Ch. 8: How to Change Your Destiny

All characters that are not mine are obviously not mine, they are SquareSoft and Disney. All the rest are mine, all mine! Mwhahahaha!

Fire.

Thunder.

Water.

Ice.

"How is this possible?" Sora stuttered, not able to move from the shock.

The Heartless no longer rose from the ground.

"That's my girl."

"But how?" Riku turned his head to Ansem, looking for an answer.

Riku noticed something strange about Ansem. Then he looked over at Sora and Kairi as well. They too were frozen still. The silence returned to the room, but this time around it was different. It was more of a calmly silence; peaceful.

"Hey you."

Riku turned back around to see Ziddy standing before him.

"I don't understand. How…?"

"Shh…"

Ziddy placed her fingertips on Riku's mouth. She bent her head down and took his hands in hers. Although he was still confused beyond belief, Riku allowed the young woman the place her head beneath his chin. He felt her tears fall on his chest. Riku held her for a moment, enjoying her warmth against his body.

"How did you do it Ziddy?" he whispered, rubbing his cheek against her hair.

Lifting her head slowly, Ziddy's tears ceased. She held his hands tight, smiling up at him.

"Do you remember… last night when you, Sora, and Kairi entered Adaman Forest? When Kairi spoke to Adaman and made a deal with him?" she asked.

Riku nodded. Her smiled melted his confusion and fear into nothing. He felt at peace for the first time in months.

"She said something along the lines of… magic like mine should have never existed. She said my power was too great for either good or evil. That power… that's what brought me back."

"I still don't understand."

Ziddy paused for a moment.

"These powers you've seen my use, the ones burned into my ankle, they're nothing more than gifts; acquired powers; things I've learned over time. My power, the one they all fear… is…" Ziddy lowered her head again, but quickly picked it back up and looked at Riku. "I have the power to change destiny."

She paused again.

"That's how I was able to bring Kairi back; I changed her destiny. Instead of going back to the island and being brought to Kingdom Hearts which led to her death, I brought her with me. I changed her destiny so she could live again. And that's what I did for myself as well. I changed my destiny by erasing my death. I didn't think it would work, but I'm glad did. Death… was a bit more frightening that I had expected."

"As I can only imagine." Riku murmured.

Ziddy laughed, placing her hands on his cheeks and kissing his forehead. Again, she began to cry.

Riku wiped away her tears.

"Why are you crying? What's the matter? It's over now. You and Sora, you two have the power to close the doors forever. It can be over. You can come back to the island with us and we'll be happy."

"If it could only be that way. You know, when you were in this castle, all I kept asking Ansem to let me do was fight you. You, the Keyblade master's right hand man. The guardian who never was. It was supposed to be you, but destiny changed and I am truly sorry for that. Your name was to go down in history along side Sora's as his guardian, his protector, and I took that away from you."

"Ziddy, stop. It's okay. I don't care." Riku said, smiling at her.

Her tears once again stopped as she looked up into his green eyes.

"But there's something more, isn't here?" he asked.

Ziddy nodded.

"Don't worry. I'm going to make it right. You'll be fine."

"What more do you have to set right?"

"Just one more thing. Then… then it'll all be the way it was supposed to be."

Ziddy did not allow herself to cry again.

"You're going away, aren't you?"

"Shh…." Ziddy hushed, but Riku did not obey.

"You are." He concluded, his eyes glazing over in tears. "If it was only a love charm, then why do I still feel this way about you? Why do I feel like this is what I'm meant for?"

"Maybe because, if things were another way, it was meant to be."

A single tear rolled down Ziddy's cheek before she placed her lips on Riku's. He held her as if he would never let go. After a few moments, Ziddy pushed back. Before Riku could react, she waved her hands and he froze in time.

Tears streaming down her cheeks, Ziddy made her way over to Sora. She quickly wiped away her and straightened herself up. When she looked presentable, the young woman waved her hand in front of Sora and he unfroze.

"What?" he muttered.

"Hey Sora."

Sora looked up from the ground to see Ziddy. He quickly wrapped his arms around her and pulled her in close.

"I can't believe it. I thought you were dead." He said, laughing in relief.

Ziddy pulled away gently.

"I was dead. I came back though." She said, smiling.

"How?"

"It's what I do."

"You bring people back to life?"

"No." she answered. "I change destiny."

"You… you what?"

"That's the power Kairi told you about. The one she was going to destroy me over."

Sora lowered his arms.

"Adaman?"

"Yes, that one."

Sora placed his hands on Ziddy's shoulders.

"Is that how you're back?"

Ziddy nodded.

"I changed my destiny. It wasn't easy, but I did it. I took back my death."

"Was that the blue flames?" he asked.

"They had something to do with it." She answered. "Are you mad at me for what I've done?"

"Ziddy, it's over now. You're alive, Kairi's alive, you've got your father back. We can leave this place forever. Hey, you can come back to the island with us."

Ziddy smiled. That had been the second time she had been offered a home. As much as she longed to grasp the opportunity at a real home and a normal life, she knew that such things could never be hers.

"You were always so hopeful. You never gave up on anything; or anybody. You came back for me when you could have kept running. You will never know how grateful I am for that Sora."

The young woman placed a kiss on Sora's cheek and took his hands. The Keyblade master began to look worried.

"Why do you sound as if you're leading up to saying goodbye?" he questioned.

"You catch on quick, I'll tell you that." Ziddy forced another smile and a bit of a laugh.

"What do you mean? Where are you going?" Sora began to sound concerned and a bit panicked.

"Don't fear Sora." Ziddy whispered.

"Where are you going? Why are you leaving again?"

Tears started falling from the young man's eyes. His hands trembled in Ziddy's.

"Shh… it's okay. Calm down. Everything's gonna be all right. I'm going to make it right. You'll see, it'll be the way it was meant to be." She reassured him.

"I don't want you to go."

"If I had a choice, I would take up your offer and live on that island till the end of my days. But this is what has to be done Sora. You have to understand that everything happens for a reason, that's why the Keyblade chose you. You believe in things that no one else would dream of. You're everything a Keyblade master should be. That's your destiny. You were destined to have this chance as a Keyblade master."

Sora wrapped his arms around Ziddy again. This time, he held her tighter.

"Please don't go Ziddy." He begged.

"Don't cry." She whispered. "Thank you for all you've done for me. You'll never know how much you've changed me. Thank you for showing me the way back to the light."

"I'll never forget you Ziddy." Sora cried.

With that, Sora was once again frozen.

Ziddy stepped back away from the boy, in tears once more.

"Yes you will." She sobbed.

She turned and fixed herself again. Running her fingers through her hair, she briskly walked over to Kairi. She paused for a moment, holding back the tears, and then unfroze her cousin.

Kairi fell forward a bit. Ziddy outstretched her arms and caught her mid-fall. Kairi found her footing and straightened up. Finally realizing that it was Ziddy in front of her, she smiled.

"I thought you weren't going to use that power any more." She laughed.

"Drastic times called for drastic measures. I was dead, you know."

"Why are the boys and Uncle Ansem frozen?"

"Well then, you don't miss a beat, do you cuz?"

"Have you been crying? How long have I been frozen? What have you done?"

"Can I speak?" Ziddy asked, covering her cousin's mouth.

Kairi nodded and quieted. Ziddy lowered her hand.

Ziddy stood there looking at her cousin at a complete loss of words. She tried starting about six sentences, but they all failed. Annoyed with herself, Ziddy stuffed her hand in her pocket as if looking for something.

"No more potions Ziddy." Kairi pleaded.

"It's no a potion." She said, holding something in her hand.

Ziddy placed the object in Kairi's hand. Kairi looked down and saw a chain in her hand. She moved the chain around and found a small charm attached to it. It was a snowflake embedded with small diamonds and blue crystals. Kairi stared at the necklace in wonder.

"Dad said that my mother would have wanted me to have that. I've worn it everyday since he gave it to me. The clasp broke the other day, so I fixed it and put it in my pocket so it'd be safe until this was over. And now I'm giving it to you."

"Ziddy, I couldn't…" she murmured, shaking her head.

Kairi tried to give the necklace back to Ziddy, but she would not take it.

"I want you to have it."

"I don't want it." Kairi sobbed.

"Why not? It's a really nice necklace. Why wouldn't you-"

"Because it mean you're going away for good!" Kairi interrupted.

She began to cry loudly.

"You left when you decided not to come with me to the island. You left when you took me to the room. You left when we were in the room. You left after you brought me forward with you. You died! How could you think you could leave me again!? How could you go away again after all that!?"

Ziddy bent her head in shame.

"You can fix this without leaving, I know you can."

"No, I can't Kairi." Ziddy said softly, lifting her head back up.

"Why!? Why is the only way to fix it is for you to leave!?"

"You think I want to leave!? If I had a choice, I would do it the easy way and stay with you. I just go my dad back; you think I don't want to stay here with him? This is the only way to make it right. I have to put everything back the way it's supposed to be."

Kairi stopped crying aloud, trying to wipe away her tears. She grasped onto the necklace tightly.

"How?" she asked, finally able to control her tears.

Ziddy did not answer right away, putting her hands in her back pockets.

"I have to go back and erase the first time I used my power."

"And when was that?"

Ziddy looked down at the ground.

"Ziddy?"

"No matter what happens, the necklace will stay with you. You won't know where you got it from, but it'll stay with you."

"What do you mean I won't know where I got it from?" Kairi snapped. "You can't make me forget you Ziddy. No amount of magic can make me forget you."

Before Kairi could say another word, Ziddy waved her hand and her cousin froze before her. She took the necklace from Kairi's hand and clasped it around her neck.

"Goodbye Kairi." She whispered.

Tears no longer found their way to Ziddy's eyes. She had none left to weep. Composing herself one last time, she approached her father. She did not wave her hand before him though. Saying goodbye was going to be hard enough. She could not do that while he had the power to speak to her as well.

"You know, there's something I never told you and I think you should know now, even though you can't hear me because you're frozen. When I was about six I started having dreams about mom. I saw her the day I was born. You were right; she was one of those really pretty pregnant women. I saw her giving birth to me. It took my years to figure out why I kept having that same dream over and over again. But then I finally figured it out. It wasn't just a dream, it was my power. It was showing me the past for a reason. It was showing me the first time.

"I never told you because you always thought that my first time was that time when I was three and I changed that teenager's destiny. I didn't want you to think I had done it before because you always told me that I should never use my power unless it was a time of great need for something like my magic. I was afraid you'd get mad at me for what I did that day. So I kept it a secret… until now.

"I just wanted you to know that before I left. And I want you to know that you were a wonderful father. I would never ask for another, even though you went away for a while. But you came back and that's all that matters. I love you dad."

Ziddy could not say another word. The tears had come back. She began to slowly lift her hands up to her father's forehead. She snatched her hands back several times, avoiding what she knew she had to do. Panic rose in her stomach, causing a very uneasy feeling to stir within her. Her hands trembled. She closed her eyes and quickly placed her fingertips on Ansem's temples.

Ziddy's head reared back and she let out a scream of pain.

The world blurred and spun around her.

--

Sixteen years into the past. Sixteen long years. Ziddy stood in that all too familiar dream. The room was a pale green color. Two elder women stood next a bed in the center of the room. She saw that Ansem stood behind the bed holding onto the person who was lying on the bed.

Ziddy walked amongst them completely unnoticed. She had done this countless times before. This was not like when she had gone back to change Kairi's destiny. She was nothing more than a spirit in this past event, walking around as if invisible.

The woman on the bed was her mother.

Ziddy went to the side of the bed where they women were not standing. The first time she had come back to this day was strange for her to watch what was unfolding, but now, watching her mother give birth to her wasn't so weird anymore. She knelt down and placed her chin on the bed.

"You know, dad's right. I do look a lot more like you than him. At least after seeing you I finally figured out where I got this crazy hair from. He says I have your smile too. And your eyes. I think the only thing I got from dad is my nose." Ziddy sighed. "But you're heard all this before. I say the some thing every time I come back."

Ziddy laughed quietly.

"All right Cassandra, it's time to push." She heard one of the women say.

Ziddy looked up at the woman and her smile disappeared. She quickly rose from the side of the bed and ran to her father's side behind the bed.

"Back away dad." She whispered.

Although he could not hear her, Ansem did as Ziddy commanded. Tears began to stream from Ziddy's eyes. She stood behind her mother and placed her hands on the bed.

"Mom, I have to do something now and I just want you to know it's for the best. I have to put everything back the way it's supposed to be."

Ziddy came to her knees and looked at her mom.

"I don't turn out to be a bad person. Dad raises me great. It's just… there's something inside me that I can't control. It's not really bad, but it can make me do bad things. And when dad went away, I used it to for… well, it wasn't good. And it's not your fault. It's not dad's fault. It's not anyone's fault. I just have something that wasn't supposed to exist; which is why what I need to do is what has to happen. What I did that night wasn't supposed to happen. What happens now isn't suppose to happen. I'm not supposed to use it to…" Ziddy chocked back on tears and a bit of vomit. "I tried to take it back so many times mom, but it just doesn't work out the way I want it to. It's either you or me; it can't be both. It won't allow me to save both of us.

"I panicked. I don't know how seeing how I wasn't even born yet, but still… I panicked. And I used my power. And I did a bad thing. I was supposed to die the day I was born. I wasn't supposed to exist. The power inside me wasn't supposed to exist. It was a mistake. But I was afraid. So, instead of dying, I used my power to change my destiny. I don't know how, but I did. I changed it so I wouldn't die. You did instead. We both couldn't survive the birth. One of us had to die. And I chose you. I didn't mean to; I don't even know how I did it. I just did. You died the day I was born because I made it so.

"But now I'm going to set things right. I'm gonna put things back the way they're supposed to be. I'm gonna take it back. I'm not going to allow the little me to use her power to change her destiny."

Ziddy watched as her father stood by his wife's side, cheering her on through the painful process of bringing their child into the world. The elder woman stood at the end of the bed instructing Cassandra what to do. She placed her arms around her mother from behind. Cassandra could not feel her daughter's arms nor could she feel her placed her chin atop her head.

"You're gonna be fine. You'll be okay. You and dad will move on; I've seen it. You're gonna have what would have been my younger brothers. You'll never have another girl though. Your sons will be strong and healthy and they won't be burdened as I was with a power that they did not want. They're going to be perfectly normal. They're going to grow up and do great things. Your niece will love them like brothers. She'll go to the island for a different reason this time around: because she will get the chance to cross over between the worlds as a reward, not because she needs to. She'll come visit you and dad as often as she can. She's going to be all right as well. You and dad will live long and wonderful lives.

"I'm scared mom." Ziddy cried. "I'm so scared. I don't want to leave you. I'm so scared."

Cassandra squeezed her husband's hand.

"I love you mom."

'I love you Ziddy…' Cassandra thought.

Ziddy stopped shaking. She closed her eyes and held her breath. When she released the air inside her, her skin began to glow. The light that no one else could see traveled from her body and covered Cassandra's skin. Ziddy swallowed a mouth full of spit and vomit, and smiled.

--

"I'm sorry Master Ansem, but the child did not survive."

--

In the years after that day when destiny reset itself, things were different. Ansem was not driven to madness by the death of his wife which allowed him to fall into darkness. Cassandra lived, and went on to bear two sons. The creatures called the Heartless faded away. Their only purpose was to feed Adaman, and when they could not replace that purpose with another, they drifted back into the darkness and faded from existence. Adaman slipped back into slumber, leaving the world to itself for a time. The doors never opened; the worlds never connected.

The Keyblade remained safely tucked away from the worlds until its time was to come. There will come a time when such a blade must return to the worlds and chose its master. But not yet.

Not yet.

"Sora you lazy bum, I knew I'd find you snoozing around here."

AN: Yeah, that's it folks. THE END!