CHAPTER 2
The Battle of Destiny
Although the storm had vanished almost instantly, the wind blew strongly and sucked sand and loose leaves into the portal – everything pulled in instantly turned to darkness upon contact with the vortex's frame. The pull wasn't strong enough to yank the four steady teens inside, but streams of darkness left over from the storm's lightning strikes amassed at the portal, causing it to slowly but steadily grow.
The dimension shifted as if illusionary but kept the same general form, appearing as a counterpart impression of Destiny Islands devoid of light but reflected by a mirror. The scene was similar to that of the night of the storm, but every aspect of the world seemed to be completely composed of darkness – the clouds, the trees, even the sand. In this dimension the cove wall was destroyed, so the islanders could see down the length of the beach to the far end of the dark island. Not a soul was to be seen; the dark reflection of the islands appeared uninhabited, forbidding and unsettling – a void of nightmares.
All four teens were momentarily paralyzed in fear, but curiosity quickly tugged at Wakka and Kairi's minds while Tidus and Selphie remained cautious. "What is this?" said the blitzball playing boy, holding his ball in his left hand while trying to inch closer to see. However, Selphie kept a firm nervous grip on his right arm and did not let him leave her side.
Kairi, unrestrained, donned a mask of inquisitive bravery and replied assuredly even though she shook inside at the presence of the dark vortex. "Let's check it out," she suggested as she creeped warily closer to the portal's entrance. Reaching the edge of the portal, the light princess poked her hand into this unfamiliar realm followed by her head, turning her head this way and that to view the full extent of its gloom.
Tidus wasn't as assured as Kairi. Although he had always been closer to Wakka and Selphie, he still felt responsible for Kairi's safety, especially since Sora and Riku were both gone. He started after her, saying, "I'm not so sure we –"
He never finished his statement. On the other side of the portal, a large, dark, neon-marked monster resembling a tyrannosaurus rex sauntered into view from behind the stone outcropping that completed the cove wall. Spotting the princess of heart with its bright red eyes, it roared loudly at her, the deafening shockwaves spreading out in every direction. Surprised and alarmed, Kairi was quick to back away from the portal's entrance and take up a defensive stance. At the monster's battle cry, at least one hundred more monsters were summoned to its side in small bursts of light. All were different kinds of animal-looking creatures, some appearing like big cats, dinosaurs, or raptors while others seemed to be varieties of horses, pandas and domestic cats – there was even dragons and flying fish. Despite their differences, they all had various styles of dark colorings, red glowing eyes, and a mark like that of a heartless symbol with bat wings somewhere on their abnormal forms.
"What are those things?" Selphie queried aloud, terrified by their bizarre appearances and anxious for their impending attack. With another thunderous outcry of various animal shrieks, roars, and growls, the monsters dashed for the portal, causing all of the islanders to quickly draw their various 'weapons' in self-defense. In truth, none truly had a weapon but Kairi, who summoned her keyblade and took up her battle stance. Wakka still fought with his blitzball which he constantly carried under his arm. Selphie's jump rope had been replaced with a longer, wire-woven jump rope that she now untied from around her waist as it also acted as a decorative belt, the copper color complimenting her yellow dress. Tidus' weapon was now a hollow iron bar that extended from a collapsible form; he pulled it from his pocket and locked it into its full length with a snap of the wrist, ready for the engagement.
As the creatures leaped through the portal, time seemed to slow. The black sand-like darkness from the portal's sides consumed the beasts as if scraping off their old skin. While they crossed over to the alternate reality, the darkness of the portal pulled off the outer hide of the beasts and revealed their distorted ink black or variously colored appearances. Many kept similar coloring and body shapes as their previous states, but others changed more dramatically, fusing horns, growing and losing tails, enlarging in size, or gaining complete new body structures. The smaller creatures' new configurations were revealed almost instantly while more complex creatures took more time to develop their new structures, appearing as dark clouds molding to different beasts. The various unrecognizable creatures had changed forms drastically and taken shapes Kairi recognized well.
"Heartless!?" she yelled in surprise. Indeed, in front of them now stood a variety of pureblood and emblem Heartless, poised and ready to strike. The developed monsters wasted no time in constructing attack groups, fluently breaking up into groups based on type and skill. As the Shadows launched their first attack, Kairi selected an offensive defense, knocking them away with magic before counterattacking with the skillful blows she had practiced with Sora and Riku for the past year. Wakka, Selphie, and Tidus were hesitant and stuck to defensive maneuvers, knocking back a few of the attacking creatures but being unable to kill them.
Less than a minute later, Wakka assessed the direness of their current situation. He, Tidus and Selphie, although able in combat, were not as anxious to fight or as skilled as Kairi was and were already beginning to falter in some ways, taking a few blows from the synchronized Neoshadows' spinning air attacks. Noting that the portal continued to steadily grow and the large Heartless were nearly formed, he recognized that escape would soon be close to impossible. "Let's get out of here!" Wakka yelled to Tidus, grabbing Selphie's wrist and leading her to the door while Tidus dashed out alone.
"Wait, Kairi!" Selphie exclaimed, looking back and losing her footing, tripping on a jutting rock. Assuming that Kairi was right behind him, Tidus had dashed out without checking, his instinct turning to that of his own safety. Instead, the princess had stayed behind, continuing to fight more evolved forms of heartless such as Sky Grapplers and Large Bodies while sustaining few minor strikes, moving quickly to avoid getting hurt.
However, the large tyrannosaurus-like beast continued to evolve, and Wakka did not want to stick around to see its new form. "Tidus, grab her!" Wakka yelled, helping Selphie to her feet while knocking away a two Shadows and a Bit Sniper heartless approaching her. Tidus nodded solemnly before dashing back into the fray, striking two Neoshadow heartless approaching Kairi from behind.
A long involved combo attack of Kairi's against two Zip Slashers provided a short lull in the battle; this gave Tidus the opportunity to grab her wrist and get her attention as she seemed deaf to Wakka's orders. "Let's go!" he yelled, trying to drag her along. She held to her position, trying to stay behind and continue to combat the creatures. At this point the t-rex, now looking similar to a Dark Hide heartless (with a slightly more contrasting coloration), completed its transformation and, fully operational, reared onto its hind legs, roaring so loudly the vibrations knocked loose parts of the pier down into the water. Startled due to being briefly inattentive, Kairi staggered back in surprise. "Now!" the terrified Tidus demanded, gaining the upper hand from Kairi's stumble and tugging the resistant princess of heart behind him.
Wakka and Selphie were waiting behind the cove wall for their two other compatriots. "Hurry!" Wakka urged from the other side of the wall, ready to slam the door shut as soon as the two stragglers made it through.
Tidus, although slowed by Kairi's hesitancy, found it best to tug on her arms in small bursts to keep her from regaining a foothold with which to take a stand. "Let go!" she cried desperately, looking back at the creatures almost longingly. A few Shadows dissolved into the ground, following the refugees as dark circles at the surface.
Tidus turned a deaf ear to her pleas, caring more about her safety than her wishes. After dashing through the door, he got a running start while Wakka and Selphie closed and boarded the door before following suit. Kairi continued to resist, attempting to wiggle her hand out of Tidus' grasp. In an effort to assist Tidus, Wakka came up behind Kairi and pushed her forward, causing her to stumble and keep moving. "Just run!" Selphie screamed, staying beside Wakka who kept her pace to keep her safe.
The Shadows weren't just going to let perfectly good hearts get away. Coming up from behind, they solidified themselves in front of the group, stopping the teens in their tracks. Finally breaking free, Kairi destroyed the four Shadows in only two strikes of her keyblade, causing them to dissolve. Turning to run back to the cove, Kairi was surprised to see no other heartless following them; even the flying creatures didn't pursue. This brief surprise gave Wakka a moment to grab her arm, twirl her around towards the docks, and push her forward again. "Hey, wait a minute!" Kairi yelled, again attempting to struggle free as Tidus clenched her wrist in a vise-like grip.
"Guys, stop it!" Kairi pleaded, having a different perspective of the situation than they did. She knew that Heartless did not stop until a world was consumed, so running would not solve the problem. She wanted to escape this trap, yet she refused to use her keyblade on her own friends. Looking for a new angle to escape, she dug her feet in the sand and leaned back almost to a sitting position while grabbing Tidus' wrist and twisting it back to herself, putting pressure on the tendon. Tidus released her in his brief burst of pain, causing her to fall backwards due to throwing her weight back. However, having practiced agility throughout the year, she easily rolled over her right shoulder as she fell, leaping up almost instantly.
Seeing Kairi's escape, Wakka and Tidus both made another grab for Kairi's wrist while Selphie ran on the dock. "Stop!" Kairi cried, leaping back far enough away to avoid capture. In their hastiness, Wakka and Tidus accidentally banged heads before staggering back, holding their heads in slight discomfort and giving Kairi the opportunity to plead her case. "We can't leave – we need to fight!"
"If we fight we won't leave – ever!" Tidus yelled in response, recovering and dashing again for the princess. Kairi simply turned and ran towards the cove, and the teen knew he would not stop her in time. "There's just too many of them!" he exclaimed loudly, hoping to dissuade her.
She had the same goal in mind – to dissuade her friends. Stopping a distance away, she turned to face them, replying, "We're all that stands between them and the main island; we have to fight to protect our home. If we don't stop them now, who will?"
"But we can't stop them!" declared Selphie, jumping off the dock and joining Wakka's side. "No matter how many we destroy, they'll just keep coming through that portal."
"Kairi, behind you!" Wakka yelled abruptly, spotting a pack of Shadow Heartless coming up after her. Materializing her flowered keyblade in her right hand, she turned quickly and swung at two of the Shadows emerging from the ground, destroying them in one fair swoop. Taking a quick combo against a third, she took up a battle stance, now facing the cove.
"Then we take out the portal," Kairi proclaimed, staring past the oncoming Neoshadow pack at the cove door. The heartless were finally tracking the heroes and flew over or dug under the wall, making their way across the beach. "If we don't, they'll just keep coming until they destroy the islands just like last time." Neoshadows confronted her, and a Sky Grappler flew in, hovering just above the ground. After shooting it down with a Blizzara spell, she initiated a strong magic and keyblade combo against the Heartless creatures, meeting their initial attacks with a strong reflective shield before destroying them with her unexpectedly strong combos. Without turning back, she knew the others were still hesitant. "You guys go if you need to, but I can't lose my home, not again! I'm fighting!" And with that the princess dashed off to destroy the dark embodiments, leaving her three friends in the dust with looks of hopelessness and indecisiveness.
Kairi did not stop to consider her chances or plan ahead. Instead, she rushed into the battle full speed, attacking Large Bodies by surprise and combating with the few Zip Slashers fairly. Having asked Sora and Riku many questions from their adventures, she recognized many types of the Heartless and exploited their known weaknesses quickly. As she fought, Kairi realized that many varieties of creatures had completely disappeared. For example, the cat, fish, giraffe, eagle, and panda creatures that had turned into Shadows, Bit Snipers, Neoshadows, Sky Grapplers, and Large Bodies upon emerging from the portal were only half of the creatures that had emerged from the portal. There had been multiple saber tooth tigers, dragons, and lions that crossed the border, but now few Zip Slashers, Phantomtails, and Living Bones remained. Kairi also had yet to see trace of the Triceratops dinosaurs that had turned into Destroyed Behemoths or the T-Rex Dark Hide.
But Kairi didn't give this much thought, focusing fully on destroying all the remaining Heartless. However, having no backup or true plan of attack, she failed to realize the plot of the Neoshadows and only recognized the trap after they had surrounded her. Maintaining a battle stance, she rotated in their circle, trying to keep an eye on all of them at once. Although Kairi was assured of her task, her mind was instantly implanted with doubts as her current situation did not resolve.
Tidus, Wakka, and Selphie all stood on the shore, watching Kairi dash off to fight the Heartless. Staring doubtfully at each other, their minds all acted as one, conflicted by their concerned thoughts and their fear for Kairi's safety. Knowing Kairi was in the right, they still hesitated to join her, knowing they could not hold up as well as a keyblade wielder.
But Kairi was a friend, and this outweighed their fear of failure. "Come 'on," Tidus instructed determinedly, clutching his weapon close as he dashed across the hot sand to the battle's edge. Selphie and Wakka were close by, each drawing their own weapons in determination to fight for their island. With this new mindset, all three fought with a power not seen before, for although they were capable of combat, a hesitant heart weakens a hero. Gaining confidence by defeating Shadows, they worked together seamlessly as they always had when fighting tag team style, working further across the beach face.
Their skill level was first tested by a group of Neoshadows and Sky Grapplers that stood in their way. All three combated well together, but despite their coordination they still sustained some minor blows from the Sky Grapplers' smash attacks and the Neoshadows' portal usage. Despite this, they had improved plenty in the last two years and were more than capable of combatting the Heartless. When the beast's numbers had dwindled to about five – one-fifth the original number they faced, Tidus took his attention away from the combat for a moment to find Kairi. Seeing her being surrounded by Neoshadows, he realized the direness of the situation she had gotten herself into.
A Sky Grappler, seeing his brief distraction, charged at him headfirst. Noticing the assault, Tidus blocked the creature with his rod only to have the Grappler grab his rod and attempt to tear it from his grasp. Knowing he was now preoccupied, he spotted Wakka just fetching his blitzball after nailing another Sky Grappler, which fled back to the security of darkness. "Wakka, go help Kairi!" he demanded, struggling to keep a good grip on his weapon. Nodding, Wakka turned and ran off, heading towards the ambush. Finally breaking the Grappler's hold, Tidus sliced the beast's back downward, launching it a surprising distance. The beast ran into the ground unmoving before disappearing in a small dark cloud.
Taking the moment to look for Selphie, he found her dealing with three Neoshadows at once a short distance ahead. Despite her determined appearance, he knew she would feel more comfortable fighting with someone else. Running up behind her, he drew his weapon and joined her side, helping her quickly knock the three ugly vermin away until they were dissuaded. As they disappeared into darkness, Selphie and Tidus turned to each other, nodding in turn that each were unscathed. "Let's go!" Tidus encouraged, running with Selphie towards their friends.
A small portal of darkness was all the warning they had to dodge. While Selphie rolled forwards, Tidus flipped back to avoid slamming straight into the Zip Slasher. Seeing Tidus had been stopped, Selphie turned to aid him. "I'll take care of him. You help the others," he commanded, taking up his battle stance again. Nodding, Selphie dashed off, leaving Tidus to face-off against the dual-bladed fiend.
As the two first clashed together, it was clear that the Zip Slasher was stronger, easily holding Tidus in a deadlock when their weapons collided. After blocking the islander's rod with a cross block, the heartless knocked Tidus away; however, he quickly recovered himself and struck from the Zip Slasher's side. Getting a hit, Tidus was not fully prepared for its spinning attack; though he blocked the blade from hitting his neck, he was knocked forward by the strong blow. Scrambling to recover and regain a fighting position, he was quickly forced to dodge as the Zip Slasher lunged at him. Taking his sidelong position to activate an upward strike combo, he managed to land a few blows before the Zip Slasher flipped back, putting some distance between them and giving Tidus the opportunity to assess his opponent's abilities. So… it's strong, has a quick combo, and can block or dodge attacks pretty easily. This will be an interesting fight.
And he engaged his opponent again.
Unsure whether attacking or waiting for attack was wiser, Kairi continued to circle, wary of all her surroundings; even being trapped in this condition for only ten seconds had begun to make her anxious. Hearing approaching footsteps, she turned enough to see three Neoshadows halfway in their spiraling descent upon her be knocked away by a spinning air ball attack from Wakka, sending the three attackers sprawling before rejoining the group. "Wakka?!" Kairi asked in surprise, assuming he and the others had gone back.
"I won't let these creatures hurt my family or friends," Wakka said assuredly, his back to Kairi's as the two slowly circled, keeping an eye on the opposing Heartless. The eleven Neoshadows were soon reinforced by a round of Shadows, making their circle of doom larger; however, they seemed to wait longer, still hesitant to attack although drawing slowly closer. A few shadows on Kairi's right flank tried to rush the two warriors but were instantly knocked from behind by a whirling whip-like rope.
Selphie joined the duo in the center, facing the outer wall of enemies. "No way we'd let you fight this alone, Kairi!" she said reassuringly, whip in hand and battle ready, a smile across her face with disregard to their perilous position.
Despite hoping for this change of hearts, Kairi had not expected it as she knew the others were not as thrill-seeking as she and the other keyblade wielders. "Thanks, guys!" she yelled other her shoulder, concentrating all the more on the Heartless as a ring of Large Bodies soon surrounded the group as well.
"So what's your plan?" Wakka asked Kairi, glancing over his shoulder for a brief second. A reckless Shadow dashed at him, but he reacted quickly and lunged at it, forcing it back again. The restless primitive Heartless were clearly anxious to attack but still hesitant, unnatural to their usual nature.
Wait…he's right. I don't have a plan, Kairi realized, amazed by her own reckless fighting. Her thoughts turned towards rationalism as she thought through her solution. Assuming the portal was still open and growing, she also had to guess by the number of Heartless that more were still flowing in their world. We've got to close that portal. Who knows? Maybe even that will get rid of all the Heartless. But how?
Noticing her silence, both Selphie and Wakka waited patiently, knowing she had just been acting on the spur of the moment. They circled silently and attentively, staring down the dark creatures while pushing them back if they dared come forward. Yet even while doing this their circle became more compressed the longer they waited. Finally her answer came. "This is a keyblade;" Kairi stated, gripping her keyblade tighter as she spoke and circled, "it can close anything, maybe even the portal."
Catching the moves of a Shadow in her peripheral vision, she saw in the sand a shadow of an overpassing figure. Looking up to see Tidus coming down hard on the dark heart, he crushed it with a downward swipe, causing it to fade away.
After ending his battle with the Zip Slasher victorious, Tidus had approached the group from the back and attacked a Large Body's stubby legs from behind, making it lose its balance and fall on its butt. Jumping on its big, fat belly as if it were a trampoline, he flipped over the other Heartless in order to join the others in the circle, catching the last part of Kairi's statement.
"Well, what are we waiting for?" Tidus asking, turning back to the group as if not knowing why in the world they stood ready for passive attack instead of being the active aggressors in this situation. After all, their world was the one being attacked right now.
The three other teens nodded at his enthusiasm, and like a trigger being pulled attacked the heartless in their respective sectors. Kairi and Tidus knocked out all the enemies in their sectors quicker that Selphie and Wakka did and helped their respective comrades defeat their own adversaries before all four islanders advanced towards the cove.
Despite Kairi usually hanging out with Sora and Riku, her skill allowed her to work well with the other three. In fact, the four warriors worked together as if they had their whole lives, mastering partner and group combos in only a few tries. Although Kairi was the only one that could truly eliminate the Heartless, the other three were very successful in insistently damaging the Heartless until they faded back into the darkness to avoid the persistent blows. And although the others did not have true weapons, they were still capable of basic magic spells Riku and Sora had taught them all. Finally, the heartless seemed to concentrate their strikes at Kairi due to her possessing the keyblade; for this reason the more difficult types of Heartless challenged her while the simpler forms attacked the other islanders.
Before our heroes approached the seaside shack, the fighting intensified drastically. One of the few Phantomtails remaining, seeing the approaching heroes, took to the sky again and fired a super laser, causing the teens to have to leap, roll, and run out of the way as the orbs pursued them. As the winged beast banked and came back around for another strike, Kairi attempted to strike its underbelly while it passed overhead. However, seeming to predict this, the Phantomtail initiated a mid-air spin that the airborne princess was not able to avoid. Though she tried to block the attack, her strength was insufficient as the blow flung Kairi away and pitched her to the ground.
"Kairi!" Tidus yelled, seeing that she did not immediately recover from her tumble. Running to her side to help her, he quickly knocked away the Bit Snipers that had quickly surrounded her. He kneeled next to her as she sat on her knees. "You okay?" he asked worriedly.
"My keyblade…" Kairi stated, her mind seeming to drift from place to place just as her gaze did. She must have some type of head trauma, Tidus thought fearfully. Knowing she needed her keyblade to cast a heal spell (something he had yet to replicate), he swiftly searched and found it about ten yards away surrounded by Shadows. Disposing of them quickly and clutching the keyblade, he felt a strange strong power coursing through it, a strength his own weapon didn't give him. Disregarding his initial want for this ability, he ran back to her side and offered his hand to her. Taking his hand and her keyblade and leaning against him for support, she slowly cast the Cura healing spell, regained her health and focus, and was again ready for combat.
During this, Selphie, although concerned for Kairi, kept an eye on the Phantomtail as it flipped upside down and ascended again, recharging his super laser from a height unreachable by their weapons. Knowing they could not combat it as long as it remained in the air, Selphie intended to bring it down to earth before it could fire its seeking lasers at her preoccupied comrades. "Wakka! Lift me up!" she demanded, pointing at the monster while glancing over at her partner a few feet away.
"Got it!" Wakka replied, also witnessing the recent events. Grabbing her waist with both hands, he thrust her up into the sky as she pushed with her legs, giving her quite a bit of height on the jump. Despite launching herself in the direction of the beast, she was still not close enough to land on its back. Thinking quickly, she used her jump rope to hook the Phantomtail's left head horn and, being successful, used it to swing herself up on its neck.
The beast was not aware of Selphie's actions until she landed on its head, and before it could do anything Selphie had used her jump rope as reins through its open charging mouth. Yanking the monstrosity's neck towards the sky, Selphie managed to misfire its lasers aimed at Kairi up to the clouds, causing the lasers to have no target and simply disappear from sight. Selphie, her wire rope belt remaining unbroken and unburned in the creature's mouth, continued to shove the Heartless to her liking, yanking it up continually until its head followed its body to the point where the beast was upside-down, falling to the island.
Holding one end of her jump rope, Selphie tried to leap clear of the falling Heartless and land to safety on the soft beach sand. However, the other handle of her whip-like rope got caught in the jaw of the Phantomtail and yanked her back. The handle was released at the first shock, and Selphie had put enough distance between them to be safe of its collision with earth. However, her balance was completely thrown off and her landing was ungraceful to say the least.
Wakka, who had been preoccupied with a small herd of Shadows and Bit Snipers, he used a basic thunder spell to quickly disarm all the surrounding Bit Snipers and a quick physical attack to get rid of them before helping Selphie out of the sand. Shaking the sand out of her hair and accepting Wakka's hand of assistance, she stood up shakily on sore rubbed knees. Getting an inquisitive "are-you-okay?" look from Wakka, Selphie nodded in mock assurance, not letting him know all the painful bruises, tender muscles, and hurt bones she had gotten from the fall. Putting her aches aside, she retrieved her half-buried jump rope from the shore before dashing with Wakka towards the Phantomtail, attempting to get as many attacks in as possible while it remained stunned and unable to turn right side up.
After Kairi recovered, she and Tidus acted as a tag team as well, trying to progress ahead further. Although the common Shadows and Neoshadows attacked, larger, fiercer Heartless were drawn to Kairi's keyblade. The few remaining Zip Slashers formed a small squad and attacked the princess and her compatriot in rounds. The combat was tough, but Kairi's extensive use of magic and physical attacks worked well with Tidus' carefully honed, targeted strikes to the Zip Slashers weak spots determined in his one-on-one battle previously. Their numbers soon dwindled down to nothing as Kairi finished each off with a powerful dexterous swipe of her blade, assuring they would not return.
A brief lull in the fight allowed Kairi to catch her breath and assess her condition. Finding all her injuries to be only minor scratches or bruises, she looked over at Tidus, stunned to see him lying on the ground, blacked out. Dashing to his side, she realized that although fighting with him she had not paid full attention to his exhaustion levels. Although able to cast minor spells, not having a keyblade wore him down easily as magic was difficult to use as the keyblade enhanced the strength of the user and prevented them from wearing down with the use of spells. I was so concerned about myself…never again. From now on, I'll focus more on my allies.
Using a Cura spell on him, she waited patiently for him to awake, knowing how this constant 'useless' fighting must have taken its toll. As he started to stir, the princess was startled by the roar of a Living Bone almost upon her. Blocking its swinging tail blow with a Reflera shield, she struck with such force and offense that the Heartless was obliterated before it could put up another frontal attack against the recovering island boy.
Looking back at Tidus, she saw him kneeling unharmed, quickly regaining his strength. Coming to his side on one knee, she offered a hand and assisted him to his feet. Nodding in reassurance, Tidus enjoyed the clarity and strength the healing spell gave him and rationed his strength in preparation for the even harder fights up ahead. We still have yet to see that large one again. Looking about for enemies, he was shocked to see no approaching Heartless. Instead, Shadows were on the upper bridge and adjoined island. Realizing their new target, he called it to Kairi's attention. "Kairi! The paupu trees!"
Turning to see, the princess of heart watched as the fruits rumored to connect destinies were torn down from the trees by the monstrosities. Of course… Kairi thought, they're rumored to connect hearts. If the heartless look for hearts, they also would attack things that connect them as well. And as the princess of heart, she refused to let those monsters destroy the precious, rare fruit. "Right!" Kairi replied, looking back to Tidus before the two dashed towards the bridge. Knowing she would need help to land on the quickly approaching bridge, Kairi entreated Tidus' assistance. "Give me a boost?"
"Yep!" Tidus responded quickly, running a short distance ahead before planting his feet, intertwining his fingers, and cupping his hands as a foothold for Kairi, who quickly dashed at him, not slowing in order to keep her momentum for the leap. Landing on Tidus' hand with a left foot lunge, she thrust herself up to the sky while Tidus pushed her upward, giving her enough height and forward momentum to land on the bridge with ease.
Sticking to a simple spin landing and basic attacks, she defeated the Heartless surrounding her, forming a brief perimeter of safety. Focusing again on Tidus, she was not surprised to find he had moved from the north side of the bridge and was now out of sight. Scrambling to the right side of the bridge on her knees, she quickly spotted him below the overpass knocking away a few Heartless she had knocked off the overpass instead of completely eliminated. I won't leave my partner behind, Kairi determined, sealing her new vow in her mind.
"Here, come up," she implored, offering him a hand as far down as she could let it hang without falling over the edge of the tall bridge. Spotting his ally, Tidus nodded and dashed for her hand, grabbing it tightly. Kairi took advantage of his momentum and used both her arms to throw Tidus over her head onto the bridge, having previously braced herself to carry his weight. Landing in a deep stance from a shallow front flip, Tidus smiled at Kairi before both got back to work.
The two charged at the Shadows on the small adjoined island, intent on saving the vital stars. Knowing only Kairi could truly eradicate the Heartless, Tidus wished for her to focus on the ones in the trees. "I've got these!" he declared as they dashed at the Heartless that had yet to scale the palms. Hesitant to leave Tidus due to her vow, she stayed behind and struck two of the heartless approaching her, prompting Tidus to command her again. "Go!" he implored, "Focus on the tree-scaling Shadows." Reluctantly accepting this command, she set in her mind that he would not fight for the task if he did not feel capable. Determining she would be close enough to assist him at a moment's notice, Kairi flipped beautifully over the approaching swarm and left them in Tidus' hands.
Landing directly next to the palm trees, she quickly scaled their resilient trunks to finish off the Heartless resting at the tree's crowns gnawing at the paupu's supportive stems. Meanwhile, Tidus knocked away the primitive Shadow forms with ease, taking no blows yet dishing out many simple attacks in an attempt to conserve energy for more challenging enemies.
Both completed their tasks at the same time, Kairi clearing out all of the paupu trees while Tidus bashed every dark heart on the ground. Relieved at Tidus' well-being, Kairi recognized that although she was serious about her new creeds, she also shouldn't undermine her partner's abilities. Carefully shimmying down the last tree before leaping to the ground, she dashed to Tidus' side on the overpass before both broke out in wide smiles and exchanged fist bumps of victorious excitement.
"Tidus, Kairi!" Wakka called out desperately – the battle was far from over. After dissuading the charging Phantomtail, Wakka and Selphie had turned their attention towards advancement on the beach face. While Kairi and Tidus fought with Shadows, Wakka and Selphie were suddenly ambushed by a surplus of Large Bodies accompanied by a few Living Bones. Despite being activists and aggressive, the two teens were forced to go on the defensive to even keep their heads on. But even their strong defense combined with basic magic did not keep Wakka and Selphie from tiring and sustaining a few blows. At their current rate of decline, they didn't have much time left.
Recognizing their jeopardy, Tidus and Kairi wasted no time in leaping from the island bridge, Kairi landing with a forward roll. Sprinting towards their compatriots as fast as they could, they whacked away and ignored their brief delaying Shadows in order to help out their comrades. Four Living Bones now surrounded the two teens who had worked their way within almost a dashing distance of the cove door; the closer Kairi and Tidus got to them, the direr Selphie and Wakka's situation seemed to be. Though they were able to dissuade one of the creatures, both Selphie and Wakka appeared exhausted, Selphie – having less strength to begin with – dwindling on the edge of collapse. Despite their close proximity of only twenty paces – almost close enough to cast a Cura spell on her friends, Kairi and Tidus, were slowed by pestering and provoking Neoshadows and Large Bodies from joining their friends. Tired of the deferrals, Kairi used an Aerora spell on the surrounding Heartless to blow them back and cause a lull in the battle long enough for her and Tidus to escape the fray and assist their other friends.
The princess of heart was just a second too late. One Living Bone, seeing Selphie's weakness, took advantage of her exhaustion by taking a few swipes at her head, causing her to duck. However, the spinning attack from the monster's boulder-like tail was too much for Selphie to dodge, and the hard blow applied directly to the side of her head sent her flying and rolling in the sand until she rested unmoving on the battlefield. "Selphie!" Wakka cried, diverting his attention away from his combat with the other two remaining Living Bones. Receiving a blow similar to Selphie's knockout strike as a result, he had enough reaction time to block his face, downgrading the effectiveness of the attack but losing the grip on his blitzball as a result. Wakka was knocked back towards Selphie, struggling to get up and holding his right shoulder in pain from the gash, defenseless and drained.
Kairi and Tidus were quick in following the action, both invigorated with anger at this new development. Tidus immediately targeted and bashed the top of a Selphie's attacker's head before throwing it down hard on its back. Kairi powerfully struck the other two monsters with quick controlled strikes before using an intermediate Fira spell on all three heartless, destroying the last of the Living Bones with a loud roar. Tidus quickly recovered Wakka's weapon before running to help him stand on his feet. Meanwhile, Kairi cast Cura spells on both of their wounded comrades after defeating the few Shadows that had been quick to surround them. Wakka was quick to react, soaking in the healing potion's power in moments and regaining his composure. Selphie, however, did not stir at the effect of the healing herbs but remained as still as death.
Leaning over her friend, Kairi picked up the dainty flower that was Selphie, supporting her in her arms, fear and concern controlling her emotions. The group was suddenly surrounded by Neoshadows emerging from portals in the ground; Tidus and Wakka quickly guarded the two girls, possessing a new spirit of protective instincts combined with a rebirth of caution. Holding her breath while checking the islander's vitals, the princess was overjoyed to find Selphie remained alive. However, it was obvious she would not awaken anytime soon. "She's out like a light, but she's alive," Kairi confirmed happily before sobering, noting their new precarious situation they seemed good at getting themselves into.
Kairi gently laid Selphie down before joining the perimeter. The encircling enemy lines were reinforced by a number of Shadows and a few remaining Large Bodies, though the Neoshadows did the quantity of the attacking. Two Phantomtails and a few Sky Grapplers flew overhead, yet they did nothing, seeming to assume the lesser Heartless would easily finish the islanders off. Together the three teens fought like their lives defended on it – because they did.
However, they no longer fought with one mind; Tidus and Wakka were dissuaded and united in their original cause. "We have to go!" Tidus insisted, taking another swing at a Neoshadow. The monster teleported under the ground again while another used a portal to grab at Tidus' legs, causing him to leap back quickly to the somewhat security of the group.
Kairi was shocked; she thought for sure they had been on the same page: close the portal, defeat the heartless. "We can't!" she cried desperately, sending the two boys a glare of upset disapproval despite hope dwindling in her own heart. Her brief inattentiveness opened the shallow window for a Neoshadow duo to rush Selphie for her heart with a spinning aerial dive, but Kairi prevented the attack from being carried out with a Reflera spell followed by a quick simple combo with her keyblade.
"But we can't leave her here!" Wakka insisted. While Tidus and Kairi were the polar opposites of this argument, Wakka took the role of the logical negotiator between the two opposing parties. "And how are we supposed to fight while protecting her?" he asked, turning his attention back to an attacking Neoshadow, blocking its overhead swipe by crossing his arms over his head. Weak compared to this fresh Neoshadow, Wakka's block lost its power quickly, forcing him to improvise and kick the Neoshadow back before its claws could scrape his head.
Kairi saw the light to this point of view, yet she refused to let go of her dwindling hope or give up on the power of light over darkness. "You watch her. I'll go on ahead," she stated firmly, stepping out towards the cove entrance while unleashing a Thundara spell on the enemies, giving her time to dash. "We're so close," she insisted desperately, dashing off to the heart of the monster.
"No!" No sooner had she started off than Tidus grabbed her hand tightly, refusing to let her dash off alone. "We have to go together," he declared to the resistant princess, though she did not struggle as much as before, seemingly seeing their point of view. "What good is getting there and then falling?" Kairi stopped squirming, but she refused to look Tidus in the eye.
At this point Wakka, whom had been left to defend Selphie alone during their squabble, interrupted their conversation with his own input. "We tried, but we aren't strong enough," he remarked mildly, attempting to focus on all the enemies attacking at once. Preforming three spinning attacks consecutively, the blitzball boy successfully knocked away three melee attacking Neoshadows before throwing his ball at one ready to dive aerially. However, their numbers kept coming and mentally overwhelmed the usually calm teenager. "There's just too many," he claimed, fear and desperation evident in his last statement. Tidus took this as a cue to help and, trusting Kairi was seeing the light of their situation, released her hand and took up a defensive wall next to Wakka, charging three Neoshadows back to their companions, their line growing ever closer and thicker.
Kairi also reengaged in the fight, although halfheartedly. Tidus and Wakka took one half of the enemies, leaving Kairi to deal with the rest. Unlocking some of her distorted anger as power, she unleashed a long involved combo on the surrounding enemies, providing another small break in the battle. She took this time to survey her surroundings. Her sad despairing eyes wandered from the blocked cove door to the surrounding Heartless to the weary Wakka and Tidus until they finally rested on the unconscious Selphie. "I can't accept this," she said miserably, feeling as if their fight was all for nothing. Rolling out of the way of a Large Bodies' large claw, she followed up her dodge with a strong Blizzara spell, knocking the fat heartless back into three others behind it like a bowling ball.
Wakka, although having opposing thoughts, was sympathetic to their poor friend. Her dodge roll had put her close to his side, so as Tidus attacked with a combo, Wakka took the moment to put a reassuring hand on Kairi's shoulder. "There may still be a way," he said softly and kindly, knowing her heart was in the right place. "But this isn't it." His little break over, he left to take care of Kairi's half of the Heartless while Tidus worked on his half, giving Kairi time to think.
While the princess of heart contemplated their situation and the appropriate action while continuing to clash with the Heartless, Kairi realized how much they had all changed in the past three years before any of this mess. Of course, their appearance and wardrobe had altered and their skills had been improved, but the true change was in their character. Though they were once close to kindred spirits, Kairi was now much different than the other islander children; she was a wanderer of the worlds, wishing to rid all darkness from them. The other children were homebodies by comparison, content with remaining in their small world with no change. Yet even though their personalities had changed, there was one thing the four teens would always still have in common: a close bond with one another, as the small islands drew them together like family.
Knowing the importance of this closely knit relationship, Kairi was now hesitant to move forward in her fight despite possible victory being so close. One of their own was wounded and unresponsive, and the conditions still were unfavorable for the rest of them. However, if they did flee, this would get them nowhere as the Heartless would only spread to the rest of the world until it was completely devoured. But if there was another way to stop the invasion that they hadn't considered, Kairi recognized it would be better to fall back and consider all their options as this one had clearly struck out. It struck out … it didn't work, she thought as she defended herself and the others in silence, the fighting thickening by the second.
Sighing a depressed sound of accepted defeat, Kairi consented to the wishes of her companions and her better judgment, defeating the desires of her heart – her true power. "Wakka, you carry Selphie back to the boats," she instructed, glancing over at the tall tan teen. "Tidus, you and I protect them," she continued, turning to him in turn.
Both boys nodded solemnly as a soldier did to a drill sergeant. "Got it!" Wakka assured, holding his ball beneath his right arm and pumping his left fist in preparedness. All three turned back to their opposition briefly on defense before Kairi cast a Stopra spell, freezing all their enemies in their tracks. During this six second interval Wakka quickly scooped up the sleeping Selphie while Tidus quickly grasped her flung rope, tying it around his own waist. Kairi cut a line through the Heartless wall as a means of escape, but not before glancing longingly back at the cove door. The three teens dashed across the hot beach sand, Kairi and Tidus making sure to keep Wakka's pace.
The frozen Heartless, when released from the spell, saw that the heroes had bolted and quickly disappeared into the ground, tracking Kairi's keyblade and heart of light. The Phantomtails and Sky Grapplers had been unaffected by the Stopra spell and were in hot pursuit, the pink dragons firing their lasers down upon the teens. Kairi would block such attacks with keyblade guards or Reflera spells and counterattack with multiple types of magic while Tidus prevented any physical damage from ground creatures.
A few of the Heartless were smarter than they appeared. When the ground creatures amassed in front of the teens and captured the fighters' attentions, a Phantomtail seized the moment and grabbed Tidus' shoulders from behind. As its sharp claws dug into Tidus' shoulders, the sharp quick pain caused him to release his rod and outcry in agony. The teen was lifted from the ground as he attempted to dissuade his attacker, but in vain. Cooking another scheme in its dark heart, the fiend looped upward before releasing the boy as a flying projectile right towards an unsuspecting Wakka. Trying to shout a warning, his cries were unheard until it was too late and the inevitable collision knocked all three islanders to the ground. The entire event, happening in merely three seconds, had taken out all three of Kairi's close friends.
"Guys!" Kairi yelled, not having seen the attack until it was unavoidable. Dashing over to her friends, she quickly destroyed the Shadows and Bit Snipers that had surrounded them, weaving her feet around wildly flung limbs so as not to step on any of her companions. Wakka had held Selphie close until the end of their fall; she lay next to him in a small mound of warm sand. Tidus lay close by as well, his head near the others face down in the sand. Rolling him over quickly, Kairi tried to call him from their sleep. "Get up!" she cried, realizing her attempts would be fruitless upon seeing the large bump on the boy's head from the collision. Wakka moaned slightly, but it was obvious he did not have the strength to stand. Just before trying a potion, a Large Body approached and attacked with a body attack, forcing Kairi to take action to protect her comrades.
She had no free moment with which to heal her comrades and barely enough to heal herself; the Heartless now concentrated completely on the keyblade wielding light-hearted princess. Having to crank out physical attacks, magical blows, and defensive counterattacks faster than ever before, she realized the importance of allies and how much their aid helped in situations like this one. Now, surrounded by about a hundred Shadows, Neoshadows, Large Bodies, Sky Grapplers, and Bit Snipers with five remaining Phantomtails flying overhead, protecting three unconscious teenagers, Kairi finally did fully see their side of the story. They were right…we can't fight – not here. I realized it a bit late, I guess.
In less than five minutes of constant struggle she was dead tired, struggling to even keep her focus and protect all around herself, let alone her friends. Having used up all her strength and draining her magic to its extremity, the princess collapsed slowly and unwillingly, taking out as many enemies as she could while slowly falling to her knees. Despite her struggle, the Heartless seemed to multiply before her very eyes, two more appearing for every one she defeated. Finally succumbing to her exhaustion, Kairi collapsed beside her fellow islanders, gasping for air and praying for strength, glancing at all the creatures that still surrounded them. The Heartless charged, their inky black figures blinded by the light of the sun. It was all she could do to defend herself.
Kairi held her keyblade out, shielding her face from the attack. But before it could come, the entire world just got…wavy. Everything she saw seemed like an illusion, yet it was different from the two other visions she had had before the start of the battle; while those visions had been past recollections in full color, this hallucination had a sepia tone to it, everything appearing in old, neutral colors. The Heartless seemed to move in slow motion, defying gravity as they leaped through the air sluggishly. A glowing light began taking over her sight, consuming everything around her. In shock she realized this light came from her own heart, causing a painful sensation she had never before experienced. This is a new kind of heartache. And with that thought the princess of heart collapsed and her world went dark.