Back at the Bistro in Traverse Town, where Merlin and Archimedes were sitting, the Ultima Keyblade suddenly appeared right on their table, destroying the food, plates, and silverware as well as part of the table itself. Merlin and the owl jumped back in surprise, and everyone else in the vicinity was clearly startled.
Archimedes then landed on Merlin's shoulder, and the two started at the Keyblade, at first with confusion, then with concern. Merlin and his owl companion had a bad feeling, and they teleported away, taking the keyblade with them, leaving the civilians of Traverse Town in a shock.
As Merlin teleported to the Tower, he waved his hand, and its back, 3 symbols appeared, "Archer, to me!" Merlin commanded. Somewhere, Archer sensed Merlin and responded, "I'm coming, master!" Then the two both appeared at the base of the Tower, and looked upon it in horror. The top of the Mysterious Tower was utterly destroyed, and parts of the lower levels were broken, the insides visible. The surrounded area was drenched as well as worn, as if a flood or a tornado had torn through.
Merlin and Archer then jumped to reach the top of the Tower, and saw Yen Sid's body in the middle of the room. "Oh my goodness!" Archimedes cried. "Oh god…" Archer whispered. Merlin walked to the body of his friend, dragging the Ultimate keyblade along the floor, leaving scratch marks, until Merlin reached the body, and fell to his knees, causing Archimedes to fly off his back and hover in place, while Archer stood back.
We don't see Merlin's eyes, but his mouth trembles, and he bites his lip. Then he lays his free hand over Yen Sid's face, and keeps it there, while Merlin prepares to do some sort of meditation, as if to discern exactly what happened here.
As he does so, Archimedes flies towards Archer, "If someone like Yen Sid could fall, then none of the kids are safe! They'd all be walking to their deaths if we let them go to the Keyblade Graveyard!"
Archer hesitates before answering the owl, "I…. I don't think this was Xehanort's doing." The owl tilts his head, "What?! Who else could it be then?!" Trying to keep calm, Archer responded, "If this was him, he wouldn't have waited until we all left. On his own, Yen Sid was powerful, and if Xehanort was confident enough to take him down like this, then the rest of us would already be dead."
"He's right" confirmed Merlin. "Amazing, I can't see who exactly it was that took Master Yen Sid's life, but he's not one of Xehanort's. By Now, all of the organization members share Xehanort's power, and I sense none of that here."
"Could it be the one who placed the curse on the Reports about the War and other past events?" inquired Archer. Merlin looked doubtful, "We still don't know for sure what's up with the reports, and even then, if that was the case, we'd all be dead too. I… I don't know…."
Archimedes and Archer looked down in shame, feeling helpless at the situation. But Merlin stood back up, and desummoned the Ultimate Keyblade, which now belongs to him. "This changes nothing, we continue with the plan." Then Archimedes and Archer looked up to Merlin in shock, "What?! After Yen Sid's death, you STILL want to carry on with the strike plan at Xehanort's base?!"
Merlin turned and looked at them, his face now serious and confident, "Xehanort still has to be stopped. All this means is that I'll have to carry on in Yen Sid's place." But Archimedes continued to protest, "But shouldn't we at least tell the others about this?! I mean, what if-"
But it was Archer who interrupted the hysterical owl, "If we tell them what happened here, it would only lower their morale. We'll need them at their best if they're to see this through to the end. We're gonna need them to be willing to give it their all, including their life. We need them to believe we can win this, otherwise…"
Archimedes look at Archer, then at Merlin, shocked that the two would consider lying to the others and hide this tragic scene. But Merlin let out a sad smile at Archer, he was glad that his servant had felt the same way. "You go ahead and meet up with them at the Keyblade Graveyard, Archer" Merlin ordered his servant, "I'll finish up here, and I'll salvage whatever I can from the Tower. Yen Sid's death will not be in vain. Then, I shall join you all in the upcoming battle.
With a bow, Archer disappeared, while Merlin headed into the late Yen Sid's study, what was left of it, and pulled out his magic satchel bag, a device than can hold a lot more than it seems, a bag that was bigger on the inside. Merlin collected tomes, runes, grimoires, reports, Sora's old drive-form clothes, anything that wasn't too damaged from the fight. Archimedes was perched on some destroyed furniture, watching Merlin with sadness in his face. Then, once Merlin collected what he could, he summoned his loyal owl to him, and teleported themselves outside the Tower, near it's base. Merlin raised his staff, and set the Tower on fire.
"You did your duty well, old friend" Merlin vowed, "I will do my best to carry on in your place. Whatever secrets remain in your chambers, I will ensure no one can reach them." As the Tower burned, Archimedes acsked Merlin, "Where will you take his belongings?" Merlin continued to look forward, "For now, I'll leave them at the Garden of Avalon, it'll be safe there. I made that place into more than just my self-imposed prison, and the natives of the garden are powerful enough to ward off any malevolent forces." Satisfied, Archimedes looked on at the Tower as well, and the two watched it burn down to cinders.
Ω
They Keyblade graveyard, a barren wasteland in all directions, as far as the eye can see. It is all there is that proves that an army of sentinels, intergalactic police forces, once roamed the cosmos, keeping order across all the worlds, or rather, the One World. Then, due to some outside force, or one from within, the guardians of law and order turned on each other, and violated their oaths to protect all life. Their graves are marked with their keyblades, which to this day still stand, from the moment their wielders fell in battle.
Torrents of wind still populated the desert, and craters that resulted from awesome displays of power far beyond anything we've seen our heroes perform, yet still pale in comparison to the full might of the Keyblade, are spread across the land. But no life has been seen here in ages, not until Xehanort betrayed his comrades over 10 years prior, and again now, when Sora and the warriors of light, and Xehanort and his warriors of darkness, meet face-to-face in for the last time.
The group has gathered now: Sora, Kairi, and Riku; Mickey, Jiminy, Donald, and Goofy; Roxas, Axel, and Aqua; and Archer. The group takes in the desolate sight, taking a moment before entering the belly of the beast, then, with Sora leading, the group prepares to traverse the hellish badlands, and into the heart of the graveyard beyond the mountains.
Mickey was the one who spoke first, "It's time, the Keyblade Graveyard is up ahead." The rest of the group nod in agreement, but Sora sees someone in the distance and announces, "Someone's coming…"
As the dust storm cleared, we see Master Xehanort walking calmly towards them, which puts the group on alert. Then the old foe stops before them, smiling in confidence. "Legend has it that darkness once covered the world. We know so little about the Keyblade War – only that it was just the beginning. If ruin brings about creation, what then, would another Keyblade War bring? When the darkness falls, will we be found worthy of the precious light the legend speaks of?"
Then, Xehanort's Heartless appears beside him, and continues his speech in his place, "Or will all of creation be instead returned to the shadows? Today, we will recreate the legend and see."
Then Xemnas, Xehanort's nobody, appears on the other side, and continues the speech, "But first… your light shines far too brightly. It must be extinguished in order for the truth to be seen."
In front of them, Young Xehanort appears, and continues the speech, "Only when your hopes have been broken by battle upon battle, can the key be claimed to Kingdom Hearts, and break you is what we shall do. It has been etched."
From the group of Xehanorts, a dark cloud forms from their feet, then spreads to envelop everyone gathered. In the sky, countless heartless, nobodies, and unversed appear, and descend on the small group.
Sora shouts out, "Look at how many there are!" The others appear overwhelmed, but Archer states "Steady yourselves, this isn't the first time some of us have faced this many!" Mickey, following on Archer's lead, summons his keyblade and announces, "Ok, gang, get ready!"
The rest of the gang summons their weapons, Donald and Goofy summon their shield and staff respectively, and Archer summons two short curved blades: Kanshou and Bakuya. The two blades appear to be polar opposites of each other in color scheme, representing the yin-yang mirror image. Kanshou appears to be black with a white center, while Bakuya is white with a black center. Towards where the blade meets the handle, a yin-yang symbol is etched on both swords.
The group then forms a perimeter, ensuring that everyone's backs are covered, and prepare for the onslaught that awaits them.
Ω
In the distance, Maleficent and Pete can be seen emerging from a dark portal. The two look on at the upcoming battle, with Maleficent smiling, pleased that the box she has been looking for will soon be within her grasp.
"Excellent" the evil witch said with a grin, "Once these fools have taken each other out, the box should appear in the aftermath." Pete looked somewhat doubtful, since the two have been looking for the box for a while now, he was still unsure of its existence. "Hmmm, are you sure that the box won't show up until AFTER these yahoos fight? That we haven't been able to find it because, it technically doesn't exist yet?"
Maleficent's grin faded, and slowly turns to him, having been reminded that her only subordinate is a hulking fool, but the only fool she commands now, "Of course, you simpleton! Haven't you realized by now that time has been a greater factor in these events that we initially realized?" Pete then cowers back, expecting her to abuse him somehow, but she merely turns back to the battle, and her smile returns, "All we needed to do was wait, and time will be on our side. Patience, and we will have our just rewards. As Xehanort said, only once they have destroyed, will the truth be seen."
A voice calls from behind them, "And he has no idea just how truthful his words are". The two turn to face the voice coming from behind, and the see a man emerging from a portal. The man wore armor and a dark cloak, it's color hard to discern due to the dust. From behind the man, the Assassin appears as well. The two then approach Maleficent and Pete, and stand a safe distance away from them, as they share the view of the battle.
Pete addresses the armored man in anger, "You! You be the fella that lead us on this goose chace!" The armored man does not face Pete as he replies, his tone patronizing, and his royal accent complementing his every word, "I expected nothing of you, buffoon. But Maleficent, for discerning the nature of the box on her own, I applaud you".
Maleficent, keeping an eye on the two strangers, scoffs, "Hmph, but I must ask, why share this information with me? What do you get out of it?" The armored man wastes no time answering her with a question of his own, "Why did you, a powerful fairy in your own right, decide to recruit others for your cause? Why now, do you continue to let that overgrown feline cling to you?"
Pete grits his teeth and growls in frustration, and prepares to charge at the armored man, before Maleficent raises her staff to stop her subordinate from making a scene. She wished to hear the armored man's thoughts. The man then slowly turned to Maleficent, and continued, "Because as powerful as you are, more can be accomplished in numbers, and, we need others to do our dirty work."
With that, the armored man returns to face the battle, while Maleficent silently accepts the man's logic, but remains suspicious. She and Pete then return to admiring the view.
Ω
The group appears to have split off into smaller pairs. Sora and Kairi are fighting side by side, taking turns with who fires off spells and slashing with the keyblade, while behind them, Riku violently slashes at any unlucky enemies that come close.
Aqua gracefully moves across the battlefield, unleashed bright orbs of light at the many movie targets, while cutting down any that get to close for comfort. Axel and Roxas are back to back, with Axel having summoned 3 pillars of fire, and using the cover, Roxas unleashes various spells from beyond the fire pillars.
Mickey jumps and runs around bigger heartless, attacking them from multiple points until they finally fall down. Goofy is covering Donald while he summons down meteors, calls on thunder, and manipulates the winds.
Archer is moving fast across the field, covering the most distance, obliterating enemies as he movies, seeing if there's a weak point in the enemy army's formation, or place to force them into a choking point and pick them off in more manageable numbers. But he could find no such weakness, no such advantage for his comrades. He looked back and saw that the others were getting slower, and having more close-calls from attacks by enemies. Then Archer thought of something, and ran back to the center of what remains of their perimeter.
He reaches Aqua and motions her to follow him. "I have an idea, it'll take a few moments, and I'll need you to cover me, but I don't know any other way to get rid of this mob." Aqua calls on the others to reform their perimeter, shielding Archer completely from the enemy. "How long do you need?!" Sora yelled, barely hearing his own voice among the chaos. "About a minute if I'm not distracted!" Archer answered with a tone. Sora gave a look of frustration, then turned and continued to fend off the onslaught.
Archer was kneeling as if he was praying, then, he began, "I am the bone of my sword…"
"What are we doing?!" Goofy yelled hysterically. "I don't know!" Donald responded, "and why are we fighting while he gets to rest?!" the duck sputtered in his screechy voice.
Archer continued, "Steel is my body, and fire is my blood…. I have created over a thousand blades…."
"If this guys' coming up with terms of surrender!..." Axel cried, while bursting many heartless and unversed in flames, "He could at least look more dignified!" Roxas couldn't help but laugh, "I think he has something bigger in mind, Axel!" as he performs a combo on a helpless group of nobodies foolish enough to break the perimeter by rushing him.
Archer continued, "Unknown to death, nor known to life….."
"This is not quite how I expected this to start out!" Kairi yelled, looking nervous, but holding strong as she blocks 3 separate attacks from a heartless soldier, a dusk nobody, and an unversed, and manages to push them back. Sora then fires a spell on the three enemies who were made defenseless from Kairi's counter, "Neither did I, but we'll get through this! With you here, I know we'll get through this!" They turn to face each other, smiling, then resume holding off the horde.
Archer continued, "I have withstood pain to create many weapons, yet those hands shall never hold anything again…."
"We've come this close!" Aqua yelled, firing 3 energy balls to a larger heartless, "We're not gonna lose here, not when we've barely started!"
And Archer finally finishes, "So, as I pray, UNLIMITED BLADE WORKS!" And at that moment, light shined from beneath him, and spread across the whole battlefield, causing the rest of the group to shield their eyes. After a moment, the light was gone, and the group could open their eyes again. Sora expected something to be different, or the enemy horde to be gone, but nothing was different. The horde was still there, and so was the desert, and the Keyblades lying all over the place…
No, Sora thought, upon closer inspection. This wasn't the same desert, and those weren't the same blades. This desert lacked the canyons of the Keyblade Graveyard. The blades were different too, they looked like more conventional swords now, but each was a different design, as if from different eras and cultures. And it wasn't just swords spread around either, Sora noticed spears, scythes, and various other types of weapons. But that wasn't what surprised him the most. He then looked up at the sky, and gasped, prompting the others to look up as well, and their reaction was similar.
They saw massive gears in the sky, turning, as if they were tied to a gigantic mechanism, but if they were, the group could not see it. Some gears were turning despite not being connected to anything, while some other gears appeared to have fallen to the ground after excessive use.
"Where…" Riku spoke up, in awe, "Where the hell are we?" Archer finally stood up, and walked out of the perimeter, facing the horde alone. "We're inside a reality marble, a pocket dimension of my making. You could say this is my Noble Phantasm."
"What's a noble phantasm?" Roxas asked, and it was Axel who answered him, "Think of it like his final ability, similar to our transformations and commands, but in a more spectacular scale." "And as long as I can hold it up, in here" Archer resumed with a grin of malice, "I'm practically God."
Archer then burst forward with incredible speed, grabbing whatever weapon that lie in front of him, and cut down countless numbers of enemies in his path. When he was bored of a weapon, he threw it at another enemy, killing it, before picking up another, and repeated the process. Using swords, spears, scythes, guns, nun-chucks, and whatever else he could get his hands on, Archer cleared the immediate area surrounding the others, until finally he was satisfied at leaving them with enough room to breath, and ensuring they wouldn't be caught with his next attack.
As the others looked on in amazement, Archer jumped up to an incredible height, then, with a motion of his hand, all the remaining weapons shook in the ground, and burst out into the air, flying towards Archer. When he felt he had gathered enough weapons, he motioned his hand downward, and the weapons rained down on the horde, completely obliterating the remaining army of darkness. Once the last heartless, nobody, and unversed were dealt with, Archer descended back into the ground, the the Noble Phantasm ceased its activity, and the group returned to the Badlands in the Keyblade Graveyard.
All the enemies had gone, and all that remained in the crater was Sora and the gang. They all looked at Archer in amazement, and proceeded to cheer him and pat him on the back, but after a second, Archer nearly fell to the ground, stopping himself by landing on one knee. Axel and Roxas caught up and proceeded to help him back up.
"Whoa there, buddy, take it easy" Axel said, with awe still in his voice. "Damn, if I knew you could do THAT, I would've been fine just marching in here with just the two of us!" Archer smiled and let out a soft laugh, "Heh, well, don't expect me to be able to spam that move, it takes a lot of energy. I didn't like that I had to use it this early in the fight, I was hoping I could catch the organization in it. Now I'll have to re-establish my connection with my master, so he can lend me his energy. Which means this time, I'll be borrowing off of Merlin, and I don't want to use any more power than I absolutely have to."
After a moment, Archer was able to stand on his own again, as if he didn't just wear himself out with that energy-taxing move. "Let's hope the enemy saw that, and thinks twice before dropping another horde on us. Otherwise, if they call my bluff, I won't be able to do it again, unless Merlin himself allows it."
"Where is Master Merlin, anyway?" Kairi asked. Archer turned to face her, "He'll be here, but he's getting something important done first." "It'd better be damn important" grumbled Axel. "Trust me, it is" Archer responded. With that, the group headed for the canyons. After briefly trekking through a cave, the group made it out of the canyons, and finally made it out of the badlands, and into the heart of the Keyblade Graveyard. Here, even more swords were seen scattered about, groups of blades packed more densely together. Whatever battle happened here, it appeared to be more intense than what happened in the area prior.
Mickey turned around to reassess the group, "Is everybody okay?" Axel gave a thumbs up, while the rest gave a nod. Satisfied, it was Sora who said, "Come on, lets go!"
Then Roxas saw someone in the distance, beyond the storm of dust. As the storm cleared, the group could see that it was Terra who stood before them. Without thinking, Roxas cried out, "Terra!" and ran to him. Aqua called out to Roxas, "Roxas, wait!" And Axel tried to stop him, but they were too late. Aqua then went after him.
When Roxas reached Terra, he grabbed his arm, "Terra! We found you!" But Terra just looked at him, expressionless. Aqua finally reached the two, and when she saw his face again up close, she couldn't help but join Roxas and try to reach her friend. "Terra, please say you're in there." But then Terra's eyes started to show a hint of malice, which Aqua noticed, and quickly pulled Roxas back.
As Axel and the rest ran towards them, Roxas asked, "What gives, Aqua?!" But Aqua addressed the man who looked like Terra, "I know you're not him." Roxas gasped and looked back at the man who stood before them. Aqua continued, "Now let our friend go!"
The Terra lookalike laughed, and then allowed his form to change, his hair turned white, and his eyes shift from blue to yellow. Then Mickey remarked, "HE is their thirteenth!"
Terranort finally spoke to the group, "Today is the day you all lose." "What?!" Aqua yelled in defiance.
"Before you even face the thirteen" Terranort resumed, "every last one of you will be torn heart from body. But fear not" he says while he summons his Keyblade, "The X-blade will still be forged!"
It was Sora who spoke back to Terranort, "We're not gonna lose to you." But Terranort merely scoffed at Sora's empty threat, and teleported towards them. Before Aqua could react, Terranort had reappeared beside her and in front of Roxas, and was about to strike him. But Archer managed to reach them, and, with the three to his right, he fired off a single shot to deflect Terranort's attack, catching Roxas off guard and causing Terranort to retreat backwards in anger. Terranort scowled at Archer, who looked back at him with a stern face.
Then Terra looked back at the group and saw Roxas and Axel running towards him, Keyblades ready to strike. Terra blocked their attacks one after the other, each of Roxas's and Axel's attacks deflected or otherwise missing Terranort entirely. Then Terranort looked up and saw Aqua pointing her Keyblade at him, firing off three energy balls. Terranort dodged to is left, while Roxas and Axel were forced to dodge to the right to avoid her attack.
The rest of the group proceeded to help the three, but Archer stopped them from continuing any further. "What are you doing?!" Sora asked in anger, "We gotta help them!" "This is there fight" Archer said sternly. "Terra is their friend, and so they need to be the ones to save him. As for Axel, he has ties to Roxas, and therefore Ventus. If Axel can help get Terra back, then, maybe he'll finally stop feeling guily." Sora wasn't having it, but Riku put a hand on his shoulder, indicating that he understood what Archer's logic. Sora looked at Riku, and with a resentful groan, agreed not to help them fight Terranort. Donald and Goofy also let out a resentful groan, before they too decided to watch the battle play out.
Roxas, Aqua, and Axel stood beside each other while facing Terranort, who merely smiled at the three's futile efforts to reclaim Terra. Then the three rushed at him, and he deflected each of their attacks with little visible effort. Axel swung from the left, but Terranort stopped it with his hand using a dark energy ball; Roxas swung from above, but Terranort ducked and avoided the blow; Aqua swung from the left, but Terranort deflected with his Keyblade; then Terranort kicked Roxas back, and shoved Axel and Aqua away with impressive force.
Terranort then pointed his keyblade at Roxas and activated Thundaga, but Roxas managed to defend himself with Relfega. Aqua then charged at Terranort, but Terranort threw his Keyblade at her, catching her in mid air and knocking her back. Then Axel charged at him, and Axel swung every direction he could, but Terranort either dodged him, or used his hands to catch Axels arms to block his attacks. Finally, Terranort caught both of Axels hands, and the two were locked in place. Terranort smiles while Axel struggled, then Axel headbutted Terranort, disorienting the villain. While he was still caught in his arms, Axel summoned a pillar of fire, prepared burn himself if needed. Terranort noticed this in time and let go of Axel, but art of the fire pillar caught him, burning and injuring him.
As Terranort fell back, he groaned and put the fire out, only to get caught by a Firaga ball by Axel, knocking him even further back. Roxas appeared behind Terranort, and swung his Keyblade, knocking Terranort back in the direction he came. Just as Terranort has reached the center distance between Roxas and Axel, Aqua appeared above him, and with all her might, fired down on him with her signature energy balls, driving Terranort into the ground. The group watching cheered for the three, as Roxas, Axel, and Aqua proceeded to surround the hole that Terranort fell into.
After a moment, Terranort shouted out from the hole, "Graviga!" And a minature black hole formed above the three, pulling them in. Terranort jumped out of the ground showing signs of wear, and unleashed a Thundaga spell on the trio as they were caught in the gravity spell. When the spell ended, the three fell to the ground. Each tried to get up, but they were clearly injured, enough for Terranort to try and pick them off one by one. He walked over to Aqua first, smiling at the helpless girl, "It appears you failed again," and was about to swing his Keyblade down on her, until a force blocked Terranort's blow, causing a small explosion in the area where they stood.
The group watching them gasped in shock, and as they waited for the smoke to clear, they saw someone in golden and crimson armor, and a cape, standing before Terranort, deflecting his blow intended for Aqua. Furious, Terranort called out to the armored being, "Who are you?!" With Terra's voice, the armor replied, "Got you, Xehanort."
Donald cried out, "Wah! Is that?!" Goofy finished his question, "The Lingering Will?" Sora gasped at this as well, the three had fought this entity when they found a portal in King Mickey's castle, back Xemnas was still the main threat. They didn't realize back then that the place they fought the Lingering Will was the Keyblade Graveyard. With little effort, the Lingering Will pushed Terranort back.
Aqua called out to the Lingering Will, "Terra?" Terranort couldn't fathom how this had happened, "This is impossible!" Then the living armor walked towards Terranort, "How I've waited for this moment." Terranort prepared to battle the armor, then the armor transformed its Keyblade into a whip-like weapon, and flung it at Terranort. The villain tried to block it, but only got his Keyblade caught in the whip, then the Lingering Will pulled Terranort back towards him. While he was in mid-air, Terranort let go of his Keyblade, and allowed himself to fall down upon the Lingering Will, but the moving armor retracted his Keywhip weapon and transformed it into yet another apparatus, a massive looking gun that fired a massive beam of energy at Terranort, who was helplessly caught in the blast.
But Terranort managed to endure the attack, and re-summoned his keyblade while suspended in the air. The living armor then changed its weapon back into its normal Keyblade form, and charged at Terranort. The two engaged in a flashy battle while flying in the sky, while Roxas, Aqua, and the rest could do nothing but watch. Roxas called out his friend's name, "Terra!" and was about to run to his aid, until Aqua stopped him. "Roxas, no" she said to the boy, "For now, let… let Terra figure himself out, we have to save our strength." Roxas looked back at the two versions of his friend, shook Aqua's hand off of him, then, with stomp of the ground, agreed to stay back for now.
Terranort and the Lingering Will appeared to be equally matched, until the Will managed to briefly overtake Terranort, and send him crashing back to the ground. The Lingering Will remained airborne, while it waited for the dust to settle. Then Terranort came back into view, angrily staring at the living armor. The Lingering Will then charged downward to meet his possessed body, but Terranort smiled, and summoned dark chains from all around him, and sent them towards the living armor. The Lingering Will noticed the chains and tried to dodge them while still airborne, but the chains moved about to rapidly for it to safely glide out of the way, and ended up getting caught in one of the chains. Grinning, now Terranort relished in the opportunity to make the armor crashing down into the ground.
The group gasped in concern, watching as Terranort then used the chains to lift the armor back up, only to smack it into the ground again and again in a rag-doll fashion. After enough thrashing, Terranort had the chains pull the armor closer to him, until he could stare at it face-to-face. "Look at you, an empty shell, causing me so much trouble. After all this time, you survived our last match… but no more."
Terranort was about to bash the Lingering Will to pieces, until a shape took form behind him. It was the guardian, the mysterious heartless-like entity that was occasionally seen shielding several of Xehanort's bodies with its seemingly indestructible body. Terranort looked back at the Guardian, an without warning, the guardian grabbed onto him, squeezing his body. Terranort couldn't deal with the pain much longer, and had to release the Lingering Will from his chains.
The living armor slowly rose to its feet, while Terranort struggled with his own guardian, "How?!" he screamed, demanding an explanation. "You fell to the dark-" but he was interrupted when the guardian violently threw him to the ground. Terranort tried to get up, but was then pinned down by the Lingering Will. Terranort managed to look up at the guardian, who struggled to tear off the bandages that bound its mouth. With great effort, the guardian finally tore off the bandages, and, after several dry coughs, spoke in a familiar voice that horrified Terranort, "…..One day…..I… will….set…..this….right…" It was Terra's voice, Terra had manifested in the armor, and now in the guardian. The armor then held Terranort up to the guardian, who then continued to speak, "One day….I will set…this right… I will return to this land…and protect…my friends!"
It was at this point that Sora knew what he needed to do. Just as he saved Ventus/Roxas, Sora summoned his Keyblade, and pointed it at the three aspects of Terra. Giving him the warning, Sora yelled, "Terra, now!" Then the guardian stood at the same level as Terranort and the armor, and all three were caught in the beam coming from Sora's Keyblade as he performed another Waking. As the three began to glow, there was an explosion. After the dust settled, all that remained was Terra, who fell back to the ground. As he slowly rose back up, Aqua and Roxas yelled out, "Terra!" and ran towards him. Hearing their voices, Terra faced them and ran towards them as well. Roxas reached him first and hugged him, then Aqua right afterwards. Terra put one arm around Roxas, and the other around Aqua, and held them close, burying his face in Aqua's neck. Aqua cried out his name again, softly, "Terra? Is it really you?" Then the three loosened their embrace, but still kept each other in their arms, and Terra managed to get a good look at them. Aqua looked a little older, wearier, while the boy he knows as Ven had different clothes than the apprentice attire he's used to seeing him wearing, and got a sense that the boy was more mature and battle-hardened now.
Then Terra finally responded, "Yeah… you never stopped lighting my way back." Aqua got a little choked up, and Terra used his arm that was covering her to wipe a tear from her face, and then looked down to Ventus (Roxas). "You're really here" the small Keyblade wielder said with awe. Terra smiled, "I heard you too, Ven." Ventus (Roxas) then said in a sobbing voice, "See? I kept my promise." Terra nodded, "Yeah, you found me, just like you promised." As he himself began to tear up, the three fell to their knees, and hugged each other tighter again. "Thank you" Terra sobbed, as the group looked at them with joy. Axel waved his hand in an "alright!" manner; Mickey, Donald, and Goofy jumped in the air in celebration; Sora and Kairi held each other close, with Sora using his free hand to wipe his lips off as he'd done sometimes after a victory; and Riku and Archer stood there, smiling.
The three then stood back up, and joined the group. Terra was greeted by Axel, Mickey, then Sora and Riku. It took a second for Terra to recognize the two young boys from the island, before it finally caught up with him. He didn't say anything, only smiled, and laughed. Then Archer got a bad feeling, and looked behind him, and saw a troublesome sight, "Uh, guys? I hate to ruin the moment again, but" and as the group turned toward Archer, they saw him pointing at the sky, where another horde of heartless had prepared to ambush them.
"Ugh, never a dull moment around here!" Axel groaned. None of them liked it, but they all summoned their weapons and prepared for another round before they could finally take the fight to Master Xehanort and the Organization.
"This time" Terra said to Ventus (Roxas) and Aqua, "we'll be fighting together." The two looked at him, then looked back at the oncoming horde with a nod. But then, the group felt the very earth tremble, and not one, but several heartless swarms burst from the ground. They violently flung about in the air, then joined into one larger swarm at a single spot not far from where the group was standing. As more swarms joined into one, they ended up taking the form of a massive tornado. The tornado grew, until it was too big for the group to stay at their current distance, and were forced to pull back due to the heartless-tornado swirling around with enough force to cause powerful ducts of wind to fly in its direction, sucking everything into it.
Axel looked at Archer, "Now would be a good time to do your thing again!" Archer faced Axel and gave him a frustrated look, "Did you already forget what I said, earlier?! That was my trump card, and I already used it up! Any more would only wear out my master, then not only would he be weakened, but I'd disappear forever!" Axel gritted his teeth, then faced the heartless-twister, while Archer muttered to himself, "Come on, Merlin, where are you? If you don't come in soon, I just might use Unlimited Blade Works again, I don't care what you're doing right now that's so important…"
As the group tried to hold their ground, Aqua looked on in horror, "It can't be…no…." The very sight of the horde that took shape before her had lowered her defenses enough that she didn't see a heartless swarm spring out of the tornado, flying towards her and grabbing hold of her. "Aqua!" Terra yelled, and then more swarms came out of the tornado, each trying to overwhelm or catch the remaining warriors. One went for Roxas, who barely saw it coming, but Axel noticed it and jumped in front of Roxas, and summoned three fire pillars to defend them. The swarm ran into the pillars, but did not let up on their pursuit. With Roxas and Axel inside the three rotating pillars, the swarm kept bashing at them, until the pillars ceased to be. The two boys then tried to swing at the swarm, only to be caught by it. Mickey caught a swarm heading for Donald and Goofy and tried to fight it off, but all three of them ended up getting caught. Archer desperately fired off as many arrows at he could at the swarms, before forcing to use his swords when they got too close, but he ended up getting caught as well. All that remained was Sora, Kairi, and Riku.
The three valiantly attempted to fight off the swarms, with Riku and Sora slashing at any heartless that dared get too close, while Kairi fired off every spell she knew. Then three swarms converged on the trio, quickly descending down on them. Sora and Riku didn't see them, but Kairi did, and managed to activate Reflega just in time. The three swarms pounded on the shield, but Kairi kept it up as long as she could. The swarms continued pounding, causing the three in the shield to be driven further into the ground, but still, Kairi persisted. Sora looked at her struggling to keep them safe in the worst possible situation and cursed himself for not thinking of anything. Then Riku said, "Kairi! When I tell you to, release the barrier, alright?" "Huh?" Sora and Kairi said together, looking at Riku. He then held up his keyblade, motioning it upwards and letting a spark of lighting burst from the tip, and the two understood. Sora got on the otherwise of Kairi, and together with Riku, prepared his Keyblade. "NOW!" Riku roared, and at once, Kairi let down the barrier, and he and Sora both yelled out "THUNDAGA!"
At their command, massive bolts of powerful lightning stuck at the swarms, causing them to retreat momentarily. The three kids then panted, all of them exhausted from prolonged fighting. Then Sora said, "We…have to….get them back…we have…." But then Kairi saw another swarm heading straight for Sora. Out of MP, Kairi did the only thing she could do, and pushed Sora out of the way, the swarm grabbing her instead. Sora looked on as Kairi got dragged away. He reached out to grab her, and Kairi reached out to him, but before he knew it, Kairi was drawn away, and into the tornado.
Sora then fell back down to his knees, dropped his keyblade, and let out a cry of despair as his fists hit the ground. Riku ran to him and called out in a concerned voice, "Sora!" With his face still on the ground, Sora replied in a helpless voice, "They're gone. Kairi, Donald, Goofy, the King….gone forever." Finally, Sora looked up at Riku, and Riku saw his friend in tears and pleading to him, "What do we do?" Riku just looked at him, not knowing what to answer as Sora continued, "Without them…I…All my strength came from them! They gave me all of it! Alone….I'm worthless…..We've lost….It's over…"
Riku reached out to Sora, but didn't touch him. After a moment, he stood up, and with new determination, said to his friend, "Sora, you don't believe that. I know you don't." Sora looked at him again, as Riku then walked forward to face another swarm heading straight for them. Riku took a deep breath, held his Keyblade back, then struck forward to part the heartless swarm. Sora watched as the swarm kept running into Rikus Keyblade, as Riku stood there defiantly, not letting either of them get caught. Then Sora noticed one of Riku's hands get engulfed in darkness, and Sora tried calling to him.
But then, something in the sky, like a meteor of light, came crashing into the ground, dispelling the heartless swarm and released Riku from his hold. The blast from the light-meteor's impact pushed Riku and Sora back a bit. They couldn't see what it was, there was too much dust in the air, but they could still see a light, presumably from where the thing crashed. Sora and Riku got up and tried to approach it, then the two heard a voice coming from the light, "I am SOOoooo sorry that I'm late, guys! But I promise you, it was worth it!" The figure waved its hand, and in a second, the dust cleared away, revealing the man in a while robe and hood, a black staff in one hand, and the Ultima Keyblade. "Merlin!" The two boys called out, and the youthful-looking wizard turned around and gave them a peace sign and a smile "Wattup?"
The two boys laughed, and were filled with hope again. "Since I knew the heartless, nobodies, and unversed weren't gonna leave us alone to deal with Master Xehanort and the Organization, I figured I'd get some help to keep these things distracted. Unfortunately, he takes A LOT of convincing before he's willing to lend a hand" Merlin finished with a groan and a comical sweat drop on the back of his head. Riku and Sora looked at each other, then back at Merlin, and Sora said to him, "Kairi and the rest have-" "Yeah, yeah, don't worry about them" Merlin responded, shooing Sora's concerns away, "Just let me do my thing!" Sora grunted, then he and Riku watched as the White Wizard of Flowers did his thing.
Then Merlin put his two hands together, joining his staff and keyblade, and with the two together, struck the ground hard, causing a shockwave to spread from the epicenter. Then Merlin spoke aloud, "I call upon the Flames of Truth to rain down upon my enemies! I command the chains of heaven, earth, and hell to be unleashed!" As he chanted, Sora and Riku noticed a large bright ball of fire, like a sun, appear in the sky. From this new sun, fire balls separated from it, and crashed into the ground, destroying heartless in the process. The tornado still remained, but Merlin wasn't done, "I summon the king of dragons to do my bidding, and smite all who dare to oppose me! Let all those who stand against me…..KNOW THE MIGHT…..OF BAHAMUT!" At the command of that name, a massive structure with glowing runes all over it came out of the sun-like object and crashed into the ground, taking out more heartless. Sora and Riku looked in awe as the miniature sun began to break apart, like an egg, and from inside came a terrifying and colossal dragon. Its roar blew apart the rest of the cage that held it, and it's wings blew like a hurricane. As it flew around the field, more fire balls, like meteorites, fell off of the monster, and annihilated everything in sight.
Bahamut flew directly into the tornado, and immediately came out the other side. As the tornado tried to reform, Sora and Riku saw the dragon holding something in its hands. As it flew towards them, Bahamut lowered its hand, and released what he contained. It was Kairi, and Axel, and the rest of them. Sora and Riku grunted with joy as the dragon gently lowered them to the ground. "Good boy!" Merlin said pridefully. "Now, if you wouldn't mind?" The dragon looked beyond where Merlin was pointing, and saw the tornado persisting to stay.
Bahamut growled, then flew up high into the sky, fireballs falling off his body and crashing into the ground, annihilating any that dared to come near the group. When Bahamut reached orbit, he opened his mouth and began to charge up his Mega-Flare, a powerful one-shot attack with devasting power, but not his strongest attack, lest he tried to take out the entire planet, and the rest of the solar system. Then Bahamut unleashed his attack onto the planet, and it came crashing right into the tornado of heartless, completely eviscerating it. Sora, Riku, and the rest prepared to be thrown back by the explosion, but when the realized they weren't, they saw a large barrier had been erected over them, and Merlin standing in front of them, admiring the view his summon wrought forth.
Finally, once the shockwave from the explosion was done spreading out, Merlin released the barrier, and turned to the kids, "Bahamut will keep these guys busy by drawing them to him." He then cast a party-wide Curaga spell, healing everyone, before saying, "Why don't we take advantage of this and go whip all of Xehanort's 13 assess, huh?" Everyone in the group stood up, nodded in agreement, and followed Merlin into the field beyond.