The Road to Dawn
By Ariana
Aislinn
Chapter 28: Heart's Release
Yet again, I need to thank my beta readers - but this time so much more! Thanks to Perhelediel for doing the first reading and helping me get an idea of the initial reaction, and huge thanks to Megumi for putting up with my repeated requests for her to read and reread the chapter until it was absolutely perfect. I think I've finally come up with something that's fairly close to perfect...hopefully!
One important thing before we get to the chapter - I committed a terrible fanfic faux pas. I changed my mind about something I've already posted. I had been waffling back and forth on how to present Darkside, and I finally made a decision about his personality - but that meant I needed to go back and edit all the chapters that previously had him in them, to fix his speech. If you're interested, you can go back and reread chapters 19, 22, and 23 to see what I've changed...or just read on to see what he's like here! I hope it all works.
Well, on to the chapter...even if I am the author and all (and therefore very biased), I still do think you're in for a real treat!
Standard disclaimer: Kingdom Hearts and its characters are the property of Square-Enix and Disney, not me.
"How'd you get here, Darkside? And what is it you want this time?" Roxas spat the words out, disgust in his expression - but also fear. Kairi couldn't help but notice that his hands trembled as he held the Keyblade.
"How did I get here? Come on, Roxas - you know I control the powers of darkness. Fortunately, it turns out the powers of twilight aren't much different, if you just work at it long enough."
"Yeah, but your control sucks."
"Laugh at your own risk, kid." Darkside shrugged. "That toy of yours won't do you much good. Remember the last time we fought?" He grinned. "I didn't realize how much you enjoyed being completely thrashed. I can't think of any other reason you'd dare stand in my way."
"Well, I guess I'm just an idiot then, huh? Still, I think you're the bigger idiot, since you were stupid enough to come back here."
"Empty threats, and you know it." Darkside's eyes flashed from within the hood, and he swept his gaze across the little group. "Naminé - I'm surprised to see you here." Barely restrained fury touched his voice. "I think it's high time you returned home."
Naminé shook her head, raising her chin defiantly. "I am home, Darkside." She smiled. "No one can take that away from me, either, though you certainly tried to."
"Well, you do what you have to." He shrugged casually. "But we don't have time to chat - I've got a lot to do, and if you have any brains at all, Roxas, you'll stop waving that thing at me. I have no idea where you got it, but you're sure as hell not going to stop me, not when I'm so close to the Door to Darkness."
"Door to Darkness?" Sora turned to Roxas. "But it's locked. There's no way he can open it," he whispered.
"Not the same way Ansem did, no," Roxas muttered, "but there might be other ways."
The malicious grin was audible in Darkside's voice, who had apparently overheard them. "Oh, I think you underestimate Ansem…and me. It's not so hard to reopen the Door to Darkness, so long as you can find the right place to do it. Now, come on, out of my way. I've got business in the mansion."
"You'll never be able to do it, even if you get inside." Roxas gritted his teeth, gripping the Keyblade tightly.
Sora nodded in agreement. "If you think you can open the Door to Darkness, you're wrong! You'll never get what you need."
"What, you mean the princesses?" Darkside's voice was mocking. "Haven't you heard about my new friends?" He gestured, and suddenly darkness rose up behind him, forming into a swirling mass that coalesced into a line of silhouettes. Sora started, realizing he had seen this before - Riku had once created a shadow version of Sora and set it to fight him. These shadows, however, bore the silhouetted shapes of the six princesses he had met in his travels.
Darkside turned his gaze on Kairi. "I was going to create seven assistants from the darkness, but my luck today is just far too good to be believed. It looks as if I'll have a true princess after all, to guide me in using the other princesses' power. It's good to see you again, Kairi. Your grandmother is very worried about you, you know." He tsked disapprovingly. "Maybe I should take you back to her? Of course, before I do, I need you to focus the princesses' power for me." Darkside stepped towards Kairi, but Sora slid into place before him, the Keyblade raised defensively as he glared fiercely at the man. Darkside laughed. "Tell me, Keyblade master - do you know what's most essential to opening the Door to Light?" He took another slow step forward, obviously taking pleasure in drawing this out as long as possible. "You, boy. The first of the Keyblade masters. You're the one destined to open the door, so if I want that door to remain sealed…" He laughed menacingly.
"Not gonna happen, Darkside!" Roxas spat out.
"What, you think you can stop me?" Darkside shook his head. "I have no time for you, kid. Here, go play." He snapped his fingers, and a group of Nobodies broke ranks, swarming toward Roxas.
Roxas brought the Keyblade up, deflecting the first attack. Sora ran forward to assist him, slashing out at a Nobody with his own Keyblade.
Darkside laughed. "Wonderful - you two just have fun while I take care of business." He turned to look at Sora. "As you said, Keyblade master, opening the Door to Darkness won't be easy - especially since you sealed it. In addition to the princesses' power - which was no easy feat to duplicate, I'll tell you - and your friend Kairi to guide their power, I'll need a Keyblade, and a Keyblade master." He grinned maliciously, obviously enjoying himself. "It's all the same to me whether you come willingly or not." Another snap of his fingers, and more Nobodies rose up out of the ground, their silver bodies undulating closer to Sora, Roxas, and the two girls.
The four of them were surrounded, now, with Darkside standing to one side, obviously toying with them as he casually watched them fight the horde of attacking silver forms. Roxas struck out with the Keyblade of Twilight, handling it awkwardly but managing to hold his own, at least for the moment. Sora followed suit with his own Keyblade, while Kairi flung weak reflection spells around them. Though designed to deflect magic, they seemed to have some limited ability to shield against physical attacks, as well. It didn't take long for the spells to fail, however, and Kairi had to leap back as the first few shattered like breaking glass under the Nobody assault.
"Kairi," Sora panted, trying to push back the agonizing hum in his limbs as he fought, "get behind me!"
She nodded as Sora struck out at the Nobodies, closing the distance between them. She joined him, and they stood back to back as they fought. Sora winced, trying to ignore the pain from his badly-planned trip through twilight, and Kairi threw spells breathlessly, her heart pounding.
"Get out of here, Sora," panted Roxas, inexpertly managing to take down another Nobody just before it reached Naminé, who was attempting to fend off another small group of Nobodies with her sketchbook.
"But - he's going to reopen the Door to Darkness!" Sora protested.
"Right, but you heard what he said - he needs Kairi to do it, and he also needs you. He needs a princess, a Keyblade, and a Keyblade master, and all of those are right here. If you leave, now, he can't open the door! Look, I've never done it before, but…with the Keyblade I think I can make enough of a portal for you to get through. But you've gotta hurry, so take Naminé and Kairi and go!"
"But - " Sora's protest was cut off as he struck out at yet another Nobody. These things move way too fast! he thought to himself in frustration.
"Naminé, get out of here!" Roxas yelled. The girl brought down her sketchbook on a Nobody's head, stunning it long enough for Roxas to take it out. She merely shook her head, ignoring him as he tried to push her in Sora's direction with his free hand.
Sora heard a scream. Whirling about, he saw a line of Heartless forming right between him and Kairi. They advanced on her, driving her back toward the gate to the mansion. Shaken, she threw a few weak reflection spells at them, but the spells didn't hold long before the creatures' dark claws broke through. Sora hesitated, glancing at Roxas and Naminé, who were barely holding back the Nobodies.
Darkside laughed. "What'll you do, kid? Oh, choices, choices! Who to aid?"
Roxas grabbed Sora by the collar and shoved him in Kairi's direction. "Go on, go help her out. I'll get Naminé to follow while I buy you time."
Sora held his ground, though he stared with clenched teeth at Kairi as she threw more spells in front of her, blocking the Heartless attacks - for the moment. "We can't leave you behind, Roxas."
"Yes, you can." Roxas slashed through the throng of Nobodies, pushing them back, then leaned in close to Sora. "I already told you, Sora - Darkside needs a true Keyblade master. I'm getting tired of repeating myself. You're the one destined to open the Door to Light, and you're also able to open the Door to Darkness. Darkside will use that. And then, once the Door to Darkness is reopened - he'll kill you, Sora, to stop you from opening the Door to Light. If you stay here, you're dead…and so are the rest of us, sooner or later. You have to go, now."
Sora gave Roxas an agonized look, but Kairi let out another cry, and he whirled around. "I'm coming, Kairi! Hold on!" Darting forward, he slashed at the Nobodies and the Heartless that blocked his path, ignoring the steady hum that coursed through his body, making him stumble as he ran.
Just as one of Kairi's reflection spells shattered like glass, several of the Heartless surrounding her exploded into dark motes, cut by the filigree blade of Oathkeeper. Captive hearts rose from their dissipating bodies and vanished into the air. Sora slashed through the attacking mass, pushing them steadily back, his Keyblade a silver whirl.
Thus distracted, Sora was unprepared when Darkside suddenly strode forward through the seething throng of Nobodies and Heartless. Gesturing with his right hand, he sent out a wave of darkness that knocked Sora backward. Sora hit the ground and lay there, panting, his head spinning sickeningly. Something sharp struck him in the center of his chest, making him cry out in shock and pain. Clawing at his chest, he gripped the projectile, blinking at it. It was long and thin, and it seemed to have no physical mass - his fingers could barely hold onto its dark, misty form. He tried to pull it out, and it dissolved into nothingness, the dark mist spreading outward and dissipating. There seemed to be no physical wound, but Sora's body shook, the steady, jarring hum now clashing with a new sensation of numbing cold that slowly spread through him.
"A gift from Ansem," sneered Darkside. "A bit of concentrated darkness left over from one of his last experiments, before you killed him. You might recognize it - it was the core of the Dark Keyblade Ansem created while he was using your friend Riku's body."
Kairi flung out a hand in Darkside's direction. "Reflection!" she cried, falling to her knees beside Sora. "Sora? What's happening?" she asked as she helped him to sit up.
From within the tightening circle of Nobodies, Roxas aimed the Keyblade, sweat pouring down his face. A weak beam of blue-violet light shot outward from it, striking the bushes a few paces away from Sora and Kairi. Where the light hit, a swirling portal began to take form, flickering unsteadily. "Go now!" Roxas called, pushing Naminé toward them. The girl held her ground for a moment, shaking her head at him, but then she turned and fled, running across the grass toward Sora and Kairi, dodging Heartless and smacking them with her pencil bag or her sketchbook whenever they reached out for her.
"It's…ngh…the twilight, I think," gasped Sora, struggling to sit up on his own. From the other side of the ranks of attacking Heartless he could hear Darkside laughing. "It hurt at first, but now…I feel so cold. What - what was that? Some kind of dark arrow?"
"Yeah…Darkside just held out a hand and fired it at you. It's…some kind of dark magic, I guess." Her eyes were worried as she crouched next to him. "Are you okay, Sora? Can you stand?"
"I…think I'll be all right. It's…the twilight portal left some kinda residue, and…the darkness is just making it worse." Sora rested his hand on Kairi's shoulder and pushed weakly, giving her what was obviously meant to be a reassuring smile. "Go on, go. I'll be right behind you."
Naminé slid past the wall of reflection spells and fell to her knees, panting, her heart beating wildly. "We've got to get out of here! The portal won't stay open long!"
"Come on, Sora!" Kairi started to get to her feet, tugging at his arm, but he shook his head, pulling away from her and falling back to lean on his elbows.
"No, Kairi, stop."
Kairi frowned. "Why won't you come? What aren't you telling me, Sora?"
"I…" His breath was labored, and he swallowed hard before continuing. "That - that thing Darkside hit me with - he's gotten that darkness inside me, somehow. I can feel it, and I…I think the darkness is winning." His breathing was more irregular now, coming in shallow, panting gasps. His heart was usually so strong, so filled with light, but now…the twilight residue seemed to have weakened him, somehow.
"Then we've got to get you out of here before - "
Sora shook his head. "No, Kairi. I can't…move, I can't get to the portal before it closes," he panted. "Did you hear what Darkside said? That…arrow came from the Keyblade that unlocks hearts." He paused, watching Kairi's face go pale as the implication sank in. "Listen, I need you to - to show me what you did, back in the Secret Place. How did…how did you release your heart?"
Kairi's blood ran cold as she realized what he was asking. "Sora - "
"Kairi, don't you see? It's the only way! Remember what Roxas said? A heart taken by darkness here is destroyed. I'd become a Nobody - I'd still be me, in a way, but my heart would be dead. It would be easy for Darkside to use me to open the Door to Darkness. But if all he can get his hands on is my body, he's stuck. It'll buy us time."
"We don't know if that'll work! You can't - "
"Kairi." Sora reached up and softly touched her cheek, smiling. "It did work. I carried your heart inside me, remember? I know it's asking a lot, but…" He took a shuddering breath. "I want you to keep my heart safe for me. Will you do it? Please?" When she only shook her head in denial, Sora broke out into a familiar, goofy grin. "Trust me, it'll be okay. I promise. It's just for a little while, and then when it's safe, you can bring me back."
Several of the reflection spells shattered. Naminé cried out, smacking a Heartless with her sketchbook and kicking at another. Kairi's heart pounded. She had no idea how she could do this, even if she wanted to, but Sora was right - there was no time. A tear rolled down her cheek. "All right, Sora. I'll do it, for you."
"Thank you, Kairi," he whispered. His hand trembling, he reached down and detached the keychain from his Keyblade. Oathkeeper's silver form dissolved, returning to the Keyblade's usual golden handle and silver blade. Sora held out a star-shaped charm made of thalassa shells, sewn together with rough leather cord. "Here. I…promised I'd bring it back to you."
Their eyes met as Kairi slowly reached out to take the charm. Sora gave her a soft, wavering smile, and then Kairi impulsively caught him up in a hug, desperately clinging to him as if she would never let go. Shivering violently, he embraced her in return, his uneven breath soft on her shoulder.
Kairi squeezed her eyes tightly shut, the tears running down her face. Through her closed eyelids, she became aware of a soft light momentarily surrounding her. Suddenly there was a strange warmth in her chest, and she realized that Sora's body had gone limp in her arms.
Her eyes snapped open, and she shook him. "Sora? Sora!" But there was no response.
Kairi shook her head violently in denial, tears running down her face. Had it really happened? Is…is his heart really inside me? I didn't even do anything, I… She tightened her arms around his still body. She could feel him take a slow, almost imperceptible breath…but there was no heartbeat.
"Kairi! I can't stop them any-" Naminé froze, her eyes going wide. On the other end of the lawn, Roxas finally struck down the last of the Nobodies, but as he stood there, panting to catch his breath, Darkside advanced on him. Roxas brought his Keyblade up, darting toward the figure hidden within the dark coat of the Organization, but his attack overshot. Darkside stepped forward, laughing, and gripped the boy's arm. The light seemed to go out of his eyes, and he stiffened. A moment later, the tip of the Keyblade dropped to the ground, and he stopped fighting, stopped moving. "Roxas!" Naminé shouted.
Roxas was lost, Kairi realized, and she and Naminé would be, too, if they didn't hurry. Kairi grabbed the blonde girl's arm with her free hand and yanked it hard, turning and shoving her toward the portal. "Run!" Kairi then tried to lift Sora, dragging him toward the portal, but he was heavier than he looked. Glancing back at the swirling oval, Kairi watched it flicker and realized she would never make it in time. A tear trickled down her cheek as she gently laid Sora's body down on the grass. A faint, shallow breath was the only sign of life in his body, which had gone still and cold.
Darkside advanced on them, leaving Roxas standing motionless behind him. With a snap of his fingers, more black Heartless and silver-gray Nobodies appeared, running forward to attack. Kairi backed toward the portal, watching as the attackers spilled over Sora's still form, rushing forward as if he weren't even there.
Kairi turned and fled, tears blurring her vision as she caught up to Naminé. Still clutching the star-shaped charm tightly, Kairi reached out with her free hand. The two girls clasped hands and ran through the portal, just before it vanished completely.
SO...that's the big huge chapter that took so many rewrites to get right:P I hope I succeeded to everyone's satisfaction. I'm pretty happy with it...I tried to hold off on including too much melodrama, fluff, and sappiness until just the right time, so hopefully I picked the right time to really go overboard with it! The next chapter will take more time to get posted, since I've finally reached the end of the nine chapters I wrote over snow days. Which reminds me, I forgot to mention last week that it was the first anniversary of this fic! Wow, look at what I've written in a year...! Anyway, I know I sound like a broken record, but please do review if you have any thoughts or reactions to share with me. I love getting reviews, as it gives me an idea of whether or not I succeeded with the goal I had for the chapter. And with that...later all! (runs, dodging Megumi's pitchfork) I'm sorry, Megumi! But...I had to do it to Sora! I did! (flees)