I had to work out some stuff concerning Cure spells and potions and how they operate. Because they are clearly not an instant fix for every injury. Otherwise Sora or Donald would have used Cure when they visited Corona and Flynn/Eugene got stabbed and was dying in front of them. If Cure would have fixed it, wouldn't they have at least tried it before he temporarily died in front of them? They had time.
Of course, we know that the real reason nobody tried using magic in that cutscene is because he does temporarily die in the movie until Rapunzel saved him. And "Kingdom Hearts" wouldn't disrupt the plot that much. But for story purposes and to match up with no one even trying to save the guy (or Will Turner) during stabbing moments, I've worked out some limits for Cure spells.
Cure is meant for use in a fight: something that can be used instantly and doesn't take a huge amount of focus. It'll speed up healing, it'll reduce pain, and it'll restore energy so that you can keep going. All those bruises, cuts, and scrapes will heal faster than normal (the speed of that healing depending on how powerful the spell is). But if you get hit with something lethal, a Cure (or Cura or even Curaga) or a potion probably won't be able to fix enough of the damage to save you in time.
More powerful and effective healing magic does exist, but it takes time to charge up the spell and isn't convenient for a fight because you can't use it immediately like Cure. I'm using Mickey's ability "Healing Light" from "Kingdom Heart 2" (where he would have to charge up his Drive Gauge in order to revive you during certain boss fights) as an example of that. Then there is the miraculous power of Rapunzel's hair, which makes most other healing spells look pathetic. But again, she couldn't use it immediately. She had to sing the song first for it to work. There's a trade off between speed and effectiveness when it comes to healing magic.
And healing magic of all kinds takes an incredible amount of power. Which is why in the game, it takes up a huge amount of MP and why in "Kingdom Hearts 3" you can use Grand Magic in the form of things like Aeroza, Waterza, and so on when you use the same spell repeatedly in close succession, but we never have the option of "-za" level Cure. No matter how good he's gotten at magic over the years, Sora just doesn't have the power to do anything like that.
Anyway, that's my world-building stuff for the moment. Everyone ready for the promised fight scene? Good. Let's get started then.
Aqua's worries and thoughts about the newest generation of Keybearers, young people with only two years of experience at a maximum and almost no formal training who were expected to carrying impossible burdens, fell away as she stepped into the throne room and saw Ven at the far end. Still sleeping exactly where she left him so long ago, the boy not even a single day older than before. While it felt like months in the Realm of Darkness to her, she knew that over a decade had passed. But he hadn't aged. And that familiar sight made her heart clench and her throat tighten.
"Ven," she whispered before breaking into a run.
She raced across the length of the room, reaching the trio of thrones in what felt like a heartbeat. The chamber and the thrones were a remnant of an older point in the world's history from before Master Eraqus's stewardship, but it was the safest place for him. Safer than hiding him in his own room. Especially once she transformed the castle.
"I'm sorry that I took so long," she said quietly.
Even knowing that his heart wasn't present, Aqua couldn't help ruffling his hair gently. Soon. They would wake him up soon.
"Well," said a voice that made her blood freeze, "that was a neat trick. No wonder we couldn't find him. But I suppose that I should thank you for bringing him back out again."
Her head snapped up. Perched casually on top of the throne was a familiar and unwelcomed figure. Dressed in black with thin red lines that traced out musculature and his face hidden by a reflective black helmet, he hadn't changed from the last time that she fought him either.
When he tried to possess Ventus, forming the χ-blade. When he was defeated, but at a cost. When his actions left Ven without his heart.
He was darkness, anger, and hate incarnate.
"Vanitas," she snapped.
A swing of her Keyblade sent a Blizzaga towards him, but he was just as fast and agile as he was a decade ago. He leapt from his perch, flipping over her head.
"Too bad Venty-Wenty is still napping," continued Vanitas, landing lightly on the floor. "I was hoping to spend some quality time with my brother."
Aqua gritted her teeth. Everything about him made her skin crawl. But at least she was now between him and Ven's sleeping body. She wouldn't let him near Ven again. And if that meant fighting Vanitas one more… Well, at least she had time to recover first. She wouldn't let this monster hurt those she cared about ever again.
Wait. Where were Mickey and Riku?
"Thunder!" shouted Riku, leaping through the archway that overlooked one of the twin staircases and catching an unsuspecting Vanitas with a powerful Thundaga.
From the other side, Mickey jumped through the other archway from his hiding place on the stairs, which was a difficult stunt based off Ven's attempts years ago. Mickey attacked Vanitas in a brutal aerial combo that Vanitas could barely escape.
As Vanitas broke free, Riku and Mickey took up position on either side of Aqua. She smiled despite herself. Riku was young, but she remembered fighting alongside Mickey in the past. Even if things felt personal against Vanitas and that she should be the one to deal with him, she couldn't help enjoying the way that he tilted his head, reassessing the odds.
"You're not as stealthy as you might think." Riku's Keyblade, held high parallel to his head, moved in tiny circles as he glared at his opponent. "I could smell you the moment that you arrived."
"The wandering king and the little boy who lost his Keyblade to someone never meant to wield one," said Vanitas, his tone mocking. "One who failed to save anyone for over a decade and the other who dove into darkness and now fears it. Not exactly the most promising people that you could have brought, Aqua."
Throwing up a Barrier around Ven's body to protect it, Aqua said, "Three Keyblade masters? Sounds promising to me. Not that I need any help against you."
Aqua moved fast, sending Blizzaga after Blizzaga after him as quickly as she could summon up the magic. Only a couple managed to land, but it was enough to let her close the distance. She swung fast. Not as hard or crushing as Terra's blows, but she wasn't weak.
But Vanitas wasn't weak either. Nor was he dumb.
The moment her Keyblade swung through him, an afterimage left behind, Aqua realized her mistake. She only had a second to brace herself as he materialized above her, swinging down and—
—a purple fireball knocked Vanitas halfway across the room. Aqua spun around to the source of the Dark Firaga, Riku running forward with a determined look. Mickey kept pace, clearly unsurprised and unconcerned by the casual use of darkness that had left her speechless.
How? He was using darkness. How was it not corrupting him? That's what darkness did. But he wasn't being consumed by hate and rage even as he actively called on it. It wasn't possible. Master Eraqus warned them. Those who did not resist it were lost to darkness.
But Terra… Terra wasn't…
Aqua knew that Terra wasn't like that, even when darkness let Xehanort in. And Riku clearly wasn't succumbing.
"Embracing your darkness then?" asked Vanitas, rolling to his feet just in time to block Riku's swing. "We might have room for you to join us. You do have a connection to Ansem, after all."
"You don't get it."
Riku smirked as Mickey flipped over Vanitas in order to land a blow to his exposed back, the pair moving perfectly in sync with one another. Aqua forced herself to push aside the confusion and overwhelming thoughts swirling in her head, reminding herself that she couldn't stop in the middle of a fight. No matter how much her view of reality was being disrupted. As Riku continued to speak, she sent a Blizzaga low.
"I'm not scared of my darkness. Not anymore. It's mine."
He swung hard. And when Vanitas tried to dodge, he slipped on the ice and left himself open to Riku's follow-up strike.
Vanishing into the ground like a shadow, Vanitas moved through the darkness to avoid a third hit. Aqua cartwheeled away to avoid retaliation, if only barely. And Mickey met his reemergence by firing pulses of light from his Keyblade.
"It's my darkness, just like it's my light. It isn't either one or the other," said Riku. "It's both. My heart has both, just like everyone else. I don't fear the darkness, but I don't reject the light either."
Vanitas lunged, but Riku met each strike with a block. And it left Vanitas too distracted to avoid mirrored attacks from Mickey and Aqua, knocking him further across the room and away from the thrones.
And away from Ven.
"And you can run back to Xehanort and your fellow lackeys," said Riku, "and tell them that we're sick and tired of your games."
"We won't let anyone else get hurt," added Mickey.
Glaring at the smooth and featureless helmet, Aqua said, "And you will never have Ven. My friends will be safe."
She slipped into her Spellweaver technique. Spinning, graceful, and brutal Keyblade swings rained down on him. Icy magic accompanied each impact. Her assault was ruthless as she kept knocking him off-balanced. And as her power began to wane, she unleashed a near-explosion of cold and ice.
Vanitas landed hard. And when he got back up, there was something vicious in his body language.
They'd made him angry. They'd made it personal.
He moved, blindingly fast. A streak of darkness. Aqua couldn't react before he hit her. Again. And again. And again. His Keyblade hit her from every angle, battering her body and leaving her with no breath to cry out in pain. Only Mickey leaping in with an aerial combo broke off his attack.
Gritting her teeth as Mickey and Riku kept him diverted, Aqua summoned up as much magic as possible and cast Curaga. Healing magic was trickier than elemental magic. Cure spells weren't instant fixes, but they were ideal for battles. They took large amount of magic to cast, but there was no charge time like Healing Light. Cure spells reduced pain, restored her strength, and sped up healing. It didn't completely erase her new bruises, but it was enough for Aqua to rejoin the fight.
She dove back into the fray, her Keyblade hitting her opponent solid. For everything that he'd done to her and her friends, for all the harm that he had caused, she fought back with all her strength and magic. If it was anyone else, Aqua would pity Vanitas as three Keyblade masters rained blows down on his head. For every one that he blocked, the clash of metal echoing through the large room, two more hit solid.
But when Master's Defender swept through him again without contact, Aqua shouted, "Scatter."
The trio dove out of the way of his retaliation, if only barely. His ability to leave behind an illusion as a distraction was dangerous. And annoying.
Maybe it was her imagination, but Vanitas didn't look quite as steady as he straightened up. The slight tilt of his head, however, made him seem less concerned about how the fight was going for him.
"Me against three Keyblade masters might not be completely fair," he said as a dark portal of some kind opened behind him. "Fine. Keep his body for now. I'll see my brother again soon enough." Backing into it, Vanitas added, "I doubt your friends will be quite as lucky as you."
Riku's eyes widened in horror at his words.
"Sora? Kairi?"
Vanitas didn't even have to remove his helmet for Aqua to know that he smirked as he disappeared into the darkness. The portal vanished with him, not a single trace of the darkness remaining.
Riku yanked out the rectangular device, the Gummiphone, that they'd all been provided before leaving the Mysterious Tower. But when he tried to contact someone, he clearly failed because his worry became something bordering on controlled panic.
"Sora isn't answering," said Riku.
A grim expression briefly overtaking his face, Mickey said, "We have to get to Radiant Garden."
"A dark corridor would be fastest, even if it still takes time to travel that way," said Riku. "But we can't take Aqua and Ventus that way."
Mickey shook his head and said, "Go. Help our friends. I'll pilot the Gummi Ship back with Aqua and Ven."
Riku nodded and threw up a hand. An identical dark portal formed, the boy using the darkness as naturally as Vanitas did. Aqua shivered, unable to help herself even as she noticed that she didn't feel the same malevolence in it as she normally did in the close presence of darkness. And without hesitation or fear, Riku ran into the shadows.
Being back in Radiant Garden felt deeply uncomfortable. Lea wasn't certain how the others could stand it, living here as if the past decade never happened. Even walking along the familiar stone streets made him feel like his skin was too tight, too constricting, and too entrapping. There were too many memories haunting every corner, as if he would run into a young and human Isa at any moment and they would sneak off together to some high perch to watch the sun set and the stars come out. Being inside the castle, back in the underground and hidden lab, only put him more on edge. He knew Ienzo, Dilan, and Aeleus planned to fix up the place, but why would they go back down to that spiral staircase to the containment units for subjects?
No. Cells. Just call them what they were. Prison cells for people dragged in for experiments on the heart.
Most of the earliest of them were volunteers. People who trust the man, who needed help and hoped that he could provide it, who needed the money, or had nothing to lose. That didn't make what happened to them any better.
The subjects after Ansem the Wise ordered the experiments ceased were collected more carefully. Drifters. Loners. Troublemakers. Runaways. Orphans. Those were the types of people that the other apprentices were secretly experimenting on by the time he and Isa were foolish enough to become apprentices as well.
There was nothing down there now but empty cells, horrible memories of screams and trapped test subjects, and the Chamber of Repose where Xemnas would sneak off even after Maleficent took over the place. They would be better off if they sealed off that entire section of the castle and never looked back. Poking around down there in the first place was what eventually led to Lea and Isa ending up as Nobodies.
Going down there in the first place, becoming apprentices… All because of Lea's stupid idea.
And he didn't know what Kairi might remember or how involved she might have been with the experiments in the basement, but she had been ill at ease when she saw that spiral staircase. Maybe some fuzzy memories of childhood remained or maybe she could actually feel the darkness, misery, and suffering that happened down there. Who knows what kind of stuff that a Princess of Heart could pick up on?
He didn't like being on this world and being reminded of how things would never go back to the way they were when he and Isa were kids. He didn't like being in this castle and reminded of those screams, the darkness, and the nameless girl in a cell who disappeared before the worst of it happened.
And he absolutely didn't like being back in the lab and being reminded of the other apprentices dragging him and Isa in, the pair of them not understanding what was happening. Why they were forced into black coats, a test to see how much darkness the material could protect against and withstand before it was too much. Better to lose the nosy teenagers to the experiment than a member of the newly-formed Organization, after all. And it was easy enough to dispose of the pair afterwards. He hadn't understood the cold emptiness in their eyes and hadn't realized that their empathy and humanity was gone. He and Isa hadn't seen the danger until they were in the secret laboratory. And by then, no amount of struggling and fighting back could free them from Aeleus's— Lexaeus's strong grip.
The memories of the experiments themselves were thankfully blurs, but pieces remained. Isa's previously-struggling body collapsing on the floor of the lab, blood on his face as he disappeared. A sharp pain wrapping around his battered heart before ripping it out in this very room. Those pieces remained crystal clear.
Lea didn't like being in this room. Not now that he actually had a full range of emotions again. And not when he kept encountering people who caused even more uncomfortable feelings. Like Ansem the Wise.
But if it meant getting Roxas back, Lea would stay there as long as necessary.
Lea took up position near the two replicas, finding a spot close to them without getting in the way. Even with their hoods hiding their faces, it felt right to stay near. Not just the one resembling Roxas already, but the other small figure too.
One hand stayed buried in his pocket, his fingers brushing against the small objects. The only things that he really possessed anymore. The only things he found worth keeping. Even through the glove, he could feel the textures. Staring at the pair of replicas, he felt the thin wooden ice cream stick that Roxas left behind and the smooth seashell, one that he didn't exactly remember finding and yet couldn't bring himself to toss away.
Focusing on the replicas and the contents of his pocket made it easier to ignore his memories of the place. He could handle this. He just needed to keep his mind on the present.
Glancing up momentarily to check on progress, Lea noticed that things seemed to be going smoothly. Ansem the Wise and Ienzo were leaning over the computer, their expressions serious as they concentrated on their work. Serious, but not worried. And Kairi, Donald, and Goofy were clustered around Sora with slightly anxious looks on their faces. The previous reassurances that it wouldn't harm the kid hadn't erased their concerns completely. If Lea had to guess, he was fairly certain that she wanted to take his hand and was only hesitating due to the white light washing over him, Kairi not wanting to interfere with the procedure. Sora was sleeping peacefully in the chair, not a care in the world.
He honestly spent a surprising amount of time unconscious.
Everything was going smoothly. Lea's free hand settled briefly on the replica's shoulder, squeezing it gently through the thick material of the black coat. His best friend would be back soon.
A sharp blaring alarm tore through the calm. His head snapped up. Something was wrong. Dozens of possibilities flashed through his mind in an instant. And the sudden frantic typing didn't bode well.
Not now. Please not now. They were so close.
"What's going on?" demanded Donald in his nigh incomprehensible accent, his tone an equal mixture of anger and worry. "What's happening?"
His voice grave, Ansem the Wise said, "Something has abruptly taken the automatic defense mechanism for Radiant Garden offline. The primary control system at the Restoration Committee's headquarters is down and we are unable to bring it back up at this location. I suspect that there's physical damage from an attack because we are also receiving numerous reports of swarms of Heartless and lesser Nobodies appearing without warning."
Lea stepped away from the replicas, already not liking where this was going. The timing could not be a coincidence. The Heartless and Nobodies wouldn't suddenly strike, taking out the mechanical protection for the city in a targeted attack. And not just when they were attempting to free one of the hearts inside Sora. This was planned. Someone was commanding them.
It wasn't a coincidence. Someone didn't want them bringing back Roxas.
"Waking up Sora in the middle would be ill-advised," said Ienzo. Worry took over his expression. "Maybe after the scans, when we wouldn't risk disrupting anything but not before. I don't want to tempt it unless we have no other option."
Lea met Kairi's eyes. He knew that look of resolve. It was familiar. Painfully familiar in a way that he couldn't remember properly, but made his heart twist and ache in his chest. And looking next to her, he saw similar stubbornness and protective anger mirrored on Donald and Goofy's faces.
Well, all right then.
"Keep working on fixing up Sora and Roxas," he said firmly. "That's your job. Our job is dealing with Heartless and Nobodies attacks. Kind of goes with the whole 'guardians of light' thing. We'll keep everyone and everything out of here."
Kairi nodded and said, "We'll keep them safe."
Summoning up a magic wand and shield, Donald and Goofy stepped forward. They didn't have to say a word. They were going to protect the kid, no matter what.
Lea knew the feeling.
"Do what you can. We'll be back soon for whatever I need to do to nudge Roxas awake," he said, meeting Ansem the Wise and Ienzo's eyes firmly. "Just keep going."
And with that, he turned and walked out of the secret lab with his improvised defense team. But his thoughts immediately turned to the fact that this would be Kairi's first real combat experience.
While both Lea and Kairi started their formal training at the same time, they weren't exactly equals when it came to using a Keyblade. He would be the first to admit that she had the natural talent for it. From the moment that she summoned the flowery and delicate-looking weapon, Destiny's Embrace, he knew that the teenage girl didn't struggle the same way that he did. She could pull off tricks that he could scarcely imagine, things that made a Keyblade unique compared to other weapons. Maybe it was because of being a Princess of Heart, not a speck of darkness in her, but her Keyblade responded far more easily to her heart and intentions than his did.
Then again, why should he expect a weapon of the heart to come as naturally to someone who spent over a decade without a heart?
But it was more than that. From the first sparring session, Kairi demonstrated a knack for fighting with it. As Lea struggled to adjust to the strange heft and length of the Keyblade compared to his familiar chakrams, Kairi moved instinctively. Each swing, each strike, every block, and even the way she would roll across the ground to dodge an attack or her tendency to leap into a flurry of vicious strikes before landing on the balls of her feet at the end of a combo… They were too practiced and instinctive. And too familiar.
Honestly, watching her fight was like watching a slightly-less experienced Sora fight. Or Roxas. Or… someone…
Regardless, Kairi shared the exact same combat style as Sora from the start. Both Lea and Merlin had quietly theorized that since her heart was inside Sora when the boy initially learned to wield a Keyblade, she subconsciously picked up the same skills. It was only a matter of getting her body into shape to make use of those skills properly.
And apparently being a Princess of Heart gave her a natural affinity for Light and Cure spells. She learned them fast and it took very little time for her to gain more powerful versions of the spells. Kairi learning to use Fire magic, however, was something that Lea would proudly take full credit for.
Kairi was a capable Keyblade wielder. Lea would never argue against that. He'd spent too much time in that timeless place nursing bruises during their training to doubt her capabilities.
But while he knew her strengths, Lea also know that she wasn't a master any more than he was. She wasn't Sora or Riku or even Donald and Goofy. And there was a huge difference between practice and reality.
Kairi might have a natural talent when it came to the Keyblade and its various abilities, but Lea possessed more combat experience. He knew how to fight different types of Heartless, and later Nobodies, in groups of various sizes. He knew how to adjust to different battlegrounds, knowing when to get a wall at his back for defense and when to avoid being cornered. He knew how to instinctively dodge when something appeared in his peripheral vision. He knew how to fight when his life was on the line against foes trying to kill him. He knew how to fight without thinking and how to think while fighting.
And more importantly, he knew the Organization. He knew their strategies and fighting styles. He knew them. Some of the new members were less familiar, but the original members were his coworkers for years. And he knew how to handle them.
Facing any of the Organization XIII, new or old, would be a dangerous first challenge. Kairi was being dumped in the deep end.
Lea hoped he was wrong. He hoped they weren't facing someone from the Organization and it was actually something minor. A few stray Dusks stirring up the local Heartless population, maybe. But the timing was too suspicious. And it would be smarter to assume the worst.
"Listen," he said as they reached the study, causing Kairi to stop before pushing to door open, "I need you to promise me something."
Tilting her head slightly, Kairi asked, "What?"
"Our job is to keep anything from getting down to the lab and our friends. No matter what." He scratched the back of his head. "Best case scenario would be that we go out there and take care of the problem ourselves. But if I tell you to fall back, all of you come back through this door and you seal it with your Keyblade. Merlin and Riku explained how it worked, remember? You make certain that no one comes through. If I tell you to run, that's your job. Got it memorized?"
"And what about you?" asked Donald, narrowing his eyes suspiciously.
"Kairi is better with the Keyblade's more interesting tricks, but I'm better at fighting."
"Maybe if you don't use a Keyblade, you are. In sparring, we're about even," said Kairi, hands on her hips as she glared up at him.
Why was she so tiny? Why were all the other Keyblade wielders so small? Half of them were teenagers, but even King Mickey was short.
"Regardless, if things get serious, the three of you need to fall back and seal the door. And you don't let anything through. You're the last line of defense."
Taking a step forward, Goofy said, "You're not coming with us?"
"If we have to do that, someone will have to cover the retreat." When he noticed everyone giving him worried looks, Lea smiled reassuringly. "But it probably won't come to that. Like I said, it's just in case things get a bit messy. Having a backup plan is just common sense. But if I tell you to go, I need you to run immediately. No arguing and no hesitating. Promise? Keeping our friends safe is too important."
Not just Sora, though he was good kid and certainly worth protecting. But with Roxas so close to returning, he couldn't risk anything happening. And he wanted to keep Kairi safe too.
He had friends now and a heart to care about them. And the capacity to hurt when something happened to them.
And he'd already lost so much.
Kairi hesitated, her hand coming up to her chest as tension filled her entire body. But then she gave a short nod and her expression shifted to something determined. Her hand shot out and her flowery Keyblade materialized. Lea reached over and clapped her shoulder, giving her a proud grin.
"But you have to promise too," she said, making him pause.
"Oh?"
"Promise me that no matter what happens, even if we have to go with your backup plan, you won't get yourself killed. Both you and Sora told me what you did in Betwixt and Between to help him. You don't get to do that again."
"Trust me, once was enough," said Lea. "But if it makes you feel better, I promise I won't die on you. I still have to see Roxas again, right?"
"Right."
Then, smirking slightly as he summoned his own Keyblade and balanced it on his shoulder, Lea said, "And try to keep count. Let's see if you can beat up more Heartless than me."
The attempt to turn things casual and relaxed again, to disperse the uneasy atmosphere that the more serious conversation created, worked as Lea hoped. Kairi shoved his arm away while the ghost of a smile tugged at her mouth. Then, taking a small step forward, she shoved the door open.
I'm sure that you all enjoyed that fast update. Don't expect it in the future. I just happened to luck out this time. But I will say that I adore hearing what people think of this story. All the lovely feedback makes me smile.