Chapter 127: Stories of Balance
They could only look at Brian in disbelief and shock, looking at the teen trying to catch his breath from his violent flashback. Riku quickly pulled the Endless up, pinning him against the wall, glaring at the weak teen. "The future? Start talking, Brian!" He growled. "What do you mean you're from the future?"
Hikari quickly pulled him away from Brian, allowing the Endless to breathe. "Riku!" She glared at him before looking back at Brian, who was placing Steve on his lap. "What do you mean? Start from the beginning."
"Okay..." Brian whispered, focusing as if he was recollecting what he had just seen before he began to talk. "Daniel's deadline. Devil's stories. They lead to this one event that changes everything. It changes which realm stays domain. From where I come from, the Devil had done his deed and Vanitas had no choice but to work with him and destroy Kingdom Hearts, leaving the worlds in darkness and in their control."
"Kingdom Hearts—gets destroyed?" Hikari gasped, holding her hands to her mouth.
"Why does Vantias has no other choice? Did he have another plan?" Riku questioned.
"No one ever knew Vanitas' original plan so it was never thought of. He needed something for his plan to work, but it had been destroyed." He sighed.
Riku nodded to the information, calming himself down slightly. "How far in the future are you from? It can't be too far, seeing as the Order refered to me as Captain."
"Around 13-14 years from now." Brian shuttered, still looking through his memories for the answers needed. "I meet you, Riku. You was the Captain of the Resistance….you was one of the original founders of the resistances after the darkness covered everything. You were also one of the only Keyblade Masters there."
"What about everyone else?" Hikari asked.
"You and your brother were in the resistance too. You were also a founder."
"Wait? Sakuzy?" Hikari questioned. "But he turned into an Endless-"
"He only turned into an Endless because you went to Little Devon instead of Radiant Garden. Originally, You and Sakuzy had returned to Radiant Garden and joined the Radiant Garden Restoration Committee. Originally, that was where you would have met Sora, Riku and Kairi." Brian looked back at Hikari, seeing the information click into her head. "Little Devon ended up being in the middle of the path that you and Sakuzy escaped from that Heartless world."
Hikari stood in thought; she remembered the first time her and her brother had crashed in Litte Devon, clearly remembering that Zidane had found a dark portal that should have led them to Radiant Garden, being confused at where they were. "Then if it wasn't for Little Devon then—" Hikari's voice began to rise in anger.
"It wasn't Daniel or the others fault!" Brian quickly defended before looking away. "It was my fault."
"Your fault?" Hikari stepped forward. "Brian, what happened?"
"Scott had brought me to Little Devon. I was unconscious from being trapped in the dark. He didn't know that Mako was following him." He explained quickly, grapping his head tightly as he spoke.
"Brian…" She spoke in sorrow, trying to shake her head from the memory of her brother. "It's not your fault."
"I'm sorry to cut off but we should stick to one thing at a time." He looked back at Brian, seeing that he was close to blacking out. "Looking at too many memories at once won't do us any good."
The Aversion Endless chuckled at Riku's words. "You were always like that. You two were the ultimate team. You guys held the true meaning that the resistance holds." He smirked before saying. "All I can say is, your cake and pie battles just get more extreme."
"You hear that? More battles where I'll kick your butt." Hikari smirked, giggling slightly.
Riku smiled at the comment before looking back at Brian, his expression turning to a serious one. "Sora and Kairi…what happens to them?"
"Sora and Kairi?" Brian looked at him in surprise, looking away as he spoke. "Sora was my master…he lead me to the resistance."
"Wait! When you say Sora's your master—Sora's your father?" Hikari's jaw literally dropped the ground.
"Not biologically." Brian told them. "But he was the closest thing I had to a father."
"So the Colonel is your father?" Riku questioned.
Brian shook his head. "He found me when I was young, thought I could be a good heir to his line of power."
Riku still held a serious expression on his face. "What happened to Kairi?"
"You already know." Brian looked at him sadly. "If you remember, recurring dreams have their way of becoming true."
"Recurring—" The Wielder to Dawn froze, his entire body halted, his breathing stopped slightly, looking at Brian in disbelief. "It happens?"
"What happens? What dream? What happens to Kairi?" Hikari looked at the two in confusion.
"Lemme tell a couple of stories." He told them, signalling them to sit down. "I'll start with the Colonel's story." He waited to the two sat down on the ground before he began.
"Once there was a man who protected his family, who was the leader of his village; when the virus took him and his friend, everything changed. Consumed by Jealousy and Envy while his friend created people's fears, the two left their world behind, searching for somewhere to belong. They journeyed through many worlds, finding some like them; they formed a group, where they wouldn't be judged for their abilities or their deformed claws, where they would bring order to the world."
A young man with grassy green, medium length hair, stared out from the shadows as he watched the sights of a white haired keybearer trying to get pass some enforcers solider to get to a red headed girl, who was getting pushed into the two story house. The man's growled at the sight as he slammed his pulsing green claw into a nearby palm tree, his eyes remaining on the two.
"Knowing that light had disregarded them, the Order had planned to take the King from the world with the Cornerstone of Light as their first act, having Vanitas give them more power during that time, only to confront the Keyblade Master. It didn't take long for the Keyblade Master to get infected, allowing the young Colonel to keep an eye on him. Only to be consumed by jealous once more, seeing that no matter what change he went through or how he acted, the Princess of Heart will accept him."
"What makes you special?" He growled, keeping hidden in his disguise in the wild brushes. He held his claw tight before chuckling to himself. "Soon, I'll get my One for a Thousand. Then you will know my pain." He smirked as he engulfed himself in a green aura, disappearing from sight.
"The Colonel had lost his family due to his virus so he wanted to ruin Sora's life, hoping that he would turn into a Heartless from his actions. So he kidnapped Kairi and fought her, waiting for Sora to arrive for when he killed her."
"All for jealousy?" Hikari looked at him in disbelief. "Is that all the One for Thousand is?"
Brian shook his head. "It involves his plans. Like now, Vanitas and the Colonel didn't see eye to eye with plans. The Colonel wanted the Darkness to take over and for the Order to rule and Vantias had his plans, something that involved Sora. The Colonel knew that seven maidens of heart were needed to open the door to darkness but from old research, there are only seven maiden of hearts at a time. If one was to pass then Kingdom Hearts will temporary show without any doors showing. This is where the Colonel's plans play."
"So he kills two birds with one stone." Riku mutters. "If he kills Kairi, not only does Kingdom Hearts show but Sora—Sora becomes—"
"Sora becomes broken…literally." Brian told them.
"Broken?" Hikari repeated. "Like the Broken Endless."
Brian nodded. "From the story read, your journey was different. It has started to same, you, Sora and Kairi had received a letter from King Mickey, asking for help." He looked at Riku before continuing. "You found Disney Castle in ruins, the King and Queen was taken by the Colonel and his men and Sora had been infected at that point."
"He was infected at Disney Castle?" Hikari questioned, looking confused. "Didn't he originally get affected in Notre Dame?"
Brian smiled as he spoke. "Remember I said I was going to see King Mickey?"
From the sound of the question, Hikari's face grew to a smile, catching on to what Brian was hinting. "You prevented it."
"Yeah." He grinned.
"Wait!" Riku looked at him in shock. "You were the man in white? The one that gave us the hint to go to Little Devon?"
"Yeah." He nodded; proud of how much of a difference his actions had done now that he thought of it. "At the time, I went to King Mickey to see what Daniel was hiding from me. Seeing that Daniel and the others had arrived in the past before me and had crashed at Disney Castle at their arrival, I went to look for answers." He chuckled at the memory. "I remember feeling confused all the time after that recon mission, flirting with the girls to try and distract myself. So when I saw Sora and Goofy get attacked, I knew…" Brian halted, thinking about what he had to say. "I knew in my heart I was there for a reason."
Riku smiled at this. "It might have been a small act but we know so much more because of your actions. Thank you, Brian." He said with gratitude.
The Aversion Endless grinned back happily. "Thanks, Riku." Even though Sora still got infected, the time difference mattered; it might give them that extra chance. His smile dropped quickly thought as he continued the story. "From there, you guys headed to Radiant Garden to see if you could heal Sora's injuries and drop off the remains of Disney Castle's people. That's where you and your brother joined up." Brian quickly smiled at Hikari. "Same as ever, giving Riku nicknames and haircuts. You guys haven't changed a bit."
Riku chuckled slightly, "By the way you talk about us, you make us sound like a married couple." The Wielder of Dawn looked at the Endless in confusion when he snorted a laugh. "What?"
"Nothing." He said innocently.
"No, what?" Riku questioned.
Brian snickered. "Can't say."
"What do ya mean you can't say? You'll basically telling us everything that is going to happen and you can't tell me what you're laughing at?" Riku glared.
"Not really. Only the stuff we're planning to change or has already changed anyway." Brian pointed out. "I'm not gonna tell you all about your future, I'm not an idiot." He quickly glared back at the silver haired teen before sighing, carrying on from where he left off. "You guys, Sora, Kairi, Donald, Goofy and Max began your journey, with Sakuzy staying at Radiant Garden. Originally, you guys didn't know anything about Endless and the virus when you began your search for King Mickey. You guys didn't know what was happening with Sora, you had no way to fight the Unbirth, you didn't know about the worlds' items, you didn't know about Ventus because Donald, Goofy and Max kept it more concealed and more worlds had fallen to the Order. Even without me there, Sora would have pointed his jealousy at you instead of me." He looked at Riku. "Since you guys were rivals and all."
"That makes sense." Riku took the information in. "We did fight for Kairi a lot, even if the knucklehead didn't realise it half the time."
"With the virus though, you guys fought all of the time. Because no one knew what was going on with him, you guys though he was losing himself to the darkness. It infected your friendship and in the end, Kairi couldn't stand it." He told.
"What did Kairi do?" Hikari asked.
"You already know." He said sadly. "Remember that night after African Depths, on the gummi ship." Hikari sighed in realisation, nodding sadly. "Because no one knew what was going on with him, Kairi had made her choice and returned to Destiny Islands. Its only when Sora and Riku chase her back does the story get different."
"So you can't tell us..." Riku added, seeing that Brian was thinking of a way to word it.
"I don't know all the details, I know that Sora and Kairi eventually make up, but it eventually ends up with Kairi being in the Colonel's hands." He explained. "When Kairi was kidnapped, Sora's virus had near enough had full control, trying to push you all away so that he could have Kairi. In the end, when Kairi was lost. He was lost too. He didn't move. He didn't respond to Riku's talks. Nothing. And right when people needed him the most, when the Order was fully refilled and Kingdom Hearts was at risk….he fled."
"What?" Riku jumped up from the ground, looking down at Brian with a glare. "Sora would never do that! He wouldn't leave his friends behind."
"If you lost the one your heart went too, what would you do?" Brian suddenly asked him, leaving the wielder mute. "The virus may had no control of him but he was made empty, half of his heart gone, feeling empty…feeling nothing." He patted Steve's head, moving her red tipped feathers between his fingers as he continued. "Sora escaped to Destiny Islands, which had been turned to the dirty port known as Shadow's Cove. He stayed in this cave. At first, he tried to figure out how to bring Kairi and all of his lost friends back. After a few years, his hope was destroyed like his heart as he clawed and scratched out every picture. He stayed here for ten years from that point, looking out to the sea…waiting….like she did for him all those years ago."
"Poor Sora…" Hikari sniffed a bit, listening to the story was a sad one, when it involved Sora and Kairi. "How is it that you know so much about this world?" she asked.
"I crashed here when I escaped from the Order." Brian told her. "Sora found me and took me in. At first, he just wanted me to go but I accidently got him found out by the Endless, so we ended up travelling together." The teen chuckled. "He called himself 'Sky' when I met him."
"So!" Riku grabbed the two's attention, sitting down again as he petted Steve. "Is that why Daniel and the others are here? To prevent Kairi's death? That's Daniel's deadline?" Brian nodded. "When is the deadline?"
Brian shrugged. "I wasn't told, much to my dismay. I think you relied on Daniel to tell me."
"I did?" Riku raised an eyebrow.
"You're his master. It's the reason he has a keyblade." Brian told him.
"Is that why Daniel has the Kingdom Key?" he asked.
"Sora left that keyblade behind for you when he went away." He said. "As your student, you gave it to Daniel as a starting point until he summoned his own keyblade." Riku nodded to the explanation, seeing the reason why Daniel had given him the most respect every time they spoke.
"Wait!" Hikari raised her hands slightly. "If you're from the future, how are you guys not changing since your actions change the past?" she asked.
"That's a good question." Brian leaned back in thought, gasping as the answer reached him. "The resistance created this spell that we only return to our time once our mission is completely done. When light is restored to the future ahead then Kingdom Hearts will balance the worlds and fix the timeline itself."
"So it all goes down to Kingdom Hearts again." Riku shook his head before looking back at Brian. "What do you have to do? I mean, you came after the Devon brothers if I remembered correctly."
"Funny that." Brian scratched the back of his head and he laughed nervously. "I don't know. I can't remember." He grinned sheepishly.
Riku and Hikari only groaned at the words. "You remember mostly everything apart from what you're in the past for?" He looked at him in disbelief.
"I'll figure it out." He reassured them. "I'll remember it soon."
"You better." Riku glared at him for a moment. "I don't want to lose my friends because of it." Standing up as he pointed his keyblade at the blank wooden door, revealing the keyhole. "I'm guessing we can't mention this to Sora or Kairi."
"They must not know." Brian stretched out with importance. "These events mostly revolve around them. Time will change too much if they knew….we've already changed so much."
"I'm sick of the lies, Brian." Riku slammed his keyblade down to the ground. "These are my friends, Brian! Your friends too!" He huffed as he pulled his keyblade out, making his way out of the cave. "I hope you know what you're doing."
"So do I." He said weakly, only so he could hear his own voice though as Brian lead Steve to follow behind Riku, Hikari following behind him.
Making their way back to the beach, Riku backed up slightly from the sight of an empty beach. He quickly looked up at the sun, seeing that they had been in the Secret Place for a good hour or so. "They should have been back by now." He thought out loud. "Something isn't right." He begins to search his pockets, pulling out the communicator as he begins to speak. "Sora. This is Riku. What's going on?" he called out, only to receive silent. "Sora?" He repeated.
"Riku!" Sora responded slightly panicked.
"Sora, what's going on? Where's Kairi?" He questioned.
"The Mayor. We're wanted for Kidnapping. Kairi is currently in her house. She's being prevented to leave."
"What?" Riku spoke in disbelief, quickly putting himself together as he spoke. "We're on our way-"
"The only reason I haven't arrested is because of my appearance, they don't recognise me." Sora told him. "You come over and we'll have two problems instead of one."
"What do you suppose we do then?" Riku questioned.
"If we can get the guards away and provide a distraction for the mayor, I can get her out." Sora told him.
Hikari jumped over to be seen on the communicator. "If I have some help, I can get rid of the guards." She offered.
Brian thought about the situation before stepping toward. "I'll distract the mayor. I have an idea so crazy that it just might work." The Endless smiled.
A/N: Wow. This chapter basically write itself O.o So much information to fill. The truth has been set. Will Brian realise his true purpose? Will the gang free Kairi? Will they prevent the Colonel's One for a Thousand? Tune in next time for..
KINGDOM HEARTS : BALANCE OF WORLDS
Oh how I've missed writing :)
Kingdommad