Here's another chapter. I realize some of you may have lost interest because of last chapter or something, sorry about that. I'll try to do better. This one is fairly action-packed.

I'll use *** or maybe even 'bleep' to indicate when a character cusses. There's also more jumping between characters involved.

Disclaimer: Final Fantasy and Kingdom Hearts were created by Squaresoft. Same goes for Dissidia: Final Fantasy and its prequel: Dissidia 012: Final Fantasy.

Chapter XVII: Showdown on the Blue Planet

Sora stood ready with Serenia, Tyler, Cloud and Tifa to greet Vincent and Shelke when they met up at the bridge. Luneth and Refia returned to the Pride of Sasune, ready to follow the Ragnarok II.

"Where to, now?" asked Cid.

"I'm getting a little worried about the others... Think they'll make it?" asked Serenia.

Sora smiled"We could always check on things. Cid, can you set us a course to Baron?"

"Who do you think you're talking to? Its not a problem for me. But are you sure you don't want to check on things at Radiant Garden or the Land of Departure?" asked the blond pilot.

"I think they'll be fine, let's head on to Baron" responded Sora.

"All right, let's move it" said Cid, setting the autopilot to Cecil's homeworld.

"Baron? What's that?" asked Shelke.

"It's the biggest kingdom in Cecil's home world" responded Tifa.

The Ragnarok II, followed by the Pride of Sasune, warped into hyperspace and zoomed to the blue planet where Cecil lived. They had not known they were headed for a trap, however.

"Sora's group must have either obtained or failed to acquire most of the shards before we got them. I have no idea what Sanhille has in mind with the Twilight Shards, but this is most entertaining" remarked Kuja, standing on Raines's ship.

"The trap at Baron is set, I trust?" spoke Caius, materializing in front of the white-haired Chaos Warrior.

Kuja grinned"Of course. All that remains is to seize the last shard, and the ones Cosmos's ilk recovered. What of your mission? We both were sent by Sanhille, unless I am mistaken."

"Indeed, but I'm acting on my own volition. Hardly surprises me for some reason that Lumaria would likely do the same, though I am hardly familiar with that gender-confused assassin. Now enough talk, we have work to do" replied the purple-haired man.

Sora and the rest of his group eventually arrived at the blue planet. Sora stood ready to go"Do you think Cecil's found something?"

"Won't know until we go see him" replied Tifa.

"Um. Guys, I think I see a big distortion over there" frowned Tyler, who was looking out the window.

"What?" Sora and the others glanced to see a massive, purple and black ship warp out above the blue planet. It's size rivaling the Ragnarok II.

"What the ***?" cursed Cid.

Tifa frowned"Would you mind reframing from cussing in front of Serenia and Tyler?"

Tidus glanced at the black ship"We have bigger problems, this one is probably some more of Yoran's bunch. Is Questa even having any luck finding that guy's lair?"

Cloud shrugged"Chaos's warriors are just very overzealous. Orders don't mean a thing to them."

The large ship fired at them, narrowly hitting the cockpit. Vincent got into the pilot's seat and spoke"I will handle this. Sora, get some of your team down there. I still don't fully understand the situation, but it's very urgent from what I've heard."

"Sora, I'm coming with you. I've just contacted Luneth and let him know what we're up against. Things are really heating up, but I'm up for it" grinned Tidus.

"Same here" piped Yuna.

Serenia and Tyler went over to Sora's side. The red-haired teen smiled"I'm not going to be left out, either."

"The rest of us will stay and draw the enemy's fire" confirmed Cloud.

"I am unfamiliar with these controls, but they are no different from what I've used before" remarked Vincent, who'd just fired a laser to counterattack the black and purple ship.

"I sense the enemy may have more firepower. It is likely this ship will sustain an unacceptable amount of damage" assessed Shelke.

Cid frowned"Who asked you? I a*n't going to die like a dog."

"Sora, get going with your group" urged Tifa.

Sora nodded, and went with his group to the teleportation room.

"Most of the Cosmos warriors are distracted, so now's our chance" murmured Caius.

Nabaat frowned as she saw a laser scratch the hull of their ship"That pilot's a formidable foe, but so are we. I will go tell Raines to turn up the heat a little on their vessel and use missiles."

"Do as you wish" Caius teleported away from their ship.

Lumaria smirked"It won't be long, now."

"I wouldn't be so sure, Sora's got a habit of always overcoming whatever obstacles we throw in front of him" remarked Arlene.

Sora's group landed in front of Baron Castle, looking up to see the eclipse still in effect. Serenia addressed the older keyblade master"What's going to happen if we fail?"

"Don't worry, we won't" smiled Sora, heading into the castle.

The group hurried towards the throne room when a guard addressed them"Halt, do you have business here?"

"Yes, is Cecil holding court right now?" asked Sora.

"His majesty is busy at the moment, so be quick about it if you're merely here to speak" replied the guard.

Sora nodded and led his group inside.

"Ha! They barely scratched us" smirked Cid as Vincent expertly countered the lasers from the enemy ship.

"Not over yet, look!" cried Tifa.

"What?" Cid gasped as the enemy ship launched missiles.

"Oh no they don't" Luneth's group had joined the battle with the Pride of Sasune and shot at the missiles.

Cloud addressed Cid"We may as well try to infilterate that ship and defeat whoever is piloting it. Can you get close?"

"Who do you think you're talking to? Hey, get us as close as we can, Vincent" remarked Cid.

The gunman acknowledged with a nod and drove the Ragnarok II at full throttle towards the enemy ship.

Sora and his group walked straight to the throne room of Baron Castle. When they got there, they saw Cecil, Ceodore, Kain and a few others having a very important discussion.

"So no new information has turned up aside from the vortex?" asked Cecil.

Kain shook his head"I'm afraid not."

"All we have to go by is the anomaly we found in the Underworld, north of the dwarves' castle" said Ceodore.

Sora approached"Hey, everyone."

The Paladin acknowledged the brunette Keyblade Master"Sora, good to see you again. How did things go with your group?"

Sora shrugged"We got a few Twilight Shards, but Yoran's ilk have gotten some of them as well. So what's the anomaly about?"

The Dragoon spoke"We've been patrolling both the overworld and underworld, here. Strangely enough, Ceodore and I found a yellow-orange vortex in the Underworld. We haven't investigated it yet, I felt it wise to report back before taking further action."

"Should we go to the vortex?" asked Serenia, curious.

"Can't hurt, though we don't know what's there" smiled Sora.

"Ceodore, Kain, you can go with them. Edge, Rydia, would you mind going with Sora's group as well? I must remain here to see to Baron's safety and morale" inquired the Paladin.

Edge smirked"Why not?"

"I'm all for it" piped the green-haired Summoner.

Sora smiled"We'll do what we can, your majesty."

Cecil nodded"Thank you."

Lumaria shook his head as he saw the Ragnarok II charging at them. Addressing Nabaat, he said"Arlene and I have more pressing matters to attend to. Good luck handling Cosmos's warriors on your own."

"What? Are you betraying me!?" demanded Nabaat.

Lumaria simply opened a dark corridor and traveled through with Arlene.

Nabaat scowled"I'll come after you next once the enemy ship is dealt with."

Cid and Vincent rammed the Ragnarok II into the dark ship, staggering both ships' occupants.

Cloud headed for the Gummi Ship Hanger once he regained his balance"Tifa, Ventus, I'll need help. We're going to board the enemy ship and destroy it from the inside."

"Going to use Gummi Ships on that thing? Count me in" grinned Ventus.

Cloud's group entered the Ragnarok II's hanger and took a ship each. The smaller ships were armed with lasers and missiles. Ventus addressed Cloud"I'll just use my Keyblade Glider if that's fine."

"Suit yourself" acknowledged Cloud, boarding one of the small ships.

Ventus summoned his armor and Keyblade Glider, heading off ahead of the others. Shelke, Cloud and Tifa followed on the smaller gummi ships.

Ventus zoomed his glider towards the deck of the enemy ship and landed, a brunette soldier drew her sword at the sight of the armored keybearer.

"Just who do you think you are?" snarled Nabaat.

Ventus readied his keyblade"Call me Ven" and charged headfirst. The brunette soldier held her sword in a blocking stance, unprepared for the Strike Raid that Ventus launched at her. Nabaat was thrown backwards.

Irritated, Nabaat got back on her feet and cast a fire spell. Ventus jumped over the fireball and cast Tornado on his opponent.

Sora's group left Baron Castle via one of the red wings' airships and headed south to Agart. Serenia addressed Ceodore"So what is your world's underworld like?"

"It has a couple small islands and two continents surrounded by magma, unlike the overworld where water surrounds each island and continent" explained the blue-haired prince.

Kain silently guided the Falcon to what looked like a mountain with a hole in the top. The Dragoon piloted the ship down into a brown terrain where magma surrounded the main continent of the Underworld kingdom.

"So where's the anomaly?" asked Sora.

The Dragoon replied"It is north of the Dwarves' castle."

"I hope no one was too freaked out by it, Luca and King Giott won't know what to do" remarked Rydia.

The group landed their ship near a yellow-orange vortex. Sora was astonished as he felt unknown power seeping through it"I think there's a Twilight Shard, there. I'm going in."

"Okay" Serenia nodded.

The group entered to find themselves warped to distorted space with a neon background and a bluish floor. Yuna looked around"For some reason, this sort of reminds of a Paradox where a battle with Manikins was fought."

"Really?" asked Tidus.

Yuna nodded as the group looked around.

Ventus manage to knock Nabaat out and rushed to a purple structure with a door. Entering, he found several Darkball Heartless inside. The agile Keyblade Wielder rushed forward, slashing his way through and dodging whenever a darkball attempted to bite him.

"Ven!" Tifa and Cloud entered the room and joined the fight. The Darkballs were taken out with little effort.

"Thanks, do you think the bridge is up ahead?" asked Ventus.

Tifa shrugged and looked around, spotting a staircase in the corner"Let's try the stairs over there."

Raines rubbed his head as he thought for a moment, he'd underestimated Cosmos's warriors more severely than anticipated. Turning when he heard footsteps coming into the bridge, he spoke"I'll tell you this, you fought well. But didn't you suspect a trap?"

"What do you mean?" Cloud brandished his sword.

Raines smirked"While Nabaat was occupied, I set my ship to self-destruct. I doubt your ship will survive the blast."

"What? How long do we have?" asked Tifa.

The brunette man replied"Two minutes,, assuming you get past the Manikins quickly enough. I have no need of the ship, I will wait for you if you survive at Sanhille's lair."

"What do you mean?" asked Ventus.

No sooner had he spoken, several Imaginary Soldier Manikins appeared, while Rains rushed out of the room to retrieve Nabaat and escape. Cloud deflected a blow from one Manikin and slashed at another. Tifa punched and kicked at four other Manikins.

"No time for that, I guess" Ventus cast another Tornado, blowing away the other Manikins. Following the Manikins defeat, the group hurried away from the bridge, rushing as fast as they could back to the deck. When they got there, they saw a small purple ship take off, Ventus could only guess that Raines and Nabaat escaped.

"Quick, let's get out of here" said Cloud, hurrying to a ship he had docked. Tifa boarded hers as well. Ventus summoned his glider and accompanied them back to the Ragnarok II.

Upon reaching the bridge, Cloud addressed Cid"Get us out of here, that enemy ship is going to blow up. Their commander set a trap for us."

"What? sh** Well, let's go" grumbled the blond pilot.

Vincent piloted the ship away as fast as he could, but not before the dark ship exploded, throwing the Ragnarok II backwards.

"Bad news, the logic drives's just been damaged" reported Shelke.

Cid groaned"You've got to be kidding. That means the ship will fall and probably be destroyed."

"I hope Luneth made it away" said Tifa.

"I sense we're falling onto the Blue Planet" said Shelke.

Vincent shrugged"I'll try to land us on an open area so that we don't damage any of the cities that might be down there."

Spra's group ventured further into the paradox, glancing at the neon surroundings. Serenia gulped and unwittingly grabbed someone's hand, to her surprise it was Ceodore's.

"What's wrong? Are you scared?" asked the Baronian prince.

"A little, I know I shouldn't be" flushed Serenia, letting go.

Sora smiled"Just stay close."

The group continued on until they came to an altar with a orange shard. Sora looked around"That's a shard all right, but I have a feeling we aren't the only ones here."

"Who else is in here?" asked Serenia.

A purple-haired, dark-clad warrior stepped from the shadows. Serenia shakily stood in place, Ceodore drew his sword to ready himself for a fight.

"Caius?" Sora asked.

The dark-clad man replied"Correct, you contradictions are in the way of what will come to pass. Yoran's goal may seem outrageous, but he seems to have the right idea. If you are not even worthy of facing me, you are wasting your time."

Ceodore stepped forward"Serenia, you and Tyler should get out of here. The rest of us will deal with Caius."

"I can fight alongside everyone" replied Serenia, summoning the Oathbreaker.

Caius shook his head, amused"Letting a child do an adult's job? I hardly think that any more wise."

Tyler readied his own keyblade"Serenia is Master Sora's daughter, I am Master Ventus's son. Don't underestimate us."

Ceodore tightened his grip on his sword"Whatever Sanhille's trying to pull, we WILL stop it."

Caius brandished his blade"Prepare to meet your doom. You shall see little mercy from me, contradictions."

"Fira!" "Blizzara!" Tyler and Serenia cast spells at Caius. The purple-haired warrior shrugged off the spells and unleashed a dark flare at Sora. The brunette keybearer dodged and countered with Strike Raid.

Tidus shot at Caius with his Jecht Shot, which the purple and black clad warrior dodged and countered with a slash. Tidus ducked under the blade and jabbed at Caius, who knocked him backwards with a Chain Break Combo.

Yuna rushed over to heal Tidus, while Sora swung his keyblade downward at their foe. Caius blocked the keyblade and jumped backwards, unleashing a Heart of Chaos spell. Ceodore saw the dark energy wave and cast Shell on his allies to ease the impact.

"Fira!" Serenia caught Caius off guard. The man staggered for a moment before countering with Flare. Kain pushed Serenia out of the way and took the blow.

Edge threw a Flood spell at Caius. The evil warrior withstood the water spell and countered by lunging at the Eblan ninja with his sword, stabbing him in the shoulder. Rydia summoned Bahamut, which launched a Megaflare spell at their enemy. Yuna healed Edge while Rydia's summon blasted Caius.

"Had enough?" Sora cast Aeroga at Caius before charging forward with a slash of his keyblade. Caius dodged and stabbed at Sora with his blade, only to be met with a jump attack from Kain.

"Don't think for a moment that I underestimated you" growled Caius, slashing Kain and using a Eye of Bahamut beam attack on Tidus. The blond blitzer dodged and countered with a partial Jecht Shot. Caius avoided the blow and readied a Flare spell, blasting Tidus. Yuna went to heal Tidus while Ceodore and Edge charged at the Guardian of Time. Caius deflected their blades and knocked them backward.

Edge staggered"Man, he's too powerful."

"Don't give up" Rydia summoned Liviathan, which unleashed a Tidal Wave at Caius. Sora followed this by casting Firaga at the purple-haired warrior. Rydia paused to summon Ashura, who cast Protect on the heroes.

Sora ran forward and lunged, attacking with Rising Sun as he slashed at Caius. The dark-clad man irritably transformed into a giant, black and blue version of Bahamut upon withstanding the attack. Sora was astonished"What kind of spell is that?"

"That's Chaos Bahamut. He's not as powerful as Jet Bahamut, but still formidable. I'm not sure you can win this" came Cosmos's voice.

"Cosmos? Are you certain?" asked Kain.

Sora readied himself"I'm not scared of this guy."

Ceodore proceeded to cast reflect on himself and his allies in preparation for the fight. Yuna summoned Bahamut while Rydia summoned Titan.

"You waste your time" said Caus's voice, charging up a Megaflare attack. Ceodore barely had time to cast enough reflect spells before the attack hit. The blast was promptly reflected back on Chaos Bahamut.

"Is that all you got? Thunder!" Sora cast a spell on the large monster. Rydia and Yuna followed with their summons, which barely dented Chaos Bahamut.

"Sora! Ven!" Three more people entered the area: Lightning, Terra and The Warrior of Light.

Chaos Bahamut unleashed Megaflare on the newcomers. Lightning dodged and slashed at Chaos Bahamut with her gunblade. The Warrior of Light leapt up in the air and used Shield of Light on Caius's transformed figure. Chaos Bahamut countered with a claw attack on Quinn, when Terra lunged and jabbed at Chaos Bahamut. The large monster irritably unleashed one final Megaflare, knocking the entire group onto their knees except the ones with Reflect on.

"Party's over, Caius!" smirked Tidus

Caius reverted back into human form, grabbed the shard and said"Call it a draw for now, time itself has an unpleasant surprise. You see how powerless you are to stop the Twilight Eclipse?"

"We'll never give up!" said Sora, determined.

Caius coolly exited through a portal behind the altar with the shard"It doesn't matter what you do."

"You're wrong!" Serenia yelled after him.

Suddenly the ground began to shake. Yuna cried out as she nearly fell, Tidus caught her before she hit the ground.

"If we don't make it out of here, this could turn out horribly" whimpered Serenia.

Kain directed white magic on himself and everyone else present in the paradox"Teleport!"

Meanwhile, Cid and Vincent managed to land the damaged Ragnarok II in the middle of a small desert near Baron. The blond pilot addressed Cloud"So now what? We're stranded."

"The Ragnarok II's badly damaged, which means we won't be able to leave" murmured Tifa.

"Let's get out of this ship, then. We'll have to apologize to Cecil for crash-landing in his kingdom" said Cloud.

"Some of us need to stay here and guard the ship" spoke Vincent.

Cloud nodded"Tifa, Ventus, come with me. Cid, contact Luneth and have him bring replacement parts from Radiant Garden."

"All righty, then" nodded the blond pilot.

Cloud led Tifa and Ventus out onto the small desert and headed east.

Kain's group made it back to their airship and flew out of the underworld. Ceodore, Sora and Serenia took the time to treat their wounds along with the others using white magic.

"Terra, Lightning, Quinn, thanks for the backup" said Sora.

The Warrior of Light nodded"Cosmos contacted us, she sensed you were headed into a trap."

"We'll regroup at Baron and decide what we must do from there" said Kain.

The group silently flew the airship and landed on the plain. Cloud, Ventus and Tifa were walking when Sora ran over to greet them"Hey, what's up?"

"The Ragnarok II has been damaged" replied Cloud.

Serenia gasped"Oh no."

"Cid is sending in for some replacement parts so we can fix it" said Tifa, reassuringly.

The large group headed to Baron and into the castle. Making their way to the throne room, the group spoke little. Serenia addressed Ceodore"Sorry we couldn't stop Caius."

"That man had tremendous power, no one among us is to blame" interjected Kain.

Ceodore put a sympathetic hand on Serenia's shoulder"We can still probably get the shard back, but first we have to consult with my father."

The group entered the throne room to find Cecil speaking with one of his guards. Kain spoke up"We returned."

"How did it go?" asked Cecil, acknowledging them.

"Not so good, we lost the last shard" replied Tidus.

Cecil sighed"I see, but at least you're all okay. We may have failed, but we could still turn things around."

Tidus smiled"You got that right."

"Indeed, well spoken" Cosmos materialized before them.

Cecil addressed the Goddess of Harmony"Cosmos, are you here to give us our next instructions?"

Cosmos nodded"Yes, but you must first come to the Sanctuary of Harmony."

"The Ragnarok II was badly damaged, we need time to repair it. We left some of our companions to watch the ship" interjected Cloud.

Cosmos shook her head"There is little time, but I will contact your companions still on the ship to let them know. I will open a portal for you, hurry. We have to discuss a new course of action."

Cecil nodded, then turned to his guard"Let Rosa know I'll be gone for a while. Everyone else, come with me."

"Yes, sire" nodded the guard, uncertainly.

I hope this chapter wasn't too dark. The next ones should be better. Again, sorry if anyone was OOC.

Please feel free to review.