"They say that every star up there is another world. The light is their hearts, and it's shining down on us like a million lanterns."-Terra Birth by Sleep
Xehanort took a couple steps backward, shocked at what he had just witnessed. Eraqus and Nadia looked on in equal surprise, unable to fathom how the twins had managed to materialize Keyblades.
"That's impossible, I didn't sense the power within them at all," said Eraqus, as he looked at his sister for reassurance. "Did you?"
Nadia shook her head, utterly confused.
"There is no way...unless," she said more to herself than to the others. "Are they really?..."
Garen and Gavener looked at their Keyblades, marveling at the weapon they never knew they possessed the power to hold. Gavener's Keyblade had taken the motif of his formerly used Ethereal Chakrams. The guard was comprised of a Chakram. Two pillars of flames made of the design of the blade's body, protruding from the top of the guard. The two columns met at the top where they joined, overlapped by the flaming skull caricature that was also blazoned on Gavener's hoodie. While one of the caricature's sockets were hollow, the other held a single blue eye. Flames protruded from the side of the skull, forming the traditional teeth of the Keyblade. The keychain for the Keyblade was a single Chakram with a blue eye in the center.
Garen's Keyblade was much more complex in a design, bearing a motif derived from his formerly wielded Claymore. The guard was comprised of two jagged halves that connected slightly above the grip, leaving an opening for the grip to extend further. Mirror image crescent moons lay at the base of blade overlapping blade and the guard, in between the two moons lay a single blue eye. The blade itself had a rugged elegance to it and a decent reach as well. At the top blade, on the outer side, a smaller guard rounded the blade, closing it in. The teeth of the blade were very similar to the edge of his former Claymore, with further extending teeth.
The Heartless froze before the two brothers, staring intently at the newly formed Keyblades. Perhaps, like Xehanort, Nadia, and Eraqus, it was curious as to how the two acquired the Keyblade. It slowly raised its hand and as if to grab the twins. It hesitated and then put its hand back down. Raising its head once more, it surprised all of them by speaking.
"L-Love becomes Fear and Fear creates Anger!" it said in a raspy voice. "Anger births Revenge! Revenge spawns Hate! Hate chased by Lust! Lust parallels Greed! One by one they gather, one by one they rise! In the Ark, they will survive until the day in which they clash...the light expired, the world destroyed, the darkness shall outlast!"
With those words, it flexed its arms as its dark aura grew even stronger. For the first time since it had appeared, it swung at the twins with significant force. Fortunately, Garen and Gavener had enough awareness to dodge out of harm's way.
Recomposing himself, Xehanort took a quick assessment of the situation. With Garen and Gavener now wielding Keyblades, perhaps they had enough fighting force to take down the Heartless once and for all. However, the Heartless' power was also increasing the angrier it got, not to mention that Tadashi, Hiro, Mr. Yama were also variables to consider.
Shaking his head, he quickly came up with a plan and sprung into action. He closed in on the Heartless and used his Ethereal Blades to rope the legs of the Heartless. The dark creature roared in anger, swinging its large fist at Xehanort. He rolled under the creatures attack and quickly ran underneath its leg. Taking advantage of the Heartless' confusion and using the creature's own body as a vault, Xehanort swung himself over it. With his blades still tied to the monster's legs and Xehanort's momentum as the counterweight, the Heartless' feet were swept from under it, causing it to topple to the ground. Landing safely on the ground Xehanort marshaled the rest of the group into action.
"Tadashi, get Hiro to the Gummi Ship. Garen, Gavener, grab the Hamadas, get to the ship," he said before turning to the Eraqus and Nadia. "Hold off the Heartless, I'll help the others."
Mr. Yama, in a panic, motioned to the group.
"Hey, what about me?" he asked
Xehanort rolled his eye in disdain, as despicable a human being as he was, Mr. Yama was the Heartless' main target. As if to prove his point, the Heartless got to its feet and pointed its hand at Mr. Yama. A blast of dark energy shot from its hand and headed straight for Mr. Yama. This time, however, Xehanort was ready. Quick as a flash, Xehanort cast a barrier around the large man, blocking the energy beam. Xehanort quickly cast Magnega and dragged Mr. Yama from danger. He then turned to Nadia and Eraqus.
"Hold it off while we get to the ship."
Nadia and Eraqus moved in, placing themselves between Xehanort and the creature. Using their distraction, Xehanort used Magnega to bring Mr. Yama to the ship. Once there, he released the spell and dropped Mr. Yama in a heap.
"Hey, watch what you're doing," he said menacingly.
"Beggars can't be choosers, now get on the ship," snarled Xehanort in retort.
Mr. Yama looked back at Nadia and Eraqus, who were just barely holding off the Heartless. He quickly stumbled his way onto the ship and Xehanort quickly followed suit. Upon entering the ship, Mr. Yama was instantly met with looks of disdain from Garen and Gavener.
"What the hell is he doing here?" asked Garen angrily.
Xehanort sighed in exasperation.
"We don't have time for this, we need to help Nadia and Eraqus take that thing down. Gavener met Xehanort with a fierce look, determined to argue.
"What if I don't want to tak-"
Suddenly the Heartless grabbed Nadia and Eraqus and tossed them like rag dolls. That's all it took to boil Xehanort's blood, he grabbed Garen by the shirt and drew him in close. "I don't give a damn what you want or don't want. Right now, my friends are in danger. Now quit complaining and get this damn thing off the ground!"
Gavener rubbed the back of his head apologetically.
"Sorry Xehanort, you're right. Come on let's go help Nadia and Eraqus,"
Garen motioned to his brother who took the co-pilot seat which activated the secondary controls. Suddenly Garren's phone began to ring, followed shortly by Gavener's phone. Under the circumstances, they didn't have the time to entertain phone calls. The two brothers both clicked ignore and returned their attention back to the controls of the ship. They lifted the ship off the ground and took off.
They steered the ship toward the Heartless and Gavener began firing the ship's blasters, knocking the dark creature off balance. The Heartless swung at the Gummi Ship which the twins managed to skillfully evade. Swinging the ship back around, they aimed for the Heartless and increased their speed by a tremendous amount, fully prepared to ram the Heartless. The ship flew into the Heartless at full force, knocking it back several feet. Using the Heartless' disoriented state, Garen steered the ship towards Eraqus and Nadia. Once there, he opened the cockpit and motioned for Xehanort to attend his friends.
Xehanort jumped from the ship and quickly ran to where his fallen friends lay, checking them for any sustained injuries. As the two began to stir, he signaled Garen that his two friends were okay. Garen smiled in relief, though the group's relief was short-lived as the Heartless began to once again stir. Gavener looked at his brother a worried look painted on his face.
"What do we do now?" he asked. "We need a plan to stop that thing."
Garen rubbed his chin in contemplation then looked toward Tadashi who was tending his younger brother. With a sudden air of apprehension, he finally aired what he was thinking.
"Hey Tadashi, remember that robot integration system we were working on?" he asked.
Tadashi looked at his friend an almost grim look painted on his face. "Yeah, the one that was too taxing on the nervous system to use..."
"Well, I incorporated the technology into the ship-" Garen started before Tadashi interrupted him.
"What do you mean you incorporated it into the ship. That technology is too dangerous, it could easily fry your nervous system!" said Tadashi almost angrily. "There was a reason why we agreed to scrap the project."
Garen sighed and nodded. "Look, I know it's dangerous but I kept working on the technology. I pretty much worked out all the kinks-" Tadashi gave him a look of skepticism. "I figured it would be a useful addition to this ship's transformation function."
"It's still too dangerous, especially if you've only 'pretty much' worked out all the bugs," Tadashi responded. "Have you even tested it yet?"
Garen rubbed the back of his head sheepishly. "I haven't got a chance to test it under real battle conditions but no time like the present right..."
Tadashi rolled his eyes all the way to the back of his head. "Garen, I love you like my brother, you're a genius, but sometimes you're a real idiot."
"I second that," Gavener chimed in.
"Look, it's our only option right now, plus I configured it to be operated by two users in order to lessen the stress on a single operator," Garen explained.
Tadashi nodded in approval. "Yes, that would significantly cut the stress on the operators but what about the power source. If the system draws too much from the operators, their bodies could completely shut down."
Garen shook his head.
"I reconfigured the system to mainly draw power from the power core that Gavener and I made from that energy we took from our World's heart. The energy is self-sustaining and powerful enough to support the interface without drawing too much from the operators," he explained.
Tadashi shook his fist in triumph.
"That's brilliant! In theory, it should be enough to work the Bot Integration System," he said excitedly. "But how does that technology help us now, we don't have a bot to integrate with."
"Come on Tadashi," said Gavener coyly. "We're the greatest roboticist in San Fransokyo. You really think we would build a fully functional battleship without adding a mech mode.
Tadashi grinned. "Does that mean?..."
Garen nodded."Yes, this ship is fully capable of transforming into a functioning mech-" Garen motioned to the third pilot seat. "-But we need your help to pilot the legs."
"Wait, why do I have to be the legs?" asked Tadashi, almost pouting.
"Because Garen and I have abilities that are better utilized in the arms and that's where the two us will be integrating our powers," Garen explained in exasperation.
"Alright let's get this show on the road because tall, dark and dangerous is back on its feet," said Gavener.
Garen grabbed the micro-speaker that connected to the ship loudspeaker.
"Xehanort, can you three hold that thing off and buy us some time. I got a plan but we're going to need a couple minutes to get ready," he said into the speaker.
Xehanort flashed Garen a thumbs up sign and nodded to Nadia and Eraqus to ready themselves.
The mechanized Heartless had finally gotten to its feet, thoroughly annoyed at being kept from its target. It slowly began making its way toward the ship that held its sole target. Xehanort summoned his Ethereal Blades and ran towards the creature, stopping directly in front of it. He then slammed his blades into the ground, channeling them underground he split them up and willed them upward. Multiple blades of Ethereal energy shot from the ground forming a cage of solid energy around it and trapping it. Xehanort began channeling his energy on containing the Heartless, nodding to Nadia and Eraqus.
"See if you guys can weaken it now, we need to buy Garen and Gavener some time!" he shouted.
Nadia and Eraqus materialized their Keyblades and began blasting the Heartless with their shotlock attacks. The Heartless, trapped in the cage, took the full brunt of the barrage. It roared in anger, slamming its fists against Xehanort's Ethereal cage. Xehanort, however, stood his ground and continued to channel his energy into maintaining the cage's hold.
Meanwhile, on the ship, Garen and Gavener were making their final preparations to initiate their transformation sequence. After giving the Tadashi a quick rundown on operating the controls, the group made sure the Mr. Yama and the Hamadas were safely secure in the transformation safety pod. The pod was designed to safely carry passengers during the transformation sequence. Once more, Garen's phone began to ring followed by the insistent ring of his brother's phone. Needing to fully concentrate on their preparation both opted to ignore the calls, placing their phones in a nearby storage drawer. With the slight distraction out of the way, the two brothers returned to their work. After making sure everything was properly calibrated and functioning, Garen, and Gavener sat in their seats and prepared to activate the Bot Integration System. Garen gave his twin brother a look of worry.
"Are you scared?" he asked his brother.
Gavener nodded his head."Of course, who wouldn't be?"
Garen took a look back at Tadashi, who had been with them through everything, who was like their brother. It wasn't fair that Hiro and Tadashi had to lose their parents, and Garen couldn't help but feel responsible for. The guilt inside of him was crushing, and one look at his twin told him that, he too, felt the same. They had to do this and avenge the Hamadas. Even if the relief that would follow was only minimal, they had to set things right. With one more look at Tadashi, he returned his gaze to Gavener.
"I don't know if this will work and I'm a little scared too. After all, we're about to fight a giant monster who could easily kill us..." Garen let out a sigh. "But we have to do this, we have to make sure that Mr. and Mrs. Hamada didn't die in vain...I won't let the chance they gave us go to waste, even if it costs me my life."
Gavener wiped his nose cockily.
"Come on bro, you're not going down... not unless I go with you!" he said with a grin. The two brothers bumped fist and strapped themselves into their seats.
"To the end Gavener?" Garen asked his brother.
"To the end, Garen," Gavener replied.
Garen pressed a button on the control panel that began the integration process. "Initiating Bot Integration System now." The neuron transmitters attached themselves onto the spines of Garen and Gavener, once transformed it allow the ship's mech mode to mimic the twins movements and abilities. The monitor showed the integration to be stable, all of the twins vitals appeared to be normal. Garen moved his hand to the transformation control panel and began flipping the initiation switches to prepare the system to activate its mech mode. The ship began its transformation, thrusters extended to become legs, the sides moved to form arms and the cockpit made up the head. Garen pressed a button on the cockpit and from a distance, the sound of rockets could be heard as auxiliary Gummi pieces, prepared ahead of time, zoomed toward the mech attaching itself to fill in the torso and armor the arms and legs. The wings detached from sides and reattached to the back of the torso. When the transformation was complete, a fully weaponized mech stood before them, towering over the mechanized Heartless.
The Heartless leered angrily at the new threat that stood before it. It roared loudly, its anger increasing tenfold. Its body surrounded itself in dark aura, growing and increasing in strength on a feast of its own rage, drinking its thirst for vengeance. The Heartless began to literally grow in size as Xehanort struggled to restrain it within his Ethereal cage. Its size now matched that of Garen and Gavener's mech and with another roar of anger, it flexed it's body and burst free from Xehanort's restraints. From inside the mech, Garen, Gavener, and Tadashi prepared for combat, readying their mech in a combative stance.
"Alright guys, it's now or never," said Garen.
"I'm all set on my end," Tadashi voiced.
"Let's kick some Heartless ass!" said Gavener with a smirk.
Garen pulled the loudspeaker from the control panel."Xehanort, Nadia, Eraqus, we'll need your help. Provide us with backup and we can take this thing down!"
Xehanort flashed a thumbs up at the giant mech. Xehanort, Nadia, and Eraqus ran forward. Nadia and Eraqus threw their Keyblades into the air and willed them to transform. The two Keyblades combined and transformed into a large battle glider capable of holding two riders.
"Xehanort, you hold the ground, while Eraqus and I back up the boys from the air," said Nadia.
Xehanort nodded as Eraqus and Nadia hopped onto the battle glider and took off to the skies fire burst of energy at the giant monstrosity before them. Xehanort summoned his Ethereal Blades, combining them together and surging more power into it. Once complete, Xehanort held a large blade of Ethereal energy. Holding the blade steady, he rushed forward slashing fiercely at the Heartless' legs.
Inside the Gummi Mech, Garen, Gavener, and Tadashi moved in to attack. Tadashi, using the controls, sent the Heartless staggering with a powerful kick to its torso. Gavener and Garen took advantage of the opening and began pummeling at the creature with a flurry of punches. As the Heartless staggered, it let out a roar of fury. Gathering dark energy in its hand, the Heartless prepared to swing back at them. Nadia and Eraqus took the opportunity to ram into the Heartless at high speed, the impact of their glider causing the Heartless to fall backward.
The Heartless was now enraged, looking around wildly, it spotted Xehanort nearby. In an act of spite, it swung at Xehanort, flinging him several feet. It got up and began charging dark energy into its hand prepared to blast Xehanort with it. Nadia in a panic motioned for her brother to separate their glider back into two. With breakneck speed, she flew overhead and leaped from her glider, landing swiftly between the Heartless and Xehanort. The heartless released the energy firing it at Nadia and Xehanort, the blast was powerful enough to obliterate them both. Nadia quickly called her Keyblade back to her hand.
"I hope this works." Twirling her Keyblade in a defensive flourish and then pointing toward the sky, she called out. "Refleza!" Immediately a large and powerful barrier surrounded both Xehanort and barrier not only reflected the heartless' attack but sent it back to him with double its original strength. The heartless was hammered with the force of its own attack. Nadia took the opportunity to check on Xehanort.
"Are you okay Xehanort?" she asked tenderly.
Xehanort pulled himself to his feet, shaking his cobwebs. "A little bruised but now's our chance to beat this thing."
Nadia nodded, helping steady himself. "Are you sure you're okay?"
"Yeah," Xehanort said nodding, materializing his Ethereal Blades once more. "Come on, if we can contain that thing then maybe we can give Garen and the others a chance to finish it off for good."
Just as he spoke, the Heartless began to stir getting back on its feet. Garen, Gavener, and Tadashi moved in trying to keep it down. Raising the arms of the mech, they began firing blasts of energy at the Heartless. Moving in closer, they pummeled it with a powerful flurry of punches. But the Heartless only got angrier, retaliating with blows of its own, fiercely matching the Gummi Mech blow for blow.
"We need help restraining it guys!" Garen shouted through the loudspeakers.
In understanding, Nadia, and Eraqus rushed into action; Xehanort followed suit. Nadia and Eraqus flanked the large creature on both if its sides, using their Light Burst Chains, they managed to restrain both if its arms. Xehanort felt a moment of uncertainty, still shaken slightly by the Heartless' previous attack. It was here Xehanort's lack of Keyblade was starting to show. While Xehanort was still capable of powerful feats with his Ethereal Blades, he was unsure of how effective they were in this fight. Thus far, he had only got knocked around. He lifted his hand, calling the Keyblade from the depths of his heart. But nothing came. After all this, in a moment dire need, still, it would not come.
"Xehanort snap out of it!" shouted Nadia as the Heartless began pulling against her restraints. "We need you."
Xehanort shook himself. It did not matter at the moment, Keyblade or not his friends still need his help. Xehanort felt a sudden rush of power flow through him and instantly his Ethereal Blades appeared into his hands. Instead of their usual blue hue, they had changed into a shade of brown. Xehanort felt a burst of power flowing through them, much more than he had previously had. He suddenly felt a strong pull to the energy flowing subtly in the ground beneath him. Instinctively, Xehanort knew what to do. He ran forward and planted his new incarnate of Ethereal Blades into the ground. He circled the creature, summoning blades and planting them like spears into the ground surrounding the Heartless. The Heartless was now surrounded by spears of ethereal energy, it looked around itself in an almost curious manner. Xehanort then raised both his hands in the air and cried out. "Stalagmitza!"
The spears of earth-based ethereal energy grew instantly from where Xehanort planted them. Tripling in size and power they pierced straight through the Heartless in dozens of places all around its body. The Heartless tried to move but the combination of Nadia and Eraqus, alongside Xehanort's attacks, held the dark creature firmly in place. It roared angrily at its inability to move.
"Xehanort finish it off!" shouted Eraqus.
Xehanort shook his head. "I can't! If I finish it off with my Ethereal Blades, it will just come back eventually. Only the power of a Keyblade can stop this thing for good." He looked up at the Gummi Mech. "Garen! Gavener! It has to be you two!"
Inside the Mech, Garen and Gavener consulted each other.
"Since the neuron transmitters are adapting our powers, do you think it's possible to channel our Keyblades power into the mech?" Gavener asked his brother.
"Only one way to find," Garen responded.
Garen and Gavener concentrated on channeling the feeling of when they materialized their Keyblades for the first time. Suddenly the arms of the mech glowed with a slightly dark aura as large versions of their respective Keyblades appeared in each arm of the mech. Grinning at each other in earnest, the twins surged forward with the controls, thrusting their Keyblades in the chest of the Heartless. The Heartless let out one final roar.
"KEYBLADE!" It screeched. The Heartless then vaporized into to dust leaving behind nothing but a heap of scraps remaining from Gavener and Garen's original battle bot.
There was a moment of silence as relief swept through the group. They wanted to cheer but each felt the sting of their pyrrhic victory. They managed to stop the Heartless finally but the cost had been far too high.
As Garen and Gavener reverted the Gummi Mech back into its flight formation, they felt both the relief of the Heartless' demise and the heavy weight of Mr. and Mrs. Hamadas death. The twins brought the ship to the ground, allowing Xehanort, Nadia, and Eraqus to board the ship. The group traipsed to the back of the ship where Tadashi lay kneeled next to his dead parents. Garen and Gavener kneeled beside him, each embracing their best friend, sharing in the mourning of the selfless and loving couple that lay before them. At that moment the three boys thought that their grief was at its peak but alas fate desired to add one final layer of sorrow to their shared anguish.
A ringing sound came from the desk nearby, Garen looked suddenly at his brother, a look of realization crossing instantly across their faces. Tadashi also looked up in realization. In the heat of battle, they quickly dismissed it but now that the Heartless was gone and they had a moment to process the ringtone emanating from Garen's phone in the drawer was all too familiar. The ringtone belonged to his mother's aide at the hospital, Mrs. Gibbens had been her caretaker ever since she was admitted to the hospital for long-term care. She had the twins' phone numbers but had only used them in cases where their mother's condition had gotten worse. His gut instinct was suddenly screaming. Garen knew, they all knew, that this was one of those times.
With great trepidation, Garen opened the drawer and pulled out the phone. Checking the incoming calls validated his fears; seventeen missed calls from Mrs. Gibbens and three from their mother's doctor. His hand trembling, Garen dialed Mrs. Gibbens phone number. The dialer rang twelve times and on the thirteenth ring, Mrs. Gibbens finally picked up.
"Hel-hello Mrs. Gibbens," Garen spoke softly.
There was a moment's pause and the sound of slight sobbing as lost her composure.
"G-Garen, I'm so sorry. There was nothing we could do," Mrs. Gibbens sobbed. "She went peacefully and wanted you boys to know how much she loved you."
The phone slipped from Garen's hand and fell to the floor, soon followed by Garen himself as he sank to his knees. In the distance, the sounds of sirens rang, indicating the approach of the police and first-aid. Gavener sunk near his brother and hugged him, tears streaming down his face. Tadashi moved close to the two boys whom he had come to see as his real brothers and the three embraced. The sirens were blazing loud outside the ship while the three brothers wept. But they heard nothing, nothing but the echoes of the what they had all lost. Three bright lights had been lost and just as they did when they were children, they wept. The stars had gone out once again.
...
Master Ansem sat alone in his study, pouring over the passage on the torn page, trying to discern meaning from the words written. Suddenly the page glowed and new words wove itself onto it, confirming his worst fears once and for all.
Love becomes Fear...
Fear creates Anger...
Anger births Revenge...
Revenge spawns Hate...
Hate chased by Lust...
Lust parallels Greed...
One by one they gather.
One by one they rise.
In the Ark, they will survive until the day in which they clash.
The light expires... the world destroyed... the darkness shall outlast.
A/N: Welcome back guys, it's been a while but I have not abandoned this story. There is a lot to take in here so strap in and take it all in. I hope you enjoy this chapter even with its sad ending.
