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]

22. The Twisted Fairy Tale

Quick shout out to Curse of Kings for the series of reviews he recently dropped. Thanks for the support and input!

Apologies for the month hiatus between chapters, January was... a thing. However, because social media is a thing I'm bad at and trying to do better, you can follow me on Twitter " Angelo_Fiction" for updates on my work as well as my (less than valuable) opinions on games, pro wrestling, tokusatsu, and stuff like that.

---

She Will Light The Way
Chapter Twenty-Two
The Twisted Fairy Tale

"Xehanort, are you absolutely sure about this?" Even asked for what must have been the tenth time today. It was all out of legitimate concern, but still. "I understand the shortage of test subjects has caused progress to stall, but to resort to using ourselves, it's -"

"Even." Xehanort's voice was calm and commanding as it always was when he addressed his fellow conspirators, his almost supernatural charisma shining through from just a single word. There had been a reason why he was able to galvanize support and loyalty from these five, turning them away from Ansem's influence in the process. "If we do not take this risk then our experiments will end, here and now. Ansem has already shut off most of our avenues of progress, and even the King is beginning to suspect something is amiss. It has to be ourselves, and I will gladly volunteer for this first venture." Even cowed to the explanation, the career scientist finding no more reason to argue, though some others present still found excuses to talk back.

"Aw, come on, surely there's some way we can keep the old system up?" Braig commented, blithely. The guardsman was stalking along the far edge of the room, singular eye locked onto Xehanort and glinting malevolently. "Sure, Ansem may have cut off our funding, but we could still pony up some gil to hire a couple homeless bums. Or maybe we can start kidnapping folks!" The guardsman chuckled darkly, in a way that made it difficult to tell if he was joking or being sincere. "What about those two punks who are always sneaking around here? Lea and Isa?"

"We are not some consortium of common thugs and criminals." Aeleus snorted, indignantly. "I will not allow this group to resort to something as base and illegal as that. We still represent the Radiant Garden, after all." The burly guardsman pronounced in a holier-than-thou attitude, as if what the group of six had already done wasn't morally and ethically dubious, if not outright reprehensible.

Braig just waived off the concerns of his fellow apprentice. "Jeez, chill out man. That's the problem with the four of you, you're all too stuffy and serious." It was clear that Braig was addressing everyone currently in the room save himself and Xehanort. He then turned back to speak directly to the appointed leader of the group. "Seriously, though, you got this, man. We've already followed you this far, why would we change course now?"

Xehanort nodded in appreciation at the words of confidence. That had been Braig's role since he had woken up on Radiant Garden, being Xehanort's strongest and most vocal supporter. Especially when it came to the nature of their experiments. The eye-patched man always knew what to say to drive Xehanort forward, to stoke his curiosity or build up his motivation In fact, it was as if Braig sometimes knew the amnesiac man better than he knew himself...

Regardless, Xehanort knew what he had to do, as he shed most of his clothing, stepping into the capsule mounted in the corner of the decrepit, secretive chamber the six apprentices were forced to use as a laboratory.

It didn't take long after his awakening and integration into Ansem's apprentices that Xehanort began his grand project. To delve into the mysteries of the heart; not the muscular organ that pumped blood through one's vessel, but the mystical, spiritual core that defined every living being. At first, Ansem was encouraging of this project, generously providing grants – thousands and thousands of gil – towards the project, even joining in with his apprentices. Together, Ansem and Xehanort had discovered secrets such as memory being held within the heart, as an indelible element separate from impulses stored in the brain.

But such trivialities did little to sate the everlasting, unfathomable lust for knowledge that lay with Xehanort's heart. Without his memories, the man himself did not know where this desire came from, but it dwelt within his heart like a hungering beast. He had to learn more. To see more. To break down the separate elements of a heart – light, dark, memory, emotion – or split a heart in two; to transfer a heart into a foreign vessel. And then there were the little shadows that had recently spawned on Radiant Garden. The Heartless. Where did they come from? Could they be created in a laboratory setting?

But Ansem had gotten wind of some of the more unsavoury experiments Xehanort, Braig, Dilan, Even, Aeleus, and Ienzo had performed, forbidding the six from going any further with human experimentation, forcing his hand to do this.

That was fine, though, Xehanort had rationalized in a moment of frustrated clarity. He could continue in secret and, when the time came, he could present the results to Ansem, forcing that foolish old man to admit his fault. Whatever unknown emotion was driving him forward, Xehanort knew the fruits of his labour would bring about revolution. Change the world. Change the very definition and meaning of the word "human".

Not to mention, none of the prior test subjects they had hired possessed the mettle necessary to survive the procedures Xehanort inflicted on them. So many had pitifully died on his operating table. But not in vein, hopefully. All great achievements in human history were made of blood and sacrifice, and the only difference between an atrocity and a triumph was success. No, this was the better way. Braig, the others, and himself would make for far better test subjects than the riffraff they hired off the street; the homeless and invalid and those hard up for cash.

He was about to shut the capsule chamber when Xehanort saw the reluctance on the faces of his fellow apprentices. Everyone save Braig, at least, who was still silently urging him on and supporting him. "You need not worry, everyone. We know the safety systems are in place and work without fail. The fail-safes have been perfected; they worked flawlessly the last ten tests."

The purpose of the device Xehanort was about to enter was to decouple a heart from it's vessel, but not so much as to let the body die or cause the heart to vanish into the ether. But, the process did create a tiny gap of space between the body and heart, and something did enter the vessel to fill that void, caused some kind of change within the consciousness of the subject for that brief second their being was split in two.

The avenue of human experimentation may have been closed off to the apprentices, but they still had the means to perform experiments on animals. Dogs, cats, rats, and rabbits had been shoved into the capsule and forced through the procedure. Many had died. More turned into Heartless. But the handful that survived – including the last ten subjects – were changed. Less skittish and active, less aware of their surroundings, completely spaced out. Some of the animals would just stand perfectly still and stare into space for hours on end following the test. They had seen something, and Xehanort was desperate to witness it as well.

Aeleus sealed the capsule door on the white-haired man, who felt as if this was the moment he was born for. The advent of his destiny and purpose. Ienzo and Even took the helm of the console that controlled the machine, the two booting the system up while Even spoke into a small recorder, to mark what would surely be a monumental day in the history of Radiant Garden and humanity.

"The day is February twentieth. The time, four-seventeen AM. We are continuing the essence decoupling experiment, beginning with human testing. Subject number one. Beginning on my mark..."

Both scientists quickly finished the inputs on the console, causing the machine to whir to life. Blue light flooded the capsule, obscuring Xehanort's vision beyond the glass shield. The hair on his arms and the back of his neck stood up, as an electrical charge surged all around him. At first, it was nothing more than a pleasant tingling, but it quickly turned into a mild burning sensation, Xehanort feeling his skin sear from the electric field, as both his breath and heart rate rose quickly in response. The buzzing of the machine reached such a speak that he barely could make Even's voice crackling over the P.A.

"Decoupling process will begin in T-minus five... four... three... two... and one..."

Everything – the light, the noise, and the electric field – all surged and pulsed to their highest point, overwhelming Xehanort's senses. His skin was on fire, as thunder filled his ears and lightning stole his vision. But that was nothing to the intense magnetic force that had clutched onto his heart. Again, not the organ, but the core of his being. The totality of himself. Xehanort could feel his entire being split into two, in such agony that he couldn't even scream. Slowly, inch by inch, he saw a light erupt from his chest, as a glowing heart was dragged through the teak flesh of his chest. The unfathomable pain racing through him prevented Xehanort from moving – even blinking – as he was forced to watch, all but paralyzed, as the machine dragged his heart out from him.

The entirety of the spiritual core left his body, only separated by the tiniest degree of space, a nanometer that even his eyes could not perceive.

Something filled in that tiny sliver of a space, and Xehanort then felt everything and nothing all at once.

His consciousness scattered about, spreading through time and space like a storm of shooting stars racing through the night. Images and sounds, familiar and foreign, flooded his mind and overwhelming him. It felt like an eternity, even though it only occurred over a handful of seconds.

Memories thought to be forever lost sparked within the recesses of his heart. Knowledge that he should never know came to mind. The past, present, and future was laid out before his eyes, along with his purpose. Along with the one true path forward that existed. The inevitability of fate.

The advent of Xehanort's destiny.

Himself as a young man – a teenager, really – with another youth of similar age, dressed in the formal robes of a samurai with dark hair. The younger Xehanort seemed friendly with the samurai youth, and they both carried something alike. A weapon. A sword. Shaped like a key.

Keyblade.

Now, an old man, bald and with a stooped back, possessed with both an air of wickedness but also one of perception, pride, purpose, and power. A great man. Another Xehanort. Was this who he would become in the future?

Master Xehanort.

No. Xehanort quickly realized this used to be him, in the past. The recent past. The body he had now was not the body he was born with. A heart could be transferred to a new vessel...

Eight people came and went – three women and five men, divided into three groups. The first stood against his elder self. They would all suffer and die for their intransigence.

The three lost Masters. A foolish woman, a naive man, and a broken boy.

Two blondes – a boy and a girl – together within a vacant white room, happy to finally be together, even as echoes of themselves played out all around them. They were simply pawns to extend the great design.

The witch and the knight.

Three more young people. Childhood friends. The various lives of the brunet boy, redheaded girl, and silver-haired boy played out before him. These three... they were the key. They would become the key.

The saviour. The princess. The destroyer.

Now, Xehanort most certainly did witness the future. Himself, or yet another version of himself, standing against the saviour, the princess, and the destroyer, the four on the cusp of battle. Their battlefield would be a strange, inverted world, with the ground being an endless starry night's sky while the sky itself was filled with skyscrapers stretching upside down.

The three fell, dying in blood and pain, as the one, perfect truth of the world filled the totality of Xehanort's mind. His heart. His body. His everything. That beautiful, glorious heart-shaped moon became his everything.

Kingdom Hearts.

Xehanort knew exactly what he had to do. Exactly how events would proceed from this point in time. Perfect, unchangeable, ineffable destiny...

The next thing Xehanort knew he was collapsed on the floor of the makeshift lab with the other apprentices gathered around him.

"Xehanort? Xehanort!?" Braig was the closest, shaking him with a hand placed on his back. "What happened!? What did you see?"

Xehanort looked up from the floor, piercing eyes falling on Xigbar. The man soon to be Xigbar. His irises shone like gold pulled straight from the forge, while his sclera were blacker than the deepest pits of hell.

"I saw everything."

-O-SWLTW-O-

On the surface, The World That Never Was seemed like such a fantastical and wondrous place. The name was all too apt because to mortal eyes, it seemed too impossible to ever exist. An expansive and impressive metropolis spanned the surface of the world, hundreds of tall skyscrapers looming high into the air, perfect monoliths of steel and glass, unblemished streets crisscrossing beneath their shadows, those shades only broken up by the buzzing glow of neon. The entire city was still and harmonious, clean, perfect! Even the ultra-modern cityscape of San Fransokyo felt passe and out of date in comparison. It was an architectural symphony, a divine masterpiece the likes of which a human could only dream of and never achieve.

But even more impressive was the fortress that hung above the city, blazing white to contrast the utter darkness of the city, so much so that the exterior of the stronghold was whiter than pure, freshly fallen snow. Standing high in the permanently sunless night sky, it was the lone star the world needed and worshiped. A star with geometries that defied expectation and reality, not alien but not familiar either. Both round and angular, sharp and broad, flat and towering. If the dark city beneath the castle was a divine masterpiece, then the castle would make the gods blush and feel inadequate that nothing they produced could ever match up to this sublime structure.

But that's what was visible from a surface glance. If one were to dig a little deeper – even a half inch deep – then they would see how much of a lie this initial impression all was.

The city was clean and pristine, silent, but it was also silent. Deathly silent. Nothing roamed through the streets or inhabited the monolithic structures lining them, save the Heartless, skulking for prey they would never find. The only light and noise came from the neon signs, the faint, artificial glow doing little to pierce the ominous shadows, occasionally flickering off and on, letting the darkness repeatedly encroach against the weak light.

And the castle may be a star, but it was in name only. The stronghold was cold, sucking in all heat and warmth from miles around. And the sheer, stark whiteness only highlighted that coldness, that lifelessness that radiated from the castle, from the city, from the world.

This was the world of the Nobodies, and just as they looked human but were truly heartless monsters beneath that veneer, this beautiful and fantastical place was simply hollow and vacant to it's core. A perfect reflection of it's masters.

Said masters were currently cloistered away in one of the many towering spires that made up their fortress, conspiring on their next course of action. Or, rather, they should be but were instead all four members of the waning and declining Organization XIII were currently embroiled in their own petty bickering over how things had progressed in recent time.

"Superior, do forgive the brashness of my tone, but I continue to question why none of us our being allowed to sortie against the Princess. Particularly myself. Why am I not allowed to clash on the battlefield?" Luxord was fortunate – as always – to catch Xemnas in a moment of downtime, the leader of the Nobodies grimly marching down one of the halls to his own private chambers. Their argument had spiraled and grown enough that both Xigbar and Saix, the entirety of the Organization as it stands, were now observing the two. "The only tasks we have been handed is escorting the boy and gathering more hearts. It's become a dreadfully dull affair. I am in dire need of some excitement and, well, if the Princess is destined to perish, why not sooner than later? Why not leave it to my deft hands?"

Xemnas was not amused by his subordinate, by neither the interruption nor his argument, regarding the Gambler of Fate with a flat, distant glance. "I care not for your excitement Number X. Nor do I see the value in acting rashly and hasty. You don't want to end up like Xaldin, do you? But ignoring all that, you specifically are being punished for defying a direct order. You were told not to engage the girl and let the Silhouettes deal with it."

"I told him as much, Superior." Saix pointed out, looming behind Xemnas. "That he would suffer such consequences for his insubordination." From even further behind the scarred Nobody, Xigbar taunted by making kissing and sucking noises.

Before such pointless bickering could escalate, Xemnas silenced his two underlings with a venomous and threatening glare, before returning to Luxord, the gamer Nobody only having grown more indignant.

"That was a bloody fluke, you all know it! The girl is a delusional child lacking in courage, technique, or strength! That any of us would fall to her is a farce!" The blonde was prickled and heated, snapping at the slights piled upon him.

"Your skull was cracked open. You barely possessed the strength to Corridor back here." Was Saix comment, only drawing more ire from Luxord. "Phrase it however you'd like, the facts are clear."

Before the spat could continue any further, Xemnas held a hand up, demanding silence from his soldiers and followers. It was a truly annoying thing to deal with, the other Nobody's propensity to argue and bicker over the most minor of things. None of the other twelve could ever set aside such worthless emotions such as pride.

"Luxord, do you believe in the destiny I have set out for you? For all of us? For this entire Realm?" Xemnas asked, making direct eye contact with the Gambler. The latter seemed taken aback that his boss was addressing by his name.

"But of course. I am a wholehearted adherent to the one true fate you have instilled in us."

"Then heed my words." Now, Xemnas was addressing his assembled troops. "While we have all made mistakes that have cost us allies and resources, every signpost that I witnessed has come to pass. Without fail and without alteration. Follow my gospel and I shall lead you to deliverance. To providence. To all the power and glory destiny has to offer the faithful!"

This seemed enough to quell the bickering, both Saix and Xigbar nodding along with the Superior's sermon, though Luxord still seemed resistant to Xemnas' way of thinking. But it had been ten long years of leading the Organization, Xemnas knew how to coral his wayward sheep.

"And I do promise you, when the time comes, you will have your part to play. You will have your fun. Four Nobodies, four Key Bearers." The Superior's baleful golden eyes darted across his subordinates in term, Saix to Xigbar to Luxord. "You will be the ones to fell our three meddlesome Key Bearers." That caught Luxord's attention, drew him further in. Bound him to the Superior, his words, and his plans. He thought himself such a master gamesman, but he was far too easily to manipulate. Offer him his fun and games and he would fall right in line. "You, my elite, my inner circle, shall deliver their hearts to me and complete our great work. Our perfect Kingdom Hearts!"

Luxord grinned, bowing his head in reverence to his leader. "I will follow your every word, Superior. Until the very end of destiny's distant and dire thread."

With the squabbling of his minions settled and their desires and loyalties bought, Xemnas excused himself and continued towards his destination, silently mocking the foolish of the three.

Faith truly was a useless thing, the Superior thought. Belief in friends, family, love, country, wealth, strength, any abstract value or tangible virtue, it was all meaningless. All belief did was blind one to the truth, to the only thing that actually deserved to have faith placed in. Destiny. The one true path forward in existence. Because there was only one true path, time and space moving forward like a rushing river to an anomalous point far in the distance. You could not fight against the river, you could not divert it's flow, you could not halt it's passage, such actions were the height of foolishness, as destiny was set out from the very beginning of existence. Every single being had their fate predetermined from even before their conception, to be blindly swept forward by the river.

All except Xemnas. He had seen where the river was heading. Xehanort had glimpsed it, ten years ago. The river was rushing forward to it's final destination, and all Xemnas had to do was wait for it to come. He and his other selves had been waiting for so, so long...

Hidden away from the other Nobodies was a private chamber meant only for the Superior's use. Lacking features and light, the abyssal room was barely big enough for one person to occupy and was specifically designed to block out all external stimuli: sight, sound, smell, and touch. The perfect area for a meditation chamber.

As a Nobody, Xemnas obviously lacked the heart needed to repeat the experience that caused his original self to see the future, to see what destiny had in store, but in that vision both Somebody and Nobody found that a chamber like this could serve a similar purpose. Standing within this void of light, sound, and life, the master of nothingness could stretch his consciousness beyond the prison that was linear existence. Beyond the veil of the Realm of Light to somewhere beyond.

To whichever place he now dwelt.

"Ah, so you have returned my furthest self. Wonderful. I always do enjoy our conversations."

The emptiness of the void drew all of Xemnas' senses and thoughts to this abyss of time. Seeing but not seeing, standing but not standing, Xemnas stood face-to-face with the bald, stooped-back man he first saw ten years ago.

The first. The original. The prime. Xehanort, the Keyblade Master.

"Ah, you must excuse the haste in my greeting. Time has no meaning where I exist, so I have no way of telling when you are speaking to me." The wicked old man croaked, smiling slyly. "What updates to you bring? How close are you to obtaining our purpose?"

"Yes, my original self. Things proceed as we witnessed so long ago." The two Xehanorts had not spoken since Saix had coerced Sora into joining their cause. "The destroyer regained his original form and earned his Keyblade, his darkness truly formidable. The princess continues to doubt her light, but from that doubt her light shall be stoked into a roaring flame." Xemnas had seen the conflict through the eyes of the Silhouette of Zexion, sowing seeds of doubt regarding the girl and her light and her bonds. The next three Silhouettes would continue along that path, breaking her down and before the princess would build herself up even higher, so that her heart would shine as the sun. Her Light would serve their purpose, too. "And the witch contacted the saviour. But..."

The true Xehanort cocked his head at his Nobody's hesitance, raising an eyebrow. "But? Do I sense doubt within you, my furthest self."

Xemnas' eyes narrowed. Faith was a foolish thing, but doubt was even moreso. Why doubt when destiny was assured? "I am concerned by the progression of certain events." The large signposts along the river had been glimpsed, but not every signpost. Not every event witnessed. There were things that had happened that still caught Xemnas, even with all the knowledge he held, by surprise. "Another one of my servants perished in battle, to the princess nonetheless. She also learned of the existence of the knight, while the witch realigned the various hearts scattered within the saviour. Things have spiraled out of control beyond my comprehension. Where things go from here -"

"'Where things go'? My furthest self, we know where things go! We know where all things lead!" The elder Xehanort held his finger up, wriggling them in sheer delight, while his Nobody watched in mute, emotionless appeal. Such a contrast between two delineated from one another. "Those twelve fools you recruited only existed to serve our purpose and then die for the cause. Expendable pawns, nothing more! And you need not concern yourself with the smaller details of those children, we have seen their final fate, have we not? Seen the final piece needed to create out ultimate work!"

That was true. The inverted world. Xemnas standing against the three friends from those accursed Islands. The fated final fight. The was wear the river was headed. That's what was near it's terminus.

"But of course. Whatever happens, that shall come to pass. And, after so long, the dream we have all sought for so long will be achieved. For you, and for my other selves, I shall wield the χ-Blade!"

At the mention of that object, spoken in such loft and reverent tones by Xemnas, the original Xehanort looked wistful and reminiscent, thinking back to his own life.

"Ah, what a fool I was in life. But I was bound by the limitations of a mortal body." Xehanort clicked his tongue in dismay. "And in that urgency, spurred by my decaying, aging body, I acted rashly, without much forethought. In the end, my hypothesis proved to be correct, but my methodology was flawed. A light and a darkness of equal strength can create the χ-Blade, but Ventus and Vanitas were the wrong subjects. Their enmity was too great, throwing the entire experiment off-kilter. And even if one subsumed the other, the balance between light and dark would be destroyed. Their union lacked harmony!

"But, fortunately, when I went to possess the body of Eraqus' naive apprentice, I saw the truth that would come to pass as well, the moment my heart separated from my failing body. The method to make the true χ-Blade!"

That was what the last decade of work had been for. Slowly but surely assembling all the pieces needed, as destiny dictated. The false Kingdom Hearts they were crafting would serve as the base of their χ-Blade; thousands of hearts, weak and lack in consciousness would make for the perfect shell. And the core of this weapon would combine the elements Xehanort's first χ-Blade possessed – a strong light bound with a strong darkness – and all that it lack – balance and harmony.

The heart of a warrior, bathed in such brilliant darkness it could blot out the sun itself.

The heart of a Princess, with light shining pure and perfect; a flawless and indestructible diamond.

And the heart of a hero, possessing neither light or dark, to serve as a fulcrum point.

And then, for the final piece, the inseparable, unbreakable bonds those heart shared, which would keep the entire blade in perfect, total harmony.

The voices of the two Xehanorts rose, joining together in zealous worship of the ancient weapon they aimed to forge. The ultimate Keyblade that was their birthright by destiny.

"Yes. In that inverted world, I shall steal the hearts of those three children – of Sora, Kairi, and Riku – and create our perfect χ-Blade!"

"And, with that χ-Blade you shall set into motion my goal. With your body – immortal and unaging – and your mind – unclouded by needless emotion – and with Kingdom Hearts under your command, you shall sire Keyblade Warriors across the cosmos and usher in a new Keyblade War! Not a battle between six or seven, thirteen or twenty, but hundreds! Thousands! The Realm of Light has seen six Keyblade Wars before and they have reduced it to this state, what will happen after the seventh? Destruction? Rejuvenation? Order or chaos?" Master Xehanort motioned to his Nobody self, motioning to the perfect distillation of himself. Immortal and unaging, bereft of the weaknesses of the heart such as emotion, only fueled by logic and reason. The perfect being. "You, my furthest self, shall be the conductor and sentinel that shall finally slake my eternal curiosity. Finally see what lies beyond this momentous event!"

Faith was foolish. Belief was foolish. Emotions and bonds and desires were foolish. Such concepts only clouded the mind and lead the weak astray.

To Xehanort – to all Xehanorts – all one needed was mindlessly march towards the finality of fate and destiny. To embrace the absolute, ironclad destiny set out for all world, all beings, all hearts from the very beginning.

"We are so close, my original self. Whatever happens, whatever oddities or twists in the path that may lie ahead, I shall not turn away. The future is set in stone. Destiny is set in stone. Our victory and their failure is set in stone. I will see the river to it's very end."

Destiny was inevitable, after all. And there was no point in being afraid of the inevitable.

-O-SWLTW-O-

"Rikku, watch yourself, it's throwing it's tail again!"

"I see, I see! Just keep an eye on the head, Paine!"

"Oh, I wish I had better skill with Green Magic... Magnet would come in handy right about now..."

"Leave that to me, Kairi. Just keep whittling away at it!"

Nestled within a dense pine forest, Kairi and the Gullwings had found their next Blackheart Stone, quickly dispatching it before facing it's Guardian. Fortunately, the wooded sanctum was far enough from the small provincial town and it's adjacent grand palace the group had touched down in that there would be no issues with protecting innocents from the Heartless. Even more fortunate, the Cait Sidhe Heartless was much smaller compared to it's other brethren, especially the titanic Ushi-Oni and Mushussu. The midnight black feline Heartless stood just a bit taller than a bull chocobo, far less fearsome and intimidating than it could be.

Unfortunately, Kairi (as always) found her luck only going south far. While lacking in stature and strength, the Heartless was a tricky foe, able to separate it's body parts at will, while also being able to create illusory doubles of itself when it's body was whole. Currently, as the four heroines battled the fiend in a circular clearing, all four of it's limbs along with it's head and tail were detached from it's torso, with said torso hanging high in the air, spinning about and belching ghostly flames from all six of it's holes.

Kairi darted in between the dangerous rain of the pale blue fire, with one of the cat's forelimbs rushing towards her, four-inch claws fully extended. Pushing away her frustrations with the deficiencies in her spell palette, Kairi rolled away from another gout of flame, before rolling under the sweeping arc of the disembodied limb. Dragging Destiny's Embrace's teeth across the dirt and detritus beneath her, Kairi's Quake spell ripped through the earth, a twisted rocky spire shooting upright and skewering the limb through it's joint, just as it turned to take another try to cut down the Key Bearer. An overhanded blow crashed through the paw of the forelimb, rending and destroying the rest of the limb with it, but Kairi could take no sense of pride or joy from the accomplishment. She and her companions had been swatting down and destroying limbs, head, and tail for five minutes now, and the Guardian kept on regenerating them. The torso was the core of the Heartless.

Out of the corner of her eye, Kairi could see her companions dealing with the other parts of the Heartless. The tail had turned ramrod straight and was repeatedly plunging into the ground, trying to skewer Rikku. The blonde deftly weaved in between each stabbings strike, before twisting her body around and taking off like a whirligig, twin daggers shredding into the tail while also creating much needed separation. The tail went limp with the gouges rent into it before Rikku finished it off with a double Strike Raid from her smaller weapons. The other three limbs had swarmed about Paine, but the swordswoman quickly dealt with them in short order. She had been performing well tonight, chopping down what must have been dozens of legs, not that it counted for anything. Elsewhere, off to the edge of the clearing, Yuna was lobbing Magnet spells into the air, but no matter how she arced them, the body of the Heartless was always outside the allure of the magnetic magic.

"We need to get the body closer to the ground. If you can do that, I can pin it in place with Gravity or Magnet." Yuna called out, just as Kairi and Paine double-teamed the severed head of the Cait Sidhe, eliminating it as well. It would only buy them a few moments before the Heartless began regenerating itself.

Kairi nodded at the announcement, bolting forward to the center of the clearing. "Paine, Rikku, give me covering fire. I got an idea here!" As she acted, Kairi was all too aware that the Guardian had caused more lesser Heartless to the flood the clearing, as well as already reviving one limb and it's tail.

With ghostly fire still descending all about, Kairi kept a Reflera spell up, arced over her head like an umbrella to keep her head dry from the perilous rain. Behind her, Rikku and Paine began to corral the freshly summoned hordes of Heartless, with Yuna keeping her eyes trained on Kairi and the Cait Sidhe.

Kairi darted straight forward to be right under the Heartless, paradoxically the safest place to be, as only few wisps of flame managed to find their way down there. Still, the Key Bearer knew she was going to have all six disembodied portions of the Guardian bearing down on her before long, time was still of the essence. Kairi pirouetted back and forth, manifesting globules of water that shifted and bubbled in the air, hovering in a loose circle at waist height. Then, raising Destiny's Embrace above her head, a geyser of water burst out from the tip, reaching into the sky and growing thinner and thinner. Her Water Whip was a useful spell, Kairi knew, but the longer she made the lash, the thinner and weaker it's form became. By itself, it would not be enough to yank down the destructive black cat Heartless.

As the thin chord of water barely made it's way up to hook onto the body of the Cait Sidhe, the globes of water hanging about Kairi bubbled and frothed, liquid tendrils erupting into the sky, racing towards where the first whip had reached. Kairi was pretty sure the same rules would apply to these other whips – she had never done or even thought of a spell like this before – but where one on it's own couldn't get the job done, a dozen threads woven together into a web-like net would be more than enough to drag down this prey.

Sure enough, when all the fluid strands wound their way around the Guardian's body, it looked as if the fiendish feline had been ensnared in a great web of crisscrossing, gossamer strands! Pulling with all her might, Kairi was thankful she didn't need to get this thing down the ground level, not with all four limbs, the tail, and the head of the thing barreling on her from on high, ready to crush the thing that was threatening the totality of their being. Ignoring the threat, the Key Bearer focused solely on pulling the body towards her, knowing she didn't have long now.

Just a little more... Any second now... Kairi sweated and huffed. She could hear the buzzing of the Heartless' body parts zooming right towards her.

Fortunately, another set of sounds joined the horrid buzzing. The boom of gunfire, and the crackling of magical energy. A gold-and-black sphere of energy zipped through the air, severing the lines of Kairi's whips and freeing the Cait Sidhe. That was fine though, as Yuna's Magnega spell began to exert it's will, forcibly pulling all the disparate parts of the Guardian Heartless into it's orbit, while also pulling in some of the grunts around the area. Everything the orb had picked up flailed helpless in the air, as Kairi retreated from beneath the Heartless.

"Alright! With that done, let's pull out the showstopper!"

Kairi reached down into herself to take a handful of power and release it. But she explicitly, consciously, and pointedly avoided taking hold of her Light. It wasn't needed, it wasn't necessary. She could pull out a win without it.

Instead, Kairi welled as much mana as she could and brought it to bare, a surge of energy flowing into her Keyblade. Whirling the weapon around, Kairi drew wide circles in the space above her head, Destiny's Embrace engraving a blazing red spell glyph into the air, sending out waves of heat into the crisp, woodland air.

Her Light was empowered by emotion and desire. Magic could be boosted through memory, sensation, and focus. This spell needed heat, so Kairi focused on the blazing hot summer days on the Islands, the first time she burned herself on the stove as a child, or that time she took a bite of Sora's sandwich, not realizing it had been jam-packed with spicy peppers.

Her focus flickered and waned for the moment she thought of Sora, her heart crying in pain for more than one reason, but Kairi pushed past it and then physically pushed the spell that had been gathering above her Keyblade into the air.

[BLAZING FINISH: Scarlet Starflare!]

The glyph and the haze of heat around it expanded into a roaring fireball, five feet in diameter, that began to lazily rise into the air, like a helium balloon that had been lightly batted upward. By this point in time, Yuna's Magnega spell had expired, freeing the Heartless from it's orbit, though they still needed a moment to compose themselves after being flung about so chaotically. Still, at first blush, it seemed the blazing vermilion star was a bust, as it continued to crawl into the sky at a glacial pace, too slow to hit anything.

The hordes of lesser Heartless charged Kairi and the Gullwings, while the Cait Sidhe sicked it's body parts at them again. Yuna and the others readied for the clash, but Kairi stood by, passive yet confident in what was about to happen.

The light and temperature emanating from the fireball swelled, casting everything in a bright red light, while the four human girls felt the roaring heat lick at them. Where once the singular large fireball was, dozens and dozens of smaller flames burst forth from it's form, conical bolides that whizzed out in all directions, blindingly fast as the spherical flame was slow. The streaks of scarlet starlight spread out in all directions, arcing through the air and cutting a swathe through the Heartless, passing through them and leaving burning holes through the bodies of the shadows! Those that survived the initial impalement were quickly set ablaze, as the shooting stars twisted and turned back around, taking a second, third, and fourth pass at their targets! The Heartless could neither stand up to the strength of the spell nor avoid it's blistering speeds, as the various grunt Heartless along with the tail and legs of the Cait Sidhe were overwhelmed and annihilated in the magical inferno. Soon enough, only the central body and head of the Guardian remained, with the scorching stars all converging in on their location. Brilliant streaks of crimson and scarlet arced towards the Heartless from all angle, creating an inescapable cage of light and flame, which quickly closed in and torched the Heartless, a massive burst of flame consuming it's shadowy essence!

With the Heartless taken care of, a cheer rose up from the four heroines, Kairi pumping her fist in victory while sharing high-fives and other gestures of affirmative contact with her teammates. After all the turmoil and ups-and-downs she had been having, it felt nice to have such a clean, solid win under her belt. Not to mention, it was a testament to how skilled Kairi was getting at combat. Remembering her fearful performance against her first Guardian Heartless to now...

"Stone down, Heartless down. Looks like that's a mission cleared, ladies!" Kairi announced to the companions, cheerful and lively. She still had a ways to go, sure, but she had also come a long way since then.

-O-SWLTW-O-

Though the battle may be done and the day may have been won, striking down the Heartless did not spell an end to the girls' time on this world. Their supply of perishable foodstuffs had dwindled down to very low levels, having last been restocked on San Fransokyo, so it was an absolute necessity the foursome stocked up on meats, produce, and dairy products before they departed. Otherwise, they would not make it to the next world with a full pantry or full bellies.

Kairi actually enjoyed the change of pace whenever she and the Gullwings had to shop for supplies. Going to market and seeing what each world had available, what foodstuffs defined the cuisine and culture of the place she visited. She wondered if Sora had to do this with Donald and Goofy and if he felt the same way. Probably, she eventually decided. Sora's mom was a chef and he had learned how to cook from a young age. He had gotten pretty good at it, too, as Kairi reflected on the last time she had eaten something made by Sora or his mom. A sigh escaped the redhead's lips, both happy and forlorn. More precious memories that were now exposed to a harsh light, causing her mind to question it all, as her heart winced and shuddered.

Trying to bury that unwanted pain, Kairi thoroughly threw herself into her task, picking up the last couple of things she had been tasked with buying. Much as she missed the conveniences of modern life on the Islands, she had to admit, the freshness of the groceries was marvelous! Even if the selection was a little sparse for her tastes (it was mostly root vegetables and the fruits were limited to basically apples) Kairi still appreciated the benefits of shopping directly from the farmers themselves. Finishing her shopping list with a sack of flour, Kairi headed off the reunite with the others.

"You're in quite a good mood today, Kairi." Yuna observed after the group finally finished up. They were heading off back into the forest to find a secluded area to beam back to the ship, though they still needed to navigate through the entire town.

Kairi was leading the group while happily skipping along and humming to herself. "Well, yeah! We did good today. No majors screw-ups and a clean victory for us!"

"It was nice for the Stone to be in a location that wasn't a pain in the ass to get to." Paine said.

"See, Paine gets it!" Kairi laughed at the absurdity. Paine of all people was in agreement with her bubbly optimism. Her jovial smile only grew when the dark-clad woman brushed it off, rolling her eyes. "Seriously though, I'm just glad we had an easy go of it. Though, I was sort of hoping we'd run into Roxas again. I want to get a chance to meet with him, face-to-face, and thank him. Get to know him."

"Actually, I've been meaning to ask you that, Red." Came Rikku from the back of the group, lagging behind due to the weight of her bundle of groceries. "Why are you so sure this mystery Key Bearer is this Roxas guy?"

"Hmm? Well, who else would it be? We discussed this, it's not like there's a lot of Key Bearers running around."

"What about your friend Riku?" Her bubbliness suddenly popping, Kairi dug her heels into the earth and spun around, looking for further explanation from the blonde as to how she knew of him. "Single K." Rikku clarified, which only caused Kairi to harden her gaze. That was not the explanation she was looking for. "Oh. Uh, Leon told us, and he heard from the King, that he was suppose to get the Keyblade instead of Sora, but it rejected him or something."

"Right, okay. That makes sense." Kairi bit her lip, thinking but trying to be mindful of her location. She had stopped right near the main thoroughfare of the town – the path that lead to the majestic, fairy-tale castle standing against the setting sun – and had to be mindful of all the traffic coming and going.

She felt incredibly guilty admitting it, but Kairi had not spent a lot of time since this all began – returning home to the Islands, regaining her memories, starting this adventure, everything! – thinking about Riku. Even though she had a stronger friendship with Sora, Riku still mattered to her. He was a dear friend, her older brother in all but name and blood, and she did care about him, but she still ended up spending so much time thinking about Sora. About their friendship. Their bond. What they were going to do together when this was all over. Always Sora, never Riku.

No wonder he turned bad back there. Always the third wheel, while Sora and I put each other on a pedestal. He... I'm so sorry, Riku. You deserve better from us.

"Riku had changed" is what she said to Sora a year ago. His bitterness and impatience led him to do rash, terrible things. But Kairi and Sora had their share of the blame in Riku's actions. They both ignored him in favour of each other. But, Kairi had seen that even after falling into darkness, her friend and brother was still there. Riku had changed. But it was neither all bad or all good, Riku was still Riku, and Riku still possessed his noble and strong heart regardless.

"To be honest, guys, as faraway as Sora seems, I wouldn't even know where to begin finding Riku. Last time I saw him, Sora had just freed my heart and Ansem had destroyed his body, casting his heart into the darkness, his last act being to protect us." What had happened to him after that? Kairi couldn't image he had died – Riku was far too stubborn for that – but where would he go without a body or heart? Was he in that dark place, like Aqua? Too many question, not enough answers, and she couldn't even begin figuring out this puzzle. "But, wherever he is, we're going to find him. When this is all over and the Organization is defeated and we've freed Sora, the two of us are going to set out and find him. Then, we can all come back home." Then, in a quieter voice, Kairi added, "We'll save you, Riku. I promise you that."

The Gullwings nodded along. By this point in their adventures, the three Spirans knew that Kairi stuck to her guns, knew that the Princess was deadly serious about the oaths and promises she made.

"Well, if we're having a question-and-answer period right now, then I'd -" Paine began, before being cut off by a loud exclamation. She craned her head in the direction of the sound – further down the causeway, towards the castle – but saw or heard nothing more. Her red-eyes fixed themselves back on Kairi, slightly accusatory. "I want to know why you didn't finish that Guardian with your Light like you normally do." The Key Bearer simply smiled, politely waving off the probing statement.

"Oh, well I figured because my Light always leaves me exhausted, it would be better to only use it in absolute emergencies. A big spell like that burns a lot of mana, but that comes back quicker than my stamina. Even though we're finished now, we never know when another fight might be around the corner." Kairi said in a casual, breezy tone, hoping to deflect the suspicions of her companions and move past this without any issue.

The battle with Zexion had left a bad taste in Kairi's mouth, for a number of reasons. The majority being the Nobody's lie – it was a lie, she told herself. It had to have been a lie! – that Sora never cared about her, he only cared about the Light of the Princess she carried and how it made him feel. The slanderous remark made her question a lot of things, but it mostly just reaffirmed Kairi's enmity and hostility to her own Light. That it was a mistake. That for her, it was more a burden than a blessing.

So, she redoubled herself not to use that power unless absolutely forced to, to rely on the power of her heart, her body, her Keyblade, and her magic to win the day. She still hadn't told the Gullwings this, either. The problem was that her trio of companions were still intent on training that Light. Kairi knew if she tried to "weasel her way out of this" (as Paine would put it) it would only lead to further confrontation. Her solution instead was the only put forth the most half-hearted, minimum effort she could manage during Light training, enough to satisfy her teachers, but without summoning or using that damn thing in way that would make her uncomfortable.

Fortunately, Kairi's lies and deceptions proved enough to satisfy Paine's curiosity. "I see. Not a bad idea." The grey-haired woman muttered to herself, even as the commotion down the way picked up again. "Well, should we get going then?"

"Yeah!" Kairi pumped her arm again, raising one of her grocery baskets into the air, her joy rising back to the surface. Marching back into the main thoroughfare, the redhead declared, "We're on a roll and nothing is gonna stop us! We'll conquer every Stone and world just like -"

Someone pushed their way through the throng of villagers and farmers and barreled into Kairi. Both Kairi and the stranger bowled over, the former's groceries going flying.

Now the commotion was a bit more clear, as the Gullwings turned to see a group of soldiers in regal uniforms also making their way through the crowd of people. "Stop that woman! Don't let her get away! She broke into the palace and tried to harm the Prince!"

Shaking the stars away from her eyes, with heavy footsteps drumming towards her, Kairi turned to see who it was that had tackled her to the ground. It was a young woman, probably near the age of the Gullwings, with fair skin and blonde hair, dressed in plain brown dress. Kairi had to shake her head again, not believing what she was seeing.

"Cinderella!?" She exclaimed, drawing the attention of her fellow Princess. It clearly took a moment for Cinderella to recognize Kairi, just as with Belle and Jasmine. "What's going on? Why are you being chased by guards from the palace?"

"That... even I'm not sure. It's all so confusing." Cinderella said, obviously distressed and worried. Both girls helped the other up, dusting themselves off as they did. "Nothing makes sense anymore and... I need help! I'll try and explain, but please, help me Kairi!"

Feeling just as confused as Cinderella looked and sounded, Kairi looked to Yuna and the others for guidance, only for the squad of guards to make their way to them.

"You've gone far enough, you little sneak." One of the guards declared, stepping towards Cinderella and Kairi. "Step aside, young lady, we'll handle this from here."

"No. I won't." Kairi defiantly put herself in between Cinderella and the guards, still looking for the Gullwings for an opening or answer. "Something is very wrong here. Why are you chasing her? Cinderella is this world's Princess."

"I don't know what delusions you're under, but it's Lady Audley who is betrothed to the Prince. Now, step aside or I'll arrest the lot of you, too."

Kairi stood her ground, even as the guards began to advance on her and Cinderella. She wondered if she could outrun them. Violence was definitely not an option at this point, they were just human after all. What was the proper play here...?

The guards stopped short all of a sudden, though, with Kairi seeing out of her periphery that Yuna and Paine had moved behind her, looking a touch more menacing than the pair of Princesses.

As for the third member of the Gullwings...

"Ooh boys~" The blonde had climber way onto the counter of a booth, standing above the crowds and drawing all the attention onto herself. Rikku cooed and cawed while swiveling her hips about in a taunting manner. "Oh my, look at me! A woman out on the town without a man to accompany her! And what's this?" She then presented her right leg to the guards, stretching the limb and striking a pose. "I'm wearing clothing that exposes my ankles? How scandalous!?" Cupping both cheeks with her hands, Rikku's mouth opened wide in a expression of mock shock.

Kairi... did not really understand what was happening or what the purpose of this was, though it did have the effect of drawing every single pair of eyes to her. So there's that. The guards all gawked at this strange woman, Cinderella looked even more confused now, while Yuna had covered her hands in shame and embarrassment over her cousin.

Paine, meanwhile, had her eyes completely glassed over, staring blankly at the display her companion was putting on. "Rikku." Her voice was as stilted and stony as her expression. "What are you doing?"

"I'm trying to horrify and confound them with my modern sensibilities." Rikku explained in a stage-whisper.

That explanation did nothing to engender the plan to her teammates, as Paine's eyes glassed over even more. "...Just throw the smoke bomb, you idiot..."

"Oh, yeah. Guess I could do that." Her tone suggested Rikku had not even thought of that option.

Quick as a flash, Rikku threw down the small sphere, dispersing a cloud of thick, acrid black smoke through the marketplace. As the smoke billowed about and obscured sight, Kairi felt her wrist being seized by someone and pulled forcibly along, Cinderella pulling her through the cloud and smoke, with the three Gullwings trailing after the Princesses.

The five woman ran until they were all out of breath, even Paine, marching through the town and into the countryside beyond it. At the very least, it seemed that their smokescreen had done the trick, completely throwing the guards off their trail. Eventually, as everyone moved at a sluggish pace while short of breath, Cinderella lead the group through a well-maintained dirt path that cut it's way through the woods, taking them all the way to the path's end, a decrepit old manor house choked with ivy and vines.

"I have to say, you were the last person I expected to show up, Kairi." Cinderella said, as her saviours sprawled about the manor grounds, catching their breath and relaxing after the harrowing chase. "But I'm thankful all the same." The Princess of the Castle of Dreams offered the Key Bearer a gracious smile for her intervention. "Thank you. Now, we need to figure out what's happened..."

Kairi crossed her arms and considered everything that had happened. "Yeah, no kidding. Shouldn't you be living in the palace there? Why were the guards chasing you like a thief?" This seemed beyond both the motivation and powers of the Organization and Heartless, so what exactly was behind this, Kairi wondered.

Kairi's questioning caused the blonde Princess to sigh, her gaze falling to the ground in a forlorn expression.

"That... I'm not even sure what's happened. One day, I'm living with Prince Charming in the palace, we're planning our wedding, and everything is simply wonderful and perfect. Then, I wake up the next day and I'm back here," Cinderella motioned to the manse behind her, "My stepmother's old house. Only I can't find Lady Tremaine or her daughters anywhere. Jaq is gone, too. There's this strange woman who claims to be Charming's fiance. And no one recognizes me. Not even..." Cinderella hugged herself, turning away from Kairi and the others. Kairi knew that body language and expression all too well. Knew that heartache. She put a sympathetic hand on Cinderella's back, gently urging her to continue. "I... when I broke into the palace, I thought 'if I could just find Charming, I'm sure he will recognize me and we can figure this out'. But... he said I seemed familiar, but he still didn't know who I was. How could he forget about me...?"

Cinderella's eyes darkened, her lips twitching. It was clear to Kairi that the young woman was trying to remain strong, but the fact that her lover didn't recognize her was a deep wound to her heart. The redhead embraced Cinderella, offering more comfort to the older woman.

"It's as if someone erased everyone's memory of Cinderella." Yuna said aloud, having listened to the tale from afar, giving Kairi and Cinderella their space.

"Or someone wound back time and rewrote everything." Rikku said, earning a scoffing remark from Paine.

"That's just pure fantasy. There's no magic powerful enough to rewrite time."

But, despite Paine's harsh dismissal, Cinderella perked up, saying, "Actually... there's something else I need to show you." She broke away from Kairi's hug and motioned for everyone to follow her again. "Over here."

Once more, Kairi and the others followed Cinderella, the Princess leading the group to a far corner of the mansion grounds, passing through an overgrowth of ivy.

"I found her like this yesterday. I don't know what happened or how it happened, but I just know this is the source to all the strangeness."

Kairi started at Cinderella's cryptic explanation. "Wait, 'her'?" Then, they saw it.

Cinderella had lead them to a fountain statuette, with the statue decorating the top of the fixture depicting a rotund and matronly woman in a cloak and hood. The look of shock engraved on the face of the statue seemed far too real and life-like to Kairi, as a sick feeling crept into her stomach. She did not like where this was going...

"Yeuch. Whoever made that thing has no taste." Rikku commented, earning her a slap across the back of her head from Paine.

Cinderella ignored the tasteless and inappropriate remark, instead gesturing to the statue, as if she was introducing a person to Kairi and the Gullwings. "This is my Fairy Godmother. She was one of the people who helped me in realizing my dreams. Helped me find Charming." Cinderella looked fondly and forlornly to the petrified fairy. "Whatever has happened must have started here. This is the source of all this confusion."

Destiny's Embrace quickly appeared in Kairi's hand, the girl holding the Keyblade towards the fountain statuette. "Well, if it's petrification, I know something that will clear it right up." Blue magical energy swelled at the tip of the blade, Kairi taking aim.

"Wait, Kairi, hold on!" Yuna said, with utmost caution in her voice, trying to hold the determined redhead back. "We don't know exactly what happened here. Mixing different types of magic can be extremely -"

"Esuna!"

Before Yuna or anyone else could stop her, Kairi fired the pulse of blue healing light. The healing haze settled around the Fairy Godmother, but instead of dissolving the stony prison of the fairy, the energy held and rippled along the surface of the stone, pulsing like a beating heart, growing in size and intensity. Kairi backed away fearfully, taking ahold of Cinderella's wrist while she did. What did Yuna say about mixing magic?

Cagey and aware that something not good was about to go down, the five girls turned to retreat, only for the magical field to burst, exploding outward in a wide radius, azure light washing over them all. Save a light tingling sensation, the three Gullwings were largely unaffected by the magical backlash. Kairi and Cinderella were less lucky in that regard, the two Princesses stunned and staggered by contact with the mysterious wave, their bodies convulsing wildly. Somehow, Kairi could feel her own reflected magic seep through her body and reach into her heart, touching the Light that nestled deep within, causing that arcane energy to erupt and awaken, as well.

Something similar must have happened to Cinderella, too, seeing as how the next thing Kairi felt wasn't pain or fear but... confusion? Distress? The world had turned tospy-turvy and she wasn't entirely sure what her next step should be. But more emotions followed the bewilderment. Hope. Determination. Grit. She had been in hard spots before and she always managed to rise above the turmoil, hold on to those dreams and achieve them with a little hard work and some help from her friends. After all, that was how she earned the love of... Prince Charming!?

Her mind and consciousness stuck in the mire as it was, Kairi could barely process the fact that she was feeling the true emotions of Cinderella herself – her deepest, most earnest and passionate feelings – as if they were her own. As if their respective Lights had reached out to each other and made this connection.

The cocktail of mixed emotions whirled about Kairi, as the world was subsumed by blackness, hurtling both Kairi and Cinderella headlong into the past and the truth. It was less Kairi was seeing things, with her eyes or her mind, and more the knowledge was being crammed forcibly crammed into her head and carved into her heart. Experiencing the emotions without sight or sound, all within a black void.

Love and pride came first. Love for the girl with the pure heart and pride for her determination. For weathering all the pain in her life and coming out ahead, heart still full of light and beauty. Hard work, friendship, and hope could make any dream, no matter how wild or unlikely, come true. Kairi's heart swelled

Next, all the love curdled and spoiled, boiling over into hate, spite, and venom. Twisted and dark. Shadows writhed in Kairi's heart, as her anger burned from that girl she had just felt love for. How dare that worthless girl have a happy ending and leave the rest of them to toil in squalor! Venom bubbled and vengeance burned, but it quickly faded away, Kairi feeling sick and regretful for letting such dark emotions rule herself.

But now, it was pain. Loss. Heartache. Time had bent and twisted, the hope and love frozen, and the dream torn apart by the malice and spite. The world itself was crying out at this perverse act! Cinderella and Prince Charming were separated by an insurmountably gulf, so much so that even her Light couldn't cross the gap and connect their hearts. Then, Kairi saw it – not felt, but saw it within this empty space. The shadowy black hood, the visage of death itself, carrying a wand of pure ivory. The wand swished, the light flickered, and everything was stolen away.

Kairi and Cinderella woke up with a gasping start, finding themselves lying on the cool lawn of the mansion, surrounded by the worried faces of the Gullwings. Both girls gasped for breath, before babbling aloud, all the thoughts and things that had passed in the black space pouring out.

"The Organization! The Organization is already on this world! They're behind it all!"

"Lady Tremaine, my stepmother! She did this! She's this Lady Audley character! She stole my Fairy Godmother's wand and turned back time -"

"And the Organization was the one who gave her the wand! They're working together."

"I-I... I felt how much Lady Tremaine hates me. It was chilling. Sick. Disturbing..."

All three Spiran woman were overwhelmed by the outpouring of emotion and the sudden revelations, Kairi and Cinderella continuing to confess everything they had witnessed. "Okay, okay. Slow down you two." Paine finally said, holding out both hands in a desperate bid to get the two to stop. It took another minute plus both Yuna and Rikku joining in to get the Princesses to settle down and collect themselves.

"That man in the black cloak stole my Fairy Godmother's magic wand and gave it to Lady Tremaine." Cinderella recounted the tale that she and Kairi jointly saw and experienced. "Then she used it to turn the Godmother to stone, transformed herself into this Lady Audley character, and then rewrote time so that Charming and I never met again after the ball." She then paused and quickly added. "But... I don't know what happened to her daughters in all this..."

"We... I don't know how this all happened or why it did." Kairi offered further in the face of the incredulous looks of her companions. Not that they doubted the story, just the means by which the Princesses came to know this. "But I think what happened was my spell couldn't reverse what happened to the Fairy Godmother, but it awoke something in her heart. Cinderella saw it because she and the Godmother are connected, and her Light reached out to mine and that's how I saw it. I think." Kairi reiterated, stressing the last part. Once more, she found herself desperately wishing that being a Princess of Heart came with a user manual.

Cinderella had fallen silent during Kairi's explanation, the redhead shifting her vision towards the heartbroken Princess. Despite the emotional turmoil that was just dumped upon her, the confusion and anxiety had cleared up from her presence. Her eyes were sharp and clear. She sat on her knees, still, with calm and poise. Determination and hope at returned to the Princess, as she at least know knew what happened and what she had to do to get her life back.

Yuna was similarly quiet, thoughtfully considering Kairi's words. "Well, I suppose that is entirely possible. There's no doubt Cinderella would have her heart tied to her Godmother." Yuna seemed convinced, at least, thought Kairi knew she wouldn't be the won she needed to win over.

"Look, Kairi." Paine started, in as gentle a tone as she could muster. To Kairi, it sounded like a pet owner who's patience was wearing thin with their new puppy. She was undecided if that was bad or not. "Normally I would say we're done here. The Stone is destroyed. Our mission's complete. Not to mention, I am suspicious as to why the Organization went through the trouble of this. They've never shown any interest in the Princesses up to this point, why waste time and energy messing with one of their lives? But..."

"But?" Kairi repeated. Both she and Cinderella were looking up, doe-eyed and hopeful, at the swordswoman. Paine's eyes narrowed and her brow furrowed.

"But... you're more stubborn than a behemoth calf. When you're set on something, there's no stopping you. And, when the Organization is involved, I already know your answer." A brief beat followed Paine's speech, before she went to talk again. "And that answer is -"

Right on cue, as Paine opened her mouth, Kairi finished the sentenced.

"I can't let the Organization act with impunity and ruin the lives of others."

Paine sighed, an admission of defeat and acceptance. "Yeah. So let's do this."

Both Princesses beamed at the green light, though Rikku quickly brought up, "Where are we going to start, though? This is a pretty big operation."

"The Organization member gave the wand to Lady Tremaine. She must still have it." Kairi said. "If we can get our hands on that, we can at least reverse the spell on the Fairy Godmother. That would be enough." A general murmurr of agreement came from the others, save Cinderella, who spoke up.

"Actually, I have another idea, Kairi. When I saw Charming earlier today, he didn't know who I was, he didn't recognize me, but there was something there. A faint glimmer of recognition. Despite everything my stepmother did, the memories of our love are still there, in Charming's heart. If I just have some time, I know I can bring them back to the surface and make this right."

Kairi nodded, following along with the gracious woman's logic. For whatever reason, the powers of the Princesses rose even higher when they were focused on the people they love, especially the one person they loved most of all. There was no doubt in her mind that with enough time Cinderella could recover those memories and emotions. After all, Kairi knew from personal experience that memories could never be truly erased, no matter what magic or power was at effect. They could always come back, you just needed the right spark to ignite them.

Roxas was that spark for me. We'll be it for Cinderella and Charming.

Now normally, Kairi would be quite peeved to find yet another tool in the toolbox of Light she didn't have access to. And she'd be even further annoyed that, yet again, another of her fellow Princesses was more confident and proficient with their powers than she was, but this was not the time. Someone was in dire need of her help. She could throw herself a pity party when this was all said and done and Cinderella was reunited with her Prince Charming.

"Getting Cindy alone with the Prince ain't gonna to be an easy task, though." Rikku brought up. "Even if we can sneak her in, there's no telling how much face-time she'll get. 'Specially if one of those black cloaked jerks is wandering around."

Kairi silently conceded the point and immediately went to drawing up a plan of action. Personally, she knew she sucked at stealth and being inconspicuous; subtlety and covertness was not her strong suite. Not to mention a group of five skulking about would be highly conspicuous. But what would that leave them with? Have one or two of the Gullwings escort Cinderella and Kairi and the others play lookout? That also didn't solve the problem that even by herself, Cinderella got found out by the palace guards. Sneaking into the palace to see Charming wasn't the the right play here.

Kairi's eyes went wide with realization. Yes. Sneaking into the palace was the wrong move...

"Hey guys... Let me ask you something." Kairi slowly turned about to face the three Gullwings, a sly and devious smile having formed on her lips. "Have you three ever kidnapped a prince before?"

-O-SWLTW-O-

The Gullwings left shortly thereafter, vanishing beyond sight, back to the town and then to the palace, leaving Kairi and Cinderella to themselves outside the broken-down mansion. Nightfall soon came, but it didn't bring peace along with it. Not to Kairi at least, who anxiously paced back and forth across the lawn, pacing so hard and so much that she was practically digging a groove into the earth.

"Kairi, please." Conversely, Cinderella was sitting perfectly still on the stoop of the house's entrance, quiet and contemplative, though the desire and determination had still not left her eyes. "You're going to work yourself to death if you keep that up. Come, sit down and relax." Cinderella graciously offered the space next to her. "All we can do for now is wait."

"Yeah, yeah, I know. I'm sorry and -" Kairi sighed, ruffling her hair, before realizing that she was still marching back and forth while pacing. It took more than a bit of effort to stop herself and anchor her feet in place. "I've learned a lot about myself in the past little while, learned a lot of new things I can do, too. Good things. But I've developed one bad habit: impatience." Kairi had power and agency now, this wasn't how it was suppose to be anymore. Waiting and suffering while others broached the danger and fought the battles for her, like she waited on the Islands for Sora. She hated it. She couldn't imagine going back to it. Waiting for Sora – or anyone else – ever again.

"I understand." Cinderella said in an understanding tone, as Kairi slowly came her way. The blonde sighed quietly, but not quiet enough, as Kairi gave her a look, drawing further explanation. "If I can share a secret with you Kairi, sometimes, I don't feel like I deserve any of this." Cinderella went to motion around her, but held her gesture when she realized she was surrounded by ruins of her former life. "All I really did was stay positive and keep my dream alive me inside. Jaq and my Fairy Godmother did all the work. And even now, I'm being helped along by those with they Keyblade..."

Kairi smiled bashfully, waving off the comments. "No, no, I know how you feel. It's... sometimes you feel helpless and are just being pulled along a current, with others guiding you along or putting you on the proper path." The redhead frowned, thinking of those that helped her on her path. Sora. Roxas. Aqua. The King. The members of the Hollow Bastion Restoration Committee. What was she without them and their guidance? "But... you did enough. I don't know everything that happened to you, but you kept strong no matter what life or your stepmother threw at you. Held on to your hope and your dream. That's something incredible, Cinderella. That kind of inner strength means a lot." The other Princess perked up at the compliment, smiling slightly at the Key Bearer. "As for helping you... I'm happy to. Anytime, any place. Just like Sora must have done here in the past."

"Actually Kairi, while Sora did help, obviously, I don't believe he's ever visited here." Cinderella corrected, much to Kairi's surprise. "The Key Bearers that helped me were the other three. Ventus, Terra, and Aqua."

It was as if a bolt of lightning had struck Kairi, gaping at Cinderella while staggering back a step. "Aqua? Aqua?" She repeated, incredulously. "Like... this tall, blue hair, breathtakingly beautiful?" Cinderella seemed a little off-put by Kairi's choice of words, but responded in the affirmative all the same. "When was this?"

After a moment of consideration, Cinderella replied by saying, "Well, probably around ten years ago, by this point."

The world seemed to spin for Kairi, as the gravity of it all hit her. Aqua had been on her own adventure through the worlds, it seemed, and had made contact with some of the other Princesses. But... ten years!? She looked to be around twenty years old. Just how long had she been trapped in that dark place? And what about these other two Cinderella had mentioned – Ventus and Terra. Where were they? Who were they?

Before she could answer any follow-up questions, though, Kairi felt her skin prickle. The hair on the back of her neck stood up on end, and the cool night air grew sharply chillier. Her Keyblade came to life, as she turned away from the blonde Princess and the house and towards the wooded pathway which led away from it.

"Whatever happens, stay behind me, Cinderella." Kairi cautioned in a low voice, eyes attempting to pierce into the darkness. "Whoever you are, I know you're there. So come out and show yourself!"

The darkness of the night seemed to shift, as it if were alive, a piece of it breaking off from the greater whole and moved down the path. The visage of death itself, the Nobody behind all of this, garbed in the ubiquitous hooded black cloak.

"I suppose there's no real point in watching from the shadows any longer. You took my bait without any hesitance, wielder of the Keyblade." The Organization pulled back his hood with a dramatic flourish, causing a rain of rose petals to float through the air around him. He was quiet a handsome young man (handsome for a scuzzbag of a Nobody, that was) with soft pink hair that flowed behind him and settled in gently tufted layers. "I am Marluxia, Number XI of Organization XIII." Marluxia followed his introduction with a mocking bow. "I thank you for acting just as I had planned. You can always count on a Key Bearer rushing to aid a damsel in distress."

"You're the one behind all this madness, then." Cinderella accused, forcibly but not angrily. "Why? What do you seek to gain from all this?"

Marluxia considered the graceful and poised woman for a moment before sniffing slightly. "From you? Nothing. You were simply means to an end." The flowery Nobody then motioned to Kairi with a gloved hand. "I had learned from experience that a hero would blindly rush into danger if you threatened an innocent life or two. All too predicable, girl. Just like Sora..." Marluxia's clicked his tongue at Kairi, followed by a mirthless laugh, as the Key Bearer glowered in defiance and anger. That's just how the Organization operated, wasn't? Dragging uninvolved people into the crossfire so that they could torture and manipulate their foes. "Of course, Sora's idiocy was a special breed, to be sure. Rushing through floor after floor of my precious castle, tearing his heart to shreds in the process, and for what? To rescue your pathetic witch of a Nobody?"

All the colour drained from Kairi's face. Her eyes grew to the size of the moon, staring blankly and in wonder. For a brief moment, her heart had stopped from the sheer enormity of the spurious claim the Nobody had made.

"M-my what!? What? W-what in the world are you talking about?" This should be impossible, right? Kairi had no darkness in her heart, she couldn't create a Heartless. No Heartless meant no Nobody, even if she had lost her heart at a point. That's how it was suppose to work!

But... Sora still had his body, yet also had a Nobody. Sora and Roxas. Kairi and... Kirxia?

The bewildered and terrified redhead felt her spirit falter, her heart shook by that accusation, but then she caught Cinderella out of the corner of her eye and remembered what she was fighting for. "I.. d-do you really think I'm going to fall for some baseless lie like that?"

"Don't try to be cute and deny it, I know you can feel it. Feel the hole in your heart." Marluxia continued, icy eyes locked on Kairi, looking at her as if she was someone familiar. The predatory leer caused shivers to run down her spine. "Namine was your Nobody, there's no doubt considering the sway she had over Sora's heart. Able to paste over your likeness in his memories with herself." The facial features of the Nobody contorted into a horrible, twisted sneer, dispelling any notion of him being handsome or the like. Marluxia was as gross and cruel as any other member of the Organization. "How does it feel knowing you can be so easily replaced by another girl? That Sora cares less about you and more about the idea of you? All he desires and covets is your Light and how special it makes him feel."

The Key Bearer broke out into a cold sweat, heart thumbing in her chest. This... her mind was reeling and her heart was aching. These were all lies right? Just like with Zexion, lies and slanders designed to break her and taint her bond with Sora. She couldn't have a Nobody, and no part of her would collaborate with the Organization to hurt Sora. Sora cared about her more than that shallow, simplistic way, and there was no way he would forget her or replace her.

But I... I forgot about him, didn't I? Doubt flickered in Kairi's eyes, as Marluxia's grin grew more triumphant and sick. I forgot about him out of the blue and didn't even realize it. And all our interactions in this past year have been him doing something reckless and widening the gap between us. If Sora cared about her, if she meant something to him, then why did he keep running away from her? Why did he keep going into scenarios that only separated them even further?

Kairi's eyes darted between the ground, Cinderella, the stars above, and the slimeball of a Nobody standing before her, trying to muster her fire again. "You're a bit late to the party there, Marluxia." She fired back, but less forcibly than her previous display of defiance. "Zexion already tried this nonsense on me and it didn't work!" Her voice cracked and broke during the shout, causing Marluxia to arch an eyebrow, clearly not buying her lies or denial. Fortunately, Cinderella was quick to come to Kairi's defence.

"I'm not going to hear another word from you!" Cinderella scolded, stepping from behind Kairi to stand on an equal plane with her fellow Princess. "I may not entirely understand who you are or what has happened, but I know that Sora is a good person. He went to extreme lengths to save everyone, including Kairi, and he cares about her deeply. I won't let you sully his name any longer."

Kairi silently said a prayer, being thankful for her ability to meet and befriend such wonderful people. Still feeling the storm of doubts and worries in her heart, Kairi did her best to push it all down and summon her courage, taking a battle stance and preparing for a fight. This was usually how things went – some cruel words shared with the Nobodies followed by pitched battle.

Marluxia though, didn't seem interested in fighting at the moment, craning his head in order to observed Cinderella more carefully. His looking of sneering superiority had never faded. "You're not one to talk Princess, when you have your own sins to answer for." With a grand, sweeping gesture, the Nobody motioned to the world around them. "Look, for you have wrought all of this! You and your accursed Light drove Lady Tremaine to such extremes, causing such anger and hate to fester in her heart."

Both Princess gawked, perplexed at Marluxia's claim. How was Cinderella responsible for any of this? Kairi especially was put-out by the Nobody's use of the phrase "accursed Light", seeing as how she referred to her own powers with a similar term before.

Chuckling at the apparent confusion on the two's faces, Marluxia held his hand out towards the two of them, a rose held in between his fingers. "If you would allow me a moment to explain – the Light that you two carry is a mistake, a blight upon all the worlds! Noxious weeds choking out life all around you.

"All light casts shadows, and the brighter the light, then the deeper the shadow. So it must follow that the brightest of all lights – the Light of the Princesses of Heart – creates the darkest of shadows. Those shadows fall around those closest to them, darkening their souls and engendering spite, envy, avarice, and hatred within their hearts. Lady Tremaine, Queen Grimhilde, Maleficent, and the Queen of Hearts were driven to violent rage and madness because they had to stand in the presence of their respective Princesses, while Jafar and Gaston turned into monsters ruled by their lusts and desires. And, of course, there's Sora. Dear, faithful Sora." While he had been speaking in an authoritative tone, Marluxia's monologue was less direct than his previous speeches. Now, however, he was looking Kairi square in the eye, depravity twinkling in his cold, dead eyes. "Protective and obsessive to the point of selfishness, not caring what effect his actions have on others, even regarding the object of his desire. He died for you, Kairi. Let his memories be twisted and destroyed. Fell into a deep slumber and traded his life for yours, and never once did he ask, 'is this what Kairi would want', now did he?"

"But that's not the end of your sins, no no no, not by a long shot. Riku's fall to darkness is also predicated by your Light. Basking in it, but never being able to reach it or hold it, always stuck to the shadows... it's no wonder he turned down the path he did. Choosing a darkness that comforted him when the light did nothing but reject and taunt him. What could have become of those two boys, chosen by the Keyblade, if they never met you?"

Shaking like a leaf in the wind, Kairi felt her body and mind fail her. She wanted to deny what Marluxia was saying, to chalk it up as more falsehoods spread by the Nobodies to weaken her, but... Maybe this was true? She didn't feel all too different from this, after all. Viewing her own Light as a curse and as something that only ever brought pain and suffering to those around her. All Marluxia was doing was verbalizing her own inner thoughts and self-loathing. And now to add another body to the pile before her feet... was she to blame for Riku, too? Did she create that jealousy and inadequacy that caused him to lash out at Sora? Kairi clutched at the piece of breastplate which covered her heart, her right hand cinched tightly around Destiny's Embrace's hilt.

Without protest from his audience, Marluxia continued. "And it's not just the two of your or the rest of your peers. Just as Maleficent scoured the Realm in search of your seven, so have others gone to war over the Princesses and their Light. Countless atrocities committed across time and space, all in the name of possessing that Light. It was nothing but a mistake; nothing good has ever come of it!"

"Enough." Even if Kairi couldn't find the resolve to shut the Nobody up, Cinderella still had enough gumption to deliver her steely remark. "You're not going to spread anymore lies. I did not do anything to my stepmother to turn her into the woman she is today, especially what she's done now. And I may not have seen it, but I know Kairi brought Sora back from being a Heartless. Her love and faith brought him back. Our Light is pure and good, nothing you say will change that."

Again, Kairi thanked her lucky stars for her friends, as well as admiring Cinderella's continued confidence and resolve. Here she was, a Key Bearer, and a defenceless Princess was coming to her rescue, time and time again.

"What a naive girl you are..." Marluxia shook his head, as his smile fell. Despite the fact that he no longer was taking a perverse joy from torturing the two young women, the pink-haired Nobody had developed an even more menacing and threatening aura. "Your stepmother lived in your shadow, year after year. Living with the perfect girl – charming, poised, graceful, elegant, and unwavering in her resolve, wondering why she nor her daughters didn't possess such blessings, watching you flaunt such virtues without a care in the world. Without a care for those around her." Marluxia bared his teeth, expressing his deep, virulent disgust for Cinderella in a singular expression. "No wonder she was driven to such madness...

"As for Kairi saving Sora, so what? He gave up his heart to save her. All she did was solve a problem she created in the first place. That's not worthy of applause or kudos, let alone redemption for your wretched kind."

That was true, Kairi thought dimly. The one thing she could hang her hat on, the one shining example she had to say her Light was good... it was just her cleaning up a mess she had made. Hell, it was less than that, seeing that she didn't even consciously use her powers back then. It just... happened.

Nothing good had come from her and her Light.

"But I suppose my words are wasted upon the two of you." Marluxia said in a dismaying tone, holding the rose up in his right hand. "You're far too blinded by your own self-righteousness to see the truth, leaving only one course of action for me to take."

With another flourish of his wrist, the gloved hand of the Nobody swallowed the rose, before the flower grew and transfigured itself into his weapon: a long scythe with a wicked, curving blade, bright pink and deadly, gleaming in the moonlight. Kairi felt more than a little uncomfortable to see her favourite colour turned against her in such a dangerous way.

"I shall do the worlds a favour and extinguish these meddlesome lights once and for all."

---

Welcome to "stuff that wasn't in the original concept of the story" the chapter, the game, the ride, the motion picture experience.

First, Castle of Dreams (specifically using the third Cinderella movie, A Twist In Time, as inspiration) was not included in the original world list (we simply went from Agrabah to our final Disney world) but I chose it because it allows me to further the arc with Kairi and her status as Princess, it adds another point of connection between Kairi and the Birth By Sleep trio, and it allowed me a place to slot in Marluxia as a Silhouette, as he didn't have a specific spot beforehand. Also, not that I am the most well-read regarding KH fan-stuff, but I have not seen many people use Cinderella III which surprises me. For a Disney direct-to-video sequel it's quite good.

Oh, and how our Lady Tremaine and her daughters alive after that carriage Unversed blew them up? Uh... good question. Let's just say that when Sora restored the worlds at the end of I, the three of them came back along with the world itself. Or something.

The other, more important thing is the true motivation and goal of the Organization and their belief in destiny, as I made allusion to prior. Originally, the Organization weren't going to have their motives or characters examined all too much. They were just going to be generic villains, roadblocks for our heroes to surpass, because I don't care about them and find them to be boring and generic villains at the best of times. But then I decided to flesh it out a bit and also try and alter the games' metaplot, turn Birth By Sleep, the original Kingdom Hearts, Chain of Memories, and II into one singular arc driven by Xehanort and his machinations. None of the BS time travel shenanigans that make no sense and making it seem like he perfectly planned everything out in advance (because neither he nor Nomura ever did), but instead, what if in his final moments, he saw what he believed to be an unalterable and unchangeable destiny?

Because, like most things I do nowadays, this is a response to Kingdom Hearts III. When I say stuff like how KH III is hollow or empty, I am usually referring to how we've seen that there is one perfect destiny in the KH universe that cannot be changed and must be followed no matter what. That just sucks all the emotion and drama out of the storytelling, because now nothing means anything anymore. Who cares if Sora wins? He was also suppose to win and nothing could change it. Who cares if Sora loses? He was also suppose to lose and nothing could change it. What is the point of being invested in this series and these characters if nothing they do can effect or alter the outcome of things? And it's not like a conflict with destiny or fate unique or rare in fiction; it's fairly common, but it usually follows with the heroes saying stuff like "I don't believe in destiny" or "I will change fate". But in KH, the villains wholeheartedly believe in destiny and the heroes... just stand aside and tacitly agree. The villains go "Destiny is absolute and cannot change" and the heroes reply with "Well, he does make a pretty good point".

None of that. Absolutely none of it. I personally find such a philosophy of blindly following destiny to be gross and hollow, to be the anti-thesis of being human. And this is going to be our final conflict – literal inhuman beings blindly marching along to what Xehanort orchestrated versus three people who have lost everything and have fought and clawed to get it back. Lax acceptance versus the desire to change for the better. Blind obedience versus faith in those around you. Fate versus free will and self-determination. And I cannot think of anything more fitting than a group like the Organization – a group of cruel, emotionless sociopaths – would believe in a philosophy as fatalistic and nihilistic as absolute destiny.

Also, creating the χ-Blade out of the hearts of our heroes is way better than "seven lights clashing with thirteen darknesses". Seven can't clash with thirteen. Seven will clash with seven, and then six of the first seven will clash with the remaining six of thirteen. It's stupid. And I like the idea of a villain using the strength of the heroes against them.

Anyways, another busy chapter. A lot going on from both our heroes and villains. I hope it's well executed and enjoyable. I'm still not fully comfortable with the Disney stuff and how it turns out, so please share your thoughts if you can. I am particularly iffy on how I executed Kairi and Cinderella learning about what happened. With a flashback opening the chapter, I didn't want do include another one, and I felt having the light communicate through emotion was more appropriate. Again, feel free to share your praise or criticism as you see fit.

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