Before we start, let me share a quick shout out to Akarenger and IanAlphaAxel for dropping reviews last chapter and sharing some kind words. Thanks to you, two! Your support and commentary is dearly appreciated.
She Will Light The Way
Chapter Sixteen
What Are We Fighting For?
Night fell across the city, but it did not bring peace with it.
The shadows stirred and stalked across San Fransokyo, on the prowl for victims. The citizens of the technological metropolis were prisoners in their own homes, less they be nothing more than prey for the Heartless.
Luxord observed all this from on high, standing at the peak of the city's once vibrant skyline. While the Key Bearer and her allies may have escaped from him, it wouldn't take much difficulty to track them down... If he so inclined to do that. But the gamer Nobody felt like prolonging the hunt, prolonging the game, seeing what other pleasure he could eke out from the conflict between him and his lacking foe.
Besides, Luxord knew why the girl had come to this world. And he knew where she would be going. All he had to do was keep his eye on the Blackheart Stone and he would have his rematch.
Potential scenarios for their fated rematch played in the Nobody's head, hoping that the last, lonely Key Bearer in the Realm would offer a bit more of a challenge.
"Perhaps I overdid it with the stunt today." Luxord mused to himself, once again shuffling a deck of cards. Though, it wasn't your garden variety playing cards this go around. The Nobody shook his head, chuckling and grinning sickly as he remembered the desperate display from earlier in the day. "But it's far too entertaining! The girl makes for such an easy target..."
Behind the soliloquizing Nobody, a Dark Corridor sprang to life, Luxord's smile vanishing as it's summoner crossed the threshold.
"Oh, of course you would come to ruin my mood. Out with it! Deliver your tirade and then go skulking back to the Superior's side..."
Saix barely reacted to his comrade's dismissal. "I care not for your 'mood' or 'entertainment', Number X." Saix strode forward, eyes locked on the Gambler of Fate. "Our Superior expressly forbade us from crossing blades with the girl. That only the Silhouettes would be allowed to battle her." Luxord groaned and rolled his eyes. "You do know the punishment for disregarding the Superior's order, don't you?"
The blond Nobody only scoffed and shook his head, turning to the scarred individual and giving him an annoyed grimace. "You know, I would give just about anything to have you be the one to perish in Castle Oblivion in place of Vexen, Zexion, or Lexaues. True gentlemen that understood the value of relaxation and a good game!" Saix did not react to the series of barbs launched this way, simply stoically staring at his comrade with those awful, baleful yellow eyes. "Even Demyx! Softhearted though he may be, the lad possessed an elegant joie de vivre that is sorely lacking from our dear Organization nowadays."
"Your complaints are irrelevant." Saix grumbled out his reply. "Return to the Castle, Number X. That's an order from a higher-ranking officer." Luxord flippantly waved-off said "higher-ranking officer".
"I will return when I'm good and ready! Besides, tell me, why is the Superior so concerned with what happens to us, hmm?" Luxord cocked an eyebrow, trying to draw any sort of emotion from the other Nobody. Admittedly, Saix had his brow furrowed and eyes narrowed, lips curled into a scowl. It wasn't much, but annoyance was something...
"The Superior has grasped the light of the future, seen the truth with his own eyes!" Luxord continued, eyes returning to the eerily quiet cityscape before him. Scanning. The Keyblade Wielding Princess was out there. Unaware of here impending fate. "The girl falls. The boys fall. We triumph. It's fate. Destiny. Set in stone!" The remnants of excitement flared up within the void of emotion Luxord possessed. He faintly recalled claiming victory in a game of Russian Roulette. At winning the life savings of some foolish bloke at the poker table, later learning he ended his own life because of the loss. "If our destiny is absolute victory, then why bother playing such a cautious game?"
Saix made an annoyed noise with his mouth, baring his teeth briefly. "The Superior may have glimpsed the future, but even he in all his power didn't witness everything. His triumph is assured. Our presence there is not." A subtle wave of his hand, and Saix created another Corridor. "Great events are set in stone, little things can change on a whim. You don't want to end up like Xaldin, brought low by a weakling, do you?"
"I will take that gamble." Luxord said with utmost pride in himself. "I relish it."
By this point in time, Saix had turned his attention away from Luxord, moving towards the new Corridor. "If you will not listen to reason or logic, then be that way. When you do return, just don't complain when your are given the maximum punishment for your infractions."
With one last exchange of icy glares, Saix returned to the darkness, leaving Luxord alone on the rooftop once more.
"'Little things can change on a whim', eh..." Luxord eyed the deck of cards in his hand, pondering the words of his aggravating comrade, the abilities of his Superior, and the mercurial nature of fate. "Why I may lack the talent to peer into the heady stream of time itself, I still believe I can divine what destiny has in store." The gamer Nobody hurled his Tarot deck into the air, cards scattering all about him. "Let us begin!"
A dramatic wave of his arms followed, the sharp descent of the cards came to a sudden halt, a cloud of paper surrounding the Nobody, each and everyone of them having their backsides facing him. They were not wholly frozen, though, as the swarmed and circle around his nonperson. The Tarot practically buzzing in anticipation of the coming divination.
Luxord snapped his fingers and ordered, "First, the players in our little game." The cards shifted their position, some darting away from Luxord, others aligning with him, before a handful of them flipped over. Three in particular stood close to their master, before flipping themselves over.
A woman in white clerical garb, kneeling between two pillars, numbered II.
A carefree man in colourful attire, carrying a stick bindle and accompanied by a dog, numbered 0.
A man in plain robes, wielding a wand in his left hand, pointed upwards, while his right hand lay downward, numbered I.
"Ah, I see." Luxord observed the cards before him with a keen eye. Of course, he knew all the meanings and reading of the Tarot, and was supremely confident in his talent at divination. "The High Priestess – the wielder of truth and the seeker of mysteries – and The Fool – a man on a journey, possessing infinite potential. No doubt our two Key Bearers." His vision then drifted to the third card, which drew a pleased chuckle. "The Magician, talent and skill beyond compare! Who else could it be but my illustrious self? Oh, fates, you do flatter me..."
Another card was hovering near The Fool, High Priestess, and Magician, this one depicting a twisted, demonic figure with two helpless humans shackled to the beast, branded number XV.
"The Devil – temptation and obsession. If I were to hazard a guess, that would be our magnificent Superior. Or, one of his other selves. Or perhaps all of them put together."
A few other of the Arcana hung within the periphery of the main four. The Strength, The Hermit, The Hanged Man, and The Empress, but Luxord paid them little mind. To him, they were less important than the two Keyblade users and the Organization members. After all, who else could possible merit inclusion among this group?
"Now that our players are set... show me conflict!" Luxord ordered, as the cards stirred themselves again. "Show me the coming final battle!"
In a flurry of movement, The Fool and The Devil siddled off, while The Priestess and Magician remained. A third, hidden card slid into view, hovering above the two other Arcana, before turning to reveal itself. A perilous tower struck by a lightning bolt, numbered XVI.
Luxord could hardly contain his mirth at the revelation.
"The Tower! Ruin and destruction! YES! So, the Magician and The High Priestess shall meet at The Tower..." The future scenario was already playing out in the mind of Luxord. Undoubtedly he would be the one to deliver the final blow to the wayward Princess of Heart. That the winding road of her quest would bring her to him and end in utter heartbreak. "And then, one last ask for you, oh weavers of fate... Show me what lies beyond this final battle. Show me the ultimate end to this sordid little tale of ours! Show me..."
All the other Arcana card flew away, save one, which slowly turned itself over.
Tarot Number XXI...
"The World!"
Destiny. Completeness. Perfect harmony. Realization of all things.
What else could it be, but the Organization's goal? What else was The World but Kingdom Hearts?
More than pleased with the result of the reading, Luxord turned away, satisfied and off to find the next thrill. Perhaps a pachinko den or some sort of gambling ring. Something to take the edge off and bide the time before the coming destiny.
"Oh, it seems we have quite an exciting future ahead of us, Kairi Ralleone...
"Though you will suffer far more by the hands of fate than yours truly. A victim, once and forever, that is your dismal fate."
-O-SWLTW-O-
Kairi brought a hand to her cheek, instantly regretting the contact. Pain coursed as she winced, but the contraction of muscles in her face just made the pain spike even higher. A Cura spell had done it's work for dulling the pain, reducing the swelling, and (hopefully) preventing any unseemly bruises from forming, but the two punch marks on her face still hurt like all hell.
They were nothing, however, in comparison to the ache in her heart.
Kairi had spent the better part of two hours – maybe even longer – wandering around the unfamiliar, dark halls of Fred's family's mansion. Even if her mindset was in a better place, Kairi was still pretty sure she would be dazed and confused and afraid being in such a strange place, all on her own. Perhaps even a little frightened. She certainly was afraid now, but that had less to do with where she was and more what she had done. What she had found out she was capable of doing...
It felt childish to admit it, but Kairi really wished her mom was here, right now. To hug and soothe her and tell her everything would be all right, just like whenever she had a nightmare when she was younger.
But would I want mom to see me like this? Kairi thought, mournfully. Her aimless wandering brought her outside, into the chilly night air. She shuffled out onto an immaculate lawn, pass extravagant topiary sculptures. In the distance, she could hear the faint sounds of metalwork. What would she think when she found what happened?
What would anyone she knew and loved and respected think of her after tonight? Paine had always talked against Kairi focusing on what others thought of her, of working only to impress others, but she supposed it was just a bad habit she had. She couldn't help but think of what Sora would say to her. Or Riku. King Mickey. Aqua. Leon and the others. Selphie and the girls.
Shame and hatred and rejection, no doubt. Everyone thinks your such a nice girl, Kairi. A perfect little sweetheart. But you know better. Your heart is ugly and full of contradictions. You're weak and cowardly and selfish. You're no hero, you're a monster...
In truth, part of the reason Kairi was in such a state was because she was confused. Confused over what had happened and unsure about how to feel. Sure, she could admit Paine had a point in that prioritizing rescuing Sora and having her revenge on the Organization over the lives of her friends was wrong. She made a mistake. A huge mistake. She was big enough to admit that. In the moment, her obsessions overrode the rational part of her being. She gave into weakness and temptation, wandered right into Luxord's trap.
It was a miracle everyone made it out with as little damage as they did.
But, beyond that, Kairi was left with lingering questions. Luxord's accusations that she didn't love Sora as much as he clearly cared for her had rattled her, ashamed as she was to admit. There was no way she would trade the life of another for Sora – whether consciously or through her own negligence again – but, then, what would she be willing to give up for Sora? Would she return the favour and sacrifice her freedom? Would she be willing to cast herself into the darkness to pull him back into the light? Did her devotion match his? Did it matter if it did or didn't? Was sacrifice noble and good like it was in all the stories? Or was it something selfish and horrible like Paine argued?
Over and over, around and around Kairi's mind went in a futile circle, desperately trying to answer these questions, only to have it elude her. She felt like she couldn't face Paine and the others without figuring this out. without taming the storm that rocked her heart. She screwed up, she failed, she needed to find a path to redemption...
And, above all else, two other question hung above her head, heavier than the others.
Why was she here and what was she fighting for?
Why did the Keyblade choose her?
It's not for Sora. It can't just be for Sora... But then if not Sora, then what?
Kairi still didn't feel like she was deserving of wielding such a weapon, something that could change the course of history for the entire Realm. An object that fate itself seemed to revolve around. She wasn't strong or brave or relentlessly determined like Riku. She didn't possess Sora's charm or boundless optimism. Even through her short time journeying through the worlds, she had met people who certainly seemed more deserving than her. After all, Kairi was just a kid from the Islands, someone who, until a month ago, only really concerned herself with her grades at school, having fun with her friends, and what role she would get in the school play. Someone who enjoyed political science and lived for her morning tea, volleyball games with Selphie, going out to the theatre, watching old debates or baseball games with her mom on Sunday afternoon...
So why? Why me? There has to be a greater reason here.
The redhead's temples throbbed and ached, her forehead flushed. Kairi clutched at the top of her head and groaned, shaking vigorously. All this thinking and racking her brain was getting her no where save a trip to headache city...
The clamour of metalwork had grown louder in the intervening time. Desperate for any sort of distraction from her troubles, Kairi craned her head to the source of the din.
It was Hiro, surprisingly enough. The boy genius seemed to have scrabbled together enough equipment from around the mansion to begin the task of repairing Baymax' armour. And he had done a solid enough job, too, considering the lack of time and the sheer damage Luxord had inflicted to the bright red suit. Sure, there were still scuffs and chips rent large on the surface, but it looked to be in good working order, aesthetics not withstanding.
Currently, as Kairi approached across the damp lawn, Hiro was fiddling around with Baymax' helmet, the white, plushy robot standing idly by as the boy worked.
"Someone is approaching." Baymax chirped, without warning, causing Hiro to jump in start and almost drop the helmet. Kairi herself was a little surprised, she had been moving towards them with the utmost stealth, trying to just observe from a far.
"Oh, it's your, Kairi..." Hiro said when he caught glimpse of her through the darkness, before going back to work.
"Yeah, just me..." She returned, picking up her pace to where the two were. "How're you doing, Hiro?" She had not seen nor heard from the boy since the confrontation between him and GoGo.
"I'm fine..." Hiro grunted out, totally absorbed in his work. Behind him, Baymax' systems whirred and beeped.
"The two of your appear to have elevated blood pressure. You appear to be distressed."
Again, Kairi reared back, a little sheepish and a little surprised. Baymax sure could cut to the heart of the matter, couldn't he?
Hiro, however, ignored the robot's intrusion, repeating himself, "I'm fine..."
Finishing his work on the helm, Hiro marched backward and up step-ladder that had been placed in front of Baymax, slamming the object down over the robot's rotund head.
"Hiro, what are you doing out here?" Kairi finally asked. Obviously, there wasn't a whole lot of places the boy could go, but scrounging for tools to do emergency repairs?
I guess everyone has their own way of dealing with their grief and frustrations. Better than wandering aimlessly, trying to solve unanswerable questions.
"Baymax' long-range scanner was damaged in the fight." Came Hiro's answer, still fixing the helmet in place. "I need it to find that guy..."
"Luxord?"
"Yeah..." Hiro's voice descended to a venomous growl.
"Do you really think that's a good idea?" Kairi tried her best not to sound nagging. Hiro had been through a lot, and it wouldn't do either of them any good if she set him off again. "Baymax took a lot of damage in the fight. And that's even if you can find him..."
"Well, I have to find him!" Hiro snapped back. The boy must have realized he went a little too far, frightened his new friend a little too much, as he reeled back his emotions. "He... he took Tadashi away. I can't just let him wander freely." Hiro stomped his way back down the ladder. "I thought you would understand me, more than the others. These creeps took someone away from you too, right?"
"Well, yeah, but-"
"Then you get it! You're probably just as mad as I am. You want revenge as much as me..."
Did she? Kairi herself wasn't sure. Wasn't sure of anything right now. Yes, she hated the Organization for what they had done to her. Just seeing those black cloaks lit a blazing fire of pure rage within her. And when she thought of whatever they had done to other people beyond her, it only fed that inferno, created an all-consuming wildfire. But...
Is that why I have the Keyblade? Is that my purpose? To tear down the Organization in fire and blood? Fiery anger aside, that didn't feel right. Kairi didn't think herself a violent, vengeful person.
...But then she remembered how she charged Xaldin and Lexaues with anger born in her heart. She clashed with Luxord despite all logic and her friends telling her not to.
I'm asking for my purpose, for why I'm fighting, but I may not even know ...
In the meantime, Hiro had gone back to examining Baymax, asking the robot, "There? Is it working?"
The visor of the helmet lit up, as Baymax craned his head about. "My sensor is. Operational."
"Good." Hiro made his way back up the step-ladder, fiercely determined. Borderline furious.
"Hiro, I really don't think this is a good idea..." Kairi said, as Hiro made his way to the highest step, fist hammering on the robot's access port.
"Why not?" Hiro countered, clenching his teeth. Doing his best not to lose his temper again. "I need to do this. I have to do this. You get it right?" Kairi bit down on her lip.
"Luxord... the Nobodies are all so strong. I don't want to see you or Baymax get hurt." It was a feeble excuse, but it was all she had. Right now, Kairi felt like she was the only thing standing between Hiro and an untimely end.
Hiro wasn't hearing any of it, however. "I can we, we can win, I know it! If you want – if it makes you feel better – come with us. We'll fight together and Sora and Tadashi..." Hiro trailed off, still slamming down on the port. But, much to his confusion, it wouldn't budge.
"Are you planning to remove my. Health care chip?" Baymax asked, a heavy question, but delivered in his neutral, robotic tones.
"Yes! Now open..." At this point, Hiro was clawing at the tiny crevices that made up the port's shutters, trying to manually pry it open.
"Hiro..." Kairi said, quietly.
"My purpose is to the heal the sick and injured..."
"Baymax, open your access port!" Hiro ordered, temper growing shorter and shorter with each passing minute.
Kairi swallowed. She really should step in and defuse the situation, but she felt like if she wasn't able to help herself, how could she help another?
Hiro and my pain aren't the same, but they're similar. I don't have the answers to help me, I have no right to butt-in on something like this... After all, Sora was gone but alive; there was still a faint glimmer of hope of bringing him back. Tadashi was dead. And, as far as Kairi knew, even in this crazy world she had been thrown in to, death was still final. Nothing could change that.
Still, Kairi felt incredibly guilty with herself for rationalizing it that way. For giving up on someone in need...
"Do you want me to terminate the man in the black cloak?" Baymax asked, standing eerily still, even as Hiro was practically trying to bury his fingers into the shiny red armour.
"Just. Open."
At this point, Hiro had resorted to removing the bulky breastplate of the armour, now attacking the bare port, the only hard piece standing against the white, plastic shell of the health care robot.
"Will terminating the man in black improve your emotional state?"
Kairi felt stricken by the question, even if it wasn't directed at her. Succeeding in combat gave her a good feeling – winning always felt good, after all – but never relief, never satisfaction. She certainly didn't feel good after eking out a win over Xaldin. Nor when she put down the Silhouette of Lexaues. And she was certain the tumult in her heart wouldn't settle down because she used her Keyblade to fell Luxord. But then why did she always leap to combat with anger in her heart, like a shark lost amidst the blood frenzy?
"Hiro, please, you have to stop..." Despite her earlier reluctance to butt-in, Kairi heard herself call out to the boy, almost automatically.
"Yes!" Hiro answered Baymax, ignoring Kairi's pleas, but his voice was shaky and uneven. He was stammering and fumbling with this words. "No! I-I-I don't know! Open up!" The genius went back to his prior task, frantically clawing at the port. "Open you access..."
"Is this what Tadashi would wanted?"
"Hiro, listen -" Kairi lurched forward, willing her body to move, planning to grab Hiro and remove him from Baymax. She didn't know why, but she had to stop this...
"It doesn't matter!"
"Tadashi programmed me to aid in the -"
"Tadashi is gone!"
Hiro roared those words at the top of his lungs, maximum volume and maximum emotion. Kairi stopped dead in her tracks, as the boy slumped over, defeated, resting himself against the broad white chest of Baymax. Hiro was a small boy – smaller than Kairi, who wasn't all that tall herself – but right now, half-curled against the robot, eyes shut, hands trembling, he looked so vulnerable and tiny.
Kairi felt a stabbing in her heart, hearing Hiro's confession. That expression, that tone... she knew it all too well. Even if Sora and Tadashi's separation were of different levels of severity, the pain Hiro was feeling was all too familiar. The pain of admitting your loss and soaking in your grief. Of realizing what had happened and how you were at fault.
Flashing back to waking up on Hollow Bastion, tearfully telling the tale to Leon and the others, Kairi did her best to fight back the tears, before moving forward, placing a gentle hand on Hiro's back.
To hell with her questions and heartache. Hiro Hamada was in need of a friend and some help. No one else was around. Kairi figured she would just have to do.
"Hiro..." She softly, very softly, rubbed the back of the heartbroken genius, searching for the right words to provide some kind of aid. "I'm so sorry... What the Organization's has done – to you, to me, to so many others – is monstrous. Even if it's only a tiny amount, I know how you feel. How much it hurts." Hiro remained silent and unmoving, not that Kairi was expecting much from the boy. "But we can't just give in to that pain. That grief. We have to keep moving forward."
You're one to talk, hypocrite. Her internal monologue spat, caustically. You're entire life the past month has solely revolved around Sora. You can't move on, no matter what. You'll always be stuck in that mire of grief and despair
Kairi grimaced and pushed those dark thoughts aside.
"That's what Sora would want of me. And, I have a feeling Tadashi would feel the same way."
"Tadashi is gone..." Hiro mumbled again, miserably.
"Tadashi is here."
"No... he's not here..."
"Tadashi is here."
Baymax' insistence was warranted, as a panel on his chest lit up. A pixelated screen formed, blurry images slowly coming into focus, as a new voice spoke up, joining the chorus.
"This is Tadashi Hamada."
Immediately, at the sound of his departed brother's voice, Hiro perked up, standing upright. In his haste, he almost fell off the ladder, but Kairi was there to catch him, holding the scrawny youth in her arms.
On the screen, which both Kairi and Hiro watched with rapt attention, was an older teenaged man, tall and fairly handsome, with more than a passing resemblance to Hiro, standing in some sort of lab, holding a small blackboard which read "Test #1", etched in chalk, in rather poor writing.
"And this is the first test of my robotics project."
The elder Hamada brother then reach off-screen to flip a switch, prompting an oddly familiar voice to speak up.
"Hello. I am Bay – ERRRR"
An ear-splitting burst of static and distortion assaulted Baymax' speaker, causing both Kairi and Hiro to cringe in pain. Tadashi mirrored their reaction, scrambling to shut the robot off and silence the cacophony.
Hiro stared on in wide-eyed amazement, both from being able to see and hear his brother again, and to see the process he went through of creating Baymax.
It was not a smooth process, as the screen continued to transition from recording to recording, Tadashi showing up in different outfits, different amount of light streaming through the lab's windows.
"This is the seventh test of my robotics project."
This time, the screen quickly jumped to Baymax' plush, inflatable arms flailing about, assaulting the teen inventor, causing both Kairi and Hiro to fight back a series of giggles. It was a soft, plush robot, for crying out loud! Seeing someone like Tadashi feebly attempt to stop it, shy away from each hit, it was all too much!
Then, one of the arms literally flew off of Baymax' body, smacking Tadashi in the face. The dam burst, and Kairi and Hiro doubled over lauging.
"Wait, wait! Stop! Stop scan -"
On and on it went. Each time Tadashi introduced the project, a new malady would follow, without fail, the inventor growing more and more despondent and frustrated with each passing video log. Kairi was impressed by his resolve and fortitude; she had a history of getting frustrated when faced with a hard task and just giving up, memories of the months it took her mom to teach her how to ride a bike coming to the forefront. Hiro was mesmerized by the sheer effort it took his brother to build Baymax, but that idolization soon turned to a look of crestfallen shame.
That emotional transition did not escape Kairi's notice.
Minutes of video footage played, before it hit attempt number thirty-three. Tadashi wearily introduced himself again, before a shower of electrical sparks rained down on him. Everything went black, save for a tiny flashlight Tadashi himself held, inspecting the prototype Baymax.
"I'm not giving up on you. You don't understand this, but people need you. So let's get back to work."
The sincerity of the words shone through the archival footage, Kairi feeling the dedication and love Tadashi had poured into the robot. Baymax was more than a hobby or school project, it was something that could change the world. That's what Tadashi Hamada believed during all these fruitless hours of labour.
Baymax was something worth creating. A goal worth working towards.
Hiro's eyes darted downward, mouth open slightly. Kairi saw this expression, too, and was more than familiar with it. Shame. The feeling you had let someone close to you down.
The footage continued to roll, Kairi and Hiro watching mostly in silence, as Tadashi continued to struggle up the mountain, the stress of failure beginning to weigh down on the young man. Every introduction became less and less vibrant and hopeful until...
"This is, uh, Tadashi Hamada and this is the eighty-fourth..." Tadashi paused and checked his blackboard, rubbing on eye with his fist. He sighed, wearily "test... Whadya say, big guy?"
Tadashi, once again, hit the off-screen switch, holding his breath for success.
"Hello. I am Baymax. Your personal. Health care companion."
On screen, Tadashi stared back at Hiro and Kairi, wide-eyed and disbelieving.
"It works..." Tadashi said softly.
"He works!" He boomed, jubilantly, shuffling about in anxious anticipation. "Oh, this is amazing! You – you work!"
Tadashi rushed forward and kissed Baymax' camera, his breath and lip mark fogging up the screen.
"I knew it! I knew it, I knew it, I knew it!"
As his elder brother celebrated, Hiro's countenance took on a look of relief and happiness, basking in his brother's success after so long. Kairi put an arm over his shoulder and held the smaller boy close, silently affirming his belief in his brother.
"Okay, okay, big moment here. Scan me." Tadashi present himself to Baymax, before a low thrumming sound erupted from the speakers.
"Your neurotransmitter levels are. Elevated. This indicates that you are. Happy."
Tadashi looked so happy that he could cry, almost collapsing on the spot. "I am. I really am. Oh, man... wait 'till my brother sees you."
Kairi looked down at said brother, seeing gentle tears streaming from Hiro's eyes, warmly smiling at his brother.
Oh, you have no idea, Tadashi...
"You're gonna help so many people, buddy. So many... Well, that's all for now. I am satisfied with my care."
The recording came to a stop, Tadashi's image frozen on Baymax' chest, as Hiro reached out a loving hand towards him.
Then, remembering where he was and who he was with, Hiro turned away from Kairi, sheepishly clearing his throat and knuckling away a tear. Kairi chuckled at that; it didn't matter what world she went to, all boys were the same. They all wanted to look macho in front of a girl.
"Thank you, Baymax..." Hiro finally managed to say, almost breathless due to the torrent of emotion he felt. "And I'm so sorry for what I did to you... I guess I'm not like my brother, after all..."
"Hiro..." Kairi snaked her arms around the young boy, resting her chin atop his head. "I may not be the person to say this, but please don't beat yourself up over this." Hiro was clearing doing his best to fight back the tears. Kairi wouldn't care if he cried or not. She had shed more than enough tears over her loved ones, these past few weeks. "You made a mistake, yes, but you still have a chance to do right by it. To make it up to everyone. To Baymax. To Tadashi..."
"I... yeah." Hiro gulped something down, grimly clenching his teeth, but nodding along all the same.
"But... your brother built Baymax to help others." Kairi had seen the expression on Hiro's face. She knew that he knew he had crossed a line by turning Baymax into a mindless war machine. Thankfully, though, the young genius had pulled back from the edge before it was too late, before any last damage was inflicted. "And, more important than that..." Kairi looked up at Baymax, the robot looking down at her and blinking. "Baymax is your friend, isn't he?"
"Yeah..." Hiro gulped down another lump of emotion. "How 'bout it, buddy?" Hiro said, now addressing Baymax. "Is friendship a part of your health care protocol?"
The processors powering the bot hummed to life. "Companionship is an important part of. Mental health. I am more than willing to be friends with you, Hiro. And. Kairi."
Both humans smiled at the robot's announcement, glad to share a moment of levity like that with each other.
Baymax. The Keyblade. They are things meant to make the lives of people better. Kairi wasn't sure if that was her answer, but it was a step in the right direction, at least.
"So... I guess I should go back to the others," Hiro said, awkwardly shuffling his feet. "Face the music, after what I did..." Kairi smiled at that, offering a hand. Hiro wasn't the only one who had to answer for mistakes they made in the heat of the moment.
"Don't worry about it, Hiro. I'll be there, and so will Baymax. We'll go together."
The trio made their way back through the spacious mansion grounds in silence, though their task was easier said then done. Fred's home was huge, and Kairi and Hiro weren't exactly paying attention to where they were going during their depressive funk. As they approached the room, Paine and Yuna's voices managed to reach them through the closed doorway.
"You went too far this time, Paine." Yuna scolded her companion, repeating her words from earlier. "She's just a girl – younger than I was when I went on my pilgrimage – you're far too hard on her!"
"It's the opposite, actually. You coddle her too much." Paine countered, searingly cold. "It doesn't matter how young or old she is, the way she acts isn't going to cut it. If she thinks Sora is more important than us, then that's fine. She can get along without us."
Kairi flinched at Paine's scolding, shying away from the door. Hiro placed a hand on her back, silently urging her on. Baymax, too. If she was going to be here for them, they would stand by Kairi, as well.
Both Kairi and Hiro took a deep breath, before crossing the threshold, finding all of their collective friends still gathered there, standing about a table and discussing something. They had fortunately entered during a lull between the arguments and bickering.
Yuna was the first to notice their entry.
"Kairi!" The brunette rushed over to greet her wayward friends, the eyes of everyone else following her. Soon, a full crowd a formed around Kairi and Hiro.
Paine hanged back, glaring in the general direction of the redheaded Key Bearer.
"Guy, I, uh -" Hiro started, addressing his four other friends, but soon stopped himself when GoGo came to the forefront, standing right before the young genius, arms crossed over her chest. "I-"
GoGo slapped him. Again. However, this time was much, much lighter. Basically just brushing her fingers against Hiro's cheek. The acerbic girl then pulled Hiro into a tight hug.
"Come here, stupid..."
Kairi's heart warmed up, as she saw the group of young heroes come together and share a big group hug. Even after everything that had happened, their friendship would prevail. Her eyes briefly flickered in Paine's direction, but she did her best to avoid making any eye contact with the dark swordswoman.
"We're going to stop that guy and save the city," GoGo told Hiro, as the hug broke apart. "But we're going to do it the right way." Hiro nodded along to the young woman's words, once more fighting back his emotions.
"Yeah, yeah... you guys..." Hiro looked around, to GoGo, Wasabi, Fred, Honey Lemon, and Baymax, all in turn. "All of you mean a lot to me. You meant a lot to my brother, too. I'm so sorry I almost threw all of that away."
"Sounds like you guys had quite the therapy session, Red." Rikku chimed in, with a nudge to Kairi's ribs.
"Um, sort of?" Kairi scratched at her head, once more feeling annoyed by undue praise. "I was just there. Baymax kinda did all the work. I mean, it's what he was built for after all." Kairi then quietly excused herself, making her way across the room to the third and final Gullwing. She was pretty certain this would be rough, but there was no way to avoid it. Better get it over and done with.
"Paine, I just -"
"Save it." The white-haired woman cut her off in an instant, not even bothering to make eye contact. Her tone was aggressive but not angry. Not entirely. "I don't want to hear you say your sorry. Or to hear you say that you learned from your mistakes. I want you to show me that." Finally, Paine's eyes shifted to meet with Kairi's. "Understood?"
"Y-yes..." Kairi had expected to get a response like this, but was still a little put out by Paine's absolute iciness.
The swordswoman grunted and then moved back to the table, which Kairi could see had a map of downtown San Fransokyo splayed across it. "Now that you three are back, we can begin in earnest." Paine pointed to a marker on the map's surface. San Fransokyo Radio Tower. "We're trying to come up with a battle plan for dealing with the Stone and the Guardian."
"We figured it would be better use of our time doing something productive rather than worrying over you." Yuna explained, before sighing, looking at the map with disdain. "But, so far, we haven't come up with a solution."
"I think I might have an idea, actually..." Kairi spoke up. Immediately, all eyes fell upon her, causing her to shift her shoulders about. It was like oral report day in Literature class all over again...
"So, what we know about how Guardians work is that they spawn in the presence of the Keyblade." Kairi summoned Destiny's Embrace for effect. Back on Beast's Castle, she had specifically held her Keyblade back to avoid summoning the Guardian Heartless, and it only did start manifesting when she brought the weapon out. "So, we could rush the tower without me summoning it, but that means I can't fight effectively. And, I'm certain we'd run into dozens of Heartless along the way. Not to mention Luxord is probably still out there, waiting to fight us again..."
"We came up with this idea, too." Wasabi brought up. "It's probably the best of the bunch, too."
"But, you are right, you'd be largely ineffective without the Keyblade." Yuna said. As Kairi's magic teacher, she knew better than anyone the girl's magic was far less impressive without Destiny's Embrace out and about. "So it would turn into an escort mission. Getting you up the tower will be difficult, but with so many of us to guard you -"
"No." Kairi put a stop to that. She knew where Yuna was going, and didn't like it one bit. "You guys aren't throwing yourself into the line of fire to protect me. I screwed up. I have to make amends to you." Even if she hadn't been the reason most of the people in this room had a close-encounter with death today, Kairi still would have felt uncomfortable with that strategy. With everyone acting as her shields.
Sacrifice... I still don't know whether it's noble or not, but I do know that I don't like it. I don't want anyone else throwing their lives away for me. Not Sora. Not anyone.
"I'll go after the Stone by myself."
Everyone was blindsided by Kairi's sudden declaration, looking both bemused and scared at the reality of the words. Even Paine raised an eyebrow, from her vantage point in the corner of the room.
"Kairi, you can't!" Yuna said with the utmost concern. "That's basically suicide." Rikku nodded along with her cousin's statement.
"Yeah, Red. No shade against ya, but you really think you can make your way through a horde of Heartless and a Nobody, by yourself, without the Keyblade?" A round of murmuring agreement rose up. "Not to mention, how're you gonna climb up the tower? Guilty or not, you can't just rush in and think it'll always work..."
Kairi chuckled slightly at her friend's reaction. It seems that she had developed a bit of a reputation for charging headlong into danger. Couldn't be helped, she supposed. "No, I know I can't do all that on my own." She drew a line across a point in the map. The spot she and the Gullwings had confronted the Guardian Heartless earlier in the day. "We'll all go, together, and I'll summon my Keyblade to bait out the Guardian. But then, while you guys have it distracted, I'll go for the Stone. That's the other thing with Blackheart Stones – when they're destroyed, they banish all the lesser Heartless in the area. Without any back-up, the Guardian will be much easier to deal with!"
Again, a quite chorus picked up among the others, Yuna and Rikku looking quite surprised by the Key Bearer's summation. Clearly, they had forgotten about that little factoid.
"As for how I'm going to get to the Stone on the top of the tower..." Kairi continued, her gaze drifting towards Baymax, who only blinked in response. "I saw wings on Baymax' armour. He can fly, can't he, Hiro?"
"Yeah, he can." The boy answered, as everyone started to pick-up on what Kairi was planning.
"Then while you guys are busy distracting the Heartless, Baymax and I will fly around the plaza to avoid the fighting and go straight for the Stone." Kairi traced her finger across the map, showing her desired route to the towering edifice in the middle of the plaza. "Then we'll take care of the Guardian together, and we'll finally rid the city of the Heartless."
Kairi paused after her final explanation, taking a sharp breath. This had made sense when she formulated it in her head, but she wasn't entirely certain of the validity of the plan. Not to mention, despite her vehemence against others serving as human shields for herself, there wasn't a whole lot of difference here. More like Yuna and the others were a smokescreen, rather than shields, but her plan hinged on the others stepping up on the battlefield while she skulked around.
Fortunately, it seemed everyone was receptive to the idea on it's face. Most likely because it was the best plan put forward up to this point. Still, there were some a few concerns on the table.
"Kairi, are you absolutely sure about this?" Yuna asked her. Of course Yuna would be the first to voice any apprehension. "You don't need to do this just because -"
"Yes, I do, Yuna." The Key Bearer wasn't really in the mood for discussing those wounds in depth. Not right now, at least. "I have to do this, and I want to do this. Unless anyone else has a better idea, I think this is our best shot."
To Kairi's surprise, Hiro was the only one to speak up.
"I'm coming with you, Kairi." The boy genius said. No he was the focus of everyone's worry and interest. "I know Baymax better than anyone – flight especially – and, besides... I can't let anything happen to Baymax. He's too important. To Tadashi. I need to be there."
Kairi bit her lip, considering the offer. She would be lying if she said she wasn't afraid of something happening to Hiro in the heat of battle. A lot of things could go wrong with this plan – the least being a sudden reappearance by Luxord – and Hiro definitely didn't seem like much of a fighter. On the other hand, he was more than correct about knowing everything about Baymax. Kairi's technical skills were... less than zero, to be charitable. Not to mention... Baymax was his brother's legacy. She understood why he needed to make sure the health care robot stayed safe.
After a moment of consideration, Kairi relented, nodding in the direction of the boy.
"This is all well and good..." All eyes in the room moved towards the speaker, Paine, the dark swordswoman now pacing on the opposite end of the room from where the group was gathered. "But plan or no plan, we're still overlooking one major issue." Red eyes darted from person to person, Hiro to GoGo to Wasabi to Fred to Honey Lemon. "You kids, your tech is good, but you don't know how to fight worth a damn." GoGo and the others sheepishly and begrudgingly acknowledged the point. Regardless of the clash with Luxord, their scraps with the Heartless earlier in the afternoon and earlier in the week were embarrassing affairs of amateurish skill. Now that they had a better perspective on what they were fighting, they knew it wouldn't cut it. "So, we're not going to engage in the operation tomorrow. Or even the day after tomorrow. We'll start it up when everyone is good and ready. When I think you're good and ready. Get a good night's sleep, kids, you all have a date in the House of Paine, seven AM sharp."
Paine gave the collected geniuses (and Fred) a stern look, before sparing a particularly nasty one to Kairi. "I'm heading back to the ship. Good night." And then, she stormed off without another word.
Kairi exhaled, almost collapsing to the floor from the strain of keeping it together. "Well, that went better than expected..." Admittedly, Kairi had been expecting at least one more punch from her companion. It was a low bar to pass.
Yuna and Rikku quickly assembled around her, the redhead thankful for their support and friendship.
"So, Kai-Kai, how ya doin'?" Rikku asked, in her own unique way, splitting the difference between playful and unease. "You seem to be full of fire again! That walk musta done ya a world of good, huh?" An elbow nudged the Key Bearer in the ribs. Kairi winced. They were still sore from the encounter. "Oh, sorry..."
"It's okay," Kairi hissed out, sucking in air. "And uh... I don't know guys. I don't know how I'm feeling right now. Like, I know I screwed up. I know what I did was wrong. I'm so sorry for abandoning you and putting Sora ahead of everything, but-" Both her brain and her heart were still a jumbled mess. She didn't know where she lay on the idea of her devotion to Sora, and his level of devotion in her, or the concept of sacrifice and whether it was good or not. And the answers to the question she sought were still beyond her reach. Why did she have the Keyblade? What did she want, and what was she fighting for? It all overwhelmed Kairi and brought her to point of exhaustion...
...But was really eating at the Key Bearer right now was her other actions, from just a few minutes ago. When Hiro was suffering, in the middle of a crisis, in dire need of a hand to pull him out of the mire... she hesitated. She told herself to stay out of it. That because she was struggling with her own problems, that meant she couldn't help someone else. That hesitance, that forfeiture, it made her feel gross. It stood against everything Kairi believed in.
"...All I know is that I want to help people. And besides, what matters is that Hiro is doing okay." Over on the other end of the room, Honey Lemon had constricted the much smaller boy in a massive bear hug. Clearly, the lean girl was stronger than she looked, judging from the discoloration in Hiro's face. "So let's forget about my screw ups and Luxord and Paine and everything else and focus on what we have to do in the coming days."
Baymax had informed the group of Hiro's critical need for oxygen, Honey Lemon looking utterly mortified at what she had done, everyone else giving some good natured ribbing over the misunderstanding.
"For what it's worth, I think the reason why Paine is so hard on you is because she cares about you." Yuna pointed out, despite Kairi's insistence on moving on from that point. "She's basically taken you under her wing in the training room. She clearly believes in what you do." The Princess grimaced, something that did not escape the brunette's notice. "Though, I do wish she would express it in a more positive way..."
"Oh! Ooh ooh ooh!" Fred leaped into the air, a looking of feverish excitement on his face as he bounded around. GoGo quickly expressed her displeasure as to wherever this was going. "Wasabi, I'm getting one of those things! Y'know, a headache but with pictures!"
"Uh... an idea?"
"Ya huh, ya huh!" Whatever idea had possessed the fanboy must have been a doozy, seeing him buzz about the room, eyeing and observing Kairi, Rikku, and Yuna with critical thought. "This is an big deal for Big Hero 6! It's our first official crossover with another hero group! Two groups of warriors, united from across the stars, to do battle with an evil darkness greater than any single one of them! Classic set-up..."
"Fred, stop talking as if our lives were comic books." GoGo groused, before adding, "Or crappy crossover fanfiction." From the flatness of her tone, it seemed this was something the snarky young woman dealt with often enough.
"Then I'll talk about our lives as if they were awesome crossover fanfiction!" He countered, earning a facepalm from GoGo. "Look, the point is, we have to present a united front to our foes. And we have to do something to mark this occasion!" Fred then took hold of Hiro's upper arm, forcibly dragging the boy out of the room. "Honey Lemon, Gogo, get the girls' measurements. Hiro and I are gonna fire up the 3-D printer!" Hiro offered some mild protests as he was led away, Fred's excited voice bouncing off the walls. "Oh, I am so excited!"
The whirlwind of joy came and went so fast that it almost all flew over Kairi's head, the poor girl standing still and blinking in wild confusion. "I'm sorry, but what's going on?"
Sighing, GoGo moved over to Kairi, putting a consoling arm on the redhead's shoulder. "I'm sorry about this. I'm really, really sorry."
"W-what? What's happening? What's going on?"
-O-SWLTW-O-
Riku's eyes opened up, finding himself in a plane of infinite blackness.
Gone was the dying wasteland and the fearsome Keyblade wielding sentinel, though, he still wasn't without company.
Before him was a being just as alarming and dangerous as Lingering Will. The dark and fearsome presence of the Heartless known as Ansem. Or, the Seeker of Darkness. Or Xehanort's Heartless. Or whatever new bloody epitaph this being had granted itself this week.
Riku growled and went to move. To run or fight or something else, he wasn't quite sure. But he felt himself... well, he wasn't quite sure how to describe this sensation. Or lack thereof. He couldn't feel any of his extremities, but he could still move about. Only very slightly, though. Everything felt sluggish and slow; disconnected. As if he were floating in a tank of salt water, but even more languid.
Wherever he had ended up, the rest of his being and faculties had not joined him for the trip.
Then, finally focusing on what was in front of him instead of his body, Riku noticed something about Ansem. Not only had he remained largely still – not charging him or anything of the like – but he also wasn't all there. Literally, his body was beginning to collapse and breakdown in the void the two currently inhabited.
"So, we finally meet again, boy." Ansem boomed, that smug look of superiority plastered on his face.
"For the last time, apparently." Riku returned. Whatever was eating away at the Heartless had almost taken away everything below his waist. Smoking holes pockmarked the chest and arms of the humanoid Heartless, too. "Good riddance. I don't know what you, or one of your other selves, did to that armour, but I suppose this is a form of poetic justice."
Ansem sneered. For a being that was having his existence slowly washed away, he seemed awfully calm about it all. "It hardly matters at this point. Even if the last vestige of my darkness is wiped away from the Realm of Light, the will of Xehanort will long outlive me. Xemnas will continue our great work and see our ultimate victory."
"'Our great work'?" Now that was a new detail. Nothing Riku had learned in the year he spent with DiZ suggested that Xemnas had been working with his Heartless self. "You and Xemnas are working together?"
"Xemnas. Myself. All of our selves from across time and space, all working together for one ultimate goal." Ansem began to dramatically gesture with his arms, as he was want to do, but the effect was undercut as his left arm was beginning to wisp away into the abyss.
"And why are you bother telling me all this?" Ansem had been nothing but needlessly cryptic in the past. It was both refreshing and weird to see the humanoid Heartless be so direct.
Riku's question elicited a dark chuckle from his nemesis. "Because it's all meaningless! All of your actions – in the past, in the future, in the now – it's all futile. We have witnessed the future, the final destiny of this Realm, and it all ends in our victory." Ansem's eyes narrowed, as he shot his foe a baleful and hateful gaze. "I may vanish here, but for you and your friends, all you have is death and disaster in your futures. That is the truth glimpsed by the one you know as Apprentice Xehanort; the truth he shared with all of us. That is the final fate of everything."
"'Fate'? 'Destiny'?" Riku repeated, wishing he had a body and face to show his utter disdain towards the Heartless. "Regardless of whatever nonsense you say, I'll still fight. Sora and Kairi will fight. We won't give in to your cynical garbage."
"Fight from it, run from it, destiny comes for us all the same." Ansem offered a ghoulish cackle, as he degraded to little more than a head and a torso. "All that was witnessed on the day the apprentice cast his heart beyond light and dark, through time and space, and shared the truth with us, has come to pass. The death of the old master and the fate of the lost Bearers; you and that idiot boy receiving Keyblades and coming to blows! The rise of the Organization! My demise! Roxas! Namine! Sora's senseless sacrifices! All of it was foreseen, and all of it came to pass without fail!
"There is nothing more comforting than knowing, as I die, these words will clutch on to your heart and stay with you, up until the moment of your inevitable doom."
Riku had to fight his hardest to restrain his laughter. Threatening as Ansem's words may be, they lacked any bite. They were as hollow as his body in the current moment. Riku's life this past year-and-a-half had been nothing more than one long, endless nightmare. Chaos and pain and misery. And this clown was trying to tell him that there was some sort of grand cosmic plan? That some sort of invisible and all-powerful force such as destiny controlled the course of history?
No. There was no destiny. No fate. No god. There was nothing but the people of the Realm, and their choices, and their actions. That's all there was. That's the insight Riku had obtained, wandering through a hell of his own making.
Riku turned away, as the emptiness consumed more and more of the once fearsome Seeker of Darkness. Only his head remained, and even then, not for much longer.
"I'm done with your Ansem. I've long been done with you." Off in the distance, two beacons of light cast their way into the void. "I bested you time and time again, and have conquered my fears and doubts. Made the darkness my own." There was a boy, sunny and bright, and a girl, radiant and strong. They were waiting for him. "And I don't give a damn what you saw or believe in, I'm going back. I'll go to war with the Organization, tear apart their machinations with my own bare hands, and see Xemnas dead. I will purge the Realm of Light of every last trace of Xehanort, and find the peace I have been fighting for for so long."
The light cast by the boy and the girl grew ever brighter, the shadows growing ever deeper in response. Riku felt his body become more and more whole.
The deepest abyss contained the most radiant stars. As did the brightest of lights cast the darkest shadows.
Sora. Kairi. Let me be the shadow to your light. Let me find a way to fix what went wrong. Somehow. Someway. Some day.
Riku moved towards that shining light.
"Go to hell, Ansem."
As the last remnants of the Heartless known as Ansem, Seeker of Darkness, vanished from the world of the living, he delivered one last curse. One last mocking threat with his dying breath.
"I'll be waiting for you there, Riku."
Riku woke up, eyes snapping open, gasping for breath.
He quickly regretted that course of action, nearly choking on the dry, dusty air of the badlands.
Okay... so I'm not dead, yet. Looks like I found myself back here...
In his wild thrashings, Riku caught sight of a certain suit of armour, fading sunlight gleaming off the coppery body. Quickly, his focus returned in a panicked start, Riku began to scramble away from Lingering Will, taking up a makeshift fighting stance from his sitting position. But, to his surprise, the sentient armour did not budge. In fact, it was now back in the position he originally found it in: kneeling against the crumbling ground, holding it's Keyblade in it's hands, the blade staked in the earth before it.
Even more odd, both Riku and Lingering Will somehow had relocated to the risen plateau this all started from.
What in the world happened...? Was that all a dream? Has time reset? Curiously, his palm raced out to touch his chest. Touch the spot Lingering Will had gored him with it's claymore of a Keyblade.
A dull, throbbing ache echoed across his body, Riku feeling a half-healed scar through the tattered remains of his cloak.
"Well, just one more to add to the -"
Riku stopped.
He had just spoken.
With his voice.
Not the booming, dominant tones of Ansem – his. Voice.
He blinked. With his eyes. Bright aquamarine, strong and steely.
His skin was no longer a deep bronze, but a tone that was oddly pale for someone who lived on a tropical island.
His hair, gleaming silvery white instead of pure white, shock and lifeless.
Riku's body had... changed. He was always strong and athletic, but now he had filled out and bulked out even more. Grown taller, too.
Clearly, I hit a growth spurt somewhere during this last year...
But, regardless of the changes, Riku was Riku. He was himself again. The poison in his veins. The demon lying within his heart. The cancer choking the life from his body...
It was gone. All gone. Ansem was gone.
Riku Akiyama, chosen of the Keyblade, was back.
He stood up, legs shaky both from the strain of the battle and the shock of just what had occurred. He marveled at his new, old body, feeling numb and oddly restrained. The full realization hadn't hit him yet. What he had accomplished. For the longest time, Riku had convinced himself that the last shard of Ansem would kill him. That using it spelled his doom. Or, at the very least, meant he had forfeited any chance at having a normal life.
He thought that would be his penance for stealing Roxas away. For how he treated Sora and Kairi.
But now...
The glinting armour caught his eye again, Riku turning to face the inert Lingering Will. Still and lifeless. The anger was still strong within itself, but it had no reason to be animated by it. The source of it's hatred was gone.
"It looks like, even after a decade's time, you're still helping me out." Riku lowered his head, solemnly, as a reminder that not everyone was as fortunate as himself. That others had lost everything due to the wickedness of Xehanort. "Thank you, Terra."
Flexing his arms, Riku called to something within him. A slumbering power long neglected. Terra's will. Terra's legacy.
In a pulse of glorious darkness, Riku summoned his Keyblade. The new weapon shared a startling resemblance to Soul Eater; the blade, bejeweled eye, and hilts of both weapons being perfectly identical. But this Keyblade possessed a full, circular guard, with a red and black heart keychain descending from the pommel, and an angelic white wing forming the teeth. Where the fell weapon Riku once wielded lay dying in the dust, left to corrode away with the other discarded weapons, his Keyblade brimmed with the essence of his heart. An iron will and unbreakable resolve.
Way to Dawn, was it's name. A perfect name befitting this great weapon.
It had taken much effort and pain, but Riku had found his path once again.
"I don't know what happened here," Riku turned away from the armour, conjuring a Dark Corridor to escape this dead world. To return to the fight. "But I promise you, when this is all over, I will find some way to make this right."
Another burst of power exploded from the Key Bearer, dark shadows gathering on his being and forming a jagged and awe-inspiring suit of armour for the darkness user. The tatters that once was his black gloat gently formed around the metallic mass, dark metal standing in contrast to the burnished copper of Lingering Will.
"But, until that time, I have my own business to attend to. I have an Organization to crush, and a destiny to defy."
Riku marched towards his Corridor, one thought on his mind as he did so.
Sora. Kairi. Wait for me just a little longer. Your shadow will come back to you. The darkness is always drawn to the light, no matter what.
And so Riku has crossed paths with Terra, learned several truths of himself, the past, and the world, and now carries the inherited will of his forebearer. Through his own actions, his destiny and the destiny of the world around him has changed for the better. And, expressively, this is Riku as a heroic darkness-user. Not "I have one or two unique attacks that use darkness but otherwise behave like the other Key Bearers". All darkness, but as goodhearted and noble as ever.
While this is thoroughly a Kairi story, and she is the protagonist first and foremost, Riku has ended up in the deuteragonist role due to my dislike of his arc in II. Of all the characters, he probably undergoes the most development and has the most divergent path compared to canon, next to our beloved redhead, of course. However, one thing I definitely kept (if gave him a bit earlier) was Riku's OG Keyblade, Way to Dawn. When I think of a character specific Keyblade, one that defines a character and their arc with just the visuals of the blade, I think of Way to Dawn and Riku. It's just perfect!
Which is why I am baffled by him discarding Way to Dawn for Braveheart in III. I get merchandise and all that, but abandoning Way to Dawn – something that perfectly encapsulates Riku's growth and development through the franchise – for something as plain and generic for Braveheart can be called nothing less than a mistake. That's not to knock Braveheart's design, it's fine, but it's... so basic. It's a tumbler lock key. It's Fenrir without the bandages. It's a weapon anyone could use, something that means nothing and symbolizes less, well, except for Riku's lack of an arc or purpose and the further homogenization of his personality. Trading Way to Dawn for Braveheart might be a very minor mistake in the grand scheme of things, but I think it perfectly defines everything wrong with that game.
Now, I will be talking about this in more details later on, but for time being, the concept of Xemnas having witnessed the future and working with his other selves for some goal, and his ironclad belief in destiny... that was not included in the original plan of this story. This was included as a response to what I find is the increasingly morally objectionable ethos of Kingdom Hearts, which was on display fully in III. The ethos that "destiny is absolute and there is no fighting it and you should just except it regardless of what that destiny is". I find that kind of thinking to be grossly offensive and am beyond dismayed that heroic characters I like and cherish subscribe to it, in addition to the villains subscribing to it. It's just a complete mess and a fact that I think needs to be addressed. In addition to recontextualizing the black and white, absolutist "light versus dark" conflict, I want to position the heroes as fighting for free will and self-determination while the villains are fatalists who believe in absolute, tyrannical fate beyond our control.
As for Luxord's divination – beyond trying to do anything with him to make him seem just slightly more interesting – all the cards featured do represent characters or events in this story. But, like the egomaniac he is, Luxord's reading is highly faulty. He certainly made one or two mistakes. I'll be interested to see if anyone can figure out who (properly) corresponds to which tarot arcana.
Also, major props to everyone writer in the KH fan community who write longfics and do tonnes of straight adaption of scenes from the Disney movies – I did an adaptation of one fairly short scene and wanted to jam an iron spike into my head by the end of it, it was so tedious. Mad respect all around to you guys, I could not do what you do.
That will be all for now. Remember to drop a review or comment if you have the time; your kind words and questions nourish my soul and keep me going. We'll finish up the San Fransokyo arc next time around, talk a bit more about Kairi and her development, all that good stuff, but, until then... I'm gonna take a quick sojourn to the Galar Region and hunt some Pokemon – Water Starter Forever! Sobble Squad represent!
Until next time, let the light guide you on your path forward.