, brothers, and kingdom would all be waiting for him?
He was never given a chance…but maybe…someone else could live on for him?
The king looks at the shard one final time and with a heavy heart, he offers it to Noctis. "Take it", he commands, "I'm done". Noctis looks at him as his weapons disappear and the fight within his eyes, even the life within them just seemed to disappear like the light within his heart. "I'm tired…so damn tired of all of it…", he laments as the rain stops. Noctis takes the shard and as soon as he does, the king stumbles and falls to his knees, caught by Noctis. His body begins to glow in soft blue light as he fades away into the light.
"Heh…I…feel lighter…", he says with mirth, "Is this what it's like…to finally be freed of that weight?". Noctis holds him up as the dark clouds began to part, rays of the sun begin to pierce the darkness. "Go ahead and rest, your majesty", Noctis says, "You've walked that road long enough". The king chuckled, placing a hand on Noctis' shoulder and gives him a brotherly smile that for some reason, lifts the spirit of the king.
"Go…and live your life the way you see fit…Noctis", he says before he fades away into the light. Noctis stands up as the world is finally bathed in the dawn, the light of the sun shining down onto the city, and even beyond its destruction, he could feel the souls of those who have passed on finally be at peace.
He summons the shards all together and then they fuse into a perfect star, but he frowns with worry when they start to levitate to the air. "What the…", Noctis asks before the shard shines as bright as the sun, and somehow he feels the world mirroring his own slowly fade away…
*Castle Oblivion*
"And this makes it what, the fourth time I had to fight another version of me?", Sora asks himself as he teleports rapidly to dodge the waves of darkness covering the small arena. The Anti-Sora had his darkened keyblade stabbed into the ground and was firing waves of darkness at him in such rapid speeds and quantity, putting Sora on the defense and mobile side of the fight.
He dodges all the attacks with ease, but because of how fast they were spawning and how close they were to the other him, attacking head-on was a no-go for him. So if he couldn't attack with the keyblade upfront, then from the distance would grant him a step closer to victory. He leaps into the air after reappearing from a teleport and aims his keyblade at the boy who had fallen into darkness. "Fire!", Sora declared and shoots a large ball of roaring flames at his fallen self. The Anti-Sora snarls and pulls out his keyblade and splits the spell in half.
Sora then dives to him and clashes with the Anti-Sora again, both striking at each other. Luckily for Sora, this version of him wasn't anything he hadn't combated before, rather it was like fighting Roxas with just one keyblade. Anger infused strikes that were easy to repel and predict, wide range and space covering attacks that could easily be evaded thanks to Aqua's training and his years of breaking the limit of human speed, and finally, his constant battles with people who exceed him had given him all the experience and training he needed.
The Anti-Sora's strikes become more desperate and furious, pushing Sora to leap backward and parry each attack while the darkened version started to replicate a move Roxas had shown before. Sora starts to distance himself from the attacks, doing so Anti-Sora strikes the ground and with each hit, he creates four pillars that spin and spread out. Taking more space from Sora as he continues to dodge and weave through these attacks, managing to land a few hits whenever he could. Anti-Sora aimed his hand at him and shoots four long thorns of nothingness at Sora, like Xemnas.
Quickly Sora flips and leaps over these attacks, and because the fallen hero is forced to stay stationary for this attack, Sora navigates past these thorns and closes the distance between them. He smacks him aside with one strike of the keyblade, sending him flying to the left but once his feet touched the ground, Sora jumps from the ground and flies to the fallen. Sora slashes at him several times, each hit striking him with all the light within his strongest keyblade, breaking apart his blackened heart.
One final stab blasted the false Sora away and into one of the pillars attached to the arena. The Anti-Sora falls to his feet but immediately slammed his palm into the ground and suddenly three pits of darkness appeared and almost swallowed Sora. He quickly casts an aero spell and launched himself high into the air to avoid the fate of being consumed by the dark, and while he was in the air, Anti-Sora launches himself after him. Quickly changing keyblades, swapping Ultima for Shooting Star, and then changes into Element Form.
He aims his arrow guns at the darkened version of himself and unleashes a barrage of arrows at him. The arrows though were quickly destroyed by the dark keyblade as he closed the distance between them and almost cleaves Sora in two. The boy flips over his attack and used his back as a stepping stone to leap further into the air. Sora aims again and this time shoots a barrage of icicles at the corrupted form of himself before he dashed to the right and begins to shoot fireballs, and then again dashing around to fire lightning spheres at him.
The Anti-Sora blasted the icicles to nothing, slices the wind so hard they put of the fireballs, and raised a barrier to protect himself from lightning, but then he vanishes before Sora's eyes and reappears above him. Sora backflips and managed to use his boot to hold back the keyblade by stomping on the ring guard and halting the momentum of the strike. He uses this to kick himself back down to the ground, and as he dives, he aimed his keyblade and fires a beam of light in the center. The light engulfs the field and cleanses it of the darkness, then with one flip Sora lands on his feet and spins around.
He changes keyblades again and now wields Royal Key, and with one stroke of his keyblade, the ghostly keys of his closest companions, hover behind him. He jumps to Anti-Sora, aims his hand, and commands his ghostly keyblades to fly and strike at the false version of himself. The seven keys stabbed him through his stomach and with Royal Key, Sora flies past him with a strike so powerful it could have demolished a mountain. The Anti-Sora growls in pain as Sora flies higher and above him, but the darkened Sora rears his head to the boy, and using darkness, he propels himself to Sora.
He swings his keyblade at him and wildly thrashes against his holy weapon, yet Sora retaliates with equal aggression though it was more tempered and controlled than his fallen self. Once locked into a struggle with each other, Anti-Sora calls forth the darkness within his fallen heart, and from the ground, a large pool of nothingness covers the entire ground. A burst of thorns of nothingness rockets from the ground and towards them as Anti-Sora falls back. The thorns phasing through him without so much as tearing his cloak.
As they all tried to grab Sora, he quickly teleports higher up into the air and crossed his arms. With a yell, he opens his body up and summons Oathkeeper and Oblivion to his hands, turning into the Dual Form. As the thorns reached him, Sora turns into a blender of steel, a dome of razor-sharp swings surrounds the boy as he reduces the thorns into nothing but the air. He then dives down towards the fallen Sora as a bullet shot from the heavens, clearing the way through the thorns, and with one final front flip, he plunged the two keyblades into him as they plummet to the ground. Once the keys pierced the boy and were buried into the ground, a burst of light shoots from him and covers the ground.
Sora pants from the constant form changing and flipping and dancing but he stands tall as his fallen lookalike stiffens and then finally slumped to the ground before his body fades away into small particles of ashes. The body burns away to nothing and leaves the shard at long last, and no sooner had it fluttered to the same level as Sora's heart, he holds out Naminé's remaining shards as the world began to change again. The last piece clicked with the other shards and then they start to levitate to the air.
Sora smiled as they shine brilliantly and finally form a keyhole as large as a bus in the sky. Slowly it shines brightly and then a flash of light covers the entrance and slowly a human shape descends from the keyhole, and when the light fades, Sora's heart swells with joy when he sees the person he had been looking for finally arrive.
Naminé.
The former shadow of Kairi descends as she stirs and opens her eyes and before she registers what has happened, she is suddenly grabbed and the next thing she knows she was back on the ground and held in someone's arms. "Naminé! I found you!", sings Sora as he held her close to him. "Sora?", Naminé asked, baffled and confused before she looks around her surroundings and finds she and Sora were back in the islands where many of her false memories were crafted from. "How? What? Where are we?", she asks as she drinks in her new location despite being unable to recall where she was.
"It's the final world, or something like that! But who cares? We finally found you!", Sora cheers as she shakes her hand with the big smile he's known for. Naminé pursed her lips, and then slowly lowers her gaze to their joint hands. Slowly memories of what had transpired occurred within her heart, and she could still feel the cold brush of death breeze on her heart, Kairi's tear-stained face and the eyes of tragedy, along with oblivion welcoming her like many others before her.
She shook her head and faced Sora who was still smiling and says: "B-But…I died…how are you here?". Before he speaks, she panics and grabbed his jacket. "Sora, please tell me you didn't die too! Oh god, what about Kairi? Noct? The others, what happened!?", she begged. "Naminé, we…we won", he assures, gently grabbing her hands, "It was a close call but we beat Xehanort and sealed Kingdom Hearts for good…but, you and Luna…", he explains before his eyes lose their shine when he spoke of her best friend.
Naminé shakes her head as tears began to form in the corners of her eyes, his words already telling her everything she needed to know. "She… she died? No, no no no…", she whimpers and nearly falls to her knees before Sora catches her. "Don't worry! Noct's looking for her while I went for you! He'll bring her back before we know it!", he promised. Naminé looks at him and sees the promise within his eyes, but she shakes her head. "Why? Do you know what could happen to you by doing this taboo?", she asked.
"Well some cat thingy told us it would be risky, and we might face some consequences but-
"Sora! This goes beyond consequences; you may never be able to return home with us! For all you know you'll be stuck here!", lectures Naminé as her tears fall, "You might never be able to come home! You could never see Kairi again!". Sora frowns as Naminé shakes on the spot and whimpered: "You…you shouldn't have come for me…".
"Of course I had to come for you!", he admonishes, "We all promised everybody is going home together! No matter what!". He holds her hands tightly and says: "You think Luna wouldn't do anything to find a way to bring you back? Roxas would just give up and move on? Anyone who knows you would just let it be? Of course not! Me and Noct promised you two, and we're gonna stand by it!". "Sora…", Naminé whimpered, but then he placed her hand on his heart. "Feel it…the connections of those connected to your heart, and see how important you are to them", he pleads.
Following his advice, and for a long while finally listening to her heart, Naminé closes her eyes and senses the connection. There in the dark, safe place, she sees Sora smiling at her, then slowly Kairi and Riku emerged from the shadows and bathed in light, followed by Donald, Goofy, and Mickey. More of their friends show up smiling at her, and then she feels the embrace of Roxas and Lunafreya, both smiling happily at her. Slowly the pain in her heart begins to melt away as the light, the love from her friends fills the void within.
Opening her eyes, she smiles with tears running down her cheeks as Sora beamed. "So? Ready to see Luna again?", he asks. With a silent nod with the biggest smile on her face that stretched all the way, Naminé follows him through a door of pure light to a reunion she had been waiting for.
*Altissia*
Eyes no longer blinded by the light, Noctis lowered his arm to see himself back in the city of water once more. Though not the destroyed and war-torn lands of his past, instead what looked to be a time before the chaos reached this world. Behind him he sees Ravus looking around equally confused but luckily no harm from the other Noctis remained with him.
"Are we back at the start?", Noctis asks as Ravus joined his side. "No…something is different…", he says, but just as he finished, he points to the altar and sees the shards floating there. Slowly they fly to the air and open a keyhole much like Naminé's, except a brilliant and pure light shines from it. Noctis and Ravus quickly sprint to the stairs of the altar as the light covers the keyhole and then slowly a humanoid form is breaking away from it. As the light fades from the body, both men who had searched for so long cried a name.
"Luna!".
Slowly the Oracle opens her eyes just as Noctis warps to her and stands as she descends from the keyhole like an angel. When her eyes fell to her king, she cried his name. "Noctis!", she sings joyously. He catches her and spins her around atop of the stairs, holding her close as tightly as he could. Resting her head upon his shoulder as he strokes her hair, holding back sobs and tears alike from just feeling her against him again.
They break apart slightly to look at each other with bright and joyous smiles, herself giggling as one tear runs down her cheek. He brushed it aside and smiles. "Found you…", he says with a sigh. The wonderous smile returns, but before she speaks, he gestures her to look at the bottom of the stairs. She glanced and then turns her body in surprise to see Ravus there, smiling at her. Not a smile that hides anger, nor a smile pained by knowledge of her fate, or even a false one. A pure and honest smile she hadn't seen since they were children.
"R-Ravus…", she gasped. Noctis pats her back and encourages her to see him, and with a quick thank you, she all but leaps down the stairs to see her brother again. Immediately they bring each other in for a hug, one they hadn't shared before as Ravus wept her name while she sobbed into him. Noctis quietly thanks whoever felt enough sympathy for these two to finally have a reunion they had longed for and been denied for far too long, resting on the top of the stairs and allow them to catch up.
But it was short, worryingly, for Ravus calls for him to come down and join them. Unbeknownst to Lunafreya, Ravus' eyes showed acceptance and the king could see he was ready. He climbs down the stairs as Lunafreya questions how this was possible and what has transpired since she perished in the battle. Noctis gave her a quick summary of what happened with Xehanort and explained how he and Sora were using the power of waking to find her and Naminé, the very mention of the girl almost made the poor woman break down in tears.
"But…I think knowing Sora? He's probably waiting for us at the graveyard with Naminé", Noctis assured with a smile, "Probably already has her fed and everything". Lunafreya sighed that she would still be a nobody and a shadow until her heart joined the replica. "Well…even more of a reason to get a move on then, yes?", Ravus asked with a gentle smile, "You've people waiting for you". This suddenly made both members of royalty turn to him.
"Wait what? Aren't you coming with us?", Noctis asked, almost pleaded. Ravus shakes his head. "I cannot…my heart had long returned to Kingdom Hearts…and my body is already one with the darkness", he explains. "Brother, please…we can find a way to…", Lunafreya begged but Ravus stops her. "No sister…I believe not even Xehanort could have the power to return my heart and body…this little miracle is a gift from the light, and I dare not press for anymore", Ravus says. Lunafreya opens her mouth, but ultimately with a heavy heart accepts her brother's wishes.
"…you knew", Noctis says, "You knew from the very moment I came here; you knew what you were all along". Ravus nodded and says: "The light from my heart was called by Luna's…and because of the bond you two shared, I was able to create a physical form to stay at your side". "Are you…an illusion or a memory?", Lunafreya asked with a hiccup. "This body is from your memories…of a time where I was a human…but these thoughts, feelings and even memories of that of my own", he assured.
"Brother…by the gods, I…I want…", Lunafreya whimpered before Ravus takes her into his arms for the final time as the wind breezes by them. He holds her there as Lunafreya sobbed into him while Noctis looks away, hitching a sob as Ravus stoically holds his sister, shoulders shaking while he struggled not to cry along with them. Noctis felt a sense of foolishness and even greed thinking it, but he hoped that maybe it wouldn't be only Naminé and Lunafreya coming home with them. A part of his heart hoped maybe this Ravus was himself the whole time, and maybe coming home with him would be a bonus.
But he feared pressing his luck would ultimately cost them more than just him.
"Sister…I…I'm so sorry for how I was…I wished, I could have been better…", Ravus says with emotion clear in his voice. "Brother…", whimpers Lunafreya. "But now sister, you have a chance to finally fulfill my greatest wish…". She faced him as one tear escapes his eyes. "Live your life, be happy, and fall in love with someone you truly love…instead of being a sacrificial lamb for the gods…". Lunafreya hiccups and nodded, accepting his wish and carrying it upon her heart. He then turned to Noctis and says: "…take care of her, your majesty".
"No one's going to get between us again…I swear it", promises Noctis as he shakes hands with Ravus, "Go in peace, Ravus". With a brotherly smile, he nods, gives one more hug to Lunafreya before his light shines through his heart. Slowly as he backs away, his body is encased in golden light before he finally turns into light and fades away to the skies above them. Watching the small particles of light flutter to the sky, the royal couple smile sadly before a door appears before them.
Together hand in hand, they walked through it…
*Sea and Sky*
Entering this beautiful world once more, Noctis looks to the skies as Lunafreya drinks in the world around her with awe and wonder. Then a voice called out to them and when they both looked, they saw Sora and Naminé just walking towards them. But no sooner did Lunafreya whisper Naminé's name, the youngest of the four breaks into a sprint.
Immediately Lunafreya runs and embraced the girl as tightly as she could, the younger girl crying into her as Lunafreya whispers her name repeatedly. The first time she could ever hold her in her arms, their first-time meeting physically and now with the future planned with each other, it takes all Lunafreya's willpower not to succumb into a blubbering mess. There will be plenty of time for that when everyone is by their side once more. They slowly break their hug as Lunafreya caresses her cheek while Naminé blushed softly, embarrassed yet doesn't ask her to stop. Together with Noctis and Sora, the latter using the power of waking, Lunafreya says the words they both longed to hear.
"Let's go home".
*Highwind XV*
"Stop it…", Ventus grunts.
"Tell me your secret", persists Xion, poking his spiky hair.
"I don't have a secret", Ventus groaned, "It's just naturally spiky! Will you go bother Roxas? He almost has the same hair like me!". Xion pouts and pokes more, rebuking: "He doesn't know either…tell me". With a groan louder than he wished, Ventus spins his chair and has his back against Xion. It worked for about half a second before Xion spins him around and pokes his hair again, and this process repeats for a while before Cindy shouts.
"If ya'll are gonna play with chairs, do it in the living room! This ain't a play area!". Both teens ceased and apologize while Terra chuckles as he places down a heavy box of tools nearby the elevator. Then as he stands up and casually glanced at the monitor, he does a double-take. Quickly he grabbed the screen and stares at it in disbelief before he breaks out a large grin.
"She's back…", he says, then turned to the pilot. "Cindy! Get the monitor up, Luna's there!". Cindy turns to him and even from a distance, she sees the Oracle on the screen, quickly spins on her seat, and gets her big screen up while Xion and Ventus beamed with glee. "ANNOUNCEMENT!", Xion declares while Ventus starts the mic to inform everyone. "Guys! They did it! Sora and Noct brought Luna back!", he declares happily before Xion shoves him aside.
"And Naminé too!", she added.
"Wait…", Cindy says, peering at the screen and suddenly when the keyblade wielders looked, their eyes widen with dismay as their smiles died. The party sees Lunafreya on-site where the guardians were picked up, but she was frantically looking around and they see her screaming for something. It takes no longer than a nanosecond for them to figure out why the Oracle was looking around and screaming.
Sora and Noctis…were nowhere to be found…
A/N:
…you have no idea how much I hate myself right now…
Yes, for those of you wondering, this was meant to be the third last chapter of this story and Sora was NOT meant to disappear…BUT…after speaking with Vash, and despite how much I loathed KH3's (SOME) ending portion…they helped create the final arc so yes, Sora and Noctis disappeared.
Some can imagine what's coming next…
Questions:
Q1: Thoughts on this chapter?
Q2: How were the fights?
Q3: Versus XIII Noctis?
Q4: What was your favourite moment if you have any?
Q5: Ending?
Q6: Ravus?
Q7: Curious about the actual ending to this story?
Also? Its gonna get worse for our red haired princess…
ANYWAYS! Thanks for reading everyone! Stay awesome but more importantly stay safe!
