"Are we too late?" Rangiku said, worry heavy in her tone as she saw her Captain shrouded in darkness, feeding it into Kingdom Hearts.
"Never!" Sora reassured, determined once more to free his friend.
"There's Aizen." Harribel pointed out the Soul Reaper fending off two powerful humans. "He looks like he's having trouble."
"With humans?" Yoruichi looked surprised. "Just what kind of world did our small boy find that two humans can put him against a wall?"
"One of them seems capable of turning into light." The shark Arrancar replied as she noticed Kizaru dart around the field before coming back in for an attack. "He can still kill them though. I will go."
"I'll go with you; I've got my own score to settle with him." Yoruichi patted her shoulder. Harribel only nodded, understanding. They had similar reasons for wanting to fight the powerful ex-Captain.
"We're close enough now you can jump down!" Donald reported to them, stalling the ship near the edge of the island in the air. It was high above the ground, but no problem for spirits. The door of the ship opened up, cold bitter air rushing inside with a roar. Ignoring the wind, Yoruichi and Harribel vanished from the ship with their respective quick movements. The cat-shifter arrived first, the fastest at Flash step and wasting no time throwing a punch.
Aizen noticed her approach, dodging just quick enough her fist created a crater in the ground rather than in his back.
"What's this? Something seems different about you, Aizen Sosuke." Yoruichi shot a cat-like sneer at the other soul, expecting the man to block the hit rather than dodge. Aizen scowled back, not his usual arrogant reaction, so the woman knew something had happened to give the near-immortal grief.
"Wow, now that was a punch." Shanks whistled, impressed. Her aura marked her as another soul, and by the bold way she approached Aizen she was strong, very strong. Another powerful being arrived as well… though this one felt more like the Hollow creatures of before despite her human appearance.
"It's time you paid for what you have done." Spirit Energy enshrouding the Arrancar, she held her sword – a wide blade hollowed out in the center – in front of her with the blade pointing down. "Destroy, Tiburon!"
Water engulfed her figure briefly in a heart shaped cocoon before she quickly broke out, her blade now engulfing her arm like a giant canon as she charged at Aizen, more of her body exposed with the trademark Hollow hole on her lower abdomen mostly hidden by her bony skirt.
"Excuse us for a moment gentleman, but this one is our responsibility." Yoruichi had time to say to the Marine Admiral and Pirate Emperor nearby before focusing back on her enemy. "Shunko!" A powerful blast of aura flowed around her arms and back, giving the reason why she wore a black top with so much of her back exposed. This new power she possessed made her even faster, stronger, and with both at full power Aizen knew he was in trouble. As far as they knew he still had the Hogyoku, so they would come at him full force. Even if they did know, it would only make them hit harder, bring up their confidence. He would never consider this under normal circumstances, but a retreat might be necessary.
Shanks and Kizaru backed off for a moment as the two women engaged in battle with Aizen, allowing the men to breathe while the fully rested spirits tackled a tiring Aizen. The air was thick with Spiritual Pressure, and Harribel's water based aura was actually causing a little more difficulty for Kizaru than Aizen's alone had. They even had to back up further as she surrounded the three fighting in blasts of boiling water, the snow around them melting away.
"Whoo, not sure where they came from, but they seem to know how to fight him better." Kizaru mused aloud.
"I'm going to guess they come from the same place as the little guardian." Shanks spoke up. Kizaru turned to him with a glare, having forgotten for a moment that the person he'd been fighting alongside was a Pirate Emperor.
They pondered jumping back into the fight, but before they could decide that, a hole tore open in the sky, a pitch black swirl of darkness.
"Don't you dare escape!" Harribel fumed, leaping forward to prevent the Soul Reaper vanishing into the dark portal, a power he seemed to briefly possess while allied with Xehanort.
"There are mistakes I must correct before I deal with you." Aizen responded with a scowl, retreating into the mass of darkness, the portal fading away before the Arrancar could jump in after him.
"Damn him!" She cursed, furious. Once again her revenge had been pulled away from her.
"Why would he retreat?" Yoruichi wondered aloud, finding their enemy's behavior odd.
"Might have something to do with that weird orb Trafalgar pulled out of him and destroyed." Kizaru spoke up. Though he wasn't sure of the significance of it still, too busy fighting to be briefed about it, he was more and more curious about it as the two women looked his way in absolute shock.
"He… doesn't have the Hogyoku anymore?" Yoruichi's amazement came through in her voice, immediately wanting to know who this Trafalgar was and how he did the impossible.
Back up in the ship, the others charged into the field, those with Flash Step helping those without it down, the ship returning above the atmosphere on auto-pilot to sit idle and wait.
"Is that Xigbar and Saix?" Demyx pointed out the pair of former Nobodies battling with various pirates on the field.
"We'll deal with them." Riku spoke up before Sora could dart away, Demyx following the silver-haired teen as they went for the enemy pair. "Sora, you and the others get to Toshiro!"
"But-" Sora was about to argue but was ignored, not okay letting his friend take on the burden of fighting Braig and Isa alone, unaware of the strength of the pirates around him, two of which were hurrying over to them.
"They'll be fine, let's get to the Captain." Rangiku put a reassuring hand on the younger male's shoulder, a determined expression on her face.
"Yeah, you're the only one who got the collar off last time, we have to get at least you up there." Donald agreed, the two pirates close now and listening curiously.
"I don't know if I can do Anti right now though…" Sora trailed off in his argument as he spotted the pair. A young looking figure in a straw hat and a tall menacing one in a spotted hat.
"I'm going to guess you're Sora?" Law questioned the brunette, recognizing the Keyblade in Sora's hands. It was Frozen Heavens, a copy of Toshiro's, gifted by a special keychain. The boy had used the keychain as a sort of way-finder to make sure Toshiro was indeed here.
"Yeah, that's me."
"We don't have time for much, but if you're making your way to Hitsugaya, I'm going with you."
"And why's that?" Rangiku asked defensively, not about to let anyone near her Captain that might cause him further harm.
"She really does look like Nami." Luffy tried in vain to whisper to Law, the surgeon shooing him, the information unimportant even though the others looked confused.
"I can cure him." Law answered plain and simple, keeping to his statement about not having much time.
"Oh, the power Toshiro mentioned in his message!" Sora beamed, the hopeful look on his face almost too pure for someone that managed to get past Toshiro's icy barriers. "That's you!"
"We thought we might be running into trouble, so he sent one as fast as he could." Law said with a nod. "I don't know what any of you can do, but if it helps us get up there I can do the rest. And I heard you can get the collar off?"
"Well, maybe… it's kind of tricky…"
"It's a risk we'll have to take if we want to stop that." The doctor pointed up to the darkening Kingdom Hearts with his sword.
"Got it, I'll do what I can!" Never one to back down from helping a friend, Sora agreed to help.
"I'll keep Xehanort busy while you two help my Captain." Rangiku promised the Keybearer.
"Me too, I still need to kick his ass!" Luffy was fired up again, running off back to the cliff to find another way to get up since Groundshaker was taken out by the Gummi ship.
"Hey, wait up!" Sora chased after the high energy pirate, Donald and Goofy not far behind him. Rangiku and Law exchanged a glance before following as well.
Zoro fended off a blow from Isa before jumping back a bit just as someone else joined the fray. The odd weapon the teen used had to be a Keyblade, the dark red and blue bat wing with the teeth a curled white angel wing, an eye resting at the base only made sense if it was one. The swordsman didn't recognize this kid though, taking a moment to think if Toshiro ever mentioned him.
"If it isn't Ansem's vessel." Isa growled at the newcomer, as he did recognize the young man.
"Not anymore, it's just Riku." The teen snapped back.
"I didn't really need any help." Zoro cut into their hostile 'reunion' with a calm tone, a sword still in each hand.
"I'm just making sure he can't run off to stop my friends." Riku responded just as calmly, not put off by the swordsman basically telling him to move along.
Zoro smirked a bit, understanding the teen's motivation.
"Alright then, just don't get in my way."
"No problem."
Demyx's rush in to go up against Braig wasn't quite as smooth, but the entire fight going on between General Franky – piloted by Franky with support from Usopp – and the thundercloud Zeus – Nami was using her weather to hold off the swarm – was far from smooth to begin with. Between the insanity that was the giant mech, the ground cover nuisance of aggressive plants, and the air control attacks by Zeus, Braig was using more stamina just keeping out of the line of fire than actually putting up a fight. He had tried escaping multiple times, but even twisting gravity and throwing magic at them didn't stop their relentless pursuit.
So Braig was understandably on a hair trigger anger wise when Demyx suddenly barged in looking ready to throw out some kind of cool one liner.
"Oh FUCK THIS!" Deciding he'd rather deal with Xehanort's lecture later than the nonsense going on right now, Braig straight up warped himself off the island, and potentially off the world entirely. The sniper had figured they were losing anyway once the Gummi ship arrived and his boss would call for a retreat anyway, so it wouldn't hurt to do so a little earlier.
"Uh…" Demyx's charisma fell flat at the retreat, a little disappointed he didn't get to participate and test his new training. He turned toward the robot instead, Zeus making a motion as if he was shrugging before floating off back to Nami. "Wow, that looks awesome."
"Thanks!" Franky popped his head out with a proud grin. "So… who are you?"
As these groups got acquainted through battle, Sora and his companions found themselves at the base of the cliff with the two pirate Captains, a couple of Darksides standing in their way. There was hardly any intimidation among them, just a determined need to get to the top. Only one goal was on their mind, and however they got there, whatever stood in their way, mattered little as long as they reached that goal.
"So how are you able to fix him?" Sora asked of Law while Luffy stood up front, cracking his knuckles with a grin, fully prepared to punch out some giant Heartless.
"The simplest way to explain it is I'm a surgeon." Law responded. "The bigger problem is I need Hyorinmaru close enough for the procedure."
"S-surgery? In battle?" The Keybearer didn't look so sure about this now.
Instead of explaining further, Law turned to the sky and gave a loud whistle. Following his gaze, they realized where Toshiro's dragon had gone. Unable to harm the beast, Dextra had taken to leading him on a chase, lashing at him when she could but otherwise keeping away from those deadly jaws and icy breath. His tail had almost swiped her a few times as well, but her speed just outmatched his to keep her from harm, and her agility let her get behind him which forced him to slow down to turn. When she heard the whistle, her attention quickly shifted, taking a dive back down to the field below towards the one who had summoned her. Snarling, Hyorinmaru followed.
"She'll bring him in, let's get up top to meet her."
"I'll pick on these guys!" Luffy stuck his thumb in his mouth before blowing hard. The others' confusion switched quickly to shock as his arm rapidly ballooned into a much larger size. "Gear Third!"
"He got huge!" Sora exclaimed, baffled, Donald and Goofy beside him gaping.
The enormous fist slammed into one of the Darksides, sending it flying into the cliff side and breaking down a chunk of the rocky wall. The Heartless didn't perish immediately, but it was definitely stunned.
"Straw Hat, use that to boost us up!" Law shouted over to the rubber man.
"Got it!" Sending the other Darkside flying with a backhand, Luffy breathed in, the inflated portion of his arm suddenly shifting over to his torso, making him look like a balloon with tiny limbs.
"That's weird but okay." Sora's comment was rushed as he hurried to follow after Law, realizing they were going to use the oddly bouncy man as a sort of trampoline. "Donald, Goofy, let's use that form. If I don't go Anti I can at least use it to get close to Xehanort with Rangiku."
"Okay!" The pair of animals saluted.
Curious about these forms Sora kept talking about, Law spared a quick glance back, noticing the other's two companions flash into light and absorb into Sora. And he thought Luffy turning into a balloon was weird? Where did they go? In response to the pair vanishing, Sora's clothing changed color, transitioning into a brilliant silver and black. Frozen Heavens had become a stunning white Keyblade, Oathkeeper, along with a second Keyblade, the polar opposite black weapon, Oblivion. They floated around Sora's form along with a strong magical aura. Rangiku had no reaction, but Law had a great many questions about this human he didn't have time to ask, turning to focus back on the bigger problem. Sora was clearly more familiar with the magical weapons, capable of wielding two and utilizing their magic while Toshiro preferred his powers centered from his Soul Reaper abilities.
Once the now trio bounced off of Luffy, the straw hat wearer returned the air to his arms and went back to keeping the Darksides from crawling up after them, a few looking up as if wanting to do so. The inflatable ability had startled Xehanort somewhat, not expecting such a move to match against the giant Heartless, putting a tiny melee fighter above the strength of the massive creatures. Surprising as it was, he had more pressing matters to deal with.
"Toshiro!" Sora called out for his friend as they approached the top, worry in his expression at the Ice Nobody's blank expression.
"He can't hear you." Law responded, scowling slightly as he noticed Xehanort return the dark Keyblade to his hand. "Room!" The sphere returned.
"Of course he can!" Sora argued, wisps forming around his feet as he shot up the rest of the way to the top with a burst of wind. Rangiku followed suit with Flash Step after briefly touching her feet to the wall. Law was about to use his power to switch up with them, but found wind pushing him up as well, a helpful boost from Sora. "Toshiro, we came to get you!"
"And it may well be your last move." Xehanort struck out, his Keyblade clashing against Oathkeeper as Sora reached the peak.
"Growl, Haineko!" Rangiku's shout held anger as her blade became ash, swirling through the air with the hiss of an angry feline. The cloud converged on Xehanort, the old Master scowling and backing off at this annoying new power.
With the enemy distracted, Law approached Toshiro, stopping short of the swirl of darkness surrounding Toshiro's position. Past experience warned him not to jump into that, but he needed to get close to do the procedure. A sharp cry of an eagle let him know Dextra was close by, a deafening roar covering up her warning to show Hyorinmaru was not far behind her. They had to think quickly on how to get rid of the darkness long enough he could merge the two souls back.
"Toshiro!" Sora flashed over as well, his form allowing him to basically hover above the ground. He reached a hand out towards the dark field, reeling back when it lashed out at him.
"I need to get past this to use my ability." Law warned the younger man, looking away briefly to see where Dextra was with Hyorinmaru. She had noticed it was too soon, arcing back up briefly to circle around the peak while avoiding getting eaten.
"I know how." With a determined air, Sora made a motion with his hands, the two Keyblades spinning around him in response. "We'll get you back Toshiro, just you wait!"
Though the other was still surrounded by a raging wellspring of darkness, Law thought he saw Toshiro lift a hand up in answer, seeming to reach out for the help being offered to him. Perhaps he was listening. Perhaps now that hope had returned, he found the will to fight, trying to meet them halfway. He wanted to escape. He was depending on them.
"Dextra!" Law called for his daughter, the eagle child responding immediately and diving down to his side, into the huge Room meant to hold even the massive size of the dragon Heartless.
Seeing what was about to happen, Xehanort gave a huff, not bothering to get past the cloud of ash and turning away instead. Rangiku watched in surprise as the old man seemed to just fade from existence. Had he been an illusion the whole time? Why give up so easily? It wasn't the victory they hoped for, but at the least they had won this fight, even if there might be more to come.
The only problem now was the swarm of Heartless still fighting for the hearts of the living and the bright light of Kingdom Hearts. The only way to stop that… was to bring the light back. And that depended entirely on Sora and Law.
The Keybearer raised his hand above his head, the two Keyblades rising above him and spinning around one another, shining brightly with gathered light.
"Let him go!" He shouted to the writhing darkness, thrusting his hand down in front of him. The Keyblades followed, spinning forward like a bullet and releasing a beam of light at the dark barrier.
Light flashed through the air on impact, the ground shaking as the darkness clashed with its opposite, twisting and thrashing in panic. Toshiro brought his hands to his head, reacting as if in pain, no doubt feeling as such with the darkness drawing from his own power. But it was necessary… they had to release him from its hold, and removing any parasite caused its fair share of suffering.
While the darkness began to wilt under the light of Sora's power, Law turned to the approaching dragon. Dextra stood obediently at his side, feathers ruffled as the dragon landed roughly on the remaining space of the peak, his tail hanging down the edge since he was too big to properly fit. This lack of balance is the only thing that kept him from attacking immediately, letting off an angry roar at the people below. With the wings still flared out to maintain balance, Law had the opening he needed. He rushed the dragon, dodging around the snapping jaws and reaching the beast's chest.
"Ziel Mes!" With a movement just like the normal Mes, Law reached for the heart of Hyorinmaru. However, this technique utilized different equipment. Rather than a physical touch, this 'soul knife' did what his normal ability could not. It captured and contained the brilliant heart of a Heartless without it escaping.
He just hoped it worked.
Hyorinmaru let out a deafening roar as light burst from within his body, flowing over him like a thin film. He thrashed, trying to get it off, but it came from within him, impossible to escape. The dragon tried to take flight but found himself grounded, unable to move from Law's touch until the spell ran its course. The film completely encased the body of black ice and began to shrink inwards, forcing the form to shift around the vulnerable heart. Maintaining the 'body' conserved the 'heart'.
Finally, Hyorinmaru's form dispersed, and all Law held was a bright floating heart encased in a box, just like Mes usually did, but this box twisted with darkness, holding it in place around its core. The extraction was successful.
"I got it!" Sora shouted, his Keyblades returning to his side as the darkness was finally dispersed, no longer imprisoning Toshiro. The Nobody fell to his knees, his body shaking and confused, the darkness twisting weakly at his feet in an attempt to return. "Hurry!"
Law didn't need further prompting, hurrying back over to Toshiro with the large cube in hand. This really did take a lot of stamina, as removing Hyorinmaru's heart alone had taken a large toll already, the amount of power in the Heartless sapping at his own as he was forced to match it to overcome the dragon. He had been right to conserve his strength.
"Spirit Restoration!" Law doubted he would ever need such a technique again, but it was all he had to return a broken spirit to its full power. The cube in his hands flashed with light as he thrust it towards Toshiro's form.
As the heart came into contact with its other half, the island was suddenly bathed in a brilliant light, forcing everyone to a halt.
Silence fell over everything.