Saga of Light: She Will Light The Way

by SirAngelo

What would he do for Kairi? His freedom for hers, Sora offers. In the timeline we know, the deal is rejected. But here, Sora becomes the Organization's prisoner, for Kairi's sake. Now, Kairi must venture through the worlds, fighting for herself and her friends, take hold of the reigns of fate, and become the hero she was always meant to be. [Kingdom Heart II AU Story] [SoKai]

17. Tower Fall

One note before we begin today. Because I am a dork who loves his Toku shows and loves their inset songs, we have some fight music picked out for our big climactic fight scene this chapter.

It's the English cover of "Round Zero ~ Blade Brave" by yourfavoritejune on Youtube. Give it a listen if you're partial to that sort of stuff, then give it a listen regardless because it's an excellent cover!

And now, onto the show!

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She Will Light The Way
Chapter Seventeen
Tower Fall

Kairi adjusted her helmet for what must have been the tenth time since she and everyone else set out to the San Fransokyo Radio Tower. For their battle over the Blackheart Stone.

Four days had passed since that horrible first night in the city, longer than Kairi would have ever thought she would spend on the world. Those four days had been a whirlwind of training and exercise, as Paine worked each and every one of them to the bone. Seven AM sharp, everyday, as she declared after first, eight to ten hours spread throughout the day. Kairi had gotten use to the rigour of training with Paine on the Gummi Ship, but this pace was ludicrously breakneck. Paine worked six of them to the bone, and while some managed better than others – Kairi acquitted herself well enough, and both GoGo and Wasabi proved that their physiques weren't just for show – but for others... it was a rough go of things, to be charitable.

After the first day – after the first couple hours, even – Kairi thought Hiro, Honey Lemon, and Fred we're going to just go poof. Wither away into nothing, like dust in the wind. And it wasn't even anything that strenuous! Just long-distance running and other condition training (the gigantic size of the mansion grounds served them well in that case). And, even beyond the other's struggles, Kairi was certain Paine was taking her to task, extra hard. Full-on drill sergeant mode for all four days of training. Where everyone had to run three miles, she had to do five. When she tasked the others with thirty suicides, Kairi had to do fifty-five. And while Paine was always sparing with her compliments and praise, she was now even more terse, more short. Hell, while she was as talkative as ever with Yuna and Rikku, and offered a fair amount of feedback and assistance to the members of Big Hero, Kairi couldn't remember sharing more than a dozen words with the white-haired woman during these past couple of days.

It's okay. I deserve it. Kairi would tell herself whenever she was met with Paine's frosty reception. She had betrayed her friends trust, she needed to earn it back. Just focus on the mission, Kai. Destroy the Stone, stop the Heartless. Keep moving forward. That's all that you can do right now...

Still, struggles or not, Kairi and the others pulled through the difficulties, offering each other help when they needed it most. Yuna and Rikku stepped in to teach the fledgling superheroes any specifics skill they might need, proving a much needed light touch compared to Paine's brutal drilling. And it certainly didn't hurt that Baymax was on hand to provide heated massages whenever necessary. After that first day of training, resting her sore body against the warm and gently humming plush figure of the robot... it just might have been the most heavenly thing Kairi had ever experienced. Like spooning with a giant, toasty marshmallow.

Kairi adjusted her helmet for the eleventh time, lips curling in frustration.

Of course, the training wasn't the only event that had happened in the past few days...

"Look, if we're gonna team-up, if we're gonna crossover, then we gotta present a united front!" Fred cheerily explained while typing furiously – hunting and pecking – at a computer console. Kairi and the Gullwings stared cryptically at the screen: blueprints of suits of armour not unlike the gear the members of Big Hero wore.

GoGo groaned, pinching the bridge of her nose as she did. "Please stop using 'crossover' like it's an ordinary, everyday thing. For the last time, our lives are not comic books!"

"Freddie does have a point, though." Said Honey Lemon. She then motioned to Kairi and the Gullwings. "If we're going into battle, it might pay for you girls to have some actual protection." Then, with a nervous and vibrant smile, the tall chemist added, "Also, me and Hiro worked really hard on the designs. I'm particularly proud of that one." Honey Lemon squeed and pointed to a suit that had cat ears sculpted into the helmet.

"Okay, I get it, and I know you guys don't believe in magic or whatever," Kairi returned, before stepping forward and doing a quick spin around, showcasing her battle outfit to the group, "But our clothes are literal magic. Magic sewn into them. Or they're made of magic. I don't really know, magic's a new thing for me too." Clarke's Third Law aside, Kairi was more confident in the protection her outfit provided than whatever carbon armour plating Hiro and the other printed out. It had served her well up until this point, after all.

"Shush, Red!" Rikku snapped, pushing her way through the throng to the front of the line, eyes glued to the computer screens. "You're passing up a golden opportunity, and I can't let that stand!" The hyperactive blonde then pointed at one of the blue prints. "I'd like that one, and I'd like it in dark orange, please!"

Fred nodded at the request, ready to go to work... only to stare at the keyboard, blankly, unable to operate the printer itself. He silently asked Hiro for assistance, the young boy scooting onto the console and firing up the machine.

"I guess there's no avoiding this, is there?" Kairi asked, rhetorically, with a reluctant sigh. She knew how Rikku was when she latched onto an idea. Unstoppable. A blistering blonde ball of bombastic bustle and brilliance. "Fine. Make mine pink, I guess." Rikku cleared her throat, raising an eyebrow towards the Princess. "What?"

"Yo, you can't be pink, Kai."

Kairi shook her head in disbelief. What now? "And why not?"

"Uh, 'cause Honey Lemon is pink." Kairi gaped at her companion. How was that relevant? "Even if it's for one day, we're a superhero team! We can't double down on colours! That's just not right."

"Seriously?"

"Seriously!" Rikku looked as if she was debating the most critical matter in her entire life. "Come on! The Avengers, The Defenders, X-Men, Justice League, Teen Titans, Exceed Force -"

"Ooh! I love Exceed Force!" Fred jumped in. "Quick, quick, give me your top three season!"

Paine and GoGo clutched their foreheads in annoyance, while Kairi stared blankly over the ensuing conversation of pure fan energy.

"Oh, uh... Phoenix Force Featherman Double R... Astro Force Starliege... and uh, hmm... oh! Gotta be Draco Knight Sabre Force!"

"Good picks! We need to exchange social media accounts."

"OH! Do you wanna do a podcast!?"

"Absolutely!"

The worst part about all this was, Kairi knew exactly what the two chatterboxes were talking about. Sora loved Exceed Force. And Arma Kaiser. Anything and everything involving superheroes. Riku did too, when he was younger. Then he turned twelve and declared all of that stuff "kiddy". But Sora never gave up his childhood passions. He was always open and earnest about the things he loved, shameless. He was free, unconcerned with the opinion of others. Kairi always admired that part of him.

"Okay, okay, okay..." Kairi cut through the clamour, before Rikku and Fred's conversation steamrolled into something ridiculous. More ridiculous. "Okay, well, if I can't pick pink then I'll..." She was about to go to her back-ups, red or purple, only to realize that Baymax and Hiro had those colours locked up. "Do we really have to do this?"

"Uh... don't shoot me or anything, but I kinda agree with Fred and Rikku." Hiro said, nervously. "Every team worth their salt has some variation between their suits. It wouldn't be the worse thing in the world, would it?"

Kairi's face fell flat, as she finally relented, picking a style and colour, grumbling about it the entire way through.

And, so Kairi found herself, on the chilly, fog-choked streets of San Fransokyo, feeling a little ridiculous in her suit of carbon fibre armour. She looked down the line of her companions and teammates, feeling a little better that she wasn't alone.

Kairi's armour was pearlescent white, polished to a bright sheen, with the plates covering almost every part of her black undersuit. They weren't that thick in comparison to some of the others, but she was certain they would get the job done. The one thing she enjoyed about the design was the fact that, with the rounded pauldrons, the strips of plate forming a skirt around her waist, and the slide-down visor currently colouring her perspective of the world a bright pink, she kind of felt like a knight. An ultra-modern version of a knight, but a knight nonetheless. As a girl who grew up on stories of knights rescuing princesses, it was kind of a nice feeling.

Her three companions were similarly geared out, Yuna in a pale, periwinkle blue, Rikku in her desired dark orange, and Paine in jet black. The two cousins wore similar styles of armour; much like GoGo's, it was fairly light, mostly covering the torso while leaving their arms and legs bare and unrestrained. Yuna's visor was just a headpiece that kept her head bare, while Rikku had specifically torn out her faceplate and substituted her goggled in it's stead. Paine, befitting her rough and tumble style, had the heaviest duty armour, covering every last inch of her, save the portions of her face that the lower half of her helmet revealed. With the gleaming black plate and dark red visor, Paine made the perfect dark counterpart to Kairi's shining white knight.

Kairi adjusted her helmet for the twelfth time, her nerves showing. They had arrived just outside Radio Tower Plaza. Beyond the ring of buildings, and the impenetrable blanket of fog, lie both the Blackheart Stone and it's Guardian.

During their journey through the city, the group had only sparingly encountered any Heartless, and Luxord was nowhere to be seen. The absences were far more disconcerting than comforting.

"Alright. Everyone ready?" Kairi asked, trying to force herself to sound controlled and authoritative. There was a lot that could go wrong with this operation, she just had to hope all their training would give them the edge.

For their part, despite being regular college students up until a little while ago, Hiro and the others put on their game faces, looking as resolute and determined as they came. GoGo, and Fred were crouched low to the ground, ready to spring to action. Honey Lemon had a handful of her colourful chem-orbs. Wasabi fired up his plasma blades. And Hiro had clambered onto Baymax' back, the magnetic locks in his gauntlets setting him in place.

"We're ready when you are Kairi." Yuna returned, shotstaff out and cocked. "Just give us the signal and we'll get this mission started."

"Right..." She was the linchpin in all of this. Only one way to get the attention of the imposing, towering Guardian that protected the Stone, and it all fell on Kairi.

I just hope we're not making a huge mistake here...

Destiny's Embrace came to light in her hands, the ten of them beginning their slow advance into the plaza.

It was probably only about five or so minutes before all hell broke loose, but for Kairi, time crawled at a torturous rate, as her and her party slowly – ever-so slowly – made their way through the city streets to their target. Tentative footsteps, all at a deliberate pace, no one wanted to rush ahead and be assailed by the Heartless. Kairi shut her eyes, the redhead forcing herself to breath at a steady, even pace, even as her heart thumped like a jackhammer. This was no time to panic.

Just remember... you have to do this. Not just to make it up to Yuna and Rikku and Paine. Not just to make it up for yourself. Kairi told herself, eyes darting to and fro, looking for any sign of activity beneath the grey shroud. But for Hiro and the others. They're counting on you. Every person in this city is counting on you. To save them and restore their way of life to normal.

She wasn't quite sure why, given how monumental a job that was, but reminding herself of the pressure and the stakes made Kairi's nervous heart settle, if even just a little bit.

The group of ten made it maybe a hundred feet before the first shadows flitted against the screen of fog. Everyone was paused, when those dark blobs first appeared, growing closer, growing more distinct, before several of the lion-dog Heartless leaped out, ready to attack. The shadowy beings were met with a barrage of magic from Kairi and Yuna, as well as GoGo hurling her shields. Fire, ice, and sawing discuses tore the Heartless to shreds, securing the first victory for the day.

"Hold your ground, everyone!" Kairi ordered, taking on a fighting stance, body brimming with nervous energy. "It's coming. It'll come for us. Just wait."

More Heartless launched themselves from beyond the fog, easily being cut down by the assembled heroes, but Kairi's words soon proved prescient. Just as before, the earth shook with a terrifying clamour, a rumbling so fierce it felt like the sky itself was being split open. Everyone braced themselves against the repeated, thundering blows of the heavy footfalls making their impact against the concrete streets, a moving earthquake generated by those spindly, crab legs.

And then, blaring blackly against the screen, came the figure of the Ushi-Oni Heartless. Malevolent and sinister yellow eyes breaking through the fog like the flames of the damned, Kairi feeling those same flames locked right on to her. All of the hatred and twisted darkness of the Heartless focused on snuffing her out.

"Okay, now it's our time to shine!" Rikku suddenly declared, a little too cheerfully, especially considering the ominous shadow looming over everyone. "Get the lead out, Honey Lemon!" Pulling out another device from her seemingly infinite and endless utility pouches, Rikku went to work, unfurling what once looked like a hockey puck into a cylindrical tube, mounted on a bracket so that it stood at a forty-five degree angle. Everyone was baffled by whatever had gotten into the chipper blonde.

"What on earth on you guys doing?" Kairi questioned, as Honey Lemon crouched next to Rikku, both animated young woman shoving the colourful chem-orbs into the tube.

"Well there's no way you thought good ol' Rikku would leave you fighting in zero visibility, did you?"

Honey Lemon, thankfully, offered a more complete solution. "We had to do something to dispel the fog – it puts us at too much of a disadvantage. So, I did a little meteorological research during some down time and came up with a solution: light, heat, and turbulence!" The tall chemist gave a giddy grin at her revelation. "It was honestly quite fun learning a new scientific discipline."

"And seeing as you all are so lucky as to have two incredibly intelligent and beautiful chemical engineers on your side, we got y'all covered!" Rikku crowed cockily, having stuffed the tube to the absolute brim, before putting her hands on what looked like... a trigger. A trigger.

A trigger.

Oh no.

"Now cover your ears! Fire in the hole!"

The group barely had enough time to do as commanded, Rikku wildly slamming away at the trigger, firing shots into the air, while twisting her mortar wildly, spreading the payload as much as possible. The now explosive chem-orbs sailed through the air, arcing high until they vanished from sight behind the fog bank. Soon after, a series of dampened booms echoed through the area, the chemical bombs detonating and going to work, as their remnants slowly but surely became more visible within the slate grey slate.

Some of the bombs were like fireworks; showers of bright sparks cascading in every direction, the flames seemingly eating at the fog. Others turned into great, roaring spirals of heat and pressure, literally moving so fast they forced the fog to move aside. And still others became bright, incandescent stars that hung in the air; blazing, radiant lights that sizzled and smoke as the droplets of water that made up the fog slowly evaporated.

Pockets of visibility began to form in the wake of the mortar fire, and, before long, there was hundreds of feet of clarity in all directions. City streets and skies opened around the collective heroes, as the gigantic Guardian Heartless finally came into view. In reality, the Ushi-Oni was far less big than it originally seemed the other day – not smaller, just less big, as it still towered nearly a hundred-feet tall. It's lower half was indeed very crab-like; broad and chitinous, with six spindly legs, all covered in a spiny, ruddy-red shell, while the upper body was more humanoid – dark blue skin mostly covered by rusty samurai armour – with two great ox horns crown the head of the monstrosity.

The sudden wave of heat and light caused the shogun of a Heartless to shy away, taking short, rumbling steps backwards, as Rikku continued to crow and holler.

"How d'ya like that? Yeah! Science, bitch!"

More than a little magic, too, I bet. Kairi commented, mentally. She was fairly certain that a few fireworks and bombs wouldn't normally do this to fog cover, but she was thankful it was gone all the same. The pocket that they all stood in had spread to the point that she could almost see the base of the tower off in the distance – faint bits of bright orange coming in and out of view behind the shroud.

Ushi-Oni raised it's titanic sword into the air, ushering an army of Heartless to it's side.

"Not bad, you two." Paine pronounced, while shouldering her broadsword. High praise, coming from the terse warrior. "Now, let's get this operation started." The hordes of lesser Heartless were already incoming, Paine leading the counter-charge in response.

"You sure about this, Kairi?" Yuna asked the redhead, as the two of them and Rikku huddled together for a moment.. The Key Bearer and the two cousins were the only ones who hadn't joined the scrum, as of yet. "There's still time to change the plan. You don't need to put yourself in such a vulnerable spot."

"Yuna, for the last time, no. This is the plan." Kairi retorted, forcefully. Wincing, she verbally backspaced and tried to soften her tone. "Look, I appreciate your concern, but... you're wrong, Yuna. I have to do this. Not just because I need to make things right, but because I'm the only one who can." She looked down at her Keyblade, darkly and sullenly, considering the mythical weapon for a moment.

Over the four days, Yuna had spent so much time trying to come up with an alternate plan, or to get Kairi to reconsider this course of action, but the de facto leader of the Gullwings would not hear of it. She would not put anymore lives at risk over herself, whether through her leadership or her negligence. And, quite literally, she was the only one capable of destroying the Stone – of accomplishing their goal and alleviating some of the pressure of the situation.

Not to mention, if there was one thing the Princess had realized during her adventures, it was that she would get nowhere by just thinking about her problems. Before – on Twilight Town and Olympus – whenever doubt entered her heart and mind, going to action helped her work through her troubles and come to an answer that would settle her ailing heart.

Third time's the charm, right?

"Well, that's all fine and dandy, Red, but we're still not letting you go without some support." Rikku commented, now that her cousin was appeased, or had at least relented from her objections. The blonde offered Kairi another one of her grapple wires. "Three hundred plus meters is pretty high up, so a little back-up policy will do you some good." Kairi wordlessly took the device, followed by Rikku sticking a censuring finger in her face. "And don't lose this one like you did on Twilight Town! I'm already down two of these things, and they aren't easy to replace. What? D'ya think I just pull all my gadgets out of thin air?"

"Well, yeah." Kairi replied, incredulously, before stashing the grapple on her suit's belt. "You have bombs and sensors and drones and mortars... you just seem to pull whatever you need out of those pouches."

"Well, I still have to make them, and I'm running low on supplies. And even if I weren't, those things are the most material specific!"

"Okay, okay, I get it Rikku. I'll..." Kairi paused, taking a breath. "I'll take care of myself. Thanks, guys." She really was lucky to have the Gullwings as her companions, watching her back, keeping her safe.

She was really lucky to have them as her friends.

With all the words of support given out, the three stragglers made their move to join the ongoing battle. Kairi held herself back intentionally, as Yuna and Rikku entered the thick of it, seeing as how the plan relied entirely on misdirection and obfuscation. Of course, despite all the subterfuge, Kairi wouldn't allow herself to not participate, staying back on the fringes of the action and slinging spells at the masses of shadows coming to consume her and her friends. And, an advantage of being removed from a chaotic melee was that Kairi had the opportunity to observe everything unfolding around her.

Clearly those four days of intensive training had done a world of good for the members of Big Hero 6, as they waged war against the demons that had destroyed their city, striking fast and furious and working as a well-oiled machine. Baymax (with Hiro still mounted atop the back of the big, red robot) was the next furthest back from the fighting, but was also able to safely wade his way through the hordes with impunity – as he had no heart for the Heartless to covet or target – and his superhuman strength allowed him to obliterate Heartless left and right with ease. Near the front of the pack was Fred, jumping high into the air with daredevil care, spewing out a stream of flames at the apex of each jump, the fire washing over the oncoming Heartless and doing severe damage, roasting and scorching the fiends at every turn. Without any of his friends in the line of fire, Fred could attack freely, and each blast eliminated a slew of the shadows, and those that remained were haggard and damaged, easy pickings for the others down the line.

The speedy ninja Heartless were the first to blitz through, knives out and running low to the ground, clearly intending to overwhelm their foes with blistering speed. But, it turns out speed was only a boon when you had enough room to use it. The way between the Heartless and their victims was constantly barred by a barrage of chem-orbs, Honey Lemon chucking them with care and precision, causing chunks of ice and spheres of sticky or bouncy gel to spawn all around the darting ninja. Each obstacle gave the Heartless pause, forcing them to slow down, turn sharply, do anything to avoid crashing into ice, being snagged in the sticky substance, or being reflected away by the springy slime. And without their extreme velocity, they were easy pickings for the the queen of speed; GoGo zoomed in-between the gaps formed by Honey's attacks, weaving her way through alleys and causeways and blindsiding the hapless Heartless, cutting them down with a single stroke from her discus blades.

Elsewhere, Wasabi matched up with a group of the kanabo-wielding samurai Heartless, size and power meeting size and power. While Wasabi still seemed as anxious as always, he measured and controlled his fear, refusing to lose ground as the demonic samurai advanced. One swung it's club, only to be stopped mid-swing, as Wasabi brought up an energy blade to block, the shimmering green blade biting deeply into the iron club and barring the way, less the weapon be fully destroyed. With the Heartless stalled, Wasabi made a nervous thrust towards the chest of the monster, grateful to find his other blade easily skewering through the shadow and destroying it in an instant! A small smile began to form on the face of the black man, as he crossed blades and went on the offensive, decisively chopping his foes down to size with powerful and confident strikes.

Way to go, guys! Kairi cheered on silently. She couldn't help but feel proud of the improvements the five San Fransokyo natives had shown. She had been in a similar situation after all, and knew the feeling that arose when training yielded results. It helps that they have the right motivation. They're fighting for their city. And Hiro and Tadashi, too. Their hearts are in this, and connected by a common cause. That's something the Organization can't understand – when people share a strong bond between their hearts, there's no way they will fall in the face of adversity.

Looming over all else, however, was the colossal Ushi-Oni Heartless, make it's ungainly and plodding headway towards the battlefield, slowly raising it's sword over it's head as it did so.

From her position at the back of the scrum, Kairi could see the motions and knew what was coming. Her eyes went wide and she called out over the din of battle, straining her voice to be as loud as possible.

"Watch out! It's coming! Get ready!"

Training wasn't all the group of ten had done in the intervening time; they had also taken the reprieve to go over whatever strategies they could come up with. It wasn't easy given the limited intel they had on their enemy, nor were the plans a hundred percent certain to work, but Kairi was sure everyone felt better off knowing they had a strategy in place, as opposed to just charging in and winging it.

However, the one thing Kairi and the Gullwings were certain they needed a counter for was the Guardian Heartless and it's greatsword. The reach that weapon provided was frightening, even if it's wielder swung it in a slow and clumsy manner. Not to mention, the sword was dangerous even if it didn't directly strike someone – Kairi recalled being swept up in the mighty shockwave created when the blade struck the earth. Even if every other part of the plan went off without a hitch, Kairi knew those she left on the ground would be helpless and vulnerable to the Guardian.

They needed to execute this, absolutely perfectly.

As the blade began it's perilous descent, Paine stood in the center of the fray, barking out orders, everyone moving in sync. Once more, all their preparation was paying off.

Paine herself, along with Hiro, Baymax, Wasabi, and GoGo went to work wrangling up the remaining lesser Heartless, to ensure as little interference as possible, while both Rikku and Honey Lemon were making a beeline towards one of the gel spheres the tall girl had plopped down onto the battlefield. Fred continued leaping into the air, blasting his fire breath, but this time with much greater focus, as his flames licked along the Ushi-Oni's greatsword. Kairi and Yuna followed suit, standing their ground and peppering the weapon with Fira and Firaga spells, the dark metal of the sword soon changing to a bright, ruddy red, as it smoked and sizzled in the foggy air.

Still, the efforts of the three proved fruitless, as the sword crashed into the earth, unabated by the barrage of flames. Heat, darkness, and sheer concussive force spread outwards, as the earth tore asunder, the wave roaring across the asphalt streets and sweeping everything aside. Even Kairi, furthest back of the group, was knocked down and battered by the assault, while Yuna, Hiro, and everyone else were cast aside by the rumbling storm. Even the remaining Heartless were helpless in the face of such an attack, the great Guardian showing no care for it's minions. Everyone was down...

...Except, however, Rikku and Honey Lemon, the two energetic blondes having used the bouncy ball of gel as a boost to launch themselves into the air, sailing high above the shockwave. Completely clear of the buffeting force, and with the burning glow of the sword as their guiding light, the girls began to pelt the super-sized sword with more bombs of the same style, Rikku's silver-studded ice bombs and Honey Lemon chucking chem-orbs of instant ice. Despite the intense heat radiating from the weapon, the ice came on fast and thick, forming faster than it could melt, frigid crystals crawling their way up the majority of the blade, while also spreading across the ruined ground, firmly sticking the sword in place.

Mindlessly, the Heartless gave it it's all to remove it's blade from the ground, tugging at it with it's gargantuan strength, not aware of the ice holding the weapon prisoner, nor of the cracks spreading along the blade's surface.

"Get up!" Paine roared to everyone, as she struggled to get to her own feet. "This could be our only shot – get up!" From a half-standing position, loosely gripping her own sword, Paine staggered along the twisted, broken path, golden opportunity right in sight.

Thankfully, the others heeded the call of the dark-clad swordsman, managing to make it to an upright position and then scramble into place, all making a mad dash towards the frozen sword of the Ushi-Oni.

"Baymax, rocket punch!"

The health care robot struck first. At the cry of Hiro's voice, Baymax held up one of his gauntlets, panels opening up along the smooth, red surface, as small thruster jets began to kick up. Flaming exhaust burned from the vents, before the entire chest-sized gauntlet detached from Baymax' armour, rocketing through the air and towards the frozen blade. The flying fist smashed into the flat of the blade, causing even more cracks to spread through the ice and the surface beneath it. Fred followed this up from the other side, impacting into the weapon with a flying sidekick.

By this point, Paine had broken into a full sprint, clearing the final distance with a fullsome leap into the air, broadsword raised above her head, grasped in both hands. Wasabi was coming in low from the other side, too, snaking around the ground and diving upwards with twin, uppercut slashes. Both of the heroic blades sliced through the ice at the same time, engraving deep scars across the stationary weapon!

Both ice and steel shattered and split at the same time, the collected effort of the team bearing fruits. A subdued celebration broke out for the first little victory, the members of Big Hero 6 whooping and hollering, as the gargantuan Guardian stumbled backwards, now wielding a stubby, not-as-big sword – it certainly couldn't be called small, just not-as-big.

Despite it's lack of intelligence, the Heartless trembled in something akin to rage at it's destroyed weapon. Dozens of lesser Heartless spawned into existence, once more beckoned by the presence of the Ushi-Oni. It seemed there would be only one way to stem the tide...

"Kairi. Get going." Paine growled, tersely, already squaring up with the newly summoned Heartless. "We've taken care of the biggest issue. Finish the mission..."

Kairi was so stunned that Paine was addressing her, she almost forgot to respond to her orders, eventually managing to squeak out a, "Uh, yeah. Got it!"

"Take care of yourself, Hiro." Honey Lemon said to the young genius.

"Don't do anything crazy, man." Wasabi said, offering similar levels of concern. Hiro nodded, assuring his friends and teammates.

"I'll be okay guys, don't worry. I've got Kairi and Baymax backing me up." Kairi flashed a reassuring smile at Hiro's faith in her, while Baymax gave a stiff thumbs up.

The battle resumed, the Heartless charging again, and the heroes meeting them on the field. The Gullwings and (two-thirds of) Big Hero 6 did their best to put on a show, using their biggest, flashiest moves to draw attention to themselves and away from Kairi, Hiro, and Baymax, the three moving a safe distance away from the battle, in order to make their getaway.

Hiro climbed up Baymax' broad back, Kairi watching the boy as he set his palms onto round black ports set in against the red armour, and then motioned for her to come aboard. The Key Bearer knew that similar magnetic technology had been installed in her suit – They really should have started with the practical reasons if they wanted to convince me, came her thoughts – but was still a little hesitant to put it into practice. Still, there Kairi found herself, magnetically clinging onto Baymax, huddling on top of the robot next to Hiro, hearing all of her friends wage war all the while.

"You ready for this?" Hiro's voice broke through the noise of combat, causing Kairi to refocus.

All things considered, the plan was so far going off without a hitch. The Heartless were distracted, even Ushi-Oni was occupied with the combined front the others were putting on. Now, all that was left was to get airbourne and take out the Stone. Maybe it was just the pessimistic side of her, but Kairi couldn't help but feel all this good fortune was just to set her up for an even bigger fall.

Because you know Luxord is still out there. She reminded herself. There was no way the gamer Nobody would give up on his "entertainment" so easily. And you don't know if you can beat him in a straight fight, if it comes to that. You don't know if you can control your anger and obsession. If he starts his same tricks again, can you resist, Kairi? You still don't know why you're here, why you have the Keyblade why -

Kairi shook her head, cutting her own monologue off, and cursed herself for thinking like that in this moment, before finally responding to Hiro, putting on a confident act for the boy. "I think I should be asking you that, Hiro." She said, trying to sound playful. "After all, I've done this before. This is your first real time fighting the bad guys. Sure you're not scared? Nervous?"

"Me? Scared? No!" Hiro's voice cracked, drawing out a cat's smile from the redhead. He cleared his throat. "I mean, no." The teen genius said, forcing his voice to go deeper, before chuckling sheepishly and returning to his original register. "I just... I was worried about you is all, Kairi. You are my friend, after all."

Kairi smiled, fondly. "Thank you, Hiro. I'm doing fine. And I'm sure you'll be okay, too."

The young scientist nodded, before lowing himself near Baymax' head, tapping his robotic friend on the helmet. "You good to go, too, big guy?"

"Scanning." Was Baymax' immediate response, lights flickering across his visor, as his processors whirred, loudly. "I have calculated the optimal flight path for both. Stealth and. Efficiency." The robot offered another stiff thumbs up. "I am good to go."

"Awesome! Let's go, then. Wings up!"

Angular metallic wings mounted on joints near Baymax' shoulders popped up, taking Kairi by surprise. That surprise only furthered when the roar of battle was drowned out by the roar of the jets mounted underneath Baymax' feet. Slowly, the health care robot began to rise, Kairi marveling at the sensation of both the power of the jets, and of gradually levitating from the ground. Giddiness rose up within her, despite the seriousness of the situation. When they were little, both her and Sora talked all the time about how they wished they could fly through the sky. Not in a plane or jet or something, but like a bird or a superhero. Fast and free, blue skies all around, and with the wind whipping through your hair. It was a sweet little dream they shared, and Kairi was about to achieve it – artificial means regardless.

That giddiness quickly turned to a strange mix of fear and exhilaration, as Baymax's booster rockets turned to full gear. The trio of boy, girl, and robot blasted off into the air, veering sharply to the left and upward, as Kairi felt herself clench her jaw, instinctively. The rush of excitement was undeniable and almost fun – like a roller coasted kicked up to the Nth degree – with the wind whistling around her, as they sped beyond the grey, dank expanse of the city and into the... grey, dank expanse of the fog bank. But, at the same time, Kairi felt her entire body shaking (or maybe that was just from the force of the engines), as if she was going to rattle apart into pieces. At the very least, the magnetic grips were doing their job, both Kairi and Hiro firmly locked in place atop Baymax. She didn't have to worry about being thrown off at any rate.

The path everyone had come up with – and the one Baymax and his scanners seemed to have sussed out - was to dart out far to the left or right, into the fog, before rising above the shroud and then circling back around towards the tower. Less of a chance they would be noticed by the Heartless, and, if they somehow were noticed, it would give Kairi and Hiro more time to react.

As they traveled through the blanket of fog, Kairi shivered, wishing she had her magic gear to guard against the damp chill that was currently cutting down to her bone. For a brief moment, Kairi held her breath, felt her heart bunch up in her throat, as her visibility was cut to practically zero. If anything was going to go bad, it was here, she just knew it...

And then, for the first time since setting foot on San Fransokyo, Kairi saw the pure azure blueness of the sky, felt the warmth of the sun on her body, as Baymax finally crested above the oppressive fog cover.

Kairi craned her neck around. The fog seemed to stretch on for an infinity, blanketing the entire cityscape – a shame, as she wished she could actually see the beloved home of her new friends – but she was able to spy her target for the first time. Peaking above the fog, and coloured white and bright, international safety orange, the lattice-work structure known as San Fransokyo Tower loomed off in the distance.

There was nothing in between the trio and the tower but vacant, peaceful skies.

Baymax hovered in the air for a second, his scanner coming to life again. "I detect no life signatures in the immediate area."

"Beautiful." Hiro held a pair of fingers up to his helmeted temple. "Hey, guys? It's Hiro, do you copy? We just broke through the fog and the tower's in sight. Baymax did a scan and we're clear. How are things on your end."

Radio static crackled in Kairi's ear, as GoGo's voice came through. The other practical feature the armour contained was the communication gear mounted in the helmets. Whatever issues Kairi and Hiro would face, they wouldn't be entirely alone. That little fact gave the Key Bearer a much-needed confidence boost.

"These things don't know when to quit." Came the dark-haired, snarky young woman through their comms. The sounds of fighting could be picked up, too, as GoGo grunted with effort over something. "And the big boss has decided to join the party, and he's no pushover. Whatever you two gotta do, get it done, fast."

"You heard her, Baymax! Straight ahead, nice and easy."

The trio continued their path towards the tower, but Kairi felt that unease spike within her again. After the nightmare of her first day in the city, and all this training and preparation, this all felt too easy.

But, she wasn't just being crazy, right? That's what she told herself, at least, as she scanned the horizon, seeing nothing save maybe a few vague shaped that might have been birds. Not to mention, Baymax' scanner gave them the all clear and -

Oh... no!

"Hiro!" Kairi began, panic edging into her voice, "Baymax can only pick up living things on his scanner, right? Like, besides buildings and whatnot – he can only sense creatures and beings that are living, right?" The tech whiz only gave her a look, not following the train of thought.

"Yeah, of course." He returned, slightly incredulous. The tower was getting closer and close. Maybe a little over two-hundred feet out. "I mean, what kind of 'creatures and beings' wouldn't be living? Zombies?"

"Heartless and Nobodies!" That skeptical expression Hiro held turned to horror fairly quickly. "They aren't living. They aren't biological!" How in the world had they overlooked this? Kairi's heart pounded in her chest. The dread was rising, again. "Hell, the other day, Baymax himself said he couldn't detect any life signs from Lu-"

Something slammed into Kairi from the side, throwing the girl straight off of Baymax, her magnetic gauntlets offering no resistance to the unseen force, whatsoever.

This was it. The end. Certainly, Kairi was going to plunge to her death; fall hundreds of feet and go splat against the cold, unforgiving concrete beneath her. Indeed, she did strike against a hard surface, but she didn't fall nearly far enough. Kairi barely had enough time to scream before her body flattened against... something.

"I shall give you credit for coming up with more robust plans than dear Sora ever did, but we were handling him with the slightest of touch. For you, such uninspired tactics shall not award you any victories against the Organization."

Terror and adrenaline subsided, as Kairi gained her bearings. To her great surprise, she was on some sort of platform suspended in midair, made out of – what else? – giant playing cards. All the cards were folded and overlapped so that they took the shape of a great Nobody sigil.

And, of course, Luxord was standing on the opposite end of the platform, having positioned himself so that he stood directly between Kairi and her target.

"Kairi? Kairi!?" She could barely hear Hiro above the swirling winds, seeing him and Baymax off in the distance, whipping around wildly, trying to find where the Key Bearer and vanished to. Eventually, they managed to get her in their sights, Baymax racing towards her at maximum thrust. "Just hold on! We're coming!"

"I have no intention of playing with today, boy." Luxord pronounced, never turning to face the young genius. The Nobody snapped his fingers, sharply. "I have eked all the amusement I can out of you..."

Kairi saw it all, and was powerless to stop it. Darting in from the right, blindsiding boy and bot, came a murder of crow Heartless, let by one very large, and very angry raven. The smaller of the avian fiends swarmed around the two, halting Baymax' progress, before the Raging Raven Heartless slammed it's wings into the midsection of the health care robot.

"Oh. Nooo." Baymax could barely utter, as he was helpless battered away, him and Hiro falling back beneath the fog, the Heartless giving pursuit.

"Hiro! Baymax! Why you..." Kairi felt anger bubble inside of her, but forced herself to hold back. Rage could help her, but she couldn't lose control again. Calm down, Kairi. Remember, you aren't alone. You don't have to do this by yourself...

Summoning Destiny's Embrace and taking up a defensive stance, Kairi brought her fingers up to her helmet, fully intending to update the others on the situation and hopefully get some back-up.

Faster than she could possibly react, Luxord flung a razor sharp card her way, the bladed object striking her right in the center of her forehead. The strike staggered her, pain blossoming immediately, as Kairi saw her helmet and visor literally fall off of her head, the armament being split in half by the precise slice, vibrant scarlet locks exploding outwards in every direction.

A trickle of blood ran down from her forehead, a river splitting against the bridge of her nose, as she stared down Luxord. Looks like she would be on her own...

"We will continue our duel, Princess, but this time, without any interruptions!" Luxord had his deck of cards out already, fanning the remainder outwards. "I shall have my satisfaction through this little game of ours!"

"I don't have time for your nonsense, Luxord! I have something far more important to do!" She could see the spire of the Radio Tower sticking out from behind the Nobody. It was close. Close enough that she could make out the radio dishes dotting the zenith. A hundred, a hundred-twenty feet, at most. Yuna and the others didn't have long before they would be overwhelmed. She had to do this!

Luxord sensed her desperation, cocking an eyebrow and smirking at the Key Bearer. "And how, exactly, do you intend to accomplish your goal, hmm?" He questioned in a mocking tone. "Don't tell me – have I overlooked a crucial detail? Can Key Bearers suddenly sprout wings and fly now?" Kairi felt her anger burn again, as Luxord chuckled at her misfortune.

He was right, though, loathed as she was to admit it. She had no way of crossing the gulf between the platform and the tower, and she was certain the grapple wire couldn't clear that much distance.

Maybe... maybe if I somehow can get a little closer... The gears of Kairi's mind set themselves to spinning, trying to find a solution to the problem at hand.

Luxord cleared his throat, obnoxiously, breaking her concentration and drawing the attention back to him.

"Don't try anything stupid or brash, just play the hand that fate has dealt you. You're a victim, nothing more! A helpless damsel who has no value on her own..." Kairi growled at the continued barbs and insults, as Luxord threw his deck of cards into the air, the cards vanishing beyond sight.

"Your life is just a chip in the pile. Now, it's time to ante up!"

"You know, I'm getting really sick of hearing all of you creeps calling me 'weak' and 'worthless' over and over and over, again." She had been saying those kind of things to herself enough, she didn't need any outside reinforcement. Kairi swung her Keyblade before taking it in both hands. "Now that I've gained a little perspective on things, how about I show you my real strength?"

Luxord let the display of bravado wash over him, responding with a derisive chuckle. "Oh? Is this your strategy, now? To just throw out meaningless words in the most ridiculous manner possible until I die of laughter?" With another dramatic flourish of his, Luxord threw out the rest of his cards, scattering them across the platform. Kairi kept her body tightly coiled, ready to dodge, none of the cards came her way. They just sort of skidded about haphazardly. Some of them took on a red glow, others blue, while some others rapidly expanded in size – to be about three or four feet tall.

"Well, far be it from me to dissuade you. It's not like you have a bevy of option at your disposal." More card appeared in the Nobody's, drawn into a line and compressed into a hiltless sword, before he charged at Kairi.

Which is exactly what she was hoping for! Luxord was just an obstacle, the tower and the Blackheart Stone were her goal. Regardless of the immense distance between her and the spire, she wouldn't be going anywhere if he remained at the far edge of the platform. And seeing as how Luxord has an ego the size of a Gummi ship, it didn't take a whole lot for Kairi to bait him out of his position.

Taunting this egomaniac was the easy part... Kairi clashed with her foe, blocking his sword. Her eyes briefly darted back to the tower. Getting over there is the hard part...

Taking great care with her footwork and spacial awareness, Kairi parried a flurry of attacks from the gamer Nobody, before calling down a series of lightning bolts around her, the Thundara doing enough to force Luxord to retreat. As he did, Kairi made sure to watch where he stepped; the Nobody took no precaution in crossing the spaces with the cards – red, blue, or gigantic – but Kairi was certain she wouldn't be afford such leniency. The red cards were bombs, she knew that from a frightening and unfortunate amount of experience, and heaven only knew what the blue and over-sized ones did. She couldn't be reckless in her movements here.

Knowing that much, Kairi planted her feet and used her vantage point to paint her target with every spell in her arsenal. Flaming arrows, spiky chunks of ice, air bombs, whirling blades of super-heated water, and even diamond-shaped spires of stone all zipped through the air towards Luxord, but the target showed no fear or concern for the assault. One snap of his fingers, with the elemental barrage closing in on Luxord, the flurry of spellfire came to a pause in an instant, hanging frozen in place.

With another look of smug superiority plastered on his face, Luxord took a step backwards, heel touching a giant card. Without warning, the card flipped over, and then again, all in quick succession, the tumbling play piece seemingly swallowing the Nobody, Luxord having vanished from sight completely.

Kairi blinked rapidly, unsure if she had actually seen what she had seen. Even in this world of magic and superpowers she had stepped into, this whole disappearing act seemed like a step too far...

The sight of San Fransokyo Tower off in the distance brought her back to reality. Silently chiding herself for losing focus on such a trivial thing, Kairi realized she had a straight path towards her goal. Clearly, Luxord was planning some sort of trap or trick, but if she was just fast enough, then she could avoid whatever game the Nobody had in mind. The redhead broke into a sprint that was equal parts frantic and cautious – she was still doing everything in power not to step on any of the cards scattered about – dashing towards the far edge of the platform, her left hand set against the grapple wire on her hip. Kairi was positive that if she jumped with a running start, the cable could carry her the rest of the way. Her heart pounded in her throat at the thought of such a daredevil leap, but her legs wouldn't stop, her pace picking up even further.

As Kairi closed in on the edge of the platform, Luxord made his return, as suddenly as he vanished! Rising up to her right from another one of the larger cards, Kairi barely had enough time to register the presence of the gamer before he attacked, having switched his card sword for a pair of human-sized cards. Luxord twirled about, swinging brutally, catching Kairi along the side. Her gleaming white armour became slightly less gleaming, absorbing the impact of the blow and cracking slightly, before Kairi was hurled backwards, landing back-first on the surface of the platform. Before she could even gather her baring and formulate a counterattack, a low rumbling entered Kairi's ears. An all too familiar rumbling noise, as the glowing red card beneath her erupted in a fiery explosion, searing flames licking at her armour as she was propelled through the air, helpless, before smacking down to the cold, metallic surface of the battlefield again.

Kairi groaned, looking up to see that her fingertips had grazed one of the blue cards.

Oh, what now?

An abrupt lurching sensation overtook the Key Bearer, as she felt the floor being pulled out from under her. Literally, as the piece of platform she was laying on vanished in a bright, azure flash! Kairi yelped in terror, before catching herself – verbally and physically – as she scrabbled to grab hold of the ledge of the hole that had formed in the platform. Most of her body was dangling precipitously off the space in the floor, the grey fog bank beneath threatening to swallow her whole if her tenuous grip slipped so much as an inch. Kairi's immediate thought was to pull herself back up, but she was Luxord was approaching from head on, slowly strutting towards her, relishing in her suffering. If she tried to physically pull herself up or tried to use her Water Whip, it would only leave her vulnerable to another attack. Another series of being buffeted back and forth by the traps spread about the battlefield.

Blue light flickered behind Luxord, standing in contrast to the ubiquitous black cloak. A plan began to form in Kairi's head, a plan which was beyond risky and she hated, but it's not as if she had a lot of option left to her at this point. It was do or die; go big or go home!

Destiny's Embrace came to her hand, Kairi feeling herself slip down even further as the Keyblade filled her right hand, before tossing the Keyblade into the air. The weapon flew forward in an ungainly arc, devoid of grace, moving pass Luxord, who cocked an eyebrow at the apparent patheticness of the attack. But it wasn't an attack. And it wasn't aimed at Luxord. Kairi hoped and prayed her hunch was right, that the traps triggered through any sort of contact or stimulus, as Destiny's Embrace skittered along, brushing against the blue card.

Just as with the space Kairi used to stand on, the segment of platform beneath Destiny's Embrace disappeared in a bright flash, the Keyblade tumbling downward.

With one last deep breath, and a silent prayer to anything or anyone listening to her, Kairi released her grip on the edge, plummeting towards her certain doom. Destiny's Embrace return to her hands, and she conjured her Water Whip, faster than she had ever formed the spell. The magical lash snaked upwards, as it's caster clenched her teeth in terror, before hooking pack onto the floating platform, on the space Destiny's Embrace banished. With the line secure, Kairi tugged as hard as she could, slingshotting herself back upwards, away from certain death and towards just possible death.

The Key Bearer came to a sliding stop, back on the battlefield, miraculously avoiding anymore trap cards. A stunned expression was plastered on her face, as even she wasn't entirely sure how she had managed to pull that off.

Luxord stared on, blankly, similarly perplexed by his opponent's death-defying skills.

"Well... that was certainly quite the display. My hat off to you, Princess." The gambler returned to a more cagey stance, the larger cards in his hands breaking down into a series of regular sized cards, all hovering and orbiting about him. "I do wish this resolve and courage had manifested earlier, but take care knowing that one impressive feat of daring do does not a victory make... Let us begin the next round!" Kairi similarly took up a fighting stance, as well.

"I told you Luxord, I'm not playing your games." The light wielder countered, surveying her position. Much to her rotten luck, in spite of all the drastic movement across the platform, she had ended up in almost the exact same place she had started. And with Luxord still standing in between her and the tower. "As much as I would like to take you out, there are more important things at stake here!" Here best play might be to wait for Hiro and Baymax to return. Not knowing where they were and being unable to help them made her feel sick in the pit of her stomach. "So get out of my way or I'll make you get out of my way!"

Yet again, Luxord dismissively disregarded the bluster and bombast of the Key Bearer. "As I told you, your willing participation in neither requested nor required! Fate binds us to these clashes and I will see both of out respective fates play out to their bitter end!"

Whirling, bladed cards launched forward, a cloud of death zeroing in on Kairi, who responded quickly with her barrier. The cards harmlessly bounced off the shimmering wall of light, as the master of said cards vanished beneath one of the larger playing cards.

Kairi stood on guard, unsure if she should charge ahead or stand her ground. A few dozen scenarios and strategies played out in her head, but they all ended in her being stopped by Luxord and having to deal with him. Much as she just wanted to push forward and execute the plan, the Nobody was proving to be a more obnoxious obstacle than at first blush.

Tightening her grip of Destiny's Embrace, heart beating a jackrabbit's pace, Luxord made his return to the stage, launching another attack, Kairi moving to counter.

However she was going to deal with this opponent, this battle, she was going to have to struggle on her own, for the time being.

-O-SWLTW-O-

Paine and Rikku's cover – a moving van – was blasted into the air, the two Gullwings scurrying away to find another hiding spot. Ushi-Oni continued it's terrible and inexorable advance, bursts of dark energy charging within the gap between it's horns, raining down bolts of hellish plasma, which annihilated everything it struck.

The two turned a corner, finding the others cowering in an alley way between buildings, as they could hear the sounds of Ushi-Oni's rampage not too far behind them. Buildings, roads, vehicles, trees, and other edifices being blasted to bits by the dark lightning. It would only be a matter of time before it's onslaught reached them again.

"Are you two, okay?" Yuna asked immediately upon her companions appearance, speaking in hush tones as if to masque their presence even more.

"As okay as we're going to be..." Was Paine's gruff reply, as she snorted in annoyance. They had put a lot of work in eliminating all the lesser Heartless Ushi-Oni summoned, and thought they had hit a major turning point by destroying it's sword, but, ever since, it had just been attacking nonstop with it's lightning attack. The intensity and power of the bolts tore through their defences like they were nothing, forcing the hero team to retreat, their line broken, as the monstrous titan pressed forward, an unstoppable engine of destruction.

"Tell me you guys have some idea how to stop that thing?" Wasabi brought forth. Despite being the largest of the group, he had positioned himself furthest down the alley, crouching behind GoGo for extra cover. He was right to question their next move. While they had successfully destroyed it's sword, the Guardian itself had proven otherwise impervious to their attacks.

"I have an idea!" Fred declared.

"I have a better one." GoGo stepped forward, despite Wasabi's protests at having lost his human shield, turning around to face her cowering friend. "I say we do that." Wasabi's eyes widened in fear. Well, even more fear. "What did you call it, Fred?"

"Operation Wasabi Wheel!"

"Yeah. That one."

The black man gulped, shaking his head furiously. "Nope. No way! Even if that idea wasn't insanely dangerous – which it is – there's no way it's going to work against that thing!"

While the two began to bicker, Fred jumping in and out to offer his two cents, one of the buildings a block over exploded after being struck by one of the plasma bolts. Concrete and glass rained down, as the argument became more fevered and pitched, while Yuna and Paine took stock of the situation.

"Honestly, I'm worried," Yuna began, "Not about us, but about Kairi and Hiro. It shouldn't take them this long to get to the Stone. Something must have happened to them..." Paine's eyes narrowed in admission to Yuna's point, but she didn't say or do anything. The heterochromatic eyed girl couldn't divine if that was Paine's faith in the Key Bearer, or a result of their recent bad blood.

Fortunately, if the Gullwings wanted something done impetuously and without restraint, they had Rikku. "Yo! Hiro, Baymax, Red, do you guys copy? Over." The blonde spoke into her radio, hand pressed against her helmet. Everyone settled down and listened in, static crackling over the line.

"Guys! Guys! We're in big – Baymax! Look out!" Hiro's distressed cries came over the line, along with the distinct sounds of conflict, setting everyone back on edge. "That was too close, we need to get some air, quickly!"

"Hiro, where are you? What's going on?" GoGo questioned quickly, as more muffled sounds could be overheard through the radio. A low rumbling, like Baymax' thrusters, and something maybe like the flapping of wings.

"We got ambushed by Luxord! Kairi got knocked off and – I don't know, there was some kind of platform..." As Hiro explained, the look of alarm and worry grew on the face of Yuna. Separating from her was a bad idea. Of course Luxord was lying in wait to strike again! How could they be so blind? As Hiro continued, she brought a hand up to her comm, trying to reach Kairi."He sicced some Heartless on us, too. We got knocked below the fog bank – I have no idea where anything is! You guys, Kairi, the tower...."

"Kairi? Kairi? Come in, Kairi! Can you hear us?" Yuna pleaded repeatedly, everyone listening in with critical intent. But, no matter how Yuna called out, there was no response on the other end. "This is bad! We need -"

Yuna's desperation was drowned out by a deafening explosion, as a building nearby exploded from another plasma bolt. Debris rained down on the heroes. The Guardian Heartless was getting closer.

"What we need to do is stop this thing. Sooner than later." Paine countered, arming herself with both her sword and shield. Yuna's mouth gaped open, as she stared at her ally in disbelief.

"Paine, we can't just abandon Kairi to fight the Organization on her own! We need to help and-"

"How can we help her if we get mowed down by that thing?" Paine countered, staring at Yuna with those steely crimson eyes. "Besides, Kairi knew the risks when she came up with this plan. We all knew them." Yuna gritted her teeth together, at how flippant she was acting towards Kairi, all because they were in the middle of a spat. The former Summoner silently cursed the stubbornness of her longtime companion, but the white-haired woman continued to speak, unabated by those curses. "When I said you coddle her too much, I didn't say that just out of anger. You do. You can't always be there for her to bail her out of a jam. If you have as much faith in her as you say you do, then you need to give her a chance to spread her wings and fly."

Yuna was dumbstruck by Paine's statement. Despite all the anger and vitriol she and Kairi had shared the past few days, Paine hadn't entirely given up on the Key Bearer. Then, Yuna remember some words Paine had shared with her several days ago.

"I have Kairi's type pegged. She's the kind of person who always performs best under pressure."

"Paine, I-"

The white-haired swordswoman began her grim march out of the alleyway, back to the battle. "If we're going to survive this, we need to get rid of those horns." Authoritative and commanding, Paine began to dole out orders to the group. "You two," she motioned to Wasabi and GoGo. "You're with me, and you're doing that combo attack, no matter how silly or dangerous it is. Honey Lemon, Rikku, I'm going to need a boost to get up. The rest of you, give us covering fire."

"Hiro, try to hold on. We'll be with you in a jiffy." Honey Lemon informed the boy over the comm, before adding, nervously, "I hope..."

Everyone broke in an instant: Fred leaping to the top of an un-ruined building, with Rikku following suit by using a grapple wire to scale another rooftop. Paine brazenly darted out into the open streets, shield and barrier up, ready to meet the Ushi-Oni head-on. Her sudden burst of activity certainly got the attention of the gargantuan Heartless, as it immediately went to face her, charging up another burst of plasma. Before it could launch the attack, however, Yuna followed in her friend's footsteps, laying down a steady stream of suppressing fire to disrupt the growing attack. Ushi-Oni flinched and staggered slightly, but the ball of plasam kept on growing, steadily.

From behind the Heartless, though came a stream of fire and the blast of several explosive, as Fred and Rikku joined the fray, raining down even more damage on the titan. The Guardian's body shudddered, as it's attack vanished into wisps of blackness, before it lashed out in fearsome rampage, thrashing wildly at the buildings around it, sending more concrete cascading downwards. Elsewhere, Honey Lemon had slinked in behind Paine and Yuna, throwing down yet another bouncy gel blob, between Paine and the Heartless.

Paine sprinted forward, with Yuna catching a glimpse of something speed up behind the Heartless. Certainly, Wasabi had some right to complain, as he and GoGo looked patently ridiculous, with GoGo crouched flat towards the road, mounted on all four wheels, zooming forward with Wasabi striding atop her, like she was some kind of living, snarky skateboard.

"GoGo, seriously! Slow down!" Wasabi screeched, as the wheeled woman narrowly avoided chunks of building raining down on them. "Watch the road! Safety first!" Wasabi continued to wail and scream out advice, earning a low growl from his current mode of transportation.

"Hey, this isn't pleasant for me, either!" She snapped back. "So the least you can do is cut down on the backseat driving!" The duo came up to one of the rear legs of the Heartless. GoGo flattened her body even closer to the ground. "Now hold on, I'm going to kick it into high gear!"

"Oh no! Oh no!"

Wasabi barely had enough time to lower himself, lest he lose his balance, before GoGo accelerated to ludicrous speed.

On the other side of the alley, Paine still charged towards the Heartless from the front, taking another dramatic leap to land on top of the bouncing ball of jelly. The swordswoman launched herself into the air with amazing force, as GoGo ramped herself up onto the hind leg of the crab-like Heartless, scooting and curving around it's bulky body. From across the way, with well-practiced motions, Rikku tossed another of her grapple-wires towards Paine, the woman seizing it and, in one fluid motion, fire it off, hooking the grapple at the horns of the Heartless.

As if the two dark, dour, snarky woman shared some kind of dark and dour psychic bond, Paine and GoGo made their way to the apex of the colossal Heartless at almost the exact same time; Paine pulling herself upwards to the left side and GoGo's wheels dragging her and Wasabi up the broad back of the monster, creeping up behind it's neck and to the right. Proving that that level of synchronicity wasn't exclusive to the two, both Paine and Wasabi made focused and powerful swings towards to their respective horns, the gleaming broadsword and blistering plasma blades slicing through the cresting antlers!

All three heroes touched back down before the now maimed Heartless, Ushi-Oni once more miming rage at the loss of another one it's weapons – trembling and shaking while bring it's hands up to the uneven nubs where it's horns once proudly protruded. During this little temper tantrum, the ranged attackers continued their onslaught, bombs and flames and magical bullets raining down against the armoured carapace of the friend. The Heartless mostly shrugged off the onslaught, before conjuring a cloud of dark energy in the air, unleashing another offensive flurry down on the resisting heroes.

In the blink of an eye, a hail of weapons constructed from the energy flooded the air and fell forth towards Paine and the others. Katanas and naginatas and arrows and other nasty things made of the blackish energy zeroed in on them, the heroes forcing to switch to defence. Paine's shield summoned its barrier wall, Yuna encircled them all in her Reflega spell, while Honey Lemon created barricade walls of chemically induced ice. The triple layer of defence absorbed the deluge of attacks, but the group was pinned down beneath it all, Ushi-Oni free to lumber forward once again.

"Come on! How many tricks does this thing have!" GoGo complained, forced to stand back and watch while the defenders did their best to keep the cover up.

"I'm more concerned that, despite all our efforts, we've only manage to slow this thing down. Slightly." Paine grunted, as she felt thundering impacts collide with her barrier. The first line of protection, Honey Lemon's ice wall, was being torn away and demolished faster than she could throw her chem-orbs. Fred and Rikku were still peppering the Guardian from behind, but the Heartless wasn't even registering the attacks. "We're more an annoyance to this thing than proper threats..."

"I hope one of you guy has another plan, because we are in serious trouble here!" Wasabi panicked, pacing back and forth, flinching every time one of the shadowy weapons collided with Paine or Yuna's barriers. "Forget trying to help out Hiro or Kairi – wherever they are! We can't even save ourselves!"

Yuna tried to bolster the panicky scientist's confidence, offering him a reassuring smile. She had been in similar jams like this before. She had been in even worse situations, too, once or twice. She and her companions had always pulled through, no matter how dire the scenario.

"We just need to -" Yuna stopped short. She stopped speaking because, for whatever reason, the Ushi-Oni had stopped attacking! The Heartless was craning it's head about, malicious yellow eyes staring unerringly through the fog, it's alien sight peering through the cloudy veil, searching for something.

Completely ignoring and abandoning the Gullwings and members of Big Hero, the heroes had been engaged with until now, and stomped off back towards where it came. Back towards San Fransokyo Tower.

"Damn it all!" Paine growled, before sprinting forward again, in hot pursuit of the Heartless.

"Why is that thing leaving?" GoGo questioned, stepping forward, the barriers now dispelled.

"And why does that fact frighten me even more?" Came Wasabi. Yuna grimaced, having caught Paine's urgency, before firing up her radio.

"Rikku! Get after that thing, we need to stop it!" When the trio of Big Hero members looked to her for clarification, Yuna explained, "Heartless fear the Keyblade, they go after it's Wielders first and foremost. I think it just realized none of us have a Keyblade and it sensed where Kairi is. That monster's making a beeline to Kairi!"

The Ushi-Oni plodded forward at it's glacial but unstoppable pace, slowly but surely storming towards Kairi. Yuna and the others continued to assail the beast, throwing everything up to and including the kitchen sink to try and stop the Heartless from advancing any further. But, their attacks continued to prove largely ineffective against it's armoured form, marring the surface of the carapace, but not inflicting any lasting damage. It was just as Paine had said, they were just annoyances to this titan. Nothing more than flies, buzzing and flitting about.

After unsuccessfully trying to crack one of it's leg joints with a hail of Blizzaga spells, Yuna sighed, defeatedly, eyes drifting forward, down the straight path the Heartless was marching upon. Kairi was fighting that Nobody somewhere down the line, alone and vulnerable, unaware of how pear shape things had gone down here. Up ahead, Paine had stopped to catch her breath, Yuna jogging up to meet with her companion.

"I know you said Kairi eventually has to fight on her own, but this, this is..." Yuna sighed again, her eyes meeting with Paine's. For as long as she had known the woman, Yuna knew Paine as always being honest, brutally so, and her eyes were never any different. Hard, stern, unyielding, and often times cold, like a horrible truth you didn't want to confront. "I have a feeling we can't do anything from down here. That winning or losing completely depends on whatever Kairi does."

Paine laughed, bitterly. "That's how it's always been, Yuna. We live or die depending on who's holding the Keyblade. Leon even said he thought as much, back when he first met Sora."

"Hey, Paine, I know that you and Kairi are at odds right now, but... do you really think she can do this? Can she pull through at a time like this?"

Paine didn't respond immediately, instead silently staring at her friend, with Yuna staring right back. Mismatched eyes of green and blue met those ruby irises, both women sizing the other up.

Finally, Paine picked up her pace, running forward. "We shouldn't waste time talking. Even if we can't do much, even if we don't have Keyblades, every little thing we can do will still count for something."

"Right." Yuna nodded, trailing behind the swordswoman, feeling alleviated and self-assured. Paine did not answer her question, but she was confident she had read her heart through her eyes; those eyes always did speak the truth. That despite the arguing, Paine did have her faith squarely behind Kairi. Maybe that's why she got so angry, because she felt betrayed that someone she trusted so much would do that. Well, questions like that could be answered at another time...

The two made their way back into the thick of it, Yuna's mind flicking forward further beyond the fog bank one last time.

Kairi... please be safe. And if this helps, even a little bit, now that our hearts are with you. Remember what I told you in the Underworld. We still have faith in you, no matter what.

Yuna hoped her little prayer would be enough to push the Key Bearer through this ordeal.

-O-SWLTW-O-

A flurry of cards battered into Kairi, staggering her and knocking the girl off course. Tumbling downwards, she was barely able to avoid touching a blue card, twisting her body out of the way... but in doing so, she ended up falling on her butt, her hand briefly grazing against a red card. The subsequent explosion tore through the armour plating on her left gauntlet, scorching both the undersuit and flesh, as Kairi was blasted away to the other side of the platform.

Things had not been going well.

She figured that this skirmish wouldn't be a walk in the park; getting past Luxord and making a desperate dive towards the tower seemed easy on it's face, but Kairi knew better. Even with her expectations adjusted, though, the difficulty of the task was proving overwhelming. Luxord certainly had the terrain advantage, fighting on this trap-infested platform, as every single misstep Kairi made led to her being punished by bombs and false floors (how she had not fallen off this floating battlefield yet was a mystery to her; she had more than her fair share of close calls already). Not to mention, with the gigantic cards spread about, Luxord had supreme mobility, able to quickly move about anywhere on the platform at the simplest of whims. He could close in on Kairi to harass her when she was making progress, only to skulk away and harry her at a range whenever she retook the advantage. And while the gamer Nobody lacked Lexaeus' titantc strength, or Xaldin's impossible tolerance for damage, his cards allowed him to attack and defend simultaneously, and from any direction and any angle. Kairi was loathe to refer to this fight as a "game", by her opponent's jargon, but in this game, Luxord held all the cards. He had all the advantage in the world.

Yet, despite that fact, and despite the injuries she had sustained, Kairi stood back up, ready to go another round.

"I suppose I should commend you for your tenacity, but..." Luxord was standing opposite of Kairi, a full set of cards orbiting around him. The tower was off in the distance, directly to Kairi's left and the Nobody's right. "But tenacity without foresight, without awareness, without recognition of one's failings is not a virtue, but a vice."

Kairi did not respond. She was beyond sick and tired of hearing Luxord natter on in the most circuitous and long-winded way imaginable. He didn't need any further engagement to keep spewing his pompous crap. Instead, Kairi broke to the left, making a mad dash for the empty space between the platform and the tower. She still didn't have an entirely clear idea of how she would cross the gulf that separated her from the tower and the Blackheart Stone, but she figured she wouldn't have to answer that question right now.

Luxord popped out from beneath an over-sized card, as Kairi figured would happen, perfectly imposing himself between her and her goal. Upon his manifestation, Luxord lunged at Kairi with his card sword, thrusting low to her stomach. Kairi deftly swept the blow aside, bring Destiny's Embrace back around to slash downward at the Nobody, only from Luxord to slither away again, hiding beneath the card he used for transportation. Not taking any chances, Kairi planted her feet and conjured a quick flurry of spells, anything that covered a wide area around her. Aerora brought a fierce cyclone surrounding her, followed by Thundara raining down lightning bolts, and then a halo of flames revolving around her courtesy of her Fira spell. The attacks were rash and random, a desperate bid to try and counter Luxord from wherever he was coming from, but the magic onslaught just crashed around the platform without much effect. The Nobody was nowhere to be seen.

Figuring Luxord would only make his return in response to her move, Kairi took a cautious step forward, eyes wildly whipping about to try and get a visual on her enemy. Save for the howling wind, it was eerily quiet on this battlefield in the sky. Kairi was isolated, completely cut off from her allies. She hadn't seen Hiro or Baymax since they plunged back beneath the fog, and she had even less knowledge of the battle on the ground. Kairi managed to push that dread back down; she had to trust her friends, just like they had placed their faith in her.

Kairi took one more careful step, before she felt the entire world turn upside down. Something from beneath her feet threw her upwards, sending the girls tumbling through the air! As the sky all spun around her, Kairi caught the sight of Luxord, rising from a large card she was standing on – stupid Kairi! – and then slinging a series of razor-sharp cards at her. The Key Bearer did her best to defend herself, swinging her blade about to parry the projectiles, but the bladed cards slipped past her guard, slashing at her armour and cutting at her most exposed area. Her helmet and left gauntlet had been shredded to bits, as had both of her pauldrons, and there were some fissures rent deep on both her chestplate and back, and the damage inflicted was only growing deeper, as the redhead did her best to withstand the storm consuming her.

Just as he had during the battle in the warehouse, Luxord took the air, shooting up high and fast, to the point where he crested above Kairi just as the girl hit her apex. The deja vu continued, with Luxord swinging his giant cards about, smashing into Kairi's back. The cracks on the backside of the armour deepened, chunks of ivory laminate flying off into the sky, as Kairi was spiked back to the ground. The gamer Nobody further maneuvered himself in the air, flitting off to the side, as gravity took hold of the flurry of card, the sharp projectiles descending ominously upon the prone Key Bearer. Only now they were glowing a burning red.

"Oh son of a -"

Kairi barely had enough time to flare up a Reflera barrier, the hexagonal plated dome doing it's best to weather to force of the repeated explosions, but it could only shield the Princess of Light from around half of the bombs, before breaking apart, Kairi being consumed by a vicious firestorm.

"Tell me, when are you going to show me this 'real strength' of yours?" Luxord spoke in the direction of the could of smoke and ash that covered Kairi's figure. "Or was that pitiful display supposed to be it?" A burst of green light erupted from beneath the smoke cloud, billowing it away, revealing Kairi. She was scuffed up and worse for wear, but her Cura spell had at least given her a second wind. Not to mention, her body may have been banged up, but her fighting spirit still burned as bright as ever, as she defiantly glared down her enemy.

Luxord did not take such brazen opposition well.

"Enough with the silent act! It's exasperating beyond belief!" Luxord sniped, dramatically swinging his arm in a form of mock-rage. Kairi actually felt a bit of pride that she could get underneath Luxord's skin in such a manner. "This is a fated encounter. This is to be your ultimate demise! Do you really want to spend your final moments sneering like a petulant child?"

"...If you want an answer, Luxord, my real strength isn't something you'd ever be able to understand, no matter how many times I show it." Ever since she had touched down in San Fransokyo, Kairi's life had been a complete hurricane. Events and revelations just slammed down upon her over and over. But, the heartsick and confused girl still had time between all that to think and contemplate on the questions that had been hanging over her head since her first day in the city. "I'm still learning, and I'm still struggling, but I can stand up to monsters like you. And I'm getting better everyday. At magic and at swordplay. If I were as weak as you say I am, I wouldn't be standing here now!" Long days of training lead to long periods of self-reflection. On what she had done. "But even more important than that, more important than my Keyblade and my magic and whatever other combat skills I have..." Not blindly grasping out to Sora at the expense of everything else, though that still brought deep shame to crash down upon Kairi. No. What Kairi thought of the most, during these dour and depressive days was how, when Hiro was in need of help the most, she hesitated. It didn't matter if she did eventually reach out to the ailing young genius, her reluctance and selfishness shined through first. It didn't matter if she eventually dived in and intervened, her hesitance stuck out like a sore thumb

A friend of hers was in dire need of companionship and support, and what was her first thought? "I'm broken and hurting, so I shouldn't step in and help Hiro". Never had Kairi felt so disgusted with herself than with that specific memory.

"I have my heart!" Kairi declared, voice rising as loud as it could, being carried throughout the open sky by the winds whipping about her. "My empathy and my sympathy! I have the drive and determination to help those in need! You go around and treat peoples lives like their games, torturing them, casting shadows on their hearts. Well, I'll find those people you've afflicted and offer them a helping hand. I'll pull them out of the shadows and heal the scars on their hearts!" Whatever the future held for her and her companions, Kairi never wanted to let a friend twist in the wind when they needed a helping hand the most. "No matter how much I have to suffer, no matter how broken my heart becomes, I'll keep reaching out to others! I'll keep saving them with the power that I have!"

Despite all the drama, all the doubt, all the pain, and all the tears, Kairi had absolute clarity on this. This was the answer she had been seeking.

This was why she was fighting. This was why she had the Keyblade.

Luxord showed no immediate reaction to Kairi's earnest and impassioned plea, remaining still and silent as he studied the Key Bearer and words. Kairi screwed her face up in determination, settling her heart rate and calming herself down. Bravado or not, she had taken significant damage up to this point. She couldn't put up this level or resistance for much longer. Sooner rather than later, she would have to make her play for the tower.

Finally, the Nobody responded, his lips splitting into a ghoulish grin as he cackled like a maniac, spitting in the face of the Key Bearer's sentiments. "Your heart? Your heart? That's your power? HA! Of all the saccharine pablum that could have fallen out of your mouth, you went with that?" Luxord's face contorted into a truly horrific sneer, barely missing a beat as he transitioned expressions. It was more than a little unsettling that he could manage that. "Allow me to enlighten you as to why your 'power' is nothing more than a farce. Your heart is not power, no heart is! It is but an anchor that will drag you down into the abyss." Luxord began to pace back and forth atop the platform while delivering his tirade, his voice rising to a nasty, shrill tone. "It is the very reason why a Somebody can never triumph against a Nobody! We cast aside our hearts – cast aside useless things like empathy and compassion – in order to become perfect, transcendent beings! Unfettered by such meaningless emotions, we are the ultimate beings in this universe! Those charged with the stewardship of it's fate – of course I treat others like a game, I have every bloody right to!"

Kairi reared up to counter such an ugly rant, but Luxord was quick to cut her off. "Don't even try to deny my words! You know they are the very essence of truth!" With a pointed finger and adamant gaze, Luxord cut through Kairi's resistance and to the feelings nestled in her heart. "Your heart will be your downfall, as it has to others before you. Your friend Riku succumbed to the darkness and was swallowed whole. Sora gave up everything for your sake. And how many lives did you almost callously throw away to return the favour, hmm? All because of the feeble, pathetic, worthless thing you call your 'power'..."

Flinching against those cutting words, Kairi cast her head downward, covering her eyes and her face from the piercing scowl of the Nobody. He wasn't wrong, loathed as she was to admit. Her and her two closest friends, they had been led down dark and tragic roads. Sora's love and Riku's ambitions had led them astray. And she was even worse; at least the boys had victories and success to their names, Kairi had screwed up without anything to balance things out...

But even then...

"You're not wrong, Luxord. My heart is weak and ugly; it's full of sin and contradiction. It led me down a dark path, a path I would have deeply regretted...

A vicious smirk spread across the Nobody's lips, as if he could taste Kairi's apparent despair. That smug sense of superiority was quickly quelled however, when Kairi lifted her head, eyes locking between Key Bearer and Nobody. Within those purple-blue eyes, a bright light could be found, pure and fierce and blazing. Luxord looked taken aback by such fierce defiance, as the spirit of the Princess roared outward. Challenging. Powerful.

Undeniable!

"But it's still my heart!" Kairi yelled at the top of her lungs, passion lacing her voice even moreso than before. Despite the wounds freshly born on her body, Kairi never felt more invigorated or energized in her life before. "It's precious to me! Everything in it is a part of me and I wouldn't have it any other way! I'll live with all my flaws, all my weaknesses and grow stronger!" Raising her Keyblade, the radiant redhead took a step forward. Luxord was in her way again. An obnoxious obstacle to be removed. "If anything, you're the weak ones! All of you in the Organization just tossed your hearts aside because they were an inconvenience! As if they were nothing, instead of living with whatever was wrong with you and growing with it! You're a nothing but a bunch of cowards and..."

Kairi stopped. She stopped moving. She stopped speaking. Something had just dawned upon her. A question that was now all too important given what she was facing.

"Wait... you willingly threw away your heart?" Kairi asked, studying Luxord. "Did every Organization give it up willingly?" Luxord didn't say anything, only flashing her a smug look and slightly inclining his head. Kairi read that as a "yes". "Then why? Why are you going through all this trouble to make Kingdom Hearts and regain your lost hearts?"

In truth, that had been bugging her for some time. All the Organization Nobodies seemed to have an air of superiority around themselves in regards to other beings. Those with hearts. Luxord especially seemed to revel in being a Nobody. So why engage in a decade long plan to regain something you never wanted in the first place?

Luxord's cold cackle sent a chill running down her spine. "You actually bought that? Just when I thought my opinion of you couldn't reach a deeper nadir." Luxord clicked his tongue in dismay. "That little story was just something we used to drum up sympathy and confuse our enemies. Oh, and to keep the soft-hearts like Demyx and Roxas in line. In truth, our grand designs are for something much greater than a couple of hearts. Absolute power! Beyond the likes any such being in the Realm of Light has possessed before! To cause all of creation to bow to our will. That is our desire, that is what we shall obtain."

Kairi blinked, dumbfounded at what she had just heard. "Roxas? Roxas was in the Organization?" Another memory quickly surfaced in her mind, that of Luxord off-handedly mentioning Roxas could wield the Keyblade as well. He was... he was just some kid on Twilight Town, wasn't he? What does he have to do with any of this?

"Oh? You know of our long-lost Key to Destiny, do you?" Luxord mused, stroking his goatee as he did. "It's a shame he has departed from the Organization, but such is the cruel realities of fate. Better to accept it and move on than to struggle in vain against the inevitable." Cruel eyes then fell back on the Key Bearer. "Speaking of cruel fates... are you ready to meet yours?"

"Absolutely not!" Kairi re-focused herself, pushing her questions about the Organization's goals and Roxas to the back of her mind. Those could come later. "You keep mentioning 'fate' and 'destiny' as if you know the future, but I don't care. I'll keep struggling until I come out ahead!" Halfway between her and Luxord was a pair of the explosive red cards. The tower and the Blackheart Stone still loomed behind the Nobody. Gears began turning in her head, Kairi formulating a plan. Formulating her winning move.

Keyblade kept low to her side, off-hand extended and firing spells, Kairi charged headlong across the platform. Luxord made the bare effort to dodge the attacks, before pulling an object out from the folds of his cloak, causing Kairi to skid to a full stop.

The King of Hearts.

"I never announced that our game had finished. It is quite live in fact, and the same rules still apply." Luxord waved the card in Kairi's face, taunting her. And it was oh-so tantalizingly close too. Sora was oh-so tantalizingly close... "Just as promised, if you can take possession of this card, the boy will be liberated."

Kairi felt a hard knot form in her throat, as her breath froze in her lungs. All too familiar feelings rose up in her soul, most powerful of all being the overwhelming desire to rashly lash out and take that card. Take back Sora. After all, why not take the chance? She screwed up because she let others get caught in a maelstrom of her own making. Right now, it was just her and Luxord. No one else to get hurt. No one else...

But that wasn't true. Hiro and Baymax were somewhere beneath the cloud cover, being assailed by Heartless. Further down, on the ground, Yuna and Paine and the others were battling the Ushi-Oni. Just because they weren't physically here, didn't mean they were in need. Didn't mean they couldn't use her help.

"What's with the hesitation, Princess?" Luxord's voice cut through her train of thought, the Nobody still waving the lone card back and forth. "This is your best friend from childhood. The person who traveled to the edge of existence for your sake. And all you need to do to provide him salvation is snatch away this one minuscule, lonely card. Such an easy task for such a grand reward...

"Or, perhaps, my initial hunch was right. You don't reciprocate his feelings. That your love for him is lesser. Such a tragedy that he showered you with affection and loyalty and he'll receive nothing in return!"

Kairi growled, bringing Destiny's Embrace up to bear. She had heard more than enough of Luxord's taunts today. Had more than her share of his psychoanalysis. Of him railing on her and her emotions, trying to tell her what she felt and why.

"Luxord..." Her response was low, both in tone and volume, while her face was the picture of misery, her eyes and lips quavering. Again, it looked as if Luxord could taste her despair and his victory. "I will save Sora, I promise that. I swear it."

Kairi chucked Destiny's Embrace into the air again, Luxord's expression turning to one of puzzlement, as the legendary weapon landed atop the two red cards.

"But he won't be the only one I'll save. I'll save everyone I cross paths with. Everyone who needs saving. Hiro and myself included. And I'll do it my way and no one else's!"

Kairi dashed towards where her Keyblade lay, quickly returning it to her hand, as the imminent detonation of the cards grew closer.

"To hell with you and to hell with your games! I have a Stone to destroy."

Leaping into the air, Kairi dove onto the bomb cards, just as the explosion roared outwards. At the very last second, before the heat could lick at her arms and chest, Kairi formed her barrier, summoning the dome before her hands so that it would absorb the brunt of the explosion. Or, rather, it would absorb the searing flames, but not the concussive force, as the Key Bearer angled her body so the explosive force shot her straight upward! Kairi sailed upwards, twenty-five feet, this time tucking herself into a tight ball to control her movements, gracefully rolling skyward, before extending her limbs back out again. With her head crouched down, and her legs bunched up to her buttocks, Kairi threw her arms behind her, calling on another old trick from her training sessions, hoping it would prove as useful as the Water Whip. Furious jets of flame shot out from her palms and her Keyblade, propelling Kairi forward like a rocket, over Luxord's head and towards the tower. Eventually, the flames grew so bright and so large, consuming the entirety of both her forearms, looking like the blazing wings of a great, majestic firebird.

Before she left the aerial battlefield behind, Kairi spared a brief glance downward, relishing in the look of shock and wonder on the face of Luxord, who dumbly let the King of Heart slip from his grasp.

Yes, Key Bearers could suddenly sprout wings and fly away!

However, despite the sense of satisfaction of getting one-up on the smug gambler, Kairi's fiery wings soon petered out, the girl reduced to plummeting through the air, as her forward momentum came to an end as well. With one final prayer that this would work, Kairi took a hold of Rikku's grapple-wire and carefully took aim at the lattice-work tower that was still a fair distance away.

Either this works or it all goes bust. The redhead let out a bitter laugh that was drowned out by the whooshing. At least if this it the end, I went out in style!

Kairi depressed the trigger, the grapple – her only life line – launching forward.

It may have been the longest and tensest second of her life, waiting for the grappling hook to snag onto something, with Kairi afraid to so much as breath, thinking the slightest movement would cause the hook to fail. But, to her tremendous relief, a metallic CLING echoed through the foggy air, with the line snapping taut, Kairi's sharp descent coming to a sudden stop. Somehow, her shoulders didn't pop out of place with the immediate cessation of her momentum, with Kairi quickly hammering on the button to pull her back in. That... may have been a mistake, as Kairi felt herself flung upward at a violent speed for the second time in as many minutes. She couldn't help but scream in terror, as this was a million times worse than flying on Baymax or propelling herself on her fire jet – no excitement or sense of accomplishment, just the sense of impending pain or death!

That premonition, unfortunately came true, as Kairi reach the end of the line – or close to it, she still had a ways to go before the apex of the Radio Tower – by slamming into the metallic tower! The girl bounced off the hard surface, flesh and bone bruising and rattling even as the armour absorbed the brunt of the impact. The cracks in her armour spread even more, with the majority of her breastplate crumbling off her body, as Kairi helpless swung like a pendulum, barely holding on by the very tips of her fingers.

"Oh my god! Ow! Ow ow..." Kairi winced and yelped, as she finally settled down, finally stopped twisting about. "I'm going to feel that tomorrow... hell, I'll probably feel that next week..." Grimacing, trying to ignore the pain that wracked her body, Kairi took the end of the grappling line and wrapped it around her waist, tying it tightly, before looking up to her final goal. "Well, I got this far, no turning back now, Kairi..."

Both hands firmly placed on the wire. Both feet planted against the side of the tower, careful to not get them caught between the gaps in the lattice, Kairi began to walk/pull herself upward towards the Blackheart Stone. Slowly but surely, one step at a time.

Kairi managed a couple minutes of this solitary task, managing to make decent progress in the peace and quiet, before a sharp TWANG filled her ears, as the line she was holding went slack, the Key Bearer beginning to fall towards earth again. Something had cut the line! With desperate haste, Kairi clutched onto one of the crisscrossing bars that formed the body of the tower, clinging for dear life, before gazing up, trying to find what happened that caused her line to break.

Her heart sank, anger flared, and sorrows deepened when she saw a playing card embedded in the tower.

"Oh, you've got to be kidding me!"

"I will always extol a well-executed play whenever it is presented to me, so I must give you all the aplomb in the world for those daring escapades, Princess..." Kairi angled her head to see behind her, finding Luxord was descending an ever-growing staircase made of his human-sized playing cards, cockily marching down the pathway towards her, while raining applause in her direction. "But the High Priestess and the Magician will meet at the Tower, the Priestess will fall, and that will lead to the realization of the World! Such is fate, and fate is inescapable."

Kairi narrowed her eyes, shrewdly, shaking her head. What in the world was he talking about? To be honest, she didn't really care, but she knew the best time to strike at the gamer Nobody was when he was in the middle of one of his insipid monologues...

Taking her right hand off the structure and drawing Destiny's Embrace, Kairi took aim at the Nobody, but the latter proved faster on the draw. Flinging two cards at her, faster than a blink of an eye, both projectiles struck her and cut into her, the first piercing the exposed area of her chestplate, while the second bit into the armour on her right wrist, cracking it and drawing blood as well. Blinding pain overtook the girl, as Destiny's Embrace fell from her grasp, the fingers of her right hand twitching feebly.

And now, all of a sudden, Kairi's entire bodyweight was being held up by her left hand, as she felt herself slump and sink lower.

Luxord fanned out a hand of five cards. "While you've provided more amusement than I would initially have predicted, I'm putting an end to this farce, here and now." With the armour of her left gauntlet having previously been sundered, it was completely vulnerable to the deadly dealing of the gamer. One card bit into her pinky, the digit relinquishing it's grasp on the bar in a spasm of pain. Both her thumb and ring finger followed suit, with Kairi now dangling by the barest of threads via her index and middle fingers. The redhead cried in pain, as her hand throbbed and twitched, the cards still embedded in her flesh. Through bleary eyes, clouded by the agony radiating from her hand, Kairi thought she could see something crest out of the fog cover behind Luxord.

Luxord held up the fourth and fifth cards menacingly, giving his foe an expression of dour finality. "Well? Any last words before I send you to your demise, Princess?"

Blackness constantly clouded her field of vision, her focus waning and ebbing with each passing moment, as Kairi tried to shake the stars away. Tried to come up with some kind of last ditch effort that would get her out of this ordeal.

Well, I've gambled on thin glimmers of hope before and won... guess I'll push my luck one last time, today!

"Last words huh... yeah, I think I have a couple of perfect ones. Three, in fact:

"Baymax, rocket punch!"

"What!?"

"You heard her, buddy! Let's do this!"

Soaring forth like a guardian angel, with a murder of crow Heartless hot on their tales, Hiro and Baymax were zeroing in on Luxord and Kairi's positions. Right on cue, Baymax shot forward his jet-boosted gauntlet, the armed armament making and even more frantic beeline towards the Nobody! Without little time to react, Luxord brought up a piece of his constructed stairway to serve as shield, crouching behind the giant card, and while the steel-hard card stopped the bludgeoning force of the torpedoing knuckle, it didn't bring a stop to it's momentum! The force of the jets kicked into a whole other gear, with the Nobody having nothing to anchor himself to the the platform he was standing on.

It was a brief struggle, one which ended with Luxord being swept off his feet and carried into the air, the fist flinging himself backwards into San Fransokyo Tower! Luxord collided with the steel structure, head first, leaving a sizable divot in the sturdy being, and calling out "Bollocks!" before the black cloaked villain helpless dove down towards terra firm, being consumed by the looming shroud of fog.

"Yes! We did it!" Hiro cheered from atop Baymax, as the robot used both of it's rocket propelled fists to clear out the remaining Heartless. "Kairi. Kairi! Did you see that? Did you see -"

"Hiro, I'm really really happy for you right now, I really am, but, uh, could we please have this conversation after I get off this tower?"

Hiro snapped out of his jubilation, seeing that Kairi was practically hanging by her fingernails, about to join Luxord on his trip to an asphalt road. Quickly, Baymax flew underneath the girl, scooping her up on his broad back, Kairi beyond grateful to be in a less perilous situation.

"You okay, Hiro?" Was Kairi's first question, after painfully plucking the cards from her hand. "You're not hurt or anything?"

"I should be asking you that – you're a mess!" Hiro exclaimed, before verbally backspacing. "I mean, no, yeah, you're a mess, Kairi!"

"Yeah, but I'm still alive..." In most other situations, Kairi would heal herself up with her magic, but she still had to destroy the Stone, and she had a pretty good idea she didn't have enough in her tank to do both. "Baymax, take us up to the peak of the tower." Before the robot could reply, Kairi remembered both her gauntlets were wrecked and quickly squeaked out, "Um, could you maybe go not too fast? If you could? Please and thank you..."

The health care robot complied with Kairi's request, the trio slowly rising through the air, flying parallel to the upright spire. Kairi tightly hugged Baymax' frame just to be extra cautious. As they steadily gained altitude, Kairi realized just how tall San Fransokyo Tower was, and just how much more climbing she would have had to do, without the assistance of Hiro and Baymax.

Unfortunately, as much as Kairi would like the mission to end in a smooth manner, she should have figured there would be one last bump in the road, as Hiro cried out.

"Um... Kairi, what the heck's going on down there?"

Opening her eyes (she had shut them due to the fear of slipping off Baymax) Kairi stared down to where Hiro was pointing, down towards the shroud of fog. A turbulent storm was raging below them, twisting one mass of the grey cloud, parting the veil and actually opening a spot of visibility. Much to Kairi's chagrin, though, the only sight to been seen within the circular partition was the titanic Ushi-Oni Heartless, which seemed to be willing the fog to part.

"Hiro, watch out! You're gonna have some company coming for you guys!" Kairi overhead GoGo on Hiro's radio.

"Oh, trust me, we know..." Was Hiro's nervous response. He then looked to his friend for guidance. "So? What do we do, Kairi?"

Before Kairi could respond, Ushi-Oni unleash a squall of dark energy in the form of weapons. Baymax pulled back from the tower and rolled and swooped about to avoid the rain of spears and swords, Kairi holding on for dear life. She was beginning to lose sensation in her arms and hands. Time was of the essence; she definitely couldn't hold out for ever.

"We go for the Blackheart Stone!" Kairi's command came over the roar of Baymax' engines and whistling of the wicked weapons winding through the wind. "That's our objective, that's our goal. No guts, no glory!" Hiro nodded, gently tapping on Baymax' head.

"You heard her, Baymax. Double time on those jets, too."

"Understood." Baymax intoned. "But, for future incidents, may I suggest adding safety belts to my armour. Moving on objects traveling at high speeds without the proper precautions is dangerous -"

A dark energy spear whizzed over top Hiro and Kairi's heads. Kairi could feel the top of her hair parting from the momentum of the weapon.

"Baymax! Go!" They both cried.

"Okay."

Engines firing up, and Kairi holding on with every last ounce of tenacity and strength in her body, Baymax rocketed up again, zipping through the air to avoid the constant stream of attacks coming from the Heartless. Ushi-Oni, like all it's brethren, was possessed by a single-minded focus to annihilate the Key Bearer, a fact that always made Kairi feel so special.

But, despite all odds, the trio was nearing the apex of the Radio Tower. Kairi could finally see the ominous black obelisk grafted to the point of the spire with her own eyes.

"Get us above the tip of Stone and then circle around, okay Baymax?" Kairi ordered.

"I take it you got a plan?" Hiro questioned. They would reach the zenith any second now.

"Yeah. A crazy one!" Came Kairi's response, delivered with a little laugh. It seemed that all her plans today were crazy. Or maybe just all her plans, period.

With a final aileron roll to avoid another barrage of dark energy weapons, Baymax did as Kairi bid, rising above the very tippy-top of the tower, before flying in a wide arc around the Blackheart Stone. Still under the constant pressure of the Guardian's attacks, Kairi managed to stand up on wobbly legs, re-summoning her Keyblade. Looking down, seeing the colossal monster harrying her and the thick blanket of fog choking the life out of the city, Kairi thought back to one of her first reactions to being in the city – how the Heartless were slowly destroying everything, ruining the lives of the people of this city.

Then, her eyes fell towards Hiro, the boy who had suffered so much pain and sorrow. Who's heart bared such deep and painful scars. The shadow of depression that had been cast on him by the Organization.

I'll pull him out of the shadows. And I'll heal the scars upon his heart.

Solemnly swearing another oath to herself, Kairi took a deep breath before saying, "For Tadashi!"

She then leaped from Baymax' back, much to Hiro's shock, descending straight towards the Blackheart Stone. A brilliant spark of light flared within her heart, as she channeled that power up into her Keyblade, a grand blade of radiant energy erupting around Destiny's Embrace!

[RADIANT FINISH: Holyra Calibur!]

A single slash was all it took for Kairi's light-blade to chop straight through the Stone, the fell column crumbling into black dust in the wake of the attack. Gravity took hold of the Keyblade Wielder, as she fell back to earth for the... well, she had lost count how many times she had plunged through the air today, but that was irrelevant. Kairi leaned into her descent, turning her body into a straight missile that surged through the air, heading right towards Ushi-Oni, like a shooting star with a brilliant scarlet tale. Hiro and Baymax were giving chase, but the Princess of Heart had already hit terminal velocity, staying just beyond their reach.

Seeing a perfect opportunity, the humongous Heartless continued it's salvo of darkness attacks, another wave of weapons flying towards Kairi. Undaunted, Kairi shielded herself by bringing the shining sabre of pure light up and spinning it like a pinwheel, scattering the weapons aside as they collided with her Keyblade. Kairi was fast approaching the Heartless, on an unstoppable collision course, so she pulled herself back, going spread eagle to cut into her velocity, before rearing her weapon back, much like a javelin thrower stepping up to the field.

"This city, these people... they don't belong to you!" Kairi declared, more for herself than anything else. No one was around to hear her, anyways. "I'll save them, I'll save all of them! There's nothing you can do to stop me!"

Simultaneously, Kairi threw her energized Keyblade like a spear, like a heat-seeking missile, dead on to Ushi-Oni, while the Heartless conjured another series of blackish weapons, before sending them towards the wielders of it's most dreaded weapon. The shining blade split through the torrent of dark energy like it was nothing, the weapon constructs bursting into blackish motes, with the Keyblade sailing on, unabated. The blade of light continued on it's perfect path, plunging deep into the center of the Heartless' torso, inflicting a grievous wound upon the demon! Cracks spread along the armour of the Guardian Heartless, as it froze in agony and anger, trembling it's hands raised in the air. But, despite the brilliant and blistering blade embedded in it's chest, the Ushi-Oni Heartless wasn't finished yet, and Kairi was still falling right towards the titan...

"One more time, Baymax! Let's go!"

Kairi turned, seeing Hiro and Baymax right near her, still flying straight ahead, even as her forward momentum shifted to a downward direction. The boy and his robot roared straight past her, Baymax rearing back his fist again, before firing the rocket-boosted gauntlet, aiming right towards the sword stuck in the Heartless' chest. Knuckle met blade, the impact and power of the thrusters driving the blade further and further in Ushi-Oni! Cataclysmic fissures spread across the body of the Heartless, as it thrashed about, while the stake was driven even further into it's... heart(?). Finally, the like light shining through dark storm clouds, the empowered Destiny's Embrace pierced through the backside of the Heartless, goring it through, fully, before both Keyblade and rocket fist punched straight through the body of the gargantuan fiend, a massive, gaping hole now carved through it's body!

Rapidly, Ushi-Oni began to break down. It's body collapsed inwards towards the tunnel bored in it's chest, literally fall in on itself and, before long, the entire mass of the being disintegrating into a cloud of black mist that soon dissipated into the air.

The Organization had been driven off. The Heartless had been wiped out. The day was theirs, and so was victory. Kairi was content. So content, she almost forget that she was plummeting to her death. Almost.

She remembered when she sank beneath the chilling fog, bracing for inevitable impact.

Impact did come, but not against hard, unforgiving asphalt. Instead, Kairi felt her entire body sink into something warm and squishy. A wave of exhaustion crashed over the girl, but she still managed to force her eyes to open to see that she was nestled in the embrace of one Honey Lemon's gel cushions. Kairi thanked whatever or whoever was watching over her for showing her mercy, as Hiro and Baymax landed right next to her, with all three of them thankful to see their other friends and companions rush up to greet them.

The remaining members of Big Hero 6 grouped around Hiro, Honey Lemon pulling the young genius off of Baymax and into a bone-crushing hug, the slight girl apparently being much stronger than first blush would suggest.

"Oh, Hiro! I'm so glad you're okay!"

"Not bad, kid. You did pretty good out there."

"Dude, that was awesome! Up top! Up top!"

Yuna and Rikku approached Kairi, each cousin offering a hand to the redhead. She was beyond grateful for the support, as she was pretty sure she wouldn't be able to get out of the gummy cushion under her own power. The exhaustion was overwhelming. She wasn't sure if was the emotional journey she had been on, her injuries, or... well, Kairi had a sneaking suspicion something else was affecting her. But that could come at another time.

"God damn, Red! That was pretty wild!" Rikku said, full of mirth, as Kairi clawed at the blonde's hand. "You got serious guts, you know that?"

"Well done, Kairi!" Yuna cheered with a warm smile. "I knew you could do it." Both cousins pulled the Key Bearer into an upright position, Kairi barely feeling her legs beneath her.

"Yeah... thanks guys..." She smiled, wearily. Her head was pounding, and the wounds on her arms and hands were still aching and throbbing. Her mind drifted off for a second, imagining that a Cure spell, some tea, and a nap would do her a world of good. "I'm just glad we won and it's over and -" Yuna and Rikku let go of Kairi and, the moment they did, her legs wobbled and wriggled in place, before giving out completely. Turns out she was going to get that face-first meeting with the asphalt after all.

Someone seized onto Kairi's arm, catching her, before pushing her into a kneeling position. Looking up, Kairi met the neutral expression and steely gaze of Paine.

"Ah, Paine, I-"

"So, that was your answer, huh?" Paine silently considered the exhausted and wounded Key Bearer for a moment, before turning about face and walking away.

Kairi deflated from the encounter. Hoping against hope, she kind of expected her dramatic victory to earn her praise and adulation from the severe swordswoman, but alas, trust was hard to earn, but even harder to repair after being broken.

The next several minutes were all a blur to Kairi. Yuna dropped a heal on her, relieving some of the pain in her body, but the exhaustion still had her in it's clutches and her head was still pounding. Fred and Rikku both called for a celebration party, with everyone agreeing that they should at least share a nice, warm meal after the battle. Admittedly, her body was still failing her, but it did Kairi's spirit a world of good to see Hiro and his friends in such a good mood. Ridding this city of the Heartless, giving the young genius a bit of closure regarding his brother, Kairi felt good about herself and her efforts, seeing the fruits of her labour blossom before her.

This... this is it. This is the answer. This is definitely what you're fighting for, Kairi. Not for Sora or yourself or anything else. But for the safety and happiness of others.

As the group of ten finally gathered up and departed, the deathly pall of fog that had blanketed the city for so long finally lifted, the sun beaming down on the city.

-O-SWLTW-O-

While the six days spent on San Fransokyo certainly set them behind schedule, Kairi was in shape to do much of anything, so the Gullwings figured a day or so of convalescence would be just was the Key Bearer needed. Taking advantage of his friends staying for just a while longer, Hiro invited everyone to the coffee shop his aunt owned, a quaint little place built into a street corner called the Lucky Cat Cafe, to celebrate their accomplishments and see the four off-worlders away. Of course, Hiro did so under express orders not to mention anything about Big Hero 6 or the Keyblade or Heartless or anything about their escapades in front of his aunt.

To Cass Hamada, her nephew was just your average, typical, everyday college-bound fourteen year-old super genius.

Sticking around in the city for an extra day had another benefit, too, as Kairi and the others got to witness the burgeoning revival of San Fransokyo itself. With the fog dispelled and the Heartless gone, people were slowly beginning to venture back into their world, reclaim their home and the lives that had been stolen from them. Kairi was certain it was still a long road ahead for the citizens, to normalize everything and repair all the damage, but it was progress all the same, and everyone was elated they could make a difference and affect positive change.

And so, ten humans and one robot gathered around several tables pushed adjacently, happily chatting while munching on snacks, downing copious amounts of coffee and tea and other assorted beverages Aunt Cass was all too happy to supply. The group pretty much had the run of the place, with only a few other customers occasionally filing in and out, looking for quick bite to perk them up or just sharing news regarding the recovering city. Kairi was lost in deep thought, while Rikku was badgering everyone for notes on how they built their tech, solely focused on hunting down the remaining tapioca pearls in her bubble tea (holy heaven, how she missed bubble tea! How she missed just bumming around a cafe with her friends without a care in the world), when Hiro stood up and pointed to the television monitor set up on the cafe bar.

"Uh, guys, might wanna check this out." The entire time they had been in the cafe, Aunt Cass had the TV set to a local news channel, the anchors and reporters providing updates on the city throughout the day.

Now, however, the image on the screen was a staticy, unfocused video of a series of colorful, but otherwise indistinct, humanoid figures fighting the Heartless. It was them, during the initial skirmish the day prior.

"Breaking news here at Channel 7! We have just received video and images of some kind of... super heroic fighting force doing battle with the shadows that attacked the city, what we here at Channel 7 are calling 'The Darklings'."

Everyone watched in silence as the images on the screen transitioned from one to the next, showing the ground team do battle with Ushi-Oni and it's forces. Every now and again, Kairi, Hiro, and Baymax would pop up. Fortunately, between the fog and the frantic nature of the action, everyone's faces and identities were obscured and hidden.

"They all appear to be wearing perfectly coordinated outfits, each with their own distinct colour, which this anchor deeply appreciates." Kairi couldn't help but roll her eyes. Of course that colour thing would come up again. "And, as we are the first to officially report on them, Channel 7 has exclusive naming rights to this group... Big Hero 10!"

"Big Hero 10!?" Fred repeated, incredulous.

"Big Hero 10..." GoGo said, also incredulous, but for completely different reasons.

"We don't know who these people are, why they chose to take up arms, or if they will return, but, from the bottom my heart, Big Hero 10... I thank you for your service. This is Duff Blunder, for Channel 7 News, signing off."

"Well, isn't that something?" Hiro murmured after the news report finished up, everyone going back to chatting among themselves. "Shame Big Hero was just a one time thing."

"Actually, Hiro, I think you guys should keep up with the super heroics." Kairi said, drawing all eyes at the table to her. Hiro and GoGo had fairly wild reactions, in particular. "Well, I mean... you guys did a lot of good, saving the city, right? And, much as I would like it not to be true, there's always going to be people like the Organization around, hurting others and making innocents suffer. But, the other side of that is, people will always need heroes to save them." Kairi gave a warm smile to her new group of friends. "And you're hearts are in the right place, too. I think... I know you guys'll be great at it!"

In response to Kairi's words of affirmation, both Hiro and Fred leaned in towards GoGo, looking at the snarky young with expectantly.

With a reluctant sigh, GoGo slumped her shoulders and relented. "We'll talk about it, okay? We'll talk about it..."

Fred almost spilled the beans then and there, standing up on the tabletop and loudly cheering, before being roundly shushed down by the others

"That being said, I think it's time for us to getting going." Kairi said, pushing herself away from the table. "We still have a lot of work to do out there." Departing wasn't easy, but it had to be done. And it seemed everyone else agreed with Kairi's sentiment.

"Well, this is goodbye for now, Baymax..." Rikku sniffled, as she threw her arms around the plushy health care robot. "You take care of yourself. I really wish there was someway we could keep in touch..."

Something appeared on the screen of Baymax' chest; it looked like the call display for a cell phone. "My systems include telecommunication technology. To allow me to stay in contact with. My patients." Rikku gasped in pleasure and wonderment at this development, quickly fishing out a phone – or some equivalent thereof – and tapping it against Baymax' chest.

The blonde squealed so loud and high-pitched, Kairi thought for a second the glass windows of the cafe were going to crack.

"Oh my god! YAS! Yunie! Look look look! I'm friends with a robot! It's a dream come true!"

"Yes, Rikku, that's very nice..." Yuna replied to her cousin, in a tone usually reserved for weary mothers addressing their hyperactive eight year-olds.

"Much as I would like you guys to stay, I get it, I get it." Hiro moved to Kairi, awkwardly avoiding eye contact with the girl. "Just... uh... take care of yourself, and you know... um..."

"If you're worried about us never coming back, don't." Kairi interrupted, earning a shy smile from the scrawny youth. "Don't know how long it will be, but when this is finish, when the Organization is defeated, I want to bring Sora here." She wasn't sure how many worlds she would visit that Sora never had, but what Kairi did know is that she wanted to take the boy she loved and show him the sights and people she had met. "I'm pretty sure you guys would get along famously with him. So, it's not 'goodbye', just 'so long for now, Hiro'."

"Yeah, see you soon, Kairi..."

"And, remember," Kairi turned to face Baymax, who Rikku was still clinging to. Yuna and Wasabi were doing there best trying to pry the spritely blonde from the robot. "You still have a lot of people who care for you and depend on you. But Tadashi..."

"Tadahsi is here." Hiro placed a finger over his heart, nodding solemnly and sadly. "Tadashi is here, and Sora, wherever he is, Sora will be there, too. You remember that."

"Yeah..." Before today, Kairi wasn't sure what she would do if she were in Hiro's shoes. If the Organization had gone to extremes and killed Sora. What would she do then, with no chance of bringing him back? Would she sink into depression and sorrow? Lash out in anger? Breakdown and do the unthinkable, finding nothing else worth living for, and taking her own life? But she knew better, now.

Sora is one person. One important person, but still only one. There are so many others out there hurting, suffering in need of salvation. Even if I couldn't save Sora, I would fight for them. I want to save them. I want to heal the scars on the hearts of others...

"And, Baymax," Kairi addressed the robot, who was now free of any clinging blonde fangirls. "You take care of Hiro, too. You guys are a good match for each other, and I think you can do a lot of good for this world." After a beat, Kairi quickly added with a slight bow. "Oh, and thank you for all your help. For helping me and Hiro with our issues..."

"Assisting others through their mental trauma is a part of my health care protocol." Baymax intoned. "But you are welcome. Kairi." Baymax then lifted a chubby fist, presenting it to the redhead. A confused Kairi looked around for an explanation. "It's a fist bimp. Hiro taught me. They are used to commemorate celebration. Success. And joy."

"You taught Baymax how to fist bump?" Kairi said through a series of giggles. Hiro gave a bashful shrug, but Kairi motioned for him to join in. Together, the Key Bearer, the genius, and the robot all softly pressed their fists together in a triangular formation.

As soon as the hands broke apart, Baymax and Hiro raised there's into the air, the young boy flicking his fingers about and making explosion sounds with his mouth, while Baymax wiggled his chubby digits stiffly and ringed out, "Ba-da-la-da-da." Not wanting to be left out, Kairi tried to mimic Hiro, but her embarrassment snagged the sounds in her throat, making her explosion noises sound more like a wet raspberry.

Waves of laughter followed Kairi's pitiful attempt, as everyone said their final goodbyes, Kairi and the Gullwings leaving the shop and off to find a private, quiet place they could beam back to the ship from. It was far from a perfect mission – it was honestly a really bad performance for the Key Bearer, all things considered – but it ended well, and that's what Kairi was focusing on. That warm feeling of pride, joy, happiness, and contentment that was blooming in her heart. Another Stone down, another world saved, another level of clarity for herself earned.

"Say, girls, tell me if I'm crazy or whatever," Rikku started up, casually chatting as her other three companions checked for alleyways or cover to serve as a warp point. "But d'ya think I got a shot with Hiro? Not right now now, but when all is said and done and stuff."

"Rikku, is hooking up with guys all you think about?" Paine groused, not even bothering to face the blonde while she spoke.

"Well, other times I think about hooking up with girls..." Rikku whined, before snapping back to chirpy. "But I'm serious! He's super smart, pretty cute, and apparently his brother was a total hottie! That scores pretty high on my personal lover index."

"Rikku..." Kairi was already cursing herself for engaging with the Al-Bhed girl's flight of fancy, but she figured she was doing a service to a friend. "Hiro's pretty young, so whatever you do, I don't want him to end up getting hurt – wait. I guess there isn't that much of an age difference between you two."

"How so?"

"Well, you're fifteen right? We're the same age. Only a one year difference."

Rikku's face scrunched up in confusion. "Uh, don't know why you think that Red. I'm seventeen." That little fact floored Kairi, as she came to a grinding halt.

"Se-seventeen!? You're two years older than me!? How? How!?" Rikku only offered a shrug, as Kairi clutched at her forehead. "You're like the most immature and irritating person I've ever met. How can you be older than me?"

"People often say there's no correlation between age and maturity." Yuna brought forth. Kairi just shook her head in dismay, not understanding anything. Not really wanting to continue this conversation.

She had one last thing left to do before they left San Fransokyo.

"Hey, Paine!" Kairi jogged forth, the dark and dour warrior having pulled ahead of the others while they had their little conversation. Paine barely paid her any attention, as she approached and spoke. "Uh... I know I screwed up, and I know you don't want to hear anything from me about how I'm sorry and stuff, but I need to get this off my chest. Please bear with me...

"I don't think I'm the person who can say if what Sora did – sacrificing himself for me, over and over again – is right or wrong. That's not my place. But... even if he acted with best intentions, giving himself up to the Organization caused a lot of pain. Hurt a lot of people. It hurt me. I'm still suffering because of his choice. Knowing that I was just something used to hurt him. Knowing we're in a worse place with me than with him. Knowing that I... almost did the same thing as he did, choosing one person above all, selfishly pushing my pain onto others. That I almost did that without even realizing... I want to break that cycle. I don't want to sacrifice myself or anything else for Sora! We'll save him, the four of us, but we'll do it the right way. Our way.

"No one else is going to get hurt because of me. I promise. I swear!"

This actually got Paine to about face and examine the redhead, with her lips drawn into hard lines, eyes laser-focused and unblinking. Her legs were set to a wide stance, feet firmly planted on the ground, shoulders rounded, and hands balled into fists. Her breathing was even and controlled – hell, everything about her seemed to be controlled, despite the earnestness of her words.

A tense moment passed, the two young woman staring at each other, before Paine slightly – almost unnoticeable – inclined her head in Kairi's direction.

"You've made plenty of mistakes so far, small and large. But at least you know when you've screwed up, and you always try and make amends when you do." For a second, Kairi thought she saw a brief smile form on the white-haired woman's lips. No. No way. She must have been imaging things.

"I'll hold you to those words, by the way. Don't let us down again."

"Right. I won't."

Soon after, the quartet of adventurer's departed from the now liberated city. It was a bumpy road, but Kairi felt like they all came out on the other side ahead. But, despite the victories, the new friends, the realization of self, and her repaired relationship with Paine, she knew there were more Stones to find, more battles to be fought, more people in need of a hero.

But until, then, Kairi had other questions she wanted to answer during the interim. Threads of a mystery that she had learned that needed to be pulled, that needed to be unraveled, so that the truth could be brought to life.

Just who, exactly, was Roxas?

---

It's over. It's finally finished. It was five chapters and ended with a 22,000 word chapter, but San Fransokyo is finally finished!

So there has been a debate within fandom circles post-III about whether it's okay or not for Kairi not to be physically strong, as she is "strong of heart". I don't necessarily disagree with the sentiment being expressed, but I do take issue with some of the logic used for the pro "strong of heart" side.

-One: I don't think the KH creative team cares enough about Kairi to actually give her a role like this or put this amount of consideration into her character.
-Two: If this was meant to be her role, then they should have never given her a Keyblade, as that places expectations on her both in universe and out.
-Three: If this was meant to be her role, then they need to stop putting her in situations where she gets kidnapped and/or killed. All that does is hurt the perception of her for those who are not already die hard fans.
-Four: They do an incredibly poor job of presenting her as being emotionally or mentally tough. Kairi never gets enough focus or insight on her and her struggles against any turmoil or anything.
-Five: I find the "strong of heart" argument reeks of sexism, as no one uses this argument for any other character when they fail or struggle. Only the Princess. The girl. The victim. Only Kairi.
-Six: The argument of being strong mentally or physically is a false dichotomy created by fans and a false binary choice. A character can be both. A character should be both. We as fans should want everything for the characters we love. Accepting that Kairi is only ever going to be "strong of heart" is a defeatist attitude.
-Seven: I have come to despise the term "strong of heart" in recent months and roll my eyes whenever I see this argument pop up.

So this arc has been my attempt at addressing that by... actually showcasing Kairi's struggles with herself and some of the less desirable parts of her heart. Highlighting what traits of her make her a noble and worthy hero (her empathy, her passion, and her drive to help others) while also showcasing some faults she has to wrestle with (her obsession, her self-loathing, and her cowardice). Like I've said before, the main Kingdom Hearts characters are usually a bit too static, particularly on the Disney worlds where they just play second fiddle to the world plot, but my goal here is to use the Disney worlds as a vehicle to deliver Kairi's arc and development.

Otherwise... I do like how this turned out. I wanted to make something a bit more unique with the fight scene and hit certain notes regarding where Kairi is and how she's progressing. I think I've accomplished all that, but, please, tell me what you think. How much did you think I succeeded or failed? Don't be afraid to let me know and have your opinion be heard.

Power Levels

Kairi has pushed and struggled her way forward and is now equivalent to Sora by the time he finishes the Pride Lands in the first world loop. She still has the advantage of being properly trained and being a bit more creative with her techniques.

The Gullwings are still roughly the same as they were at the start of this journey.

Riku, having conquered Lingering Will and taken back his heart, has achieved a power yet to unheard of. Riku is stronger than he ever has been, stronger than his self in II, Dream Drop, or III, and equivalent to Sora by the end of the game. Such is the power of a fully realized Key Bearer.

And now we'll leave San Fransokyo behind and head to our next world. What will it be? What's next on Kairi's journey? What of Sora, Namine, and Riku? And this mystery with Roxas? Please feel free to drop a line and share your thoughts and feelings. All input and commentary is welcomed!

Until next time, let the light guide your path forward.