A/N: Hehe. So, SeldomKnown and I were talking about the combination Xemnas/Xehanort's Heartless, and we were trying to come up with a name. Here were the candidates: Xehamnes, Xemnahort, Mansex, Xemnawhore, or Xehamnesxemnahortmansexxemnawhoregawdmyhair'samazing. xDD Anyway...
Also, friday was a pretty day for me. Well, to tell you the truth, my life has kind of been pretty bad for over two years, but that's okay. So, I must warn you in advance, this chapter may be kind of... upsetting and super dramatic.
One final note: This is the last chapter. xDDD Dun kill me. Grabs many of Goofy's shields
Disclaimer-
Crescentmoon: -Springs to life- I'm not dead!
Lollipop: You're alive?! No waiz. :o Axel, you two are married. It was a betrothed thing that I forgot to tell you about?
Axel: What?! But I wanted Ro-- I mean...
Stefa: -smacks her forehead- Okay, Kingdom Hearts doesn't belong to Lolli, but the plot and her OCs do. Well, except for Nalani and Ceron who were kind of created thanks to SeldomKnown3...
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How could it even be possible for everyone to have disappeared? Maybe they had moved their fight? Stefa kicked her feet at the snowy ground, feeling a large amount of distress.
"Don't be so quick to jump to conclusions," Riku told her as he pointed his index finger at the path, "Look." Sure enough, there were footprints that looked like they had been made by running very fast. There were also indents in the snow that seemed to suggest some had been dragged, fallen, slid across the path, or anything else that could possibly be thought of.
"They're fighting in Kingdom Hearts?" Stefa asked, her voice shaking. "Well, gee, Riku, somehow that doesn't cheer me up." She clutched the handles of the cherry blossom Keyblade and Shadow Heart so tightly that her knuckles became white. Suddenly, there was an extremely loud roar that came from within the open Kingdom Hearts.
"Saïx was...?!" The voice boomed. Another voice shouted back, but it was by no means as loud as Xehamnes, so even though they could tell it was Sora, they couldn't hear what we he was saying. The sound of voices died down as the sound of some large blow, and a scream, sounded instead.
At this, Riku and Stefa ran faster and entered Kingdom Hearts. The heartless within were rising, but there seemed to be an invisible barrier keeping them at bay; Heartless were not the worry.
"Axel." Roxas's voice was unusually desperate as he bent over said man's body. Naminé's face was stained with tears, and even as she tried to wipe them away, more spilled from her sky blue eyes. She was bent over Axel's other side, trying to use elixirs and potions.
"You're terrible!" Kairi, at a loss for words, sobbed as she pointed Angelic Destiny at Xehamnes. Her eyes were filled with tears that had already begun to spill some, but her waterworks were nothing in comparison to Naminé's.
"What happened?" Riku asked Sora urgently when he and Stefa had joined the group. Stefa immediately ran to Axel's side. He was bleeding badly, and, the weirdest of all, fading.
"You're... fading...?" Stefa asked, "But I don't understand... You're real, now. You've been real..."
"The powers from both the heartless and nobody," Quince said in a controlled voice, "Mixed together and gave him new ones. So, since Axel somehow became real without knowing how, and since he is a nobody at heart, it seems that this... Xehamnes has the power to take that away." His eyes were full of hate and anger, but, most surprising of all, fear.
"You mean..." Roxas quietly spoke up as he wiped tears out of his eyes, "That he can take out any nobody that has a heart?" Quince nodded.
Xehamnes chuckled. "So, you have figured it out." He said, the anger and anguish he had felt earlier had faded away.
"Roxas, Naminé," Axel's voice was weak and, for once, he sounded frail and weak. "Get out of here. Now." Naminé shook her head.
"No way, Axel." She said, tears dropping onto the pyromaniac's clothes from her tears. "There has to be something we can do..." Axel chuckled quietly.
"We'll meet on the other side, some day," He assured her with a weak smile before his emerald eyes turned toward Roxas. "Roxas, take care of her." Roxas allowed one of his tears to fall onto his best friend.
"Axel..." This all reminded Sora too much of the time when Axel had faded before. It also reminded him of his first adventure.
"Take care of yourself, kid," Axel said to Stefa as his body began to fade into darkness, "Someone has to take care of all of these guys." She only managed a nod before he disappeared completely from their sight.
"Axel!" Roxas, Sora, Kairi, and Naminé exclaimed, even though they knew that he couldn't hear them. Ceron had been taking on Xehamnes for a good few minutes to allow the others to say goodbye to Axel in peace. Nalani was trying to use her magic, but the damn guardian heartless kept blocking the attacks or taking the blows, until he finally disappeared.
"Where'd it go?" Nalani asked, on guard, as she held her staff to the side. Ceron half-glanced at her.
"No idea." He replied in a tone that suggested that he didn't care so long as the annoying heartless was gone.
"At least I can get in some hits now." muttered Nalani to herself as she cast a thundaga spell at Xehamnes. When she did, a shocking and stabbing pain shot throughout her body. She yelled out a little as she fell to one knee. The swordsman looked back at her.
"What's wrong?" He asked urgently. The heartless guardian appeared, only for a minute, behind Nalani, looking as if it was coming out of her back. (A/N: Ouch.) "What the hell?!" Ceron shouted as he charged at the heartless, but even as he did, it disappeared.
"What is it?" Nalani asked him as she slowly got back onto two feet. That was one pain she never wanted to feel again.
"I think that heartless is inside of you."
"What?!" Nalani exclaimed after casting another Thundaga spell. Once again, the familiar pain shot throughout her body. She fell onto both knees, this time. "How do I get it out?!"
"You don't." Xehamnes answered her in a highly amused tone. Ceron turned around somewhat, but he felt the blade before he could see it. One of the aerial blades was sticking out through his stomach; The shock didn't allow him to feel the pain.
"Ceron!" The mage heard herself scream and felt herself crawl the few inches it took to get to him. Xehamnes laughed at her: It was high and cold.
"Does it hurt? Have I injured your heart?" He asked. When she didn't answer, he twisted the aerial blade inside of Ceron's gut, causing said boy to grunt in pain. "Well?"
"Stop it!" Nalani ordered as she jumped to her feet and swung her staff at the man. He merely dodged to the side, moving Ceron along with him. Nalani could hear the blood pounding in her ears, and her heart against her chest. At least Ceron was still alive. With a cry of anger, she did the first thing she could think of, and EaKaze was plunged through Xehamnes's gut. He grunted in pain and pulled his blade out of Ceron, before trying to take the staff out of him.
The mage could hear it; She could hear the adrenaline pumping within her blood. She was not horrified at what she had done, she was satisfied. "That's what you get." Nalani growled, her head pounding. The torturous pain shot throughout her body for the third time, like it could sense that she had hurt his master. Blood was pouring from Ceron's wound, and from her own that she had received since Stefa and Riku had been gone. She couldn't think straight.
Her heart's beating suddenly intensified and she felt something like extracting a sword from her body come from her back. Out of the corner of her eye, Nalani could make out the shape of the heartless guardian screaming in pain as it was expelled from her body. It then disappeared back into its master's body.
Out of seemingly no where, light appeared and began to smother Ceron in it and then Nalani, too. Surprised, Nalani turned to see who had done it. Naminé had her hands near her heart; She had apparently summoned the light that was engulfing them. But what was she doing? Suddenly, Nalani noticed someone else. There was an older woman with gorgeous brown hair tied in a braid, bright green eyes, a long pink dress, and a pink ribbon. She was holding a staff of her own. The woman didn't seem as real as everyone else. Her image seemed faded somehow. When she smiled, though, it was warm and comforting.
Nalani looked at her hands (she had long since released EaKaze) and noticed that they were fading away. She looked at Ceron and noticed that he was also fading. EaKaze was no longer inside of Xehamnes, but he seemed too frightened of the light to attack Ceron and Nalani. Once again, she shot a look back at the woman and Naminé, but neither one of them was there anymore.
"Nalani!" Stefa's voice was surprised and anguished when she stopped before the light. It seemed that Riku and Sora had rushed forward to take on Xehamnes, but Quince was right beside Stefa. That looked right, Nalani thought.
"What's happening to you two?" Quince asked, his voice also rather anguished; More anguished than Nalani would have expected. Suddenly, a voice spoke, but it seemed that no one besides Nalani, Stefa, and Quince could hear.
"Don't worry, you'll meet again." When they listened closely, they realized it wasn't one voice; It was two. Naminé's and someone that Nalani didn't recognize.
"Aerith?" If possible, Stefa's tone was even more surprised than it had been before. The flower girl laughed.
"I always wanted to help, and this is how." She stated.
"But you're taking them away, that doesn't help!" Quince exclaimed.
"We're saving them." stated Naminé.
"Naminé? But..." Nalani tried to speak, but she could just hear the girl shushing her.
"You'll find out soon enough. Don't worry; You four will be reunited again." Both Naminé and Aerith told them. Stefa tried to grab Nalani's hand, but it seemed invisible. She swallowed, hard.
"Nalani..." As if she had spoken the magic words, Nalani and Ceron's forms disappeared completely, making Stefa feel that she'd never see them again. "Why?" She was barely aware that Quince had left her side until she noticed Riku, Sora, and Quince raising their Keyblades and pointing them at a very bloody Xehamnes. Stefa fell to her knees, still staring at the spot where Ceron and Nalani had been. Suddenly, she felt a hand on her shoulder and looked up.
Kairi's face was tearstained and her eyes were still tearing, but she was smiling. "Too much drama for one night, huh?" She asked kindly.
"Wh-where's Roxas? And Naminé?" asked Stefa as she wildly looked around. Both of the former nobodies were no where to be found. Kairi's eyes became half-closed as she looked away, but she still kept her hand on Stefa's shoulder.
"Do you remember what was said about Xehamnes having the power to take out a 'former' nobody? Because of the powers he has as a partial somebody, nobody, and heartless?" She asked and continued when Stefa mutely nodded. "He did some weird type of magic after Naminé used the light on Nalani and Ceron. Naminé disappeared right after she had cast it, and Roxas disappeared before her when he tried to protect her from getting hit."
"So they're gone? For good?" Stefa's voice had stopped showing emotion, and now it just sounded weak. Kairi heaved a sigh as she nodded.
"Come on," She said at last as she held out a hand. "Let's help take out Xehamnes."
Stefa took her hand and got up. "We'll avenge them." She murmured as both of them recalled their Keyblades; Kairi was surprised to find Oathkeeper in her left hand. They both shrugged it off as they ran ahead to help take out Xehamnes.
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Light. Everything was light. Nalani rubbed her eyes; She would have shielded them if the light wasn't everywhere. How could she be all alone was her first thought when she looked around. Ceron was out of sight. Hopefully he was alright. Stefa and Quince...
Where was she supposed to go? Her heart was not pounding as hard as it had been, and when Nalani glanced down to get a look of herself, she noticed that all of her injuries was gone. She also felt like she had come down from a high.
"They say that you're supposed to follow the light," Nalani mused as she looked around, "But where do you go when all that's around you is light?"
She suddenly felt like smacking herself upside the head when she realized that she was waiting for someone to answer. "Okay, then..." murmured Nalani when she set off in a random direction. Could you really tell which way you were going when you were surrounded by light?
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The fight with Xehamnes ending on a very interesting note. With the help (or rather, the energy of Quince and Riku), Sora's outfit tuned into a silver one. You couldn't just see that he was powerful; You could feel it, too. It was kind of scary. Since Quince and Riku were using all of their energy to help Sora, Kairi and Stefa had to personally assist Sora.
The three of them did not finish off Xehamnes with their Keyblades. Well, Sora had to use his still, but not really fight with it.
Kairi and Stefa grasped hands and closed their eyes. Xehamnes had been stabbed so many times that he was kind of crippled. Not to mention Riku had actually broken his leg... A bright white light emitted from Kairi, while a grey one surrounded Stefa. Sora was now wielding Oathkeeper and Kingdom Key. He held both of them so that the tips met and a light began to emit from them.
"Light!" The three said in unison, sending forth beams of light that combined to make a wave of light that pierced through Xehamnes's chest. The resulting effect was enough to knock Kairi and Stefa a good ten feet backwards. They hit the snowy path right outside of Kingdom Hearts with large 'thuds'. Xehamnes screamed bloody murder.
"But this cannot be!" He shouted even as the light began to deteriorate his body. "I'm twice as strong as I once was!"
"Too bad that the both of you were already defeated by the same person twice, otherwise it might have worked." said Quince boredly as he ran forward for one final attack. He slashed at Xehamnes, and the man finally disappeared with a final burst of light, but not without saying some wonderful things to the Keyblade wielders. Riku, Sora, and Quince exchanged looks and then nods. Kairi and Stefa got to their feet just in time to find Quince and Sora working on closing the doors. The two of them stared at the boys with anger and horror.
"Sora! What do you think you're doing?" Kairi fiercely growled as she and Stefa came to the doors.
"Riku will need our help to get through the darkness, but you can still get to the light easily," Sora told them as calmly as he could. "Kairi, I'll come back to you." He murmured reassuringly before crushing his lips onto hers. She returned the kiss with haste. The kiss seemed less passionate and more desperate. Stefa winced at the fact that both she and Kairi were being left behind again.
"Kairi," Riku's voice spoke clear from where he stood on a large rock that King Mickey had once been on. They were surprised to see the heartless weren't attacking what with the barrier down, but apparently the light had either dazed them or tamed them for the time being. "You have to seal the door on that end," He told her. "Can you do it?"
She nodded lightly. "You guys have to come back to us!" Kairi told them. "You have to really promise.
"We promise." Riku replied, looking at Stefa as he said it.
I'm trying, I'm trying to let you know how much you mean.
"Let's get these doors closed." Quince murmured as he and Sora pulled from the inside. Kairi and Stefa pushed them from the outside.
"But why do the three of you have to stay?" Kairi muttered as she pushed hard on one of the doors.
"You'll understand." Came Sora's reply. In almost no time at all, Sora and Quince backed away from the doors as Kairi and Stefa finished closing them, only able to say goodbye through looks.
"Go ahead, Kairi." Stefa urged the redhead. Kairi nodded and called upon Oathkeeper before she ran back a little. Then, she held up the Keyblade and a beam of light shot out from it.
Likewise, on the inside, Riku pointed Way to Dawn at the door, causing a beam of light to shoot out from the end of the tip and enter a lock in the door.
Back on the outside, Kairi allowed Oathkeeper to disappear, and the two girls watched the door to Kingdom Hearts disappear in a flurry of lights. Stefa looked over at the Princess of Heart. "Let's hurry and try to find a way out of here before we get summoned to the path to Castle Oblivion."
After some hesitation, Kairi and Stefa ran in the opposite direction of where Kingdom Hearts had once stood, and headed for the place where Kairi had first lost Sora.
As days fade, and nights grow...
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"How long have I been in here, now?" Nalani grumpily muttered to herself. She had decided that the only reason she had been healed was so she could run throughout the 'realm of light' forever without dying.
She finally stopped running and sighed. "This looks like the place where I started." Nalani suspiciously remarked. "Look at that 'floor', it looks somewhat dirtier!" From beside her, a voice giggled. Nalani whirled around and found the flower girl, Aerith, standing before her. She smiled brightly at the younger girl.
"You remind me a lot of myself," Aerith told her, "but with Cloud and Tifa's tempers." Nalani looked at her for a minute.
"Aerith... right?" She asked. The woman nodded in response. "Where am I? And, not to be rude or anything, but... aren't you... dead?" Nalani finished rather lamely. Aerith didn't get angry, but she did laugh again; She didn't come off as one who could get upset very easily.
"Yes, I guess I am." She answered. "Maybe you could say I'm kind of like a Nobody now? Or at least, I sort of had a similarity with them. Maybe I'm a ghost. I'm not very sure what I am." The flower girl admitted. "I've been roaming in the light for a while, like Nobodies who are defeated are usually sent to the darkness. I don't know where in the light, but that doesn't matter right now." Aerith paused and looked at Nalani with kind eyes. "I've taken you to somewhere within the light. Maybe being dead has its advantages if I can still help."
Nalani couldn't help but smile at her. She was very kind and obviously extremely pure. "Where's Ceron?"
"Home." Aerith replied with a smile. "At least, he is now." Nalani blinked several times. Home? Home had been destroyed... "You were all very close to that Keyhole, you know," The flower girl told her. Nalani instantly knew what she was talking about. When she, Stefa, and Ceron had been searching Jewel's Grove for the keyhole.
"Where is it?" Nalani asked with interest.
"Do you remember that tree outside of Stefa's old house?" Aerith waited for a nod, and then continued. "The keyhole is right inside of the heart."
The heart of the tree. Of course! "So... how do I get home, then? And how did Ceron get there in the first place? It was..."
"Destroyed. Yes, it was." Aerith agreed with a light nod of her head. "But Kingdom Hearts has just been sealed, so it's been restored."
"Sealed?" So Riku had done his job.
"Now, to get you home," Aerith said with a suddenly child-like spirit. She pressed her palms together in a very Naminé-like way and smiled. "Do you trust me?" Nalani stared at her in confusion. That was an awfully random question.
"Uhh... yes..." She murmured.
"Good!" was Aerith's cheerful reply. She separated her hands and held them both out with palms facing up. Nalani blinked. "Go ahead, take my hands." Aerith said in an assuring tone. The younger magician nodded and placed her hands on top of the flower girl's.
A bright white light emitted from them, but still, Nalani felt nothing but comfort as the light engulfed her body.
You're the only one...
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"I guess that we can't get back to Destiny Islands like I did..." Kairi murmured. They had been walking down the snowy path through the darkness for some time, and were beginning to think that they were stuck. Suddenly, a black portal appeared to the side of them. Kairi and Stefa both summoned their Keyblades and prepared for a battle; They hadn't forgotten that there were still two more Organization members out there.
Two hands were held up in surrender as Naminé stepped out of her portal. She smiled at the two of them. "Naminé!" Both girls said in relief as they ran forward to hug her. Instead of feeling the comforting feel of the girl's skin, they felt nothing but their own arms hitting each other. Kairi and Stefa turned around to face her. She smiled, sadly, her eyes half-closed with sadness.
"It was a permanent effect." She told them. Stefa felt her heart shoot up to her throat and swallowed to get it back down. Naminé, she... "Don't worry. I'll still be whole." The blonde Nobody told them; Only Kairi could understand what she was saying. Reixka's form exited out of Stefa's body once again. Stefa, who was staring to get used to it, didn't jump as high as she usually did.
"You'll always be able to see Naminé," Reixka told her other. "I guess you should finally learn why you could give Naminé and Roxas hearts." Naminé, Kairi, and Stefa stared at her with interest. The reason why you can give out hearts is this," She began her explanation. "If you are well off with their others, then you can make an exact copy of their somebody's heart. However, when you do this, you are automatically led into their minds: Their thoughts and their memories. This also helps you put together their hearts so that they are who they were as somebodies. In essence, though, you didn't really make the nobodies into somebodies," Reixka paused to smile bitterly. "Nobodies can't become somebodies. So what you basically have done is make a copy of the Somebody's heart and inserted the Nobody's memories, thoughts, feelings, and their completely mindset into the heart. Since Nobodies and their Somebodies share mostly everything, that's why they have the same heart. But the hearts feel different." Reixka stopped to make sure the other three were following; They were.
"But how did I even learn how to do that?" Stefa asked. Although she understood what her nobody was saying, she couldn't understand why she could do it.
"Do you remember when you first lost to your other side?" Reixka asked. Stefa, of course, nodded quickly; How could she forget that? "Well, while you were unconscious, either the exposure to your heartless/darkness could have lent you the power to do something like that. That theory, I doubt, though. I think that when you forgot your name and a lot about yourself, the skill was born within you along with the name Kera." (A/N: Thank you Seldomknown3 for that idea! I owe you. :D)
"So it was significant that she called herself Kera?" Kairi asked with interest; That was kind of cool. Reixka nodded her head.
"Yes. It was summoned to your body. I still don't know why you, but there are reasons."
"Maybe," Naminé said thoughtfully, "because Stefa is the 'perfect' in-between, that's why she learned the power. After losing to her other side, her true heart awoke and brought her the name and power?"
"It's possible." Reixka agreed before she turned to her other. "So, even though Naminé will be whole inside of Kairi, because you have such a strong connection to her, you'll be able to see her, still. Actually, just like Kairi, you'll be connected to her thoughts, too. That also means that Naminé is connected to yours."
"That's a cool way to communicate." Stefa said with a small smile. The other three laughed.
"Well," Naminé said finally, "I guess it's time for me to go." She turned to face Kairi and smiled. "I'll summon a portal that leads back to Destiny Islands."
"Thank you, Naminé." The Nobody nodded.
"Sure." She said. "And, don't worry, things will work at back at home."
"I'm just afraid to see what happened to the others; I hope no one got hurt..." Kairi murmured. Naminé turned to face Stefa once again.
"We'll meet again, soon." She told her confidently before her eyes flickered to Reixka. "Thank you for everything." With that, she turned back and held out her hand; A black and purple vortex appeared to the right of Kairi. Then, Naminé held out one hand to Kairi, who took it with her opposite hand.
"'Bye, Naminé." Stefa murmured as a golden light engulfed Naminé and Kairi, sending the blonde inside of the redhead.
Kairi took a few steps toward Stefa. "I don't know if we can use Naminé as a messenger over such a distance, but, you and Reixka are welcome to come visit anytime you want." Kairi threw her arms around Stefa's neck, and Stefa did the same.
"Like Naminé said, we'll meet again soon," She assured her friend. "when Quince, Sora, and Riku return from the darkness."
"Unless we have to go and get them." Kairi pointed out, giggling as released Stefa. "Take care of yourself." She said as she entered the portal.
"You too." Stefa responded before Kairi disappeared within the flowing portal. Reixka lightly grabbed Stefa's arm to make her other face her, and not the empty space.
"Are you ready to go home, now?" She asked, grinning widely.
"God, yes." Stefa replied as she laughed a little. "It'll be a bit different with someone else inside of me."
"Hey, I can help you with tests." Reixka said with a wink. Like Naminé had, she held out a hand and summoned a portal of her own. Then, she held out her left hand. Stefa took it with her right hand, and the Nobody disappeared into her somebody in a flurry of pink light.
"It looks like I'm on my own, now, but not really." Stefa sighed. It had been so long since she found herself 'completely' alone. With Reixka, now, though... she probably wouldn't have those moments. She stepped inside of the portal with confidence. "Nalani better be behaving herself back there." Was the last thing she said before the portal closed behind her.
I mean this, forever.
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A/N: And that is the end of 'A Nobody's War'. Finally, huh? I decided to end it now instead of adding more never-ending chapters. Have no fear, though, readers! There will be an epilogue next chapter. :D
Inspiration for this chapter comes from "Demolition Lovers" by My Chemical Romance. I also used a few lines of lyrics in the chapter, too. So, I'll see you next 'chapter'.
Thank you everyone for the support!