Kingdom Hearts III: Xehanort's Ambitions
Chapter 8
Vessel No More
As promised. Here is chapter 8! I hope you enjoy!
Happy Reading!
A young man with spiked brown hair clad in bronze and red armor laid flat on a dark earthy surface. He appeared to be very still, but he quickly gasped in the cold shrill air of his unfamiliar environment and coughed a few times. His earthy brown eyes flickered open and he slowly gained the strength to push himself off the ground.
"Where…am I? He questioned aloud to vast darkness around him. Before him stood a castle that appeared to be made of ice. Its many jagged roofs pointed in illogical directions and it appeared to be one big cataclysmic mess. The young man put his hands to face. He gasped again.
"I'm…alive?" He stuttered. He quickly reached his hand underneath his armor and pressed against his chest. His heart pounded heavily against his fist. "I'm alive!" He cried out joyfully. His happiness quickly faded though, as recalled his last few moments before ceasing to exist. Many faces flooded his mind, but their names were evading him. He recalled being in a graveyard with a blue haired young woman and a blond spiky haired young boy. He knew they were his closest friends and they were fighting against a great evil that day.
A tear suddenly rolled down his face. "V-Ven. Aqua. What happened to us?" He asked the darkness that would never respond. Through the tears he continued to recall that fateful day. He remembered flying up high on his Keyblade and landing to face and bald old man in a trench coat. He had a frayed grey goatee and a wicked grin upon his face. He defeats him, and suddenly the old man turns his blade himself and frees his heart from his ancient body and sends it hurdling towards him. He quickly defends himself, but it's no use. He became possessed. A painful flashback of him holding Aqua off the ground by her neck crosses his mind.
"N-no! What…did I do…this isn't me… it's his fault." Terra sobbed to himself, but the man's name still evaded him. He dropped to his knees and clutched his head in agony as another painful memory resurfaced.
"Terra! Fight him. Please!" Aqua pleads in his flashback before he drops her.
"X-….Xeh…" The name was on the tip of his tongue. Terra almost remembered what this foul man's name was.
"He wants me and Vanitas to fight… and make some kind of X-blade." Ventus said depressingly in another one of his flashbacks.
"Xeha-…" But it still wasn't enough. He was getting so close to the truth.
"And now your darkness shall be the arc that sustains me!" The wicked old man hollered as he sent his black putrid heart straight at him.
"Xehanort….XEHANORT!" Terra shouted angrily into the darkness, but he knew the truth now. No one was there to listen or help him now. His rage echoed in the distance, but he knew there was no use in getting upset right now. He needed to find out how he ended up here and leave right away. He sighed, then picked himself back up off the ground. Then with a fresh sense of newly found determination, he set forth towards the castles entrance, ready for anything to come in his path.
The mighty crystal door creaked tremendously as he pulled it open with his bare hands. As soon as he opened it just enough, he quickly squeezed through. The door then swayed back into place behind him. Terra took a moment to take in his surroundings, every square inch of this place was a beautiful ice cold blue. The architecture of the walls and floors was very intricate and highly detailed with a multitude of shapes of all sizes.
"Why hello Terra. It's so nice to see you've returned in one piece after your ten year missing in action hiatus." Called out a voice that was completely unfamiliar to him.
Terra immediately summoned his Keyblade, the ends of the earth, and held it steady and ready to strike. "Who's there? Show yourself!" He commanded.
A hooded man cloaked in black revealed itself in the center of the room. "So rude. That's no way to talk to someone who wants to help you." The mysterious figure said tauntingly as he waved a finger at Terra.
"Why would a total stranger want to help me?" Said Terra through clenched teeth. The fact that this guy had done nothing but aggravate him so far was starting to tick him off.
"Because you and I have a lot of things in common. And a bit of a history together, but well save that part for later." He replied.
Terra scoffed. "Fine. Will you at least tell me where we are?"
"Why of course. Welcome to Castle Oblivion! Where to find is to lose and to lose is to find!" He said in an eccentric tone.
Terra remained silent for a moment. "This guys a total freak." He thought to himself before responding. "Castle Oblivion you say. Interesting."
"Indeed it is. Here, catch." The man said as he ninja starred a card towards him.
Terra held his right hand up and caught the card swiftly. He glanced at it briefly. "It's a picture of Radiant Garden. What am I supposed to do with this?" He asked, trying not to sound utterly annoyed.
"That Terra is the Key to all of the answers you so desperately seek. It's a card that has been forged from the deepest darkest memories of your heart. Use it on the door beyond me here, and you will enter a carbon copy of the world that is on that card. There, you can watch everything unfold and be enlightened as to what has happened since the last moment you were alive." He replied.
Terra took one more look at the card, then decided to listen to the man and walked up the few steps to the door.
"Now hold it up to the door, and it should unseal and reveal its world to you." The man instructed.
Terra obeyed and held the card high up above his head. A white light shone around the door frame and a loud click echoed off the doors of the room as it unlocked. The door then slowly swayed open, revealing more bright white light that forced Terra to shield his eyes with his arms.
"Go on and enter, I'm right behind you." The stranger said. Terra glanced back at the strange man, then stepped forth into the blinding light. At first the light subsided and everything went dark, but slowly the darkness faded away to reveal the stony architecture of Radiant Garden.
"Terra!" A young blue haired woman screamed as she slashed her Keyblade at her assailant. A demonic platinum haired version of himself with gleaming yellow eyes was attacking his friend, Aqua. A dark black creature wrapped in bandages was attached to the imposters back, he was ghost like in his figure and held his arms crossed at all times.
"Aqua!" Terra cried out as he was about to rush to her aid. A portal quickly formed before him and the mysterious figure stepped out of its depths, arms outstretched.
"Don't bother, this is all an illusion of events that have already past. They can't see you, only we can." He stated.
Terra scowled in fury. "Fine. You win." He crossed his arms and stood alongside the stranger and watched the scene unfold. As Aqua slashed at the possessed Terra she clashed her Keyblade with his and a white light formed between them. She again called out his name and the demonic Terra laughed.
"Give up girl! Terra's heart has been extinguished! Smothered by the darkness within him!" The demonic Terra boasted proudly.
Aqua refused to give up. "No! You may have possessed his body but his heart is still there. Terra! Fight him back! Please!" She begged. The light suddenly grew stronger and an apparition of Terra appeared next to her with a smile on his face. "Yes! Now Terra!" She cried out as she leaped back from the possessed Terra. She held her Keyblade high and the apparition of Terra followed suit. Two powerful beams of light sprouted out from the tip of their blades and coiled together in the dark cloudy sky and then struck the possessed Terra square in the chest.
"Gah!" He cried out as he was knocked flat on his feet. Everything suddenly faded to light and froze in place.
"Alright, I've seen enough to ask what the hell is going on here?" Terra questioned the stranger.
"This is the battle that followed right after Xehanort possessed you in the Keyblade Graveyard. He destroyed his body and tried to take over yours as his own once he exploited your weakness to the darkness. You put up a good fight however, as your willpower commanded your fallen armor to attack him in attempt to win your body back, in the end however Xehanort managed to escape and wound up in Radiant Garden, where your friend Aqua tracked you down to with the help of Master Yen Sid." The mysterious figure explained.
Terra pondered this for a moment. "Ok. So what happened? Did Aqua save me? …..Did I…..destroy her?" He asked nervously.
The mysterious figure pointed forward to the two silhouettes that had formed in the white light. "Watch and find out." He instructed. The scene then resumed and the light faded away to reveal Aqua and Terranort both hunched over slightly, panting heavily from the exhausting battle.
"Release his heart!" Aqua screamed angrily. "Terra I know you're in their!" She called out for her friend once more.
Terranort looked back up at Aqua and glared at her with rage. He raised his Keyblade to attack her but a warm light suddenly engulfed his body. His arms suddenly became outstretched and rigid. "You…little…stop….fighting…back!" Terranort growled furiously.
"Terra!" Aqua exclaimed with joy. Her friend was fighting back to reclaim what was rightfully his.
Terranort's arms resisted but eventually came together before him and pointed his Keyblade at his chest. "This will teach you! Get out of my heart!" Terranort cried as he stabbed himself. The demon like guardian figure dissolved, creating a dark pool beneath his feet.
"No! Terra!" Aqua gasped as she ran towards her friend in an attempt to save him as he fell and sank into the portals dark depths. She dived in after him swiftly and all fell silent.
"Aqua!" The real Terra cried out. A tear rolled off his face, realizing that his friend had sacrificed herself to same him, even after all the pain he had caused.
"Don't get to upset just yet, it gets worse." The mysterious figure stated blatantly.
Terranort was suddenly expelled from the portals dark depths with Aqua's armor and Keyblade serving as his support. The hole then vanished. Sealing the armors master into its dark realm.
"She…didn't make it out? No…what have I done!" Cried Terra. He fell to his knees and clasped his head with his hands. "It's all my fault. My friends…their gone because I let Xehanort trick me." He said in a heartbroken tone.
The mysterious figure walked beside him and placed his hand on Terra's shoulder. "Were not done quite yet I'm afraid. So I'm going to ask you to regain yourself quick before we move on. There's a whole lot more to the story." He spoke reassuringly.
Terra sighed. Then removed the strangers hand and slowly stood back up. "I'm ready." He spoke in a grim tone. The stranger nodded then started rewinding the events that just occurred. Terra's eyes darted back and forth as he watched his body vanish back into the hole, then out with Aqua, then to the moment where Terranort turned the Keyblade on himself.
"Halt!" The stranger cried. And the scene froze right at that exact moment. "Now the reason I'm showing you this, is because I have been tasked by my Master to reveal what you've been up to these past ten years to prepare you for what lies ahead." He explained.
Terra nodded and motioned for him to continue.
"Ok. Well. You see right at this moment when Terranort turns the blade on himself, that was actually you fighting back against Xehanort Terra." Said the stranger.
Terra's eyes widened. "So then the heart that was released was Xehanort's, and not mine?" He asked.
"Correct." The mysterious figure said with a curt nod. "You fought him back valiantly and released his heart from your body. Unfortunately this caused you to fall into the realm of darkness, and you already know what your friend did after that, so let's skip ahead." He snapped his fingers and suddenly the scene skipped ahead to the point where Aqua had just sent him out of the realm of darkness with her armor. His body hit the ground with a loud thud. Moments later a familiar black haired arrow slinging pony tailed man in a grey button vest and pants came running into the town center to pick up Terra's body.
"Hey, you ok? You there old coot?" Braig asked Terranort's weakened body.
"X-Xehanort." Terranort mumbled feebly.
Braig grinned with delight and laughed. "So you really did manage to possess him, and take out his friends in the process it looks like." Said Braig as he glanced back at Aqua's lifeless armor. He then looked back down at Terranort one more time and gently set him down. "Better follow through with the plan then. I'll be back!" He called out as he ran back off in the direction of the castle.
"For some reason the event of you releasing Xehanort's heart from your body was so traumatic that you had no memory of your life before this moment at all. Nothing, but his name, not even your own." The mysterious figure explained.
Suddenly Braig came rushing back into the scene followed by three other men. Two of which Terra recognized as the guards the stood outside of Radiant Gardens castle.
"He's over here." Braig instructed his comrades. A blonde haired bearded man wearing a red robe suddenly swooped down upon Terranort's body and held him up.
"Young man. Tell me what ails you. What is your name?" The old man asked.
Terranort's eyes flickered open this time as he repeated what he had said earlier. "X-Xehanort." He mumbled feebly.
"Xehanort." The man repeated, as if admiring the unique name. "Gather his things, we must take him back to the castle immediately. The man ordered his guards.
"Yes sir." The spiky orange and black haired burly men replied. Terra and the mysterious figure watched as they scooped up his lifeless body and Aqua's armor and Keyblade and walked off towards the castle.
Terra watched in horror as his body was carried away from the scene and everything was dark once more. "So I thought…I was Xehanort?" He asked fearfully.
"Yet again. Correct. The only memory you held onto was his name so you assumed it as your own identity. The man you just met there was Ansem the Wise. A kind and noble scholar who researched the human heart, and the protector of Radiant garden. Braig, Dilan, Aeleus, Even, and Ienzo were all people that he called his own. Dilan and Aeleus guarded the castle and protected the townspeople. Even was Ansem's lead researcher, Braig acted as his personal spy, and Ienzo was just a young boy who had lost his parents at a young age and so Ansem had taken him in as his own out of the kindness of his heart. They were all normal ordinary people, some with good intentions, and others with darker ones." Said the mysterious figure as he pointed towards an apparition of Braig waving at them with a grin on his face.
"So…what did I do after this?" Terra asked.
"I'm glad you asked, shall we resume?" Said the mysterious figure as he waved his hand. The scene changed to an elegant stone hallway. A red carpet ran the length of the room and suits of armor stood along the wall every several feet. Braig and Terranort were towards them, they appeared to be having a secretive conversation. Braig was wearing his usual getup, and Terranort was now wearing a white researcher's lab coat and grey pants. Sometime had clearly passed as his silky platinum hair had grown halfway down his back.
"So…it really is you right? You really are Xehanort? Not that Terra kid?" Braig asked hesitantly. Afraid of what he would do if it turned out to be Terra.
Terranort glared at him with his gleaming orange eyes. They had grown calmer looking compared to when Xehanort had actually possessed him but still remained fearfully menacing none the less. "What do you think?" He replied to Braig.
Braig sighed with relief. "Ok good. For a moment I really thought it might have been him. So I got to ask. How long are you planning on keeping this researcher charade up with Ansem? He's starting to grow suspicious of you and your intentions you know. You best be careful."
"Careful. Ha!" Terranort scoffed. "I can take care of myself, you can just keep playing along and worry about yourself." He ordered Braig.
"Yes sir." Said Braig.
The scene ended their and faded to black. "You were quite the actor I have to say." Said the mysterious figure.
"Whys that?" Asked Terra.
"You fooled one of the most brilliant scientists and researchers of our time into thinking you were a harmless young scholar thirsty for knowledge because he had nothing else, no memories of anything or anyone, only an identity that was never truly yours." The mysterious figure spoke admirably of him.
"I did that?" Asked Terra in awe.
"Yes, and so you became absorbed in Ansem the Wises research on the human heart, and became his star pupil, he favored you highly over Even. Soon after arriving here however, you started to perform your own experiments on the heart, such experiments Ansem had strictly forbidden because of the barriers of morality one would have to breach to perform such feats. You left behind incredibly detailed reports on the heart and the heartless written under his name, and you even figured how to manufacture artificial heartless by the thousands in a factory hidden deep within the walls of the castle." Said the stranger.
Terra was silent. Taking in every word he said little by little, yet he remained stoic and emotionless.
"And the only reason you did that, was all because of what happened right here." Said the figure as he pointed at the newly formed scene before them.
Terranort was walking through the outskirts of town in the garden square. It was raining fairly hard. The droplets could be heard pattering against the surface of the fountains water. He stood alone underneath the squares statue, sheltered from the rain as he was writing in a journal. Suddenly a loud thunderbolt cracked across the stormy grey sky followed by the deafening roar of thunder, after the light faded away however a strange being in black cloak was now standing before Terranort, startling him. Terra noted that he looked identical to the mysterious man that had been guiding him this whole time.
"Who are you?" Terranort demanded.
The cloaked figure chuckled darkly. "I am you, from the most distant past." He then pulled down his hood to reveal a very young short spiky haired Xehanort.
"Impossible! Your…Your…" Started Terranort.
"Young. Just like you are, only you don't have a clue as to who you are?" Said Young Xehanort. Terranort merely nodded in agreement. "You see Xehanort there is actually quite a few years in between us, you may appear young physically but really you are much older than you think. You were elderly and frail a few months ago and you decided that you wanted to create the X-blade and recreate the Keyblade war. So you traveled in time to me, to assign the sole task of reuniting all versions of ourselves to meet up on a very specific day. You then went back to your own time and led three Keyblade wielders to their fates, and one of them, named Terra, served as your new vessel, the very reason you are in this state now. You must have lost your memory in the process however, because you had no idea who I was until I just explained it moments ago." Explained Young Xehanort.
Terranort seemed intrigued by this information but still didn't respond.
Young Xehanort chuckled again. "I understand this must be a lot to take in but I wouldn't worry about it, all I need to do is give you this and you can return to your normal life." He said as he drew out his Keyblade. It looked similar to Xehanort's in every aspect except that it glowed a radiant blue light. He then pointed it directly at Terranort and shot a beam of blue light directly at his heart. It struck him square in the chest, but Terranort remained still and unharmed.
"What did you do to me?" He asked Young Xehanort.
"I placed a piece of my heart inside of you, giving you the ability to travel through time yourself, and when the time comes for you to join the rest of ourselves your Keyblade will appear before you and glow a radiant blue light. Point it straight upward and it should teleport you to the destination where we shall witness the unfolding of our grand plan." Said Young Xehanort eagerly.
"Keyblade?" Questioned Terranort?
"Boy. You really don't remember much do you? When you need it most, you'll remember how to summon it, it's not something I can teach you in a matter of minutes, besides its time for me to return to my own time." Said Young Xehanort as he pointed his Keyblade straight into the air and a beam of blue light shot out of it and formed a blue swirling vortex overhead. As he was slowly lifted into its swirling depths he called out to Terranort.
"You should really take advantage of your opportunity to do research on the heart right now while you have the resources. I know I certainly would. Just go back to living life as if this never happened. Fate will show you the way because after all, destiny is never left to chance." Said Young Xehanort with a smirk on his face as he was sucked up into the portal. It quickly vanished into thin air leaving a confounded Terranort behind.
Terra turned to the mysterious figure, not believing a word of what just happened. "I performed all of those experiments, because Xehanort believed I was actually him and placed a piece of his heart inside of me…why are you showing me this again? Because all you've done is make me regret existing at all." Terra spoke with disgust. He was starting to feel sorry for himself.
The mysterious figure suddenly pinned him to the ground and shook him violently. "Don't you dare feel sorry for yourself! This was all caused by Xehanort, not you! You can't let yourself believe that you are him! Got it memorized!" The mysterious figure demanded.
"Y-Yes!" Said a startled Terra. The man then got off of him and held his hand out to help him back up.
"Good. Now don't let me catch you like that again. We still got a hell of a lot more to go through until we reach the present time so hang on." He said. Terra nodded in agreement and the scene change once again to reveal Terranort standing alone in a computer room. The bodies of Even, Aeleus, Dilan, Ienzo, and a red haired and blue haired boy all laid on the ground, they appeared to be dead. Terranort was shaking violently, realizing the damage he had just caused to those around him. He clutched his hands on his head and fell to his knees, screaming in agony. He appeared to be suffering some sort of traumatic flashback.
Braig suddenly burst into the room. His eyes widened in horror as he realized what his comrade had just done. "Xehanort! W-What did you do to them!"
Terra then got back on his feet, his eyes gleamed a sinister yellow as he drew out his deadly Keyblade. "I remembered…everything. I know what I must do now." He spoke gravely.
"What do you mean?" Said Braig terrified he slowly began to step away from Terranort.
"This." He hissed chillingly. He then dashed towards Braig and slashed his blade through him, killing him instantly. "See you on the other side." He whispered to Braig before he fell to the ground. Terranort then took one last look at the destruction he had just committed. "It is time for my plan to come into full circle, Xehanort may think that I am him so I will play the part beautifully by following his demands to create an Organization to find recruits to hold his heart and to plunge all of the worlds into darkness through the use of the heartless so that the pathways between them shall be opened to all. So long, Radiant Garden."
As Terranort pointed his blade above him a dark portal emerged. Slowly everything in the room started to be sucked up within the powerful vortex. Small shadowy creatures with yellow eyes sprouted from the ground and started to destroy everything around them. Ansem the wise suddenly bursted into the room.
"Xehanort! What have you done!" He screamed angrily at him. In his hands he held a journal that had Ansem's name written on the front. "You performed foul experiments under my identity and now this! What the hell is wrong with you!"
Terranort let out a wicked howl of laughter as the world was slowly being swallowed up into the dark portal. "I am following where fate wants me to go Ansem! Because after all destiny is never left to chance!" He shouted fiercely into the howling winds, the roof of the castle had now been completely lifted off and even larger amounts of heartless of all shapes and sizes poured into the building. Terranort then turned the Keyblade on himself and sank deep within the pool of heartless below him. Ansem the wise then watched in horror as two beings rose from his deceased body. One had gleaming platinum hair with a grey cloak. A heartless emblem was built into his chest and a shadowy guardian figure served beside him. The other had the same colored hair that was far spikier, he wore a black cloak and held his arms tightly crossed.
"What have you done Xehanort!" Hollered Ansem the wise ferociously.
"Xehanort!" Scoffed the heartless figure. "I am Ansem, the seeker of darkness!"
The other man grunted fiercely. "And I am Xemnas, the soon to be leader of all nobodies in the universe!"
"You cowardly atrocious monster! I won't let you get away with this!" Snarled Ansem the Wise.
Xemnas then immediately warped directly in front of Ansem the wise and forcefully grabbed him by the red collar of his cloak, lifting him clear off the ground. As Ansem the Wise gasped for air Xemnas brought him closer and whispered in his ear. "I've already won." He then hurled the scholar into the dark portal screaming. A malicious grin formed upon Xemnas's face as he watched him disappear into the abyss.
Out of everything he had seen in this world born of fantasy, this revelation had the biggest impact of all on Terra yet. "I can't believe this...No…I don't WANT to believe this! This is all his fault! Curse you XEHANORT!" Terra furiously hollered into the dark sky full of debris. To his surprise the wind had finally grown strong enough to lift both him and the mysterious figure off of the ground. As they twirled around and around into the portal Terra's anger only burned more fiercely, until everything around him faded to black.
. . .
"I've had just about enough of this! WHO ARE YOU!" Demanded Terra as he summoned his ends of the earth Keyblade. The two of them had just reentered the castle onto the second floor, and his voice continued to echo off the walls moments after he was done shouting.
The mysterious figure chuckled. "Are you really going to fight me to find out?"
"If that's what it takes to get some answers!" Growled Terra.
"Very well then." Said the stranger. He then lifted both of his gloved hands up and pulled his hood back to reveal a head full of spiky red hair. His emerald eyes were sharp and attentive, and a small smile was on his face. "The names Lea. Got it memorized?" Terra continued to heave heavily and grip his Keyblade tightly at this revelation. "May I remind you that the only person you're truly angry at right now is Xehanort? I didn't come here to fight, I was ordered to reveal to you the truth. But if you insist…" Lea held his arm forward and a ball of flame formed which quickly turned into a Keyblade composed of two red and silver chakrams.
"You have a Keyblade!" Said a shocked Terra.
"Come here I'll make it all stop!" Taunted Lea.
Terra scoffed at his remark and continued to hold his Keyblade steady. They gazed into one another's eyes intensely for a moment, and then gently lowered their weapons. "No. You're right. It won't make anything better, because it is all his fault." He sighed as he put his blade away.
Lea applauded him with pride. "Good, I'm glad we don't have to waste time with that. Because now I get to show you all the good things that have happened over the past 10 years." Lea then chucked yet another card at him that Terra Swiftly caught. On it was a picture of an island with palm trees.
"It can't be…Destiny Islands?" Asked Terra.
"Bingo! Now c'mon let's go!" He said as he ran up to Terra grabbed his arm and pulled him towards the door. Terra held the card up high once more and the door unsealed immediately, bathing them once again in blinding warm white light.
Terra shielded his eyes until the familiar sound of waves crashing upon the shore could be heard. He opened them and found himself sitting on a wooden bridge with Lea. Below them near the shoreline was Terra kneeling down to greet a young boy with silver hair. He wore a yellow vest and black shorts, in the distance by the dock was his spiky brown haired friend, wearing a white t shirt and red shorts. Both boys were curious as to who this stranger was, but only the silver haired one had been brave enough to find out. The orange sun was beginning to set upon the ocean, dying the sky with a beautiful array of yellow, orange and red hues.
Terra's eyes widened as he recalled this moment. "That boy, he reminded me of myself in every way possible. What became of him?" He turned his head and asked Lea. Lea held his finger up to hush him.
"Keep watching and you'll find out." He said quietly.
Terra rolled his eyes and resumed watching his past memories.
The memory Terra held his Keyblade out for the young boy to grab ahold of, and he did so willingly. Terra let go briefly and sure enough, the weapon stayed in his hands. He knew he was right to wield it one day. "In your hand, take this Key. So long as you have the makings, then through this simple act of taking, its wielder you shall one day be. And you will find me, friend…no ocean will contain you then. No more borders around, or below, or above, so long as you champion the ones you love." He said to the boy, who listened to his every word eagerly.
Once the boy nodded Terra put his weapon away and ruffled the kid's hair. He then ran back to his friend and watched as the two of them argued about what just happened. Terra and Lea chuckled at the sight of them and their trivial fight.
Lea then pointed to the one with silver hair. "The one you passed the power of the Keyblade down to is Riku." He then switched over to the other one. "And that is his friend Sora. Who also gained the ability to wield the Keyblade through a different wielder." He explained.
"And who would that be?" Asked Terra.
Lea laughed. "The same guy who gave the ability to me by accident. Your friend Ven." Said Lea with a smile.
Terra gasped. "But how? Did he Sora even ever meet?"
"In person? No. But somehow, when Ven lost his heart in his battle against Vanitas, he sought shelter in Sora's heart, and all these years later it still resides in him. Waiting for the day it can be reunited with his body. One fateful night many years later. Sora and Riku's home here was consumed by the darkness. On that night Riku's heart succumbed to the darkness, and he tried to take Sora down with him. Because of this the Keyblade went straight to Sora due to Ven's heart residing in him. Riku wouldn't gain the ability to wield the Keyblade until almost a year later when he sorted himself and found the light again." Said Lea.
"Ok. So what do they have to do with me besides this?" Asked Terra.
"I thought you'd never ask." Said Lea as he snapped his fingers and the islands vanished all together in an instant. They wound up in a dimly lit throne like room with tan walls and red carpeting. In the center of the room was a heart shaped portal that shone vibrantly with a multitude of colors. Before Terra could take in his surroundings properly though he was interrupted by two boys scuffling with one another.
"No! There's no way I'm letting you take Kairi's heart!" Shouted the boy in red shorts wearing a white and blue vest. His attacker, a boy with platinum hair wearing a purple hued skin suit and a white skirt landed several feet away from him and chuckled.
"Shortly after Sora and Riku lost their home, the two were forced to fight against one another. Sora here just realized that his friend Kairi's heart, who disappeared on the night they lost their home, has been residing in him this whole time. Riku here has just been possessed by Xehanort's heartless slash yours but still refers to himself as Ansem, so we'll just stick with that." Explained Lea. He then waves his hand and skims through their battle rapidly and pauses just as Sora picks up his defeated comrades Keyblade.
"A Keyblade that unlocks people's hearts… I wonder." Sora said as he observed the simplistic black and red hooked Keyblade. He then turned the object toward himself and stabbed it into his chest.
"What!" Exasperated Terra! His voice was drowned out though by an odd looking duck in a blue suit and a dog looking human wearing a green vest and tan pants shouting at Sora as he took his life with his own hands. Terra and Lea watched as Kairi's heart was released from Sora and returned to her. Her eyes immediately flickered and she sat up moments later to see her friend seconds from collapsing onto the floor.
"Sora!" She cried out as she dashed toward him to break his fall. Just as his head was about to land in her open hands however, he vanished into thin air, leaving nothing but a trail of flickering lights that led up to the ceiling. As the three of them mourned the loss of their friend Terra and Lea discussed what they just witnessed.
"He sacrificed himself… for his friends…he's simply incredible." Said Terra.
"Indeed he is, there is more to explain here though so bear with me." Said Lea as he paused the scene and directed Terra's attention to the ceiling. Way up towards the roof was a second heart attempting to find its way out of the castle.
"Ven!" Terra realized as he recalled their previous conversation.
"Correct. Ven's heart was also freed from Sora at this moment. But shortly after when Sora managed to recover his heart from the darkness, Ven's heart did not return to Sora for it had already formed a new body for itself and your other half named Xemnas found him the moment he was born and gave him a new identity." Lea snapped his fingers and the two of them were warped to the gates of a very ancient Victorian styled manor. The sky was at twilight and in front of the gates were a blond haired boy wearing a white vest and tan pants and Xemnas.
"You need a new name." Said Xemnas as he spelled out Sora's name in the air. He then swiped his name and rearranged the letters and added an X in the center of it. "Number thirteen, The Key, Roxas." Said Xemnas with a wicked grin.
"Roxas." The boy feebly mumbled.
Once again Lea snapped his fingers and the two of them found themselves free floating in nothing but darkness. Before them were Ansem and Sora confronting each other one final time. Just beyond them lied a ginormous white ornate door.
"Kingdom Hearts! Fill me…with the power…of darkness." Ansem demanded as his body violently shook. He was clearly feeling fatigue from their epic battle.
"You're wrong! The heart may be weak, and sometimes it may even give in. But I know now, without out a doubt, that Kingdom Hearts…is LIGHT!" Declared Sora proudly.
The doors then swung open and emitted a multitude of rays of light and eradicated Ansem from existence.
Lea once again snapped his fingers and they found themselves in a similar situation as before except the vast area they were in was now white as snow. They watched as Sora and Riku leapt high into the air together and slashed their Keyblades down upon Xemnas, who immediately faded away after their final deadly blow. Lea then froze the scene.
"Sora and Riku…they're the reason I'm alive again aren't they?" Asked Terra.
"And this is what I've been waiting to get to this whole time. Yes Terra. You owe these guys your life Terra." Said Lea.
"Yeah…but then why did I come back. If both of my halves were killed then wouldn't I just disappear altogether with Xehanort?" Asked Terra.
"The heart will create a new body for itself at the first chance it gets. So when your heart was released from Xemnas you returned to your normal self as well as Xehanort, myself, and all of the other Organization XIII members." Explained Lea.
"What's Organization XIII?" Asked Terra, he was beginning to grow tired of having to pester him with questions.
"Oh, I guess I sort of skipped over that. Your nobody Xemnas here decided to trick myself along with eleven others that they didn't have hearts after they lost them. He said that we were all nobodies that couldn't feel any emotion at all, but it was really just an experiment for him to pick out which of us were suitable for housing Xehanort's heart, luckily I wasn't chosen." Said Lea with a sly chuckle. He turned to face Terra and found him looking incredibly depressed.
"I know Xehanort is solely responsible for all of this Lea. But I can't help but feel bad for being his pawn in all of this, I mean for crying out loud look at all the pain I caused in these last ten years!" Terra cried out. Lea was silent for a moment as Terra shed a single tear, making no effort to hide it from him.
"I thought you might feel that way, which is why I was saving this for last." Said Lea as he snapped his fingers once more. The scenery dissolved and they found themselves in a chamber that oddly resembled the appearance of Castle Oblivion. On the floor laid a set of blue toned armor and a Keyblade to match.
"Aqua's armor!" Exclaimed Terra. He then hushed up as they heard footsteps behind them. The duo turned around and found Xemnas walking towards them. He walked through them as if they were nonexistent and sat down in the throne chair in the center of the room.
"Why hello, old friend." He said with a genuine smile as he gazed at the armor upon the floor.
"You see the thing is Terra, even though you did all of those horrible things in these forms, a good part of you was still in their somewhere and this is just one example. One of your primary goals for Organization XIII was to locate the secret within Castle Oblivion." Said Lea.
"What's hidden in this castle?" Asked Terra.
"Your friend Ven. You see Castle Oblivion used to be your home, and when Aqua found it in ruins she transformed it into this place and hid him within a secret room that we discovered only she has the power to access. So you see Terra, no matter how much you want to beat yourself up over this, you can't deny that there was still some good in you throughout this whole experience." Said Lea. He then waved his hand and a light door frame formed on the wall before them, the two of them crossed through it and found themselves back into the real Castle Oblivion.
Terra sighed deeply. This emotional journey of a lifetime had now drawn to a close, and for once in his life, he couldn't find the words to describe how he felt.
"So I suppose you're wondering what happens next?" Asked Lea as he scratched the back of his head and grinned.
Terra nodded. "You're going to take me straight to them aren't you?"
"You're getting good at this guessing game." Said Lea with warm chuckle.
For the first time since he had woken up, Terra cracked a smile and burst out loud laughing. Lea followed suit and the two of them buckled down in laughter for what seemed like hours to Terra. After it was all over though, Terra couldn't deny that this was the best he had felt in ages.
"So what are we going to do when we go to meet them?" He asked Lea.
Lea smiled and opened a light portal and motioned him to step into it. "Well for starters, were going to save your friends and set things right, then we'll plan the reunion party after that." Lea said with a wink.
"Very funny wise guy." Said Terra with a chuckle as he slapped him on the shoulder and strolled on through the portal. Terra breathed in deeply and let the warm light engulf his entire body.
"This is it." He thought to himself. "I'm finally going to set things right, look out Xehanort."
Thank you for reading! Sorry I don't have a sneak preview for you this time as this chapter turned out to be a little bit longer than I originally expected. My goal is to have Chapter 9 up within two weeks from now just like I did this one. Again this depends on the way life swings as always.
So until then ~ Happy Trails!
Feel free to leave any comments, questions or concerns below or in my inbox!
