The Resolve of All
Chapter 21: Sacrifice
Play KH Battle OST- Light of the Worlds on a second tab.
"I... I can't hold out any longer..." Yen Sid coughed. "...I have no more power left to give..."
And as he said his last words, Yen Sid released his grip from Master Xehanort and Braig and he peacefully closed his eyes...
Mickey finally stirred from his unconscious and was horrified at the sight of these villains triumphing over his Master. "Master Yen Sid! No!"
As Mickey tried to charge at last two seekers of darkness, Master Xehanort scoffed at the little mouse king's efforts and swung the X-blade to conjure up a gust of powerful winds to blow away Mickey.
Mickey landed a little ways away from the fading body of Yen Sid, Xehanort, and Braig, near the stairs which led to the ground floor.
Sadly, the last of Yen Sid's being had finally faded away completely, and the only thing that was left behind was his magical sorcerer's hat...
"Ha! Finally, I can progress the final steps of my plan..." Master Xehanort smirked maliciously as he turned his attention toward the slowly emerging heart-shaped moon being pulled out of the black clouds.
"Think again, old man!"
"No way..." Braig and his superior turned their attention to Riku who had spoken and was cradling the wounded Mickey in his arms.
"So... you all have come this far... and all of you have survived... I must say, I am impressed." Master Xehanort addressed the whole group of Guardians. "But... you are too late! Events have been set into such a motion that nothing can stop me now!"
"Yeah, you dudes are just wasting your time now..." Braig grinned as he picked up Yen Sid's hat and he tossed it towards them like it was trash. "...This old dude sure didn't get the picture."
"You... you defeated Yen Sid?!" Sora angrily inquired.
"Indeed. But do not worry; you all will be joining him very soon." Master Xehanort declared as he raised the X-blade for all to see. "Behold... the X-blade! The ultimate weapon to unlock the True Kingdom Hearts and all the power I will ever need!"
"The X-blade... he has it..." Ven trembled.
"Not for long Ven." Terra assured his blonde friend. "We'll make him pay! Right, Aqua?"
"Right." Aqua nodded.
"He caused all of this..." Roxas realized. "This man hurt so many..."
"But now we'll bring him to justice." Xion affirmed.
"We'll win definitely, got it memorized?" Lea stated.
"The sooner this is over, the better." Drex added.
"Yeah! We got all of our friends by our sides." Goofy responded.
"Your Majesty!" Donald quacked as he used a healing spell on his King. "Are you okay?"
"I'm fine, but..." Mickey then instinctively put on Yen Sid's hat. "...they sure won't be."
"You ready Riku?" Namine inquired.
"Always." Riku nodded.
"Sora... I'll always fight by your side, no matter what!" Kairi proclaimed.
"Thanks Kairi." Sora smiled. "Alright, let's finish this!"
"Looks like their pep talk is over." Braig smirked. "Why don't we get the show started you old coot?"
"Witness MY power as I carve out this land to bring forth the forces to make it MY domain!" Master Xehanort cackled evilly as he jumped high into the air and into a portal of darkness.
"Hey! You just going to abandon me or-?!" Braig lost his footing as the whole tower began to shake as if an earthquake were taking place.
"What's going on?!" Xion called out.
"I don't know!" Roxas responded.
Back on the battlefield, where warriors of the Keyblade were slaughtering each other on both sides of light and darkness, the earth began to split open, and a huge fissure cracked the barren wasteland as far as the eye could see. Then slowly but surely, magma began to rise from the fissure and it turned to lava. Then earth itself began to turn inside-out and a volcano rose from the fissure so high that it's elevation equaled that of the tower.
"A volcano?!" Sora exclaimed.
"Wait a minute... this is..." Riku realized what was going to happen next.
Master Xehanort then reappeared in front of the white heart-shaped moon, levitating in mid-air. "Send your most worthy to face me while the rest face the devil himself!"
Master Xehanort then disappeared in a flash of light as he took refuge in the True Kingdom Hearts...
"So you're going to just ditch me here?! As if!" Braig bellowed as he made a beeline for the moon himself until the volcano erupted with a vertical column of lava blocking his escape.
"...I remember now." Mickey said worriedly.
Out of the vertical lava column emerged two giant black wings then followed a monster the likes of which are only told in nightmares and stories that spell endings...
Chernabog... his evil golden eyes are perhaps even worse than Xehanort himself. A demon... no, a devil, from the depths of Hell with the power of a god himself staring down at his opponents who were ready to take him on...
Chernabog roared as he crossed his arms in superiority and he got ready for battle.
"Oh wow... I think this is awesome..." Braig smirked as he teleported out of the way. "And I think he's on my side."
The great and powerful demon god bellowed as he spewed forth a deadly fire from the pits of his stomach and towards the heroes of the light!
"Look out!" Mickey commanded as the group took evasive action.
As the Keybladers scattered to avoid the fire, three of these Guardians were separated from the main part of the team. These three heroes had a clear path to chase after Xehanort, but could they really leave their friends behind? Nevertheless, Riku made the decision for them.
Riku shouted. "Sora! You, Roxas, and Ventus go after Xehanort; the rest of us will take care of them!"
"No way! We stand together!" Sora replied.
"There's no time to argue, you three get going!" Drex retorted.
"I'll go." Roxas agreed.
"Me too. Come on Sora." Ven motioned.
"Alright." Sora finally nodded.
"Good luck you guys." Aqua wished off.
Xion prayed. "You three make it back in one piece."
"Please be safe..." Kairi wished.
"I'll send ya up there with my magic." Mickey responded as he waved his fingers and conjured some magic to levitate them and pursue Xehanort into the True Kingdom Hearts...
"Uh... guys? I know some of us are already missing them, but we gotta deal with Handsome up there!" Lea motioned towards Chernabog.
"Everyone! Follow my lead!" Riku declared as he led the charge...
...If heaven existed...
...It would be here.
The absolute magnificence and beauty and perfection radiated from Kingdom Hearts for miles, if not worlds, away.
Sora, Roxas, and Ventus were the very lucky few who were bestowed the honor of being this close and eventually entering the one and only place that was the source of all light!
They were about to enter... and follow Xehanort into the final battle; the three of them had to win... for everyone.
"You guys ready?" Sora inquired from the two identical blondes.
"You bet." Ven nodded.
"Yeah." Roxas affirmed.
"Alright. Let's go..." Sora continued forward.
The three boys were destined to be worthy of entering this now tainted sanctuary for this specific purpose. Right now... it was either victory... or oblivion...
The door was closed behind them... no going back.
The three boys rubbed their eyes to get used to their new surroundings, but they were surprised to see that they were in a completely black room. No walls... no ceiling... only an apparent floor to stand on and an infinite abyss...
There... he who dared to acquire the powers of a god himself was Master Xehanort... with his back facing the boys and still wielding the X-blade...
"...There's nothing here..." Xehanort grumbled.
"Xehanort! Turn around and face us!" Ven growled.
"After all of these years... where is the power?" Xehanort continued to mutter to himself. "Kingdom Hearts is the source of all light and I cannot command it if it has somehow already been snuffed out!"
"Shut up old man! Quit talking to yourself and fight!" Roxas demanded.
The evil man widened his golden eyes with the realization of a newly formed theory. "Unless... this deity still felt threaten by my intrusion even with the X-blade by my side, and it hid the power away... to someone else equally worthy..."
Xehanort suddenly spun around and pointed his X-blade at the three boys who were each reciprocating the threat with the teeth of their keys.
"What do you mean?!" Sora responded.
"...I understand now... one of you three special boys has the power sealed away within you, entrusted in you by the True Kingdom Hearts. ...Which one of you could it be?" Xehanort raised an eyebrow.
"Here he comes, Sora..." Roxas warned.
We're with you buddy!" Ven nodded.
"Get ready, Xehanort!" Sora, along with Roxas and Ventus, charged at him!
Chernabog had summoned his flocks of smaller black demons to battle all of the enemies around him. But he failed to notice Riku jump high into the air to land a hit on his face.
But Riku was blown away by the immense wind energy that came from Chernabog flapping his wings. But then Drex, Mickey, Xion, and Lea tried a four-man rush on the back of his head; however Chernabog sensed their presence though and he in turn engulfed himself in the fires of hell in a flaming vortex.
Luckily, in combination of Mickey's new barrier magic attack and Lea's fire element they were able to deflect the fire off the rest of them.
When the fire subsided, Aqua up in front and attempted to freeze the monster with her powerful blizzard spell, but then Braig teleported beside her and aimed his arrowgun at her head.
"As if, not today sister." Braig smirked.
"Hey! Leave her alone!" Terra exclaimed when he fired a shot of dark firaga and smacked Braig's good eye, effectively making him blind.
"Gaarhhrggh! Are you kidding me?!" Braig cursed as his sight fell into darkness.
"No... we aren't." Aqua declared as he kicked Braig in the stomach and instantly he became disoriented and fell.
Without his sight, Braig couldn't tell which way was up as he plummeted into the lava near Chernabog's knees...
"Ugh... I'd hate to go out that way..." Drex remarked.
"Let's finish this thing off!" Kairi proclaimed.
"Everyone together!" Namine ordered as they lined up in a row against the dark monster.
"LIGHT!"
Aqua, Terra, Lea, Xion, Drex, Mickey, Kairi, Riku, Namine, and yes even Donald and Goofy fired their own bomb-version of their attacks and launched them in a barrage of energy balls.
Chernabog cringed on impact as all of these attacks hit him at once, but then his very being began to chip away as the light smothered and eventually eviscerated him into nothingness...
As Chernabog was defeated their attacks' aftereffects melted away into a warm sunshine over the overcast wasteland. A sun-like shine was welcoming here as the fight finally ended with both armies of Keybladers returning to whence they came... their resolves mysteriously quelled.
The heroes gathered around at the center of the top of the tower to discuss their next step.
"So uh... what do we do now?" Goofy asked them.
"Was that it? Do we do it?" Xion inquired.
"Not yet..." Riku replied.
"Come on, guys. I think we finally caught a break." Lea wiped away the sweat from his brow. "What could possibly go wrong next?"
At that instant, the whole Keyblade Graveyard began to shake violently! It was past the regular type of earthquake, this was apocalyptic!
"What's happening?!" Donald quacked in a panic.
"Gosh... look!" Mickey pointed towards the sky.
There where the True Kingdom Hearts peeked out behind the clouds... its elegant surface and its unwavering light was... faltering... The moonlight which brilliantly singled its presence began to flicker and even darken...
"Hahaha!" Xehanort cackled as he fought his three opponents. "Child's play!"
"Ven! Sora!" Roxas formulated. "Let's try a pincer move!"
His friends complied as they tried going at their enemy all at once, but Xehanort merely teleported away and fired a bolt of lightning on them which they all barely dodged. The three boys then surrounded Xehanort on three sides ready to take him on again.
"Enough of this futile resistance!" Xehanort bellowed as he teleported behind Ventus. "Feckless Neophyte..."
Xehanort then slashed into Ven's side and then swung him up to his head to end his struggle. "I guess you do not have my power Ventus, as I suspected... Perhaps your double has it... the Nobody that was never meant to exist?"
"Shut up! I am me! Nobody else!" Roxas steamed as he lost his temper. "You're going to pay for what you did to Ven!" Roxas dashed at the old man.
"Roxas! Don't! It's a trap!" Sora tried to warn him but it was too late...
Roxas had ran right into the magnetic field spell Xehanort had placed on the end of his X-blade which pulled Roxas right onto it, impaling him. Master Xehanort then threw him off his blade and Roxas landed beside Ventus as the evil man turned his attention on the last possible target.
"Sora... the ordinary boy... why didn't I think of it sooner?" Xehanort pondered to himself. "The unlikeliest of places..."
"...I can't win, can I?" Sora stated.
"So... you finally understand?" Xehanort took notice.
"Yeah..." Sora confirmed as he lowered his Kingdom Key and kept his eyes cast downward...
"A wise choice on your part... now, hand over what I deserve and I may spare you..." Xehanort ordered.
Play the Kingdom Hearts Sora's Sacrifice Theme on a second tab.
Sora then put his left hand in his pocket to pull out the glass bottle Riku had given him which was from Ansem the Wise...
"I hope this works..." Sora hoped as he threw the bottle to the ground which smashed to pieces in front of him.
"What is the meaning of this?" Xehanort questioned. "What is that?"
Sora then picked up the scroll of paper which had data in the form of a message. "...I get it now..." He stated sadly as he tossed aside the paper.
"Xehanort... you were searching for answers that were right in front of you. You may not have known it... but... you lost a long time ago..." Sora explained.
"Boy, what are rambling on about?" Xehanort inquired as he raised his X-blade. "When did I lose?"
"When you became a Keyblade wielder and chose the path to darkness... you began to lose... yourself..." Sora continued as his chest began to glow...
Xehanort gasped. "You have the power I seek! Then feel the tempest that is my blade!"
Xehanort then rushed Sora, X-blade in hand, and Sora did not move a muscle...
"...And all we have to do is..." Sora was cut off as the X-blade impaled his chest, piercing his heart...
"Open the door..."
The light shined so bright... like a thousand suns had erupted between the two opponents. Sora had understood to fix everything he had to make the ultimate sacrifice and give his special power back and open the Door to Light with the X-blade as a catalyst and expose them both...
"...Impossible..." Xehanort was astonished by the sudden realization that he had lost... such an evil heart exposed to such a pure light... no shadows to cower in or dark crevices to take refuge in.
The light simply engulfed them... as they were both blinded and eviscerated from existence, the X-blade was shattered into powder and blown away by the shockwave...
Suddenly, small clouds of light separated from the main hub of the resulting Door to Light, and they traveled to Ven and Roxas to heal their wounds and carry them out of Kingdom Hearts before the impending implosion...
"Riku... Kairi... everyone... I'm sorry..."
The Graveyard was quiet... the Guardians waited on top of the tower for Roxas and Ventus to awaken... and eventually they did...
"Roxas!" Xion sobbed as she wrapped her arms around him.
"Ven!" Aqua and Terra cried as they pulled their little blonde friend into an embrace as well.
"Where's Sora?" Riku worriedly inquired.
"...I think he didn't..." But Roxas didn't finish when he realized the horror at the end of the sentence.
"No... no... No! That's not true!" Kairi denied with all of her heart.
"Sora's gone... I can't sense him..." Namine sadly confirmed.
"Gosh... Master Yen Sid too..." Mickey added as he wiped away his tears.
"Sora... he sacrificed himself to save us all..." Ven responded.
"He shouldn't of." Riku firmly replied.
"But Xehanort is gone, for good this time. I can feel his darkness doesn't exist anywhere anymore..." Terra retorted.
"...SORA!" Kairi screamed at the empty sky.
There was nothing more to be said as they all grieved for their losses, and eventually they left the now again empty Keyblade Graveyard, hoping they all would never come back ever again...
A/N- Sorry for the slow update, but I was very very busy. Forgive me. So... Xehanort is finally defeated, destroyed by the light found in the heart of another... he never saw it coming that Sora was destined to end his ambitions, but at a steep sacrifice. The story is nearing its conclusion as the epilogue will be the next chapter. What will everyone do now? How will they recover from their losses? Find out next time in the final chapter of Resolve of All!