*KNOCK KNOCK*
Startled by the sudden knocking, the blue-haired woman's head jerked up from her drawer rummaging.
"Who is it?"
"It's Xion," came the muffled reply through the closed door. As she walked toward the door in lacy periwinkle underwear, Aqua lazily raised her arms above her head, stretching out her spine. Opening the door revealed a short black-haired girl holding up a fluffy, purple towel around her damp, naked body. "Have you seen my conditioner?"
Aqua motioned for Xion to come in. "I believe Ven has it." Xion shuffled into the bedroom and sighed.
"Again? Why doesn't he buy his own? I mean, his hair keeps draining the bottle faster than Pooh chugs honey."
"Don't worry about it. I'll lend you mine." As Aqua headed back to her dresser, she looked back over at Xion. "What happened to your clothes?"
Xion fidgeted slightly underneath her towel. "I forgot to take my clean clothes with me to the bathroom and accidentally locked myself out of my room." Then she noticed Aqua's state of dress. "What about you? Why are you in your underwear?"
"Before you continue to ogle my cleavage, could you please close the door behind you?" Aqua shot a quick glance toward the open door, straining her ears for sounds of movement in the hallway. "I don't think either of us want the boys to get some free fanservice."
Xion giggled as she complied with the request. "Well, that's what happens when you open up a temporary lodging for the "lost" characters of Kingdom Hearts in a magical pocket dimension at the edge of the universe. You end up housing more guys than girls here."
"Until the series needs us directly involved, we need somewhere to live off-screen, right?" Aqua held up a clear, plastic bottle with a creamy, turquoise substance inside it. "The only conditioner I have right now is this two-in-one anti-dandruff shampoo."
"You still didn't answer my question, though. Why exactly are you half-naked?"
"One, it's my room. I can dance around completely naked if I want. And two, you just caught me after my daily yoga. I was about to head for the shower myself." She handed Xion her shampoo and stopped herself. "Wait. Did you say that you locked yourself out of your room?" Aqua raised an eyebrow. "You can summon a giant key that can unlock any keyhole."
"But I lost that ability when Roxas absorbed me." There was a curious tone in her voice that made Aqua think that Xion was just grasping for an excuse not to be wrong, but decided to let it go. Xion suddenly asked, "So have you read it yet?"
"The story about Sora and Kairi's wedding? I think it's sweet." Then Aqua pursed her lips. "Although, I feel sorry for Kairi being stripped repeatedly. And I can't imagine going through all that tickle torture," she added as an afterthought.
"Why? You ticklish?" Xion gently poked Aqua's exposed left side, immediately making the blue-haired woman squeak.
"Hey! No tickles!" Aqua giggled. Although she was trying to be serious, she couldn't help but grin despite herself.
Xion had a sly smirk on her face, barely hiding the fact that she wanted to continue her assault. However, she realized that the resulting tickle fight would cause her towel to come off, exposing her in more ways than one. Instead, she decided to get back to the point. "So who do you think is behind all of this?"
"You don't think it ends with Xemnas?"
"I think it's more complicated than that. He may be power hungry, but I doubt that he was able to come up with this by himself."
Aqua shrugged. "True. Although I think it would be pretty stupid if the mastermind ended up being Walt Disney's ghost."
Xion peered at the bottle in her hands. "Why do you need anti-dandruff shampoo? Does your head look like a blizzard in summer without it?" she asked playfully.
"Okay, that's it. Give me back my bottle." Aqua made a grab for it, but Xion backed up and stretched her arm out of Aqua's range. Her calf hit Aqua's bed and she tumbled backward onto the mattress with a soft ploomph. Unfortunately for her, Aqua quickly dove in and grabbed both of Xion's wrists and pinned them above her head.
Xion's eyes widened in shock as she realized what Aqua was planning to do. The black-haired girl struggled to free herself, but with Aqua's body weight straddled on top of her, all she accomplished was loosening the towel wrapped around her body.
Aqua smirked and shifted her grip, easily pinning her victim's wrists with one hand. She gently placed the fingertips of her free hand on Xion's forearms and began lightly tracing down the length of her arms. Xion struggled not to let her tormentor know this was affecting her, but the corners of her lips couldn't help but curl upward.
"Now what was that about my head looking like a blizzard?" Aqua rested her fingers on the taut surface of Xion's right underarm.
"I-I-I'm sorreheehee!" Xion burst into musical giggles as Aqua took her pointer finger and began applying ticklish pressure into the armpit.
"Oh, you're laughing at me now?" Aqua asked in a mock-offended tone. "I guess I can see how this is all funny to you." Xion shrieked with laughter as Aqua's fingers curled into a claw and rapidly tickled through the fluffy towel's surface.
The younger girl's body bucked as her entire upper body was mercilessly tickle-tortured. She squirmed with helpless ticklishness, trying to desperately push the blue-haired beauty away with her hips, but Aqua was older, taller and stronger than she was. Her legs kicked uselessly at the air, unable to get a decent foothold to dig into. Xion was quickly running out of breath when...
"Hey, Aqua?" The girls froze at the sound of Ven opening the door. "Have you seen-" The bushy-haired teenager stopped dead in his tracks at the sight of the scantily-clad girls on the bed. Just as Xion predicted, her towel finally dropped open, revealing her nude form before the boy. Before Ven could comprehend what he was seeing, Aqua rushed at Ven and gripped the first blunt object she could wrap her fingers around.
*WHACK* Ven's head snapped forward as Aqua cracked him across the back of the head with his old wooden Keyblade.
"Ven, you pervert! Next time knock before you enter a girl's room!" The Roxas look-alike squeezed his eyes shut and flailed his hands around in a panicked frenzy.
"I swear I didn't see anything! Not even that star-shaped mole on your-" A stray hand accidentally pawed against Aqua's bra cup, pulling it down slightly.
*WHAM!* Ven slumped to the floor in an unconscious heap. Aqua sighed as she readjusted her bra.
"Xion? Next time I ask you to close the door, please make sure you lock it."
Kairi's Keyblade clattered across the floor as Xemnas disarmed her. Although winded and worn out, the Princess of Heart had no intention of giving up. She threw her arm out and summoned it back to her hand, only for Xemnas to rush up and knee her in the stomach with his Keyblade-turned-greave. As she doubled over in pain, Xemnas intertwined his clawed fingers together and slammed a hammerblow in-between her shoulder blades, sending Kairi sprawling to the floor.
"Naminé, has our magic recharged yet?" Her biceps trembled as she struggled to push herself back up.
"No, it's-" Before Naminé could say any more, Kairi felt Xemnas crouch down and wrap his pointy claws around her wrists. He jerked her body upward, suspending her into a "T" shape.
"NO MORE." Kairi let out a blood-curdling scream as she felt deep agonizing pain jolt throughout her body. Xemnas had roughly yanked her arms out of their sockets like a Thanksgiving wishbone, causing the Keyblade to fall uselessly from her lifeless fingers. Knowing full well that she was virtually defenseless, Xemnas unceremoniously tossed Kairi onto her back. With her hair disheveled, dress ripped and the lack of endorphins to ease her throbbing paralyzed limbs, Kairi finally broke down and began to cry.
"YOU ARE BEATEN, PRINCESS." Xemnas pointed his Keyblade at her helpless body. "YOUR HEART WILL BE SET FREE FROM ITS VESSEL AND PROVIDE THE POWER TO FINISH WHAT I STARTED."
"Naminé..." Kairi murmured. "...help..."
"I'm trying! It's not working!"
"Can't...end...like...this..." Kairi gritted her teeth as she willed her fingers to move, but they didn't even twitch. Xemnas calmly placed his foot on Kairi's stomach and steadied his stance. He raised his Keyblade, ready to stab without interference this time.
"FAREWELL...KAIRI." Kairi closed her eyes, bracing herself for oblivion.
"In brightest day..." A familiar voice echoed through the arena, causing Xemnas to whirl around and swipe his Keyblade, only to whiff air.
"In blackest night..." Through her tear-blurred eyes, Kairi became aware that Sora's body had disappeared from where he had fallen. Hope flourished within her heart.
"Beware our power..." Xemnas' gaze slowly swept the battlefield, unaware that Sora and Riku's Keyblades had vanished as well.
"Kingdom Hearts...is LIGHT!" Xemnas felt a ghostly presence pass through his body along with two Keyblades that slashed through his very core. The Armored Superior buckled to his knees as his attacker ran up to Kairi.
Floral bells chimed above the Princess' body, washing over her a blissful, comforting feeling that one gets from soaking in a warm bubble bath. The next thing Kairi noticed was that she could move her limbs painlessly again.
Sitting herself up, Kairi was greeted to the sight of a grinning Sora holding out his hand toward her. "Miss me?"
"Sora!" She enthusiastically grabbed Sora's hand and before either of them knew it, Kairi had pulled him in and met her lips with his. She felt herself melt with pleasure as relief and attraction coursed through her body. As soon as their lips broke apart, both parties couldn't help but blush.
"Wow, Kairi. It took coming back from near-death to finally kiss me?"
Kairi could only giggle bashfully. "Hey, I kissed you! Back at the wedding hall when I woke you up, remember?"
"Pecks don't count," Sora teased.
"Roxas!" Naminé couldn't have been more relieved. "But you were dead, weren't you?"
"Once More and Second Chance abilities," Roxas replied.
"How are you feeling?" Sora asked Kairi.
"Besides the need for a tailor that can create damage-proof clothing and a warm, private shower, I'm feeling completely refreshed!"
"And no, you're not joining us in that private shower," Naminé quipped. "But what did you do? Curaga doesn't restore magic yet we're both maxed out!"
Sora ruffled his bushy head with embarrassment. "I completely forgot that Queen Minnie gave us a Megalixir to give to you when we came to rescue you."
"And before you get on our case, it's a good thing we saved it or else we wouldn't have been able to survive that stab wound," Roxas added.
"Even so, we're right back where we started." Kairi's hope began to dwindle as she realized the severity of the situation. "We may be at 100% now, but Xemnas doesn't seem to be any weaker."
"Not entirely accurate," Sora argued. "You've managed to crack open his armor, giving us a target. Better than what we were facing before."
"And Sora was in Limit Form," Roxas chimed in. "Ironically, that limited our attacks. But Sora's regular form doesn't have as many restrictions."
As Xemnas climbed to his feet, Kairi pursed her lips in thought. "We're still missing that edge. Xemnas outclasses us in strength, speed and skill. The only advantage we have is the numbers game."
"Any suggestions?" Naminé asked. As if in answer to their prayers, a soft light began to trickle over the cockpit. The combatants looked up and felt a wash of rainbow light blanket over their bodies. For Sora and Kairi, it gave them a feeling of soothing strength. Xemnas, however, was starting to look apprehensive. "Do you feel that?"
Kairi nodded. "Yeah...it's the other Princesses of Heart. They're lending us their light!"
"This seems really cliché..." Roxas said. "But at this point, we'll take it!"
"NO!" In an uncharacteristic display of panic, Xemnas summoned his wings and soared upward, channeling the darkness for another burst. "BE GONE!"
Sora and Kairi tensed up, bracing themselves for the oncoming attack. To Roxas and Naminé's surprise, neither of them seemed to make any attempt to evade the attack.
"Uh, guys?" Roxas had an understandably worried tone in his voice. "This isn't exactly the time to play chicken with explosions."
"You're not seriously going to take this without defending, are you?"
"Have faith," Kairi replied. "The power of all seven hearts of pure light are being combined and given to us. Don't you know what that means?"
"We can summon Captain Planet?" Sora joked. As the other three groaned at the pale attempt at comedy, Xemnas released the darkness, engulfing the battlefield in an earth-shattering eruption.
The Armored Superior hovered in the sky, peering through the dissipating clouds of darkness for any signs of life. His eye slits seemed to widen slightly as two levitating bodies of light shone through the haze. As Xemnas descended from the sky, the dust cleared to reveal Sora and Kairi in their Final Forms.
Sora had floating behind him not one, but TWO Ultima Weapons, the other one in the form that he had wielded back when he was 14. Kairi, however was not wielding her floral Keyblade. Instead, she was also possessing two Ultima Weapons. Unlike Sora's, however, the two Keyblades actually seemed to have a combination of characteristics from the original two with their blue, white and gold appearances.
"Hey, Xemnas..." Sora flashed a confident grin. "Eat your heart out."
Kairi glanced over at Sora and rapidly batted her eyelashes teasingly. "Really, Sora? That's the best you could come up with?"
"Um...how about 'Suck on my big, fat f$#*$ g heart?'" Kairi's jaw dropped open at Sora's quotation.
"Okay, first of all, language. Second, out of character. Third, where in the universe did you pick that up?!" A white, gloved hand patted Kairi on the shoulder from behind.
"Don't worry about it, Kairi. You know how the darn-fangled information super-highway impresses upon youths today." Kairi whipped around and was stunned to see Naminé's corporeal body floating behind her.
The memory witch was sporting a new outfit consisting of vanilla knee-high boots, a sky-blue cocktail dress, and white elbow-length gloves. Levitating around her was Kairi's flowery Keyblade along with the blue and gray one from earlier.
"Naminé? You're-"
"We'll worry about that later," Roxas' voice cut her off. Sora turned and was just as surprised as Kairi to find Roxas hovering right next to them. Unlike the other three who were wearing different clothes, Roxas was now donning steel blue, gold and black armor in a style similar to Xemnas' and the Lingering Will. In his left hand was Two Become One while his right held a Keyblade that sported a black handle, gold pommel and a gold rain guard. "Ready?"
Naminé sighed. "Really? We only get new pieces of fabric and you get to wear armor?"
Roxas shrugged. "Hey, it's not like I knew this was going to happen."
"If you say so." Naminé pointed her gaze and the flowery Keyblade toward Xemnas. "Let's end this." The group glanced at each other and shared a nod of agreement. The four of them swept their Keyblades above their heads before transforming into apparitions of light. Soaring up to Xemnas' level, they circled around him like sharks to blood.
Xemnas threw out his arms, sending phantom Keyblades towards them, but the projectiles passed through them like illusions.
"Xemnas!" Kairi's voice boomed. "Everything that's happened to us is because of you! You used Sora, Riku and I as guinea pigs for your twisted experiments!"
"You see hearts as just tools, an energy source, yet blind yourself from its true essence," Naminé added. "It's not about light and darkness. And it's not just a heart by itself. The true power comes from the connections each heart resonates with one another."
"By throwing away your heart, you waste your true potential," Roxas chimed in. "Raw power is nothing without the bonds to support it."
"You never cared about anyone but yourself." Sora's voice was unwavering as he spoke. "You rely on only your power alone. For us, there will always be someone new to meet, someone to connect with. That's why our hearts' radiance is infinite!"
Xemnas' armor clattered as the light's energy overwhelmed him. The beings of light stopped at the four corners of the ship and zipped straight at their target in the center of the makeshift cross.
"EXISTENTIAL MIRAGE!"
"TAKE THIS!" Sora's body pierced through the small crack in Xemnas' armor, causing pieces to chip off leaving a bigger hole.
"TAKE THAT!" Roxas continued where Sora left off; his attack made the cracks travel up into the chest plate and across Xemnas' back.
"NEVER AGAIN!" Kairi's strike shattered Xemnas' chest plate into pieces, forcing the cracks to finally reach his helmet.
"UM...FRIENDSHIP IS MAGIC!" Naminé finished the Limit by smashing her Keyblades onto Xemnas' head.
As Xemnas' armor burst, Roxas glanced over at Naminé. "Really, Naminé? 'Friendship is magic?' Out of all of the finishing quotes you could come up with, you chose 'My Little Pony?'"
"Hey, I was under pressure, alright? I don't do many finishers like you guys!" Naminé shrugged. "Would something like 'I will change your mind' have worked better?"
"It's okay, Naminé," Kairi reassured her. "You'll get another chance." Their attack complete, the four of them sank gently back to the ground. There was another burst of light, leaving Sora and Kairi back in their normal outfits with only the original three Keyblades in their hands. Roxas and Naminé felt tinges of sadness as their bodies faded into the echoes of consciousness for their respective counterparts once again.
Xemnas fell to the ground hard, landing on his knees with a sickening metallic creak. Sora and Kairi raised their Keyblades in ready stances, waiting to see if they had finally managed to put their opponent down for good. To their surprise, Xemnas seemed to no longer notice them.
"No...More...Uh..." Chunks of his remaining armor clattered to the floor in pieces.
Kairi's eyes narrowed as the remnants of the helmet finally began to flake off. "Wait...that's not Xemnas." Indeed, the armor's occupant had a lighter skin and hair color than what she remembered.
The image of a young man's portrait in Ansem the Wise's study flashed through Sora's memory. His eyes widened as the face was finally revealed. "You're right! That's Xehanort!" There was no mistaking it.
Xehanort clutched at his head before tossing his head back and yelled out in pain.
"NO...MORE...AAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHH!" As the rest of his armor dissolved into ashes, Xehanort rose to his feet, his eyes eerily blank. He raised his Keyblade and stared at the couple with a renewed, but dwindling second wind. "I WILL NOT ALLOW IT TO END THIS WAY..." The unmasked Xehanort took his Keyblade, and to Sora and Kairi's astonishment, pressed the blade's tip to his heart. "THIS BODY HAS SERVED ITS PURPOSE." An orb of light popped out of his chest and hovered wistfully as its master started to chuckle. "OUT WITH THE OLD AND BRITTLE VESSEL, AND IN WITH A YOUNGER, STRONGER NEW ONE!"
"Wait a minute. 'This body?' Naminé repeated. "Was Xehanort being possessed this whole time?" With startling speed, the orb ruthlessly flew toward the couple.
The same chilling thought popped into both Sora and Kairi's minds and they didn't like their choices. Taking the hit for the other person meant that their bodies would be possessed and forced to fight each other. Letting the other sacrifice themselves would end up with the same result. Unsure of what to do, Sora and Kairi could only lift their Keyblades up to guard and hope that they would be able to retain control after impact.
"SUBMIT!"
"You need some new material, Xemnas." Riku flew in from above, landed in front of his friends and threw his palm out. Amazingly, instead of being possessed, the orb of light smacked against Riku's hand, only to be trapped by his curled fingers. "You can't possess someone who's already rejected you before." Riku summoned his Way to the Dawn to his free hand and tossed the ball up into the air. "Stop stealing other people's bodies and vanish with your own!" He shifted his weight and took a batter's swing with his Keyblade, knocking Xehanort's heart out into the cold oblivion of Gummi space.
With heart and body defeated, Xehanort's form dissipated into darkness, leaving no traces of having ever been there.
Kairi ran up to Riku and gave him an appreciative hug. "Thank you, Riku!"
Sora chuckled and gave Riku's back a hearty pat. "Always the one with the last word."
"But is it over?" Naminé asked hesitantly. The ground beneath them rocked at an angle, causing the trio to almost fall over. Kairi instinctively latched onto Sora's arm to retain her balance.
"What's going on?!" she yelled as an enormous din began reverberating throughout the cockpit.
"Without Xemn-, I mean, Xehanort, this Kentauros Form can no longer exist!" Roxas replied. "We've got to get back to the Gummi ship!" As if on cue, the rainbow tunnel of light faded from sight, effectively trapping the Keyblade wielders.
"You've got to be kidding me!" Sora exclaimed. "Is it just me or do we have the worst luck of surviving final boss fights in one piece?"
"At least it can't get any-" Naminé started to say.
*KABOOM* The combatants looked up in horror to see an exploding fireball where their Gummi Ship had been.
"No! The Princesses!" The Heartless had finally managed to overwhelm the remaining survivors. Instinct turned their attention toward the only hearts left in the vicinity. Kairi groaned. "Did you really have to say that, Naminé?"
"Look!" Riku pointed toward the spot where Xehanort previously occupied. A growing pool of darkness began to gush upward like the ship had a broken wound torn open, seeping out like purplish blood that consumed the battlefield. With nowhere to run, the darkness began to pull the Destiny Island trio down, sinking them into the endless abyss like quicksand.
"I'm getting déjà vu here," Roxas exclaimed. "This is the part where Naminé reaches her hand out and pulls us up, right?"
"I'm a little busy here, Roxas!" Naminé snapped.
"Hey, at least you had help, Roxas," Sora said. "I went through this twice and it's not like Kairi was able to help me either time."
"Well, excuse me for having my own problems," Kairi shot back.
"Okay, seriously? What is with you four?" Riku struggled to pull his leg out from the darkness, but it was no use. "You act lovey-dovey one moment then start bickering like an old, married couple the next. Make up your mind already!"
"Kairi! Cast Holy!" Naminé suggested. Kairi tried to lift her Keyblade to cast the spell, but to her dismay, her weapon was already halfway sunk into the darkness. Her arms quivered as she grasped the handle and tried to pull it out. Unfortunately, the Keyblade wouldn't budge and only caused her to pull herself even deeper.
"I can't! It's stuck!" With the darkness making its way up her midriff, Kairi was starting to lose hope. "Wait a minute! Sora!" She whipped her head around at him. "When you sank into the darkness, did anything bad happen to you?"
Sora's eyes rolled back as he thought back to the previous times he had been in this situation. "Other than losing consciousness? Not that I can think of. Why?"
"I hope this works." The Princess of Heart stopped struggling and closed her eyes. Her chest heaved slowly as she took deep, long breaths.
"Kairi, what are you doing?!" Naminé cried in a panic. "We can't give up after all we've been through!"
"Nothing bad happened to Sora, right?" Kairi smiled. "Besides, there's one thing that I have that the boys don't possess." She took a deep breath and dunked her head into the darkness, allowing her body to be swallowed whole. As Sora's jaw dropped in disbelief, Riku shrugged.
"She's right, you know," Riku said. "There's nothing to fear from the darkness. Just like light, it's only bad depending on how it's used. The darkness itself isn't to blame." And with that, Riku plunged his whole body under, leaving Sora and Roxas waist-deep and sinking.
"You don't think they're just talking under stress, do you?" Roxas asked rhetorically.
"We know them better than that. They showed no fear or hesitation. Why should we?" Sora let himself fall backward, the darkness catching him with a soft poof. The deafening explosions happening around him quieted to a muffled murmur as Sora's ears sank underneath the darkness.
The last sight that flashed before his eyes was the oncoming Heartless swarm before blinking out. Sora's entire body felt virtually weightless, almost numb from the lack of any pressure against his skin.
The calm, almost eerie silence seemed to amplify the sounds of Sora's heartbeat and breathing.
"Did we finally die?" Roxas asked.
"Considering the sound of our heartbeat, I seriously doubt it." It was a few moments before Sora realized that his eyes were still squeezed shut.
His pupils shrunk from the blinding whiteness as his eyes snapped open. Two formless pinkish blobs floated in front of his vision, growing in size. Sora rubbed his eyes to reveal Kairi and Riku floating up to him.
"Sora!" Kairi threw her body at her lover, pressing her soft chest close to him in a tight embrace.
"Riku! Kairi!" Then Sora realized why he didn't recognize them at first. "Why are we naked?"
"At least it's not just me this time," Kairi said.
"I call it karma payback for being naked in front of the guys," Naminé replied.
"Insert obvious SoRiKai threesome comeback here and we'll move on with our lives," Riku joked.
Sora ruffled his bushy head. "Where are we? What happened?"
"I'm a Princess of Heart. Heart of pure light trumps pure darkness," Kairi reasoned. "I figured that if all three of our hearts are in close proximity together, my hidden powers would negate any negative effects from the darkness."
"That still doesn't explain where we are," Roxas said. "It's not the realm of darkness, that's for sure."
"I can't believe everyone's gone, though," Sora lamented. "The other Princesses...Donald, Goofy and the King..."
Before they could ponder any further, a wise, gentle voice echoed throughout the white void.
"Well done, Kairi. Sora. Riku." The three of them looked around for the source of the speaker.
"Who is that?" Kairi exclaimed.
"And why does he sound so familiar?" Naminé added.
The trio glanced up and recoiled in a mixture of surprise and fear.
It was him. The creator of the universe.
The one entity that no amount of light, darkness or nothingness could hope to deter.
The one that could create and destroy their very existence.
Tetsuya Nomura.