Chapter Thirteen: The Beginning of a War

There wasn't any point of trying to outrun an entity such as Sephiroth. Such a dark force had the ability to seek out those who did not wish to be found. So it was Cloud sat on his bunk, making no attempt to move. The ship's sensors would have picked Sephrioth's own craft approaching them by now, and readings would tell Squall the ship had a definite fix on them. Cloud knew it was pointless to even attempt to run, and by now Squall knew as well.

He need only close his eyes to understand the full impact. Somehow, and Cloud couldn't phantom it, Sephiroth was coming after them with deadly precision. They were being pursued by one who had superior strength and use of the dark arts. There was something t hat was allowing Sephiroth to track them, above any degree of normalcy.

Sephiroth was nothing to be trifled with, Cloud remembered that much. Disturbingly it seemed his memories were slowly seeping back into his awareness, but only those of a dark and violent nature. He withheld hope that this pattern would change.

The door to the small cabin opened and Cloud raised his line of vision to take in the sight of his partner.

"There's a ship," The tall brunet said, "It's trailing us, and with superior engines. It's going to catch us in a short while."

Leon walked the short distance to the bed Cloud was perched on and sat on the edge.

"It doesn't have any markings, at least any that I can distinguish, but I don't think it's friendly. When it gets close enough it can either destroy us, or board us. I want to know what you think we should do. Do you think it's heartless?"

Cloud rested his arms on his drawn up knees. "It's Sephiroth."

"Are you sure?" Leon's jaw clenched and he ground his teeth. "Are you absolutely sure."

Cloud drew in a rugged breath and tightened his arms around his knees. "Yes, I'm certain. I can feel the darkness in my bones. It's chilling me." And indeed he was shaking. "He's more powerful now than when we last encountered him. He's driven by jealousy, rage and anger."

With a tentative hand Cloud reached out and curled his fingers around Leon's wrist. "He's coming to consume me."

Leon scooted forward to draw the shaking man into his side. "I won't let him."

"He's also coming to kill you."

"Yeah," Leon said, "I bet I sure pissed him off the last time we met."

Leon and Sephiroth had never been best friends. They had managed a steady acquaintance that benefited both parties involved, but in childhood they had never been more. Sephiroth had always seen Leon as an obstacle in his path, and likewise Leon had despaired at the way in which Sephiroth sought power. Before their worlds had begun to collapse, Leon had grown increasingly worried about Sephiroth's attraction to Cloud.

Month before the world died, Leon began sticking to Cloud, keeping the younger away from Sephiroth. It was fact the silver haired male was dabbling in dark arts, and feeding off a power locked deep away. Sephiroth was attracting the first wave of the heartless, Leon now realized. Sephiroth may not have been aware of it at the time, but he, and his meddling into the darkness, was what essentially brought the Heartless to their world so early on.

Leon questioned Cloud, once and only once before the collapse. He wanted to know why Sephiroth was interested, and Cloud hadn't offered much.

"He thinks he's meant to be a divine being," Cloud had told him. "He told me I'm the path in which he's to take in order to achieve his status. He needs me, Squall."

Sephiroth had done something to Cloud, of this Leon felt confident in stating. It was what made Cloud such a target for Destiny and Fate. It was surely the cause of Cloud's hardship and pain, and without a doubt, what had Sephiroth seeking him.

Cloud leaned into Leon's embrace, tucked comfortable against the man.

"Neither must happen, Squall."

Leon asked, "So what do we plan to do, then. We can't stand next to him in a firefight, we can't outrun him, and if we were to face him one on one, we'd lose. You're weakened just being in the same area as him, and he's … changed. He's different from the last time I faced him in a spar. There's something inside of him that's making him different, and that probably includes enhanced skills."

"I forgot," Cloud said, "Forgot what happened to him." He looked to Leon with a frightened look. "I know why he's tainted."

Leon wondered outright if he ought to ask. Cloud was visibly hurting by the knowledge, and Leon wanted nothing to do with intensifying the pain. Finally, he had to ask. "Why is he tainted?"

"Because," Cloud started, in a voice that told Leon he wouldn't like the information, "He was judged by the fellow divine, and found inadequate. He felt so strongly that he was meant for some sort of ascension into their ranks that he tried to take the status violently. He tried to force his way into the group by manipulating his heart and soul."

"How?"

Cloud shrugged. "I'm not exactly sure. I know he had to remove both several times, which probably exposed him to the growing presence of the Heartless. Each time he removed either he found he was farther and farther from his goal. The true divine caught wind of his plan and placed themselves on such a high pedestal he could never reach it on his own."

Leon realized, "And that's why he needed you."

"He told me he needed my innocence. He needed something so pure and ultimately divine that he couldn't be turned away. He stole my very essence and merged it with his own."

Leon griped Cloud close. "This was when you went missing; right aw the very end, right?" Cloud nodded, and Leon continued, "What happened to you? He took your soul and heart and gave you nothing in return."

Leon was crushed at the thought. Thankfully he had been able to give something back to Cloud. It wasn't enough to eternity, but it would last for the moment.

"I drifted away into nothing. I was an empty shell, susceptible to the Darkness. It was then that Fate and Destiny found me, before the Heartless could claim my body and make their way into our world. I received my purpose at that very moment."

"And Sephiroth?"

"He was cast out before he reached the divine status. Those above took the merged essences and broke them apart. To me they returned my soul and heart. That is why Maleficent wants me so badly, because I'm touched by the divine. They took my body and returned me to life. My body is no longer mine, but a temple to house what they will claim outright after my death."

"I don't understand!" Leon threw his arm out. "Why you! Why does all this have to happen to you! They can't just claim you, even if they've touched you. It isn't fair for so much to be placed on you."

Instead of answering Leon, Cloud continued, "When they separated Sephiroth and I, they did it purposely incorrect. They gave back all of my goodness and innocence, and the smallest bit that Sephiroth had left over in his own soul. Essentially they made us brothers. They made us complete opposites, and therefore compliments. We are both extremes, though in different directions. That is why Sephiroth seeks me. He wishes revenge on those that denied him is divine status, and to do that he must first reach them."

"Which entails him consuming you," Leon finished. "So instead of just one royally pissed off guy, I'm dealing with the epitome of evil, right? In less than an hour I'm going to be faced with Sephiroth who is the center of evil, so much that the Heartless fear him."

Cloud nodded. "Yes. He made a final, desperate attempt to, for all intents and purposes, own me, just before the destruction of our worlds. The Divine, Fate and Destiny had already tampered me with, so when he attempted to bind my memory, he destroyed it further. I was left without anything, Squall, not even my name, because every memory I have is linked to you in some way. We're so intertwined he nearly destroyed me, and would have torn my mind apart had he fully succeeded. He is dangerous, Squall, in ways we can't begin to understand. If we engage him he has the ability to twist our perceptions of reality. We won't mean anything to each other if he wills it."

"I'd be more appreciative if you could tell me how to kill him."

The blond reached out for Leon, threading their fingers together. "I don't believe there is a way. Sephiroth is consumed by the black void. He is death himself. I knew if he found us, all would be destroyed. We can't win against Ansem and Malificent if we have to face Sephiroth."

Leon tugged Cloud over to him and into a fierce hug. "We'll figure it out, I promise."

"We have to, Squall, because everything we've done and worked for can be destroyed in a blink of an eye." Cloud paused, his eyes closing. He was still, only his chest moving with breath. Then, with an air of confidence he said to Leon, "I've got an idea."

(Kingdom Hearts)

"Not that I'm ungrateful to see you, Sora, but why are you here of all places? You're on the edge of a system of planets that harbor the darkest of creatures. These are places that were first overrun with the heartless, and then attracted things much more dangerous."

Journey led Sora through what seemed like a maze of corridors and passageways, on the large Gummi Ship. They rode lifts up, and took stairs downward, thoroughly confusing Sora as to their position on the ship. He supposed it was just incase he was ever compromised. The Artemis was the most advanced ship the Drifters had, and if it fell into enemy hands, they'd have lost the war on their part.

Intrigued, Sora asked, "More dangerous than the Heartless? How is that possible?"

They entered a final door, and what looked to be an observation deck. With childlike curiosity Sora trekked over to the large windows and looked down, seeing the Cathedral, despite the dark shadow that had fallen over it, to be a thing of beauty. He could also see others from the ship continuing to flow into it, hell-bent on finding something—anything.

"Sora, you know as well as I do that the Heartless turn their victims. They steal their hearts, corrupt them and then assimilate helpless innocents into their dark ways. It's heartbreaking to watch your friends, family, or anyone be turned against you in such a way, but the Heartless are flawed. They can be destroyed easily, just as easy as they replicate in numbers. Not to mention we can get them back."

"Get them back?" Sora's eyes grew large and began to water. "We can reverse the process?"

"It's not easy," Journey said, "And to do so, you'd have to destroy the source of the Heartless, but it's possible. To get anyone back their hearts have to be returned to them, and the hearts are currently being kept in an unknown location, acting as fuel for Maleficent and Ansem. If we get them back, and return the hearts to the people, they'll revert to their old selves."

The words, as marvelous as they were, could not stop the clenching feeling in Sora's stomach. "But the Heartless corrupt the hearts, they have to in order to take them from a person. They simply can't take a pure heart, and I don't think we can put a corrupt one back into a Heartless and expect a wonderful miracle."

Journey sat himself on the nearest seat, still within visual rang of his younger companion. Then, with a smile he said, "Hearts are amazing, Sora. Despite what you may hear, they're inherently good. A person's natural desire is to be good, not dark, and the heart is the process in which we do so. It has amazing capabilities of regeneration, and I hold true to my word that if we place a corrupted heart back in a heartless, it'll bloom into a thing of beauty. That heart will sense the darkness in the Heartless, and if even a small part of it remembers the good it did before the transformation, it'll begin the process of changing a person back. Yes, I admit it's a long shot, and not every Heartless may take to it. Even more I worry about placing the right heart in the right Heartless, if for some chance the two do not seek each other out, but those are chances I'm willing to take to get a loved one back. We've all lost someone Sora; don't you want that person back?"

How many people, Sora wondered, had he lost so far. Had Destiny Islands been taken over yet? And if not, how long until it happened? What about all the people he'd met along his quest? If he returned to any of their worlds, would he find chaos?

"You're right," Sora said, "Even if it's a small chance, we have to take it." Then he frowned. "But what can be worse than the Heartless?"

"It's the Bosses doing, Sora. Ansem, Maleficent, Hades, Hook, they're all dabbling into things darken then what they understand. The threat is not upon us yet, thankful, but if they continue on their path, we'll be under siege worse than you could ever imagine. These dark things, which are bred from the darkest of intentions, do not convert or change people, they merely kill them. They're ruthless, chaotic and worst of all, have no sympathy for anyone or anything. It's dark magic Sora, and not even the Heartless, the Bosses or you can stand up to them. Dark magic is locked away and forbidden for a reason. The last time anyone tried to harness the power, like Maleficent is doing right now, uncountable worlds were destroyed, in thousands and thousands of systems. Billions and billions of lives were merely blinked out of existence, in the cruelest, most painful way you can think of."

Sora left his place at the window and took a seat across from Journey. "You're talking about the Burning Wars." Sora's features took on a look of disbelief. "There were old books on my Island, and they talked about those. They're supposed to be just myth."

"Those books shouldn't have survived. It's a pure miracle they did. And I wouldn't exactly call it a war. People thousands of years ago didn't stand a chance against the black arts, once physical manifestations became regular. People were hunted down and slaughtered for mere sport, and they had no defense."

"The books said everything just suddenly stopped one day." Sora's eyes drifted back to the Cathedra, now in flames. "The books said the demons just went away."

Journey nodded. "And in an effort to ever prevent such destruction from happening again, they burned everything. Every inch of parchment, books, records, it all had to go. Everyone, on every world was supposed to destroy any record of the Wars ever taking place. They also burned anything associated with magic, the dark and light kind. It's how magic itself came to have a bad connotation. On many worlds all magic was banned, the reason hidden. And as archaic and horrible the thought is, it kept the black arts out, until now. Some things have obviously survived, and if we don't stop Maleficent and Ansem, they'll unleash a plague upon us, from which we probably won't survive. The first time people were lucky, and something stopped the dark, this time I get the feeling we're out of luck."

Sora leaned forward to hide his face in his hands. "Just another reason to take down Maleficent and anyone who stands in my way."

"However, at least with this we have a warning. We have a fighting chance to stop a second coming, and we're going to succeed. We don't have a choice on that part."

"I wish I hadn't asked."

Sora rose from his seat and wandered back to the window. "Why are you burning it? How are you burning it? I was in that church, and it's suffocating, almost. There's dark magic protecting it, so I don't see how you could be burning it."

Most of the church was on fire, and Sora could see the long burning parts beginning to collapse. It was only a matter of time until the whole thing came down. Where was the creature that had been in there? Had he escaped in time?

"We have our ways of dispelling dark magic. Mind you, it's nothing strong enough to ward off an attack, but breaching barriers is what we do best."

Journey joined Sora at the window. "You see, with the rising threat of dark magic and the dark arts, we've been forced to take up the practice our self. We're not messing with any of the things that could, and will, if given the chance destroy us, but we are picking up ways to use the dark against itself. It's a very slow, tedious and dangerous practice, but it's the best that we have now."

"Hey!" Sora pressed his palms against the large windows and leaned forward. "I know him! I met him in the Cathedral!"

Sora pointed below to a large figure, shackled and chained, being led from the burning Cathedral. He was giving Journey's companions a real fight, roaring and throwing his bodyweight around. Several times Sora and Journey observed the figure almost break free of his bindings, only to be forced into submission a short time later.

"What're you going to do with him?" Sora demanded. "He's not a Heartless, I would have felt it. He's not evil, either."

Journey leaned closer to get a better look. "He certainly isn't human."

"Neither are Donald and Goofey!" Sora huffed, angered at his friend's intolerance. "You don't have to be human to have a good heart or have good intentions!"

"In these days, I tend to trust no one, Sora. He was found in the Cathedral, and that makes him a suspect. He could be working with Maleficent, or conveying messages between bosses, or a number of other things. He's the only one we've found thus far on this planet, besides you, that isn't a Heartless. We're at war, Sora, and we can't afford to take chances."

Sora crossed his arms, his own heart aching. "He isn't bad, you have to trust me. He's just heartbroken, not heartless. He's missing his father, and he knows he's never coming back. I can feel his own soul singing to mine, Journey. You don't have any right to hurt him."

Journey waved his arms in front of him. "Hey, hey, no one said anything about hurting anyone. If we make the determination that he isn't a Heartless, we'll simply keep him on board until we find an appropriate place to drop him off. We'll ask him a few questions and treat him with the utmost respect if he isn't a Heartless."

"That doesn't look like respect."

"That's for his own good. He obviously was willing to go down in the fire, and we've removed him by force. We're saving his life Sora, which should tell you something about our intentions."

Journey turned his back on the scene. "Now, why don't you tell me what you're doing so far out here. The last time I heard about you, you were still missing, presumed possibly dead."

Sora also reluctantly turned away from the action occurring far below his own position. "Riku brought me here. He saved my life back with Maleficent, but only so he could try to convert me. He wanted to take the Keyblade so he could kill Maleficent."

"That sounds pretty good to me."

"And then he'd take her place, with unimaginable power. I think Maleficent isn't the only one dabbling into magic they should be leaving alone."

"And that sounds pretty bad."

Sora nodded enthusiastically. "I can't let Riku do that, no matter what. I'm prepared to destroy him if I can't convince him otherwise."

Journed sighed, "I hope so, Sora." Then the older male straightened up his stance. "Come on, I'll take you up to the bridge, we should be leaving soon. I'm sure we can make a stop by Transverse town."

"No," Sora said, "I can't go back there. Take me to Twilight Town. They haven't been hit nearly as hard as Transverse town. They have Gummi ships still in operation."

"Are you planning on going somewhere?"

Sora smiled faintly. "I'm planning on ending this all, once and for all. I'm going to find Riku. If I can't turn him to our side, I'll make sure he doesn't stand in my way of destroying Maleficent." Sora leaned forward to rest his hands on his knees. "I'm tired, Journey. I'm tired and I need a long rest. I'm going to end this so we can all have a break from the pain and misery and the death. It ends now because it has to."

Journey's firm hand squeezed Sora's shoulder. "Let me send out a communications wave and see if I can get a hold of Donald and Goofy. If you're going now, you'll need them to have your back."

Sora said, "Sure," Then turned back to the burning and waited.

(Kingdom Hearts)

Elsewhere Maleficent could barely contain her anger, the Heartless around her shirking about. She studied the bosses in front of her, eying particularly Captain Hook. She said, "Our plans will be foiled if that creature is allowed to take Cloud for himself. Go after him, take a fleet and intercept them." She turned on Hades. "And you will return to your lair. Don't bother to show your face until you are prepared to serve our cause."

She eyed each creature in the room, her eyes ablaze. "The rest of you will find Riku. He has betrayed us and must be punished accordingly. He works to destroy us and what we plan to do and that cannot be allowed."

She waited for each to dissipate from the room before allowing a grim look to settle on her face. She would have preferred to wait before fully engaging the enemy, but she felt the date for Ansem's revival growing closer. They had to be prepared, had to have Cloud, and now was the time to act.