Authors Note
Here's the next one! I have so much planned so I hope I can get as much of this out as possible before Kingdom Hearts 3. It's going to become so obvious now with all this info coming out about the actual game, that my story will diverge heavily from that. Btw SHOOK over the Frozen Trailer but not so much by the Pirates one. Aqua... :/ Reviews are always appreciated. :)
Raising the hand that was on his knee, the young man with white hair summoned a Keyblade that appeared to have the qualities of a clock. Turning it towards the sky, the male unleashed some kind of spell. Everybody turned to look at him with confusion aside from the Organization members and Isa smirked as he pulled himself out of the rubble his impact had creatred. The sky suddenly changed to Night, with a full moon high in the sky above them.
"Kairi look out!" Lea cried, dashing towards her.
In what seemed like a single moment, Kairi experienced several things as the world around her seemed to slow down. Isa's eyes flashed with power and a shock wave was sent out around him. Aeleus jumped in front of Kairi only for Isa to slam his weapon into the large man with enough force to send him flying through several houses in a row. Isa had moved to stand in front of Kairi, looking down at her with a wild smirk. His weapon had taken on a much more dangerous appearance and his eyes were glowing. Without hesitation, he reached for Kairi only to have his wrist caught by Lea.
"Isa. Stop this." Lea pleaded, his voice cracking with emotion. "You don't have to be this way."
"SHUT UP!" Isa cried, snatching his wrist away and growling. "JUST SHUT UP AND DIE!"
Kairi found herself being thrown back by Lea as Isa brought up his weapon to attack her. It sailed through the space she had just been standing and continued it's momentum to slam into Lea's Keyblade, causing Lea to skid back several feet. Isa growled, swinging again and again. Each time Lea managed to block the swift and powerful blows up was being pushed back. Exertion showed clearly on Leas face while Isa let out animistic sounds with each attack. Picking herself up off the ground, Kairi looked up to the young man and Braig who were watching with clear satisfaction at the scene.
Letting out a battle cry, Kairi ran towards Isa and swung her Keyblade at him only for her attempted attack to be batted aside by the blue haired male. Lea tried to use this distractionto land a blow of his own but Isa turned and stepped out of the way without even looking at him. Kairi moved in again, swinging multiple times but only cleaving through air. Lea joined her in this venture but didn't manage to hit Isa at all either . The two Keyblade Warriors were caught off guard as Isa suddenly switched to the attack. Stepping forward, he backhanded Kairi across the face with his free hand, sending her flying into the muscular arms of Aeleus who had only just recovered from the last attack. Isas weapon slammed into the side of Lea, the protruding spikes on the end tearing through clothing and skin with ease.
"Argh!" Lea cried out in pain as he was thrown backwards, landing heavily on the ground several meters away. His Keyblade had been knocked from his grip and bounced once before disappearing in a flash of flame as Isa turned towards Kairi and Aeleus.
"Kairi." Aeleus began as he let her back down to stand on her own. "I am currently stronger than Saix physically but in this form he grows faster and stronger with time. We'll need to work together. I'll take his blows head on and you work on landing a critical hit."
"Right." Kairi nodded, re-summoning her weapon and holding it with both hands. "Lets do this!"
"Can we start with who all these people are?" Sora gestured to every other person gathered on the strange platform, clear confusion present on his face.
"What?" Roxas raised an eyebrow before chuckling. "I think I can leave it to everybody to introduce themselves."
"I'm Ventus. My friends call me Ven." The boy who looked almost exactly like Roxas said. He smiled brightly at Sora. "Years ago, my Heart was suffering and broken. You helped me during that time and so now my Heart is connected with yours."
"And because I'm the other half of Ventus, I am also connected with you." The boy with a helmet said as his helmet faded away and revealed a face that was like a dark mirror to Sora's own, causing Sora to gasp. "I am Vanitas."
"Ven. Vanitas." Sora repeated, trying not to ask questions about why they looked so much like himself and Roxas. He looked to the girl, who had a sad smile on her face. "And you are...?"
"I'm Xion." The girl said, showing surprise at the fact she'd actually been able to say it. "I was created by the Organization from your memories and used as a backup for Roxas in service to Xemnas. But I realized that what we were doing was wrong and that I was being manipulated. So, I changed my destiny."
"Your destiny?" Sora asked and Xion nodded.
"Xemnas wanted me to replace Roxas, to replace you. I couldn't do that, so I let myself be destroyed by Roxas so that you could eventually come out of your slumber." She looked down for a moment as if she was about to cry, but smiled through it and looked back up. "I'm... I'm glad it worked."
"You sacrificed yourself for me as well!?" Sora exclaimed, his mouth dropping open and sympathy showing on his face.
"Its okay Sora. You're the One after all." Roxas cut in, his own smile showing inner sadness. "I was just a Nobody."
"And I was just a Replica." Xion finished.
"Thank you both." Sora stated genuinely before looking to the creature of Darkness. "And who are you?"
"I'm your inner Darkness." The creature said simply.
"You're the voice! You caused these injuries!" Sora accused the creature, only for Vanitas to scoff.
"We all heard your consent loud and clear so don't play the victim." Vanitas rolled his eyes as he spoke.
"You're right..." Sora admitted. "It's nice to meet all of you, but why am I here?"
"You're at your lowest, so we figured that we should remind you that you're never alone." Ventus stepped forward and pointed to Soras chest. "We're all in there with you."
"And some of us have been stuck here longer than others." Vanitas growled.
"Some of us are literally a part of Sora, so you've got it easy." Xion stated, glaring at Vanitas.
"You said our Hearts are connected before." Sora said, looking at Ventus and ignoring the argument beginning between Vanitas and Xion. "Where are you in the real world?"
"I'm not sure. I know that my body won't be active because of the strain put on it when Vanitas used me to complete and wield the X-Blade." Ventus said, shooting a pointed look in Vantias' direction only to earn a dark smirk from his other half. "I just hope my friends are okay."
"Your friends?" Sora asked.
"Terra and Aqua. You've uh... already met Terra. The leader of that Organization XIII." Ventus replied, earning a shocked look from Sora.
"Xemnas is your friend!?" Surprise changed to confusion and the boy spoke again. "Wait, Master Yen Sid said that Xemnas is the Nobody for Master Xehanort. How can he be this Terra person too?"
"I can answer that." Vanitas chimed in. "Back when I was free, the Master was trying to put his Heart into Terras body so that he could live past his bodies expiry date. He must have succeeded."
"Then.. Ansem, the Heartless of Master Xehanort, is also the Heartless of Terra?" Sora's confusion only increased and he rubbed his temples. "This is so confusing."
"Sora, you're getting sidetracked." Roxas stepped up, placing his hands on Sora's shoulders and smiling. "We can answer your questions later on. Right now, you need to focus on what's going on in the real world. You don't have to feel down about losing your power, because we're here. Until you get back on your feet, we'll give you a temporary boost."
"You can do that?" Sora raised an eyebrow.
"He did." Xion gestured to Anti Sora who remained silent. Steping up beside Roxas, she took one of Soras hands and one of Roxas', placing them between her own. Sora felt his body warm up suddenly before a wave of power burst through him "Now go help Ignis with Xemnas. We'll be here."
Sora nodded and the world faded to black. A few seconds later, he opened his eyes and found himself back lying on the ground in the world of Olympus Coliseum. Groaning, he sat up and rubbed his head before his attention was drawn to a shock wave as Ignis and Xemnas locked weapons. The two separated then dashed in, swinging their blades in a blurred dance of strikes and parries. Springing to his feet, Sora summoned Oblivion to his hand once more then felt an urge in his other hand. Focusing his power, he smiled as Oathkeeper appeared and he grasped both Keyblades with determination.
"Thanks guys." He whispered before rushing to enter the fray.
Isa's claymore slammed into Aeleus' axe with an incredible amount of force. Not letting herself be daunted by the display of strength, Kairi dashed in and swung her Keyblade at Isa's exposed side. The Organization member grunted and leaped backwards to avoid the strike, bringing his weapon down towards Kairi. Aeleus grabbed the princess and swapped places with her, blocking his former comrades attack with a grunt of his own. Stumbling but managing to keep upright, Kairi noticed with concern that Aeleus' knees buckled slightly as he took the force of the attack.
"This is pointless." The young man's voice drawled from the rooftop above. "It's only a matter of time before the two of you succumb to Isa's strength, and time is on our side."
Ignoring the young man, Kairi focused on the battle in front of her. She was by no means a skilled warrior, but concentrating only on attacking was easy enough. Each time Aeleus blocked an attempted strike from Isa, she quickly went for whatever part of the man was exposed and the speed of her attacks increased as the battle went on. One thing she was painfully aware of however, was the fact that Aeleus was slowing down. As she threw herself to the side to avoid her opponents weapon, she gasped as he corrected the strike and it connected with Aeleus' head. The large man went down immediately, not moving as his axe clattered on the ground beside him.
"Aeleus!" Kairi cried with concern, adopting a defensive stance as Isa turned towards her.
"Your loss here was preordained." The young man spoke again. "Everything is transpiring according to the designs set in place long before now. Destiny favors us."
Kairi ignored him, focusing on Isa as he walked towards her with a murderous glare. She did her best not to tremble, setting her jaw and tightening her grip on her Keyblade, the one gifted to her by Riku. Inspired by the memory of her friend, she dashed forward. Surprised by her aggression, Isa was a moment too slow to bring up his weapon to block but as he did, she stopped short and pointed the end of her Keyblade at him. Focusing on the magic within her, Kairi fired a beam of light from the end of the weapon that impacted Isa directly in the chest and knocked him to the ground. A smile appeared on her face at the accomplishment but disappeared as she heard Braig chuckle from above.
"Oh gee, now you've gone and done it." The one eyed male shook his head, glancing at the young man. "Maybe you should change it back to day before he gets up Xehanort. He may be powerful like this, but he's got a temper."
An overwhelming sense of fear filled Kairi upon the mentioning of the young mans name and she looked at him with shock. That couldn't be right, could it? She had been under the impression that Xehanort was a man from the time of Yen Sids youth, somebody old and corrupted by Darkness. The picture of evil. Not a handsome young man with an even temperament.
"Indeed. We cannot have him damaging our prize." Xehanort stated, summoning his Keyblade once more.
Before he could cast the spell however, Isa's threw his claymore in their direction. His allies disappeared as the weapon crashed into the rooftop, the impact causing the building to begin to cave in on itself. Now on his feet, Isa glared at Kairi.
"You're going to pay for that!" The blue haired man growled. But instead of leaping towards Kairi, he froze for a moment or two as Sephiroth appeared behind him. As the silver haired angel flourished his weapon, Isa appeared to take multiple strikes at once before falling to the ground.
"When I fought you before, you were a worthy opponent. But now you're reduced to nothing but a wild animal, controlled by your base instincts." Sephiroth chastised the now unconscious male, looking around the area before his gaze finally settled on Kairi. "Are you alright?"
"Yes. But Isa and Aeleu-" Kairi gasped as Sephiroth dashed past her and turned to see Xehanort and Braig leaping back as the silver haired man swung his blade.
"Interesting..." Xehanort mused, dashing forward. He exchanged several blows with Sephiroth in tandem with Braig, shifting his body slightly as he attacked so that Braig could fire bolts towards the winged male. Kairi found herself marveling at their technique, astounded that two people could work together so effortlessly. However, Sephiroth didn't falter and managed to either block or dodge the bolts while also parrying each attack attempted by the youngest male present. Breaking off his assault, Xehanort leaped backwards once more and let his Keyblade disappear with a frown. "Who are you?"
"Somebody you can't hope to match." Sephiroth stated, rotating his sword casually.
"Indeed." Xehanorts frown deepened. His gaze slowly shifted to Kairi, then back to Kairi and for the first time anger flashed in his eyes. "We will have you, Princess of Heart. But for now, your stronghold will have to suffice."
Behind him Braig gestured and numerous Nobodies appeared and swarmed Sephiroth. While the winged male was occupied, Xehanort and Braig stepped into a door to the Darkness while Isa was enveloped in Darkness and just like that the Organization members were gone. A Sephiroth easily dispatched the Nobodies, Kairi ran to Aeleus' side and drew a potion out of her pouch. Throwing the healing liquid over the man, she smiled as he stirred then crossed to Lea who coughed.
"Did we win?" He asked, clutching his wound with one hand.
"Shh." Kairi stated, pouring another potion over the injury. As she did, she looked to Sephiroth who was staring at the castle intently. "Do you think they can actually take the castle?"
"I'm not sure." Sephiroth's eyes met hers briefly. "I'll head to the castle and see what I can do. Meet me there when you're done."
Kairi nodded and looked back to Lea as the winged male disappeared, watching with sympathy as Lea groaned while his skin stitched itself back together.
"H-hes gone?" Riku stuttered, completely shocked by the disappearance of Aladdin.
"Indeed." Ansem sighed and stood up, brushing the sand off of his coat. "Without a worlds Heart sustaining them, even from afar, the body cannot remain in this plane of existence."
"Wait, what about Jasmine!?" Mickey exclaimed, his eyes wide with worry.
"She will be fine, my old friend." Ansem offered a reassuring smile, but his eyes retained the sadness he clearly felt. "One of the Princesses of Heart cannot fade away so easily. They are tethered to the physical plane by the purity of the Light in their Hearts, a Light even more potent than in the Hearts of worlds."
"So all the inhabitants of Agrabah are just... gone?" Riku asked, looking down. A wave of guilt passed through him. "So many people."
"We must ensure that their sacrifice is not in vain." Ansem stated, opening his mouth to continue when he was cut off by Riku.
"Sacrifice!? They were innocent! The people of Agrabah had no idea what was going on, no involvement in Xehanorts schemes! We were supposed to protect them from him!" The boy's guilt had turned to the flame of anger in a mere instant and he turned to face Ansem, his eyes blazing with guilt ridden rage. "We failed them!"
"Riku." Mickey tried, his voice soothing. But the teenager wasn't having any of it.
"Don't tell me its going to work out Mickey! They didn't just fade into the Darkness or become Heartless! We CAN'T restore them!" Riku threw his hands up, unable to contain himself. "They're all dead and that's on us!"
"Riku, my boy." Ansem stepped towards him, his hands held up in a calming motion. "You have always taken so much upon yourself. The problems of your friends. The problems of the worlds themselves. But, this is not your fault. Xehanort did this and Xehanort is going to pay."
"But we could have stopped him..." Rikus anger faltered for a moment and Ansem jumped on it immediately.
"People have been trying to stop Xehanort since long before you were born. You are not the first group of Keyblade Warriors to attempt to drive the evil that he embodies from the worlds. Aqua, Terra and Ventus could not do it. Even before them, at the height of their power in this age when Xehanort was still one of them, the chosen of the Keyblade could not hold him back." Ansem explained.
"What do you mean the height of their power in this age?" Riku questioned.
"That is a story for another time. Right now we must focus all our energies into gathering the alliance against Xehanort, not on guilt for the actions of that madman." Ansem concluded, a smile gracing his face.
"..." A variety of emotions flashed through Riku and he let out a shaky breath before nodding. "You're right. Whats our next move?"
"You're here to collect Aqua I assume?" Ansem questioned, continuing after the Keyblade Masters nodded. "She was here not long ago. I informed her about the state of the worlds when I was forced into this Realm and she resolved to help in whatever way she could."
"Where did she go?" Mickey asked, his eyes lighting up at the mention that his friend was okay.
"A place you will know quite well Riku." Ansem reached into his pocket and pulled out a card with a crown shaped top, holding it out to Riku.
"Castle Oblivion?" Riku took the card and studied it. Depicted on it's surface was the main gate to enter the structure. Slipping it into his pocket, he frowned. "Why would she go there? It's just an old stronghold of Organization XIII."
"Because she is looking for something." A familiar voice spoke behind them and the two Keyblade Masters turned to see the pink haired male from before.
"You!" Riku summoned his Keyblade and prepared to attack the male while Mickey looked on, clearly confused by his appearance.
"Riku stop." Riku looked to Ansem in surprise as the old man frowned at him. "Lauriam is not your enemy."
"I am more than happy to change my stance towards you warriors of the Light, if you would prefer." Lauriam shook his head, looking past the two to Ansem. "Have the others reported back?"
"No. But we must move forward." Ansem stated gravely. "Lauriam is the leader of a new Organization, one dedicated to restoring the worlds to a sense of balance. Something they cannot do if they are stuck in the Realm of Darkness."
"Ya used the Darkness to get us to Jafar. Can't ya just use it to get yourself out?" Mickey inquired as Riku let his Keyblade disappear.
"I cannot. In order for one to freely travel between the Realms of Darkness and Light, they must have something tethering them to either side. Since my original death took place here in the Darkness, this is where I woke up and I cannot return to the Light so easily." Lauriam explained, his tone making it clear he was not pleased with his situation.
"This Organization, are all the members here in the Realm of Darkness?" Riku asked.
"Obviously." Lauriam rolled his eyes. "Anyway, we should be off to the castle."
"Wait a second, who said you were tagging along?" Riku frowned, shaking his head. "We'll find our own way."
"I am going to that place whether you desire my assistance or not." Lauriam raised his hand and summoned a Door to the Darkness, moving towards it. As he did, he looked to Ansem. "Good luck."
"And to you." Ansem nodded.
As Lauriam disappeared into the Door to the Darkness, Riku and Mickey shared a look. Ansem chuckled and moved to sit on the shore line, staring out at the ocean with a placid expression. The Door remained open to them and together the Keyblade Masters followed the pink haired male to whatever awaited them in Castle Oblivion.
"What happened?" Aeleus asked, sitting up and rubbing his head where the blunt edge of Isa's blade had impacted.
"Sephiroth happened." Lea explained, one hand over his still healing wound where his coat had been torn open. His eyes went to Kairi who was now staring in the direction of the castle with a serious expression. "Sephiroth will be fine. From what I've seen of him, he might just be on Xemnas' level in terms of power."
"I'm not worried about him." Kairi sighed and looked down. "We just got here and the Organization is already causing trouble for these people. Maybe we should just leave this world and go somewhere else to train."
"Like where?" Lea raised an eyebrow as he forced himself to sit up with a groan. "It doesn't matter where we go Kai. They'll find us."
"There must be something we can do to protect this world then." Kairi glanced to the side where Aerith was rushing towards them all.
The older girl took stock of the situation, first running to Tifa, Leon and Yuffie. Kneeling down beside them, she whispered some words and waved her hands over them. As she did, her friends briefly lit up with a dull green light and moments later they all began to stir. Smiling, Aerith looked to Kairi.
"Go and help the others at the castle. We'll catch up." Aerith stated, glancing back to her friends.
"Right." Kairi nodded.
"Hey wait!" Lea exclaimed, trying to get up and failing. "You can't just run in there by yourself. They made it clear that their goal was you."
"I have to do this Lea." Kairi stated, summoning her Keyblade and running away from the group, ignoring the red head's protests. Her expression was determined as she moved towards the castle, her focus completely on doing whatever she could to help the people still in there.
"Come on!" Ignis cried, leaping back towards Xemnas after being knocked back by a blast of Darkness.
"So slow." Xemnas droned, raising his hand to catch the weapon in his grasp. Around his hand, several blots of electricity crackled wildly.
"Take this!" Sora exclaimed as he joined the battle, leaping high into the air and bringing both Keyblades down towards the master of the Nobodies.
Xemnas casually raised his other hand towards Sora and a barrier of blue energy appeared. Soras weapons slammed into the barrier but did not break it and Xemnas closed his hand into a fist, causing the barrier to explode and send Sora high into the air. Still clutching Ignis Keyblade in his other hand, Xemnas summoned an Ethereal blade in his free hand, swinging it towards Ignis armored side. Just before it impacted the Keyblade Masters side, Oblivion blocked the strike, having been thrown by Sora as he was blasted upwards. With his attack blocked, Xemnas grunted as Ignis kicked him solidly in the chest, causing the Nobody of Xehanort to lose his grip on the Keyblade and allowing Ignis to flip backwards.
As Ignis landed, Xemnas recovered himself and dashed forward as he summoned an Ethereal Blade to his other hand. The two warriors engaged in a furious dance, each blocking and parrying strikes in a bid to gain the upper hand. Meanwhile, Sora began to fall back down towards them and summoned Oblivion back into his grasp. With a determined expression, he shifted his body into a diving position and picked up speed, hurtling downwards as the others battled below. As Ignis and Xemnas locked blades, Sora had reached them and slashed his Keyblades in a crossed formation at Xemnas. But his blades hit nothing but air and the boy quickly righted himself, landing heavily but on his feet. Xemnas appeared in front of them both several feet away, letting his Ethereal Blades disappear.
"You truly are pathetic Sora. Relying on the power of your Nobody because you yourself lack any." Xemnas' words were spoken with a monotone as always, but undeniably sharp. "That is what made you such a perfect candidate for the process of joining our Organization. You are, and have always been, an empty vessel. Nothing but a foolish child fumbling through the worlds and finding successes based on chance rather than actual merit."
"You're wrong!" Sora growled, shifting into an aggressive stance. "My friends ar-"
"Yes, yes. They are your power." Xemnas' gaze hardened and he took a step towards them. "Allow me to show you mine."
Xemnas faded out of existence briefly then appeared directly in front of Sora. Sora swung Oblivion but instead of connecting, the Keyblade sailed right through the Nobody. Surprise crossed Soras face as Ignis leaped forth and attempted to attack but his weapon slashed through air as Xemnas disappeared once more. Sora felt the hairs on the back of his head stand up and begun to turn only to cry out in pain as surges of lightning slammed into his back and lifted him off the ground. As the energy surged through his body, Sora felt his Keyblades disappear and his mind started to go foggy.
Beside him, Ignis held up his Keyblade defensively to block a similar stream directed at him. Lucky enough to have Keyblade armor, the Keyblade Master slowly but surely began to walk towards Xemnas. The Nobody frowned and released Sora from the energy, the brown haired male falling to the ground in a heap, his body shaking violently as the current left his body. Xemnas ended his assault on Ignis as well, looking up at the sky with narrowed eyes before opening a door to the Darkness behind him.
"It appears our time is up." Xemnas drawled, stepping into the pool of dark energy. As he left the world, time slowly began to flow normally again and Ignis rushed to Soras side.
Master Xehanort sat atop the highest throne in the Round Room of the Castle that Never was, one leg crossed casually over the other as his head rested on his fist. Three of the other thrones were full, one occupied by his Heartless, another by a replica of his failed vessel and the other by the boy he had corrupted many years ago. They were all silent, knowing there was no need to speak until all of their current members were present. The aged Keyblade Master's gaze slowly went to the throne directly opposite to him, a dissatisfied frown slowly forming. While it was a temporary setback, it did not sit well with him that they had failed to corrupt Sora to their side. The time had been perfect, the boy's body completely drained of it's power and ripe for the harvest.
As the other members finally began to appear, Master Xehanort allowed himself to silently study them. First to arrive was Vanitas or at least, what was left of him. It had been a great surprise to discover that the shell of his former apprentice still roamed the Keyblade Graveyard in the present day, much like the remnant of Eraqus' own prized pupil. Despite not having a Heart, the shell of Vanitas had proven slightly irritating to subdue, having retained all of it's muscle memory. Upon fusing a piece of his own Heart with the body, Master Xehanort was pleased that the boy retained much of his own personality though he did lack the flare Vanitas had once possessed.
Next to arrive were his youngest self, alongside the one eyed marksman and the easily provoked warrior. A brief examination of their facial expressions revealed all Master Xehanort needed to know about the state of their assignment and he chuckled softly, which drew his younger selves attention. The boys stare was full of frustration and restrained anger, but he attempted to hide it with a composed stance as he mimicked his older selves stance. Master Xehanort smirked and let his gaze slip from his younger self as the final members of his Organization arrived, including his Nobody. One throne was noticeably absent but he knew they would be occupied soon enough. They had plenty of time, especially considering the fact that the World that Never Was operated outside of the usual structure of time.
"Report." Master Xehanort demanded, despite already having deduced the state of their missions.
"They did not have any useful information about the girl or the boy." The body of Terra replied, clenching his hands into fists as he looked up to Master Xehanort. He spoke again, his eyes shifting to blue. "You won't have them!"
"We shall see." Master Xehanort grinned darkly as the possessed boys eyes changed back to amber and he looked down.
"The Vizier was taken care of. Agrabah is gone." Vanitas replied next, chuckling dryly. "The King and that kid didn't even put up a fight and the Vizier disappeared not long after, despite having his Heart unlocked by the Keyblade of Peoples Hearts."
"So Ansem's research on the Worlds was correct. How intriguing." Master Xehanort mused, looking next to his youngest self.
"We were surprised by a warrior interfering in our attempt to capture the Princess of Heart." His youngest selves tone displayed his obvious annoyance at the situation.
"A single warrior kept you from collecting her?" Master Xehanort raised an eyebrow, looking to Isa as the blue haired man growled.
"He was no ordinary warrior." The berserker stated.
"He really wasn't." Braig added, shaking his head. "His presence was ridiculous. It was like facing down an embodiment of pure, unchained power."
"And Isa allowed himself to lose control, putting us at a disadvantage when the warrior cut him down with ease." Xehanorts youngest self glared at Isa who fell silent.
"No matter. We can afford to wait for the girl to leave the safety of that broken world." Master Xehanort allowed himself a moment to adjust his position, straightening his back and letting his arms fall on the rests of the throne as his gaze fell on his Nobody. "And Sora?"
"It appears that Roxas has given him assistance somehow." Xemnas drawled, raising a hand to stroke his chin in thought. "I also sensed the presence of a Replica that I created from the memories of Sora not long before he destroyed your Heartless. By all rights, she should no longer exist."
"If she is a part of Sora, then she will always exist." One of the three still hooded members spoke up.
"Indeed." Master Xehanort took a moment to consider the state of affairs before looking to his Heartless. "Can you sense Riku?"
"It's difficult outside of the Realm of Darkness." His Heartless stated, closing his eyes in concentration for a moment. The replica perked up at this, his gaze also going to the Heartless. 'Ansems' brow crinkled in confusion before he opened them again and replied. "He is in the through lines currently. I believe he is heading towards Castle Oblivion."
"Is he now?" Looking to his Nobody, Master Xehanort spoke once more. "The two of you will go after him. I want to know what that child and the little King are up to."
"What about Sora and the Princess?" The hooded member that had spoken before questioned as Xehanorts Heartless and Nobody disappeared into Darkness.
"We will watch the Princess." Master Xehanort replied with a bored tone, nodding to his youngest self and Braig who disappeared into the Darkness as well. "As for Sora, I believe it's time I spoke to that boy face to face."
"Is that wise?" The hooded member asked, their voice showing concern. "We are still one member short and your power will remain diminished outside of this world until the Organization is complete."
"I do not require a cautionary lecture on what is and is not wise." Master Xehanort snapped in reply, his eyes narrowing dangerously. When he spoke next, there was an edge to his tone. "We would be much closer to completing our goal if you had not failed to find that box."
"We wouldn't need to find it if your Nobody hadn't lost control of Lauriam and lost the valuable information he possessed." The hooded member's own reply was equally as sharp as Master Xehanorts own. "I will not suffer this incompetence forever."
"You will suffer whatever I deem necessary." Master Xehanort stated, his expression one of complete disgust. "You would do well to remember whose power it is that allows you to pursue a new destiny."
"O-of course." The hooded member conceded, looking down and falling silent.
"Ensure that Sora's path is altered and set him on the path to the Keyblade Graveyard." Master Xehanort ordered, looking to the possessed boy who nodded and disappeared. His gaze shifted to Vanitas as the elderly male himself began to fade into Darkness. "You will come with me to await Sora. I do not wish to have that animated reminder of my previous failure interfere with our little chat."
Kairi managed to fight her way to the Castle, bursting into the entrance hallway and staring at the Heartless that filled it. Swallowing her fear, she allowed determination to fill her once more and rushed towards them. She cut down several of them, but quickly began to find herself overwhelmed. Setting her sights on the end of the hallway, she ran for it, cutting down those in the way while ignoring the others. Reaching the door at the end, she ran through and slammed it behind her, her Heart beating wildly in her chest.
"Kairi?" She looked up to see Ienzo walking towards her. He was clutching his open book in one hand, with a large gash on his forehead. "I thought you were another Heartless."
"You're hurt." Kairi stated, pulling out another potion and moving to meet him. Pouring the potion over the gash, she took note of the fact that she only had one left as his wound started to heal. "What happened?"
"I'm not certain. The castles defenses should have kept them out. Which leads me to believe that either the defenses are down, or the creatures were summoned inside. The interior alarm went off and I came to see what was wrong." Ienzo replied, glancing around. "We should retreat to the lab. It's by far the most defensible room in this place."
Kairi nodded and together they began to retreat, but moments later the door burst open and the Heartless swarmed in. The creatures tore over one another in a frantic scramble to reach the two living people and quickly formed a sort of swarm. Kairi's eyes went wide and she raised her Keyblade to defend herself when Ienzos book appeared in front of her. It enlarged itself ten times over and blocked the attack but instead of stopping the assault completely, it only briefly slowed them down.
"Tch." Izeno snarled as the Heartless began to crawl around the book rapidly and snapped his fingers. The book exploded, engulfing the creatures in a blast of flame and smoke, with the book restored to its original side appearing in his grasp moments later. Moving to grab Kairi by the elbow, he turned and headed for the other door. "We must hurry!"
Following Ienzo, they left the room and entered another hallway. As they fled, Heartless appeared in front of them but together they cut them down. It didn't take long for them to reach the laboratory and Izeno quickly moved to the computer, his hands flying over the Keys. Moments later, shutters fell down across the windows and doors and artificial lights sprang from the rooftop. Kairi watched the door, hearing the sounds of Heartless banging on it and her grip tightened on her Keyblade.
"It will hold." Ienzo reassured her, pressing a button as it flashed. "Cloud?"
"You've activated the Castles lock down procedure." Cloud stated, the sounds of him cutting down Heartless illuminating the space behind his voice. "Do we know how they're getting in?"
"Somebody must be summoning them from the inside, because the alarm only went off after they swarmed the halls." Ienzo stated, bringing up a map of the building. Kairi crossed to the screens, also studying the map intently. "Perhaps a member of the Organization?"
"I don't think so." Cloud grunted, letting out a battle cry. Moments later, his voice crossed the line once more, this time sounding somewhat labored. "The Organization hasn't made a move here since the Battle of the Thousand Heartless."
"Actually, three of their members were here." Kairi added, noticing that Ienzos face darkened at the mention of the members. "They retreated, but one of them said that they were going to take out stronghold."
"Scan the castle interior for a significant presence of the Darkness." Cloud ordered. In the background, a roar drowned out his own battle cry.
"Right." Ienzo nodded, pressing several keys. The map display flickered for a moment before stabilizing. A massive red dot appeared on it and the scientist frowned. "There is a considerable presence in the Throne room."
"I'll head there." Cloud said.
"You'll never get through the lock down protocol. And I'm not bringing it down for one person." Ienzo replied, a frown appearing on his face.
Suddenly the entire room shook and Kairi let out a gasp as she fell to the ground. Izeno grabbed the computer station to steady himself and looked around with shock. It happened again, this time causing several books to fall from the shelves. As Kairi pulled herself back up to her feet, Clouds voice came through again.
"From the looks of things, you won't have to." He stated before ending the transmission.
"We have to help him!" Kairi exclaimed.
"We cannot afford to let this laboratory fall. I cannot, in good conscience, allow for a reckless suicide mission. We must wait this out." Ienzo's tone was cold, his expression hard as stone.
"I'm going to help." Kairi glared at the male, raising her Keyblade towards him. Her voice shook when she spoke next. "Let me out."
"Really?" Ienzo looked first to her weapon, then to her. His eyes narrowed and a thin smirk appeared on his face. "You would strike me down over a one in one-hundred chance of pushing the Heartless back?"
"I don't want to hurt you, but I will get out of this room." Kairi replied, her voice stabilizing as each word gave her more confidence. "Sephiroth is out there too. You can try to contact him to come and help us."
Ienzo stared at her for a long moment before sighing and mumbling something about the Xemnas being right about the denizens of Light. Pressing two Keys, he unlocked the door and the shutter flew up. In a flash, he summoned a small device from his book and handed it to Kairi.
"This will allow for me to direct you to the Throne room and update you on everyone's progress." He said, turning back to the display. "Now go. I will be closing that door behind you and not opening it until the threat is gone."
Kairi nodded, putting the ear piece in and exiting the room. She heard the shutter return to place behind her and was surprised to see that the Heartless were no longer swarming the room, confused as they had been bombarding the door moments before. Steeling herself for battle, she took a right and left the corridor that led to the Laboratory.
Riku stepped out of the door to the Darkness alongside Mickey, taking in the unpleasantly familiar sight of Castle Oblivion before them. Not far in front, Lauriam had already began to walk up the path towards the massive structure. The Darkness surrounded the entire place and Riku felt the hairs on the back of his neck stand up, but he didn't feel threatened by it anymore. Just on guard. The Darkness wasn't a force inherently evil after all, but instead a force of nature that was more easily bent to the will of people with evil intentions.
Together with his fellow Keyblade Master, Riku followed Lauriam up the winding path towards the castle. As they grew nearer, Riku felt an ominous presence which grew with each step they took. Soon enough, they reached the large doors that allowed for entrance into the building and Lauriam looked at Riku expectantly.
"What?" Riku asked, raising an eyebrow.
"The card." Lauriam deadpanned, looking torn between hitting the boy and laughing at the fact he didn't know what to do.
"R-right." Riku stated, drawing the card out and holding it up towards the doors.
Moments later the card turned into a small ball of light that sped from Rikus hand and flew into the doors. A series of clicks could be heard and the entire door lit up momentarily then one of the doors opened. With the interior darkened, Lauriam casually walked through the threshold. Sharing a glance, Riku and Mickey also stepped in. Riku looked around, memories swarming to the forefront of his mind as he took in the pure white walls and floor. Behind them, the doors closed and the whirring of locks made it clear that they wouldn't be leaving anytime soon.
"It has been some time." A slight smile appeared on Lauriams face, his eyes surveying the hallway.
"You know this place?" Riku questioned him, shaking off his own memories to focus on the present.
"You don't actually think that Leaxus, Vexen and Zexion were the only members of the Organization present when you arrived, do you?" Lauriam turned to look at him with a chuckle. "I was once the master of this place, assigned to be the Warden of this castle because our foolish leader was wary of my 'plans to destroy him'."
"You were gunna betray the Organization?" Mickey chimed in.
"I made it seem that way, yes." Lauriam replied, sadness flashing in his eyes but he blinked it away. With a self confident smirk, he continued. "He was so worried about my little schemes that he sent Axel to stop them."
"So you weren't going to betray the Organization?" Riku asked, confusion clear on his face.
"To betray something infers that you were loyal to it in the first place." Lauriam replied, raising his arm and sweeping it across the air in front of him dramatically. "Tell me, Masters of the Keyblade. What do you make of this Castle? What is it's purpose?"
"It's a stronghold for the Organization. A place for them to carry out their experiments, like creating replicas of people." Riku stated, a wave of guilt washing over him as he recalled the death of his own replica.
"I've never really thought about it." Mickey added, biting his lip in thought.
"This is why those who dedicate themselves to the Light continuously fail. You are blinded by the Light you so diligently enforce, unable to see what is right in front of you." Lauriam rolled his eyes before continuing. "This place is a prison and there is only one prisoner. A boy, lost in a deep slumber. I intended to use Namine to control Sora and awaken this boy, under the pretense of using the Keyblade against the Organization."
"A boy, lost in a deep slumber..." Mickey repeated, recognition flaring in his eyes a moment later. "You can't mean-"
The King was cut off as Riku stepped in front of him, summoning his Keyblade to defend against an attacker wearing the Organization coat. As Lauriam looked on, the attacker flipped backwards, raising his hand to unleash a Dark Firaga with Riku slashed through with his Keyblade causing a small explosion that briefly covered the area. As the dust settled, Rikus eyes widened in shock as the attacker pulled down his hood to reveal a familiar face.
"You!" Riku exclaimed, taking in his own younger face. The face of his replica, only now the boy had amber eyes.
"The presence in the Throne room is increasing." Ienzos voice came through the ear piece as Kairi made her way down the final hallway before her destination. "From what I can infer, the Heartless have all converged on that room."
"Good. That means whatever is controlling them is definitely there." Kairi replied, increasing her pace.
"Kairi, don't take offense to this. But you were brought here to train. I don't think this is a good idea, considering your inexperience." Ienzo stated.
"Cloud will be there, so I'm sure I'll be fine." Kairi replied once more, reaching the door. "Here goes."
The Princess of Heart pushed open the door and immediately felt the presence of Darkness wash over her entire body. Her Heart reacted, sending a warm sensation throughout her form to counteract the chill of the Darkness. Within the room, the Heartless were assembled in a strangely organized fashion. Upon the Throne sat a Heartless with a human like form, covered from head to toe in black armor. By it's side stood two other armored figures while hundreds of Heartless stood before the Throne. It was almost like the Heartless on the Throne was holding court.
Kairi stared for too long and all the Heartless' eyes went to her. The sea of Heartless parted, giving her a direct path to the Throne and warily, she began to walk towards it. She could feel the malice dripping off of the Heartless as she passed them but made it to the Throne without one of them attacking her. As she stood before the Throne, the 'King' stared at her silently before looking to the 'Guard' standing to it's left. Without warning, the 'Guard' leaped forward as it summoned a lance made of Darkness.
Kairi brought up her Keyblade to block, gritting her teeth at the force behind the attack. She rolled to the side to avoid another strike and swung her Keyblade wildly at the 'Guards' hip. To her satisfaction, the attack found it's mark and cut through the creature earning a wild cry from the Heartless. Kairi raised her weapon to swing once more but instead felt the back of the 'Guards' free hand hit her face and she was sent several feet back, crashing on the ground hard. With a groan, she got back to her feet and prepared herself for another attack.
The 'Guard' tilted it's head to the side, watching her for a moment before springing forth once more. As it approached, Kairi brought up her weapon to block but needn't have worried as Cloud flew past her and dispatched the creature with a single blow. The other 'Guard' leaped towards him with an almost angry cry but was dispatched just as easily. Cloud glanced at her as he readied his weapon once more, the 'King' silent on the Throne.
"You have so much to learn about fighting." He stated coldly before turning his attention to the 'King'.
"I was doing fine thank you." Kairi sassed back, also looking to the 'King'.
Slowly, the 'King' stood from the Throne and raised its hand in the direction of the sea of Heartless. Several of them disappeared, their Hearts appearing from the remains but instead of floating upwards, they sped towards the outstretched hand of the 'King' and were absorbed. This happened twice more, the 'King' not changing outwardly as it absorbed more Hearts. When it was finished, the 'King' summoned a sword and shield of Darkness and leaped towards Cloud. Unlike the 'Guards', the 'King' was not dispatched with one blow and instead blocked the swordsman attack with its shield, countering with a swing of its sword. Cloud blocked with his own massive blade and parried, but as he swung, the 'King' dashed to the side well out of the intended target of the attack. Without warning, it sped towards Kairi.
Kairi brought up her Keyblade and blocked the 'Kings' sword but let out a cry as the Heartless changed tactics and forced her weapon aside, slamming into her with it's shield. Reeling from the strike, Kairi swayed and was left open as the 'King' swung it's sword for her side. However, Cloud appeared at her side and pushed her out of the way of the attack, his sword having split into to weapons. One locked with the 'Kings' sword and the other pushing against its shield. Kairi rolled several times on the ground from the force of Clouds push, using the momentum to find her feet again and raising her hand to rub her head as it recovered from the shield smashing into it.
"Kairi are you okay!?" Ienzos voice screamed through the earpiece and Kairi winced, not enjoying the noise coming as her head throbbed.
"I'm fine." Kairi replied, watching as Cloud and the 'King' exchanged blows. "Theres a unique Heartless here. It's fighting Cloud with a sword and shield and can absorb other Heartless."
"Interesting. How many other Heartless are there?" Ienzo asked, sounding thoughtful.
"Hundreds?" Kairi replied, looking at the veritable army.
"Attack them. Perhaps they are the source of it's power." Ienzo commanded.
"Right." Kairi replied, turning away from the duel and towards the other Heartless.
Riku glared as he fended off another attack by his replica, the amber eyed version of himself smiling as he swung Souleater once more. Behind him, Mickey had recovered from the surprise and entered the fray, swinging his own weapon at the replica. Together, Mickey and Riku pushed the clone back rather quickly. With a growl of frustration, the replica quickly realized he was losing and leaped out of reach of their weapons, his back to Lauriam who watched the whole thing with a look of great interest.
"How is this possible?" Riku demanded, adopting his battle ready position. "You disappeared into the Darkness."
"Which is where I wandered alone for what seemed like forever." The replica replied, his tone sharp. "Master Xehanort found me and gave me purpose."
"The purpose of destroying everything!" Riku declared in accusation.
"No." The replica chuckled, his eyes lighting up with amusement. "I'm going to usher in the future. Me, a replica."
"You don't have to be a slave to him anymore." Riku tried, sympathy in his expression and tone. Holding out his free hand to the Replica, he spoke again. "I can help you."
"Help me?" The replica chuckled again, though this time there was no humor in it. Only disdain. "You always put yourself on such a pedestal. I don't want your help and I sure as heck don't need it."
Riku opened his mouth to say something else but his eyes went wide as his replica raised Souleater. It began to shift and soon transformed into a Keyblade identical to Rikus own, except the wings on both the handle and the edge were black. Beside him Mickey gasped and behind the replica, Lauriam raised an eyebrow curiously.
"Don't look so surprised." The replica said, spinning the weapon in his hand casually. "I am the perfect version of you after all."
Without another word, the replica leaped towards them once more. This time, Riku and Mickey were slow to sync up and the replica used this to his advantage. Blocking Rikus Keyblade with his own, the replica raised his hand towards Mickey and unleashed a Dark Firaga that sent the King flying into the wall. As the King fell to the ground and didn't move, Riku gritted his teeth as he brought up his weapon to block an attack. With a cry of anger with each strike, the replica unleashed a barrage that put Riku completely on the defensive, unable to parry because he was so busy making sure not to be hit.
Suddenly Lauriam appeared behind the replica in a flash of flower petals, his hand falling on the clones shoulder. Before the replica could react, multiple thorns sprang from the ground, winding their way around his body and restricting his limbs. Riku felt a pang of sympathy go through him as the replica showed signs of panic.
"That will be quite enough of your little episode." Lauriam stated, his grip tightening on the shoulder of his prisoner. As it did, the vines also tightened and their snare let out a gasp of pain. Moments later, he released his Keyblade and it disappeared in a pool of Darkness. "Why are you here?"
"I'll tell you n-" The replica let out a cry as Lauriams vines tightened even more.
"Stop!" Riku demanded, letting his own Keyblade disappear. "He's not like the others."
"I know exactly what this replica is. He was created to be a tool for the original Organization, nothing more." Letting out a harsh bark of laughter, Lauriam rolled his eyes. "And now he's a tool for Xehanorts new one. Pathetic, truly."
"I'm not a tool!" The replica protested through gritted teeth.
"Oh?" Lauriam feigned shock. "What are you then?"
"I'm a part of a group that is going to bring about the greatest change the worlds have ever known." The replica stated proudly.
"So you know about the Book then?" Lauriam questioned with a raised eyebrow.
"The Book...?" Both the replica and the original questioned at the same time.
"This one." Lauriam stated, casually summoning a hard covered black book with a strange white symbol on the front. "I suppose the correct title for it would be the Book of Prophecies."
As Kairi began to cut down the crown of Heartless, it became extremely clear that it was making the 'King' quite agitated. Luckily for her, the crown of Heartless didn't react at all, which was strange but she wasn't going to question it. Each Heartless disappeared and their Heart floated upwards and out of sight while Cloud continued to battle the 'King'. Kairi wasn't watching, focusing on her task, but the castle rumbled with each blow exchanged by the combatants.
She wasn't sure how much time had passed, but Kairi found herself gasping for air after cutting down about a third of the creatures of Darkness and spared a glance in the direction of Cloud and the 'King'. Their blades were locked and it looked like the 'King' was at the disadvantage. Kairi smiled then looked back to her task, a wave of apprehension washing over her.
"I'm going to pass out before I can get rid of them all." She said to herself with a frown. "There must be an easier way to do this?"
"Unleash the power residing in your Heart. One of the Seven Pure Lights."
Kairi's eyes widened and she looked around for the source of the voice, remembering it from that other place where Namine was. Raising her free hand to her chest slowly, she thought about what to do before nodding. She focused on her Heart, on the Light within it. As she did, she felt her entire body grow warmer and warmer and smiled. However, the feeling continued to increase to the point where it felt like she was going to explode. Letting out a gasp, Kairi clenched her fists and let out a scream. As she did, Light did indeed explode from within her and consumed the entire room within moments.
As it faded, Kairi felt her head go light and everything went black. She opened her eyes again moments later to find herself back in the white room from before. Namine sat beside her and smiled softly.
"You have unleashed one of the powers hidden within you." Namine informed her.
"It... hurt." Kairi stated, raising both hands to her chest.
"You're just not used to it. Your body can't process the power you just displayed." Namine explained. "You won't be able to do that often, it's something that builds up over time. But with training, you should be able to keep yourself from passing out."
"That voice... told me to do it." Kairi said.
"You've taken your first step towards becoming what you are meant to be."
"I thought you couldn't give me answers." Kairi accused the voice, looking upwards with a glare.
The voice fell silent and Kairi felt a presence suddenly leave the room, like a breeze just passing through. It made her shiver and she hugged herself nervously. Namine meanwhile drew out her pad and summoning a crayon to her hand. Kairi watched as the girl drew something, impressed by the fact the crayon changed color automatically instead of her Nobody having to use a new one for each color. Namine finished quickly, the crayon disappearing as she turned the drawing towards Kairi. It was of Sora and Riku standing together, each of them holding the others hand. This time their eyes were open. What made Kairi gasp however, was the fact that both of them now had white hair and amber eyes.
"If you had to save one of them, which one would it be?" Namine questioned, repeating her inquiry from Kairi's last visit to that place.
"I told you before, I'd save both of them! Even if it meant that I had to die!" Kairi exclaimed, conviction in every word.
"You still don't understand what's at stake..." Namine sighed and looked down. The next words that came out of her mouth were not her own and Kairi shivered as the breeze like sensation rushed back past her.
"Wake up!"
"Wake up!"
Soras eyes snapped open and took in the faces of Ignis, Hercules, Donald and Goofy all looking down at him with concern that changed to relief. Ignis helped him to sit up and he rubbed his head, the thoughts in his mind fuzzy. Slowly but surely, he recalled the fight and being assaulted by the lightning from Xemnas before passing out.
"How are you feeling?" Ignis asked.
"My head..." Sora winced, his head throbbing.
"What happened?" Donald and Goofy inquired together.
"Xemnas stopped time and attacked us. Then Sora came at him with two Keyblades." Ignis frowned. "Speaking of which, how did you manage that? I've never heard of someone being able to dual wield."
"Roxas." Sora said the one word in explanation and looked to Hercules. "What about Hades?"
"He's gone. I doubt he'll be back for a while." Hercules replied with a smile, which was replaced by a saddened expression. "Sora, I have to tell you something..."
"Whats that?" Sora asked.
"You need to leave and not come back." Phil interrupted, pushing his way past Hercules who remained silent. "We appreciate what you've done before but you being here always causes trouble and we can't be bothered with it."
"Oh... Okay." Sora looked down quietly.
"You ungrateful little...!" Donald exclaimed, summoning his staff. However, he was stopped by Ignis who stepped between the wizard and the hero trainer with a stern expression. "Get out of my way!"
"If the inhabitants of a world don't want us here, we cannot dispute their decision." Ignis reminded Donald. "How do you guys travel?"
"With the Gummi ship." Goofy replied. As if on cue, the ship descended from the skies and landed behind the group.
"Sora, I'm sorry." Hercules said, regret clear in his tone.
"It's fine." Sora replied coldly, moving past the demi God and walking up the ramp to the cockpit of the Gummi ship.
Goofy, Donald and Ignis followed the boy and once they were all aboard the ship, they took off. It didn't take them long to reach the upper atmosphere of the world and they soon found themselves back in the lanes between the Worlds. Sora was unusually quite in his seat so Donald acted as the main pilot. Ignis busied himself with studying the technology that was new to him and Goofy headed down to maintenance to see how Chip and Dale were doing. When the portal opened in front of them, nobody was ready for evasive action and the Gummi ship sped into the unknown.