A/N: 2.8 trailer looking glorious. Aqua's stuff in the Realm of Darkness is looking amazing, as is the Back Cover movie. And a worldwide release date for the first time in the series! E3 is surely starting off with a bang. Anyway, I'd intended to upload this yesterday but apparently my word documents don't upload anymore for some reason. Had to switch to WordPad. Now that that trouble's out of the way, look forward to the next chapter pretty soon. It's gonna be a doozy.


Chapter 85

The King and All His Men

"Sir! Sir!" Eleftheria called, waving to her boss from the entrance. The other journalists in the room looked, either surprised at her outburst or annoyed. She ignored them and waited for her boss to come over to her.

"What is it, Hollenbeck?" her boss asked. Kevin Crescent was a middle aged man in the process of balding. He wasn't exactly the fittest of people but then again, that wasn't exactly what he was known for. He had been one of the people along with his mother covering the protests a quarter of a decade back. He had rose high up the ranks to become a senior content producer at the Alexander Times.

"I know it's my day off but I got a really good story lined up and it needs to make the paper by this evening," Eleftheria insisted.

"You know how close to the deadline you are? There's not enough time to write anything let alone delay the paper just to publish your little story," Crescent said.

"Little? You haven't even seen it yet. It's big, I assure you. Headline, certainly. See for yourself." Eleftheria took out the two pieces of paper that Sora had handed her and gave them over to him.

He swapped between them every few seconds before lowering them so he could see her gaze. "Office."

Eleftheria eagerly nodded and followed him past the desks of her colleagues to the room in the back. Kevin saw her in before closing the door.

"What is this?" he asked, showing her the papers again.

"Okay, so the first is a manifesto of all the cargo coming in and out of the Turm des Himmels. You'll notice that there's a company on there that isn't officially registered among the list of companies recognized in Alexander, meaning legally they're not allowed to operate or trade in any way. The fact that the Turm des Himmels is doing business with an illegal company is pretty big news. Then there's the letter. I didn't believe it either at first but that comes directly from the royal palace. It's a letter expressing interest in something called Project Rebirth. Not only that, but suspiciously enough, on the day that the murder of those eighteen scientists happened, no one else was present at the Turm des Himmels that day. In fact, one of the demands in that letter states that anyone who wasn't a scientist working in the basement that day shouldn't be working. That brings up two major points. One of them, we were led to believe that all of the bodies were found immediately upon entering the building, but this suggests that the bodies may not have originally been there-"

"Eleftheria, Eleftheria. Deep breaths. Slow down," Crescent offered.

Eleftheria nodded and relaxed a bit before continuing. "Okay, so a basement was mentioned in the letter, but that's something that technically doesn't exist on the official floor plan. It's a secret. So, here's my theory. The scientists were killed, not on the first floor, but in the basement, and then were moved up one floor to the entrance. That was obviously done to cover up the fact that the basement exists as well as to make sure the bodies were found. Secondly, it implicates the King as being suspect in this thing. There was no reason for him to expressly demand that everyone else in the tower not be there on that day. This could be the biggest scandal in the history of Alexander."

"Uh huh. And, where did you find these from?" Crescent asked.

"Er, that's…" Eleftheria had nothing to say. She couldn't tell him that she had gotten the information from two random people who had broken into the tower.

Crescent sighed and shook his head. "Really? Eleftheria, what are the tenets of journalism?"

"A tenant?" Eleftheria joked, but at Crescent's glare, she backed down and recited, "Truth and accuracy, humility, independence, impartiality, accountability-"

"Ah, right there— accountability. What you've just done?" Crescent whistled and threw the papers on his desk. "Right out the window. Did it occur to you while you were on your crusade to score a big hit that maybe, just maybe, you might be breaking the law in doing so?"

"Uh, I don't think you're seeing the bigger picture here."

"No, you're not seeing it. You come in at office hours and you start screaming down the place calling for me, then you produce evidence which you've just taken from a currently active crime scene. I- I can't publish these," Crescent said.

"But this is serious!"

"It doesn't matter what you think it is. What matters is whether the newspaper gets investigated for breaking into a building and obstructing justice."

"Obstructing justice? By not publishing this, you're obstructing justice. The people deserve to know the truth and the police aren't telling them the full story, heck, the royal palace has something to do with this and unless we break the story, they won't be investigated," Eleftheria said.

"So my understanding is that you'd see law and order crumble just to cover your story? Because that's what will happen. Mass hysteria among the public."

"You can't be serious. So because the truth will hurt, we should keep it away from them?"

"If you want to keep your job, yes," Crescent said. "Listen, Eleftheria, I don't want to lose you. I really don't. You're one of the best we have on the team-"

"If I'm one of the best then why do you keep giving me small articles to write?" Eleftheria yelled. "I want to go out there and make a difference. When a person's life is in danger from miscarriages of justice, I want to help them. I want them to be able to have a voice. Why am I stuck covering crap like hockey and tea parties?"

"Because you still have a lot to learn. I put you in that area because there's more to life than big headlines and gloomy moments. There are small and happy moments that are just as important. Now, with all the recent attacks by those creatures in black, that's more important than ever now," Crescent said.

"Oh, you know very well that those columns don't get many views," Eleftheria said.

"Not many, it's true. But if even one person were to find your story interesting, don't you think that would matter?" Crescent asked.

Eleftheria looked past him and up at the wall where several of the breaking news stories he had covered were pinned on the wall in frames. It only seemed the fuel her passionate drive more than before.

"I don't understand. I don't understand the point of being a journalist if the truth we seek is unable to be shared with others? The people have to know. They have a right to know and you don't have the right to hide that from them. If you won't help me, then I'll do it myself," she said. She turned her back on him and left the room without a further word. As she strutted out of the office to the looks of curious faces, she sighed inwardly. She may have just pulled the plug on her career.


The royal palace of Alexander stood golden and proud in a secluded portion of Alexander. Sora and Celes had traversed some ways from the main city just to get there. Its walls, usually white and made of plaster, were now lit up, giving a faint golden glow in contrast to the evening sky. At the very top of the palace on its highest tower was a magnificent spire different the smaller ones surrounding it. According to Celes, that was the old belfry, where a single solitary bell that had once been used every single day now remained forever stationary.

"I can't believe we're doing this. I mean, the king of Alexander? Involved in this?" Celes asked as they made their way across the bridge to the outer perimeter gates.

"You can still walk away. I'd hate for you to be implicated as a criminal," Sora said.

"I already told you, I made up my mind long ago. I'll see this through to the end with you," Celes replied. Sora nodded and retreated to his own thoughts for the remainder of their walk. He had been wondering for a while whether Luna was doing okay but there was something that was deeply concerning him. Why would the King even know about Luna in the first place, assuming he was behind all this? If he was in some way working with KRONOS then what had they offered him that was so worth him doing all this? If he wasn't, then there was another possibility, being that someone was using the King's name to cover for their own identity.

Sora stopped at the gate and looked uneasily at the tall men in fully clad armor.

"State your business, citizens," the guard on the left said.

"We want an audience with His Highness," Celes stated, more forwardly than Sora would have preferred.

"His highness isn't seeing anyone at the moment. I'll have to ask you to come back another time," the guard said.

"We don't have another time. It's very important. We… we have reason to believe that someone is conspiring against his highness," Celes tried the first thing she could think of.

"Wait a second…" The second guard walked over to Celes and inspected her closely before withdrawing. "You're Celes Chere! Wow, I… can't believe this. Can I have your autograph? My daughter's a big fan."

"Sure, I guess," Celes said, shifting her eyes over to Sora and then back at the guard. "But if I can get an audience with the king in return, that would be wonderful."
"Of course! That's fine, right?" The guard asked his other.

"You know we were given express permission by King Cecil to not allow anyone in this week."

"Oh, come on. Do this for me, buddy. I'll make it up to you."

The first guard sighed and relented, pushing open his side of the gate. The other guard grinned at this and helped with his own side. When he was done, he looked back at Celes.

"I'll take you to the audience chamber. Just keep in mind that King Cecil has been acting rather… strangely as of late."

"Strange? How so?" Celes asked.

"Can't say. He just seems… colder nowadays. There's no happiness in his voice anymore. I think the queen's worried too."

"That's enough out of you, Rand. Just take them to the audience chamber and don't make me regret this," said the first guard. Rand smiled at him and headed inwards with Sora and Celes.

Celes waited until they were far off from the first guard before asking, "So when did you first notice a change in his behavior?"

"His Highness's? I honestly can't say. I think at one point I remember him being struck with a strange illness. He was bedridden and Queen Rosa had to take on all of his duties. When he came back, he seemed alright at first but it was like he started to get more and more frustrated at something by the day. I can't remember how far back that was though. Almost a year, I'd reckon," Rand answered. "But I really only know what I've heard. I shouldn't speculate."

"It's alright, we don't want to get you into any trouble," Celes assured him. They cut across the courtyard and entered into the main the building. The main hall's interior was as intricately designed as its exterior. Ruby red carpets with flowery patterns ran across the room and up the stairs to their left and right. Priceless antiques, statues carved out of marble and other extravagant ornaments were a part of the room's décor. Sora felt like he was completely out of his league in this place. He had been to palaces and castles before but this seemed incredibly different from the simple yet elegant nature of, say, the Imperial Palace in Mulan's world.

"His majesty is just through these doors," Rand said, pointing to the big white doors ahead with handles of golden brass. "I'll be here when you get back. I have a photo of me and my daughter that I'll go and get in the meantime."

"Thank you," Celes said. She watched as he hurried off before turning to Sora. "So how are we going to go about this? If he really is related to this, we can't just waltz on in and demand that he gives us answers."

"I'm still thinking about that. Let's just go in and see where it takes us," Sora suggested.

"Does that usually work for you?" Celes asked.

"Mostly," Sora said. Wrapping his hands around the door, he pulled open the door to find a long hallway with paintings of what he assumed were previous rulers of the throne. "Talk about gaudy."

"Really? I think it's quite nice. Offers a taste of history," Celes said.

"Well I've never been a fan of history so that makes sense," Sora replied. He didn't really think was anything exciting in the history of the Destiny Islands that was really that worth talking about. He was sure that wasn't true though for bigger cities like this one. Learning about Atlantis in Mirage's book had been pretty interesting to him.

"There's the father of Queen Rosa and the last king. Cidolphus the third. He passed away five years ago so the monarchs now are pretty new," Celes explained, stopping at the last painting in the room for a moment.

"Handsome guy. Hey, what if they run out of space in this room for paintings. That would sure suck for the person next in line, huh?" Sora asked in jest.

"I really don't think the line of succession will get that far along. Change is happening at all too fast a pace now and I imagine in a few years the monarchy will become irrelevant. Rumors say that King Cecil and Queen Rosa are preparing the transition into a more efficient system of rule," Celes said. "But I don't want to think that whatever they've been doing in the Turm des Himmels ties into that plan."

Sora and Celes stopped in front of another door at the end of the hallway. This time, the door led to a large audience chamber with a red carpet leading them straight towards two chairs. Other than King Cecil and Queen Rosa, there were only two other people in the room—two who Celes recognized very well.

Zorn and Thorn turned as they heard the door close behind Sora and Celes, as did Cecil and Rosa who looked up interestedly.

"Zorn and Thorn. Well, that confirms it," Celes whispered to Sora as they continued their walk down the aisle.

"Uh, who's who?" Sora questioned, unable to tell which jester was which.

"Zorn is the one in blue with the spade and club on his arms. Thorn is red," Celes replied. The sounds of bells jingling as they swayed from left to right grew louder as they approached the four in the room. Zorn and Thorn split apart, taking either side of the raised steps that led to the throne chairs. Though they were out of Sora and Celes' way, they could still feel their glares being directed at them, mainly at Celes.

"I'm afraid this is a surprise. I can't say I was expecting any visitors," Cecil said, his cheek resting lazily on the back of his hand.

"Your majesty, we've come to you with a message," Sora was first to say. "I have reason to believe that the girl you have in interrogation at the moment, the one who was purportedly responsible for those murders at the Turm des Himmels, is actually innocent. As such, we've come to ask you if you can grant her freedom."

Cecil gazed down at Thorn before looking back at them with intrigue in his eyes. "And what evidence do you have to suggest that she be exempt from her crime?"

"We've found evidence of a setup," Sora chose his words carefully. He could feel the weight of the king's stare on him as if challenging him. "We believe that Luna was placed after the fact. After the murder, I mean."

"A setup? This is a very grave matter, if you are right. Who then is responsible for this? Do you have any leads?" Cecil asked.

"A group that has been infiltrating different worlds. Their name is KRONOS," Sora said. "They're as criminal as they come, your majesty."

"I… can't say I've ever heard of this KRONOS, but I'll have an alert sent to my general immediately to be on the lookout," Celes said.

"As you should, your majesty. And Luna?"

"I can't promise anything, but I'll see what I can do. You do have the evidence with you, don't you?" Cecil asked.

"Oh, I can't at moment. It's in the hands of someone else. A journalist friend of mine," Sora revealed. It would soon be safe to put his plan into motion.

"A journalist, you say? I'm not sure that was the best idea. Papers these days can take even the straightest of information and exaggerate them just for sales," Cecil said. "You don't think you could bring them back for me, could you?"

"Well there's no rush. And you know what, you're right. What was I thinking having a journalist take the evidence? Shouldn't the evidence go to the police first? They're the ones on the case after all," Sora rambled, pretending to go off in his own little world.

"If you give the evidence to his majesty, we will handle it," Zorn said to his right.

"Handle it, we will!" Thorn agreed with an eager nod of his head.

"And who are you two supposed to be?" Sora asked, looking unimpressed.

"We are-"

"They are my advisors. They assist with daily matters and policy," Cecil interrupted before either of the two could speak. "I must say, I can help if you would just let me. It is as they say, I can look into KRONOS but the evidence will make things easier. "

"You know what? On second thought, I'd hate to take time off from your busy schedule. We'll just be going now," Sora said. He turned as if about to leave but stopped and turned back. It was time to spring his trap. "You know, it's strange…"

"Strange? What exactly is strange?" Cecil asked impatiently.

"No, it's just… I don't recall you raising any objection to what I mentioned, about there being other worlds?" Sora reminded him. A voice in his head was screaming at him to celebrate his little victory but he knew better than that. He wasn't out of the woods just yet.

"Oh!" was all Cecil could muster.

"And your evidence that you seem to desperately want all so much, probably to burn it, I reckon but don't quote me on that… it just happens to be a certain letter that was sent to Casel Harbor seven days before the murder took place in the Turm des Himmels. I don't think I need to tell you what was in the letter or who wrote it, do I?"

"I can't say I know about any letter," Cecil replied. "If you've come here to accuse me of something, do say it out loud and clear."

Darn, he's fast, Sora thought. He had to double up on his attack and fast.

"What he's saying, Your Highness, is that you are in collusion with KRONOS," Celes announced in his place.

"Celes, watch yourself," Zorn warned with narrow eyes.

"Watch yourself, you should," Thorn said, copying his twin in all but color.

"No, I've had it with you two controlling me. I don't care what you have on me, I won't let you bully me anymore. I want you out of my life," Celes said. She looked up at Cecil. "These two have been blackmailing me since the start of my career. Was it you who was giving them orders?"

"Cecil… is this true?" Rosa asked, speaking up for the first time. Her calm and soothing voice was a great contrast to the cold and harsh tone of her husband.

"My dear, Rosa, of course it isn't. Would you believe the word of those who only wish to sully the crown's name over mine? Those who, by the way, can seem to produce no evidence at the moment," Cecil said.

"What we speak is nothing but the truth, Queen Rosa. If you've noticed any sort of change of your husband as of late, it's important for us to know," Celes said.

"Are you trying to turn my wife against me? You are already stepping on thin ice, Miss Chere. Don't make it any thinner," Cecil warned darkly.

"Then I'll step on it for her," Sora said, taking a step forward. "I killed those people."

"Sora!" Celes yelled in protest, but Sora held up a hand.

"Well? What do you think? I killed all eighteen. Come on, think about it. Luna's a small fish compared to the ultimate prize. If KRONOS wants me out of the picture, here I am. Arrest me and set her free. Please," Sora begged.

The line of Cecil's mouth curved upwards and he leaned forward. "Let's see… interesting proposition, but I'll have to say no. Luna will be tried for her crimes and you will be tried for yours, namely conspiracy against the monarch and obstruction of justice. Oh, we can also add theft to that little list considering the evidence you've managed to supposedly pluck out."

"What else do you want? Aren't I enough? Let Luna go! She didn't do it," Sora yelled.

"And you did? Do you expect me to believe that? The murder weapon used doesn't bare your fingerprints, unless you're telling me you wiped it clean and then put your own friend's prints on it after," Cecil said. He looked down at Thorn. "Fetch the guards for me."

"Stop."

Thorn was about to leave his place when the foreign intervention halted him in his bouncing. Everyone looked up to see Rosa standing in a guarded stance with a staff in her hands. Her body and eyes were focused on Cecil's.

"Rosa? What are you doing?" Cecil asked slowly.

"They're right, Cecil. You've changed. I've had this feeling for a while now. One day I woke up, and it was as if the man I knew had become someone else. There was no rhyme or reason for it either. The Cecil I knew was kind, warm and loving of his people. It only took until now for me to confirm my suspicions. You are not the Cecil I fell in love with," Rosa said.

"Rosa, how could I be anyone else?" Cecil reached out for her but, to his dismay, Rosa backed away slightly at his touch. His eyes flickered over to Sora and Celes with an anger that had not been there before. "So you'd even turn Rosa against me? The Keyblade Master really does stoop low."

"They are not at fault, Cecil. You've only yourself to blame," Rosa said. "Give me back my Cecil!"

"Besides, you are really not helping your case here. Keyblade Master? Really?" Sora asked.

"Hmph. I've had enough of the clownery. And I had such high expectations for you, Celes. To see you wash it down the drain makes me truly disheartened," Cecil said, standing up.

"I don't need your admiration," Celes replied. She pulled Save the Queen out from under her cloak and readied it.

"So you'd strike down your own king?" Cecil's chuckle slowly transitioned into mad laughter. He soon stopped and clicked his fingers. "Zorn. Thorn. Take care of them."

"You're gonna bring in the jester brigade? And here I thought you said you had enough of clownery," Sora said.

Zorn and Thorn looked at each other, snickering in response. They met back up at the front of the steps and leaned into one another. A green aura surrounded them, lighting up the entire room. Sora summoned the Kingdom Key and got into his stance, watching as two bodies merged into one. The product that stood in front of them now was a strange fusion of Zorn and Thorn that looked entirely different at the same time. Two purple heads emerged out of one body. Their faces were no longer human, but ghoulish and deformed, as if they were about to melt at any moment.

"Er, is it too late to take back my sassy comment?" Sora asked. The strange deformation ran forward and slugged him in the face, throwing him into the air and sending him onto the ground a few feet away from the throne.

"Sora!" Celes called after him. She quickly turned just as Zorn and Thorn approached her and ducked under their aiming arm before bringing her sword upwards. Her attack seemed to inflict little more than a wound and she had to quickly dodge out of the way as they took a swipe at her again.

"Not good," Sora said, as he stood back up. His journey up the Turm des Himmels had taken its toll even more than he had expected. He made to run towards Zorn and Thorn's back and slashed at them. As the combined duo turned to meet him, they received another blow from behind, this time by Celes. Sora and Celes took turns, alternating sides every once in a while, in beating down the hulking figure bit by bit.

Zorn and Thorn soon threw their arms up, a massive chunk of ice appearing in the air. Sora rolled out of the way quickly as the ice hit the spot where he had once been and split off into differences sizes and shapes. He held the Keyblade up quickly and knocked one of the shards back at Zorn and Thorn. The shard flew forward and lodged itself deep inside the monster's throat. The monster staggered about as it tried to get the piece out of its neck. Sora quickly ran and jumped towards it, hooking one of the heads in his arms before throwing himself forward, sending him and the monster down on the ground.

"Get back!" Sora heard Rosa yell from the throne. He scrambled away from Zorn and Thorn and got back up on his feet as the queen raised her staff.

"Let your light shine on that which is impure. Holy!" Rosa chanted. A white ball of light flew out of her staff and hit Zorn and Thorn, blinding the room in white light. When it disappeared, Zorn and Thorn had separated and were unmoving on the floor.

Sora attempted to stand up properly when Cecil moved swiftly behind Rosa and grabbed her by the waist.

"Cecil!"

"Queen Rosa! Let her go!" Celes yelled.

"And lose my only bargaining chip? I don't think so," Cecil said.

"This darkness… you're not… Cecil…" Rosa quivered out in fright.

"Tell me something. What is Project Rebirth?" Sora asked. He could only think of stalling for time at the moment as he tried to figure out a way to get Rosa away safely.

"I'm not really interested in discussing such matters with someone who won't be there to see it come to fruition," Cecil said. He looked past them upon hearing the sound of the door opening once more. "Ah, the guards are here and I didn't even have to call for them. Guards, please arrest- huh?"

Sora furrowed his brow and looked around with his head before spinning his entire body with it. Luna moved down the aisle slowly, her eyes jaded at first though as she got closer, Sora could tell that they were completely glossed over. Her mouth was also moving but she was speaking so inaudibly that he couldn't tell what she was trying to say.

"Luna? Why are you here?" Sora asked. She stopped and summoned Dream Seeker, aiming it up at Rosa and Cecil.

"No, stop. Sora, stop her right now!" Cecil commanded. Sora moved to stop her, not for the benefit of Cecil but for fear of her hurting Rosa, but it was too late. Two bolts of dark emerged soared out from the tip of her Keyblade and hurtled past Sora. At the last moment, Cecil did something that no one had expected. He pushed Rosa away and took the bolts full force, collapsing to the ground.

Sora ran up to Luna and placed his hands on her cheeks. "Luna? Luna, look at me."

She did. The light was slowly returning to her eyes. "Sora…? Did I save you?"

"Luna!" Sora yelled as her eyes closed, falling unconscious into his arms. He looked up to see Yuna, Rikku and Paine flying into the room towards them. "What happened to her?"

"We have no idea. It was like she was possessed or something. She left the room and knocked out the guard who was standing outside," Yuna started.

"We tried talking to her, you know, but she wouldn't listen," Rikku continued.

"After a while, we just decided on following her. We had to take out the guards around here with sleep magic quickly so that she wouldn't harm them," Paine finished.

Sora nodded and turned his attention back to Luna. Ostensibly, nothing particular was worthy of being worried over—in fact, she looked more peaceful now than she had when Sora had last seen her. It would have been a great comfort to him if he hadn't just witnessed the last minute or so.

Over at the throne, he could see Cecil beginning to get up. He slowly lay Luna down and told the Gullwings to look after her. Standing up, he proceeded to walk over to him when Cecil's voice made him pause.

"Urgh, where am I?"

"Cecil? Cecil, is that you?" Rosa asked.

"I'd certainly hope so. I have quite the headache at the moment. Rosa, what are you doing over there? And… who are you? Wait, Celes Chere, right?" Cecil asked, acknowledging the girl who was holding Rosa up by the arm.

"Yes, sir. Your Highness, you do remember what happened a short while ago, don't you?" Celes asked.

Cecil narrowed his eyes as if trying to remember, only to let out a sigh at the end. "I can't. It's like there's this… gap. The last thing I remember, truth be told, is being ill in bed. The nurse came in and handed me a drink… I thought it was strange at the time. I had never seen that particular nurse before but… she said you hired her, Rosa."

"I don't recall hiring a new nurse for you," Rosa said.

"I think I can guess what happened," Sora said. "KRONOS somehow got in and slipped you something. At that point, they took over your actions."

"Kronos? Who's that?" Cecil asked with genuine confusion on his face.

"Yep, that's what I thought," Sora confirmed. "You were being brainwashed or something similar. How long ago was that? Can you remember?"

"I don't know. Must have been… nine months back?" Cecil recalled.

"But wait, I don't get it. Celes, you said Zorn and Thorn have been blackmailing you for a while now, right?" Sora asked.

"Yes. I was fourteen when I first met them," Celes answered.

"Then, it couldn't be His Highness who was ordering them to do it. KRONOS also didn't exist around that time, I don't think. Did they?" Sora muttered mainly to himself. There was still something he didn't understand here. There was someone else working behind the scenes, and he bet anything it tied to the mysterious 'XE' company on the Turm des Himmel's manifesto. He wanted to think about it, but he just remembered he had an unconscious girl in his arms. "Oh, Your Highness. You probably didn't realize this, but my friend here was falsely imprisoned for the murder of eighteen scientists at the Turm des Himmels. I'm pretty sure KRONOS had you set up the whole thing to frame her."

"I'm afraid you have me confused about this entire thing. It's a lot to take in and I feel like, while your words make sense to me, they don't at the same time. It's like my mind's playing tricks on me," Cecil said. "But if what you say is true, then I am at fault here. That I would do something like that to your friend is truly incomprehensible to me, and I deeply apologize. Myself or not, I should not so easily have succumbed," Cecil said. He attempted to bow but winced and fell back onto the ground, hunched up and clutching his sides.

Rosa rushed over to his side and allowed him to lean on her shoulder. "You need to rest."

"I need to rectify… the mistakes I've made," Cecil said.

"Don't be foolish. That wasn't you. I'm just glad I have the real Cecil back now," Rosa whispered, planting a light kiss on his forehead.

"Not to interrupt the lovey dovey moment or anything but, what are we going to do now?" Rikku asked Sora. "Luna kinda played a get out of jail free card."

"Right, they'll be looking for her," Celes said, walking over to them.

"It's not a worry. I'll have the police stand down and will explain everything to them," Rosa said. "Right now however, you may not wish to be seen in the public eye with her. We'll put her and Cecil in the infirmary for now. Celes, is it alright if I ask you to help me with Cecil?"

"Sure, ma'am," Celes said.

"Alright then, I've got Luna," Sora said. He walked back over to her and wrapped her arm around his neck as he tried to get her into a standing position. He waited for Celes and Rosa to get a good grip of Cecil before starting down the aisle back to the door.

"He's ready to see you now." The group turned around and looked to see Zorn and Thorn looking up at them. Despite now being separate, their voices acted in unison as they talked. "He wants the Keyblade wielders to go to the basement of the Turm des Himmels. Just the two of you, alone. There, you will find paradise."

Sora exchanged looks with Celes and Rosa before looking back. "And if I say no?"

"If you want to see a friend once lost, you will," the duo said. They soon fell silent and unconscious once again. It was like they had just been possessed.

"Let's just… keep going," Sora said to the others.


Kairi arrived in the cockpit of the Highwind only moments after she had been woken up by Max. She looked out the windshield to see a large city down below. They had arrived at Notre Dame with no time to spare thanks to the Warp speed Gummi installed on their ship. She couldn't even begin to imagine how frustrating it would be to find this world or Twilight Town again, especially with all the background radiation interfering with their signals.

"How long was I asleep?" Kairi asked.

"Six hours, give or take," Max said, watching as Kairi pressed a few buttons on the touchscreen in front of them.

"Weather conditions: Unreadable? That's strange," Kairi said.

"So Kefka's definitely down there?"

Kairi turned around to see Elsa standing just outside the room looking nervous. She smiled at her in an effort to reassure the both of them.

"I think so. Once we take down him, it's finally over," Kairi said. "Don't worry, we'll put KRONOS' plan to a stop together."

"That's the thing I wanted to talk to you about. I should have told you this before but I was spending so much time getting reacquainted with my sister that it kind of slipped my mind," Elsa said.

"It's okay. What's wrong?" Kairi asked.

"Well, you've been led to believe for a while now that Kefka was the leader of KRONOS, but that's not true. When we went to break Kefka out back in Radiant Garden, one of the other people with me, Shego, was supposed to make contact with David Xanatos. He's the one who took over the organization after Maleficent passed away."

Kairi stared dumbfounded at Elsa for a while. Her eyes soon travelled over to Max and then fell upon Riku's statue before returning to Elsa once again. It seemed Riku had been right to be suspicious of Xanatos and his ever growing closeness to Sora. She honestly hadn't thought much of his interactions together, after all, why would she ever think much of a conversation between a therapist and his patient? If Riku were here, this is where he would say "I told you so," with a massive cocky grin on his face.

"I… kind of got the impression someone as insane as Kefka wouldn't be able to run something like KRONOS so efficiently. I really should have listened to Riku…" she said, putting her hand on her forehead.

"His and KRONOS' plan was to get you guys and Moira's Crescent to fight with each other. With you both destroying one another, KRONOS could enact a plan, Project Rebirth, it's called," Elsa explained.

"Project Rebirth…" Kairi repeated.

"I don't really know much about it. Xanatos has been pretty secretive. All I can tell you is that it's a plan to rebuild the world. To create paradise," Elsa said. "It sounds crazy, doesn't it?"

"Crazy? That's an understatement," Kairi said. She took her Wayfinder out of her pocket. "But I need to get in contact with someone at Radiant Garden then if Xanatos really is the threat you say he is."

She was about to speak into the Wayfinder when Lea burst out into the room at full speed.

"Lea? What's wrong?" Kairi asked.

Lea gritted his teeth and slammed his hand into the wall behind him. "Xion's nowhere on the ship. She's gone!"


A/N: So for the purposes of this story, Eleftheria's arc is pretty much done. Yep, it's incomplete, but we'll see her again... eventually. As for the reveal of KRONOS leader, let's just say I pretty much told you who it was at the start because there was no way you wouldn't be able to see him as anything but a villain if you've watched Gargoyles. Since it's kind of obvious, please have fun watching as the characters themselves figure it out. You won't have to wait long for that either.