Author's Note: I do not own Kingdom Hearts or anything affiliated with it. The rights to it belong solely to their respective owners.
Ch.5 Explanations
After we laid Sora on the bed in the green room, Leon looked over at me. "Alright Dexal, perhaps you can answer a few of our questions," he said. I sighed, but nodded and said "Fire away?" "First question: How can there be two wielders of the Keyblade at one time?" he asked. I blinked in surprise. "You mean you thought there could only be one?" I asked. Yuffie looked at me. "Well, yeah. I mean after all, besides the two of you we have yet to see another person wield the Keyblade," she said. As sad as that fact was, I nodded and leaned against the wall, looking away from them as old memories began to emerge.
"A long, long time ago, there used to be more than just two Keyblade wielders. There used to be hundreds, but they all lost their lives in an event called the Keyblade War," I said. They both looked like they wanted to say something, but I held up my hand to let them continue. "After the Keyblade War the numbers of Keyblade wielders went from hundreds to merely dozens, and as time passed even they began to die out, especially with the emergence of the Heartless. More and more darkness exist in peoples hearts, and only hearts with strong lights can even hope for the Keyblade to choose them. With the number of Heartless about in the worlds, you can see why those kinds of hearts are in short supply," I said.
"So wait, you're saying there used to be Keyblade wielders by the boatloads?!" Yuffie asked, incredulous. I nodded. "But like I surmised, wielders of the Keyblade are a slowly dying breed. Save for Sora, King Mickey and I, I have yet to see another Keyblade wielder in the past eight years," I said. "Then I have another question: How is it that you know Sora so well?" Leon asked. "Long ago I used to live in a world known as Radiant Garden, but eight years ago... some things happened... and I left the world to try and clear my guilty conscience. But when I ended up on the islands and saw Sora and his friends, I knew they would one day need my protection," I looked up. "And I've been there ever since."
"Last question then: You have the Keyblade in your possession. What do you plan to do about the Heartless?" Leon pressed. I sighed. "I plan to travel alongside Sora while he looks for his friends, and train him to properly use the Keyblade. There are powers he possesses that I no longer do," I said. Yuffie looked like she was about to ask what kind of powers, but then Sora stirred. Yuffie stood next to him and said "Come on, lazy bum. Wake up." slowly his eyes opened, and I noticed that they had a rather dazed look to them. "You okay?" Yuffie asked. He groaned. "I think so."
"Those creatures that attacked you are after the Keyblade. But it's your heart they really want, because you wield the Keyblade," she explained. Sora smiled at her. "I'm so glad you're okay, Kairi," he said. Yuffie bent down and looked at him. "Kairi? Who are you talking about? I'm the Great Ninja Yuffie," she announced. He looked at her and rubs his eyes, blinking until the hallucination vanished. "I think you might have overdone it, Squall," she said, looking back. I frowned in confusion, and asked "Who?" "That's Leon," Leon said firmly. I was confused, but shrugged it off and looked at Sora. "Dexal? You're here too?" he asked.
I nodded. "Yeah. Glad to see you're awake," I said. He nodded and smiled, but it faded when he looked at the Kingdom Key, which was lying against the wall. "The Keyblade..." he said. Yuffie stood. "Yeah, we had to get it away from you to shake off those creatures. Turns out, that's how they were tracking you," she said. "It was the only way to conceal your heart from them. But it won't work for long," Leon said. He picked up the Kingdom Key. "Still, hard to believe that you, of all people, are the chosen one," he commented. The Keyblade vanished from his hand, reappearing in Sora's. "Well, I suppose beggars can't be choosers," he admitted.
Sora looked at him, annoyed. "Why don't you start making some sense! What's going on here?" he asked. I smiled, looks like he till had some of that endless energy, and pulled up a chair. "Alright, I'll explain," I said. Sora looked at me, and I started "You know how there are others worlds out there besides the islands and this town, right?" He nodded. "Well for a long while, the existence of other worlds was a complete secret. And it was meant to stay that way, because the worlds were never connected," I explained. "Until now," Leon added, and I nodded. "But that changed when the Heartless appeared."
"Heartless?" he asked. "The ones that attacked you. You remember?" Yuffie asked, and he nodded. "Those without hearts," Leon explained. "Yeah. They're attracted to the Keyblade, along with the darkness in people's hearts. And every heart has at least a sliver of darkness in it," I said. "Hey, have you ever heard of a guy named Ansem?" Yuffie asked. While Sora shook his head I nodded. "I was once his student. A very calculating man, yet surprisingly emotional man," I noted, remembering. "If you were his student, then you know about his report then, don't you?" Leon asked.
"Wait, what report?" Sora asked. "Ansem, their ruler and my teacher, was studying the Heartless. He wrote down the notes of all his research in a very extensive report," I explained. "Really? Can I see it?" he asked, but Leon and Yuffie shook their heads. "The pages to it are scattered," Yuffie said sadly. "Scattered?" he repeated. "Amongst many worlds," Leon finished. I looked at them, aghast. "What?! That report was the crown jewel of Ansem's research! How did it get lost?!" "It was scattered when out world was taken over," Yuffie told me. I looked at her, my shock fading to grief. Radiant Garden, taken over? I looked down. Was there a world I went to that wasn't destroyed?
"So... this is the key?" Sora asked, holding up his Keyblade. "Exactly," Yuffie said. "The Heartless have great fear of the Keyblade. That';s why they'll keep coming after you, no matter what," Leon said. "Well, I didn't ask for this," he protested. I chuckled, saying "Few ever do." "The Keyblade chooses its master, and it chose you," Yuffie added. "So, tough luck," Leon said, waving his hand and leaning against the door. "How did this happen? I remember being in my room-" he began before gasping and standing. "Wait a minute! What happened to my home? My island? Riku! Kairi!" he said, trailing off at the end.
I looked at him sadly, and Leon said "You know what? I really don't know." Sora looked down, and I leaned over and placed a hand on his shoulder. "Hey, we'll find them," I said. He looked and smiled, silently thanking me. "You know, I have a Keyblade too," I said. He looked at me confusedly, until realization dawned on him. "Was that the weapon you were using when the islands?" he asked, and I nodded. I summoned Stormfall, and he frowned. "How our Keyblades look different?" I chuckled. "That has to do with the chain of the Keyblade, which alters its properties and appearance," I explained.
I leaned over and grasped the chain of the Kingdom Key. "Stormfall is the only form of the Keyblade I have access to, but you on the other hand..." I said, channeling my power into the chain. Instantly Sora's Keyblade transformed, changing to the Three Wishes, the Oathkeeper, Oblivion, and even Ultima Weapon, before settling back as Kingdom Key. "Whoa!" he said, and I chuckled as I drew back. Then suddenly the Keyblade flashed, turning into the Wayward Wind. I gasped, and it changed back less than a second later. "What the-? Which one was that?" Sora asked.
Making sure my voice didn't tremble, I said "Not one that's important, just forget it." he looked at me, but shrugged and let it go. I was chocked; why had Sora's Keyblade changed to match Ven's? I knew Ventus's heart was inside Sora's but from what I knew it was completely dormant, trapped in a never-ending sleep. The only reason something like that would happen was if it was reacting to something. Could it have been me? And if so, would anything else like it happen whenever Sora and I now came in contact? Shaking my head and concluding that if it would I would be there to see it, I watched as Sora talked to Yuffie.
"You know, the Keyblade is supposed to be able to open all kinds of locks. Why don't you try it with that chest just right there?" she suggested, pointing at the one on the table. Sora walked to it and tapped his Keyblade against the top. Instantly it opened, rewarding Sora with an Elixir. He smiled and put it in his pocket, and Leon said "Sooner or later, the heartless will find you. You'd best prepare yourself." "Prepare myself?" he repeated. "To fight for your life. Are you ready?" Leon asked. I looked at Sora, and silently waited for his answer. If he did, then that was tantamount to accepting his role as a Keyblade wielder. And that would change his life forever.
Sora looked at Leon and nodded, saying "I'm ready." I smiled, and Leon slightly did as well before he stood straight. "Yuffie, let's go. Aerith should be done talking to our others guests." "Leon! Look!" she called, pointing at the other side of the room. Just as she did a Soldier Heartless appeared, and I summoned Stormfall. "Yuffie, go!" Leon called, and she ran through the door to the other room. "Yuffie?" Aerith called, and ran after her. Leon drew his gunblade and said "Sora, Dexal, let's go!" The Soldier crashed through the window and jumped into the alley, and Sora and I followed.
The alley was crawling with Soldiers, and Leon said "Don't bother with the small fry. Find the leader! Let's go!" He ran off, slashing at Heartless all the while, and Sora asked "What do you think Dexal? Should we ignore the other ones?" I opened my mouth, but one Soldier answered for me when it ran forward and slashed its claws. I blocked it and cast Fira, blasting it to ashes. "To answer your question, no. In my experience, a lot of small enemies can be a big problem. Take 'em all down!" I called, casting Thundaga and doing just that. Sora nodded and slashed at a Soldier, who fell back and tripped over the edge into the stream of water leading to the sewers.
I smiled and slammed Stormfall into the chest of another heartless, making it buckle before I slammed my fist down on its head, knocking it unconscious. We kept going through the alley, taking down Heartless left and right until we reached the Second District. There we were greeted by A large Body and four soldiers, all of whom tired to use a spinning kick on us. I rolled to the side and dodged two, and while Sora blocked a third the fourth managed to land a hit. He grunted and fell back, and the Body took that chance to give him a vicious uppercut. The move slammed Sora's mouth shut and sent him through the air, crashing into and shattering a wood and metal bench.
I glared at the Body and yelled "Hey!" It turned to looks at me, and I said "You want to play rough? Then I can too! Magnega!" I called, pointing my Keyblade upwards and created a vortex of magnetic energy. The spell drew all the Soldiers towards me, and just before they reached me I dismissed the spell and cast Glacier. All of the Soldiers were instantly frozen in blocks of ice, which I sent flying at the Body. The first one crashed into and made it fall against a wall, where the other three slammed into it.
Upon impact the ice blocks shattered, slashing all four of the Heartless with countless shards of razor-sharp ice. Four hearts rose into the air as they died, and I picked Sora up from the remains of the ruined bench. "Hold still. Cure," I said, pointing Stormfall at him and firing an orb of green light. Instantly all the cuts he had vanished, and any splinters from the wood of the bench were removed, which were quite a few. "Come on, let's go," I said, and he nodded.
We made it to the center of the the Third District after fighting through waves of Heartless, but once there I looked around in confusion as no more appeared. "Where are they?" I asked, walking forward. Sora shrugged and looked around when suddenly I heard an explosion and two voices yelling. I turned to see Sora fall to the ground, flattened by two individuals that I recognize from years past as Donald and Goofy, Mickey's servants and friends. Stars flew around their heads, until they looked at Sora's Keyblade and called "The key!" The three of them stood, and then they saw me and Donald jumped back. "Dexal? Is that you?!" he asked. "Gawrsh, sure has been a while," Goofy said.
I smiled and nodded, but before any of us could say anything further the ground rumbled, and around the edges of the Distract pillars of stone shot up, blocking the exits. Heartless appeared and jumped down, and Sora, Donald, Goofy and I readied our weapons before charging forward.
xxx
Looks the group has come together at last, and next chapter the journey begins!
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