Chapter 141: Shattered Memories

Everyone was frozen within the skylight hall, the light was fading away, and allowing those waiting from the other side of the broken barrier to see what was accruing. A collection of gasps bounced across the halls, most of them held shock but some held bits of anger and sorrow. The Colonel was first to break the silence, laughing at the outcome of his attack. "Isn't this a twist…" He chuckled as he stepped back, pulling his weapon back as he waited for his victim drop to the ground.

In front of him stood Sky, his arms stood wide as he stood between the knelling Kairi and the masked Colonel. He breathed deeply as he tried to focus after the attack he had dove into; the strike from the Colonel had pierced into the right side of his chest, right next to where his last battle scar was, striking the infection across his body as well. His claw flinched in pain, the volume of light flickered as if the Endless itself was losing his power. He kept on his feet, fighting the pain with his eyes closed shut. "Kairi…" He gasped in pain, his breath quacking from talking. "No matter what…" His shot his eyes opened, flashing between white and blue as he glared at the fighter in front of him. "I'll protect you."

"Pathetic." The Colonel responded from the keybearer's stance as he quickly struck him across the side with a powerful kick, the Light Endless remained still from a strike that should had sent him crashes to the floor. "Get out the way!" The Colonel punched him, Sky still stood in his way.

"Firaga!" A voice yelled in anger.

Blasts of fire headed towards the Colonel, making him back away from the two, deflecting the spell with ease with his sword. He looked over to the side of his victims, only to watch vines shot from the ground, blocking his view. The entire room began to fill with leaves and vines, all expect the glass skylight at the top of the room, leaving a ray of light to enter the room. "What are you doing?" The Colonel looked above, looking back at his older self that stood on the balcony.

Kairi could only look up in confusion. "How can there be two of him?" She gasped in disbelief, hoping that Sora would answer, only to see that he had returned to silence, trying to control his breathing and balance.

"LET ME IN!" A voice yelled, parts of the vines began to set on fire.

The Colonel stared back at his younger self before creating a dark green portal next to him. "The portal will lead you to Abroc and the other members." He explained to him. "Go and get out of Vanitas' radar."

The Younger Colonel slammed his sword in the ground out of annoyance. "They're on the robes!" He motioned over to Sora and Kairi. "I want to finish the work."

"Don't worry." The Colonel jumped from his safe balcony and stood next to his younger self. He placed his claw on his shoulder and pushed him through the portal, kicking his sword to follow him as the portal closed. He laughed as he looked over to Sky and Kairi. "You will." He summoned his weapon as he stepped forward, just in time to watch Brian burst through the vines, a burst of fire around him as he took his element in. "You should thank me, Brian. If you would have been seen by me, your existence would have disappeared." He smirked, pulling parts of his hair out of his face.

Brian ignored the Jealously Endless as he quickly ran over to Sky and Kairi, watching the Keyblade Master finally drop to his knees and Kairi pulling him close to check his injury. "Sora! You idiot!" He grabbed him from the shoulders and shook him. "You crazy idiot! You were supposed to deflect the attack not dive into it!" He huffed in disbelief, the memory of his master's passing flashed in his eyes.

Sky only laughed. "At least….I stopped the attack."

Brian only shook his head as he stood once more, hovering his claw over his two friends. "Curaga." The spell began to perform, only to be cut off completely. "What the-" He tried to cast the spell again, only to find that the healing spell had stopped all together.

"You surely forgot a lot." The Colonel commented. "Or perhaps you didn't know it in the first place…and one who knows nothing can understand nothing." He laughed.

Brian didn't waste time to shot back around to face the Colonel and began to strike him with his fire lit punches, going against him with all of his might. His effort was useless as the Colonel grabbed him by the shirt and slammed him into the ground before kicking the Endless away.

The injured Princess of Heart looked back at Sky, looking concerned as he remained silent once more. "Sora?" She shook him slightly, seeing that his sight remained staring at the ground while his infection flashed rapidly, his breathing remaining quiet but heavy and quick. It was acted as if he was asleep.

Brian grunted as he was beaten away by the Colonel's claw once more, crashing next to the injured keybearers. "Damn it…" He cursed as he stared back, looking at the Colonel's smug face. "He's just toying with me." He grunted.

Weakly, Kairi turned to look over to Brian. "What's going on?" She asked, her voice filled with confusion and concern, mainly for the fact that Sora hasn't made any attempt in moving from his seated position. "Why were there two Colonel's? What does he mean about you fading from existence?" She asked.

Brian flinched slightly as the realisation hit him. Kairi is the only one in the group that does not know that he, the Devon Brothers and parts of the Order are from the future. He'd properly be freaked out too if the person he was about to die to suddenly gained a copy of himself. "It's hard to explain…" He simply said, mainly the existence part, he wasn't entirely sure how his existence would disappear from the younger Colonel seeing him.

"Then let me explain." The Colonel smirked as he casually leaned on the handle of his sword. "The boy had been lying to you the entire time. He and the Devon Brothers belong to the short future, travelling to save you." He leaned further on his weapon, pointing at her, watching as she looked at Brian in confusion and slight hurt. "You hold the key to creation and destruction." He held a fist with his claw, symbolising the destruction part.

"So….that's the reason I'm the 'One for a Thousand?'" She breathed, keeping herself firm as she glared at the Colonel.

He chuckled. "The reason you're the One for a Thousand is because of him." He pointed to the injured Endless.

Both Kairi and Brian were confused as the Colonel pointed to the still Sky. The Aversion Endless glared back at him. "What does Sora have to do with the One for a Thousand?' he questioned.

The Colonel just shook his head before pulling his beloved Satin's Aid out of the ground. "Instead of explaining myself, how about I turn that 'One' into a three." He smirked at his suggestion as he watched Brian jump to defend the two. "Just surrender and I promise to my your death painless." He said with slight annoyance.

Brian huffed at the offer. "You can't beat us!" He smirked.

"So you plan to beat me with no weapon?" Devil laughed. "That's idiotic even for you, Brian."

He ignored his laughs as he placed his non infected hand in front of him. "My Destiny is to protect Sora and Kairi." He spoke out loud, staring at his hand as if he was waiting for something. It was only after a couple of seconds had past, he stomped his foot to the ground from frustration. "Oh C'mon! It was one of the main reasons we came to the past in the first place!" He growled.

Sky's head shot up with realisation.

"Enough kidding around!" The Colonel wasted no more as he used his sword to uppercut Brian, sending him up into the air. "It's time for you to die!" He shot up in the air as he grabbed onto his face with his claw, forming a green energy as he had shot Brian across the vined covered room. As he crashed against the wall, the vines began to tie around him, forcing him against the wall as his limbs began to get pulled apart.

He pulled against the vines, his claw flashing as his anger grew. After a little struggle, the Aversion Endless burst out of the restraints, burning as the vines turned to ash. His eyes turned violet while his entire body turned to flames. The only noise that came from the teen was his angered yells as he blindly rushed towards the Colonel, his hands turned to flames. He lashed at the Colonel as if he was a heartless, swiping at a fast speed, striking the Jealously Endless full on, making no effect to move from the attack. Brian quickly stepped back as he aimed his pulsing claw towards him as he roared, "Lost Heart!" Like in Olympic Coliseum, a red shadowed blast formed from Brian's infected Endless claw and shot it right into the Colonel's chest.

The attack took the Colonel by surprise as the strength behind it had pushed him across the hall, his chest stun from the strong burns. He stepped into the light and waved his claw over the burnt wounds, in a matter of seconds, the wounds were healed as if he was never stuck. "An outburst attack?!" He spoke with amusement. "Are you finally accepting your place, Brian?" He smirked.

"GO TO HELL!" The fire around him grew stronger; heat filled the room as the vines slowing began to turn to a shade of brown. Again, the Aversion Endless aimed his claw and shot his outburst attack multiple times, trying to hit the Colonel as he was making an effect to dodge those attacks.

Sky kept his eyes on the battle in front of him, the heat consuming him and the Princess slightly. His claw was on his wound while the other hand quickly dug into his pockets. "Listen closely." He spoke, grabbing Kairi's attention away from her worries. "Both of us are injured. This is obvious. But I have an idea." He turned his head to face the weakened fighter and placed her a Mega Elixer into her shaken hand. "You need to aid, Brian." He turned back to watch the Colonel counteract Brian's attack and slam him in the ground. "You need to calm him down."

Kairi questioned Sky's comments slightly as she watched Brian's actions. Within seconds of watching him, she noticed someone was wrong. She saw some spark of darken black flames within his fire form, as well as the intense glow coming from his claw. "But how?" She turned back to her weaken friend in confusion. Sure, the Mega Elixer will get her back in the fight but with the injuries she had gained and now she was back to using her original keyblade, she wasn't sure how she could calm someone in the middle of a battle.

"How should I know?" He huffed in amusement before firmly adding. "I can only help if he calms down. His anger is too high for me to fully control, with him slipping into his Endless abilities." He explained.

Kairi ignored the piece of information that hinted towards Sky's Endless abilities at the moment, knowing that a small part of Sora was still aware of the battle. She looked back at him, seeing that he was wheezing slightly as his breathing began to trouble him. "Sora! You need this more than I-" She gasped as she dropped to her knees once more, in front of the boy this time.

Sky quickly held Kairi in place to prevent her from falling onto him and his injury. He looked up at the Princess, only to see that she had fainted. "Kairi?!" His eyes turned blue once more as his voiced filled with concern, shaking her slightly. "C'mon." He quickly checked her pulse on her neck to see that she still held a heartbeat, only to feel the rate of it slowly down. "NO!" He shook his head before shooting his head up at the Colonel and Brian's battle. "CALM DOWN!" He yelled.

Brian's eyes shot back to blue as he heard Sora's voice. The distraction had left him open to one of the Colonel's leaf blasts, taking him down to the floor. Heaving breathing, he looked over to his claw, only to see that part of his flames were turning darkness. He placed a hand on his chest as he felt his heart started to strain. "What the-?" What was happening to him?

Still remaining unscratched, the Colonel approached the confused boy as he looked down at him. "I see the virus is taking you to the dark." He kicked the teen, making him crunch into a protective circle. "Is it your Jealously?" He kicked. "Is it the over whelming memories taking over you?" He kicked again. "Or is it the cold truth that has finally reached your thick skull?"

Brian couldn't focus on the Colonel's words, there was so many voices running through his head. So many images and memories playing through his mind, mainly the memory of Sky's death. His mind was so focused on his past anger and hurt that he was slowly losing grip of the present. He could feel the darkness creep from inside him as he fought. Even as he shielded himself from Colonel Devil's torments, everyone he knew from the past cried for help in his mind, feeling as if their lost souls were grabbing onto him and dragging him into the darkness, away from light. "So…..so cold…." He muttered, feeling the darkness cover him.

Sky held the unconscious Kairi beside him as he slammed his infected arm into the ground. "Guard!" He watched as an orb of light shot from his claw and shot straight towards Brian, blasting him from the ground and set him flying through the air, the dark shadows around him showing more clearly. "HARU!" He shouted as he pointed his white claw towards him, turning red in the process. "WAKE UP!"

"Wha-" Brian's mind filled with confusion as he felt himself being controlled once more. He watched as his hand was forced in front of him as a huge light formed in front of him. It was only when the light cleared did he see that Ultimate Oath had returned to his hand, feeling him with the light that he needed. His memories blurred out of focus as the present became clear once more. "The keyblade…" he spoke with wonder.

Colonel Devil seemed surprised from the sudden display. "I don't remember this about you." He said sharply, both worried and concerned as he looked at the teen. He looked over to the Light Heart-struck, only to see that he kept his focus on Brian, claw raised. He huffed at the sight, his worries faded. "Just because the Keyblade Master is helping you summon the weapon, doesn't make you worthy to fight with it." He pointed out to him. "A wielder is meant to be chosen." He pointed out.

Brian simply shrugged. "Sora was never chosen and he saved the worlds twice." He smirked.

Colonel Devil growled at the smart comment. "You won't last long with the key." He informed him. "An Endless like yourself…"

"You're wrong." Brian shook his head as he looked at Colonel Devil with determination. "I was chosen, by the legendary Keyblade Master himself!" He shot Ultimate Oath into the air. "Wind!" Strong winds began to blow through the room, slowing forming dark clouds above the skylight, shielding the light from coming up.

Sky watched as the clouds covered the skylight, leaving the room with barely source of light to see. What he could tell what when the light was shielded away, the Colonel's claw began to glow dimly. "Light…" Sky mumbled in thought as he tried to conclude the reason. In amount of seconds, the puzzle is cleared in his mind. "He absorbed the light!" He spoke out loud before looking down at Kairi. "That's why Kairi didn't stand a chance….all of her abilities healed you." He gulped.

The Colonel smirked. "That's right, Keybearer." He smirked as he held his darkened claw tightly. "Nature needs balance to survive. The light gives me energy and with that excess energy, I can easily heal myself or revive those that have fallen." He chuckled. "But I guess that plan is out the window."

"Fire!" Keyblade in hand, Brian quickly lit the room with dimly floating flames, hovering by the side of the room but not close enough to the vines to set them alight. As the room lit, the sound of footsteps began to echo from below. "It doesn't have to be this way, Devil." Brian told him. "You don't need to end Kairi's life."

"But I do." The Colonel countered urgently. "You haven't fought that far ahead. You and Daniel." He glared at the group. "You just assume that it you prevent this event, the Keyblade Master would just magically help you defeat the rest of the Order and balance the worlds yourself. A childish dream…." He looked darkly at the Aversion Endless, his eyes filled with hatred and slight confusion. "What I don't get is why you do all of this, Brian." He voiced. "I mean, you're giving your existence up just so you can give your old master a better one."

Brian narrowed his eyes. "What are you talking about?" He wasn't sure what the Colonel was talking about. What did he mean? He will still be around, his birthday is in a week's time, he was guaranteed to exist.

The Colonel halted as he took in Brian's confused state; a smug smirk crossed his face as he laughed madly, not believing what he had just heard. "Oh he's darker than I thought." He chuckled before he calmed down, looking back at his adoptive son in pure disbelief. "This is really something. I would have thought that he would have told you. If not him then the Captain, or even the Devon brothers?!"

Brian shot a fire spell towards the Colonel once more to halt his laughter. "I've just had enough about this secret keeping."

"And I've had enough of your meddling." He quickly countered before pointing his claw over to the entrance.

Sky turned his attention towards the entrance, to see Riku and Mickey coming up the stairs. Just as they reached the top of the stairs, the vines shot down and sealed the entrance shut. "No!" He gasped, looking down at Kairi with concern. They could have taken her to safety. He thought. He grabbed the Mega Elixir and carefully poured the colourful liquid down the Princess's mouth. The bottle emptied. He made sure that a protect spell covered the sleeping Princess before stepping away from her. Though he staggered up, he dug through his pockets only to pull out half a bottle full of a basic potion, his only one left. "Great…" He muttered, popping the drink open and taking in the rest of the green liquid before he shot his attention back to Brian and Colonel. "I'll be support." He told the Aversion Endless, placing his claw towards him while he summoned his orbs of light. His orbs of light were cleared of shadows as they appeared beside Brian's side. "I can only help you for a while so you better learn to wield the keyblade on your own!" He strictly told him, holding his chest slightly as he continued to control his breathing.

"Got it." Brian nodded, thought he looked over to the Ultimate Oath with concern.

The Colonel took in the sight before him, shaking his head at the choice that the Aversion Endless has made. "You choose to sacrifice your life? So be it." He swung 'Satin's Aid' within his hands, slamming the weapon in front of him as he readied himself for battle. "But I will not let you change the past! Not while I stand!" He roared.

A/N: I hope you guys enjoyed this part of the chapter. I will try and post the next chapter as soon as I can.

Kingdommad