"KAIRI!"
With the darkness barriers disintegrating, light washed over the cockpit as a newly-transformed Limit Form Sora blazed through the air. To his utter shock and disbelief, below him was the sight of a completely hysterical, naked girl with metallic tentacles lustfully running themselves all over every inch of her sensitive body. Her musical giggles and gyrating hips almost had the teenager hypnotically captivated by hidden male impulses, but as soon as the thought came to mind, he immediately hardened his resolve to rescue her.
"I won't let Kairi suffer!" Sora reminded himself. The Keyblade Master flipped around and landed lightly on the floor, a glint of focus in his eyes.
"You know, I'm starting to feel sorry for Kairi," Roxas said. "Being stripped over and over can eventually traumatize her into exhibitionism."
"Please, Kairi's much more stubborn than that."
"Did you forget she was willing to take off her clothes a half hour ago?"
"Pretty sure that was post-traumatic stress. Besides, I think she'd be less inclined to be naked if she keeps associating it with negative reinforcement."
"You mean all this might drive her to stop wearing skimpy dresses and wear full-body outfits?" Roxas groaned. "Xemnas is going to pay for this."
Sora quickly took a glimpse of his surroundings, noticing the floor of purplish darkness and the tendrils that grew from it. He also took in the sight of Armored Xemnas sitting on his throne through the wall of tentacles shielding him. The Superior barely moved as if daring Sora to rush in and attack recklessly. As a dull circle of light began to form under his feet, Sora was reminded of his fights with Xehanort's Heartless, Marluxia and Vexen. Because of this, he knew exactly what to do.
He ran.
Knowing full well not to get caught within reach, Sora made sure never to linger in one area as he circled around the helpless girl. Tentacles burst out of the floor and retracted every few feet behind him as he searched for any sign of a weak spot he could exploit.
"I don't think random hacking and slashing is going to help here. Any ideas, Roxas?"
"Maybe we shouldn't have went into Limit Form. We can't cast any spells!"
"Hmm...I guess if we're the 'Riku' in this situation, we should analyze the situation like he does."
"Well, if we were Riku, I think I'd say something along the lines of not focusing on what we can't do..."
"...and focus on what we can," Sora finished. "Even if we can't cast magic, that doesn't mean we don't have other attacks at our disposal." Sora held the Keyblade behind him. "Time to bring in the retro!" Light began to emanate from the weapon's tip.
"SONIC BLADE!" Sora dashed forward and thrust the Keyblade through the massive entanglement. His weapon clanged with each pass as his attacks made contact with its target. It was apparently weakening their hold due to Kairi's flailing limbs being given more slack with each successful hit. As he geared up for one last pass, the ticklers shivered from the damage. But before they could turn their attention to encasing a new victim...
"ZANTETSUKEN!" In the blink of an eye, Sora seemed to teleport straight through the tentacles and reappeared right behind Kairi. A split second later, the tendrils were sliced into obliteration, finally releasing Kairi from her bondage. Sora whirled around and safely caught his fiancée in his arms. As the tentacles began to reform, Sora held out his Keyblade in front of him and pointed it downward.
"RAGING STORM!" Embers accumulated above his head before bursting into a trio of revolving pillars of intense flame that lifted his body off the ground. Kairi's giggles finally began to die down as her soft form trembled in his warm embrace. Her quivering limbs instinctively curled up close to Sora's chest and tears of relief flowed down her cheeks.
"Naminé! Are you okay?" Roxas' voice snapped Naminé out of her delirious state and realized that she was no longer being tickled.
"Wha...Roxas?" It was no surprise that Naminé's voice sounded shaky and weak. "Sora? What are you two doing here?"
"Do you really have to ask? We came because we were worried about you." Kairi blinked a few times to clear her vision as she realigned herself with reality once more. Sora softly brushed the remaining tear streaks off her face. "Do you think you can stand?" Kairi silently nodded and Sora gently set her down. The floor of darkness felt particularly cold under her bare feet despite the fire barrier heating the rest of her naked body up. Being the chivalrous gentleman he was, Sora removed his half-jacket and wrapped it around Kairi's body. "I'm surprised you're perfectly okay with being naked in front of me," Sora said with his eyes staring unwavering at her face.
"You've already seen me like this thousands of times today," Kairi explained as she pulled the body-heated half-jacket tighter around herself. Her nerve-endings were still tingling from the full-body assault she had endured. To her embarrassment, the tentacles that had been rubbing across her chest and between her legs had conjured up feelings that made her psyche bloom with naughty fantasies involving her and Sora that she wouldn't be ready to share for a long time. "Just don't get used to it. After today, the next time you'll ever see me naked is on our honeymoon."
"You know, if you were any other guy, the sight of a tied up, naked, aroused and helplessly giggling girl would be an appealing view to behold," Naminé said. "They'd probably have just remained inactive and watched the show."
Sora crossed his arms. "We're not perverts, Naminé," he replied. "We're just teenage boys."
"Not exactly helping your case," Kairi said. "Naminé?"
"Right." Not wanting to remain in hentai status for much longer, Kairi shifted to Naminé's form long enough for her clothes to rematerialize then immediately switched back.
"Huh. With my jacket, you almost remind me of Aerith," Sora commented.
With her dignity haphazardly repaired, Kairi picked up the Way to the Dawn off the ground and sighed. "This sucks."
Sora looked at her curiously. "What does?"
"Look, Sora. I appreciate you coming to rescue me, but the truth is..." Kairi let out a slow exhale. "I didn't want you or anyone else to put themselves in any more danger because of this spat that Xemnas has towards me." Sora couldn't help but chuckle. "What's so funny?"
"I'm sorry, but you're starting to sound an awful lot like Riku."
"But that's not all. You having to rescue me just reminded me how much of a gap there is between us when it comes to fighting. After taking on the Organization with no one but me, Naminé, and an irreplaceable Keyblade, I honestly thought that I had grown. But saving me just now from that..." Kairi's eyes were sent downcast. "It just makes me feel completely useless and nothing more than some damsel in distress that has to get rescued in the end."
Naminé felt sympathetic toward her other half. "Kairi..."
Apparently, so did Sora as he gently lifted Kairi's chin and gave her a warm, gentle smile.
"You're far from useless, Kairi. I already told you, you're just as capable at fighting as me or Riku. So you happened to get caught up in a trap. You don't think this hasn't happened to me before?"
"You mean you've been stripped, violated and humiliated too?"
"If you mean being turned into a Heartless, getting my memories rewritten or being made to beg on my knees, then yes." Kairi went quiet for a moment. Despite being rejuvenated physically thanks to her former bondage, she was mentally exhausted from everything that she had experienced over the past few hours. Every time she thought that she was about to finish the final boss, a new one always managed to up the difficulty.
"I don't know if I can keep doing this," she said. Sora took Kairi's hands in his.
"Kairi, we started this journey together. It's only fitting we finish it together." He flashed her a confident grin. "It's like I've always said..."
"Our friends are our power," Naminé quoted.
"And we are theirs," Roxas finished.
"Whatever lies beyond this, we'll go together." Kairi's lips quivered as she resisted the impulse to kiss him right then and there. A tinge of passion illuminated her cheeks as the romantic center in her brain was stimulated by his words.
"You're not alone, Kairi." Kairi felt a surge of confidence from Naminé. "We can and will finish this."
Kairi took a deep breath and gave Sora an assertive nod. "Thank you. All of you." She readjusted her grip on the Keyblade. "Okay, first things first. How are we supposed to get rid of these tentacles? We obviously can't stop them at the source."
But Roxas thought differently. "You're focusing on the wrong thing. It's not Xemnas we have to worry about, it's the darkness."
Kairi snapped her fingers triumphantly. "Of course! Get rid of this floor of darkness and they can't respawn anymore!"
Sora shook his head. "Problem. Neither of us have any spells or abilities that can destroy it. We might as well be fighting our shadows."
"Ugh, I really don't want to have to go through that again..." Kairi stamped her foot in frustration. "If only I could summon my Keyblade! I could probably change into Final Form again!"
Sora gave her a funny look. "I've been meaning to ask this for awhile now, but why exactly can't you summon the Keyblade?"
"Because I'm not an official Keyblade Master like you or Riku! Which totally sucks by the way."
"Um..." Roxas' tone sounded half-amused, half-puzzled. "Not to sound rude or anything, but have you ever actually tried?"
"Tried to what?"
"Tried to summon the Keyblade," Sora clarified. Kairi opened her mouth to answer, but stopped.
"You know, now that he mentions it, I don't recall ever actually trying," Naminé said. "This entire time we've assumed we couldn't."
Kairi held out her free hand and focused on summoning the Keyblade...
Nothing happened.
"You see? I don't think I was ever meant to be a full Keyblade wielder!" Kairi pouted.
"That's because you don't know how," Sora said gently. "It's not about focusing your mind. It's about opening your heart up to the light within the darkness." He gazed into her beautiful, blue eyes. "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. Don't try to force it. Just...let it happen."
Kairi nodded, took a deep breath and closed her eyes.
"Uh, Sora?" Roxas' voice sounded worried. "I hate to interrupt, but we're seriously running out of magic here."
Kairi attempted to block out the fear of failure and cleared her mind. She began to feel a warm, soothing glow begin to wash over her heart.
"That's it, Kairi!" Naminé sounded excited. "I can definitely feel something happening!"
SHWINK! A shaft of light burst in front of Kairi's outstretched hand and she instinctively closed her fingers around a familiar handle. Kairi's eyes snapped open and to her amazement, she was clutching her Keyblade.
"I don't believe it..." Her mouth hung open in astonishment as she examined her weapon with disbelieving eyes. "It actually worked..." Kairi then realized she was still clutching Riku's Way to the Dawn with her other hand. A satisfied smile creeped across her lips. "Looks like I'm a dual-wielder again." She swung both her Keyblades with a flourish. "And this time it's official!"
*FLASH!*
"Even in the deepest darkness, there will always be a light to guide you. Believe in the light, and the darkness will never defeat you. Your heart will shine with its power and push the darkness away."
*FLASH!*
Kairi shook her head. "Wha...What was that?"
"I...think we just learned a new spell," Naminé said.
"Just in time too!" As soon as Roxas said "too," the protective flames surrounding them finally vanished. With their barrier gone, the tentacles wasted no time in shooting towards their prey.
"Alright, you perverted strands of armpit hair! Take this!" Kairi crossed her Keyblades together. "HOLY!" A giant pillar of white light burst from the ground, melting away the pool of darkness and leaving the white steel of the cockpit in its place. Beams of light rained down from the sky, incinerating the tendrils until nothing stood in the way between the Keyblade wielders and Xemnas.
"Without his darkness to protect him, Xemnas is a sitting duck!" Naminé cheered. But Kairi wasn't letting her guard down.
"Don't worry, Kairi!" Sora assured her. "He never gets up from his throne anyway!"
"OH, REALLY NOW?" To the heroes' surprise, Xemnas stood up, tossing away his baggy sleeves and gazed down upon them. Without the tentacle wall in the way, the others finally got a better look at his armor. A single Nobody emblem was centered on the torso with thorns protruding from his greaves and wrapped around his boots. The crown and shoulder pad were gold, while the rest of the armor was colored in light shades of blue and silver. He had two silver belts on its waist and what seemed to be white feathers on his right shoulder in place of a spiked pauldron.
Heaving the giant sword upon his shoulders, the teenagers were almost frozen from the intimidating stare through his beak-like mask.
"Nice going, Sora," Roxas muttered.
"What? But Naminé also said-" But a single glare from the girls cut him off.
"IT SEEMS I HAVE UNDERESTIMATED THE POWER OF YOUR HEARTS." Xemnas' sword began to glow. "NO MORE." To the group's astonishment, the giant sword shrunk and twisted until it transformed into...
Kairi couldn't believe her eyes. "A Keyblade?!" Indeed, the Keyblade had a spiky, black guard resembling demonic wings, a horned, demonic head just above the handle, two barbed shafts, and teeth resembling a battle axe split into three almost claw-like protrusions. Its shaft and head were adorned with several twisting, silver patterns. It also contained two demonic, blue eyes; one on the Keychain and the other one on the head.
"Wait a minute." Sora held out his palm as if halting any further villainous speeches. "You've had this ability all this time, and you choose now to use it?" He shook his bushy-haired head. "You could've used it back on the Dragon Ship when it was only me and Riku! Or better yet, what was the whole point of the Organization or using me to collect hearts? You could've just transformed into this armor of yours and did the job yourself!"
Kairi's mouth hung open as she gave Sora an incredulous look. "You're worried about his strategy? I'd be more concerned that he can actually wield a Keyblade!"
"Speaking of Keyblades, why haven't we changed into our Final Form?" Naminé asked. "We're holding two Keyblades, so it should've worked, right?"
"Maybe it has to be specific Keyblades for it to work," Roxas suggested. "It probably only worked with Sora's because your bond is stronger with him than Riku's."
"Right." Kairi held out Riku's Way to the Dawn toward Sora. "Trade you?" The Keyblade in Xemnas' hand seemed to meld into his forearm, freeing up both of his hands. Before the couple could react, Xemnas teleported from where he stood to directly in front of them. His clawed gauntlets shot out and palmed both their faces, gripping his fingers around Sora and Kairi's heads.
"Oh, this is SO not cool!" Naminé complained. "Weapons I can deal with, but using just his hands is uncalled for!"
As his vice-like grip squeezed their heads like watermelons, Xemnas couldn't help but taunt them once more.
"YOU SHALL GO TOGETHER."