Chapter LIV: The Beginning of the End
Nightshroud: Thanks for the reviews everyone. Glad you're still sticking with me. By the way, I know I said Sota (Reyna's little brother) got the Kingdom Key, but I want him to have his own unique one. So his keyblade is called the Brave Soul, k?And just to make sure everyone knows, Kairi's keyblade Flowering Strength is Mr. Fipp's idea. I'm saying that because she's going to be in this chaper again. And I'm glad you all liked the fight with Raphael. And yes, having Fayt back is exciting, huh? I missed him haha. Well, on with the story!
The group felt strange walking on a beam of light as they crossed over the sea to the island of Atlantis. Reyna stooped her arm down to touch the water as she walked, the tips of her fingers brushing the surface.
"I can't believe I'm back," she thought. "After all this, I'm finally back...But it's not done yet. We still have a job to do."
She looked at the others and smiled.
"But I don't have to do it alone. All my friends are here, and we'll beat any darkness that threatens our home together."
She smiled and started to run to the ancient city. The others looked surprised.
"Reyna, what are you doing?" Fayt asked as they ran to catch up. She turned and smiled at them.
"Well, what are we waiting for?"
Fayt laughed to himself, and they caught up to her. Reyna stopped as they stood in front of the gates to the city.
"We made it..." Tyson said.
Sora, Donald, and Goofy were fighting in the town square.
"Just like old times, huh?" Sora said to the two as he slashed Ultimae Weapon through a Neoshadow.
"Gwarsh, I kinda missed this," said Goofy, bashing the head of a Shadow.
"Goofy, careful!" said Donald, hitting a Neoshadow near Goofy with a thunder spell.
"Oh, sorry there, Donald..." Goofy said bashfully. Sora laughed and jumped, slicing a Neoshadow in midair. His gaze drifted, and through a gap in the buildings, he spotted a strange island in the ocean.
"Amnael...I hope you're okay, Reyna."
Mickey jumped with acrobatic grace as he hacked and sliced through the Heartless around him. He looked over at Sota, who was using his Brave Soul to cut down the Heartless. Sota had a determined look on his face, but he actually looked like he was enjoying it.
"Strange kid...most would be terrified of the Heartless, but he's acting like they're no big deal."
An Automaton Heartless came at him, but Sota rolled to the side to avoid the attack and bashed it on the helmet. The Heartless fell over, and an overjoyed Sota ran over to Mickey.
"How did I do?" he asked. Mickey looked past him, then in a blink appeared in front of the Heartless (which was starting to get up), and slammed his keyblade down on it, smashign it into the ground.
"You still need to work on your finish," Mickey said with a smile.
"Right!" said Sota, and with renewed determination ran at the Heartless. Mickey smiled and ran at the Heartless that were trying to surround him.
"Yup...strange kid hehe."
Reyna and the others walked into the vast, empty city, taking in the breathtaking architecture.
"This must have been a fantastic city before it sank," said Namé.
"I think we have more important things to think about," said Tyson as Shadows, Neoshadows, Automaton Heartless and Sage Heartless (sorcerer- like Heartless appeared around them.
"Let's go!" Fayt said.
A Sage shot a fire spell at Namé, who used a reflect spell, then hit it with a thunder spell. An Automaton flew in at Tyson and swiped at him. He parried with his keyblade, then slashed through it.
"Sonic Rave!"
He zipped through more Automatons and Shadows, then blasted a Neoshadow at the end. An Automaton slashed its sword at Fayt, who blocked it, then swung at it, but it jumped into the air and hit him from behind. It swung its sword at his head, but he ducked and stabbed his sword through it. Another Sage threw am ice spell at Reyna, who dodged it, then slashed through it amd two approaching Shadows. Then she turned to see Tyson get blasted back by a Sage. She ran over and it turned towards her. Suddenly Shadows grabbed her from under the ground. Then the Sage shot a dark magic blast at her, but she shot Pearl and destroyed it. Then Tyson stabbed it from behind.
"All right, we have to keep moving. I sense an incredible amount of darkness coming from the palace at the top.
They ran through the streets, fighting off more Heartless till they reached the courtyard in front of the palace. More Automatons and Sages appeared. A Sage raised its hands and shot a thunder spell at Fayt, but he slashed through the bolt and cut through it. An Automaton attacked Namé, but she blocked and blasted it and some nearby ones with Flaming Spell Impact. A Neoshadow jumped at Tyson, but he rolled out of the way and it stabbed into another one, killing both. Then he leaped up and stabbed his keyblade through another one. Reyna sliced through an Automaton, but was caught by another one from behind. Then a Neoshadow rushed in and slashed at her.
"Faith!"
She blew away both Automatons and the Neoshadow, so that no more Heartless remained.
"All right, the path is clear right into the palace," said Reyna. They ran up the stairs and disappeared into the dark corridors.
Roxas and Naminé cut through the Heartless in the streets.
"Do you think Tyson and Namé are okay?" Naminé asked Roxas. He turned and smile at her.
"Don't worry, hun. They can take care of themselves," he replied, slicing through a Neoshadow. Naminé cut through a Shadow, then smiled.
"I know. I believe in them."
Riku and Kairi were fighting by the marketplace.
"You doing okay over there?" Riku called to Kairi. She hacked through a Automaton, then wiped her forehead and grinned.
"Yup. It's just like riding a bicycle."
Riku laughed and rested Way to Dawn on his shoulder.
"Reminds me of when we fought in the Hall of Empty Melodies. Seems like so long ago, huh?"
"Yeah.." she said softly. She remembered how the three of them were separated, how she got back to the islands, and then how they reunited a year later in the World that Never Was. And after that, they had always been together. She looked at the keyblade in her hand, the Flowering Strength, and smiled.
"Thanks, Riku."
Riku looked at her, surprised.
"What do you mean?"
"You gave me this keyblade, and with it the strength to protect those people and things closest to me."
Riku smiled and looked towards the island in the distance.
"It was your heart, Kairi, that enabled you to weild it. And it's that same strong heart that you and Sora have passed on to Reyna. That's why I know she can do it. Plus," he smirked, "My son's with them."
"I guess we head that way," said Tyson, pointing up the stairs in the grand hall. They nodded and ran for the stairs. Automaton Heartless emerged and blocked their way. One leaped forward and sliced at Tyson. He jumped back in time to dodge it, then used Strike Raid and cut through it. Another one emerged behind him and lunged.
"Spell Blast!"
Namé blasted the Automaton off the stairs and into the wall, plummeting it to the ground below.
"Halo Shuriken!"
Reyna summoned halos on her arms and jumped into the air, hurling them at the Automatons. She sliced through the neck of one, sliced another one into pieces, and cut off the legs of another so Tyson could easily finish it off. With them out of the way, the hurried up the other end.
They descended down the stairs until they came into a huge hallway with pillars reaching up to the ceiling far above. They started to cross through when more Automatons appeared. One of them slammed its sword to the ground and sent a shockwave off that blasted rock upward from the ground.
"Refleja!"
Namé cast a shield to protect them from the attack, then retaliated with a fire spell. Reyna sliced through them with her whip while Tyson hacked into them with his keyblade. One approached him from the side and sliced with its sword.
"Tyson, look out!" Fayt called
The Automaton knocked him off his feet with the flat and sent him tumbling to the ground. It lifted its fist to punch him, but Reyna sliced its arm off, then turned and sliced its head off.
"That was close," Reyna said.
"C'mon, we'd better go before more appear," said Fayt. They ran down the hall until they came to an ornate doorway with symbols around it.
"I think we're here," Reyna said. She put her hand to the door and immediately felt a horrible feeling shoot through her.
"I can do this. This is my destiny."
She charged her hand with light and blasted the doors open. The four stood in the doorway, and tensed when their eyes rested on their final destination.
"So, you've arrived," said Amnael.
Nightshroud: Ok a bit of an intermission chap to get to the final boss. Hope you liked it. Next chapter is mostly going to be the history behind Amnael, Atlantis, and the Destiny Islands. I'll try to update soon. Leave nice reviews! 8D
Next chapter: A Glimpse into the Past: The Dark History of Atlantis