Si'Lea's heart was pounding as she raced up the steps towards the Brink of Infinity, sensing her longtime foe at the top. Finally, she reached a point where the two separate staircases converged, both forming into one and leading straight towards the very top. She didn't even stop as she kept running, summoning her Keyblade and shield as she approached the top of the stairs, slowing to a walk as she began to see over the top step. Her one good eye saw everything clearly. The Brink of Infinity was a large round platform, white stone battlements circling the edges, and a compass like symbol etched in the floor.
But seated on a white throne on the opposite end of the stairs, with a tall back, the symbol of the Sisterhood emblazoned on the backboard, was none other than the First Sister herself, a stolid expression on her face as Si'Lea reached the top step.
"So, my old friend…eleven years in the making and it all comes down to this. One final battle to the death. One final confrontation." First said as Si'Lea pointed her Keyblade at her.
"It didn't have to be this way, First. We didn't have to be enemies." Si'Lea said as First rose from her throne, turning and looking away, her right side to Si'Lea.
"No, we didn't. If I were to regret anything, it would be that day, eleven years ago, when we butted heads, turned on each other. I admit, Si'Lea, I bear just as much blame for this as you do. I always have been hot headed. It's in my nature you see. I guess somehow, we've both known that mine and my sisters' powers were never to manipulate the negative emotions, but to manipulate the positive." First said as she turned fully away from Si'Lea, placing a hand to the back of the throne as she looked out over the wasteland, her back to Si'Lea.
"It was never anger, sloth, envy, pride, greed, lust, or gluttony you could manipulate, but patience, diligence, kindness, humility, charity, chastity, and temperance that you could manipulate. Instead of the Seven Deadly Sins, you represented the Seven Heavenly Virtues…but we both know how you forsook the virtues and adopted the sins, and it wasn't entirely your fault either." Si'Lea said as First glanced over her shoulder towards her but said nothing for a moment before turning towards her.
"Before we begin…I have but one question and I ask on behalf of my heart's former owner." First said, earning a surprised look from Si'Lea.
"What? Nixe? What are you talking about?!" Si'Lea asked.
"I have faint visions and flashes of what I believe is memory. In those flashes, I see things that…confuse me. The boy…the young Keyblade Master with the spiky hair…how does he know Nixe?" First asked, Si'Lea's eyes widened briefly before relaxing, looking away in shame.
"I think we both know the answer to that." Si'Lea replied, First giving a slight nod.
"I thought as much." She said. (Battle Music Cue: The Key – BBS) Si'Lea then sensed something from nearby and looked to see First's seven swords rising from small black portals in the ground, the swords floating freely in midair, no tendrils holding them in place. The swords themselves had become straight and bore no curves save for handle. Their numerical designations had also disappeared as well. First raised her hands, the swords configuring themselves into the single sword, shield, and fairy wing combo, the "wings" folded downward. Si'Lea immediately dropped into her fighting stance.
"It is time, my old friend." First said as Si'Lea's armor appeared. First similarly became clad in a suit of white and black armor with a Heart and Nobody motif to it, and a red cape. The sight of First in a suit of what looked to be Keyblade Armor initially surprised Si'Lea but she could tell that the armor wasn't the same. The two old enemies finally came together in a clash, their blades ringing off one another as they exchanged quick blows. Si'Lea took a swing but First leapt back, dodging clear. Her weapons reconfigured into a double-edged blade in her right hand and a single-edged in her left before dashing forward, attacking Si'Lea with greater speed and agility, forcing Si'Lea to use her shield more frequently. Finally, Si'Lea leapt back, stabbing her Keyblade into the ground just as First charged towards her again but First suddenly froze mid-charge and rocketed into the air just as a bomb from Si'Lea's magic trap shot-lock fired off. First now hovered overhead with her "wings" open. She then reconfigured her weapons again to become a shield made of three swords along with a single double-edged blade and only two wings, causing her to drop down, swinging her sword downward, causing a burst of dark energy to erupt across the ground towards Si'Lea.
Si'Lea quickly dropped behind her shield, the blast detonating her Magic Trap while also causing her to slide backwards slightly from the force of the blast. Si'Lea then lunged forward with her shield raised, swinging it out to the side but her shield hit nothing but air as she swung her Keyblade around but only struck First's two-sword shield. She barely had time to raise her own shield again when First brought around a sword comprised of five swords, the increased size and strength being powerful enough to knock Si'Lea up into the air, the shield flying from her arm. Si'Lea didn't miss a beat, rearing back her Keyblade and hurling it towards First, the Keyblade sawing through the air but First easily reconfigured her swords to circle around her, intercepting the Bright Crest Keyblade whenever it spun towards her. Si'Lea landed near the throne, her shield reforming on her arm as she raised it towards the sky, the clouds parting almost on her command to reveal the moon overhead. Her shield began to fill with a soft blue light as First finally batted away Bright Crest, resetting her attention on the Keyblade Master. Recognizing the pending attack, she quickly reconfigured her blades into three sets of two-blade shields, holding the sole remaining one in a defensive posture just as Si'Lea slammed her shield down so it faced First, unleashing a large round beam of concentrated moonlight as part of her Sunlight/Moonlight Mirror Shot-lock. The beam impacted the first shield which caused it to scatter harmlessly in all directions. Si'Lea was alarmed by this, especially when the shields split apart, showing First with her single sword pointed towards her, a growing sphere of Darkness, crackling and sparking with black lightning before firing off in a powerful beam of Darkness magic. Si'Lea quickly tried to duck behind her shield but the beam was simply too strong and overwhelmed her shield's defenses, knocking it out of her hand and allowing the beam to strike her in the left side. Si'Lea slammed hard into the railing around the Brink hard, her Keyblade and shield falling away from her. Her armor was even broken and shattered at her left side, leaving a painful burn that was still burning with Dark Fire. Si'Lea's armor vanished as she cried out in pain, holding her side with her left hand.
First's blades all disconnected from each other, floating in the air behind First as she approached. Si'Lea quickly summoned her Keyblade to her free hand but before she could move it, two of First's swords moved to pin her arm to the railing, configured into a pair of scissors while two more did the same with Si'Lea's other arm, although she allowed the defeated Keyblade Master to continue holding her side. First's remaining three blades configured themselves into one large single-bladed sword which First proceeded to point at Si'Lea's face.
"My deepest sympathies, my old friend. But I am afraid, that your mission is but a failure." First said as Si'Lea looked up at her defiantly. (End Battle Music).
"I might have failed, but then, I didn't exactly come alone." Si'Lea said as First paused, glancing towards the top step and seeing Aqua, Terra, and Ven, all armored sans helmets, and with their Keyblades in hand.
"Get away from her." Terra warned calmly. First stared at them for a moment before retracting her blades. Suddenly she swung her larger sword towards Si'Lea but was surprised when the attack was blocked by Terra who had bolted to Si'Lea's side with incredible speed, blocking with his Keyblade (Battle Music Cue: Rage Awakened – BBS/KH2 FM+).
"Big mistake." Terra said as he swung his Keyblade out towards First, sending her into the air with a flurry of strikes that were so fast and so quick in succession, all they could see were a number of arcing streaks of light where the Keyblade had been swung, First just narrowly blocking each strike. Before she could react, Ven came racing in, delivering a series of fast strikes which First deflected and dodge rolling back. First quickly reconfigured her weapons into the single-blade, shield, and fairy wing combo, using the shield to block a Fission Firaga from Aqua who came rushing in along with Terra and Ven, the trio attacking First all at once. First was on the defensive but was able to keep all three at bay. Si'Lea could only sit against the wall and watch helplessly, nursing her wound with a curaga spell but even that wasn't doing nearly enough against the Dark Fire that had injured her.
"Aqua…Terra…Ventus." Si'Lea said softly, watching her age old friends fighting First with all their might. Terra then managed to deliver a powerful upswing against First's shield, sending her airborne into the air.
"VEN!" Terra yelled, dropping to one knee and leaning far forward. Ven came running up from behind, jumped, and used Terra's back as a springboard to launch himself high into the air, Keyblade reared back.
"En-Thunder!" Aqua called from the ground, a bolt of lightning striking Ven's Keyblade as he soared, giving his Keyblade a visible electrical charge. When he reached First he delivered a powerful downward strike which impacted First's shield but rang out with a loud clap of thunder and flash of light upon impact, sending First flying down towards the Brink but she landed upright without any damage. She looked up in time to see Aqua with a large glowing orange fireball.
"My turn!" she yelled, firing off the large fireball, the Flare spell rocketing into First and exploding with a blinding flash. (End Battle Music) Si'Lea couldn't help but smile.
"Just like old times." She said softly. That smile quickly vanished because, when the light faded, they saw only a large shield comprised of all seven swords. This shield disassembled itself into the double-bladed, single blade, and fairy wing combo.
"Didn't think it would be that easy, did you?" First asked, a hint of smugness in her voice.
"No, we didn't think that at all." Ven replied.
"That was just the warm-up." Aqua said as they readopted their fighting stances.
"I thought as much." First said, sweeping her gaze across each of them before settling on Terra.
"Hmm?" she muttered as she gazed at Terra. He then suddenly bolted forward, leading a cloud of dark clouds behind him, his armor disappearing, his Keyblade clashing with both of First's own.
"You don't want to do that, trust me." Terra warned, partly with his Xehanort voice, as he sensed First beginning to enflame his emotions. This gave First a moment of pause. She cocked her head to one side slightly.
"Or do I?" she asked as Terra narrowed his gaze, quickly launching First back with a powerful swing.
"So be it." Terra said as a cloud of darkness swirled around him but when it disappeared, there was nothing there.
"Where did he-?" First asked before quickly spinning to the side in time to deflect a strike from the Guardian as it hovered behind Terra in his Dark Form. She leapt back, putting some distance between her and the former Superior.
"Terra?" Aqua asked, unsure of his state of mind.
"Aqua, Ventus, tend to Si'Lea. I believe First and I have something to discuss." Terra said as Aqua and Ven looked at each other briefly before hurrying to Si'Lea's side.
"Ah, the Superior. I've heard of you. I had hoped we might get the opportunity to meet." First said, her helmet disappearing, as Terra glared at her.
"And I you. Once again, you and your ilk have forced me to become the monster I was forced to become. You enflame my anger, but in doing so, you bring me to the point where I can more easily control that anger. To focus it, control it, and ultimately redirect it. You seek to anger me, by attacking the woman I loved, and although our paths have been separate for over a decade and much has changed in this interim, certain feelings shall never die." Terra said in his Xehanort voice. Si'Lea looked up at him in surprise by this confession.
"Terra." She said softly.
"Rage can be used as a weapon, to disorient, confuse, misdirect. I know this more than anyone. But so too can it be used to empower, to motivate, and to provide focus. You know this." Terra said as First gave a nod.
"That is true. Actually, the reason I sought to bring you forth, is in a sense, a means to gloat. I have accomplished that, which the vaunted Organization XIII never could. I found the solution to acquiring a heart for those who do not have them. The fact it brings an end to those who would destroy us is an added bonus." First said with a satisfied smirk. Terra merely took a breath before answering.
"Do you mean to insult me, Witch? Xemnas knew all along that methodology would indeed work, as did Xehanort before him, and Master Xehanort before that. But that methodology would undermine Xehanort's ultimate goal: to bring about a Second Keyblade War. That is why he directed Organization XIII to create Kingdom Hearts as a means of acquiring Hearts. It is for this reason alone that he stayed his hand in stealing the hearts of Sora and Riku, and never divulged this methodology to the rest of the Organization." Terra explained, surprising First.
"A Second Keyblade War?" First asked herself quietly, pondering for a moment before her gaze shifted towards Si'Lea.
"Now I understand it." She whispered to herself before summoning her swords into the two-double-edged configuration with the remaining three pointed downward along her back.
"Now, it is my turn to make an inquiry of you, Lady of Wrath. I ask you the same question that I posed to your Third Sister before I sent her back into Darkness." Terra said, summoning Darkness Seeker and pointing it at her.
"How do I know, Nixe? What connection might I have to her? Have I met her somewhere before? And above all else, why do I feel such an overwhelming desire to protect her?" Terra asked. First looked at him curiously for a moment before taking a breath.
"That, I cannot tell you, that's assuming I even knew the answer to begin with. You are not familiar to my Heart. It does not know you, it does not recognize you, you are nothing to it." First replied. (Battle Music Cue: Another Side-Battle Version- - 358/2 Days) Terra narrowed his gaze at her at this.
Nothing…very well. As I am nothing to her, then you are nothing to me…and it is back into nothingness, that I shall make you." Terra said as First's eyes widened, just a split second before Terra rocketed towards her, their blades clashing in a flash. First's helmet reappeared as the two began exchanging rapid blows at inhuman speeds. Terra suddenly teleported to stand atop the back of the throne, raising his hand towards her.
"BEGONE!" Terra yelled, beginning to fire off a steady stream of Xemnas's Ethereal Blades, the red bolts of energy causing First to convert one of her double-edged swords into a shield, using the shield to deflect the ethereal blades. Terra merely intensified his stream of blades until suddenly First vanished, teleporting herself to appear behind him. Terra merely glanced her direction as she attempted to attack him from behind but he teleported away, having predicted the move and summoning the Guardian to burst from a Corridor of Darkness in the ground and fly at her but she effortlessly destroyed it with a swift thrust. She looked up to see Terra floating in the air, his arms crossed over his chest, looking down at her. He then threw his arms out to the sides, summoning Xemnas's Ethereal Blades before launching towards First, the two exchanging vicious attacks, teleporting after each other in an intense aerial battle. Aqua, Ven, and the wounded Si'Lea were watching from the Brink with silent awe.
"I never imagined Terra could wield such power." Si'Lea commented.
"It's his Darkness. He's struggled to control it for a long time. I just hope his control lasts." Aqua said as they watched the two continuing to fight overhead. The two suddenly flew in opposite directions before launching back towards each other again. Terra suddenly paused mid-flight with one hand reared back.
"GUARD!" Terra declared, creating a barrier in First's path but First easily raised her shield before impact, using the rebound to spin around with her sword in time to block an attack from behind by a teleporting Terra with his Ends of the Earth Keyblade.
"Hmph." First muttered, causing Terra to narrow his eyes, teleporting back a short distance before pointing his Keyblade at her, a dark aura appearing around it before he started firing off large bolts of darkness energy in his Dark Volley Shot Lock. First quickly reconfigured her swords to each float freely, the blades intercepting the Dark Volley bolts, batting them out of the air. This gave Terra the opening he needed as, as soon as the Dark Volley had come to an end, she saw hundreds of Ethereal Blades floating in the air, forming a sphere around her.
"Why don't you vanish?" Terra asked coolly and calmly as the Ethereal Blades started suddenly firing towards First but she quickly started deflecting with all seven of her swords floating freely around her. She simply stood within the sphere, turning and glaring at Terra who stared right back at her, clutching Ends of the Earth in hand. After almost a minute of the continuous barrage, the barrage ended and First seized the opportunity, flying towards Terra with the twin double-edged and three back combo, the two beginning another exchange of lightning fast attacks and teleporting around in the air.
"What's going on?" Ven asked, noticing something was amiss.
"Is he running out of steam or something?" Si'Lea asked.
"No, I think it's more subtle than that. I think First is soothing his anger instead of enflaming it." Aqua replied as they heard footsteps approaching from nearby. They looked to see Sora, Riku, Kairi, Namine, Xenix, and Axel arrive at the Brink and slide to a stop as they saw the battle taking place overhead.
"Xemnas?! Where did he come from?!" Sora asked, alarmed by the sight of what he assumed to be his former foe.
"Didn't you Dusk the guy?!" Axel asked, startled.
"Guys, that's not Xemnas!" Kairi argued.
"She's right, that's Terra up there! He's using his Dark Form." Riku explained but Axel didn't seem convinced.
"I dunno, I remember how strong Superior felt back in the day and he was levels above where Terra is right now." Axel replied.
"He's used it for too long! It's putting undue strain on his heart! One of us needs to help him before he-!" Riku said but was interrupted when First delivered a devastating downward blow which Terra narrowly managed to block which sent him flying towards the ground (End Battle Music).
"TERRA!" Aqua exclaimed, Ven bolting into action, leaping high into the air, catching the falling Terra.
"Got'cha buddy!" Ven said as they came down towards the ground, Terra's Dark Form fading away, the two landing safely on the Brink. Terra was breathing heavily from the stress, Ven helping to hold him up.
"Thanks, Ven." Terra said as First hovered down to stand near the Throne, her armor cracked and dented from the prolonged fighting, parts of it falling off whenever she moved.
"I am impressed albeit a little disappointed that you couldn't last longer. Clearly you haven't gotten quite enough of a grip on that Darkness of yours." First said as Axel moved to help Ven, both men carrying the exhausted and defeated Terra.
"Easy does it, Superior." Axel said, moving to allow Terra to rest up against the railing near Si'Lea. First then turned her attention to the others.
"So then, I finally get to meet the famous Riku, the boy to whom little Nixe gave her heart." First said, her armor vanishing in wisps of black smoke. Riku glared at First.
"You know me then?" Riku asked.
"I wouldn't go that far. I do recognize you but the few pieces of information I've gotten are very vague as to the how. I'm assuming that it's something to do with that Memory based duplicate of yours." First said as Kairi hurried over to help Si'Lea and Terra, using powerful Curaga spells to aid in healing their injuries and restoring their stamina. First then shifted her gaze towards Namine.
"And then there is Seven. I hope you're proud of yourself, Seven. In a way, you've succeeded at your little sabotage plans. Now all that remains of the Sisterhood of Seven are you, and me." First said as Namine glared at her.
"You forget that I'm not one you can tamper with. Considering I don't have a heart and all." Namine said but First merely smirked and glanced towards Kairi as she helped Aqua tend to Si'Lea and Terra with Ven and Axel standing guard.
"Oh I think we both know that's not entirely true. All you'd have to do is reunite with your Other and its practically game over, you win. You think I can compete with a Princess of Heart with a Keyblade at her disposal? I saw what she did to poor Sixth after all." First said as Sora and Riku both looked at Namine who stood glaring angrily at First.
"Why do I smell a bit?" Riku asked, causing First to chuckle in amusement.
"Not so much of a bit, as much as calling her bluff." First said, confusing those present.
"Bluff? What would she be bluffing about?" Sora asked but Namine didn't answer.
"Don't think I haven't forgotten about you. I'll deal with you soon enough." First said but Sora smirked.
"I remember kicking your butt last time around!" Sora argued proudly.
"Sora!" Terra grunted, still exhausted from his fight. Sora looked at him curiously.
"Sora, I tapped into as much of Xemnas, Ansem, and Xehanort's strength as I could and still couldn't beat her. You might've been stronger than all of them but believe me, she's Xemnas's strength multiplied by ten!" Terra said as Sora blinked in surprise.
"Whoa for real?!" he asked.
"I would trust your friend there, Sora. He would know real power when he sees it, but we're getting off topic. Back to the matter at hand, Seven. Why is it that you refuse to return to your Other when you've had ample time to do so before now? Could it be that deep down inside that hollow space within you, you and I share the same goal of retaining our independence from our Others? To become whole beings, to never again have to fear fading into Darkness? Oh come on now, tell me I'm wrong!" First taunted with a grin, Namine glancing away from her. Kairi noticed this.
"Namine?" Kairi asked as Namine took a deep breath.
"You're right." Namine replied softly, causing First's grin to widen.
"YES! I knew it! You're no different than the rest of us!" First laughed mockingly but suddenly had to block a Firaga spell.
"Now that's where you're wrong!" Namine yelled, her Keyblade in hand and pointed at First.
"Eh?" First asked.
"I do want my independence, but not forever! I've got a few things I need to take care of, things I can't take care of any other way except on my own! It's a short list, and taking you down for all of the suffering you've caused is right at the top of that list!" Namine declared.
"Yeah! Now that's the spirit!" Sora declared, summoning his Keyblade and dropping into his fighting stance. Riku smirked and hit his armor guard, his armor forming.
"We took on Xemnas together, Sora. Wanna add another Nobody to the bag?" Riku asked as Sora slapped his armor guard, his armor forming as well, looking towards Riku with a grin.
"You bet! You ready, Namine?!" Sora asked, Namine smiling determinedly, dropping into Sora's fighting stance.
"Ready!" she replied, none of them noticing as Xenix inched over to stand near the others.
"Hey, Aqua, you mind putting up a barrier to protect the others?" Sora asked, Aqua nodding and summoning her Keyblade, creating a spherical barrier around Terra, Si'Lea, Axel, Ven, Kairi, Xenix, and herself.
"Yo! What are we supposed to do?!" Axel asked.
"They're keeping the best for last, of course." Ven remarked with a smirk. Axel merely grinned.
"I like the way you think Vinnie." Axel said, earning a dark glare from Ven.
"Call me that again and you're bald." Ven warned, causing Axel to sweat drop. First looked the three over with a bemused expression.
"So, the three of you think you can defeat me? A Keyblade Master, an Apprentice, and a treacherous Witch. You will excuse me if I don't take you seriously." First commented dismissively. Riku merely smirked.
"Well, then I guess this won't take very long at all. Considering that just Sora and I took care of Xemnas all on our own, and that was back before we were even Apprentices, right Sora?" Riku asked as Sora gave a nod. First looked at them with a stern glare.
"Yeah but now we have Namine on our team so, what do you think? Five, maybe ten minutes, tops?" Sora asked as Namine giggled.
"Mmm-hmm, then we can all go home for ice cream." Namine replied. She had picked up on Sora and Riku's little scheme and it had worked as First was now visibly angry.
"Alright you little brats! You want me to take you seriously, then you just got your wish! Now you shall deal with me, and all the powers of wrath!" First declared before she erupted in a pillar of darkness that nearly enveloped the entire Brink. Aqua was straining to keep up the barrier, Kairi, Ven, and Axel pushing against the barrier from the inside to defend against the torrent of Darkness energy being released from First. Sora, Riku, and Namine were struggling to stand against the torrent.
"You think we might've gone too far?!" Riku yelled over the torrent, his and Sora's helmet forming.
"Me?! It was your idea to tick her off!" Sora replied but Namine saw something within the pillar that made her eyes widen in alarm.
"Uh, guys?!" she yelled, the two looking up at a pair of glowing red eyes that pierced the pillar of dark energy and seemed to be getting larger whilst moving upwards.
"Oh don't tell me-!" Riku groaned as the pillar suddenly disappeared, revealing a towering white Dragon with a scarred right eye, long conical horns, and a mane of long black hair growing between the horns and flowing down the back. She was a strange and twisted mix of flesh and machine, with parts that made her resemble Xemnas's Dragon Form mixed with Maleficent's Dragon form. She was so large that she had to sit up on her hind legs to stay atop the Brink of Infinity. Sora, Riku, and Namine looked at each other and dropped back into their fighting stances, ready to fight…
…none of them knowing whether they'd win or lose.
End Chapter 63