Playlist for the chapter:
Stay Alive (reprise) from Hamilton
On Top of The World by Greek Fire
I Want To Live by Skillet
I Don't Think Now Is The Best Time from Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End (the song that plays during Will & Elizabeth's impromptu wedding).
Kiss The Girl (The Little Mermaid)
Can You Feel The Love Tonight? (The Lion King)
At Last I See The Light (Tangled)
Chapter 9: Stay Alive:
Radiant Garden – Marketplace
3 Weeks Ago
"You're kidding," Sora almost choked with laughter as Kairi put down her fork and grabbed her pencil, chuckling at his surprise. "He can actually do that?" It had been four days since they and their entourage from Earth arrived in Radiant Garden after the Hellfire Club's invasion of Turo, and after showing their new friends around the first few days, the couple was ready for some time to themselves. Despite the Halloween festivities going on around them, the duo were content to sit and enjoy a quiet meal together in casual attire. After being flung across the universe and reunited, they had begun to start making concrete plans for their upcoming wedding, and were currently discussing things like who to invite, the size of the ceremony, and other logistical details.
"I'm not joking," Kairi laughed. "When the captain of the guard decided to get married after retiring, my uncle actually officiated the ceremony himself. For some reason, whoever wrote the laws of Radiant Garden wanted to make sure that the royal family would always be able to pull double duty as wedding officiants in case there weren't any priests available to do weddings for important officials."
"That's so bizarre," Sora commented with a chuckle. "That means if you wanted to, you basically have the legal authority to officiate your own wedding." Kairi burst out laughing as she made the connection and realized that her fiancé had a point.
"As fun as that would be to just have a quiet wedding with just the two of us," she replied as the laughter died down. "We have too many friends and family members who would be crushed if we left them out."
"I know, I know," Sora answered with one last laugh. "It's just a funny thing to think about. So how big of a guest list are we going to have?" This was a bit of a paradox for the two of them. On one hand, they wanted to have a small, quiet ceremony instead of a lavish public spectacle. But they also had so many friends that the guest list was going to be close to a hundred people no matter how small they tried to keep things. They continued like that for the rest of the night. The cracks and stains of life were on the back burner for a while. For now, they were just enjoying the fragile, crystalline moments in time where they could relish in the fact that they were alive.
U.W.S. Ava – Foreteller's Shrine
Now
"KAIRI!" Sora screamed as he grabbed his childhood friend's body before she hit the floor. Frantically, he checked her pulse and found none, futilely begging her to open her eyes. Despite the different surroudings, his mind flashed back to his fight against a Xehanort-possessed Riku in the Grand Hall of Hollow Bastion all those years ago, Kairi's lifeless, comatose body lying on the floor as they dueled. Behind him, the blonde-haired Unchained assassin focused all the godlike power of the Infinity Gauntlet to do what she wanted it to do.
As she focused her willpower through the Space and Time Stones, a massive ring of portals of portals opened up in orbit over the Pacific Ocean, spewing forth ever single fragment of the original world, both from the Daybreak Coalition and the Nine Realms of Yggdrasil. As the worlds began to enter Earth's atmosphere, the planetoids rocked. Citizens of every world affected rushed into earthquake shelters or clung to the nearest stable surface as their worlds upended around them. Jotuheim emerged apart from the pack, directly above the arctic circle. Muspelheim, Niffleheim, and Helheim, being part of the Nordic realms of the dead, were knocked out of phase with reality and attacked themselves to the Underworld. Back on the ship, the blonde sadist smiled as she sensed that she had succeeded before turning to face her next target.
"What a waste," Lerena commented bitterly. Even though she had never Unchained herself, the princess was still the reincarnation of Ava. All Unchained would mourn the fact that her death had been a necessary step in The Endgame, especially the Novus Imperator. "She could have done so much more if she had been given the time to Unchained herself. But don't feel too bad, boy. You were never worthy of her anywa– "
"SHUT! UP!" Sora snapped as he lashed out at the former Organization member, unleashing a wave of energy from the X – Blade that incinerated the Savage Nymph on the spot before carving a trail of destruction across the middle decks of the ship all the way back to the engine room. As the light faded, the ashes of every Unchained on those levels drifted slowly towards the deck like snow. With the engines destroyed by the burst of the X – Blade, the flagship of the Unchained Legion's war fleet began to sink beneath the waves. Fires burned across the entire floor from the heat of the energy burst. But Sora ignored it all, kneeling on the floor of the chapel as he cradled his fiancé in his arms.
As he frantically tied to process what was happening to his fiancé, his mind wandered back to when the newly formed Coalition Intelligence Network had showed the wielder so the Keyblade notes and repots they had found hidden in Braig's private quarters in the ruins of the Castle That Never Was. Hidden among comments on the irony of Xehanort's plans was a report in which he explained that it was theoretically possible for two people to share a single heart. The procedure was similar to how Xehanort split off pieces of his heart to create his vessels in Organization XIII, only the methods Braig described did not involve any kind of possession and were completely benevolent. As the memory came to the forefront of his mind, an idea popped into his head. It was crazy, it was desperate, and he honestly had nothing to lose by trying.
With a grunt of pain, he steadied his regular Keyblade and thrust it into his chest. With an agonized cry of pain, he pulled it out bloodlessly, his heart attached to the tip. Holding the core of his emotions and humanity in his hands, he carefully carved it in two with his blade before returning one half to his chest. The other half he held gingerly over Kairi's lifeless form, wrestling with the concern that it might not work. Taking a deep breath to steady himself, he brought his hand down and forced the heart inside of her body. For the next twenty seconds, he held his breath before her eyes opened and she gasped for breath.
While the X – Blade master desperately attempted to revive the now-former Princess of Heart, the tide of battle began to turn. At the sight of the Ava sinking, the Legion was momentarily rattled. Aurilam and the Huntsman managed restore order among the troops, but by the time they calmed their startled subordinates down, the Earth-Coalition Alliance had taken full control of the Dragon Council's fortress and was quickly spread across the island. The battle was quickly turning into a battle to push back against the enemy lines. The ECA troops began reclaiming the island from the palace, while the Unchained Legion stood their ground and fought back from their encampment in the Dark Dragon's old volcanic lair.
Beneath the waves of the ocean, half the S.A.C.K.'s sub pods were eliminated before Neku, Shiki, Mack, Cobra, Beat, Rhyme, the Johnsons, the FitzSimmons, the Hunters, Kim, and Ron managed to limp their battered mini-subs back into the Ulysses' launch bay. Fortunately, the sight of the Ava beginning to dip below the waves caught the Unchained scuba troops long enough for the Ulysses to limp towards the battlefield perimeter to make repairs and tend to their wounded. The Pelekai family gathered in the ship's cafeteria for a small, private eulogy for Jumba and Pleakley. The Avengers consolidated back into one group again on the shores of Draco and proceeded to decimate the Legion's heavy artillery. While the Secret Warriors fighting on the front lines against the hordes of immortal Keyblade Masters, the tide of the battle was once more turning in the heroes' favor. Now, instead of the Legion having the upper hand, the battle was now on more equal footing.
Captain Hook, Cruella, Hamsterviel, and the original Leroy had all been captured and were being shuttled off the island to a proper detention facility via Gummi Ship. Leon, Yuffie, Barret, Tifa, and Rinoa managed to incapacitated Demona and restrain the genocidal gargoyle when Loki (who was aboard the Coalition Gummi Ship maintaining a magical barrier that blocked the creation of light or dark corridors leading off the island) called in to report that Kadaj had been spotted fleeing one of the sinking wrecks carrying a small metal box. Realizing that the mercenary intended to resurrect his father while both sides were distracted with the chaos of the battle, Riku nodded and ordered Cloud, Zack, and Tifa to join up with Leon's squad and take Kadaj out before he could bring Sephiroth back from the dead.
In the heart of the slowly sinking Unchained flagship, the X – Blade wielder and the princess of Radiant Garden panted as their breathing slowed after the adrenalin of the past fifteen minutes calmed down. Since Sora already had the X – Blade for himself, he was currently moving the remains of Lerena's severed arm from the Infinity Gauntlet so Kairi could put it on herself.
"Sora, will you marry me?" she asked once the gauntlet was secured to her arm. Sora blinked and looked up at her in surprise.
"Kairi?" Sora replied cautiously, confused as to where she was going with this. We've already been engaged for two months now after dating for six years, why would - his confusion ended abruptly as he realized what she was thinking. Before either could say anything, one of the Unchained stationed on the lower levels came charging into the room, saw Lerena's arm lying on the floor, and came charging at them like an Asgardian berserker to avenge their fallen comrade. The man didn't even make it within ten feet of them before Sora blasted the Legionnaire with a beam of light from the X – Blade.
"I almost died," she answered once their attacker was obliterated. "You got stabbed and brainwashed, and given our status as Keyblade Wielders those are the kind of things that keep happening to us on a regular basis, so let's just stop putting it off and get married already. I have the authority to officiate my own wedding, and after everything that's happened in the last two months, I feel like we've waited long enough." Sora was stunned. While he and Kairi had jokingly toyed with the idea back in Radiant Garden before they arrived on Earth, the thought of actually doing it? All their friends and family would be disappointed they missed it. But I'd rather we do it now than keep putting it off because of one crisis or another, he thought to himself as he made up his mind. We can always redo the ceremony for the benefit of our friends and family later.
"Alright, let's do it," he replied with a grin on his face as he dodged and vaporized another Unchained attempting to take a pot shot at them while they were talking. "I love you, Kairi."
"Dearly beloved," Kairi began. "We're gathered here today – " she was cut off as another Legionnaire dropped in from above and attempted to take both of them out in one swing. A quick energy blast from the X – Blade obliterated their attacker before the Princess of Radiant Garden continued, although not without a rare moment of cursing at the "idiot who had the nerve to interrupt a wedding." They went on like this for the next five minutes, repeating the wedding vows they had prepared weeks ago, in between Unchained attacks as they made their way through the ship towards the top deck.
"As princess of Radiant Garden," she said after to more interruptions of Unchained attacks in the midst of fleeing the ship. "I now pronounce us husband and wife. You may now – " An enraged war cry from a heavily armored Unchained cut her off and forced her to block the swing of the man's Keyblade with her own. Again, Sora obliterated their assailant with the X – Blade. With the ancient weapon once again in play, they could now safely kill their foes without worrying about future reincarations.
"You may kiss – " As she said this, their deck of the ship reached the water line, and the floor quickly began to fill up with water.
"Oh, just kiss me already," she finally said with a mix of exasperation and playfulness as Sora leaned in and gave her a long romantic kiss on her lips. The two halves of their shared heart beat in perfect sync as the water level began to rise. The broke away from the kiss once the water reached their knees, smiles still on their faces.
"Ready to get off this boat?" he asked her as he raised the X – Blade into the air.
"I thought you'd never ask," she replied with a smile on her face.
Meanwhile, several thousand feet above the island, two figures stood on the deck of the S.H.I.E.L.D. Helicarrier watching the chaos unfold around them. Despite looking obviously out of place, the two were currently operating at a higher frequency than the mortal plane, and so were invisible to those around them.
"Whatever happens here on Earth," Joshua Kiryu remarked as he looked down at the chaos unfolding below him. He wanted so badly to fly down and help his friends. To save the day and keep the heroes from dying. But even he knew that free will would be what ultimately decided the fate of the world. No amount of divine intervention could change that, and he had his orders. "That right there," he commented as he looked up at the sight of so many world fragments streaking through the atmosphere like meteors. Though too far away to be visible to mortal eyes, to an angel like Joshua, he knew exactly where they were. "That's the real endgame. The end of the cycle. Permanently."
"So after this, no more Keyblade Wars, then." Sanae Hanekoma commented. "Sounds a little too good to be true, Josh."
"Ordinarily, I'd agree," the blonde former Composer remarked. "But so much has been different this cycle from all the others. The Unchained Legion, the Princesses of Heart, knowledge of the system being transferred from one cycle to the next. But it was pure chance really. Any one of these things by themselves wouldn't have made a difference. It takes lots of little things coming together in just the right way at just the right time to make really change stick. And the deciding factor is Sora."
"Yeah, that kid's a paradox alright," Mr. H remarked. "Born with no special talents or powers, yet he's the first brand new, non-recycled heart the big KH has spat out in hundreds of thousands of years. No training, no special prophecies, no super important destinies. Just an average Joe who proved himself worthy of the X – Blade. Do you really think he'll be able to glue all these moving parts together and fix the problems of the past?"
"I hope so," Joshua replied. "The future of the world depends on it."
Kadaj gasped for breath as he ran through the catacombs beneath the Dragon Council's fortress. Tears and sweat streamed from his face as he clutched the small box even tighter against his chest than it already was. First, he had lost his mother, then his father, and now finally even his brothers were gone, too. But no more. With Jenova's remains, he would finally bring his father back. He wouldn't be alone anymore. He finally found an large, open cavern from which to perform the ritual. With a deep breath to steady himself, he cracked open the sealed container and poured Jenova's head into the Tupperware container he'd packed in his bag.
The ritual was relatively simple. All he needed to do was paint a few runes in blood, say some incantations over the Tupperware, and then drink the fluids leaking from Jenova's decayed, severed head. It was a little disgusting, but in his grief, Kadaj was willing to do anything to reunite with his family. He painted the runes along the upper terrace of the cavern and was had just finished pouring the fluids from the container into a red plastic cup when his hated uncle came running into the room, accompanied by several armed soldiers. When Cloud spotted him, the blond warrior came charging across the terrace towards him.
"You're too late, you fools," he replied as he took a long drink from the chalice and fell backwards off the ledge into the main cavern. Cloud leaped after him, drawing his sword. Kadaj landed feet first and drew his own sword right as Cloud swung his own blade down towards his. And in a flash of light, the silver haired teen was gone. In his place stood a tall, long-haired man with a ten-foot-long sword held high above his head, green mist emitting around him. Everyone's eyes widened in shock and fear as the new arrival made himself known.
"Good to see you, Cloud," Sephiroth remarked smugly.
Above the surface of Draco, the fighting between the two armies was intense. The Keyblade wielders lead the charge from the front lines alongside the Secret Warriors while S.H.I.E.L.D. Agents provided cover fire from ridges and other high vantage points. Jake and Rose fought their way up from the beach alongside the rest of their team, incapacitating Jake's aunt along the way. With most of the Unchained now concentrated on Draco itself, Maria Hill and Ienzo began directing airstrikes against Unchained troop formations as the tide of the battle continued to flow back and forth between the two sides. And then, It happened.
Hostilities momentarily stopped as both armies stopped and looked around at the ocean. Nobody could do anything except stand dumbstruck as The Ava vanished in a brilliant column of white-hot energy, the entire ship obliterated and every Unchained on board permanently killed with no chance of reincarnation by the power of the X – Blade. Flaming chunks of molten metal rained down into the bay, erupting into new columns of light with the same result each time they impacted against the hull of an Unchained warship. Within a matter of minutes, every Unchained not currently standing on the shores of Draco was destroyed. Only Rose, Black Widow, and the two hundred Legionnaires now trapped on the Isle of Draco remained.
As the light faded, everyone stood still with looks of awe on their faces. Twenty miles off the coast of Draco, hovering just above the water and completely unaffected by the events surrounding them stood Sora, wearing his old black and white muscle suit and wielding the X – Blade in his right hand, and Kairi, wielding the fully loaded and powered up Infinity Gauntlet on her left.
The bit about cracks stains, and fragile moments is a reference to one of my favorite quotes from the third book in the Red Rising trilogy. So yeah, Sora and Kairi are now sharing a heart between them like Snow White and Prince Charming after the third season of Once Upon A Time. As you can guess, Kairi's heart is now longer pure light, even though she's still referred to as a Princess of Heart out of habit and respect for her previous status as one. And since it was mentioned earlier that the hearts of the princesses maintain the barriers that keep the Fallen Ones at bay, you can bet that when I get around to writing Invaders From Beyond, the fact that one of those seven hearts of pure lights was destroyed will have a major impact on the plot.
Yeah, Vinnie and Mole are dead. I seem to have this weird habit of killing off side characters that I loved in the original material. The big wall of portals bringing worlds back to Earth is a reference to Gilgamesh's Gate of Babylon from Fate/Stay Night.
Quoted some of the dialogue from Will and Elizabeth's mid-battle wedding in Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End for this scene. When I decided to have Sora and Kairi's wedding as an element of the story, I knew I wanted to have Will and Elizabeth's wedding scene be the basis for when they finally got married. Originally, I was planning on having Sora and Kairi's scenes inside the volcano on Draco, but as I planned out this fic, I decided to move it onto the Legion's main command ship instead. As a result, some of the details of the teaser I left at the end of KH5 where changed for the final version.
In other news, SEPHIROTH'S BACK! I knew from the moment I decided to include Kadaj and the other remnants from Advent Children, but since I'm painting them in this universe as Sephiroth's grieving offspring, my interpretation of the One-Winged Angel's resurrection is going to be a little different from most versions. Joshua's comment about "little things coming together" is a quote from Unsouled, the third book in the amazing Unwind Dystology by Neal Shusterman. I changed replaced the last few words of the quote with "to make real chance stick" since the full quote heavily tied into that series' plotline. And Kadaj carrying around a Tupperware container is another reference to Those Lacking Spines.