Chapter 14: End of the World
Hey everyone! It's me, sakuraphoenix, and I'm back with a new chapter! I'm glad to say that we're almost done with this one, meaning that Chain of Memories is coming up next! Anyways, before I get too carried away, it's time for the disclaimer!
Disclaimer: I do not own Kingdom Hearts. I also do not own Luz. She belongs to Keybladeauraofpie. Finally, I do not own Rita, Reina, or Yukie. They belong to D.J. Scales.
Enjoy!
We headed outside of the room, and saw the other Princesses, waiting for us.
"Thank you, everyone. I think the darkness has begun to weaken." Said Alice
"But I can feel a powerful darkness growing somewhere far away." Said Jasmine
"It's the heart of the darkness. It must be where Ansem went." Said Aurora
"Guess it's not over yet. So, we'll just take the gummi ship and deal with both Ansem and the Heartless. I've got a personal vendetta against Ansem for what he did to Riku and Lumen anyway, but hatred isn't gonna solve this matter, not while I've got friends by my side." I said
"A worthy answer, Keyblade Master. We offer this power to aid your battle." Said Cinderella
I felt a sudden heat wave. Man, their fire spells were upgraded again!
"Sora, Lumen, Luz, Hikari, Rita, Reina, Yukie, and Ankoku, your courage can bring back our worlds." Said Snow White
"Once the darkness is gone, all should return to its original state." Said Aurora
"Kairi will be back on the island?" asked Sora
"Most certainly. And you should be, too." Said Cinderella
"I can't go back home until we all find Riku and the king." Said Sora
"But we also need to reseal the Keyholes that are left open." Said Rita
"Rita, can you Reina, and Yukie take care of the final Keyholes while Luz, Lumen, Sora, Ankoku, Donald, Goofy and I head for the heart of the darkness?" I asked
"But how will you know where to go?" asked Rita
I then revealed the scar on my back, and I heard everyone gasp as they saw it.
"A Keyblade Master of Darkness marked my back with this scar. Ever since then, I've been able to sense the strongest of darkness, no matter where I am. I'll fly in front of the Gummi ship as a metal detector, leading you guys to the location. As for you guys, some kind of tracking spell would work the best when trying to find me." I said
"You can't lead us alone. What about the Heartless out there?" asked Lumen
"I doubt you remember how to summon your armor Lumen, plus I don't think you have a Keyblade Glider. It's better if you sit this one out and let me handle it." I said
"Not alone! I have a Keyblade Glider too! I can help you!" exclaimed Luz
"But you don't have Keyblade Armor, and I don't know how to make more in under five minutes." I said
"Did you find anything at your old place?" asked Luz
"All I found was a scroll, my grandfather's Keyblade, some potions and elixirs, and… and deactivated Keyblade Armor! I'm pretty sure it didn't belong to my grandfather, so it might work." I said
"Then let's do it." Said Luz
"We'll take the Lanes Between. I know how to open the portal, but we need to get to the ship first." I said
"Good idea." Said Luz
As soon as we arrived at the Gummi ship, I gave Luz the spare armor I found, and she activated it. I was definitely surprised at the result. It really suited her. She looked the part of a Keyblade Master now. As soon as I gave Donald the signal, I opened the Lanes Between, and began heading out for the heart of the darkness. As soon as we reached them, Luz looked around in awe.
"Can you sense anything?" asked Luz
"Yeah. A strong darkness… that way!" I exclaimed while pointing northeast
Luz and I lead the way while kicking some Heartless butt at the same time. Before we knew it, we arrived at the source of the darkness. It looked like some kind of purple star, and it just kept growing! I suddenly felt like I knew this was going to be the end of this journey, once we defeated Ansem, and Sarah's and Kyo's Heartless. We exited out of some purple rocky cave, and saw water… and purple skies all around.
"Gawrsh, is that all that's left of the worlds taken by the Heartless?" asked Goofy
"Those worlds will be restored if we beat Ansem and your parents, right?" asked Luz
"Yeah. But, if we do beat them, and all these worlds become restored and disconnected, what's gonna happen to this place? And to us?" I asked
"Well, uh…" started Donald
"This is a Heartless world, so maybe it'll just disappear." Said Goofy
We all had shocked looks on our faces as we turned to face Goofy.
"But no worries. Even if this place goes poof, our hearts ain't goin' nowhere. I'm sure we'll find our pals again. Yup, I just know that we will." Said Goofy
"Yeah, you're right." Said Lumen
I smiled before we headed forward. This place looked simple enough, but when a dark orb engulfed us, I knew things weren't what they seemed. When we battled Heartless, we saw what this world really looked like, and when we were brought out of it again, we saw what we originally saw. It took a matter of trial and error to finally reach the purple portal we saw in the distance from the cave. Once we did, we were transported to a new area.
"I wonder where that Ansem feller and your parents went?" asked Goofy
"Dive into the most dangerous place and we'll find them!" exclaimed Donald
I noticed what seemed to be a white light near the bottom of this cavern. I jumped from platform to platform to figure out what it was, when I realized that it was a portal leading to the next area! As the others dived in with me, we found ourselves walking down memory lane, with some of the portals leading us into illusions of worlds we visited before. Traverse Town. Wonderland. Olympus Coliseum. Deep Jungle. Agrabah. Atlantica. Halloween Town. Neverland. We even ended up in the Hundred-Acre Wood. But the strangest part of it all was that we were back in Hollow Bastion, in a room that I had never seen before.
"Have you been here before?" asked Luz
"No." I said
There looked like some kind of control panel here, but when I touched it, words suddenly appeared in front of me, like it was some kind of hologram!
"Uh, what does it say?" asked Goofy
"I don't know. I can't read it!" exclaimed Donald
"Ones born of the heart and darkness, devoid of hearts, ravage all worlds and bring desolation. Seize all hearts and consummate the great heart. All hearts to be one, one heart to encompass all. Realize the destiny: the realm of Kingdom Hearts. The great darkness sealed within the great heart. Progeny of darkness, come back to the eternal darkness. For the heart of light shall unseal the path. Seven hearts, one seer, one Keyhole, and one key to the door. The door to darkness, tied by two keys. The door to darkness shall seal the light. None shall pass but shadows, returning to the darkness. Ones born of the heart and darkness, hunger for every heart until the dark door opens." I read
"You can read that?" asked Goofy
"I studied ancient languages when I was in training. My excuse of a teacher thought it was useless to study dead languages. Boy was he wrong." I said
"In any case, what is this machine?" asked Lumen
"If I had to guess… it's for synthesizing Heartless." I said grimly
Everyone looked shocked at what I said.
"It's the only thing that could make sense. You saw that some of the Heartless had that emblem on their chests, right?" I asked
"Yeah." Said Goofy
"They're not supposed to have that emblem. If this machine can create Heartless, then that's all the more reason to stop Ansem, Sarah, and Kyo." I said
We exited out of the illusion, but before we could continue further, we jumped down into this hole, and we were all surrounded in fairy dust, like we were in Neverland. I was confused why until I saw that we had to face this gigantic gargoyle! If I thought some of the Heartless were tough, this guy was insanely tough! Even when all seven of us attacked it at once with our strongest attacks, it keeps going!
"How can we defeat this thing?" I asked out loud
Before the gargoyle could finish us off, it was attacked from behind by Firaga blasts!
"Hey! Did you miss us?" Rita asked while riding her Keyblade Glider
"Rita!" exclaimed Luz
The gargoyle was about to attack again, but it got hit by an Aero spell this time.
"Defense!" exclaimed Yukie
"Yukie!" exclaimed Ankoku
I had no idea that Aero could be used as a defensive spell. Finally, it turned into a frozen Popsicle as it was frozen by Reina's Blizaga spell as Luz flew to deal the final blow. Subsequently after that, the ice began to crack, and the gargoyle broke into a million tiny pieces along with the spell.
"Reina!" I exclaimed
"Looks like you guys have a habit of being saved." Said Reina
"Enough with the jokes. Still we owe you one." Said Lumen
"So, did you defeat the bad guys without us, or did the party just start?" asked Rita
"Oh, there's more where that came from." I said
True to my word, after we entered the volcano we saw the gargoyle on, we found ourselves in some kind of pit where we had even more Heartless to face! Oh come on! Give us a break already! Still, all the fighting paid off when we found ourselves in front of some weird door.
"Huh?" wondered Sora
"What's wrong?" asked Donald
"Don't you hear something?" asked Sora
"I think I did." Said Luz
"Me too." Said Lumen
"Yeah. Same here." I said
'Careful. This is the last haven you'll find here. Beyond, there is no light to protect you. But don't be afraid. Your hearts are the mightiest weapons of all. Remember, you are the four who will open the door to the light.'
"I don't hear anything." Said Reina
"Strange… that voice was so familiar. Maybe it's just my imagination." Said Sora
No… it couldn't have been. That voice… I'm sure it was Ven! But… why could Sora, Lumen, and Luz hear his voice? Lumen, I can understand since he met him before, but Sora and Luz? Did Ven come to the Destiny Islands once before too?
"Maybe you'd better take a rest!" exclaimed Rita
"Rita's right. We better rest up. We'll need all of our strength to fight Ansem and my parents." Said Ankoku
We rested for a few minutes before we opened the door. After we did, a bright light filled the room, and… and we were on the Destiny Islands.
"Is this… is this our island?" asked Luz
Sora then started to run off somewhere, and we followed, until a voice filled the air.
"This world has been connected." Said a voice
I saw in the distance that one of the smaller islands was disappearing! Not good.
"What was that?!" exclaimed Yukie
I had a bad feeling that I knew.
"Tied to the darkness… soon to be completely eclipsed." Said the same voice
More and more of the island was disappearing.
"There is so very much to learn. You understand so little." Said the same voice
Now the ocean was purple, darkness purple.
"A meaningless effort. One who knows nothing can understand nothing." Said the same voice
An earthquake shook the island, and when it ended, parts of the sky were purple, as if they were painted there, and the island was falling apart. In the distance, there stood a figure. It looked like Riku in his bodysuit! Could it really be? We ran towards him, and we saw him staring out at the ocean.
"Take a look at this tiny place. To the heart seeking freedom, this island is a prison surrounded by water. And so this boy sought out to escape from his prison. He sought a way to cross over into other worlds. And he opened his heart to darkness." Said Riku
That voice… it's not Riku! It's Ansem! As if sensing my thoughts, Ansem showed his true face. That coward!
"Riku!" exclaimed Luz
"Don't bother. Your voice can no longer reach him where he is. His heart belongs again to darkness. All worlds begin in darkness, and all so end. The heart is no different. Darkness sprouts within it grows, consumes it. Such is its nature. In the end, every heart returns to the darkness whence it came." Said Ansem
When did he get behind us?! More importantly, when did Sarah and Kyo get here?!
"You see, darkness is the heart's true essence." Said Kyo
"That's not true!" exclaimed Sora
"The heart may be weak, and sometimes it may even give in, but I've learned that deep down, there's a light that never goes out." Said Lumen
As if a trigger was pulled, Ansem, Sarah, and Kyo started floating in the air.
"So you have come this far and still you understand nothing." Said Ansem
"Every heart must fade, every heart return to darkness!" exclaimed Sarah
Some kind of guardian appeared behind Ansem. Wait… that guardian…! That's not Ansem the Wise! I knew it! It's Xehanort!
"Sora, you, Rita, Donald, and Ankoku take care of our dad. Reina, you, Yukie, Luz, and Goofy handle mom. Lumen, wanna team up against Ansem?" I asked
"Sure, but why Ansem?" asked Lumen
"I've got a bone to pick with him for what he did to my friends ten years ago." I said with an angry look on my face
As the others were fighting Sarah and Kyo, Lumen and I were handling Xehanort. It was a strange combination in my eyes, light magic and dark magic, but even the darkest abyss can hold light. Thank you for teaching that to me. To be honest, Xehanort didn't really do much except for flying around and letting that stupid guardian of his defend him. It wasn't until we sent Sarah, Kyo, and Xehanort flying that the island created some kind of dark arena, and the only people that were able to pass through were me, Sora, Luz, and Lumen. Everyone else was suddenly pushed away, like there was some kind of invisible barrier preventing anyone else from entering. When that happened, a Darkside appeared! Oh give me a break. When it comes to Heartless, this guy is no pushover. It took our strongest attacks and everything to stop it! When the Darkside was gone, Xehanort was back! And so were my parents. Without extra backup, we needed a new plan.
"Okay, we need a new plan." Said Luz
"Sora, Luz, you two have fought Sarah and Kyo already. They're gonna expect you to do the same thing right now. We'll throw them off, but at the last minute, we switch." I said
"Got it." Sora, Luz, and Lumen said in unison
It seemed like we weren't the only ones with a new strategy. Xehanort attacked us with some kind of energy bullet attack, but when he didn't expect us to switch, we did, throwing their pattern off, and allowing us to defeat them. After we did, we were suddenly in some kind of dark fog. I could probably see, like two feet, minimum, in front of me.
"Wha…?" I wondered
"Behold the endless abyss! Within it lies the heart of all worlds: Kingdom Hearts! Look as hard as you are able. You'll not find even the smallest glimmer of light. From those dark depths are all hearts are born. Even yours." Said Kyo
We looked down, and saw some kind of red Heartless ship, connected to Sarah, Kyo, and Xehanort!
"Darkness conquers all worlds!" exclaimed Xehanort
We suddenly started to fall as Rita, Reina, Yukie, Ankoku, Goofy, and Donald were absorbed into some multi-colored portal! I tried to use my Wings of Light Command Style, but I couldn't do it! If I don't do something, we're good as gone!
"Giving up already? Come on, Hikari. I thought you were stronger than that." Said a familiar voice
That voice… it was… it couldn't be…
"Ven!" I exclaimed as I felt that I was floating
We flew out of the bottom of the dark fog that surrounded the ship and flew as if we were in Neverland. Okay Xehanort, it's payback time! Once we got closer to the ship, I used Synch Blade, and attacked like a mad woman at Xehanort. After I took a break, Lumen took over, followed by Luz, and then Sora. We finished off Sarah, Kyo, and Ansem together. Even if we weren't done, they decided to take a break, and we all dive-bombed for the multi-colored portal. I'm glad we all dived in at once, because we all had to deal with a bunch of Heartless! But still, these were the small fry, so after they were gone, some kind of blue light appeared above us, and I gave a small signal to everyone, prompting them to stand back.
"This one's gonna be big. Faith!" I exclaimed as I unleashed one of my most powerful spells
As I did, a big explosion occurred, forcing us back outside, but once we did, we were being fired at by what appeared to be some kind of wear thorns and hydras on the top of the ship. We obviously got rid of them before we did anything else. Once we did, another portal showed up! We dived in, and we were all relieved to see Goofy, Ankoku, and Rita, but where were Donald, Reina, and Yukie? As soon as the Heartless here were gone, a yellow light appeared, prompting Lumen to take care of it this time. Like before, there was an explosion, and we flew out of there, but after we did, the helm of the ship that strangely enough, looked like a face was alive! It took all seven of us to defeat the helm before another portal appeared, allowing us to dive in once again, and this time, we saw everyone else! We were all back together! Once we defeated the rest of the Heartless here, a red light appeared. I signaled to the others, who took that as the cue to get rid of it. Once it was, we returned outside to where the ship was. I'm glad we got out when we did, because the helm of the ship exploded, like it wasn't even there, but once that happened, this purple heart thing that was in the center of the ship was exposed as the glowing force field that surrounded it was gone. A few swings of our Keyblades did the trick, as they seemed to give Xehanort, Sarah, and Kyo the wake-up call they needed. After they did, we did the same strategy we did the first time before they had decided to take a nap, when we all realized the same thing: We needed to take them all out at the same time. That's why the ship didn't blow at first.
"Guys, we need to hit them hard, together! When I count to three, attack them with everything you got!" I exclaimed
Lumen summoned up his dark armor for the final blow while we all filled our Keyblades with power.
"One… two… three!" I exclaimed as we all rushed forward
We attacked all three at them simultaneously, causing the Heartless ship to explode, briefly filling the area with light before it disappeared. The darkness… it was slowly disappearing. I hope this means the end.
Done and done! Man, this one took me a while to finish, but above and all, I'm done! Please review, check out my boyfriend Detroid434's page, vote on his poll, and until next time, I'm sakuraphoenix, saying I heart you, signing off for now. Kan dao ni!