Time to fight Master Xehanort. The only one left. But he certainly doesn't make things easy. Isn't it fun whenever the final boss has several different stages before they finally go down?
Heading towards the actual town didn't immediately provide any answers on where Master Xehanort had disappeared upon arrival. Even the smallest amount of exploring revealed that there was absolutely no one else around. An unnatural silence hung over them. If Sora listened carefully, he could hear their footsteps and the wind. But nothing else.
Bordering the sea was something that might be described as a courtyard. Or at least an open space with decorative paving stones. There were buildings that surrounded it, places that looked like shops. And sturdy stalls with wares still on display. Staircases led away from the space and up the steady incline of the city. But not one person in sight.
What was this place? Was it a Sleeping World? The portal that he used to push Master Xehanort through looked similar to the portals he'd seen before in the various Sleeping Worlds. The ones that he visited before weren't empty like this. There were people or at least the dream versions of people. And Dream Eaters. Perhaps it was like the World That Never Was. An empty city at the edge of light and dark, empty of normal people and only reachable by unusual means. But there were Heartless and Nobodies there. Nobodies formed in such places.
But Sora could tell that they were alone. He could feel it in a way that he couldn't describe, but his aching and straining heart knew without a doubt. There was no one in this place beyond him, his friends, and Master Xehanort. No other people. No Heartless. No Nobodies. No Dream Eaters. Not even any Unversed. Everyone and everything else were long gone.
As they stepped through the archway into the small courtyard, Goofy said, "It sure is awful quiet here."
"There's no one around," said Donald.
They were both concerned about the unnaturalness of the entire situation. Sora could hear it in their voices and see it in their body languages. They didn't like anything about the empty place.
Movement caught Sora's attention. He turned his head and glimpsed Master Xehanort for a second, hands tucked casually behind him as he strolled along the top of a staircase and then out of view. Gone before anyone could react. Sora then felt the hairs stand up on the back of his neck. He turned again to find Master Xehanort behind him, walking away from Sora and his friends.
Chasing after him, Sora shouted, "Hey!"
Sora almost reached the old man. But he spotted something out of the corner of his eye and slid to a stop. Master Xehanort stood on another staircase with his hands tucked behind his back, staring at him with a smirk. But it wasn't a case of teleportation. Sora could still see the previous Master Xehanort at the same time. He glanced between the two of them.
"Wh-What?" he asked, unable to mask his confused and unnerved tone.
Donald and Goofy caught up a second later. Neither of them seemed to understand the weird situation. Or trust it. And when Sora glanced at them, he saw yet another Master Xehanort past them.
"What's going on?" asked Sora.
Replicas? Were they more replicas? Meant to fill the ranks of the Real Organization if something happened before the Keyblade War? Or were they designed specifically as a last line of defense? Or were they something completely different and not replicas at all?
The multiple Master Xehanort copies flickered briefly. Then they flickered out of existence, leaving new tall figures in each of their places. Each of them was just as identical as before. Dressed in black robes with red trim and wearing a silver horned helmet, they all converted into their new appearance. And once they'd transformed, the dark figures started floating.
"Are you serious?" he asked in frustration.
How many times would he need to fight the various aspects of Xehanort? How many more foes would he have to face before it was over? He was tired and annoyed by the entire mess and just wanted to deal with the real Master Xehanort, once and for all.
More of the dark, ominous, and strange possible-replicas appeared. Coming in from various directions until they formed a floating circle above the trio. Twelve silent figures gathered together. Sora, Donald, and Goofy summoned their weapons, watching them suspiciously.
Donald asked, "The Organization?"
"I don't think they're the locals," said Goofy.
Shifting back into a combative stance, Sora asked, "Ready?"
Then, the former Xehanort replica figures vanished from above them. After a second, Sora and his friends relaxed out of their previous stances into a state of general confusion. They glanced around as Sora took a few steps deeper into the abandoned city. And just as suddenly as they teleported away, several of the armored entities reappeared and attacked without warning.
Not fair, trying to lower the trio's guard like that.
Sora fought fast and hard as they struck out. Due to their preference to float and their reliance on teleporting in and out of range, he found himself running up the various buildings, gliding, and linking together complex air combos. Muscle memory and instincts guided him as he struck out against twelve dangerous opponents. He didn't spare any time to think.
Sora was fighting for several minutes before making two important realizations. Each of the twelve armored figure were wielding a weapon from the fallen darknesses. It made him wonder if they were connected to the pillars of darkness that erupted every time that one of the darknesses were defeated. If so, that would make a lot of sense. And his second realization was that each of the dozen armored figures shared the same strength and pain between them. Taking out one would defeat all of them. Sora doubled his efforts.
Which would be easier if they would stop teleporting around.
Donald and Goofy couldn't match Sora's acrobatics. Not quite. That made it harder for them to reach the armored figures. But they'd been fighting levitating opponents for almost as long as Sora. Perhaps even longer. Donald fell back on long-range magic, sending fire and lightning after them. Goofy did his best to catch them when they swooped too low or were knocked down by Sora's strikes. And occasionally, Sora grabbed him and sent Goofy crashing shield-first into the enemies.
Eventually, the armored figures rose up high in the air. Far higher than Sora could reach without airstepping. The sky turned black and dark as strange red runes formed a circle above. Instinct kicked in immediately as he tasted ozone. Sora dodged and glided as red bolts rained down. Power crackled aggressively as it cracked and splintered the buildings wherever they struck. Dangerous and deadly. He couldn't risk a hit. And then the armored figures started attacking again, forcing Sora to dodge both them and the red bolts striking down all around him.
But he couldn't dodge forever. Gritting his teeth, Sora twisted in midair and dove towards the closest enemy. He'd already hurt them. Sora narrowly avoided another bright bolt and unleashed a final powerful air combo before ending with a ruthless finishing move. And the twelve figures finally dropped hard.
Sora landed next to Donald and Goofy, panting heavily as the sky returned to the previously sunny state. He silently debated using a hi-potion, but decided that he was fine for the moment.
"Of all the places to be sent."
Sora's head snapped up at the sound of Master Xehanort's voice. The old man stood at the top of yet another staircase. He was staring at his surroundings without paying them any attention.
"Master Xehanort," snapped Sora.
He turned to smirk at them. The trio immediately fell back into combative stances. This was the real one. Sora could feel it.
Spreading his arms, Master Xehanort said, "Behold, this town… Once a seat of power for all Keyblade wielders. It is the nexus from which all worlds spring."
The limp and defeated armored figures started rising off the ground. Not high, but streaming thin tendrils of darkness. Then they shattered into orbs of condensed dark power. The twelve sources of concentrated shadows streamed towards the waiting and welcoming Master Xehanort. The darkness sank into his chest like it belonged in him.
"Here," he announced dramatically, "I and my other selves can be one. United… in Scala ad Caelum."
Master Xehanort stared floating, an aura of darkness surrounding him. He curled inwards on himself before throwing out his limbs with a shout and a shockwave of shadows. The trio struggled to resist the wind and the darkness pushing at them, erupting from the old man.
They shielded their faces, but Sora could still see what was happening. Darkness swirled around Master Xehanort, like a cocoon. Then the shadows and wind died down and faded. And Sora stared at what was left behind. Master Xehanort was now clad in black plate armor, taloned gauntlets, and a goat-like helmet with twisting horns. And in his hand was his usual Keyblade.
Ready to fight and not even hesitating despite the transformation, Donald shouted, "Come on!"
"Let's get him!" added Goofy.
Hands tightening on his own Keyblade, Sora said, "Yeah."
They charged forward. The old man didn't even flinch. Master Xehanort gestured and the city turned against them. Obeying the old man on an impossible level. Maybe because of the χ-blade or maybe because he was the portal that brought them there. Reality twisted and the world bent around them, the buildings trying to fold. Gravity shifted and the three of them fell against the side of a building.
"You guys okay?" asked Sora.
Before they could answer, gravity shifted further. And they fell away, screaming and helpless to escape the changing landscape.
Kairi wasn't certain how long they'd been standing there, Keyblades held high and glowing. Holding back the darkness from consuming Kingdom Hearts completely using only the strength of their hearts. It took concentration and focus, but it wasn't impossible. Though Kairi couldn't help wondering if it was easier for her. Several of the other Princesses of Heart once helped hold back the darkness spilling from the artificial Keyhole in Hollow Bastion. And none of them had Keyblades to help. She knew that Lea kept claiming that she was a natural with most of those abilities. So she couldn't help wondering being a Princess of Heart gave her an advantage regarding these types of things.
For example, Lea looked a little more strained. But that might just be from his remaining injuries. They'd tried to heal him after the fight, but he kept reaching for his ribs briefly with his free hand while they were standing there. She knew that he was still sore and aching.
They all stood firm, keeping those pinpricks of light shining in Kingdom Hearts. Lea, Roxas, and Xion were clustered close to her on the right. Riku, his replica with his newly-acquired Keyblade, and King Mickey were to the left. And beyond them were Terra, Aqua, and Ventus. They all kept their Keyblades raised and their hearts firm, using their own varying amounts of light to hold back the shadows.
"Everyone," said King Mickey encouragingly, "stay strong."
Voice tense with weariness and concentration, Lea asked, "So… if we can't stop him, what happens?"
"I don't know…," said Aqua. "But… there's no question in my mind that's the true Kingdom Hearts. And if…" She shook her head. "I can't… imagine what'll happen if he succeeds."
Remembering her grandmother's stories, one of her few memories from those distant days, Kairi whispered, "Nothing good."
"If we hold it back," suggested Ventus, "it might vanish."
"No," said Terra, shaking his head slightly. "Only the χ-blade has the power to stop it."
"But…"
Ventus trailed off with a sad and tired expression. There was no good way to continue that line of thought.
"We all need to trust Sora," said Riku.
Nodding, King Mickey said, "That's right."
That thought immediately brightened the mood, reassuring and renewing their confidence. Trusting in Sora was easy. He'd never let any of them down before. He wouldn't fail them now.
Kairi glanced around them, enjoying the hopeful smiles on their faces. Then she saw Xion frown.
"Look," she said.
Everyone turned their attention back towards the sky. And immediately went on alert. The darkness clinging to Kingdom Hearts grew deeper and thicker, smothering out the pinpricks of light that they'd been maintaining. Their attempts to hold back the tides crumbling under the impossible pressure.
After fighting in the warped version of the city, then underwater, and then among the broken ruins until Master Xehanort's armor shattered, Sora's patience was essentially gone by the time he and the others were forced to give chase once again as the old man fled to the top of the final remaining structure. The one previously standing at the highest point of the city.
Night had fallen at some point during the battle and it added to the sense of destruction. Long shadows stretched across the broken city. And yet one single place remained untouched. Sora, Donald, and Goofy landed lightly on the tiled surface. It was a wide-open space at the top of the building, the old man standing at the far side with his hands tucked behind his back. Sora walked forward slowly, summoning his Keyblade.
"It's over, Xehanort," he shouted.
His tone taunting, Master Xehanort said, "You thought you could contain me here… knowing all that you do about connections?"
He slowly pulled his hand out from behind his back. He gestured and summoned the χ-blade in a blinding flash of light, making them flinch. Master Xehanort immediately started floating above the floor.
"There is one sky," he announced, "one destiny."
Master Xehanort pointed the χ-blade upwards. The sky darkened further and something glowed behind the clouds. Sora knew immediately what it was. And that knowledge was enough to send him charging forward.
Staring up at the darkening Kingdom Hearts and unable to believe it, Lea asked, "Do you… see that?"
He half hoped that it was a hallucination or something from his semi-recent brush with death. That would been better. But it seemed that what was happening was all too real.
Shapes darted out of the darkness of Kingdom Hearts. Shapes that solidified into black armored figures, settling above them to float ominously. Roxas and Xion immediately drew closer to him, their Keyblades shifting position as they prepared to fight and defend him. It didn't take a genius to realize that the figures intended to attack.
Shifting into a combative stance himself, Riku shouted, "Get ready!"
Even without his armor, Master Xehanort was a brutal opponent. The χ-blade only made him more dangerous. Fast, vicious, and aggressive, he levitated above the floor and teleported through keyholes to strike at Sora from all directions. Powerful combos that rattled Sora to the bone even when he managed to block him.
Master Xehanort didn't seem to appreciate it when Sora and Donald summoned meteors against him in retaliation though.
"Pathetic," sneered the old man.
Sora's mature response to his taunts was a Blizzaga to the face.
The blindingly-fast Keyblade battle knocked the various combatants all across the battlefield. They moved at a frantic and aggressive pace, almost never touching the ground. The speed and viciousness made Sora appreciate it when Goofy tossed him a mega-potion. The old man hit hard. There was no chance to catch his breath. He couldn't hesitate for even a second. A single mistake could be deadly.
Master Xehanort abruptly floated higher, throwing his arms out. He summoned white runes on the floor. Then they raised up, creating a magical platform and pulling the trio higher. It also gave Master Xehanort complete control of the battlefield.
"Come," he shouted, "Kingdom Hearts!"
He pointed his weapon towards the clouds. A bright beam shot out, piercing through the overcast skies. The clouds vanished as Kingdom Hearts shone down across the landscape and the combatants.
Even with the changes, the fight continued. Though Master Xehanort started resorting to a few new tricks beyond general swordplay. The old man sent burning orbs of darkness to crash into them. And when that wasn't enough, he used a vicious combination that sent a biting chill followed by three fireballs and three bolts of lightning. Those could be avoided with a dodge roll or by blocking, but the margin of error was slim. And he never stopped teleporting.
When the tides began shifting back in the trio's direction despite Master Xehanort's new tricks, the old man gained a vicious grin. One that even Sora could glimpse during the breakneck speed of the fight. He dodged one of Goofy's shield slams. Then Master Xehanort spun the χ-blade vertically in his hands.
"Enlighten me," he said.
Both χ-blade and Kingdom Hears glowed bright. Brighter than before. Sora staggered as he felt his heart lurch, something pulling sharply. He felt something breaking further and glimpsed a stream of light racing from him towards the smirking old man. Then his vision faded out as he was swept away…
Vanitas burned with rage. Rage and hatred that he couldn't properly articulate. There were no words. Only the emotions that erupted immediately when he realized what was happening.
How dare he? How dare Master Xehanort? Not again. Not like this. Not to someone that Vanitas—
No.
Tearing a heart asunder, ripping into light and dark halves? Leaving the broken remnants to suffer and fade?
Master Xehanort was doing the exact same thing that he did when he yanked Vanitas from Ventus. Breaking, tearing, and shredding them apart. He was hurting Sora the exact same way. And his heart was already under strain, trying to shatter apart. Roxas, Xion, and Ventus couldn't hold him together when Master Xehanort was splitting Sora into pieces. He wouldn't survive the damage of losing all his light when he remained that fragile.
Not without more help.
Where once Sora used the light in him to repair the broken and wounded pieces of Ventus's heart, Vanitas now used his darkness to fill the gaps and hold the Keyblade wielder together. It wasn't the way the boy was meant to be, but it would keep the splinters and fragments glued together. Sora would not fade. Not yet. Not until Master Xehanort was defeated permanently. Vanitas could do that much.
But the boy was in no condition to fight. Sora couldn't do anything in that state. But Vanitas was darkness. He was at his strongest in the absence of light. He slipped into control, without even the smallest hint of Sora's presence that he might have felt during Rage Form.
Vanitas opened glowing yellow eyes as darkness streamed off his borrowed body. The yellow eyes of the Heartless that Sora once was, not the gold of Xehanort and his influence. And he saw the source of so much pain and suffering to both himself and now to the boy who taught him what he was missing.
Sora. His family. His friends. His worlds.
Darkness was allowed to be selfish and possessive. Those things belonged to Vanitas and no one was allowed to take them away or harm them.
Master Xehanort would pay.
Goofy had long since given up trying to predict how these types of battles would go. He knew that they would be difficult and very long, but everything else tended to be rather confusing and surprising. Their enemies tended to try the unexpected. And even after everything else that Master Xehanort tried during the extended fight, neither he nor Donald were prepared for the man to forcibly transform Sora into Rage Mode.
Not that it seemed to slow Sora down. Even wrapped in darkness and half-feral, he attacked Master Xehanort immediately. He struck at the man viciously. The combos close, but not exactly like the ones that Sora tended to use normally. And he didn't stop regardless of how many lasers of stolen light that Master Xehanort sent in his direction. The boy showed no restraint. Only fury and aggression.
It would be far more concerning if they hadn't seen Sora in a similar state several times before. Though Goofy did worry slightly about the effects of having someone force him into that transformation by ripping out the light from his heart.
And that didn't mean that Donald and Goofy were standing around doing nothing. They were picking their moment. It took more skill and thought to insert themselves into the fight properly when Sora wasn't following his usual methods while in Rage Form. The boy didn't adapt to them as easily. The moment that he had a clear shot, Donald sent a large blast of water at their opponent. It knocked the old man down momentarily in range for a spinning Goofy to knock him away with his shield.
Twisting in midair, Master Xehanort shouted, "Be gone!"
His hand lashed out and several burning orbs of dark fire shot towards the pair. Goofy only had a second to see Sora's glowing eyes widen as the captain of the royal guard dove in front of Donald, shield raised. But no impact followed. No impact, but there was an immediate silence that did not belong on a battlefield.
When Goofy and Donald risked peeking, it became obvious that something had blocked the blow. Something large, bulky, and blue with red eyes and a familiar emblem on its stomach. An Unversed. Specifically a Bruiser, if Goofy remembered the subtypes correctly from years ago.
"What?" squawked Donald.
Others formed even as Master Xehanort stared in stunned silence at them. Floods, Archravens, Wild Bruisers, Axe Flappers, and other Unversed. They formed a half-circle around the old man while also blocking Donald and Goofy from the line of fire. Almost as if they were protecting the pair.
"Impossible," said Master Xehanort.
Snarling and glaring at him with glowing eyes, Sora said, "Did you think it would be that easy? That you could just use me for your own ends and then forget about me when I no longer mattered?"
No.
The Unversed. The more aggressive voice. The way that his fighting style in Rage Form always differed from normal. And the fact that he was speaking in Rage Form for the first time.
Not Sora.
"Vanitas," said Goofy.
The smallest nod as he held his weapon over his head, he said, "You'll pay for what you did. To me. To Ventus. And now to Sora."
"I made you strong, Vanitas. You are without weaknesses of the heart. I made you powerful. I made you pure. I made you."
"I don't care," snarled Vanitas, launching himself back at the old man once more. An attack immediately joined and supported by his Unversed. "I hate you!"
Donald seemed to be struggling to wrap his head around what was happening, stammering wordlessly as Master Xehanort was forced to divide his attention between slicing through the swarm of Unversed and trying to block the brutal attacks from the Keyblade. But Goofy knew his role in this. They were supposed to support Sora, even when Sora was actually Vanitas for the moment. The old man wasn't prepared for a shield to slam into him from an unexpected direction, knocking Master Xehanort into the path of another Unversed.
"I hate you," continued Vanitas, still swinging hard as he struck out from various directions. "Everything that you did to drive out weakness? Everything that you denied me? Every cruel and brutal action or decision? It was for you. Not me. I didn't matter. I was just your tool. Sora care more about me and what I deserved in the few minutes he spoke to me than you did in years."
"That soft-hearted, weak, and dull boy," he spat, twisting to block a blow to his side. "Do you really want to be more like him? His heart is his weakness. It makes him vulnerable. It's how he's been manipulated for my purposes repeatedly."
Giving a feral grin, Vanitas asked, "If all those things were weakness, then why is Sora winning?"
The darkness-enshrouded boy dashed forward, ducked beneath the χ-blade, and managed to spin and land a hit to the old man's back. Each sentence was punctuated by another sharp strike against the faintly-glowing Master Xehanort. He dashed around fast enough to leave behind momentary afterimages.
"All those connections, all those 'weaknesses'? You were wrong. His friends? His connections? His light? These worlds that he visits? That he protects? Even his willingness to help strangers, welcoming them into his heart? They are strength. They are his strength. They made Sora strong."
Goofy could see that Master Xehanort was still withstanding the onslaught, but it was taking a slight toll. He looked a little rougher than before. Especially with the way the Unversed were forming as quickly as they were destroyed. Fueled by Vanitas and his pain and fury. The Unversed and Vanitas were whittling him down, along with the help from Goofy and a still-confused Donald. Combined with all the previous fighting, Master Xehanort was wearing out.
"You were cruel and used me. I was a tool. I was nothing. I was less than nothing. But no more. Never again. I don't belong to you. Not anymore."
"Why are you even here? You've served your purpose. You were destroyed by your failure. You should be long gone, Vanitas," he said. "You are less than a ghost. Less than an unpleasant memory. What must be done to be truly rid of you?"
Snarling like a monster, Vanitas shouted, "Give Sora back his light!"
An aggressive combo ended with a powerful finisher, smashing into the old man's face and literally driving the stolen light out of the old man. And it sank back into the boy, allowing Vanitas to slip away back into the darkness and the Unversed to retreat. Leaving Sora behind.
He mentally shrugged off the skip in time and the feeling of darkness fading away from him. Sora knew what it felt like when he slipped into Anti Form or Rage Form. It no longer concerned him that much. The sharp pain in his heart that made him feel almost disconnected and broken before it settled back into the previous dull ache was new and a little more alarming. As was the feeling of someone else joining in to hold him together. But he couldn't spare any time to worry about that either. Especially when there were more important matters like still being in the middle of a fight.
Sora managed to jump back from a quick swing of the χ-blade before Master Xehanort retreated, reality turning a little fuzzy around the edges. The rune platform under his feet darkened as the tall thrones from the World That Never Was rose up around them. Black, instead of white. Master Xehanort sprawled lazily on the tallest throne with Kingdom Hearts glowing behind him. Narrowing his eyes, Sora leapt into the air and tried to glide towards the shadow-enshrouded old man. And immediately dark and almost-wispy figures dove down at Sora and white-purple lasers fired from the thrones. The only option was to take evasive measures.
After a few years of these types of encounters, he knew what it meant when his enemies pulled stunts like this. There was more to it than just being a powerful and dangerous assault that could leave behind a lot of damage. It was a magic and energy-expensive strategy, but it gave their physical body a chance to recover a moment. They could try and gather their strength to continue their normal fighting method. If the old man was falling back on the more elaborate and magical stunts at this stage of the fight, then he was getting close to his breaking point and wanted to bring Sora down fast.
He couldn't reach Master Xehanort. Sora tried his best, but he could only endure the onslaught until reality solidified and the shadowy thrones faded. He waited the old man out. Only then did Master Xehanort return to his previous tactics. Tactics that Sora could properly fight.
"Sora!" shouted Donald.
Smiling at the feeling of a Curaga washing away his soreness and boosting his energy, he yelled back, "Thanks."
"Oh, good. You're you."
Sora frowned briefly in confusion, but didn't ask any questions. He was close. It was almost over. He could feel it. Master Xehanort was reaching his limit. Sora just needed to push a little further.
After Sora managed to unleash a few more air combos despite the old man's teleportation, Master Xehanort pulled away. And rather than immediately closing the distance, Sora aimed his Keyblade at him and fired a bright beam—
—which Master Xehanort blocked with a smirk. Then Master Xehanort raised the χ-blade towards the sky and Kingdom Hearts.
"It ends here and now."
Darkness moved to overwhelm Kingdom Hearts, engulfing it in shadows. An aura of power surrounded the χ-blade, the weapon glowing brightly. Then Master Xehanort tilted the weapon down. And it fired the darkness-tinged beam towards the trio.
Sora immediately raised his Keyblade in time, crosswise to block and bracing with both hands. And was almost immediately shoved back. His feet slid against the stone as he struggled to defend against the blast. He could barely stay upright. His arms shook. It was too much. He couldn't hold it.
His vision went dark, too much strain to his body and battered heart. Sora felt like he was falling into oblivion. Then Sora heard the sound of heartbeat. His own? And Donald and Goofy's voices calling his name. But they came from inside him. Through the connections to his heart. Sora called upon those bonds of friendship and he—
—yanked his focus back to himself. Back to his body. Where he was still struggling to hold back the beam. Then it became somewhat easier to resist the powerful force. Sora glanced to his right to see Goofy bracing against the Keyblade, adding his strength and giving the boy a determined nod. Donald was on the left, doing the exact same thing.
His friends were his power.
Sora smiled before looking back towards Master Xehanort. Then he sliced sharply with his Keyblade to cut off the beam.
He aimed towards the old man, Donald and Goofy holding onto Sora and lending their strength. Power and light swirled around them, multiple twisting beams of colorful light shooting out to meet Master Xehanort's next attempt. Sora knew this power. The three of them working together on a single goal, their united energy and strength achieving what one alone could never do.
Trinity Limit.
The trio's combined power pushed back against his darker beam until it struck Master Xehanort and sent him flying back.
The sky cleared, the glowing runes faded, and Kingdom Hearts was left bright and shining above them. Sora, Donald, and Goofy slumped, panting heavily as the battle finally ended. Even continuous potions and Cure spells could only do so much. Master Xehanort grunted quietly a few times in pain and exhaustion. He dropped the χ-blade with a clatter before finally falling. He tried to push himself back up, but his first attempt ended with him collapsing back down.
Exhausted and frustrated, Master Xehanort said, "Why… How…"
"It's over now," said Sora, gesturing sharply. "You lost."
Please let it be over. He didn't know if he had the energy left to keep going. Not when it felt like his heart was barely holding together and he could feel the borrowed strength from the others slowly slipping.
Pushing himself up slightly, he said, "No, look…" Each word sounded like an exhausted struggle for Master Xehanort. "You are too late."
The trio looked up. There was a slight red tinge to Kingdom Hearts. The unnatural shade sent a chill down Sora's spine.
From somewhere behind Sora, Goofy asked in a hushed tone, "Are we really?"
"I don't know," snapped Donald in frustration.
Staring firmly at Master Xehanort, Sora asked, "What's going to happen?"
"A purge…" Still panting, he said, "The World will be returned whence it started." Master Xehanort pushed himself slowly to his knees, cradling his ribs. "The World began in darkness. And from the darkness came light. From the light came the people, and the people had hearts. Evil burgeoned in those hearts, begetting more darkness as they coveted the light. They hid their shadows and called themselves pure and bright. And the darkness spread across the World like a plague. The darkness was far stronger than everything that had come after it. The light, the symbol of the World's hope, was devoured by shadow. Leaving nothing but ruin… An utter failure."
Master Xehanort's monologuing wasn't anything new. All his incarnations gave dramatic speeches, most of which Sora didn't understand or care about. That was just how these encounters tended to go. This time, however, didn't have the same punch to his words. Instead, he sounded simply like a tired, hurt, and broken old man.
It didn't erase all the pain that he caused. It didn't erase all the worlds destroyed, the hearts lost, or the suffering that so many had experienced because of his actions. It simply made him less of a powerful and manipulative mastermind and more something to pity.
"But, the first light— the light of Kingdom Hearts— it can give us a new start," he continued. "An empty World. A perfect blank slate."
"It wasn't your decision to make," said Sora quietly.
Master Xehanort raised his head, reaching for the χ-blade beside him. He stabbed the point into the tile floor hard enough to crack it. The old man used the weapon to push himself shakily to his feet with only a quiet groan of effort.
"Then whose was it?" he asked in an arrogant tone, pulling the χ-blade free.
Sora didn't say a word, refusing to rise to the bait. He knew better.
"The World needs someone to stand up and lead." Master Xehanort's hand curled into a fist at his side, his entire body like a tense coil ready to snap forward. "Someone strong, to stop the weak from polluting the World with their endless darkness. Shadows that they disguise as light with their powerful hunger for the true light that they don't deserve. They need someone to dictate their destiny."
Remaining quiet for a moment, Sora said slowly, "If so… you're not that person, Xehanort." His words earned him a glare from the old man. "A real leader knows that destiny is beyond his control… and accepts it."
They both stared each other down. Equally silent and stubborn.
Speaking slowly and sounding mildly nostalgic, Master Xehanort said, "You… make me think of an old friend."
Sora didn't know how to react to that. But he did notice the way his expression softened slightly at the memory.
Moving forward and pointing up, Goofy said, "Look!"
His eyes moved towards the discolored Kingdom Hearts. Sora saw a Keyhole form before the familiar shattering sound of a gate forming echoed around them. The gate above them shone brightly. Then several equally bright lights shot through the gate before condensing, taking the forms of his friends. They landed on the ground next to Sora, only a couple of them stumbling slightly with the landing.
"You made it," said Donald.
Walking over to Sora, Donald, and Goofy, the king asked, "Are you okay?"
The trio immediately nodded. They were a little battered, worn out, and roughed up, but that was to be expected.
"I'm not much worse off than the last time you saw me," said Sora since Kairi seemed to be eying him suspiciously. "Honest."
"Kingdom Hearts is closing on the other side," said Riku. "But we managed to follow our hearts to you."
Sora smiled at both him and Kairi. Part of him relaxed as he realized that he'd managed to keep his promise. He got to see them again. He had a little time left to see them. And they would fix whatever Master Xehanort did to Kingdom Hearts. The old man wouldn't be able to do any more damage or hurt his friends. Everything would be all right now. He had faith.
Something caught his attention beyond his closest group of friends. He noticed Terra turning. He turned towards the old man, a complicated look in his eyes. Sora knew something was about to happen and he focused on the older Keyblade wielder.
"Master Xehanort…," said Terra quietly.
He walked slowly towards the old man until Aqua hurried over to grab his arm. Terra met her worried expression with a reassuring look. Aqua gently let go without a word. An act of faith and trust. Terra resumed walking towards Master Xehanort as Ventus took up position next to Aqua. The rest of the group seemed to sense the building tension and silently watched the scene unfold. And when Terra finally stopped, he and Master Xehanort stared at each other. Neither spoke for a few moments. They just stared at each other, their shared history weighing heavily around them.
"There's more to light than meets the eye," said Terra, his voice echoing with the voice of someone else. "As I told you."
Master Xehanort's eyes widened in recognition and realization. His exhausted posture straightened further. And true surprise spread across the face of the man who spent so long with a plan for seemingly everything.
Quietly stunned, he said, "You sly fox…"
Terra glowed with an inner light. The light emerged and solidified into an orb-shaped heart that slipped out of his chest. Apparently, Terra had carried another person's heart the same way that Sora did for so long. And considering that it didn't involve stabbing himself in the chest to free the heart, Sora wondered if he also learned the Power of Waking at some point during his Keyblade training.
The heart flared brightly into the figure of a dark-haired man dressed in white. It took a second for Sora to make out any further details, but the style of clothes was similar to Terra, Ventus, and Aqua. He wore a white, red-lined haori with a hood, along with slightly shorter-than-normal, light-colored hakama. Underneath his haori, he wore a navy-blue shirt with a large white X pattern on the front. He also wore gold-and-black armored boots and a dull blue-green section of armor that covered his abdomen. And on that section of armor was a familiar symbol: the same symbol that Aqua, Ventus, and Terra wore. There were jagged scars over his right eye and left cheek. His black hair with hints of grey was tied into a short, high topknot while his face bore a short, triangular patch of beard and a mustache.
Whoever the man was, he was no stranger to at least a few members of the group. Aqua and Ventus could only gasp in shock at his arrival. The strange figure extended a hand towards Master Xehanort.
Speaking firmly and in unison, Terra and the figure said, "Now, hand over the χ-blade, Xehanort."
I truly meant to go further with this chapter, but it ended up being longer than expected and this was the best place to cut off. But I got to do some fun things with this one. Vanitas got to hit Master Xehanort in the face, I got to tweak the old man's dramatic monologue a little, and even have a section done from Goofy's point of view. It wasn't a long section, but I did want to have one. So that's one goal accomplished. Hopefully you've enjoyed this chapter. I certainly did.