End of Eternity
Chapter 5
The once majestic front entrance of Agrabah's royal palace was in ruins. The tall walls on its side had been demolished. The well-kept garden beds were reduced to a state beyond recognition. A crowd of shocked residents of the city had gathered to see what the commotion was about. Two boys and a girl, all in their teens stood in what was left of the gate. Another teenage boy and girl were further away from the three. No one dared getting close to get themselves involved.
Riku watched as Zenith recoiled in surprise at Roxas' strike. She finally noticed that blood was running down one of her arms. It was the arm she used when she defended herself instinctively when Roxas struck her moments earlier. The cuts from the keyblades were deep. Roxas swung Oblivion at her again. Alerted this time, she avoided it by quickly moving aside. As she did so, she immediately realised her mistake.
"No, the seal!" she gasped.
Though immobilised, Sora shot out the thundaga magic from the tip of his keyblade. It hit the seal that Zenith was protecting; dispersing brilliant sparks of yellow upon impact. Electrical currents swelled through the seal, forging numerous cracks simultaneously. Streaks of yellow seeped through the cracks like liquid lava on dry land as it slowly breaks apart. As if he had used up his strength, Sora collapsed before its fragments disappeared without a trace into thin air.
Roxas rushed to Sora's side at once and found that he had fainted. Roxas turned to the sound of approaching footsteps. It was Zenith. "Don't come any closer," Roxas warned her, glaring at her dangerously. With an arm he supported Sora and held Oblivion in front of both of them defensively with his free hand.
At almost the same time, Riku stepped in Zenith's way, separating her from Roxas and Sora.
Holding onto her wounded arm, Zenith took a reluctant step back with a scowl.
"Who are you?" Roxas demanded.
Zenith only glared at them angrily. There was nothing in her pale brown eyes that showed signs of giving in.
Without any warning, they heard a sound of something slicing through the air. Riku caught a glimpse of a person before feeling an intensely sharp pain on one side of his face. Shaken by the suddenness, Riku forced himself to focus on what was going on. A man with striking blue hair stood before him and Roxas. Feeling something sticky tickling down his cheek, Riku wiped it with the back of his hand. It was his blood. Riku was sure it was that man who assaulted them. He appeared to be carrying something in his right hand. Even though Riku was almost certain that was what cut him, strangely enough, he couldn't see it at all. Roxas eyed the man up and down; he seemed to be thinking about the same thing. He could've killed them easily just then, if he had aimed at their throat, not their face. Riku called forth his keyblade and held his guard up, ready for anything to come.
The man looked at them with an amused expression. To the other two's surprise, he turned his back to them and walked towards Zenith. "You ok, Zen?" he asked her. He was tall and looked a little older than her, around twenty years old. He had short spiky hair. He was tall and wore cream-coloured outfit in similar design to Zenith's.
Zenith stared vacantly at the space where the seal was minutes ago. "The seal…" she murmured.
The man shook his head. "It's destroyed. We can only go to the last seal now. At least I have obtained the heart of the princess in this world. Besides, you can't fight them in this state," he said. Zenith grimaced resentfully. She gave a small nod.
Just when Riku was about to say something to them, they jumped an incredible height, onto the top of the sandy-coloured houses. It was an inhuman ability. Whoever they were, they were not ordinary people.
"Tell Sora that we'll be waiting at Radiant Garden," Zenith called down to Riku. Her thin eyebrows were locked tight into a frown. "I'll protect the last seal, no matter what."
"What do you mean, the last seal?" Riku called back.
"Who are you?" Roxas shouted behind the maintainers. Zenith was too far away to hear them. Her seeming partner, the young man stopped and turned to face them. "I'm Thyme, got it memorised?" he said with a smirk, tapping his head with his index finger. He then went after Zenith.
"Thyme…" Namine said softly, staring at the maintainers until they disappear out of sight. Riku was stunned. Roxas froze in his place.
"That guy…" Riku's words trailed off. Thyme reminded him of a particular nobody.
Namine's expression was gentle yet sad. "He is sounded so much like…"
"Axel…" Roxas finished for her in a whisper.
"Sora!" Aladdin came to join them, hopping carefully to select where to land his feet amongst the rubble. He was followed by Donald and Goofy. When he got near, he immediately realised it wasn't Sora whom he greeted. "No, you're not…what happened to Sora?"
Roxas hung his head in regret. "Aladdin…We're terribly sorry we couldn't protect Jasmine," he said. He looked up to Aladdin. "Her heart has been taken. But we'll find definitely get it back, we promise."
Aladdin looked in Roxas' blue eyes as if to confirm his determination. At last, he nodded firmly. "I'm counting on you."
"Looks like I came too late, didn't I?" A sulky voice said from behind.
"Your majesty!" Donald cried in joy. King Mickey came walking towards them. He appeared a little tired.
"No, your majesty. You came at the perfect time. Our gummi ship broke down and we couldn't repair it," Goofy told him.
"Broken? You'll have to tell me the story of how that happened later," said the King, raising an unhappy eyebrow. He looked at Donald, Goofy, Riku, Namine and Roxas in the eyes briefly. His glance stopped by the unconscious Sora for a split second. "Everyone, we should talk back on my gummi ship. Please come with me," he announced.
King Mickey led the way. Donald and Goofy followed behind him. Roxas carried Sora on his shoulder. Namine walked with Riku. No one talked much. Everyone had things on their mind.
The Royal Library gummi ship that the King used for emergency a year ago turned out to be quite a fine vessel. After the reconstruction of the Disney Castle, it remained to be the primary gummi ship the King used. The books and portraits of the proceeding Kings have moved to the new castle library, but the colourful bookshelves remained. After they have settled down, everyone gathered around King Mickey, who was checking up things with the computer at the cockpit while giving orders to Chip and Dale to prepare for take off. When he turned around, he was surprise to find everyone gathered behind him.
"I'm sorry. I didn't realise you were all waiting for me," King Mickey blushed slightly, putting a hand behind his head. He gave them a small smile. "But I believe there is more for me to find out than I have to tell you. Where shall we start?"
Goofy was the first to ask. "Did you find out anything about the maintainers, your majesty?"
"Ah yes. Actually, it is very strange. I went back to Disney Castle to search through my entire library. I even went to my master, Yen Sid, for help. Yet I still I couldn't find any information on them. None at all," the King sighed.
"That means they probably came from a world we have never been to," said Riku, who was leaning against the interior wall of the ship with his arms crossed.
"How do you know, Riku?" Goofy asked.
"It's a guess," Riku turned his head to face them. "But considering we've been to all the other worlds we could by gummi ship and we hadn't come across people like them. Also, they have never showed up in front of us until now," he said.
"That means…someone opened a new path?" Donald wondered, crossing his arm as well.
"Most likely," said Riku, looking at the unconscious Sora.
"Is Sora going to be ok?" Donald asked with a worried face. Roxas and Namine had placed the unconscious Sora in a comfortable position. They both stayed close to his side.
"Things don't look good. If he doesn't get his memories back soon…he can't live," Namine said bitterly. She turned to Roxas. "Roxas, what happened back there?"
Roxas shook his head. "I don't know," he said, appeared confused as well. "I was sleeping within Sora as usual. All of a sudden he woke me up. I don't think Sora knew what he did. May be it was his heart …When I came to, the girl with blue hair was right in front of us. Something told me she was a threat."
"So you don't know those two maintainers, Roxas? Are they nobodies?" asked the King.
"No, I've never met them. But they're definitely human, I'm sure of it," answered Roxas. There was something in his face that told Riku that he had something else in mind. It didn't happen often, but Sora used to make the exact same look.
"I think likewise," Namine cut in, looking at Roxas.
Donald turned to Goofy with a puzzled look. "Hey Goofy, doesn't that man remind you of someone we know? That 'got it memorised' phrase and that attitude…" They crossed their arms in unison, thinking hard. When asked by their King, the two retold the story about what happened in Beast Castle, Wonderland and Agrabah. Everyone listened quietly.
Just when they were about to finish, Sora began to stir. Immediately everyone gathered close to him and Roxas. "Roxas…?" Sora asked with his eyes half-opened. He shook his head as if to rid of the sleepiness that is clinging onto him. Surprise to see so many people around him, Sora looked at everyone and turned back to Roxas. "I'm dreaming, aren't I?"
Roxas sighed with an irritated look on his face. Before anyone could say anything, he had smacked Sora hard on the head.
"OUCH! What did you do that for?!" Sora asked angrily, holding on his aching head.
Roxas shrugged with an innocent look. "You wanted to know if you were dreaming or not."
Sora rubbed the sore spot. "It hurts," he said slowly. Pain is never felt in dreams.
"Just what do you think you're doing? Destroying the seals and being hunted by those maintainers. You want to get yourself killed?!" yelled Roxas.
"It's not like I want to be chased by those people!" Sora yelled back. His shoulder slumped."I just…wanted to change the world."
"Change the world?" Roxas asked. "Sora, what have you been doing? You have to tell us."
Sora turned to Riku and Namine. Riku gave him a reassuring nod. Namine gave him a smile. He took a small breath and began. "Even though I had been fighting heartless and nobodies all along, I never understood them – until Roxas and Namine were gone. Everything about them is full of sadness. I don't want anyone to feel sad because the people they care about have turned into heartless and nobodies. I don't want to see heartless hurting others anymore because they have lost their minds. I don't want any nobodies to feel empty and lacking because they don't have a heart. I…wanted it to end."
"Sora…" Roxas said softly.
Riku closed his eyes. Sora's intention wasn't something he couldn't understand. Yet, it was the world Sora wanted to change. "And that's why you were looking all over the worlds for the past year? For something that may change this?"
"Yes…I didn't know if there was a way, but I knew I couldn't stay in Destiny Islands. I had to do something. I looked everywhere but found nothing, not a single clue. Then I thought of Kingdom Hearts. It was the only place I haven't looked." Everyone was listening so intently, not one person blinked. Sora continued, "When I arrived at the tower, my keyblade detected a new keyhole. I unlocked it and a door appeared in front of me."
Riku remembered seeing a stone door with green vines when he was there. It had to be the one Sora was talking about.
"I didn't think I would find a keyhole at Kingdom Hearts. There was nothing that could've triggered it, unlike the other keyholes. Anyway, I went through the door. It led to a room that looked like an old science laboratory. Then, I heard a voice speaking to me. It was a voice-recording message. The technology was incredible, but it seemed like it had been left there fore many years," Sora continued.
"The message was very short. The speaker mentioned that he doesn't have much time left. For some reason, he seemed to know who would come. The message was addressed to 'the bearer of the keyblade, the wielder of light'. What was more unreal was that he knew what I went there for. He told me there is a way to rid the world of heartless and nobodies. In order to do so, I must overthrow the balance of the world, which is maintained by the seven princesses of light and the seven seals. I have to either destroy the seals, or kill the princesses. He said wherever the princesses are; there will be a seal in the same world. He warned me that I might need to pay a price for destroying the seals. He also warned me of the maintainers. They will use any means to stop me."
"But I never expected loosing the seals would cause the worlds to move all out of place. And causing the heartless and nobodies go crazy," Sora hung his head shamefully.
King Mickey went to Sora. When the King opened his mouth to speak, Sora winced, expecting to be scolded. Instead, the King said, "You've grown, Sora." Donald winked. Goofy gave Sora his goofy smile.
"Don't try to do everything by yourself. You have friends, don't you? Those were your words," said Riku.
"I'm sorry, Riku," Sora apologised. "So…this isn't a dream?"
"You want to confirm that again?" asked Roxas, rolling his hand into a fist again.
"Wait! I'll pass," Sora said quickly, waving his hands and shaking his head frantically.
Namine giggled. Then Donald and Goofy started to laugh. Suddenly, everyone burst into laughter. Namine smiled. Sora and Roxas never ceased to amaze her. They possess such incredible quality to change everyone's mood. Moments ago, the atmosphere was heavy and everyone was feeling down and concerned. Now everyone was laughing heartily. Seeing everyone was laughing, Sora and Roxas joined in as well. Gradually, the laughter died out.
"I don't get it. How can Roxas you be here?" Sora asked.
"I don't understand either, but something in me feels different. Something at somewhere changed, I don't feel quite the same…" said Roxas doubtfully.
"I feel it too, Roxas," said Namine. Her face was serene. "I don't feel the bond between Kairi and I as strong as I did before. It is as if we're parting…becoming two separate people. I know it's not possible…but strange things have been happening in the world because of the princesses and the seals. It affected Kingdom Hearts. I can feel it."
"But you don't know what it is?" Riku asked. Namine shook her head.
"Hey Riku, worry so much will give you grey hair you know," Sora grinned. His face had mischief written over it.
"Not like he doesn't have a head full of it already," said Roxas factually.
"At least my head isn't empty," Riku said coldly.
Sora's mouth began to curl to a smile. But when he saw Riku's face, he quickly covered his mouth to hide it. "Why is your hair like that, Riku?"
His question caught Riku's attention. Sora asked him that question years ago, when they first met as children. He had never asked again since then. Sora should know that was his natural hair colour.
King Mickey smiled at the scene. Then, he remembered something he had to ask. "Sora, how many seals have you destroyed?"
"Let's see…" Sora was counting with his fingers. "Six. There is only one left."
"SIX?" Donald jumped in astonishment. "Sora, haven't you only destroyed three?" He held up his four fingers and counted down the worlds they have been to so far.
"Before we ran into you, you've been to other worlds, haven't you?" asked Riku.
"I went to the world where Snow White, Cinderella and Sleeping Beauty were. They were fine when I was there. I'm not so sure anymore though," Sora said worriedly.
"Is it really ok to destroy the seals?" Goofy asked worriedly. "Loosing the balance between light and darkness had already driven the heartless and nobodies crazy. The worlds are shifting probably because of the same reason."
Everyone showed hesitation on their faces.
"I'm sorry everyone. I can't quit now, not that I've come so far," said Sora resolutely.
"Sora," Namine spoke up quietly. "Do you remember the time when you met Riku and Kairi?" she asked Sora, who wasn't looking at her. "Do you remember the name of the philosopher who sought revenge on his disciples? Do you remember the leader of Organisation XIII?" Sora looked at her pleadingly, hoping she would stop asking. Namine asked again. "Do you remember why you have the keyblade to begin with?"
"Stop it, Namine," Roxas said softly.
Sora smiled at her sadly. "…I don't," he said. "I don't remember anything beyond a year ago. But I have to do this." There was something in his heart that told him so.
Roxas stood by Sora's side. "I'll be on Sora's side no matter what he chooses," he stated. His blue eyes showed the same determination as Sora's. Sora looked at him thankfully.
Turning to Riku, Roxas asked. "Are you going to stop us?"
"Roxas!" Sora looked and Riku and Roxas nervously, feeling uneasy at the tension between them.
"You're going to Radiant Garden, aren't you Sora?" Riku asked, ignoring Roxas completely. He remembered what Zenith said earlier. "I'm going too. There are some things I need to ask those maintainers. They must know something about what is happening."
Suddenly, the gummi ship tumbled as it received impacts one after another. Everyone looked out the front window and was amazed by what they saw. At first, it felt like they were getting hit by small asteroids. But when they looked closely, it was the ship that was hitting things. There were thousands of clusters made up of heartless and nobodies fighting against each other. They didn't seem to take notice of the gummi ship, not even when it rammed into them. It was a spectacular sight. Riku, Sora and Roxas had never seen so many at the same time. They gathered around a single world.
"No way…how can it be here?" said a wide-eye Sora. That world should be much further away than it is.
Radiant Garden.
Author's note: Sincere apologies for haven't updated for so long. It's been more than a month! I have been extremely busy these days, getting busy with things I don't want to be busy with. But I have been spending weeks working on and off this chapter. I put a lot of effort into writing this story. So, please review, please? It would only take seconds to press the submit a review button below and write a sentence of what you thought or whether you like it or not (be anoynomous, don't punctuate your sentence, whatever). I will put up the next chapter depending on how many reviews I get. I don't intend this to sound like a lecture, but I'm just not getting enough back for how much I put in. I'll never give up on a story if readers don't. I'll probably discontinue this story depending on the responses. Sorry for this long and boring and disheartening speech. I just had to make it. Thank you for reading.