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.6 Guard Armor
I shouted "Transcendence!" and cast that spell, lifting all the Heartless around us into the air before sending them flying. Donald cast Fire and one Soldier burst into flames, while Goofy threw his shield at another. Sora destroyed the third and I sent the fourth into the wall so hard it disintegrated on impact, the heart that it contained rising into the air. I smiled and spun Stormfall in my hands, saying "And that's all she wrote." "Yeah!" Donald cheered, and Sora and Goofy laughed. However, just as we started celebrated an alarm went off in my head, the same one that always warned me when a large dark entity was nearby.
"Sora! Donald! Goofy! Be on your guard!" I said loudly. They looked at me in confusion, but then a collection of purple armor parts fell to the ground from above. The parts rose back into the air, a pair of hands connecting to the sides while two feet attached to the bottom. It slammed back down, standing while a helmet fell onto the top. The pieces flipped over and about, and my eyes widened. Donald beat me to the punch, calling "A Guard Armor!" At the mention of its name the Heartless started forward, and I pointed my Keyblade at it before calling "Triple Firaga!"
Three blasts of fire shat at it and left burnt streaks along the metal, and the Guard Armor whirred before spinning its hands across the ground. I grunted as one slammed into my chest and sent me back, forcing me to cast Cure to heal any injured ribs. Sora ran up and swung from overhead, nearly tearing the beast's left hand in half with the force of the blow. I smiled; while Sora may not have experience, he did have strength. Goofy threw his shield like a Frisbee and it hit the same hand, further damaging it, and once Donald froze it with Blizzard it was strong enough to be destroyed.
The Guard Armor whirred before it balled up its metallic fist, walking towards Sora and swinging. He blocked the blow and sent the fist back, but as it wasn't properly attached to the Armor's body it could, and did, simply spun around and shot back at Sora. It kept on him, launching punch after punch and sending him skidding back across the ground. "Sora!" I called, running forward trying to get in between. But the Heartless flipped itself over and kicked me in the stomach, making me double over as the wind was knocked out of me.
A swift punch and another kick sent me to the side, sprawled and wheezing as my Keyblade skittered away across the ground. Donald shouted "Thunder!" casting that very spell and directly it straight at the Heartless. The metal buzzed and coursed through its metallic body and caused it to jerk and shudder, turning away from the exhausted Sora and starting towards Donald. I picked myself up off the ground and grabbed Stormfall. Goofy handed me a Potion before charging forward, turning himself into a battering ram and slamming into the Armor. The force of the impact knocked it off balance, and I ran forward before casting Quake. Boulders of earth erupted from underneath the cobblestones and slashed into the monster's feet.
It back pedaled, trying to regain its balance. I smiled and Donald did as well, casting a volley of Fire spells until the metal of the remaining arm glowed red. "Nice work, Donald!" I called, before running forward and calling "Deep Freeze!" Instantly the whole of the Guard Armor was enveloped in ice, forcing the expanded metal of the arm to contract suddenly, turning it brittle. The ice shuddered before shattering, the Heartless breaking free and looking straight at me. I smiled and waved, saying "Take that!" and throwing Stormfall at it. My Keyblade spun end over end through the air, hitting the arm and shattering it.
Now all it had left were its two feet, and I nodded to Sora before pointing at them. He smiled and nodded, and we both ran forward. We both stabbed our Keyblades into a respective foot, and I placed my hand on the tops of both before casting Mega Flare. The air turned to pure heat, Stormfall and Kingdom Key exploding in a blast that destroyed both feet and sent the rest of the Guard Armor flying through the air. Once the flames faded I handed Kingdom key back to Sora, who smiled at me.
"All right, let's get it!" Sora called, both Donald and Goofy nodding. I watched as the three of them ran forward, already a team despite having known each other for less than a day. The thought reminded me of Terra, aqua and Ven, and for a second I saw the three of them before me. I blinked and cleared my eyes, seeing Sora, Donald and Goofy again instead of my friends. The guard Armor rose back into the air and pointed the bottom of its chest armor at Sora and the others.
An orb of black and blue energy, white at its center, formed and my eyes widened, running forward just as it fired. It hit Sora straight in the chest and detonated, sending him flying until he crashed onto the ground next to me. Donald and Goofy tried to pick up the slack, but the Guard Armor sent them both back with a single blast. I ran forward and cast Triple Blizzaga, but it hit me as well and I skidded back across the ground, shouting in pain as my skin was badly burnt and my arm was broken.
Sora, Donald, and Goofy had yet to get up, and I said "Come on guys, get up!" Sora tried to, but at the last moment his strength failed him, and he fell back down. "I… can't…" he said weakly, and I looked over Donald and Goofy. The two of them were almost unconscious, barely moving and badly injured. I looked last at the Guard Armor, who was preparing one final blast. It was then that I made a decision; I would have to unleash the full power that I possessed. Not the powers of twilight that I had long ago, but the very thing that had made regain my memories and allowed me to once again travel the worlds.
Sighing, I stabbed my Keyblade into the ground and said "Sora, Donald, Goofy, I don't care how hurt you are. Get away, before something bad happens." The calm tone in voice was more terrifying than any rage, and the three of them picked themselves up and ran to the edge of the area as quickly as possible. I reached deep within myself and felt the maelstrom of power in my core emerge, and I shouted in pain as my fingernails suddenly lengthened, turning into long black claws. Gossamer threads of dark power rose from my body as I was enveloped in a black, shadowy aura.
My eye turned glowed as they turned into solid red orbs, and I growled ferally as I picked up Stormfall, the same black aura surrounding me engulfing it. The Guard Armor whirred in surprise, stopping as the air suddenly turned ice-cold. My voice, deepened and altered by the power I had released, said "You made a grave mistake in choosing to fight me today. And for that..."I smiled "You must perish." It whirred and I ran forward, slashing at the Armor's body and watching with satisfaction as the metal shredded like paper.
The Armor creaked in surprise, but before it had a chance to attack I cast Dark Firaga, throwing a ball of pitch-black flame at the Heartless and watching it explode. The Heartless fell back and I didn't relent, pointing my Keyblade at it and calling "Chaos Blade!" Darkness surrounded my body and I shot forward, slamming into the Guard Armor and charging back at it over and over. It spun around and covered itself in whirlwind, spinning away from me before I could deal the final blow. "Nice try!" I called, pointing my Keyblade at it and focusing my power.
It stopped and charged power as well, both of us standing still and preparing to deal the final blow. Then, just as it fired I called "Dark Splicer!" and shot forward. My body was engulfed in dark energy as I shot forward, and the Guard Armor fired its largest blast yet. But despite the size of it I cut though, slashing the blast straight in half and not even watching as the two pieces exploded. I stabbed Stormfall into the Guard Armor and poured my power into it, a high-pitched keening filling the air before Stormfall exploded.
The blast created a torrent of flames that, rather than blinded me with light, temporarily obscured the sight of the Heartless within the darkness. When it faded the Guard Armor shuddered for a second, quivering in pain before the head fell to the ground. The top of the chest armor glowed before a heart rose out of it, and the entire body of the Guard Armor vanished into thin air. I shuddered and took a deep breath, sighing deeply as I felt my power begin to recede. My eye and nails returned to usual, the dark aura around me fading and the chill in the air disappearing.
Slowly Sora and the others approached me, and Goofy asked "Dexal? What was that?" I looked at them. "The absolute limits of my power. I didn't want to use it, but I had no choice of we were to survive," I explained. Rather than look appalled like I expected him to, Sora grinned and said "That was awesome! How do you do that? Is it some secret power with the Keyblade?" I blinked and stared for a second, before shaking my head and smiling. "Sorry, the way I got that kind of power had nothing to do with the Keyblade."
Sora frowned and pouted, sad that he wouldn't be to use power like that as well. He would be lucky if he never did; the way I received that kind of power was I fate I wouldn't wish on my worst enemy. I shook my head and dismissed Stormfall, clearing my head of thoughts while the four of us walked back to the First District.
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"So, you were looking for me?" Sora asked Donald and Goofy, who nodded. "They too have been seeking the wielder of the Keyblade," Leon said, and I smiled. "We must be in higher demand than I thought," I said. Cid grunted. "You got no idea." "Hey, why don't you come with us? We can go to other worlds on our vessel," Goofy suggested. Sora looked away. "I wonder if we could find Riku and Kairi," he muttered, and Donald said "Of course!" Goofy leaned his head over. "Really?" he asked. Donald shrugged, jerking his thumb at Sora. "Who knows? But we him to come with us to help us find the King."
"Donald!" I said reproachfully, clipping him on the back of the head so hard his hat came off. He squawked angrily and picked it up, but when he saw my face he crossed his arms. "Alright, alright, we'll look for them too!" "Sora, go with them. Especially if you want to find your friends," Leon advised. He still looked unhappy, but said "Yeah, I guess." "But you can't come looking like that!" Donald instructed. "No frowning. No sad face. Okay?" Goofy chuckled. "Yeah, ya gotta look funny, like us!" Donald pushed his face away, saying "This boat runs on happy faces."
"Happy?" Sora asked, and they nodded. There was silence for a moment, until Sora made one of the worst fake smiles that I had ever seen. Slowly it broke, and he wondered whether it had worked. I couldn't help it; I busted out laughing. Donald and Goofy did as well, Goofy commenting "That's one funny face!" Now in much better spirits, Sora said "Okay, why not? I'll go with you guys." "And don't forget me. As one of the last Keyblade Masters left in the worlds, it's my sworn duty to make sure that you learn how to properly use that thing," I reminded them.
"Sure thing, Dexal!" Goofy said, and when Donald said "Donald Duck!" he added "Name's Goofy!" "I'm Sora," Sora said, placing his hand on top of theirs. "Well, you all already know my name," I said, placing my hand on top. "All for one, one for all!" Goofy declared. I smiled, nodding.
While we made our promise, far away in another world completely, a group of individuals sat around a stone table in the darkness. "That little squirt took down that Heartless! Who'd have thought it?" one male asked. Another, one whose voice was much deeper, said "Such is the power of the Keyblade. The child's strength is not his own." One woman suggested "Why don't we turn him into a Heartless? That'll settle things quick enough." "And of course he has that confounded Dexal by his side, along with those two friends who are the King's lackeys. Swoggle me eyes, they're all bilge rats by the looks of them!" a third male commented.
One more pointed out "You're no prize yourself," before laughing. "Shut up!" the third yelled, but before it could the two started arguing a woman, one with green skin, a pair of large horns and wearing a black and purple dress, called "Enough. The Keyblade has chosen them, both of them. Will it be they who conquer the darkness? Or will the darkness swallow them? Either way, they could be quite useful…"
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Oh brother, what could the villains of Disney be planning? Either way, next chapter the journey across the worlds begins!
Please review! If you flame me Liam Neeson will look for you, he will find you, and he will kill you. (I'm just kidding… or am I?)