Silver Linings
Chapter 26: "There's Too Many!"
A/N: Work on this chapter started late at night on 1/12/2017, due to the usual procrastination and a few minor bouts of illness. On a slightly-related note Is anyone else hyped for KH 2.8 Final Chapter Prologue to release in the States?
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Virtual Twilight Town: Computer Room...
When everyone could see again, Sora wondered, "Are we back in the same place?"
Lambda pointed at what used to be (a virtual copy of) DiZ's computer. "Not exactly."
Donald was impressed that the wreckage of the console was still sparking, even months later. Whoever broke this thing made quite a mess. Goofy eyed the broken glass on the floor, hoping he wouldn't trip over it.
Sora gazed at the mess, seeing a...memory...of the Kingdom Key striking this console over and over, held in hands like his, but with different accessories. "This is the other Twilight Town. Roxas' Twilight Town."
Lambda nodded. "Yeah. It took a bit of work from Riku and myself to keep it running, and only two rooms remain. Don't bother trying to go back upstairs. The path to the World That Never Was is in the next room through that other door."
"Then let's go. There's no point in lingering here." Riku led the way into the next room, where the greenish portal into the Darkness was thankfully still open. Everyone went through in single file this time.
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Betwixt and Between...
The portal turned out to lead them not to the Organization's world, but to the strange in-between space Riku had seen during Kairi's kidnapping debacle. The area was less empty than he remembered, although that might have been due to his attention being focused on Kairi before.
The chief addition to the space was a gray pillar holding up a giant coffin-like box. Its open lid was marked with a Heartless Emblem. It seemed to rise out of a funnel of the weird energy that formed this space. Looking down into it, Riku could tell this abyss plunged all the way into the Realm of Darkness. All around it, portals similar to the one the heroes had come through led off into different worlds, though most of them were tiny and inactive.
A Soldier Heartless appeared, then jumped into the coffin, which promptly sealed itself shut. Darkness churned up around the pillar, soaking into the box.
Lambda shuddered as she recognized this setup. "I can't believe it! Is that a Cauldron?"
Riku asked, "A what?"
"It's a thing from the Azure Timeline. Cauldrons are places where the 'normal' world connects to the Boundary. They're not subject to the usual rules of time and space, and nothing good ever comes out of them. For example, the Black Beast came out of the first one. When Xigbar said he'd been dealing with Terumi, I didn't think he could have learned how to make a Cauldron!"
"Actually, that's the 'Extraction Program'." Axel appeared, chakrams in hand, but he seemed hurt and worn out. "Got it *huff* memorized?"
Sora shouted, "What are you doing here, Axel?!"
"Don't just stand there, destroy that thing before it's... Oh no, too late!"
The Extraction Program began to rumble. The Emblem brightened, and the lid opened with a hiss, releasing a dark fog and hundreds upon hundreds of Soldiers.
Riku shouted, "This is where all those huge hordes of Heartless came from!"
"Less alliterating, more attacking!" Axel threw his chakrams and created an explosion, scattering a group of Soldiers...but more enemies filled in the gap almost instantly. Axel was forced to jump backward as a dozen of the little guys jump-kicked at him simultaneously.
"C'mon, everyone!" Sora joined the fray.
Axel created a burst of fire to block Sora's path. "No, not you, Sora! You'll just let Xemnas finish his Kingdom Hearts. With the dirt I've dug up on him, I don't want that anymore."
Mickey violently shook his head and came very close to frowning in confusion. "But how could these things have hearts to free? They were just created!"
Axel responded mid-jump, "That's why Xigbar needed those notes on seithr compression. Lambda, can you explain? The rest of us are fighting!" Indeed, the Heartless had drawn Sora, Donald, Goofy, Mickey, and Riku into the fight as the monsters instinctively headed for the portals at the edges of the area.
"Scanning...Mechanism analysis complete. I see; it's drawing Darkness up from the Realm of Darkness, then compressing it until it forms real hearts. They seem to be really weak hearts with no Light at all, but they probably count towards Kingdom Hearts. On top of that...these hearts will never get the chance to become people, and all these new Heartless are going to throw the balance of Light and Darkness all out of whack. This thing, the Extraction Program, is an abomination! It's already been around too long; we have to destroy it right now!"
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Destroy the Extraction Program!
Riku called over, "Okay, I think I get it...maybe. Good summary, Lambda! Some cover would be nice, too!"
"Do you really need cover?" Lambda asked, even as she sent some swords into the throngs of Heartless around Riku. None of the Heartless were destroyed. Lambda looked on in disbelief. "Are my swords doing any damage at all anymore?"
"Don't cover me, guard the King! Mickey, use that really big Light spell to wipe all these Heartless out at once! Sora - "
Sora cut in, "Right! I'll smash the big machine as soon as there's an opening!"
"What about us?" Donald asked.
"Help me cover the King," Lambda called. "I don't think I can beat the Heartless on my own anymore."
Goofy hollered, "Sure thing, Lambda! Don't worry, Your Majesty! We'll cover ya!" Donald and Goofy rushed to Mickey's side and stood fast against the hordes of Heartless, which barely slowed down for Lambda's barrage of summoned swords.
The Soldiers all leaped at the King, but bounced off of Goofy's shield one by one, after which they were obliterated by a Donald Thunder storm. "Take THAT!"
Mickey completed his charge and began to glow. "Thanks, guys! Okay, get ready, Sora! LIGHT!" The wave of Light washed away all the Soldiers on the side of the pit facing Mickey, but the attack petered out just before hitting the Extraction Program itself. That hardly mattered, though, because Sora was already double-jumping through the air and readying the Keyblade to attack the source of the vast majority of Heartless in the worlds he'd visited. Everyone leaned in to watch what was sure to be an awesome combo...
*Snap!*
But Sora was tackled to the ground by a group of Dusk Nobodies. Seven Dusks hit him out of the air, and dozens more kept appearing and piling onto him.
"Oh no you don't!" Axel threw a blazing chakram to burst all the Nobodies on top of Sora, then pulled the Keyblade hero to his feet. "This must be Sai'x's work; I've got his finger snap memorized. Come out and face us, friend of mine!"
The slimy voice of Sai'x echoed from somewhere unseen. "Now why should I be the one to risk my life fighting a traitor, when I have servants to do it for me?" *Snap!*
A new legion of Dusks arrayed itself in front of the Extraction Program. The horde of swaying Nobodies stayed where it was, opting to defend the Program rather than attack the heroes.
Axel deadpanned, "I think I liked it better when they were on my side. Sai'x got me pretty good on the way here, too...fighting 'em all head on would be tough."
Standing beside him, Sora (who was still kind of miffed at Axel for kidnapping Kairi, recent events nonwithstanding) needled, "Feeling a little regret?"
Axel scoffed. "Nah, I can still handle these punks. Watch this!"
The Nobody Master of fire vanished in a burst of flames, reappearing right on top of the Extraction Program's coffin. To himself, he muttered, "I tried, Roxas. I tried. But I'm sick of it. I'm sick of all of this!" He brought both chakrams down on the lid, smashing it open. He jumped inside before the Dusks or Soldiers could react. "I'LL BURN IT ALL! THESE MONSTERS, THIS STUPID MACHINE, EVEN MYSELF!"
Before he knew what he was doing, Sora was running toward the column. "Axel, don't!"
"Stay back, Sora!" Riku zipped behind his friend and grabbed him under the arms, preventing him from getting too close to what inevitably happened next.
Axel went supernova. Jets of flame burst out of the coffin's walls one by one and roared out of the open lid. The whole structure bulged under the unstoppable force of the flames, and then everything exploded at once. The resulting conflagration put Vivi's Mega Flare spell to shame.
When the smoke cleared, Sora could only gaze around in awe. There was nothing left in Betwixt and Between but Sora and the other heroes. No Dusks, no Heartless, no Extraction Program, no Cauldron into the Realm of Darkness, no portals out to the worlds, and no... "Axel!" Axel laid on the ground right in the epicenter of the explosion. puffs of Darkness and Nothing rose from his body alongside tiny embers of fire. Sora knelt by the ex-Organization member's side and shook his shoulder. "Hey, get up! What just happened?"
Axel coughed up smoke. "Well...that's what happens when you put your whole being into an attack. Not that Nobodies actually have beings...right?"
But what emotionless shell would sacrifice so much for a single attack? "That's...why did you do all that? Was it for me?"
Axel closed his eyes for a moment, raising alarm among those watching from the sidelines, but he was just thinking. "Huh, why did I do all that? I *cough* didn't think any of this through, that's for sure. I...just wanted to see Roxas again. He...was the only one I liked. He was a better friend than Sai'x ever was, even before we all changed. When we hung out together...Roxas made me feel...like I had a heart. And I knew, if I could get through you, I could see him again...but..."
Axel suddenly got serious, sensing that he was running out of time to talk. "Kairi's in the castle dungeon. Go on, save her! That's why you came...all this way, right?" Weakly raising one arm, Axel opened a massive portal of Darkness. "Gate's open now. Gummi Route, too. Tell Kairi...that I'm sorry, would you?" His arm flopped back to the ground. All of his strength was gone.
Sora shook his head, shaking tears out of his eyes. "You can apologize to her yourself!"
"I'll pass. My heart just wouldn't be in it, you know? Haven't got one." Even at the very end, Axel managed to throw in a sarcastic, self-effacing joke. "Thanks for...for trying, though, Sora. Roxas...can you hear me? I guess we won't meet again like I promised after all. Sorry. I hope this makes up for it..."
Axel's body finally gave out, dissolving entirely into raw Nothing, leaving behind a Keychain that looked like his chakrams. Sora watched the last few embers rise toward the indeterminate top of Betwixt and Between, then grabbed the Keychain, stood and wiped his eyes. He equipped the Bond of Flame and pointed it toward the portal. "Let's go. Kairi's waiting for us!"
The others, who had been standing respectfully on the sidelines until now, rejoined Sora as they all went through the massive portal.
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The World That Never Was: Alley to Between...
The portal led to a dark alleyway that was familiar to Riku. Rain rattled against the few streetlamps and gurgled down a storm drain. "This place again..."
Donald squawked, "Your Majesty!" Mickey had taken off running again.
Lambda groused, "Why does he keep doing that!? Wouldn't it be better for all of us to stick together?"
Riku reminded her, "DiZ - er, Ansem the Wise - is supposed to be here, remember? Mickey would want to find him the most."
Sora added, "And Kairi's waiting for us, too! Let's go, everyone!"
"You mean she's waiting for you," Riku replied. "You're more important to her than anyone else - even me. I accepted it long ago. Don't keep her waiting!" He shoved Sora forward, setting the party in motion.
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The Dark City...
The city streets were a winding trail of neon signs and infrastructure, but there only seemed to be one path. The only things slowing the party's pursuit of Mickey were Shadow Heartless - loads and loads of them. Sora jumped over a group and kept going. "I can't afford to beat any more Heartless!"
Lambda called after him, "Don't worry! These are just Purebloods - they're clumps of Darkness that haven't stolen any hearts yet. You only need to worry about the Emblems, which are the kind Xehanort marked with that red-and-black Emblem."
Sora grinned and dropped back into the fray. "That's a relief! C'mon, let's smash 'em all!"
Donald objected, "Sora! We can't waste that much time!"
Riku had to admit, "For once, Donald has a good point! We have to save our strength for the Organization. We just have to beat enough to get through." He swept aside a group of Shadows with Soul Eater.
"Hey! What do you mean, 'for once?' Blizzaga!" Donald launched a big chunk of ice that ripped open a group of Heartless and cleared a path.
Goofy charged shield-first through a clump of Heartless. Looking back at the group, he called out, "Looks like a big clearing up ahead! Be careful, guys! The Organization could pop out at any time!"
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Memory's Skyscraper...
Riku paused upon entering the clearing, remembering the last time he'd been here. This was where he'd fought that brutal battle against Roxas; where he'd finally claimed full ownership of the Darkness in his heart, including the Darkness not-Ansem added. There was still a heavy sensation of importance here.
Sora, meanwhile, gazed up past the top of the Skyscraper at the heart-shaped moon in the sky. "What's that?"
The heroes were jolted out of their reveries by Donald and Goofy. "Sora! Help!" They'd been surrounded by Samurai Nobodies in an instant!
Sora moved to attack, but was stopped by a phenomenon he'd almost forgotten.
My liege...have you returned?
"Huh?" The words of the Nobodies in his head; Sora hadn't experienced this since he first woke up and started his latest adventure.
"Stop!" A new voice rang out over the clearing, but it wasn't just a call to order. It was an actual Stop spell that froze time for everything and everyone except Sora. Raindrops hovered in midair. Donald and Goofy were paused in the middle of jumping for attention. Even Riku was affected. The caster, a boy in a Black Coat who was no taller than Sora, appeared from a portal that differed slightly from the Organization's usual Corridors of Darkness.
Sora recognized that voice, but from where? "Who are you?"
"..." Rather than reply, the stranger summoned a Keyblade! Sora recognized it as Oblivion; A Keychain based off a symbol for Darkness that Sora had found near the end of his first adventure.
Sora was shocked by the revelation long enough for the stranger to make the first move. He stepped in and brought Oblivion down in a two-handed overhead swing, bearing down against the Bond of Flame as Sora desperately blocked the attack. The sight of Sora's new weapon seemed to enrage this unknown enemy, who pressed down harder and harder until Sora could focus on nothing but keeping that dark Keyblade away from him.
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The Station of Awakening...
Defeat the mysterious enemy!
Suddenly, the stranger backed off, causing Sora to stumble. Sora realized that he wasn't where he'd been before. The stained glass pillar and the clouds of Darkness around them were so familiar, though, and not just because the glass image depicted Sora and his closest friends.
"This is..."
The stranger finally spoke for the first time since his dramatic entrance, and once again Sora was struck by how familiar his voice was. "That's right. It's your heart. You've been to the Station of Awakening before, but you don't remember, do you? I bet you take having this place for granted."
Sora shot back, "No, my heart is my greatest treasure! It's where my friends live!"
The stranger only got angrier. "I know your friends are here. Mine are, too. Your heart is nothing but the abyss that consumed all my friends!" Then the stranger did something Sora thought was impossible: he summoned a second Keyblade into his left hand! Sora had dual-wielded Keyblades temporarily with his Drive Forms, but the real kicker was that this was the Oathkeeper; a pure Light-themed Keyblade that was formed by attaching Kairi's lucky charm as the Keychain!
Sora frantically searched his pockets, heaving a sigh of relief that the promised charm was still intact and with him. "How do you have THAT Keyblade?! Who areyou, anyway?"
"You mean you can't tell who I am? So you've come this far, and still you understand nothing!" The stranger crossed his Keyblades across his chest, charging up the Power of Light. Sora rushed in, trying to stop the attack, but the stranger didn't flinch when he was hit. Sora was ripped up and thrown backwards by a maelstrom of Light that surrounded the stranger.
Catching his breath, Sora muttered, "Your name. I have a right to know that much."
"You don't deserve to know. You don't deserve to be!" The stranger leapt into a spinning attack, which Sora parried.
"And who gave you the right to judge me? What's your problem with me, anyway? Are you with Organization XIII?" Sora spun into a Vicinity Break, then jumped after the enemy and let loose an air combo.
"No more than Axel was. And like him, I died for your sake. What a mistake." The stranger spun his Keyblades to break out of the air combo and launched a ground combo of his own as Sora landed.
"But why? When did you...who are... This doesn't make any sense!" Sora tried to block, but two Keyblades proved faster than one.
The stranger suddenly turned into a tiny ball of Light and zipped to the center of the Station, surrounding himself with pillars of Light and a magic circle, all adorned with Nobody symbols. "Then figure it out with your Keyblade like you always do! Or your oh-so-powerful heart. How did that line go? 'My friends are my power?' Let's see your friends block this!"
The stranger rose into the air and thrust Oblivion skyward, launching rays of Light that arced to the edges of the battlefield and fell over the edges. The clouds of gray Darkness all around the Station gave way to colorful twilight, but this seemed to be merely a display of the stranger's raw power. He levitated his Keyblades near his outstretched hands and spun them faster and faster. Each rotation launched an orb of Light that homed in on Sora.
Sora ran as fast as he could, using Dodge Rolls and Quick Runs, but was still caught by the barrage. It pummeled him relentlessly into the ground until he was sure his body (or this projection of it inside his heart) was badly burned in dozens of places, and the Bond of Flame flew from his grip to skitter across the floor. "How can...how can this jerk be so strong...?"
The attack finally ceased, and the twilight gave way to Darkness once more. "The Light is mine - my right as a Nobody Master. Did you think you could fight me with just your own Light? But you know, Sora, I thought you were stronger than that."
From the floor, Sora replied, "No..."
"Exactly." The stranger relaxed at his apparent victory.
But Sora wasn't done. "No, I didn't think I could fight you with my Light alone. But if you really know so much more about me than I do about you, you should know...I'm never alone."
Sora struggled to his feet. Incredulously, the stranger yelled, "What?! How many times do I have to beat you? Why do you keep fighting? What gives you the right?"
"You'll never beat me...because I have friends that need my help. And if I need theirs to beat you, that's fine by me." Sora stood up fully and summoned his Keyblade, shifting it back to its default Kingdom Key form.
"After all, my friends are my power. All of them! And all of them...GIVE ME STRENGTH!" With this sudden yell, Sora engaged a Drive Form. Calling on the strength of everyone he knew, regardless of distance, his clothes returned to his favorite red, blue, and yellow color scheme as he entered Limit Form.
"Come on, then!" The stranger launched back into the fray, dissolving into a ball of Light that bounced from place to place, sending pillars of Light racing toward Sora every time he changed directions. "Let's see if that power of yours can trump mine! Tell me...tell me why he picked you!"
Sora used Sonic Blade to try to catch up to the stranger. Eventually, they ended up rushing at each other head-on. Time seemed to slow as a decisive clash neared... Of course! He's like the Samurai!
Sora won the duel and knocked the stranger into the air. "All this Light you throw around...it's from me, isn't it? No wonder I couldn't beat you with just my Keyblade. But that Light...is mine!"
Sora reached out to the stranger, and pulled those dual Keyblades toward himself from a distance. They were surrounded in glittering Light and floated behind Sora's back, ready to augment his next attack: Ars Arcanum. The stranger was struck with lightning-fast combos from three directions.
Sora finished the combo and let the extra Keyblades return to the stranger. "You know, I'd rather not fight you. Someone very special to me needs my help right now."
The stranger seemed to calm down. "I know. I...I also had someone like that. But I failed to protect her, and now I can hardly remember her face. For a while, I forgot her entirely...what kind of friend does that?!" Oblivion shook in the stranger's grasp.
Sora found he couldn't muster the same indignant rage as the stranger anymore. "I'm told I did that too. I think I did...but I don't remember. But if I keep moving forward, I'm sure I can meet that friend again...and make it up to her."
"I see...that's why he chose you. I gave up on it already, but you haven't." The stranger let his hands fall to his sides.
Sora reached out to the stranger. "You know, whoever you are, it's not too late. If you're really in my heart, I could try and help you too."
The stranger chuckled, but raised his Keyblades again. "There you go again, following your heart to the most ridiculous places. But I've got to see if you have the strength to see it through. Not just strength from your friends; you have enemies who will try to get you when you're alone and vulnerable. Show me that you can handle it on your own!"
Sora just grinned his goofy grin. "Now who doesn't understand? I'm never going to be alone, because you'll be right here! Along with all my other friends!"
The stranger gaped at Sora from under his hood. "I can't even...why would I...when did you...I'm your... You know what? You win. I'll take you up on that offer." The stranger dismissed his Keyblades and stepped forward, presenting his hand for a handshake.
Sora laid his hand on top of the stranger's instead, in a classic "all for one, one for all" gesture. Then his hand was joined by two more, as Donald and Goofy joined the scene. Then Riku, Kairi, Leon, Yuffie...the pile of hands grew and grew until it frankly looked kind of ridiculous.
All the friends threw their hands up, and most of the images vanished. "So, now that we're friends, you mind telling me your name?"
The stranger just chuckled. "I think you already know, but I guess I can give you a hint." His Black Coat dissolved into Light, revealing black and white casual clothes and a mop of permanently-messy blond hair. Sora recognized him from the picture in Riku's clue box. "All things considered...you make a good Other. See you, Sora. Right now, I have friends of my own to join."
Roxas turned around and walked away from Sora. Light swelled around them, but Sora could make out the tall silhouette Axel alongside two short-haired girls, waiting for Roxas to join them. "Don't ever forget...we're a part of your heart, too." The Light became blinding, and Sora left the Station of Awakening behind.
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Sora's Heart: Station Tower...
Roxas found himself sitting alongside Axel and Xi- "I had no idea Sora had a place like this in his heart!" He took a happy bite of sea-salt ice cream.
Axel laughed. "They say 'home is where the heart is,' but that's backwards. Heart is where the home is. Got it memorized?"
"Yeah, we've got it memorized."
"Me, too?" The black-haired girl asked from Roxas' other side. Her soft voice was tinged with worry.
Roxas smiled at her. Her face was blurry, but he knew he'd remember her soon. "Yeah! You have as much right to be here as the rest of us. After all, we're all friends, right?"
"Nah." Axel waited just long enough to freak the other two out, then continued, "We're best friends. I promise, we're going to be together even when we're apart. Got it memorized?"
Roxas turned towards the sunset. "Yeah. And one day, we'll get to eat ice cream together for real. Right, Sora?"
The last of the anger and lingering doubts that had kept Roxas in conflict with Sora's heart until now finally dissolved. Roxas accepted his place in Sora's heart, completing the transfer of power that had been such a huge problem for DiZ's plans.
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The World That Never Was: Memory's Skyscraper...
Sora blinked awake. He was standing in the middle of the clearing. The rain still fell on his upturned face. Looking around, he saw Riku, Lambda, Donald, and Goofy standing nearby. "What happened?"
Goofy responded, "Gawrsh, I dunno. You just disappeared. Then me and Donald had to fight a bunch of Nobodies."
Lambda smirked, "You mean Riku and I had to fight a bunch of Nobodies after they grabbed you two."
Riku matched her smirk. "You mean I fought a bunch of Nobodies after they cut right through your attacks and knocked you down."
Lambda slumped. "Right. That's exactly what I meant. Point: Riku."
Riku became serious. "That really worries me, though. Isn't there some way to fix it?"
"Well, I suppose I could put the IDEA Engine into Overdrive. It would only last a few seconds, though."
Donald griped, "Whatever. Where were you, Sora?"
Sora gave Donald a confused look. "You mean you didn't see that guy? The guy with the Keyblade?"
Riku replied, "You're the only guy with a Keyblade here...I think."
Sora mumbled, "But I know I fought him... Was it all a dream?"
"This would be an odd place to fall asleep," Lambda pointed out. "In any case, you seem to be okay."
Sora grabbed his chest, then nodded in relief. He murmured, "Right. I didn't realize I wasn't okay before, but now I am." Louder, he called to the group, "Let's go. We have work to do."
Lambda ticked off their outstanding work items on her fingers. "Affirmative. We have a castle to storm, bad guys to beat, plans to thwart, friends to save. Let's go to The Castle That Never Was!"
"How do you know that name?" Riku asked.
"We've been told it before by Axel and a few others, remember? But you're right; there's definitely something else putting the information in my head. We'll have to save figuring that out for later, though." Lambda now had another goal to look forward to alongside saving the worlds and restoring Xion.
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The Brink of Despair...
"Classy name," Lambda mentioned.
"What name?"
"The Brink of Despair. That's this pit with the Castle floating over it. I keep getting the names of places and people put in my head. Now that I think about it, it's been happening a lot."
"Huh. Well, this is a problem. How do we reach the Castle way up there?"
Mickey called from the edge of the cliff, "The Keyblade will show us the path!"
Sora brandished the Kingdom Key, noting that it had changed back from the Bond of Flame. So that definitely wasn't a dream. "Sounds good, Your Majesty. Let's do it!"
The Kingdom Keys of Light and Darkness pointed at the Castle that Never Was in parallel, launching Release beams at the fortress. The beams stretched across the massive abyss below them and struck the Castle, which responded by extending a wide road of blue, shaped Nothing to act as a drawbridge.
Riku grasped Sora's shoulder. "Hey Sora, I think we should split up here."
"Huh? Why would you do that?"
"Lambda and I can fly. That castle is huge; we'll go in from another angle and cover more ground. I'll try to find Kairi and get her out of prison, and we'll meet up in the middle to take the fight to Xemnas."
"Namine and DiZ must be in there, too," Lambda added.
Sora wondered, "Namine?" He knew he'd heard that name before...
Jiminy jumped off his shoulder. "That's the name from my Journal! 'Thank Namine.'"
"Right. I'll tell you later." Riku picked up Lambda and shot skyward.
Sora grumbled, "He gets all the cool moves..."
Mickey pointed out, "That just means you have a goal to reach, right? I wish I had a rival to help me get stronger."
"Yeah." Sora led the march up to the Castle That Never Was.
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In the dungeon...
Kairi gripped the bars of her cell. The bars themselves were far enough apart that she could probably just jump through them, but the real barrier keeping her in here was the man standing on the other side.
"You're in luck," Sai'x greeted. "The hero of the Keyblade has finally come for you. He's invading the Castle as we speak."
"You mean Sora? Sora's here!" Happiness welled up inside Kairi.
"Indeed. However, I cannot allow him to reach you until Kingdom Hearts is complete, which I'm told it soon will be. In the meantime, you might as well make yourself comfortable."
Kairi glared at the Nobody. On top of the obvious reasons to hate him, such as having kidnapped her in the first place, there wasn't much in the cell to make herself comfortable. No bed, no chairs, no food. Sai'x dropped by once a day to leave a trio of bland nutrient bars and a cup of water. At least the yellow dog who led her off the Destiny Islands was still here with her, though she'd rather the Organization at least let the dog go. Kairi huffed, "Well, you might as well go fight him. He'll beat you all, you'll see!"
"I highly doubt that." Without a farewell, Sai'x left through a Dark Corridor.
The wooshing noise from formation of a second Dark Corridor was almost lost in the dissipation of the first, but Pluto's ears caught it and perked up. An unfamiliar blonde girl in a white dress leaned out of the Corridor. "This way! Hurry!"
Kairi hesitantly hoped this stranger was on her side. "Who are you?"
The girl held her hand out insistently. "My name is Namine, but there's no time to waste! C'mon!"
"Alright...I'll trust you." Kairi took Namine's hand and let her yank them back through the portal. The yellow dog just jumped through and ran ahead.
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Naught's Ascension...
Riku and Lambda circled the Castle That Never Was, searching for another entrance. They saw an exposed path along the outer wall, but the Darkness swirling along the floor almost made them keep looking for a safer route...until Riku spied a bright patch of pink. "Looks like we've found her. And the other her, too."
Lambda scanned the two girls on the walkway. "Targets confirmed as Kairi and Namine. Alert! New target inbound; identified as Sai'x."
"Well, time to swoop to the rescue!" Riku put up his hood (just to look cool) and proceeded to swoop.
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On the walkway...
Namine pulled Kairi along by the wrist, intent on getting to the Castle's bottom floor. She would have evacuated the world entirely, if not for two things.
First, Sora was here. The reunion between him and Kairi had definitely been delayed too long.
Second, Xemnas' magic defenses prevented anyone from teleporting, even via Dark Corridor, unless Xemnas allowed it. The extent of his control over the fabric of this world was downright terrifying.
Speaking of Dark Corridors, Sai'x appeared from one directly ahead, cutting off the girls' escape route. Two Berserker Nobodies flanked him, blocking the entire walkway. "Ah, the traitor Namine. How nice it is to finally meet you. I'm afraid I cannot allow you to leave, especially not with the Princess."
"You won't stop us here!" Kairi and Namine raised their fists and prepared to fight barehanded if they had to.
Sai'x merely quirked a blue eyebrow. What exactly did these frail girls think they could accomplish like that? "If I had a heart, this would be where I die of laughter. But unfortunately for you, I don-"
*WUMPH!*
Sai'x was tackled off his feet by a girl Kairi had never seen, who came literally flying in from over the edge of the walkway. "Minimal damage inflicted. Primary objective 2: rescue Kairi, in progress. Geez, I'm stuck just tackling people now."
Meanwhile, another man in a Black Coat leapt onto the balcony and made short work of the Berserkers, ripping them apart with a demonic-looking sword.
Kairi had been conditioned by recent events to be wary of people wearing that Black Coat, but she recognized his weapon, somehow. That's right, it was from the impressions she got while she was part of Sora's heart. But that would mean...
The mystery man suddenly bull-rushed Sai'x, slamming him into the castle wall and cutting off Kairi's train of thought. Namine called out, "You can take it from here, Riku!"
Kairi gasped, "Riku?!"
Sai'x grinned and laid a hand on the wall behind him, forming a Dark Corridor to fall into and escape. Riku prepared to give chase...but he was stopped by Kairi grabbing his wrist. "Riku!" She spun him around, noting that he let her have her way just as easily as back then, and removed his intimidating hood.
Ansem's face stared down at her. "What...?"
Riku used Ansem's voice. "It's the fate of those who fall to Darkness." Then he switched back to his normal voice and smiled as warmly as Ansem's face could. "But I'm still me. You can mostly thank Lambda for that."
"Point: Lambda. We're now tied at 11 points each."
Kairi looked over at Lambda. "Oh? Who are you?"
Lambda waved back. "I'm Boundary Interface Prime Field Device #11, Anti-Sankishin Core Unit: Lambda, but you can just call me Lambda. Riku and I have been traveling together...basically ever since you last saw him. We're a couple now."
"Okay, um, Lambda. This is all very sudden..."
Riku rolled his eyes. "I'll tell you all about it later. Meanwhile, we need to get you to Sora and defeat the rest of Organization XIII."
Kairi became even more excited. "Sora's really here?! Did you hear that, Namine? Sora's here!" She grabbed Namine's wrists and bounced up and down...causing Namine to waver like a mirage.
Lambda solemnly asked, "...Is it time, Namine?"
Namine stopped wavering for a moment. "Yes. Kairi, I'm a part of you that you lost a long time ago. Now, it's time for me to go back to where I belong." She closed her eyes, smiled serenely, and began to glow with a white Light that spread over Kairi. Namine vanished, and Kairi suddenly clutched her chest.
"Is she still there?" Lambda asked. "I might need her help with Xion...and I wanted to critique her choice of adventuring clothes. What was that about it being too cold? We're way up in the atmosphere, and you were still in the same dress!"
Namine's soft giggle seemed to resonate from Kairi. "I hear you, Lambda." A translucent image of Namine appeared, standing next to Kairi. "I can still appear like this, but I'm not sure for how long. Just call me when you're near Sora and ready to get to work, and we'll save Xion together."
Kairi smiled at Namine's image. "Hmm...This is a weird arrangement, but I could get used to it. After all, who wouldn't want a friend who's always there?"
Namine giggled and disappeared in another white flash. "Me too. I've always wanted a friend."
"Alright, let's head to Sora! Hang on tight, you two!"
"No no no, please don't drag Kairi along with your super-speed! Is that how you treat a Princess?"
Kairi griped, "I'm not a Princess! Well, I suppose technically, but...it's confusing. I wish I could do all the rough-and-tumble adventuring stuff you and Sora do, but I always get left behind!"
"Well, that's two votes for, one against. Sorry, Lambda."
Control protocol activated. "Affirmative. Prepared for speed burst."
"Here we go!"
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Sora: Head to the Hall of Empty Melodies!
Sora, Donald, and Goofy fought their way through the Castle That Never Was from the bottom up. Along the way, they were attacked by varieties of Nobody that they'd never seen, such as Sorcerers, which just floated in midair and let their eight invincible force-field cubes handle attacking and defending. The cubes wouldn't let up in their attacks when the Sorcerers were hit, and their main body proved immune to every kind of magic Sora tried to throw at them. Still, they were easy enough to dispatch once he got past the cubes' line of defense. Through groups of Sorcerers and an elevator ride plagued by Xaldin's old Dragoons, Sora kept moving. This was the final world to clear before he could finally reunite with Kairi and head back to the Islands with his friends!
The next area was a catwalk and staircase across a surprisingly large empty space. It was like the Castle was mostly hollow. The outer walls loomed around them in the distance...and a Moogle in a Black Coat greeted them from nearby.
"Hello...kupo. Would you like to buy my wares, kupo?"
"Wait, are you with the Organization?"
"That's of no importance, kupo. My associations with them are strictly for the munny, kupo. You have munny too, don't you, kupo?"
"Uh, I guess I do." Sora pulled out the King's munny pouch, now bloated with unspent munny that had been dropped by the Heartless. "I'd like to buy the strongest staff and shield you have in stock for my friends Donald and Goofy."
"One Victory Bell and one Knight Defender, coming right up, kupo. That will be 4000 munny, kupo. Will there be anything else, kupo?"
"Just ten Hi-Potions, please." Sora handed over the munny, the Moogle handed over the goods, and the party was ready to go.
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The Hall of Empty Melodies...
Sora charged ahead onto a large platform surrounded by a deep, dark pit. If the Organization was going to show up, this would be the perfect place...
"Well, done, Sora." Right on cue, Sai'x appeared on a balcony above them. It looked the path through the Castle wrapped around to pass through this room twice. "You've surpassed our expectations."
Sora yelled up at the Nobody, "I don't care about that! Where's Kairi?"
"Who knows? I expect she's catching up with her friend from the Darkness."
"Friend? Who are you talking about?" Donald questioned.
"She doesn't need you anymore," Sai'x explained, still in that utterly calm tone.
"Am I supposed to believe that?!" Because Sora didn't buy that tripe for a second, especially since he'd already spent most of his munny.
"Well, you don't have to...but you can believe this: Organization XIII has no further use for you." Grandiose undertones finally began to creep in underneath Sai'x's glacial calm. "Just look there! Our Kingdom Hearts is nearly complete!" Sai'x swept a hand upward toward a skylight on the ceiling, pointing at the heart-shaped moon hanging in the sky. "Thanks to your struggles against the Heartless created by the Extraction Program, we've collected countless hearts. Can you hear their euphoria?" Sai'x seemed to be getting a little too into this. "Now all they need is one more helping from the Keyblade bearer!" And there was the ultimatum. Sai'x snapped his fingers as usual, and pools of Darkness bloomed on the walls of the room. Shadows dropped down from them in droves; they wouldn't count towards Kingdom Hearts, but a platoon of Armored Knights joined in.
"We gotta fight!" Donald yelled.
"But...Kingdom Hearts!" Sora blocked a sword from an Armored Knight, and was quickly dogpiled under a heap of Shadows. "Get off...!"
"Sora!" That was Kairi's voice! "Sora! It's really you! Hold on, I'm coming!" She leaned over a balcony high above the battle, then fearlessly jumped onto the next lowest level. Still, she was immediately surrounded by Shadows. Driven by his desire to protect her, Sora managed to shake off the Shadows, but was surrounded by the Armored Knights again.
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Riku: A few moments earlier...
Riku's burst of speed led them down a side passage that he didn't really have time to make note of. They ended up on a high balcony overlooking what was obviously an arena. Sai'x and Sora's voices could be heard echoing across from and below them, respectively.
Kairi gushed, "That was amazing! What a rush!"
"At least you had a great time," Lambda grumbled.
Riku raised a hand. "Shh! I think Sora's in trouble!"
Instead of being stealthy, Kairi immediately ran forward, announced her presence to the whole World That Never Was, and jumped off the balcony. When Riku saw her get smothered in Shadows, a protective instinct sparked to life inside him. It was just like back when he was working with Maleficent, but less possessive. After all, he already had a girlfriend...but these monsters had no right to take his other friends, either!
A pink flash of Light briefly illuminated Riku's hand, prompting him to look down...at the girliest Keyblade he'd ever seen, the Destiny's Embrace. It looked like the gardens along the mainland on the Destiny Islands were compressed into a key; it had a predominantly pink color scheme with a blue and a yellow-pink stripe running up the length of the blade. A bundle of colorful wildflowers formed the "teeth" of the Keyblade. The Keychain was a miniature, star-shaped Paopu fruit.
Wielding this weapon would have ruined Riku's reputation forever. Luckily, he could tell it wasn't really his. It was the lost Keyblade from Xemnas' secret room, given a new form for its chosen owner. Its "delivery boy" now had a job to do.
Riku leapt off the edge and cut apart all the Heartless with the Keyblade in the blink of an eye, freeing Kairi from under the pile of monsters. He pulled her to her feet and pressed the Destiny's Embrace into her hand. "Take it; it looks like this Keyblade chose you. Now what will you do with it?"
Kairi gazed reverently down at the weapon in her hands. "This time...I'll fight! C'mon, Riku! You know Sora's totally hopeless without us!" She ran up and slashed at the next Shadows starting to show up, and managed to kill each one she hit in a single swing. Funny; Riku remembered both Sora and himself taking at least three hits to beat any Heartless when they started out. It must have been the work of Kairi's pure Light.
"Yeah. It's just like old times...but better. Looks like you both beat me to it." Riku summoned his own weapon...which wasn't Soul Eater, but a Keyblade of his own!
Riku's Keyblade, the Way to Dawn, looked similar to the Soul Eater, but had a triangular blade instead of a curve. The "teeth" of the Keyblade were a lighter-colored blue angel wing hanging off the tip of the blade, and another pair of wings formed the handguard. The Keychain was the Heartless Emblem-shaped one that he'd found in Castle Oblivion. Those days felt like so long ago...but all Riku's waiting and atoning were finally about to pay off!
Lambda cheered, "I guess she only beat you to it by a little bit, huh? I'm so happy for you, Riku!"
"Thanks. Now we just need to get you a Keyblade of your own, and we'll be all set. Anything's possible!" Riku dashed forward to join Kairi in the fight.
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Side: Sora...
The scene on the balcony overhead boggled Sora's mind a bit. He knew that was Riku up there, but it looked like Kairi and Ansem (the Heartless) were fighting off Shadows with their own Keyblades! "I gotta get up there! Get out of my way!" Sora non-lethally shoved an Armored Knight aside and headed for the next door.
He would have left Donald and Goofy behind, if the problems they faced hadn't started stacking up again all of a sudden. Maleficent's voice resounded from the balcony Riku and Kairi had just vacated. "Why, Pete! This castle is perfect!" The evil fairy appeared in a burst of green flames, as usual.
"Hit the road, girly!" Pete appeared in a puff of smoke and immediately shoved Lambda off the balcony before she had a chance to jump. He then turned his attention to his mistress. "The setup's kinda nice, I guess, but what about all the Heartless? This in-between world's way too close to the Darkness! They ain't gonna listen to us here!"
Maleficent scoffed into a talon-nailed hand. "No matter. We don't need them, nor do we need these so-called Nobodies." She called down at Sora, "Boy! Do you hear me? Sweep these monsters away and destroy Xemnas! Then this castle will be mine!" With a shrill cackle, she vanished into another burst of fire, shortly followed by Pete.
Sai'x, who had been mostly unnoticed in all the hubbub, grimaced and turned away. "Will the intrusions never cease? Number II, it's your turn." Sai'x vanished into a Dark Corridor.
"Now, have you been a good boy?" This call-back to Sora's first encounter with Xigbar preceded a massive hail of arrowgun shots that destroyed all the remaining Heartless, letting their hearts escape. Xigbar appeared from another Dark Corridor. "Huh. It sounds like you haven't. Sora! Roxas!"
"Hey, did he just call me Roxas?" Sora wondered as an aside.
Xigbar continued, "You've really put Organization XIII in a pickle. I guess that must be why the Keyblade chose you. But man, did it pick a dud this time. You don't look like you're half the hero the others were."
"Who's he talking about?" Sora asked Donald.
"Don't listen! He's trying to trick you!" Donald yelled back.
Xigbar shrugged. "Trick you? As if. All I'm trying to tell you, traitor, is that your time. Is. Up!" He swept his hands in an X shape and summoned his arrowguns to his hands, then leapt from the highest balcony straight to the arena, landing lightly. He grinned and hoisted his left arrowgun over his shoulder, while the other hovered near his right hand by his side. "You really shouldn't have betrayed us!"
Another battle began...
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A/N: You can probably tell that the Roxas fight kind of rebuilt itself as I was writing it, but I think the new version is an improvement. Only a few more chapters remain!
The Extraction Program was an idea I've been waiting to include for a long time. The name comes from the Replica Program that created Xion, and the method (cribbed third-hand from Dr. Litchi and Colonel Clover by Xigbar and implemented by Xemnas) by which it draws up the Power of Darkness from the eponymous Realm to be compressed. I knew exactly how it would work, but at first, I had no clue what it should physically look like. Then the obvious answer hit me; it should look like a Cauldron.
To that guest reviewer asking if I would freaking update already: you should probably get used to this pace. I've never been able to go faster than about one update a month. This chapter could have gone on, but I cut it off to be able to post something this month.