OH BOY HERE WE GO. I honestly can't believe we're finally here, FINALLY at the big climax. And what a fitting day for this chapter to come out too. Four years ago to this very day, I posted the very first chapter of Keys to the Kingdom. And now, here we are, only three chapters (including this one) to its ending. These past four years have been an absolute wirlwind of change in my personal, some good, some bad, but Keys has been with me through it all. I can't deny I'm a little... emotional to see it reach its ending. But I promise the finale I have cooked up is more than worth the journey it took to get here. And so... here we go: the ultimate showdown. Let's get started... :3
Chapter 74: Kingdom Hearts
Kiss me once,
Kiss me twice,
Kiss me three times,
Be mine
It ends in a world that no longer exists.
Sora falls through the shadows, just like he has so many times before. His countless trips through dark corridors have always been dangerous and disorienting, but none have ever been as downright terrifying as this. He screams the entire time, lashing out at the open darkness all around them as he pulls against his grandfather's iron grip as hard as he can. But for all his struggling, Xehanort doesn't yield. Not now, not when he has the Child of Destiny all to himself, not when his last stand has only just begun.
A familiar tide of sickness washes over Sora when he's finally shoved onto solid ground. He bites it back just in time for his spotty vision to adjust to the tarnished white stone beneath him. And just in time to watch as a pair of heavy black shackles show up around his wrists.
There's nothing he can do to stop another surge of panic from overtaking him. Part of him would like to think that after all of the times he's been in chains before, it wouldn't bother him anymore. But it does, shakes him with fierce, unquenchable fear that burns right down to his very core as soon as he spares a glance behind him to see who's holding the other end of those chains. Xehanort has never physically restrained him before, usually relying on the suffocating stranglehold he'd had on his heart to keep him under control far more effectively than anything else possibly could. But now that Sora's freed himself from that stranglehold, he has no choice but to resort to much more traditional means to keep his rebellious grandson subdued.
Sora draws in a harsh breath to shout the full force of his fear and fury at his former master. But ultimately, Xehanort beats him to it before he can even get so much as a single word out. "What a cruel joke of fate," he sneers, glaring down at the boy. "That the Kingdom would choose such a weak, sniveling, child to bear its limitless power. You don't deserve the destiny that's due to you. And if it were up to me," his already fearsome scowl deepens as he yanks the chains, brutally dragging Sora closer to him. He grabs the bottom of the boy's face, forcing his gaze to meet the sheer hatred brewing in his amber eyes. "I would have killed you the moment I first laid eyes on you when you were but a pitiful infant for all the trouble you've caused me since, you wretched abomination."
He throws Sora away from him, as if he's disgusted to even be touching his own grandson. When his head hits the ground, pain explodes across his vision. It's only when it clears that he's able to get his first real glimpse at where they are. A world he's never seen before, one that's deserted, desolate, and dead in almost every sense of the word.
A city towers before them, stretching up toward pitch black skies above. It's one of many dotted across an equally inky, unmoving ocean, each nearly identical mountain made up of countless broken buildings. At its peak sits a massive structure that's certainly seen better days, built of tarnished gold and crumbling alabaster, just like the rest of the city. This world must have been beautiful once upon a time, to the point that Sora can almost picture it thriving and full of life. But now, all that remains of it are its ruins, cold and crumbling, without a single soul left to call it home. He doesn't know why, but his heart aches at the sight of it all, at a world that's been so utterly broken and abandoned. A world that serves as a haunting glimpse of the very same fate all others could very well meet if Xehanort has his way.
"What is this place?" Sora asks, sitting up. "Why did you bring me here?"
Xehanort doesn't answer at first. Instead, he walks forward, pulling on the chains as he passes Sora by to force him to follow. He's raked across the rough cobblestones, unable to gather his footing enough to stand, and, as he quickly finds out, unable to summon the X-Blade. Leave it to Xehanort to utilize the exact same kind of Keyblade-barring restraints Maleficent once had against him all over again.
"It truly is incredible how painfully uneducated you are about our heritage, my boy," Xehanort keeps his back turned to him as he regards the broken city before them. "This world is one that time has forgotten, a relic of an era long gone by. This was once a seat of power for all who wielded Keyblades, where I myself trained to use its power when I was the same age you are now. That same world fell to ruin before my very eyes, and all you see before you is all there is left… of Scala ad Caelum."
Sora slowly stumbles to stand, his wrists already worn raw from the tight metal encasing them. Instinct tells him to bite his tongue, to keep quiet lest he make an already harrowing situation any worse than it already is. But that instinct is thrown right out the second he remembers he doesn't have to answer to his former master any more. "That answers the where, but not the why," he says sharply. And though he can't send searing pain stabbing through his heart like he would have done before, Xehanort still makes sure to punish him for it all the same.
Before Sora can even think about defending himself, Xehanort's hand is wrapped around his throat, his other hand still keeping the end of the chains well-secured. He doesn't tighten his grip too much, but what force is there is still enough to leave Sora gasping for air as he flails desperately for freedom. "You'd be wise not to test my patience any more than you already have today, my thirteenth."
"O-or what?" Sora asks, his voice rasping against his constricted throat. Still, he makes the risky choice to challenge his grandfather, if out of nothing but sheer frustration alone. "You'll torture me even more than you already have? Good luck with that… b-because at this point, I don't think there's anything worse than everything you put me through."
Xehanort doesn't react outside of dropping Sora unceremoniously. He doesn't get much time to recover the air that he's lost before his grandfather's foot slams into his side before it moves to his chest to keep him pinned to the ground. "I've grown more than tired of playing the long game with you, child," he says, and Sora believes him. He wouldn't have dropped all of the pretenses of fake civility and condescending kindness he used to carry if he wasn't. "I brought you here for one simple reason alone: to take back what's mine."
"I-I… I was never yours," Sora shoots back, quietly and coldly.
"...No," Xehanort surprisingly agrees. "You weren't. And that's precisely the problem. I gave you too much freedom, allowed you to maintain far too much of yourself, even when your heart was in the palm of my hand. It's the same exact error I made with your father before you. But I won't be repeating that mistake again."
Sora can't hold back a small cry when Xehanort puts even more weight onto his foot, crushing his ribcage. Still, he doesn't let his fear show, despite how utterly overwhelming it is, despite how close it is to breaking past the surface of coolheaded anger he's forcing himself to maintain. "Why even bother?" he asks, mirroring his grandfather's piercing glare. "You're already too late to get what you want from me. You lost the moment my heart was set free."
"Free? Is that what you think you are?" Xehanort asks, and Sora tunes him out almost immediately. He's been around his grandfather enough to know when he's about to lie to him, to manipulate him, to make him doubt everything he knows to be true. "Your so-called 'freedom' is nothing more than an illusion you're intent on deluding yourself with. An illusion I plan on bringing to an end here and now."
He finally backs off, at long last allowing Sora to breathe freely again. He sits up, clenching both of his hands as he begs for the X-Blade to show up in either of them. How ironic that even the most powerful Keyblade in all the worlds can't even stand against the strange strain that's bound him time and time again.
"The sun has nearly set upon your destined day, my boy," Xehanort turns back around to face the decrepit city. "This is where I will awaken you, in a world where we will not be impeded by any further distractions or delays. These lifeless ruins shall become the nexus from whence all new worlds will spring. This is where all shall end… and begin again."
Sora finally lets his facade slip, his terror slipping through the cracks as he pulls himself to his feet. "Y-you can't," he says, his voice breaking a bit from oncoming panic. "You don't have the X-Blade, or the Keys. And Kingdom Hearts isn't even here-"
"Oh, but Sora, don't you know?" Xehanort finally smiles, for the first time really, since he lost his thirteenth vessel's loyalty. "Kingdom Hearts… ever follows after the heart of its king."
His dark Keyblade flashes into his hand as he raises it high to the sky above. Sora can only watch as the impenetrable cloud cover hanging over this world suddenly parts only in one place, right above Scala ad Caelum's forlorn peak. Light pours out from the emerging opening, crisp and pure as it shines through from a single source. From the Heart that stood waiting just beyond the clouds, a Heart that starts to speak to Sora from the very second he so much as sees it.
It's time. It's time. It's time.
No more waiting or hesitating.
It's time for you to return.
It's time for us both to be whole.
It's time, my king, for you to come Home.
Come Home. Come Home. Come Home. Come Home. Come Home. Come Home. Come Home. Come Home. Come Home. Come Home. COME HOME. COME HOME. COME HOME. COME HOME. COME HOME.
COME HOME.
"Stop!" Sora shouts to silence the voices screaming frantically only inside of his mind. He covers his ears to further block them out and shuts his eyes to hide the constant flickering between gold and blue and black and white. Both efforts are quickly thwarted when Xehanort brutally pulls on his chains once more.
"Your stubbornness is pitiful every bit as much as it is detestable," he condemns crossly. "The greatest power in the universe stands ready for the taking, ready for you and you alone, and yet you still refuse its call. Why do you continue to cling onto what little you have when you know you could become so much more?"
Sora barely hears him against the roar of the voices, all but deafening him as they each demand the exact same thing. He doesn't even know he's screaming until he feels it, his heart all but pulling itself straight out of its chest, desperate to join with the much larger one hovering right above his head. He struggles to keep it where it is, to keep himself grounded by trying to think of literally anything else: his friends, his family, his home, the worlds and everyone in them. He thinks as long as he keeps his eyes shut, as long as he keeps his sights off the Kingdom and his mind as far away from this living nightmare as possible, maybe he'll be able to hold out just long enough for the window to close, for his fated birthday to finally end.
Until, like everything else, Xehanort takes this one last chance to stop all of this away from him too.
He yelps when a hand suddenly grabs a handful of his hair and pulls on it to snap his head back. His eyes involuntarily fly open as Xehanort forces his face back to the sky, back to the Heart. Before he can even try to look away, it captivates him all over again, engulfing his eyes in light as it speaks directly to his heart, to his soul, to every last fiber of his being.
Arise…
Ascend…
Awaken…
Arise…
Ascend…
Awaken…
Arise…
Ascend…
Awaken…
It repeats those three simple words to him over and over again, lulling his pain and protests alike into non-existence. His hands fall slack at his sides, his eyes wide open as he stares at the Heart as if it were the most beautiful thing he's ever seen. And in many ways, it is; spectacular and splendorous as it sits high in the heavens, impossible power radiating from every inch. Power that, sure enough, is eagerly promising itself to him and only him. So perhaps…
Perhaps… it's finally time to take that power as his own.
Xehanort steps back with an icy smile when he sees Sora slowly reaching a hand up to Kingdom Hearts. As utterly transfixed as the boy is, he doesn't even notice his grandfather raise his Keyblade, positioning its blackened tip at his exposed back.
"That's right, child," he whispers, letting out a deep breath. He stifles a pained wince as he channels a piece of his own heart into his weapon. It's something he's done many times before but it never manages to get any easier. "Be at ease and listen to whatever it has to tell you. Be at ease as I get your wayward destiny back on track… permanently."
He pools as much power as he possibly can into his Keyblade, as much darkness as he can manage to conjure. As much as it takes to regain control of his defiant grandson in every way imaginable. He'd said so himself; this time, there will be no room for error, he won't make the same mistake twice. He'll wipe away every part of this lowly, miserable boy before him, body, heart, and mind, until only an empty shell remains. Until all that's left is the vessel he was always born to be, a vessel for the Kingdom and a gateway to its crown.
He's mere seconds away from letting that power, one of the few final pieces of his heart he has left to spare, flow out of his Keyblade and into his grandson's body. Ultimately though, it never meets its mark. Instead, a burst of bright, pure, light magic slams into the master's hand, knocking his Keyblade off balance as the magic surrounding it is sent askew along with it. It narrowly misses Sora by only a fraction of an inch, but that inch is what ends up saving him as the darkness meant for him goes flying past his face. As entranced by the Kingdom as he is, he doesn't even see it crash into a broken building in the distance before him, ultimately destroying whatever little of it that was still standing.
"Sora!" A fierce call rings out immediately after. It proves enough to finally break Sora out of his trance, and enough to infuriate Xehanort when they both turn to see who's joined them.
Riku stands at the front of the full force of the guardians of light. Kairi quickly comes to his side as she finishes closing up the light gate they'd used to get there. Though they're clearly torn between outrage and relief, if there's one thing every last one of them have in common, it's their weapons drawn and ready to attack. To make Xehanort pay for so much as even having the nerve to take Sora away from them once more.
"You came!" Sora can't hold back a smile. His heart surges with joy at the mere sight of them, at the comfort of knowing that they're here, that they found him, that he's no longer alone with his treacherous grandfather. That they'll be more than enough to stop this, to save him, to finally help him find his way home.
Home… His smile vanishes when he hears the voices, practically taunting him as he fights their pull once more. Come Home… your true Home…
"Impossible!" Xehanort's sharp shout throws him right back into the moment. "How did you fools-"
"How did we find you?" Kairi cuts him off. "It was easy. Our hearts are connected to Sora's. We just traced that connection, and it brought us here."
"You can try to take him as far away from us as you want," Riku adds just as sternly. "But no matter how many worlds you go to, we'll be right behind you. We won't stop, we won't back down, and we will never give up. Not until Sora, until every last world, until everything you want to destroy so badly is finally safe from you once and for all!"
"...I see," Xehanort closes his eyes, seemingly calm. "Then it appears we've reached an impasse. For much like you," his expression darkens when he notices Sora trying to run past him, trying with every ounce of strength and hope he has to reach the lights. He doesn't get far though, not with the chains still keeping him prisoner, still keeping him in his grandfather's power in some way, even if it isn't much. But right now, for Xehanort, it's far more than enough. "I will never relent until I have what is meant to be mine."
The second they see Xehanort harshly pull on Sora's chains to drag him back toward him, the lights don't hesitate. They rush forward, Keyblades ready to break those chains and obliterate the man holding them. But of course, Xehanort makes sure they never come close enough to even try. In an instant, he and Sora both disappear, leaving the lights in a confused uproar as they scan the surrounding city for them. Fortunately, it doesn't take them long to spot where they'd vanished to, atop one of Scala's still-stable buildings high above the ground.
Sora stumbles, narrowly managing to catch his footing as he clears his head from the abrupt teleportation spell. Almost as soon as he does though, he wastes no time. He swings a chained fist straight at Xehanort, hoping to catch him off guard with the suddenness of a physical attack alone. He can hear the other lights shouting far below, knows right then and there that they're already on their way to help him. If he can somehow hold his own against his grandfather in the meantime, then maybe-
His hopes are dashed as soon as Xehanort catches him by the wrist, stopping his punch before it can even so much as skim his face. The master retaliates by landing a heavy kick to his stomach, following it up by slicing his Keyblade straight into his upper arm.
"I'm going to kill them," Xehanort practically growls as he deals another brutal blow to Sora's leg. "I'm going to kill every last one of them right in front of you, boy. You will watch as I tear their hearts from their chests and the light fades from their eyes and it will be all your-"
"Y-you're going to kill them… with what army… 'master'?" Sora counters with an emerging grin. That smile only grows as he wipes the blood from his mouth, as he watches the anger explode across his grandfather's face tenfold. He's right, and Xehanort must know he's right; despite all of his confidence in his power and his plans, he's fighting this battle alone, without any of his fallen followers to stand by his side or bolster his might. He's outnumbered, outmatched, out of time.
But even then, even then, when he's all but lost entirely… the master stays true to his word. He doesn't relent. Doesn't even perish the thought for a single second.
Instead… Xehanort smiles.
He lets his Keyblade disappear, folding his hands behind his back as he leans forward. Sora tenses, his confidence waning while he wishes for the lights to hurry up. Not that their arrival would change a single thing about what his grandfather does next.
"Well then," he begins, his voice soft like a distant storm. "If the end truly is nigh… then I suppose I have but one final family secret to share with you, Sora. One that I've been saving for just the right moment."
"I don't want to hear it-" Sora's cut off when Xehanort cups a hand under his chin. He's done it so many times by now that Sora thought he'd be numb to it; but it still sends a shiver down his spine all the same.
"A storm wasn't what killed your father, my boy," Xehanort whispers, raw, unbridled malice flashing through his garish golden eyes. Malice that all but consumes Sora whole when he hears what he has to say. "I did."
It's amazing how two simple words can seem to stop time entirely. The calls of the lights below grow distant, the crumbling city already starting to blur as tears bloom in his eyes unbidden. He takes a breath he forgets to let out, and even the voices of the Kingdom itself seem to fall away until nothing else remains. Nothing but the terrible, long-untold truth behind the moment his life first started falling apart.
"W-what?" he asks without realizing it.
"I knew from the start that Tsuki would have stood as an obstacle in my path to get to you, my thirteenth," Xehanort stands. There isn't an ounce of pity, remorse, anything other than a sickening sense of pride in his voice. Pride in an act so unspeakably heinous, in a death that didn't need to happen, that should have never been. "So I decided to cut that obstacle down early to spare myself the trouble in the future. Be grateful that I was kind enough to end his life alone at sea instead of in front of you and your poor mother. Though looking back, perhaps that's what I should have done. It would have taught you to respect me, to fear me from the very start."
Sora doesn't say another word. Instead, he sits there, his mind numb, his chest hurting and hollow, as if his heart had been burned to ashes from the inside out. His body feels heavy, anchored by a weight so heavy it threatens to crush him. But his mind… it drifts, floats away from wherever he is now to someplace far away and long ago. To a miserable memory he only wishes he could forget.
Suddenly, he's seven again, sleepily clinging to his mother's skirt as she answers the door in the middle of the night. Asking what she means when she leans down to tell him his father won't be coming home ever again. Weeping as he runs and hides up in his room, burying his tears into his pillow as he tries and fails to block out the storm surging outside. Wondering why the sea would be cruel enough to take his kind and caring Papa away from him so suddenly, so soon. Wishing he could see him, be with him for one more day, one more hour, one more moment, one more second, one more anything.
He didn't understand back then, and even now, he still doesn't, not even as he sits before the man who had so senselessly murdered his father in cold blood. He doesn't understand how anyone could be so hateful, so callous, so undeniably evil to kill their own son and not even care. He doesn't understand how anyone could knowingly, willingly tear a family apart, to leave a wife without a husband, a boy without a father, a house no longer a home. He doesn't understand how one man could cause so much pain and strife and death and sorrow with every last step into the shadows he takes. He doesn't understand. And he doesn't want to.
All he wants now… is to make it all stop. To make it even, to make it right. To end the life of the one who ended his father's. To kill the man who has ruined so much of his own.
Some traitorous part of his mind tries to tell him he's just as much to blame, that he was the reason why Xehanort had slaughtered Tsuki to begin with. But for once, Sora refuses to listen to it. Instead, he leans on his anger, his anguish, the ache that's been anchored in his heart every last day for the past ten years. He lets it all in, lets it flow around him, through him, and in doing so… he opens the door to let the darkness inside come bursting straight out.
As soon as he sees the first twinge of shadow begin to slip up Sora's arms, Xehanort takes his leave, retreating to watch the chaos unfold from a safer vantage point. After all, whether the boy's rage is meant for him or not will hardly matter once his mind is all but lost to it. And as hot and as bright as that rage is burning, it doesn't take long for its bitter blaze to engulf Sora completely.
The lights only make it halfway up the cityscape when it happens. It starts when Vanitas suddenly cries out, clutching his chest as he collapses to his knees. He nearly falls over the edge of the latest building their climb has landed him on, only for Ventus, of all people to rush in and pull him back to steady ground. Most of the other lights only regard him for a moment, their focus set solely on saving Sora and little else. Ven, Naminé, and the other Riku are the only ones to stay by his side as a swell of pure, white light starts shimmering over his body. It's a baffling transformation, one that only Naminé has witnessed and she's the only one who knows what it means.
"Oh no…" she whispers. Her eyes are wide as she watches Vanitas be further blighted, as she watches him start to look less and less human by the second. As she realizes who certainly must be going through the exact opposite thing at the exact same time. "Sora!"
The other lights' approach is finally halted when a sharp scream, loud and mournful, pierces the brittle air. In an instant, that scream suddenly shifts into a wild, unhinged roar. The buildings above them shudder violently, when a set of broken chains comes tumbling down amidst a rain of rubble. And amidst that sudden, destructive storm, a massive, frighteningly familiar shadow starts to rise high above them all.
They've seen him like this more times than they'd like to admit, but only once have they witnessed the full extent of it they're seeing now. Last time, Maleficent had been the one to drive him over the edge into madness and monstrosity, only to end up meeting her demise at the hands of the same creature she so desperately tried to claim. This time… they can only hope that Xehanort has received the same fate. Hopes that are dashed the second they see his silhouette standing high upon the city's splintered citadel, watching the unstoppable torrent of his own grandson's grief with a sadistic smile.
Sora lets out another fierce and furious howl, one that sends shockwaves through the lights as they realize that even though his heart has been set free, so much pain and darkness still remains within it. His sharp, empty golden eyes quickly catch sight of them far below him, and with his mind completely torn to pieces, he isn't able to distinguish between friends or foes. All he does know is destruction and devastation; all he knows is a craving for hearts that can never be satiated, not even by the heavenly Heart weeping for him high above.
"Look out!" Aqua shouts when the first shell of an empty building is hurled at them. The lights scatter to escape being crushed by it, forced to keep up a quick pace to avoid the rest of the dangerous debris Sora wildly tosses their way. He leaps down from his higher perch, slamming to a lower platform so he can attack the group more directly. He lashes out with a heavy swing, his claws grinding against Goofy's shield as he rushes in to defend Terra, Mickey, and Roxas. Riku orders the others not to hurt him, not that any of them need the reminder. With all of the anguish Sora is clearly going through, to cause him any more pain would put them on the exact same level as the man who has brought him so low to begin with.
"Sora!" Kairi tries calling to him. She narrowly dodges another one of his swings as she hoists herself onto another one of the city's countless ledges. "You have to stop! You're ok now, you're safe! We're here for you! You don't have to-"
She cuts herself off with a gasp, rushing to roll out of the way of the fist he throws down at her. None of the others are given a chance to appeal to him as he unleashes a rapid flurry of unrestrained attacks. Though they try their best to avoid them, some of those swings actually manage to land on the lights. Axel's on the receiving end of one that throws him back into one of the nearby buildings. Despite Riku's earlier command, Isa retaliates immediately, letting out a furious shout as he slams the side of his claymore into the back of Sora's hand. He reels back only for a moment before swiftly slicing his claws down, only to end up raking them across Aqua's back as she runs by instead. Terra barely manages to catch her before she can fall, watching worriedly as Ventus runs forward, begging Sora to stop. But of course, he doesn't, not even why Donald and Goofy try to do the exact same thing, not even when Roxas tries scaling up to his level to scream at him, not even when Kairi tries with every ounce of her power to reach his walled-off heart.
"He won't listen to any of us," she tells Riku as they fall in step alongside each other. "What do we do?"
Riku pauses, his Keyblade dipping a bit in his grip. His heart sinks as he stares up at Sora, lost to such sorrow and savagery, so close to safety yet still so very far. It makes him hate Xehanort all the more for it, for reducing Sora to such a grotesque state all over again, for taking advantage of his own grandson's violent rage to fight his battles for him. But that hatred won't be enough to stop this rampage; at this point, Riku's not so sure what is. He's on the verge of telling the other lights to fall back, to take a moment to try and come up with a plan to put an end to this. And yet, just before he can, someone else suddenly rises to the occasion–literally.
"Vanitas!" Naminé cries, spotting him first. The others are left to watch in a mix of awe and bewilderment, as their unofficial ally flies past them like a comet of blinding white light. That same light blankets every inch of Vanitas' body, only broken by a pair of void, dark blue eyes. Those eyes reflect a kind of tranquil fury, opposite and equal to Sora's own. He maintains that aura of almost unnatural calm as he comes to hover just before his beastly counterpart, completely dwarfed by him in terms of scale and strength. Though not many of the lights are too fond of Vanitas, they can't help but balk at the great risk he's taking getting so close to Sora as he is now. It's a risk that only amplifies when Sora raises his claws high to take down whatever speck of light has dared to shine against his all-consuming darkness. Vanitas doesn't flinch, doesn't move in the slightest. Doesn't do a single thing when Sora lashes out directly at him for a swift and easy kill.
And yet…
His claws stop mere inches away from tearing through his radiant form. Sora's eyes, still utterly empty, slowly widen as his snarling falls silent. That silence echoes over the rest of the lights as they try to make sense of what they're seeing. As they're locked out of a conversation spoken in a language neither of them can hear.
"V-Vanitas?" Sora lowers his hand, jolting back when he first catches sight of his claws, of himself. Of the utter nightmare he's allowed himself to become. "W-what are–why am I-"
"Shut up and listen to me, you idiot," Vanitas' icy blue glare deepens. "If every last world wasn't on the line, I'd tear you limb from limb for forcing me back into this useless form every single time you're stupid enough to let yourself slip into darkness. This little 'temper tantrum' of yours is over. Get ahold of yourself already so we can both get back to normal, or I'll make you."
Despite the severity of this threat, Sora doesn't back down. If anything, his confusion ignites into renewed rage as soon as he glances up to see his grandfather watching from a distance. "I can't," he growls, his claws curling into tight fists. "Not until I make him pay for what he did. He killed my father, just to get me! He's been ruining my life since before I even knew who he was! He deserves to DIE!"
"Finally, something we can agree on," Vanitas only narrowly manages to catch his attention between his furious howling. "If I'm not the one to do it myself, as long as I get a front-row seat to that old fool's last breath, then I'll be more than satisfied."
"Then let me finish this!" Sora argues impatiently. He turns to take the leap up to Xehanort's level, to lose his senses and sentience all over again just for a chance to tear his father's murderer apart. Only for Vanitas to fly as fast as he can to block his way.
"Do you really want to finish it like this?" he asks hotly. "As a mindless monster that won't even remember taking his life once it's all said and done? Wouldn't you rather savor the moment he bleeds out at your feet, just like your father bled out at his? Wouldn't you rather show him first hand that you're stronger than he is, than any of the darkness he forced into you? Wouldn't you rather do this… as yourself?"
"But… but I…" Sora hesitates, torn. His current face isn't able to convey too much of that conflict, but what's left of his heart feels it in full. He wants nothing more than to avenge his father, to avenge himself after everything Xehanort has put him through. And he knows this is just about the easiest way to do it, in a powerful form that even the master himself would be hard pressed to outlast on his own. It would be quick, seamless, far safer for all of his friends. But it would be empty, meaningless. A hollow victory, and worst of all, one that his father, if he were still alive to see it, wouldn't be proud of.
"...You're right…" he sighs. His fierce gaze softens as he stares past Vanitas, toward the lights far below him, toward Riku and Kairi as they silently plead for his return. He's already put them through enough grief for his sake; there's no sense in putting them through any more. "I need to do this the right way, the real way. I… I need to do this… with them by my side…"
The last thing he hears as he closes his eyes and wills the darkness to melt away is Vanitas' annoyed scoff. "Ugh. Even when you're like this, you're a complete and utter sap. Why am I not surprised?"
It took only seconds for his hate and anger to transform him. It takes the same for him to let them both go. The lights rush in as soon as they see his towering form begin to diminish, when they notice Vanitas start to dim and fall. Both Rikus are at the front of the pack, one to catch Sora, the other to catch Vanitas. The rest of the lights make it to them in short order, clearing a path for Kairi so she can make it to Riku's side as he holds Sora tight. The darkness has healed the worst of his injuries, but he's still sobbing from pain that clearly runs so much deeper.
"R-Riku…" he weeps brokenly, gripping the front of his shirt. "M-my dad… Xehanort… he… h-he killed him…"
"What?" Riku asks, softly, shaken. His own father had been close friends with Tsuki, a comforting constant throughout his childhood to the point that he even saw the man as a second father of sorts. Until, of course, the day he was struck down far too soon. And now, they all know who did it; not a chance hurricane, but a vile monster who still lives when someone far more deserving doesn't.
"Oh, Sora…" Kairi places her hands on the sides of his face to thumb his tears away. There are about a million things she wants to say, but none of them seem right at a moment as sad and solemn as this. "Is… is that why…?"
"Why I let myself turn into… that?" Sora sits up on his own, drawing in an unsteady breath. He nods, making no effort to hide his shame. Not that he could even if he tried. "I… I couldn't stop it. And after it came, I thought… I'd finally be strong enough to…"
"You already are strong enough," Riku interrupts. Kairi, and all of the other lights soundly agree. "You've been strong enough all along."
"Not on my own," Sora shakes his head. His tears are mostly gone now, replaced by a thin smile that can only grow as he takes in the faces of each of his friends surrounding him. All of the friends who have come so far to help him see this through. "But with all of you…"
Riku chuckles, squeezing his hand. "What was it you told me once? Your friends…"
"My friends are my power," Sora finishes as he rises to stand. "And that's never been more true than it is right here, and right now. So," he pauses, looking up to Scala's highest spires. He can barely make out Xehanort standing up there, can only imagine the hateful scowl sitting on his face as he's pushed back once again. Sora has never been able to beat him at chess before, but now that the game is finally even, now that the board is clear and there's only one piece left standing… his first checkmate ever might just finally be in reach. "Let's put that power to good use…" The X-Blade flashes into his hand, flashing in time with the Kingdom so far above it. A Kingdom that Sora only feels closer and closer to with every step he takes. "And let's save the worlds."
From the top of the citadel, one can see a vast view of the countless mountainous cities surrounding Scala ad Caelum, each identically destroyed by some unknown cataclysm. None of the guardians of light bother taking the time to take in that twisted view when they reach the top. They have their sights set on only one thing, on the man who stands alone on the far side of the citadel, his back turned to them as he focuses on the rest of the ruined world around them instead.
"Tell me, young ones," he speaks, and if the lights didn't know any better, they'd almost think he sounds… tired. "How many of you have seen a truly broken world before? Not one that's merely fallen to darkness or splintered apart, but a world that has been utterly abandoned, left to rot for the rest of time itself?"
He doesn't give any of them a chance to answer as he turns around, and sure enough, exhaustion slips in between the silent fury brewing across every line and wrinkle of his face. "It's a waste, in every sense of the word. Of time, of knowledge, of life itself. In the age of the first Keyblade War, all worlds met the same fate this one has. But as we reach the end of the second Keyblade War, history will not repeat itself again. In the world I seek to create, such wasteful ruin will no longer exist. The world I will make shall be one of law and unity, free from the untamed chaos that thrives across the scattered stars. Chaos that thrives in the light, that only darkness can quell."
"It isn't chaos," Sora speaks up, stepping forward. Whatever fear he feels is nothing compared to the rage still surging through him at the mere sight of his grandfather. At the thought of all of the senseless, selfish pain he has caused. "It's freedom. The exact same thing you tried so hard to take away from me. But that's the thing about freedom. No matter what you do, you can never destroy it. You can only make someone want to fight for it even more."
"Then go on and fight for that 'freedom', boy, you and all your friends," Xehanort challenges. He calls upon his Keyblade, pointing it straight at Sora with a deadly gleam in his eyes. "Fight for your worlds, your lives, your love. But as you fight, remember this simple fact: that no matter how hard or long you struggle, there is nothing any of you can do to stop all existence from slipping into the very same darkness from whence it came!"
With that, the battle begins without much further fanfare. As eager as they are to tear down their final foe, the lights charge straight at Xehanort, magic swelling over several of their blades to make a divisive first strike. Naturally, the master teleports out of the path of any such attacks, appearing and disappearing rapidly enough that none of the lights can land so much as a single hit on him. And in their place, he makes sure to dole out plenty of his own.
He throws his Keyblade to knock the other Riku and Vanitas down, casting a heavy rain of darkness to distract Mickey, Donald, and Goofy. Once his weapon is back in his hand, he dodges a swing from Xion, only to slam his own Keyblade into her side, blocking both of Roxas' when he comes in soon after. The master easily pushes him back, letting even more magic flow to deflect Axel and Isa's approach. Another wave of darkness tosses Aqua aside before she can even come close while Xehanort exchanges a few quick blows with Terra before ultimately subduing him with a large slice to his leg. Ventus makes a worthy effort of catching him off guard, but Xehanort notices far too quickly as he nearly sends him flying over the edge of the citadel entirely. He doesn't waste much time with any of them, doesn't bother to trade barbs with such lowly pawns for any longer than he has to. He's here only for the king, a king that stands well-guarded by his steadfast queen and his loyal knight. A king that he'll gladly slay every last one of them to reclaim.
It goes on like that for a while. Xehanort easily manages to avoid the worst of what the lights have to throw at him, and though he tries whatever he can to cut them down, he isn't able to truly thin their numbers. Between Kairi, Aqua, Naminé, and Donald, there are plenty of skilled healers on hand to keep the others standing and strong. Xehanort has no one to rely on now, no one but himself. Everything should be in their favor, Sora knows that. But the longer he stands there, trying to find a way to slip into the fray, the more he hears Kingdom Hearts continue to endlessly beckon him from above… the more he realizes that it's not.
…But it could be.
You have all that you need… He hears it whisper to him. Its voice has been many things before; cryptic, questioning, demanding. But it's never been so soft, so welcoming, so kind. You hold the most powerful weapon of all…
His hand absently rests over his heart, his eyes falling shut as he feels it pull against the body keeping it bound. It doesn't hurt this time, doesn't feel anything but natural and right. A smile creeps onto the edges of his mouth, his feet feeling just a bit lighter until they aren't touching the ground anymore at all. He can only guess his eyes are nothing more than blank pools of black and white, but honestly, he can't be bothered to care. So much as looking at the Kingdom melts all of the sorrow that had settled in his heart away, numbs the pain that the truth behind his father's death had brought him. When he sets his sights upon that Kingdom, it's as though nothing else matters, nothing below its utterly gorgeous light even exists at all. When he looks upon his Kingdom, when he reaches for the unseen hand it's holding out to him… for perhaps the first time in his entire life, he finally feels…
Whole… it finishes his thoughts for him. Come, Sora… Let's be whole together… Let yourself come back… Let yourself come Home.
Home… That word rings through his body like a bell, bright and beautiful, like something he'd once dreaded but can't dream of enough. It's all he's ever wanted, to be where he knows he belongs, and it's everything his Kingdom is promising to give him. He feels himself drift just a bit further, just a bit higher, just a bit closer to where his own heart longs to be. But before he can make it there… he finds himself dragged right back down to earth all over again.
He's suddenly shoved harshly to the side, a shocked gasp escaping him when he hits the ground and finds Riku's body covering his. His face is awash in panic as he searches Sora's eyes for something, letting out a sigh of relief seconds later. It's only as Sora glances past him that he sees Xehanort standing only a few short feet away, a burst of darkness dying from the tip of his Keyblade. It doesn't take much for him to realize just how terrifyingly close he'd been to losing himself to his former master's power all over again.
"Thanks for the save," he tells Riku as he offers a hand to help him up. He expects a smile in return, but doesn't get one. Instead, he's met with a gravely serious frown.
"Sora…" he says in a tone that always manages to send a shiver of fear straight to Sora's heart. "Please. I need you to be honest with me. What's going on between you and…" He doesn't have it in him to call it by its name, so he simply steals a glance up at it instead. It takes every ounce of self-control Sora has left in him not to follow his gaze.
"I… I don't know how to explain it, Riku," his voice is smaller, more shallow than he'd like it to be. "It keeps telling me all of these things, about how I'm not whole, about how I need to open the door and come home. I don't understand any of it, but I-"
"Well, whatever you do, don't listen to a word it says to you," Riku staunchly concludes. "Once we take Xehanort down, we'll find a way to seal it away so you can finally be free from whatever… influence it's having on you."
"What? No!" Sora grabs his arm when he turns to head back into the brawl.
"What do you mean, 'no'?" Riku asks, as if he'd just spoken a completely different language.
"We can't just seal it away," Sora insists, taking both of his hands tightly in his. "Riku, I… I think Kingdom Hearts wants to help us!"
"Help us what exactly, Sora?" Riku pulls back. "Wipe every world out of existence just like Xehanort wants to do?"
"It doesn't want to do that!"
"How do you know that?!"
"Because I just… do, ok!?" Sora crosses his arms. It's frustrating that after all this time, after everything they've been through together, Riku still doesn't trust him. Still doesn't believe he knows what he's doing. Still treats him like he's nothing more than the weaker one between them. "Please…" he lets his anger out in a small sigh. "Just… listen to me for a change. Kingdom Hearts… wants me. I don't know why, but it does. So maybe… if I give it what it wants, then it'll-"
"Give yourself? To that?!" Riku shoots back harshly as he glares up at the haunting Heart in the sky. "Have you completely lost it? We've already lost you far too many times to count; I won't stand by and watch you slip away from us, from me again."
"But Riku, I-"
"Do not do a single thing Kingdom Hearts is telling you to do, Sora," Riku turns, glaring back at him rigidly. "That's an order."
And that's the end of it. Except for isn't, it can't be. Not when every part of Sora's soul is screaming at him to do the exact opposite of what Riku just said.
The battle rages on, brutal and bloody. It feels like it's going on forever, like this fight, this war will never end. Until… something shifts. It starts small, to the point that most of the lights don't even notice it at first. But as they start to land more and more direct hits, they soon reach an encouraging realization:
Xehanort is slipping.
For the first time, his speed and skill are starting to falter, his teleportation spells coming slower, his swings less precise. He sustains a brutal cut across his shoulder courtesy of Roxas, finds himself caught in a volley of violent magic cast between Aqua and Terra, is seared more than a few times by the light from Kairi's Keyblade. He's wearing himself out, spreading himself far too thin in a fight against fifteen foes. He knows this just as well as every last one of the lights do. But that doesn't mean he's about to accept defeat that easily. Not when he still has one last ace up his sleeve to win it all.
He lets out a furious shout as he allows sheer waves of darkness to burst from his Keyblade. It's enough to knock his foes back to the far side of the roof, giving Xehanort just enough space to carry out his final last-ditch plan. A desperate bid, but a necessary one that, if all goes as he anticipates it to, could finally grant him everything he's always been after… and so much more.
"I believe we've wasted enough of our precious little time on this senseless scuffle," he begins, breathless as he covers the deep wound Mickey had torn across his hip. "The destined day is drawing to an end and yet the door still stands closed. But not for a moment longer…"
He raises his hand, shouting again, as if whatever power he's calling upon is painful to him. The lights soon figure out why when thirteen colorful Keyblades materialize one-by-one around Kingdom Hearts' radius. Keys that aren't even his to summon to begin with.
"What?" Sora starts. He has no choice but to force his sights away from them when the Kingdom tries connecting with him once more. "H-how did you-"
"I made sure that the Keys would accompany us when we left the graveyard, child," Xehanort's still trying to catch his breath as he grips his aching chest. "Summoning them myself is more challenging than I would have liked to admit, but it was far from impossible. After all, Sora, you did entrust all thirteen of them to your master…"
"Only because you forced me to!" Sora protests fiercely.
"Whether it was on your own volition or not matters little," Xehanort counters unsympathetically. "The result is still the same. And now that they're here, now that all of the pieces are in place… There is nothing left to do but finally put them all together…"
This time, when he lifts his hand, his Keyblade is in it. A burst of black magic bursts from its tip, darting straight up toward the constantly-rotating Keys. They each react harshly to such sheer darkness, emitting a blinding light to banish it, light that moves to envelop Kingdom Hearts in turn. Sora's breathing turns shallow as he watches it all, his feet already beginning to lift off the ground. Only for Riku to once again pull him back down.
"Don't look," he warns, blocking as much of Kingdom Hearts from Sora's view as he can.
"But I-" Sora's cut off when the deadly still air surrounding Scala suddenly picks up into a full-force gale. The foundations of the destroyed city are rocked by a mighty rumble, as every last inch of it is bathed in the Kingdom's pure, undying light. The shockwaves spread from this broken world to every other one in existence, leaving their inhabitants wondering in hopeless fear whether or not the moments to follow truly will be their last. Wondering if anything at all will be left in the wake of the unknown apocalypse that awaits them.
"Kingdom Hearts! Hear my call!" Xehanort's voice rises over the ceaseless din. "The hour of fate has arrived! Reward your most loyal servant, the one who has brought you all of the keys you require, by granting your power, the power to destroy and recreate the worlds, to eternally rule them all, to ME!"
None of the lights know if the Kingdom will actually follow this command, and none of them want to find out. Almost every last one of them charges forward to finally cut the master down, only to run right into the barrier he erects to protect himself from them. With frenzied swings, they rush to break it, knowing they have no time to lose when reality itself stands ready to be unraveled.
Only one light stays behind, caught in a tide of conflict he can't seem to break himself free from. Sora does everything in his power to keep himself from looking up, from letting himself drift too far. Ever since Xehanort summoned the Keys, the Kingdom has strangely fallen silent. It doesn't urge him toward it, it doesn't try to tell him what he should do, it doesn't do anything other than wait. Wait… for him.
And though he knows he shouldn't, he can't help but think he's kept it waiting long enough.
He doesn't know what will happen if he does this, what he'll lose or what he'll gain. He doesn't know what he'll become, how he'll change, or who he'll be once it's all said and done. He doesn't know why it wants him, why it even chose him in the first place. But he does know this: he knows his friends, the worlds, life itself, are all in danger. He knows he lacks the power to stop it, to save them on his own. He knows that pull on his heart is growing stronger and stronger by the second. He knows that nothing will ever be the same if he so much as takes a single glance upward, if he lets this happen, if he gives his heart to one far greater.
And he knows, for the sake of all that he knows and all that he loves… that's exactly what must be done.
His eyes don't glow this time, his feet stay standing on solid ground. But he still smiles in spite of himself as a single ray of warm, golden light splits down from the Heart to shine solely on him. "I… I'm ready…" he tells it in a wavering whisper. "Tell me what you want me to do…"
You already know… it finally speaks. Its voices are refreshing to his soul, like rain after an endless drought, like the sun finally returning after a devastating storm. Open the door… and come Home…
He draws in a deep breath, fear and comfort filling every inch of him as he dares to take his first step forward. His sights stay on the Heart above as his own races with anticipation and excitement. That lone beam of light follows him, and as distracted as they all are with Xehanort, none of the lights notice it at first. At least until Kairi finally spares a glance back to spot it.
"Sora!" she cries, abandoning the struggle at hand to race to him. Riku follows without a second thought, leaving the others to try and tear the barrier down with little success.
"Sora, what did I tell you?!" Riku grabs him by both shoulders harshly. It's enough to draw his sights back down to earth, but only for a moment. "Stop listening to that… that thing and-"
"Riku," Sora covers his hands, gently pulling them down. Sincerity sweeps across his face, over a smile that's strained yet still so incredibly hopeful all the same. "It's ok."
"B-but Sora," Kairi tries to protest. Her voice breaks when he takes her hand in his, drawing it to his lips for a feather-light kiss. "You-"
"It'll be ok," he reassures again. "Please. You both have to trust me… I… This is what I'm supposed to do…"
"What if it isn't?" Riku presses, almost in tears. "What then?"
"...I think… No. I know it is…" Sora affirms. Just from looking into his mismatched eyes, both Riku and Kairi can tell he's never been more serious about anything in his entire life. And yet…
"No matter what happens…" Kairi draws in close to him. It doesn't take long for Sora's arms to find his way around them both though. "You have to come back to us. You have to."
"...I will," his smile turns a touch more bittersweet. As if his heart knows something his mind doesn't. "I promise."
They both believe that promise. They both believe in him, they always have and they always will. And so… they slowly slip their hands away from him, they quietly let him go. They let him walk out of their arms… and into the arms of fate itself.
When Xehanort finally sees what Sora is doing, he makes no effort to hide the greedy satisfaction that flashes across his face. He uses the last stores of his magic to convert his barrier into a burst of magic that's strong enough to send all of the attacking lights flying back. That magic waves cleanly around Sora, as not to interrupt his approach. Xehanort steps forward to watch what he's been waiting well over half his life for, to watch his grandson give him everything he's always wanted.
"That's right, my boy!" he encourages fervently. "Fulfill your purpose! Embrace your destiny!"
"...You're right…" Sora stops at the center of the citadel. He tears his sights away from the Kingdom to meet his grandfather's golden gaze, and for the first time, he isn't afraid to stand before him in the slightest. He isn't afraid of anything anymore. "This is my destiny."
"At last," Xehanort's voice drips with smug, sadistic pride. "You finally understand what you-"
"It's my destiny…" Sora cuts him off as he lifts his eyes to the sky once more. In an instant, they're filled with light as pure and bright as the sun and darkness as black as the deepest night. Opposite but equal in every way there is. "And this…" his voice is still his own, but dozens, hundreds, thousands of others join along with it. "Is my power… Not yours."
Before the boy's feet even leave the ground, Xehanort's smile is gone. His eyes widen in shock, shock that all of the lights share as they watch the Kingdom's light slowly lift Sora up into the air. He reaches his hand up, the X-Blade flashing into it as the Kingdom gives its final instructions to him once again.
Arise…
Ascend…
Awaken…
Arise…
Ascend…
Awaken…
"I hear you…" he whispers, smiling as tears fill his otherworldly eyes. "And I'm coming…"
Home…
"...I'm coming Home…" he echoes, just as it all starts to unfold.
The Keys spiral down from above, circling around him now instead of the Heart. A light laugh slips out as he watches them, feeling his connection to each and every one and relishing that connection, regardless of how they'd been claimed. That excitement soon shifts into awe, however, when he returns his sights back to the sky. He watches as a door, the most elegant and exquisite he's ever seen, forms into existence between him and the Heart. It's made of sheer stained glass of almost every color, crested with the symbol of a crowned heart. And, right in the center of that heart, is a keyhole. A Keyhole Sora knows only he can unlock.
You are the one…
"Who will open the door…" he finishes, knowing exactly what awaits beyond this door. It isn't darkness his grandfather is so insistent on thinking it is. It isn't the desolation of all of the worlds or the death of everyone in them. It isn't anything he's ever been told it is. Instead, it's exactly what he's always known it to be.
Kingdom Hearts… is light.
And so, with a simple turn of the X–Blade, with all of the love he has in his heart, with all of the hope he still has to give, he opens the door… and lets that light shine through.
It's bright enough to nearly blind everyone below but him. In between it, he briefly glances down to realize just how high up he is now; Xehanort and the lights stand small as they stare at him from the roof of the citadel. Certainly, his grandfather must want to stop this, some of the lights likely do too, but he's already far too out of their reach for any of them to even try. He ends up even further, however, when he slowly passes through the parted doors. When he arises, ascends, and at long last… awakens.
The sun, the moon, the stars, are why…
We always look up to the sky…
Look up there and you will see…
An endless chain of memory…
It's singing to him, singing the same lullaby he'd once cursed but can't help falling in love with all over again now. Tears continue to flow freely from his empty eyes, his hand still reaching for the Heart as he draws ever closer to it. The X-Blade vanishes, but the Keys remain, knowing the part they're meant to play next as they prepare themselves to perform it.
Drop the distance into dreams…
A birth by sleep, a flowing stream…
Unwinds in time, in dark, in light…
The days go by as hearts take flight…
From far below, the lights can do nothing but watch as the Keys rapidly approach Sora, who opens his arms wide to welcome them. None of this makes any sense to begin with, but they're completely floored by what happens next. Nothing can stop it, just as nothing can stop their shared screams when they see the first of the thirteen Keys plunge itself into Sora's heart.
"No!" Riku yells against Kairi's horrified shriek. They're running before the next Key follows, but they don't get far before another ray of white hot light bursts down from above, sending them both flying back.
The other lights are left far too shaken to follow, torn between terror and amazement as they watch the Keys continue stabbing their way through Sora one by one. They each vanish at their hilt only to reappear, completely bloodless, behind him. In fact, they don't even seem to be wounding him at all; they leave no cut or gash or wound or mark, not even a single tear in his clothes. He doesn't recoil or cry out in pain, he doesn't do anything other than float there and let each of them come to him as he feels all of the rich and real emotions they were forged from.
And you, precious child, hold the Key, to your destiny…
Friendship hits him first, kind and nostalgic, like returning from a long journey or seeing someone special come home. Fear spikes through him next, but the blinding dread that courses through him doesn't linger long, doesn't leave behind much of a sting. Compassion flows in its wake, compassion for the worlds, for all who dwell within them, for everything that ever has and ever will exist.
And you, precious child, bear your legacy…
Another Key strikes him with conflict, deep and unnerving, yet honest and important. Conflict gives way to curiosity, to all of the questions he's ever had, all of the questions he's finally, finally getting answers to. Joy blooms to life in his soul and he savors its welcome warmth, though he knows when to let it ease away into the solemn serenity of remembrance. In the cracks between those scattered memories, rage settles in, but he doesn't let it consume him, not this time, not ever again.
Dearly beloved, look up to the endless sky…
Desire digs its way through his chest and he nearly drowns in it as he realizes he's so close to the Heart, to Home, but still so very far. When guilt takes its swing, he doesn't back down from it, knowing he can't feel anything but for what will happen once this is over and done. But the trust that follows suit eases his weariness, trust that he made the right choice, that all will be well, that they'll learn to move on. Except when grief hits him, it hits him hard, to the point that he wishes he could pull himself out of this just so he can stay with them for one more moment. Just so he can say one last goodbye.
Dearly beloved, there your heart will fly…
The final Key makes its mark. Grief gives way to love, so deep and powerful and real that it's enough to put all of his doubts to permanent rest. He loves them, all of them, everything enough to make this all more than worth it. He always has, ever since the beginning of time itself.
Light and darkness wage a war…
But don't forget what it's all for…
After the last of the Keys cuts through his body, they come to arrange themselves behind in almost eager anticipation of what comes next. From the spot they'd entered his chest, a white light explodes, covering his entire body until it drowns him out of sight. The lights only vaguely hear Xehanort's furious shouting against the quaking earth and roaring winds, against nature itself breaking and bending just to see what will become of the boy in the sky.
Thirteen Keys will bring its might…
The Child of Destiny takes flight…
Despite how bright the light above them is, Riku and Kairi don't take their eyes off of Sora for a second and neither does Xehanort. They're the only ones who truly see what happens next, who witness the transformation that takes place. They're the ones who watch as Sora becomes so much more.
His eyes are shut, his hair blowing wildly as light and darkness alike swirl around him. They tackle his clothing first, lengthening his sleeves and slacks as it paints them shades of white, black, and gray, until all other traces colors are drained out entirely. His shoes vanish, leaving his feet bare as they hover gently countless of feet above the ground. His jacket billows out behind him, its trim cut into a different pattern that matches what the cuffs of his gloves are becoming. That pattern becomes more clear as it brands itself onto the bottom of his slacks: a crown, the very same crown that had once hung around Sora's neck. A crown that now comes to exist atop his head instead.
To the Kingdom, bring her king…
Only then her power sings…
That crown is simple, yet radiant, pristinely gold and expertly crafted as it fits perfectly between his still-messy brown spikes. His entire outfit has turned more regal to match it, and it's made all the more so when a long crimson cape unfurls into existence over his shoulders, flowing freely behind his back. The Keys do the same, arranging themselves into what almost looks like a massive set of wings. Their vibrant colors surprisingly compliment his near lack of any, shining like a rainbow between the aura of equal darkness and light that blankets their wielder. One more Key is needed to complete the collection, and just as it all comes to a quiet end, the X-Blade appears in Sora's hands once more.
As soon as it does, the world turns silent, the Heart pulsing with light and darkness almost as if it were beating. Beating in time with the heart of its new;y-crowned King.
In seventeen years, wait and see…
The only path that's meant to be…
Not a single one of the lights dares to move, not even as Sora slowly begins to descend back down toward them. Practically every one of them can feel the sheer, earth-shattering power radiating from him now, power that, quite possibly, has always been there, sleeping right under the surface. How could none of them have ever noticed it until now?
The sun, the moon, the stars are why…
We always look up to the sky…
The lullaby's final refrain fades as he floats further and further away. The Heart beckons him again, begs him to take the final few steps toward it. But he can't, not yet. Not while there's still work to be done here.
He stops somewhere in the space between Xehanort and the lights, still hovering about a foot or so off the ground. His eyes are still closed, and by all accounts, he's calm and serene when absolutely no one else around him is. Kairi is the first to let out an unsteady breath, to try and take a step toward him, but Riku grabs her shoulder to stop her. She spares a harsh glance back at him, but doesn't try again.
Xehanort, however, isn't anywhere near as patient. He chokes out a breath that soon erupts into a sudden burst of almost broken laughter. That laughter sits squarely between madness and malice as he takes in his grandson. Of the boy who has become a being far beyond most mortals' comprehension, the boy who's gotten everything he knows he should have instead.
"So…" he steps forward, summoning his Keyblade into his grip. Sora doesn't so much as move, doesn't even look his way or open his eyes. Xehanort's manic grin deepens as he draws closer, knowing this will be even easier than he thought. "It has finally come to pass. I was beginning to doubt if I would ever look upon your true form with my own eyes, boy. But here you are, with the door flung open and your power pure and ready for the taking. I hope you've cherished these fleeting few seconds you've had it all to yourself. For from this moment on and forever more, you, my little 'King' and your glorious Kingdom… both belong to ME!"
He takes aim, allowing yet another piece of his heart to rise to the tip of his Keyblade. Though Sora doesn't appear to see it, the lights certainly do as they break themselves out of their shock to try and stop it. Xehanort doesn't let them get far before he throws his free hand up, creating another shadowy barrier to bar them from running to Sora's aid. Even their warning screams don't seem to reach him as he continues hovering there peacefully, as if his heart, his freedom, and his newly-obtained power weren't all in grave danger. He remains still and silent as Xehanot lets his oppressive magic fly, confident that his narrow victory is all but secured, until–
Sora brings his hand up almost far too fast for anyone to see it. The shard of Xehanort's heart comes to a sudden halt only inches away, all but frozen in place. He maintains control of that orb of shimmering darkness, bringing it before him as he finally opens his eyes to look at it. They're still blankly black and white, yet both seem so much brighter than they've ever been before. At first, his gaze is unreadable as he stares down at the fragmented heart in his hands, so similar to what had overshadowed his own not so long ago. And then, just as the first wave of anger washes over his face, he crushes that heart with his bare hand, obliterating it altogether.
He does it so quickly, so easily, that the lights, and even Xehanort himself, are left stunned by what they've just seen. Still, the master doesn't let his shock stick for long. He draws his weapon once more, forcing another fraction of his heart out of it in a desperate bid to reclaim his thirteenth and all of the unfathomable power he possesses.
Sora turns to face him, fury etched across every inch of his face as he slowly starts to float forward. The dark piece of heart burns away before it can even touch him, and so do the next two attempts the master makes in its wake. Yet Xehanort still doesn't stop, still doesn't quit, not until he's stretched his heart far too thin to even remain standing any longer. He drops to one knee, barely able to breathe as he glares up at the otherworldly boy before him. Sora matches that glare perfectly, rich and raw magic radiating from his imposing form. Power that Xehanort has spent almost his life craving more than anything else, power that's somehow passed over him to land in his grandson's hands instead. Power that he will do whatever it takes to make his own.
His hands are trembling when he brings his Keyblade up again. Its tainted tip nearly rests on Sora's chest, but there isn't enough of the master's heart left to try and pass through it. Sora seems to know this just as well as Xehanort does as he lets the X-Blade vanish… and calls upon his Keyblade instead.
The nameless weapon shifts seamlessly into his grip, as if it's always belonged to him. Xehanort finally falters, speechless to the point that he can't even ask how such a thing is even possible. Sora doesn't regard his dismay as he inspects the Keyblade in his hands until he finally decides to speak.
"This Keyblade…" His voice is made up of many, of all of the wayward hearts that have ever found their way back to his Kingdom. Even then, his own voice rises just a bit above the rest, though the words it speaks don't sound like they belong to him at all. "I can hear the cries of the hearts it has cast down… So many innocent lives lost to a weapon that was meant to save them… To a wielder who was never worthy of its power in the first place…"
There's nothing less than sheer hatred in Sora's empty gaze when he brings it back to Xehanort. His hands tighten around the master's Keyblade as cracks, deep and damning, ripple across its blackened surface. Unlike the Kingdom Key before it, it takes only seconds for the nameless Keyblade to shatter. A sharp cry slips out of Xehanort as the connection he once had to his weapon breaks right along with it.
"H-how dare you-" he cuts himself off with a harsh cough, bits of blood spraying out of his mouth. "Regardless of the form you now take, you're still just a child! You're weak, worthless! A simpleminded boy pretending to play the part of a mighty king! What makes you any more deserving of the Kingdom's favor and glory than me!?"
"...You still refuse to understand…" Sora shakes his head. "Such a shame. You were given so many chances to change your path, far more than most get. But every step of the way… you decided to walk in darkness and shun the light. You decided that no life other than your own was worthwhile when weighed against what you wanted. Why should anyone who sees so little value in the world around them have the power to choose that world's fate?"
"T-the worlds are broken beyond belief!" Xehanort argues. "My plan was to use your–the Kingdom's power to recreate them and-"
"And put yourself at the forefront of them all," Sora says sharply, knowingly. "You never wanted to recreate the worlds to make them any better. For you, it was always about being the one to dictate their destiny, to subjugate and control the lives of all within them. You may claim I am a pretender to my throne, but you already know that isn't true. You, Xehanort, have been working tirelessly to usurp my crown from the moment my mortal life began, a crown you knew you would only ever be able to come close to if you stole the heart of the one who was destined to wear it. And in all your jealousy and hatred, you spent years toiling for a Kingdom that would never have recognised you as its king."
Xehanort stumbles to stand, clutching at the undying ache, at the indivisible fear in his chest. Even then, Sora stands taller than he does, hovering high as the light of Kingdom Hearts shines spectacularly behind him. "It… it would have if I had-"
"If you had what?" Sora cuts him off. Far behind him, the lights continue to watch this tense exchange, though they don't dare interrupt it. Not when Sora so clearly seems to be winning with words alone. "If you had worked even harder to corrupt my heart? If you had done more to break my body into becoming a monstrosity? If you had tainted my mind with even more of your hateful, endless lies?"
"...If you expect me to apologize for any of what I did to you, boy, then you'll only be met with disappointment instead," Xehanort straightens, forcing his terror to settle out into his usual cruel calm. "In fact, I would do it all again if it means I could claim even a fraction of the power that was so wrongly given to you!"
The lights make no effort to hide their disgust, and neither does Sora. He backs up a bit, letting out a bitter sigh as he glares away from the master. "...You still show no remorse, not even now, not even after all of this?"
"Not even in the slightest," Xehanort hisses darkly, despicably.
"I see…" Sora slowly looks up to his Kingdom, his former anger replaced with a look of sorrowful woe. "Then you leave me with no other choice… If this is what it takes for you finally to see just how wrong you are, just how wrong you've always been… then so be it."
He turns around in an instant, light and darkness exploding around his form in equal measure. It's a dazzling display that's so intense that the lights have no choice but to shield their eyes against it. Xehanort does the same, at least until he hears a voice, one he hasn't heard in years, suddenly call his name.
"Xehanort! Open your eyes! Open your eyes… and look upon the faces of all of the lives you have destroyed!"
Try as he might to resist, Xehanort has no choice but to obey. He looks forward to where Sora had once been, only to be met with a completely different sight instead. "It… it can't be…" he starts, and a handful of the lights do the same.
"Master?!" Aqua, Terra, and Ventus echo in a round of incredulous whispers. But sure enough, those stern, dark eyes and disapproving glaze are exactly the same as they've always been. They're both still enough to make Xehanort cave when almost nothing else can.
"E-Eraqus?" he stammers, taking a nervous step back. Eraqus hovers in Sora's place, wearing almost the same exact scowl as a ghostly aura hangs over him. It's an illusion, it almost certainly is. But it shakes the master straight down to his very core. "H-how-"
"Be silent," Eraqus speaks and Xehanort does exactly that. Whether it's against his will or not, none of the lights can tell. "The one who stands before you is nothing more than a vision of the past. One who was taken from this world before their time, entirely because of you. Eraqus was a friend to you, a brother. He never stopped caring for you, even long after you stopped caring for him. And yet you still struck him down all the same. Why?"
For perhaps the first time in his entire life, Xehanort is at a loss for words. "I… I…" he swallows hard, unable to even think of what to say. Of how to explain how he had so willingly taken part in the death of someone who had always been there for him when no one else had.
"Why…?" "Eraqus's" voice suddenly shifts as his form gives way to another. To an older woman that none of the lights recognize, but Xehanort certainly does.
"L-Lassa…" his voice breaks as tears, of all things, start to brim in the corners of his eyes. He reaches for her, but she sneers away from him, her voice every bit as bitter as the words it speaks.
"Thalassa loved you, with every last part of her heart. She wanted nothing more for you to return that love, to share a family, a life with her. If only she had known… Someone like you, someone who has no heart, cannot feel anything even close. So why then… did you betray her love by making her think that you could?"
Xehanort tenses up when she vanishes, a rapid onslaught of faces and figures following suit. He sees the fallen members of his Organization, their voices rotating on each question as they condemn him for what he's done. "Why did you lie to us? Why did you make us believe we had no hearts of our own? Why did you force us to follow you into a future you would have never let any of us live to see? Why did you drag us down with you, into despair, into darkness, into death?"
"Enough!" he shouts, wrenching his eyes shut against the twisted apparitions. Against the ghosts of the past the boy is using to torment him in the present. "I have no interest in listening to any more of-"
"Why?" Another voice cuts him off. A voice that both haunts the master, and fills him with hatred. "Why don't you want to look into his face? Why won't you see how much pain you caused when you spilled his blood? Why, Xehanort… did you kill your only son?"
Xehanort looks up at him, at the stormy gray eyes that looked so much like his own used to, at the blood caked onto the fatal wound torn across his chest. At Tsuki, in the final moments of his life when he had died in his father's, in his murder's, arms. "I… Y-you… you already know why…" he mutters, but there's no bite behind it. If anything, the only thing that hangs in his tone now… is shame.
"I do," Tsuki acknowledges coldly. "You killed the son you never loved to get the grandson you hated even more."
When he shifts again, he's Sora once more, but he wears none of the regal radiance he'd carried mere moments ago. Instead, he's just a boy, only about seven or so, with blazing blue eyes that sear his grandfather all the way to his very soul. "Why… Why did you despise an innocent child enough to take his father from him?" He ages up a bit, to fourteen, but he's no less fearsome. "Why did you force him to watch his world shatter in front of him? Why did you steal his most beloved friends away?" The color starts to fade from his eyes when he turns fifteen, blue becoming black and white voids that can see straight through to the master's darkened soul. "Why did you destroy his childhood by forcing him to fight, to grow up far too soon?"
When he's sixteen, the Organization's coat enshrouds him, the claws, the fangs, the wings, the whitened hair and golden eyes all on full display. "Why?" he practically shouts, drawing in close to the man as he cowers away from him. "Why did you take a heart so full of love and hope and laughter, and tear it down until it could feel nothing but anguish and anger and agony? Why did you make him fear himself, why did you make him HATE himself? Why did you make him believe that HE was the one who deserved to die instead of YOU? WHY?" His power explodes around him, raw and furious as he rises higher. His full majesty returns as his crown comes to rest on his head and the X-Blade comes to sit in his hands. And this time, after seeing exactly what this boy, what this king can do, Xehanort is utterly terrified by it all, by him. "WHY, XEHANORT, DID YOU THINK YOU COULD TURN A KING INTO A SLAVE?!"
The lights watch on in disbelief as Xehanort slips to his hands and knees and grovels. As all of his dignity, all of his arrogance and pride are stripped away from him at the hands of the same boy who he'd once forced to bow to him. "P-please, o great Kingdom Hearts," he prostrates before the Kingdom, but not before its King. "Show mercy on your l-loyal servant. I-I sincerely… apologize for all that I have-"
"LIAR!" Sora calls him out before he can even finish, his voice–voices–booming across all of Scala. "One who has never shown others an ounce of mercy has no right to beg for any themselves. My eyes can look straight through to your heart, Xehanort; do you want to know what I see?" He leans down, drawing the master's fearful gaze up to meet his much more vicious one. "Nothing. Nothing but darkness, hatred, and greed. I can see that you only ask for my forgiveness to save your own life, not because you feel any shred of regret for all the lives you have ruined. And… I can see exactly what you deserve for all you've done…"
"W-what are you going to do?" Xehanort dares to ask. His eyes sharpen into a glare, but the fear behind it is still more than clear. How easily a man who once believed himself to be so strong and steady can crumble to pieces when faced with the sins of his past. "Kill me?"
Sora drifts back, closing his eyes. "I want you to feel it," he says almost cryptically. "I want you to feel all of the pain you put this heart through. All of the pain you've put everyheart your atrocities have touched through. I want you to see their suffering, to experience their terror, to know every second of torture and torment YOU caused them. I want you to understand that it could have been different if you'd only chosen the right path. That you sealed your fate the moment you decided to step foot upon the dark road that led you here. That this, Xehanort, is all YOUR fault."
Sora doesn't even have to move, doesn't even need to lift a finger. Xehanort's scream rises high into the air the second he's done speaking, his sudden, untold anguish echoing across the open sky. The lights stand by in terrified wonder as the Kingdom and its King collaborate to recreate every ounce of agony Xehanort has ever caused, as they let the full force of that agony flow straight into his heart. It's a fitting punishment, but there's no denying that it's horrible to watch all the same. The master collapses fully to the ground, half-paralyzed by the sheer devastation flowing through his body, his mind, his heart. Blood leaks from his wounds, from his mouth, even from his eyes as his broken breaths come out in strained sobs. His golden eyes are dull, half glazed-over as they meet Sora's empty ones. The King's glare has softened back into pity, almost as if some more heavenly part of him wishes it didn't have to be this way. But the part of him that still hangs onto his humanity, onto hatred for this horrid man who had caused him so much misery for so much of his life, knows that this is more than fair.
For the sake of the worlds, for their denizens, for himself… this is what needs to be done.
Even then, even still, Xehanort reaches for him. His shriveled hand trembles as he draws it up, his eyes lifting to the Kingdom high above his grandson's head. A Kingdom his ravaged mind still somehow thinks he has a chance at claiming. "K-Kingdom Hearts…" he whispers, his voice raw and frail from screaming. "I… I will…"
Sora moves to block his view of it. He shines as a beacon of equal darkness and equal light, of all of the things Xehanort never thought could coexist in the perfect sort of harmony he embodies. Of all of the might and majesty he once thought would belong to him. Only now does he realize… it never will. "M-my thirteenth…" he pleads weakly, barely hanging on by a thread now. "Sora… M-my grandson… Please… Please…"
"...Enough," he says softly, looking away. "Let this be the end. Of all of this…"
He slowly raises his hand, his mysterious magic swirling around it in a beautiful, yet dangerous display. Xehanort almost seems to yield, almost looks like he's about to let go with some shred of peace and dignity. But then…
He pulls himself onto his knees, fury lacing through the pain on his face as he continues reaching for the King and his crown. Ceaselessly stubborn right to the bitter end. "N-no…" he seethes, trying to call upon a Keyblade that no longer exists. For one last chance that isn't there. "NO! SORA-"
Before his grandfather is even finished saying his name, Sora turns his power loose upon him. Deadly tendrils of darkness and light plunge into his body, and they waste no time in tearing it apart. His cries are drowned out by the sheer force of such power, a force that equally blows the lights back as they shield themselves from it. It isn't long before the master's voice is ousted entirely, before his body can no longer withstand what's rapidly destroying it. No one but Sora himself can tell exactly what his final moment is, but it comes quickly enough. As soon as it does, he finally pulls his hand back, his magic dimming as the last remains of Xehanort's decimated body begin to fade. Until only one final trace of him is left behind: his heart.
That heart gravitates to Sora, who holds it over his hands amidst the silence that starts to settle over the citadel. He frowns down at it, a heart that looks no different than any other, but one that has caused so much destruction and death all the same. A heart whose owner, at long, long last, has finally met the same fate.
"Go in peace…" he tells the heart. He raises it high, allowing it to freely drift out of his hands and up to the Kingdom from where all hearts come, to where they all eventually return. Even a heart as cold and corrupted as his.
It's only as Xehanort's heart disappears into the sky that it starts to set in for the lights. Each of them release a breath they hadn't realized they'd been holding, and in spite of it all, almost all of them smile. Axel pulls Roxas, Xion, and Isa into a warm, loose embrace, Aqua, Terra, and Ven lean on each other, happy tears brimming in each of their eyes. Donald and Goofy break the silence with an elated cheer that they're quick to encourage Mickey into as Vanitas sneers out a 'good riddance', eliciting a laugh from Naminé and the other Riku alike. It's a surprising place for such a celebration, to say the least, but they still celebrate all the same.
Because after months, after years of pain and oppression at the hands of Xehanort and his followers… he's gone. The war has ended. The worlds are free. It's finally, finally over.
And yet…
"Sora…?" Kairi's voice, soft and anxious, breaks through the rising excitement. She finally takes a small step forward, Riku cautiously following right behind her. Sora's back is still turned to them, all thirteen Keys shimmering across his wide set of wings. They follow his movements when he finally, slowly looks back.
"All is well, guardians of light…" he says, the faintest ghost of a smile hanging on his face. "You have nothing to fear. You have all fought hard and done well. The light of the future is secure…"
Riku and Kairi hesitate, exchange a nervous glance. He still doesn't sound right, his words far too formal, too impersonal. The Sora they know is usually so casual, so easygoing, so friendly; the Sora they see before them now is almost none of those things. He remembers them, recognizes them, clearly, but still, something here is clearly wrong. "Sora," Kairi quickens her pace to reach him. "Why are you still-"
Before she can get too close, Sora suddenly pulls himself back. By now, the other lights are approaching, awash in confusion as they watch the faint smile fade from his face altogether. "I'm sorry…" Something that almost sounds like guilt slips into his tone. "But in my current form… I can't…"
He trails off, absently looking up to his Kingdom. None of the lights are quite sure what he means, but even their best guesses are far from reassuring. Despite their nerves, Donald and Goofy are the first to speak up.
"W-well… then go back to normal already!" the magician huffs in faux impatience.
"Yeah, it's not like you're stuck like this forever," Goofy adds. "...Are ya?"
"Go back… to normal?" Sora frowns, confused. "This… this is normal." He motions to himself, to his kingly apparel, his glistening crown. "This is who I truly am. This is what I have always been meant to be."
"Ugh, not this again," Roxas pipes up, frustrated. "Sora, Xehanort is dead. Which means you don't have to believe any of the lies he told you anymore!"
Sora shakes his head, sighing. "Xehanort told many lies, but that was not one of them. My Kingdom is my destiny. I was born to wear its crown. Seventeen years I have spent in a mortal body, separated from my throne. Now that I have finally awakened to my power and my purpose… it is time for me to go Home."
"T-that's right!" Kairi finally bridges the gap between them. She takes his hands, only to gasp from the shiver of sheer power that splits through her. It's warm and cold all at once, like standing on a beach and in a blizzard all at the same exact time. And yet… it doesn't hurt her, Sora makes sure of that. "It's time for all of us to go home. Now that all of this is over, our lives can finally start again." Even as she says it, her heart is starting to realize it's far too good to be true. The look on Sora's face alone is enough to tell her that. And yet, she still stubbornly holds onto that hope as she grabs Riku's hand and brings him into the fold. As she tries to keep the three of them from falling away from each other even more than they already have."We can be happy together, Sora, just like we said we would be… S-so…"
Though his eyes are still empty, so much grief manages to hang in them as he slowly draws his hands away from the pair. "You don't understand…" he says quietly, mournfully. "I have to go Home…"
He looks up, as do all of the lights, to what's still hanging so bright and beautiful in the sky above. To the Kingdom that could have doomed them but decided to save them all instead. To the Heart they all owe so much to… that still wants to take so much away.
"No," Riku tenses, his tone harsh and rigid. "You're not going anywhere except for right back to the Destiny Islands with us, Sora. I told you not to listen to Kingdom Hearts, and you're-"
"Riku… how can you expect me not to follow my Kingdom, my very own Heart?" Sora argues evenly. "I'm incomplete. I have been since the moment my mortal life began. When I left my Kingdom, we were both fractured, broken. We need to come back together again to bring balance to each other… and to the worlds…"
"W-well, you won't have to stay up there forever, will you?" Ventus asks, apprehensively hopeful. "Once you do whatever you have to do, you can come back… right?"
"I'm afraid it isn't that simple…" Sora turns his full attention to the sky. "A king truly worthy of his crown does not leave his kingdom behind. And I've already abandoned mine for far too long now. If I do not return to it, in time, others like Xehanort will rise up, intent on claiming its power as their own. Without a king to control it, its throne will be free for whoever wants to take it to bring their selfish desires to life…"
"So… to keep all this from happening again," Naminé begins grimly. "You have to…"
"Yes…" Sora glances back, smiling sadly. "I must go… But… to tell you all the truth… I'm struggling to leave you. My Kingdom is calling me, and I do wish to return to it, but… the time I've gotten to spend with you is something I don't want to come to an end…"
"Then don't," Kairi implores, grabbing his hand once more. "We'll find another way to keep Kingdom Hearts safe, any other way than this. You've already sacrificed enough, Sora. You shouldn't have to give up anything more. Please," she chokes on a desperate sob, throwing her arms around him. His power is overwhelming, to the point that she almost has to let go, but she doesn't. She can't, not when all she wants, all she's ever wanted is to hang onto him, to keep him here by her side. "Please… don't go."
"Kairi…" he tries to pull away, only for Riku to snatch his free hand instead.
"Sora." He's clearly angrily, despite the tears in his eyes. "You told us you would come back from this. You promised."
He takes in a deep breath as he carefully slips out of their desperate hold. "I'm so sorry…" he tells them, his voice barely above a morose whisper. "But I promised the worlds so much more…"
While he leaves Riku and Kairi despondent and speechless, the other lights are anything but. Donald and Goofy are the first to rush forward, both of them adamant on finding a way to keep their son from leaving them behind all over again.
"Now hold on just a minute!" Donald snaps hotly. "King or no king, you're not going anywhere, Sora!"
"T-that's right," Goofy agrees, albeit a bit more nervously. "You, me, n' Donald still have lots of adventures to go on, lots of worlds to see. Remember what we've always said: all for one, and…"
Sora doesn't finish the phrase this time. Instead, he simply offers the pair a bittersweet smile when he notices the first tears form in his former companions' eyes. "Please…" he says, gently passing through the space between them. They aren't the only ones crying, that much is clear. It's rare to see a dry eye among any of the lights right now."Don't weep for me. Though I go to a place you cannot follow, I will forever hold each of you in my heart as I hope you'll hold me in yours. After all," the other voices seem to soften, allowing his own to shine through just a bit more. Allowing him to finally sound a little more like himself again. "Beneath all of this… I'm still your friend." He stops when he reaches Riku and Kairi, holding his hands out to both of them. They tearfully take them, and they both practically fall to pieces when he lightly kisses both of their foreheads. "I'm still your Sora…"
When he takes himself away from them again, they feel like he's taking both of their hearts right along with him. They don't know what to say, what to do, how to stop this because they already know they can't. For as much as they both might want Sora, Kingdom Hearts wants him just the same. And unfortunately, the source of all life has a pull on him that's far stronger than either of them could ever hope to match.
"Sora!" Roxas shouts furiously, his fists tight at his sides. "You can't go! We won't let you!"
"Not after how hard we all fought to free you…" Xion adds much softer, much sadder.
"We did all of this so you'd be able to be safe and stay with all of us," Aqua says, shaking her head hopelessly. "Was… was everything we did for you… all for nothing?"
"No… Your actions have saved so many lives, including my own…" he hovers further away from them. It's enough to tell them that his final few moments with them are slipping away all too soon. There's still so much they all want to say, want to do, and yet… there's no time for any of it. "And for that, I thank you, all of you. Thank you for making my time as a mortal even more than I could have ever imagined it would be… Thank you for showing me the kind of love that makes all life worth living…"
"Sora…" Kairi begins, but she doesn't run to him this time. Not when it's clear his mind is already made up. "Please… we… we love you…"
"...And I love all of you… That's why I have to leave you…" Tears, the same deep black and rich white as his own eyes, have finally begun to form. They defy gravity every bit as much as he does as they flow upward toward his Kingdom as it continues to cry out to his soul. He hates to keep it waiting, and he knows that every single second he does only makes this much harder than it already is. But still… "Take care of the worlds… and take care of each other. And above all else… let your heart be your guiding key…" He floats a little higher toward his heavenly Home as he offers the lights one final smile, a smile that not a single one of them returns as their hearts all but shatter to pieces. He can feel their grief just as much as he can feel his own; but in the end, even that isn't enough to keep him anchored any longer than it already has. "...Farewell…"
He can't bear to say anything more, to spend another second stewing in such immense sorrow. With a mighty flap of his crystalline wings, the Keys propel him upward with a sudden, incredible burst of speed. He shuts his eyes to stem the tears, to try and block out the desperate screams of the friends he's leaving behind, begging him to come back, to stop, to stay. But in the end, their voices are drowned out, just like they always are, by the cries of his Kingdom. By the voices that echo inside his now-immortal heart.
You're almost here, my King, almost here…
We've waited so long… We've been waiting for you…
You are the one who has opened the door… Come and claim your crown… Come… and make us both whole…
"My Kingdom…" he whispers longingly as he continues to ascend, streaking through the sky like a blazing comet.
My King… it returns just as gently, just as lovingly as it takes him into its eternal embrace at long last. Welcome Home…
The guardians of light are left to watch as the Kingdom claims its King in a shower of dazzling light. For all its glory and beauty, it's a quiet moment when he finally disappears from sight. A moment that will forever haunt the hearts of all who saw it happen.
All… except for one.
At the base of Scala's ravaged remains, he stands alone, unseen by the lights and his former "master" alike as he watched the final struggle and its aftermath unfold. He removes his hood, his gaze following the King's path up to his Kingdom until he's back where he's supposed to be. And that means that it won't be long before someone else will be too.
"See you soon, Master…" Xigbar grins, tapping the top of the black box resting by his side. "See you soon…"
Ohohohoh no what did I do this time? Well let's just say we have two chapters left, so it's not... quite over yet. Can't really say what's in store for next time, but I can say please let me know what you thought of this chapter in the REVIEWS PLEASE! That's all I'm gonna say outside of a huge happy birthday to this silly little fic here and thanks to everyone who's followed me along on this wild ride. Until next time... ;3
