Kingdom Hearts III - Alternate Ending

by GhostWriterX

I had been developing my follow-up story, which takes place after KH 3, before the game came out. Because of that, I had to write and post my own version of KH 3's ending so my story makes sense. My ending follows the game for the most part, with the changes getting more noticeable as the chapters go on. The "Preface" section explains myself further if you're interested.

10. Chapter 9 - The End of an Era

The bright light begins to dim, allowing Sora, Kairi, and Riku to open their eyes and take in their surroundings. It seems they made it to the other side of Kingdom Hearst, but what they saw defied their expectations.

"Whoa, where are we?" Sora asked. The three islanders took the time absorbing this wondrous site: they were standing in one of seemingly infinite number of mountain-like cities stretching as far as the eye could see. Each mountain-city seemed to be suspended over an ocean of water. The buildings in each city appeared to be made out of a glistening white/gold material, and there were windmills spread all throughout the cities. The islanders also noticed cable-cars that went from the base of the city to the top. They also spotted gondolas by the piers, possibly allowing transport from one mountain-city to the other.

The world was perpetually sunny and clear, and the three kids could not help but find it breathtakingly beautiful. Kairi was the one that attempted to summarize their thoughts, "It's…..beautiful…" Sora, still admiring the view himself, grabbed Kairi's hand, "Yes, it is…." Riku, trying to focus, decided to remind his two friends why they were here, "Ok, guys, admire it another time." Sora and Kairi then flinched, as if they were released from a trance, and the two looked at each other and laughed. Then Sora replied, "Right, we have to find Master Xehanort."

As the trio made their way further into the mountain-city they had landed on, Kairi spotted a massive structure and pointed, "Look over there. What's that?" Sora and Riku turned to where she was pointing, and they saw a massive golden statue of a man in armor, dual-wielding two weapons. One weapon resembled the X-blade, which was pierced to the ground with the man holding its handle. The man held the other weapon towards the sky, but neither Sora, Kairi, or Riku could determine what kind of weapon it was. They figured it was also some type of sword, but the "blade" section had an abnormal shape that didn't match any type of sword they'd seen. The weapon had a grip and hand-guard, but the blade and the tip was dull and cylindrical, with three independent sections that looked like they could spin in alternating directions, making the weapon look more like a drill than a sword. Each of the three sections of the blade had markings on them, like litographs.

The three kids couldn't bear to look upon the statue anymore, as the odd weapon's design seemed to cause a headache. Then Sora asked, "Who do you think he is? Some kind of leader? A king maybe?" Riku pondered, "Whoever he is, I'm betting he was the first keyblade wielder. I haven't heard of many people who wielded the X-blade, other than those who tried obtaining it by dangerous means like Xehanort. But if this guy has his own statue, and was acknowledged by the people of this world as a wielder of the X-blade, I would bet he was the first Keyblade Master in history." "What about that other weapon?" Kairi asked. "Merlin never mentioned such a weapon to me or Axel."

"I honestly don't know" Riku replied, unable to even venture a guess. "Yen Sid never said anything about such a weapon either." The three noticed markings on the platform that held the statue, but it was in a language they couldn't recognize. Then the three continued exploring, but quickly realized that there seemed to be no one around, no civilians. "It sure is quiet here" Sora muttered. "Yeah, there's no one around" Kairi added.

Then Sora felt like he saw something at the corner of his eye. To his right, he saw Master Xehanort in the distance, disappearing behind a building. Then Kairi saw Xehanort as well, to her left heading down a plaza-like area. "Hey, there!" Sora and Riku turned, and they also saw Xehanort. The three ran after the silhouette, only for Riku to notice Xehanort beyond some stairs to the right of where Kairi saw him. "Guys!" Riku called out, and Sora and Kairi immediately stopped, then noticed Xehanort standing there as well. "Uh, what?" Sora asked, unable to comprehend how Xehanort was moving about as he was. As the three stared at him, Kairi saw another Xehanort to her left. Riku saw another Xehanort to his right. All the Xehanorts seemed to glitch and fizzle, like static on a screen. "What's going on?" Sora asked hysterically. Then suddenly their appearances shifted, now they were wearing black robes, with red threads on the chest and elbows. They also wore helmets that vaguely resembled a typical knight's, with five horns crowning the top, two of which were on either side of the helmet, two more on the back, and a fifth shorter horn on the forehead.

The armored Xehanorts then began levitating up into the air, still remaining completely motionless from when the islanders found them standing. "Are you serious?" Sora asked rhetorically, noticing that it now seemed they had to fight multiple Xehanorts, despite that one of them managed to beat their entire team not that long ago. Then they noticed more armored Xehanorts appearing from beyond the buildings, all floating to where they were in the plaza, and eventually there totaled 12 armored Xehanorts hovering in the air in a circular form, hovering above the three Keyblade Wielders. They all summoned their keyblades, ready for the fight of their lives.

"Are they the Organization?" Kairi wondered out loud. "Well, I doubt they're the locals" Riku retorted. "Ready?!" Sora blurted out. As he said that, the armored Xehanorts descended and attacked the three islanders, forcing them to jump forward and become separated. Sora found himself facing up to four of the armored Xehanorts, and from what he could tell, it was the same for Kairi and Riku.

Each of the armored Xehanorts appeared to wield a different weapon, loosely based on past Organization members. "Huh, well, at least I know their moves by now," Sora muttered to himself, in a vain attempt to brighten the mood despite the 4:1 odds. He couldn't help but worry about Kairi and Riku, then suddenly one of the Xehanorts dashed towards him with an ethereal blade, but Sora managed to block it with his keyblade. "Can't worry about them now, I have to have faith in my friends." As he muttered to himself, he pushed the armored Xehanort back, then continued, "I have faith in my friends! I can beat you, and so can they!" Then Sora pushed the armored Xehanort back and activated his shotlock, firing multicolored beams at the armored Xehanort, dealing heavy damage. Then Sora used his shotlock to dash to another Xehanort, not letting up on his second wind.

Kairi was pushed back to a massive gate-like structure, and waited for the Xehanorts to rush her. Once they did, she activated Aeroga, catching them in a massive whirlwind. Then she used Thundaga as many times as she could while the Aeroga spell lasted, damaging the Xehanort clones. Once she built-up enough MP, she unleashed her grand Thundaga spell, dealing devastating damage to the Xehanort clones. But once the Aeroga spell ended, and Kairi found herself somewhat exhausted after expending so much MP, she saw that the Xehanorts still appeared able to fight, each of them pointing their weapons at her and preparing to pounce. Kairi used the opening she made from her bout of spells and jumped up along a building wall, running until she could reach the top. The then ran along the roofs of conjoined buildings while she tried to find an ether to refill her MP, the Xehanorts giving chase.

Riku found himself on the defensive, either deflecting or dodging each Xehanort that bursted towards him. "Agh, I've had it with this!" Riku roared, then activated Graviga to pull the Xehanorts into one spot, but saw that they were resisting the spell somewhat. Riku used this chance to attack the Xehanorts one at a time, unleashing a flurry of strikes at the closest one. Once the Gragiva spell ended, Riku decided to shotlock to the next closest Xehanort, and using the energy built-up from beating the previous Xehanort, Riku unleashes Ars Arcnanum on the current Xehanort, dealing thirteen powerful strikes. The Xehanort clone fell down once Riku finished, only for Riku to notice the other two Xehanorts caught in his Graviga charge at him simultaneously. He managed to block their weapons with his keyblade, but the force of their impact still send him flying back and crashing into a building. After a moment, Riku slowly got up, removing the rubble from his clothes, and limped out of the building. He saw his four Xehanorts levitating in the air, their weapons glowing in their hands. Then he leaned on the door of the building and muttered, "This is some bull-" but before he could finish, the four Xehanorts started rising rapidly up into the sky, causing Riku to look at them suspiciously.

The Xehanorts battling Sora and Kairi did the same thing. As the islanders watched their opponents rise up into the sky, they then saw them point their weapons towards the center of the mountain city, and as soon as that happened, the entire sky turned jet-black, and a massive star-shaped rune formed over the city, with 12 circular ends along the circumference of the rune. Then numerous red beams rained down upon the city, and the three kids did what they could to avoid them. Using the buildings as cover didn't seem to help, as the beams easily penetrated through them. Sora, Kairi, and Riku dodged and glided through the city, and when they found they couldn't avoid a beam, they used Reflega, opting not to risk using their keyblades to deflect the beams based on how much damage they can seemingly cause.

Finally, the gargantuan spell finished, and the kids took the opportunity to regroup. "Anyone make any headway with these guys?" Riku asked panting. "If you still count twelve of them, then no, sorry" Sora answered sarcastically. "I might have an idea" Kairi said, "but I can't guarantee it'll actually kill all of them, but at least wound them even more, maybe enough for us to pick them off afterwards." "I'll take any suggestions at this point" Sora responded, then Kairi began briefing them on her plan as the twelve Xehanorts quickly descended and homed on the overwhelmed islanders. "Wait until they're close enough" Kairi suggested, but Sora and Riku started to look nervous as the Xehanorts got uncomfortably closer at alarming speed. Once they were only a few meters, they all shouted out, "AEROGA!"

Three massive whirlwinds were conjured, catching all the Xehanorts in their torrential winds. Then the three islanders unleashed their shotlocks on the helpless Xehanorts. Fireworks of spells flew around in the air as they sought their targets, exploding violently once they landed on the Xehanorts. Once the Aeroga spells ended, Riku noticed the Xehanorts trying to spread apart, "Oh no you don't" Riku yelled, then said, "GRAVIGA!" Riku correctly surmised that the Xehanorts were now too weak to resist spell like they did earlier, as they now became pulled into the small black hole conjured from the spell.

Then he looked at Sora and said, "Let's do it!" It took a moment for Sora to understand what he meant, then he nodded and grunted, "Right!" The two then stood side by side and jumped into the air so that they were level with the Xehanorts. Then in mirror-like movements, the two raised their hands towards the Xehanorts and summoned a massive keyblae-like weapon. The two boys then swung the blade as many times as they could, catching all the Xehanorts in their strikes. The two swung until the Graviga spell ended, and until they were too tired to continue. Then the two descended to the ground, heaving and panting. Kairi ran up to them and prepared to defend them as they recovered. But their last two attacks seemed to have done the trick. The three kids looked up, and saw each of the Xehanorts falling to the ground, lifeless. After the last one fell, the three kids then allowed themselves to fall into a sitting or kneeling position, and caught their breaths. The three sat back-to-back, resting their heads on each other.

After a few moments, they heard a voice speak to them, "Of all the places to be sent…" Startled, the kids looked up, and saw Mater Xehanort at the top of a pile of stairs, grinning and holding his hands behind his back. As he faced them and spoke, they stood back up slowly, maintaining caution, "Behold, this town… Once a seat of power for all Keyblade wielders. It is the nexus from which all worlds spring."

Sora then spoke to the others, "Is he talking about the One World Merlin and Yen Sid mentioned yesterday?" Before the others could answer, they saw the defeated Xehanort clone rise up into the air as if picked by an invisible force, then each of them burst into grey clouds one by one, a smoky sphere remaining where their bodies once did. Once all the bodies exploded into spheres, they all then rushed towards Xehanort, his body absorbing them as they crashed into him. Then he continued, "Here, I and my other selves can be one. United… in Scala ad Caelum!" he ended, referring to the world by its name.

Then Master Xehanort began to levitate in the air, his body covered in a dark aura from having absorbed the other Xehanort clones. After sighing and grunting in pain, a powerful shockwave emitted from where he floated, startling the three kids. Xehanort was then covered in a dark shroud, and after a moment, he emerged from the shroud in a more ceremonial version of the armor that the clones wore, this time the helmet resembling a Baphomet.

Xehanort then summoned his Gazing Eye keyblade. And prepared to attack the three kids. "This is my last Elixir" Kairi stated. It was a mega-elixir, completely healing all three of them and rejuvenating their MP. The kids no longer felt tired, and with this new burst of energy, gained new confidence in taking down Master Xehanort once and for all. "Thanks Kairi" Sora said gratefully, "I'm also out." "As am I," Riku added regretfully. "But look at the bright side," Sora continued, "Now we outnumber him." Kairi and Riku couldn't help but chuckle quietly.

Then they saw Xehanort motion his hands towards them, and then an earthquake seemed to erupt. The three kids looked around hysterically, then saw that the city appeared to be folding in on itself, as buildings appeared in the sky. With another hand motion, Xehanort shifted the gravity, causing the three kids to slide to their left and landing on the side of a building. "Whoa! Are you guys ok?" Sora asked. But before they could answer, Xehanort again motioned his hand, and snarled, "Down"

Again the gravity was shifted, and the kids ended up falling through the city and towards the ocean. But the city continued to shift and twist, with the kids continuing to fall through to wherever gravity pulled them. They couldn't even glide, as the gravity shifts disoriented them. Finally, the city stopped shifting, and now formed a giant cylindrical dome like structure. The kids then managed to get themselves to safely land on the side of a building, and as they took in the physics-defying site, Xehanort floated towards them and said with a cackle, "I admire your tenacity!"

The kids prepared to attack, but Xehanort crossed his hands over his chest, and multiple dark-lighting orbs surrounded the kids. On reflex, Kairi activated Reflega as the orbs closed in on them, then the three kids flew to Xehanort, and relentlessly swung their keyblades at him. The heavily armored old man proved to be quite spry, as he either blocked or doged their attacks. "Pathetic!" he boasted, then would try and take out the kids one at a time, but the other two would quickly run to the third's aid while the single-out wielder defended from his attacks and countering, dealing some damage. "What?" the old man uttered, surprised by their teamwork, and he found himself flying back a ways and shouted, "Be gone!" He fired a Firaga-like spell with a wide range, but the kids all avoided it by flying away. Then Xehanort flew up into the massive dome, and called down a massive pillar of fire, forcing the kids to take cover. Once the fire pillar ended, in its place was a thunder-like sphere which seemed to pull the kids in like it was a Gravity spell. As the kids struggled to avoid being pulled in, Xehanort went for Sora. The boy desperately tried to defend from his attacks while also being pulled into the gravity-like spell. When Sora realized he would be sucked in, he ended up grabbing onto Xehanort, startling the old man. Then Sora said, "Fine! Then you're coming with me!" Riku and Kairi looked on an called out to him, "Sora!"

Then Sora and Xehanort were pulled into the gravity spell and both endured the damage from within, followed by an explosion. When Sora came flying out, Kairi casted Curaga on him. Sora then woke up and resummoned his Keyblade, though his clothes remained damaged, and bruises still showed throughout his body.

Then Xehanort floated back up and motioned his hand yet again. "Oh, great!" Riku groaned, as the three prepared for another jarring shift in the landscape. This time Xehanort caused them to fall all the way into a pool of water than formed in the massive room, and the four resumed their fight, this time submerged.

The Sora and Riku adapted to their new environment faster than Xehanort expected, as they had both traversed various worlds to know how to fight in such conditions. Kairi, however, tried to keep up, which hindered her performance. When Xehanort noticed her sluggish movements, he proceeded to take her out, only to find Sora and Riku guarding her with a vengeance. Xehanort groaned to himself and proceeded to swim circles around the kids, trying to take them out with long range magic when they least expected it. But again, Sora and Riku countered this with relative ease, as this attack was a far cry from what Xemnas through at them with his ethereal blades.

Frustrated, Xehanort then surrounded them with massive fire pillars that quickly closed in on the trio. Sora and Riku quickly motioned to Kairi how to swim with incredible speed, and the three used their Keyblades as rudders and avoided the fire pillars. Then the three unleashed what spells they could unto Xehanort as he closed in on them. Riku decided to catch Xehanort's attack, and managed to lock the old man in place. Then Sora and Kairi bombarded the old master with strikes and stabs while Riku desperately held on, taking some of the damage. After a few seconds, Xehanort pushed all three kids away, and Sora took the chance to cast Curaga on Riku.

The three kids then saw Xehanort vanish before their eyes. After looking around the area and not seeing any sign of him, Riku pointed upwards and the kids swam up to the surface.

Once they emerged from the body of water, they saw how much damaged Scala ad Caelum and suffered from their battled, as the remains of one of the mountain-cities started to slowly sink into the ocean. In the distance, Sora spotted Xehanort among the buildings, and without thinking he jumped and made his way towards him.

Once Sora was close enough, Xehanort summoned a fire pillar from the ground, catching Sora while he was still mid-air. Xehanort proceeded to attack the helpless boy while he was disoriented, but Sora managed to block and counter Xehanort's attack and damage his armor, frustrating the old man.

Soon, Sora was joined by Kairi and Riku, and the four were now hovering in the air. They flew around, striking each other's blades as they crossed each other. The three kids did not let up as Xehanort tried to distract the with fire balls and fire pillars suddenly sprouting from the ground. When one kid appeared to be caught, another casted a spell to protect them from the damage, while the third kid homed in on Xehanort before he could cast another spell. The three showed remarkable teamworok, and Xehanort couldn't help but silently praise them. At the same time he cursed them for giving him this much trouble, despite wielding the power of the X-blade and Kingdom Hearts.

The four keyblade wielders continued flying through the air, too fast for regular eyes to perceive, as their blades continued to clash as they struck each other, forming sparks in the air as if they were lightning in a storm.

Then Xehanort uttered, "Taste defeat!" And he pulled one of the kids, Sora, towards him. Allowing himself to be pulled, Sora unleashed a birage of Firaga spells once he was close enough, catching Xehanort off guard. Then Riku and Kairi used this opening and struck Xehanort as many times as they could. Sora then joined in, and the three kids began unleashed hell on the old master until they could no longer swing their keyblades.

Once they finished, the impact from their blows sent Xehanort crashing into a nearby building. The three regrouped, then heard Xehanort utter, "You think you have won?!" Then the kids saw him emerge from the crater in the wall, limping as he stepped onto a building suspended underneath him. The old man dropped his keyblade, which then disappeared. Then Xehanort saw his damaged armor crack and explode, leaving him vulnerable to the kids.

Looking upon them as they stood over him, Xehanort merely smirked and teleported away. The three kids then looked up at the peak of the mountain city, where a tower-like structure still stood despite the battle. The three looked at each other and nodded, and jumped across the buildings to the peak of the city.

Once they reached the tower, the three entered and looked around, before Xehanort materialized in front of them, still smiling his sinister smile, and arrogantly folding his hands behind him.

The three kids walked towards him, and summoned their keyblades again. Then Sora, swinging his keyblade and pointing it towards the old man, yelled out, "It's all over, Xehanort!" But still the old man stared down at the kids, smiling at them, and then responded, "You thought you could contain me here… knowing all that you do about connections?"

Xehanort then swung one of his hands forward, and the kids prepared for another attack from him. But instead, Xehanort emitted a bright light from his hands, temporarily blinding the three islanders. Once the light dimmed out, the three stared at Xehanort, and were shocked to see him holding the X-blade instead.

Xehanort then floated up in the air, and looked down upon the kids, and after marveling at his X-blade, raised it behind him and yelled out, "There is one sky, one destiny!" Then from up above, beyond the clouds, something started appearing. But the three kids did not back down, and the four began their final battle.

As they flew around the peak of the mountain-city, the three kids transformed their keyblades, decided to go all-out now that Xehanort had his X-blade out. Sora aimed his shotlock at Xehanort and zipped towards him, but met with a powerful swing of his X-blade. Sora barely blocked the attack but was sent flying back.

As he fell back Kairi and Riku flew towards Xehanort, with Kairi firing spells for cover-fire as Riku went in for melee combat. Xehanort deflected Kairi's spells, then was met with a violent series of slashes from Riku. Despite blocking all of Riku's attacks, Xehanort still felt the force from the kid's swings, and surmised that he had to break free soon. Xehanort used his X-blade to catch Riku's on his next swing, and after giving the boy a gloat smirk, proceeded to push the boy backwards. But Riku saw Sora coming in, grabbed his hand, and as Riku was sent flying back, Sora came swinging in, catching the old man by surprise.

The extra momentum from the two boys swinging each other gave Sora enough force to crash into Xehanort and send him flying through the tower to the other side of the peak. Impressed, Xehanort quickly floated up higher into the air and watched as the three kids regrouped in the center plaza of the tower. Once the three kids gathered, Xehanort conjured light from under where the kids stood, and before the kids could avoid it, they were being dragged up to Xehanort on his light-platform.

Then Xehanort shouted out, "Come, Kingdom Hearts!" and revealed that the object appearing beyond the clouds was the titular power source itself, hanging like a heart-shaped moon in the sky.

Now that the three kids were suck inside the light-platform the old man summoned, a barrier preventing them from escaping it, Xehanort called down thin pillars of light onto islanders. The agile kids managed to avoid them, then Xehanort started vanishing and reappearing near one of the kids, hoping to strike them when they did not expect it.

The three kids, however, reacted in time and managed to block his attacks. However, Xehanort picked up the pace, and the kids found themselves unable to keep up with his sudden teleporting strikes. Xehanort managed to land a hit or two on each of the kids, before deciding to end the attack and switch things up.

Xehanort then rose above the kids and swung his keyblade in his palm, gloating to them, "Enlighten me!" Then he threw his Keyblade into the sky and towards Kingdom Hearts, and then bands of light radiated from the moon which seemed to absorb the light out of Sora and Riku, turning them into shadow-like forms. Kairi gasped as she saw her friends turn into their dark forms, only to see them persist and continue the fight against Xehanort.

But the old man conjured more pillars of light to keep the two shadow boys at bay, and fired bullets of light from his X-blade that homed in on them. Kairi watched as the two boys struggled to avoid Xehanort's attacks, but then realized that Xehanort had not seemed to pay her any mind. Using this opportunity, she dashed towards Xehanort and surprised the old man with violent strikes.

The old man could not understand how the girl remained in her form, "How did you retain your light, girl? Why did you not fall to darkness like them?!" Kairi smirked and answered, "Did you already forget? I don't have any darkness! I'm a princess of heart!" Kairi then did her best to hold off Xehanort while Sora and Riku, still in their shadow forms, avoided Xehanort's spells, hoping she could keep him occupied until his spells wore off.

Frustrated, Xehanort countered Kairi's attacks and began unleashing strikes of his own, overwhelming Kairi as she desperately tried to block them. "Infernal Princess of Heart!" the old man called out to her, "Don't you see what I'm trying to accomplish?! With Kingdom Hearts now under my command, I can usher a new era and prevent another Keyblade War from every happening again!"

Finally, his spells wore off, and Sora and Riku saw Kairi trying to fend off the old master on her own. Xehanort then managed to grab Kairi by the neck in between swings, and held his X-blade to her face, and said, "You are no longer needed!"

But Sora and Riku managed to reach the old man, and before he could defend himself, Kairi grabbed his X-blade, leaving him open to their vengeance. The two boys violently clawed at Xehanort as well as swung their keyblades at him, and with each strike, orbs of light spilled out of his body.

After enough strikes, Sora and Riku grabbed Xehanort, who released Kairi from his grip, and through him to the center of the light platform. Disoriented, he floated helplessly as the two boys then came in from opposing directions and struck Xehanort every time they flew past him. After four or five passes, the two boys then rose above him, unleashing dark aura from their bodies, and came crashing down towards Xehanort, knocking him into the center of the light platform with an explosive impact.

Sora and Riku then regained their normal forms as they absorbed the orbs of light that was cluttered on the platform, and they were quickly joined by Kairi. But then the three were blinded by another light, then saw multiple thrown-like structures rising above them from the light platform, surrounding the kids. On the tallest thrown, Xehanort sat casually, while shadow-like figures sat on the other throwns, each one lower than the last.

Then they heard Xehanort cry out, "Expire!" and were bombarded by the shadow figures who came rushing from their thrones to attack the kids. As the kids tried fending off the shadow figures, Xehanort shot at them with powerful energy beams, yelling out, "Be gone!" The kids found themselves caught in the beam' trajectory, taking some damage while also trying to fend off the shadow creatures.

The kids realized all they could do was defend from the shadow creatures, then dodge out of the way once they were able to time Xehanort's beam attack. After a few seconds, Xehanort saw the kids timing his attacks, so he called off the shadow warriors and fired multiple beams of light upon the kids. Banding together, the three kids held their keyblades and defended each other from the beams of light.

With all four of them exhausted, Xehanort called away the thrones, and they all found themselves alone on the light platform again. Then Sora said, "We've got to finish this here and now!" Kairi and Riku grunted and nodded, and all three of them pointed their keyblades at Xehanort. Light emitted at the tips of their blade, and beams fired off towards Xehanort, but the old man managed to defend from their attacks with an invisible barrier.

The old man then raised his X-blade into the sky and yelled out, "It ends here and now!" Then the kids saw Kingdom Hearts become engulfed in darkness, causing them to grunt in surprise.

Xehanort then charged his own beam attack and fired at the kids. Sora jumped out and tried to deflect the attack with his keyblade, but the force proved too much for him, and he was struck by the attack.

Sora passed out, and the next thing he knew, he was seemingly floating in darkness. All was quite around him, and he found no need to call out to anyone. Sora just lie there, suspended in the air, sleeping.

But then he felt his heart pump hard, and it kept pumping. It hurt, but it wasn't a normal type of hurt, it was as if someone was pumping life back into him. Sora then faintly heard the muffled voices of Kairi and Riku calling out his name. They continued calling, and his heart continued to pump with renewed energy, until Sora had the strength to open his eyes and move again.

He woke up and found himself still deflecting from Xehanort's attack, but now Kairi and Riku and joined in, their keyblade supporting his. On Sora's signal, the three swung their keyblades out in rapid succession, and fired their own beams towards Xehanort again.

This time, they all struggled in a tug-of-war like fashion, only this time trying to push towards the opposing team rather than pulling towards themselves. Xehanort found himself struggling to overwhelm the three kids, and for the life of him he could not understand how he was being over-powered by them.

Eventually he lost the strength and gave in, and the kids unified beam attack reached him and pierced him.

The three then descended back down to the tower, and found themselves standing before each other, the kids starring at Xehanort, and he to them, waiting to see who would fall first.

Finally, Xehanort limped forward, dropped his X-blade, and fell to the ground. The kids didn't realize they were all holding their breath, and let out gasps of air and began panting, the fight completely wearing them out.

Xehanort crawled before trying to bring himself to stand up, grunting, "Why? How?"

When Sora finally managed to catch his breath, he responded, "It's over now! You lost!"

But Xehanort refused to acknowledge defeat, and managed to point out to Sora, "No, look… You are too late…" The kids looked up and saw Kingdom Hearts back to normal, and were confused. "Are we really?" Kairi asked concerningly. "How so?" Riku demanded. Then Sora asked, "What's gonna happen?"

Having gained some satisfaction from seeing the kids act all concerned, Xehanort tried answering them as he continued laying on the ground, "A purge… The World will be returned to whence it started."

As the kids grunted in shock, the old man managed to stand himself up, then continued, "The world began in darkness. And from that darkness came light." In Xehanorts mind, images flashed before his eyes, three angelic silhouettes that appeared to form the universe, creating land, oceans, air, and eventually life. Xehanort resumed, "From the light came the people, and the people had hearts." As his mind continued to see visions, he saw the people form civilizations, cultures, and eventually a man that resembled the one from the statue the kids saw when they arrived at Scala ad Caelum. This man appeared to lead the people, with the X-blade in his hand. The man stood on top of a beast that he seemingly conquered after a battle, and then the man and beast were seen standing side-by-side as allies, as other praised them.

Then the man and the beast looked into the distance, and saw darkness being to envelop the land. Some of the people that praised them turned into shadows, and started attacking each other. The vision then shifted to a war-like scenario. Xehanort continued, "Evil burgeoned in those hearts, begetting more darkness. And that darkness spread across the World like a plague." In his visions, Xehanort saw the man wielding the X-blade and trying to drive away the darkness, which now took the vague form of a Darkside heartless. The light of the X-blade seemed to make the darkness retreat, yet at the same time, the darkness appeared drawn to the blade when it wasn't swung against it.

Xehanort resumed, "The light, the symbol of the World's hope, was devoured by shadow. Leaving nothing but ruin… An utter failure." The visions showed Xehanort that the beast had sacrificed itself for the man, who then became enveloped in markings all over his body. The markings took on a red color, and then the man summoned the other weapon that the kids saw at the statue. From this weapon fired a red light, and the vision ended.

The kids listened to the old man, not realizing the visions he was experiencing, and Xehanort continued, "But, the first light, the light of Kingdom Hearts, it can give us a new start. An empty World, pure and bright…"

Then Sora spoke up, "It wasn't your decision to make." Angered by the boy's statement, Xehanort grabbed the X-blade, and used it to support him as he stood. "Then whose was it?" the old man demanded. When Sora didn't answer, Xehanort claimed, "The World needs someone to stand up and lead. Someone strong, to stop the weak from polluting the World with their endless darkness. Someone to dictate their destiny."

From behind them, a beam of green light fired at Xehanort, gravely injuring him. Before the kids could turn and see who it was, something caused them to pass out, and they fell to the ground. "If so…" a voice called out from a portal, "you are not the one to lead, my old master." From the portal, the armored man emerged. His boots created loud foot steps as he walked slowly to his dying master.

Xehanort coughed as he struggled to stay standing, relying on the X-blade to support him. Then, as he coughed up blood, he called out to the armored man, "V-Victor?!"

As Victor got closer to Xehanort, he continued, "A real leader denies what destiny dictates, challenges it, and emerges victorious! He would not stoop so low as to restart his kingdom, hoping his past mistakes would vanish. He persists! Supports the foundations he has built, and stares down at any adversary foolish enough to defy him…"

The two men glared at each other, then Xehanort smiled, "I have forgotten the power behind your words, old friend. Your own ambition continues to amaze me even now, Victor-"

"That's DOCTOR to you, my former master" his apprentice interrupted with pride, "Doctor Doom" and with that statement, his voice echoed all throughout the tower, and seemingly caused the wind to stir.

Xehanort stood there hunched over as his old apprentice formally announced himself, then he stood up, but even then, Doom towered over him. The Doctor motioned his hand, and the kids behind him levitated. Then, the form of Kingdom Hearts shifted slightly, and a massive keyhole formed in the center of the heart. Doom casually flung the three kids up into the keyhole, and into the Badlands beyond. That was the last time Xehanort saw them.

Ω

From the other side, in the Badlands, Merlin and the group looked on anxiously at Kingdom Hearts from the raised platform where the three kids fought Heartless-Xehanort, Young Xehanort, and Xemnas. Then he saw three figures appear from it, and after a second, recognized them as Sora, Kairi, and Riku, as they came crashing-landing towards them. "Incoming!" Merlin yelled, and while the rest of the group retreated back, Merlin used Aeroga to catch the kids and cushion their blow.

The aeroga spell was then deactivated, and the three kids descended to the ground. The group then rushed and surrounded the three kids, still knocked out. "They made it!" Donald squawked in relief. Mickey then asked, "Did they do it? Did they win?" Merlin looked back at Kingdom Hearts and saw it begin to glimmer differently, and with some hesitation, he answered, "I… I think so…"

Ω

Now that they were alone, Doom grappled the X-blade from Xehanort and impaled the old man, shoving the blade deep into his abdomen until it went straight through him. As Xehanort gasped and blood dripped from his mouth, Doom held the X-blade with his master high above the ground.

"It appears Kingdom Hearts is closing on the other side" Doom said indifferently. "Yet here I found a wonderful new base of operations, the remnant of the One World, the alleged Stairway to Heaven, Scala ad Caelum." Doom looked into the yellow eyes of his former Master Xehanort, and as the light faded from them, he continued to boast, "You have no idea of close you were to discovering the truth, and actually wielding it for your benefit, only for you to be tempted by the dark side, clouding your judgement to the point where three children were able to best you in combat!" Doom swung the X-blade, and Xehanort came loose of it, landing and sliding along the floor of the tower. Doom then summoned the Gazing Eye and its kin above Xehanort, and with a single slash of the X-blade, destroyed all of them Gazing Eyes, their pieces falling to the ground, some of which landed on Xehanort's body.

"Consider this your comeuppance! For wielding powers you did not entirely control, for succumbing to your weapons instead of commanding them, and for falling to those infants! The only reason I aid them now is because they actually proved useful in my plan. But you? What did you gain in the end? Visions? On your dying breath? And in return you lost your army, your identity, and now, your life…" Doom then walked towards Xehanort and knelt down to him, whispering, "This is a fitting end for you."

Doom then stood back up, and proceeded to leave this world with the X-blade in hand. Before he entered his portal, he heard his master call out to him in a weak voice, "Victor….." Doom stopped, and decided he'd amuse his old master one last time, turned and faced him. Xehanort then uttered, "Hubris… may have defeated me…but it will defeat you too…..it is our nature…" and with his last breath, Xehanort left this world with a smirk. Doom squinted, and swinging the X-blade, used the air pressure from the swing to decapitate his master, sending his head rolling down the tower steps. Then Doom took one final look at the remains of the One World, and said, "I will return, and this city will shine brighter than it ever did." Then left, as Kingdom Hearts faded in the sky, locking this world from time and space, for now.

Ω

In the badlands, Sora, Kairi, and Riku finally began coming to. Once they all had a moment to fully awaken, they noticed that they were surrounded by the rest of their allies. "WELCOME BACK!" they joyously shouted in unison. Mickey then spoke up, "You did it! You really did it!" The trio then looked at each other, not joining the celebration just yet. Merlin knelt down and asked them "What happened? What's the last thing you remember?"

Sora responded for them, "I… we had defeated Master Xehanort, and he seemed pretty weak, too weak to fight anymore. Then…. an explosion? Did the X-blade turn against him?" He faced Kairi and Riku as he asked that, the two unable to answer. Merlin held a gaze a moment longer, then closed his eyes and smiled. "Someone like him could never hope to wield the X-blade properly, let alone control Kingdom Hearts. Whatever you did, it must have caused his powers to overwhelm him. Then, because Fate must really be on our side, you were returned to use when your mission was complete." The trio smiled and looked at each other, and the rest of the group smiled proudly and looked at them as well.

Mickey then said to the trio, "Alright then, fellas, let's close it!" With a nod, the three kids stood up, and for the last time, all the Keyblade wielders present raised their swords to the sky, and the tips of their blades lit up, beams of light shot out to Kingdom Hearts, and the moon disappeared from their view.

With its light gone, and the clouds around it vanished, the natural sunlight of the Badlands returned, and shined upon the heroes. They took another moment to stare into the empty space where Kingdom Hearts once was, the wind blowing softly against them.

Then Mickey turned to face the group and said with forced pride, "It…. It's finally over!" Everyone else nodded and grunted in agreement. They began to embrace with each other; Aqua and Terra hugged one another; Sora and Kairi passionately held each other; Mickey, Donald, and Goofy engaged in a group hug; Riku and Roxas shook each other's hands then held a bro-hug; Merlin leaned on his staff and looked on as they congratulated each other, while Archer stood behind him, allowing a smile on his lips.

Then Mickey spoke up again, "My friends! We have won, but let us not forget those we lost in this battle. Those who gave their lives for us." Everyone turned to him when they heard him say this, and their faces became serious. Mickey then named the fallen, "Axel," Roxas flinched at the name, and fought back tears; "Eraqus," Aqua and Terra reacted to that name, while Roxas squeezed his face as he struggled even harder now to keep calm; "Yen Sid," at the mention of his name, everyone other than Donald and Goofy looked up and grunted in shock. Merlin gave a sad nod, confirming what Mickey said. But it was Archer who spoke up, "We couldn't tell you yet, not before our assault on the Organization. Someone attacked Yen Sid, and took his life as well as destroyed the Tower."

The others continued staring at Archer and Mickey in disbelief, then Riku asked, "Who? Who did it?" "We don't know" Merlin answered, "The bastard hid all traces of himself quite well. But… something tells me he won't make a move for a while. With our victory here secured, none of you need to worry about it." "But-" Riku tried to speak, but Merlin interrupted him, "Once we have all recovered from this, once you young heroes have taken the rest you've all earned from your courageous efforts to keep the peace in all the worlds, I will call upon you when I'm ready for your help. With this new authority granted to me" he summoned his Ultimate keyblade and proudly held it in the air, "I'll be sure to perform my duties as admirably as Yen Sid did, and his masters before him." Then he smiled at the group and said, "Let the grown ups clean up the mess, you kids get the rest you need, you deserve it." As the group looked at the White Wizard, they take another moment to remember the fallen. Sora looked on in the distance, looking at all the keyblades gathered in the mass graveyard, then faced Kairi with a smile and said to her, "We did it." Kairi held his hands in hers, and replied with a smile and a tear in her eye, "Yes…we did it."

Ω

In the distance, the Assassin stood, watching as the group beamed in their gummiships and fled this dreadful world. He supervised the Shadow girl while his master, Doctor Doom, went to confirm Xehanort's demise. Then the assassin looked at the girl, and she looked at him, and for a moment, the two felt like they recognized each other.

Before either of them could speak, a portal opened, and Doom emerged from it. The Assassin went and knelt before his master, asking "Is it done, my lord?" Doctor Doom looked down on his servant with pride and answered, "Yes, Kiritsugu, it is finished by my hand. I knew those children were too naïve to deal the finishing blow, and would've likely heard him out, and maybe even spared him. They are what pass for Keyblade Masters these days….." he ended with a disappointed sigh. The Assassin, Kiritsugu, then removed his hood and facemask, revealing spiky white hair and tanned skin, his eyes appeared lifeless and old, as if he had seen more death than anyone deserves to see in their life time. "What of the X-blade?" Kiristsugu asked, noticing its absence. "It eludes us, momentarily" Doom answered confidently.

Then, in the middle of the crossroads at the keyblade graveyard, the three saw a light emit from the epicenter, and once it dimmed out, in its place sat the Black Box. With mild joy, Doom commanded his two servants, "Come now! The next phase of my plan awaits!"

The three were transported by Doom to the Black Box, and Doom approached it, and used the sensors in his helmet to confirm that it was the box he sought, the box he initially had sent Maleficent on a goose chase in order to use her life force to open the box. The advanced technology in his helmet confirmed it.

Then Doom turned and faced the Shadow girl, and beckoned her to open the box. Kiritsugu asked with some concern in his voice, "What do you plan to do with her? Now that Maleficent no longer lives?" Doom faced the Assassin, almost offended that he questioned his master's will. Kiritsugu met his gaze with a straight face, but also tried to imply that he was merely curious. Doom held his gaze a moment longer, then answered, "The box requires massive amounts of energy to be opened. A lot of effort went into sealing it across space and time, and so a lot will be needed to break its lock."

The Shadow girl approached the box, and the instant she placed her hand on it, a violent reaction occurred. The box started draining the girl of the energy she consumed from Maleficent and Pete. The girl screamed in anguish, Kiritsugu looked on with concern while Doom remained indifferent to her cries. After several agonizing seconds, the box stopped its assault on the girl, and she was flung back. Kiritsugu reacted and caught her, holding her in his arms, while Doom walked towards the box, now opened. A red glow came from within, its light reflecting off of Doom's armor. As soon as his eyes saw what was inside, they widened with glee.

"What is it?" Kiritsugu asked. "The truth" Doom answered as he reached in to grab the object, and from it was an unusual-looking blade, the blade that Sora, Kairi, and Riku saw being held by the statue in Scala ad Caelum. "The primordial weapon, Ea. It was forged by ancient forces before the concept of a weapon was understood. The Destroyer of Creation, in the palm of my hand! With it acting as a catalyst, I shall summon my next Grand Servant, the true Master of Masters! The first Keyblade Wielder and the oldest hero to exist, and soon, my Conquest can begin!"

The three sections of the blade began to spin in opposing directions, with the markings glowing a red color. The very sight of it seemed to cause pain to Kiritsugu, and he shielded his eyes, but Doom seemed unfazed by it. Doom continued holding the weapon Ea high above him, and with a shout, unleashed its power into the heavens, "ENUMA ELISH!" A wave of red energy emitted from Ea, and engulfed the sky above.

Ω

Donald, Goofy, and Mickey returned to their home at Disney Castle, emerging from the small castle in the garden, and were greeted by Minnie, Daisy, and Pluto. Minnie and Mickey hugged one another and nuzzled their noses together, while Daisy approached Donald and appeared to scold him, must to Goofy's surprise, but ended up hugging him, and Donald hugged her back. Goofy, while petting Pluto, saw someone in just outside the garden. He squinted, and saw that it was his little boy, Max. Goofy's eyes widened with joy and ran to his son, and Max ran toward his father. The two met and hugged each other, with tears coming from Goofy's eyes. Above them, fireworks roared in the sky, celebrating their return and victory.

Ω

In the Land of Departure, Aqua, Terra, and Roxas looked at the Keyblade of Master Eraqus that marked his grave. Then, after taking a moment to look at the remains of their old home, Terra and Aqua turned and faced Roxas, who stared at them with a sad smile. Aqua walked towards him and asked, "Are you sure you can't stay?" She bent her knees so she could face Roxas at almost eye-level. He turned away and said, "Yeah… I'm sure. Even now, I can feel… two sides of myself at war. I can't stay here, or at Twilight Town, not for a while. I have to make a new life for myself, and help my two conflicting identities come to terms until they can finally be at peace with one another."

Aqua had tears running down her eyes, while Terra approached Roxas and placed a hand on his shoulder, saying, "You'll always have a home here. Feel free to come by anytime you want." Then paused and smile before continuing, "Hopefully I'll be master myself by the time you come back." Roxas and Aqua chuckled softly, then the two embraced Roxas, and he held on tightly to them. "I'll miss you guys…" he said tearfully. "We'll miss you too" Aqua replied tearfully. "We'll be right here, waiting for you" Terra said. The three held their embrace for a few moments longer…

Ω

In the Garden of Avalon, Merlin and Archimedes stood in a library, staring at a pile of reports that they'll now have to read over, and the two hunched over in dread, neither looking forward to all the paperwork. Behind them, they were joined by another, the Dream Eater Chirithy, who shook her head at the sight of the two, then approached them.

Ω

In the Radiant gardens, Isa awoke just outside Ansem's lab. He stood up, and entered the massive structure. Inside, Ienzo, Leon, Yuffie, Cid, and Ansem were working on repairs, while Ansem appeared to be speaking to Merlin on the Gummiphone, "And that's what happened." Merlin looked troubled on the tiny screen, with Archimedes and Chirity standing on a desk beside him, and Archer stood in the far back corner of the screen. "And you still don't know who it was that took her?" "I only know that it was the traveler I met long ago, and… he saved our lives. None of us would be standing here now if it weren't for him."

"I still hesitate to use the word 'save'" Leon spoke out, "It seemed to me like we lead him to what he was looking for, then spared us in return by sending us back here, destroying the lab and the data in the process."

Merlin groaned to himself, "Hmm, this does make me anxious, but for now, it doesn't seem this man appears to be a threat to us. You guys focus on repairs, and I'll keep you posted with anything I discover." Archimedes and Chirithy waved across the screen, and Merlin hung up.

Then the group heard someone entering the room, and when they faced the door, they saw Isa standing there. "Isa?" Ansem called out. Ienzo stared with mild shock, "Isa? Is that really you?"

Isa looked at Ienzo, then to Ansem, and said, "Hello, Ienzo….. Hello, master…."

Ω

A short time later, on Destiny Islands, Terra, Aqua, Roxas, Mickey, Donald, Goofy, Jiminy, Hayner, Pence, Olette, and Merlin joined with Sora, Kairi, Riku, Tidus, Selphie, and Wakka, all in their swimming suits, to hang out for one last time before they all go there separate ways and rebuild their lives for a while.

Roxas and his three Twilight Town friends played frisbee with Tidus and Wakka, while Selphie and Aqua stood by the beach and knelt to touch the water. Selphie watched as Aqua seemed to appreciate feeling the water in a world that wasn't covered in darkness, for the first time in a long time. Aqua took a handful of sand, and watched it fall back into the water.

Merlin stood behind the girls as he watched them bend over, much to his pleasure, but then Chirithy smacked him on the head, knocking him out, which amused Archimedes.

Riku and Terra watched as Mickey, Donald, and Goofy made sand sculptures of themselves, until a frisbee flew into Donald's sculpture, making him mad. Roxas approached Donald in an apologetic manner, with Wakka and Tidus standing nervous behind him. But Donald ended up chasing the three boys across the beach.

Beyond the wooden house, up where the palm trees were, Sora and Kairi sat together in private, their hands joined, and the two leaned on each other. Finally, they could be together, and no one would dare separate the two again. And yet, for a moment, Sora had an unsettling feeling, and felt as if someone was standing behind them, an unfriendly presence. He turned to see who it was, but did not see anyone there. "Something wrong?" Kairi asked. Sora turned back to her and looked into her eyes, and the unsettling feeling left him, "No… nothing, not anymore…."

To be continued in Kingdom Hearts: Conquest…