AN: Hey guys, we're back with more action, more excitement, and more mysteries with Keyblades of Future Past.
Terra: What do you mean "more mysteries"? We haven't had that many mysteries since the earliest chapters of the story, and you cleared up all the other mysteries faster than you can say Kingdom Hearts.
AN: Are you trying to get on my bad side? [waves hand over control]
Terra: No! No, I'm just stating a little fact.
AN: Well keep such things to yourself and let me enjoy the moment. Now without further ado...
Riku: FINALLY! I GET SOME ACTUAL SCREEN TIME AND SOME ACTION! [starts dancing to "Celebrate Good Times"]
AN: Okay, who decided to try and take over the music system, or give control of the thing to that guy?
Xion: Let him have his moment. Considering that I had more screen time than him, and still do, he kinda deserves it.
Riku: [entering depressed state after hearing Xion] Thanks for reminding me of that.
Xion: Uh...whoopsie.
AN: DAH! CHARACTER GONE EMO! [hits control and Riku is suddenly jumped by the Joker from Batman Arkham Series]
Joker: Come on kid, turn that frown upside down! You'll do it even if I have to carve a knife into ya to do it.
AN: HEY! None of that! You're only here to do actual funny stuff.
Joker: Hmph. Some people have no sense of humor.
Xion: Maybe we should hurry up and start?
AN: We would've by now if someone hadn't decided to have a diva moment [throws look at terrified Riku]
Riku: HE'S GOING TO KILL ME!
AN: Oh don't be such a baby. He can't kill you in these things, and even if he did try to the new security system will prevent that from happening. Now moving on...
I do not own anything from the Kingdom Hearts franchise or any other franchise mentioned in this story.
Chapter XIV
Amidst the chaos of the battle for the Mysterious Tower, the four Keybearers and Captain America were able to slip out of the tower undetected thanks to an invisibility spell, courtesy of Aqua and Naminé, and over to the ship that Captain America said they would be using to reach The World That Never Was, and when the four Keybearers saw the ship, they were immediately awestruck by the sight of the vessel. The ship was much larger than any Gummi Ship that Roxas had ever seen before, but at the same time it was still smaller than the ship that Terra, Aqua, and Ventus had all been on when they first met Stitch, and was colored silver and dark blue, with red highlights. From where they were standing, the four could also see the same decorative letter "A" that the captain wore on the shoulders of his suit in silver, and that the large wings could be folded up when it was not flying, as they currently were. However, it was not the ship that really threw the team of Keyblade Wielders for a loop, but rather, the other members of Steve's team.
The first of the group that they met was the Avengers second-in-command, a man by the name of Tony Stark who told them that his codename was Iron Man, and he was quick to show them why by causing a suit of red and gold armor to form around him seemingly just by thinking at the suit. Their first impression of the armored hero was that he was a complete playboy that did not take anything seriously, especially when he started to flirt with Aqua, much to the blunette's embarrassment and Terra and Ven's annoyance, but Steve was quick to assure the four that while Tony may not always seem like it at times, he was a very strong hero who believed in fighting for the right reasons and was often a great team player, despite his claims to the contrary. Immediately following after Iron Man was a blonde in blue and silver, sleeveless armor and a red cape that carried a hammer and went by the name of Thor. After receiving a very eccentric greeting from the blonde man, the four were quickly put off, but they were soon assured by the black and red clad archer among the group, who introduced himself as Hawkeye, that everyone had that reaction after meeting Thor for the first time and told them that they should just roll with it.
Aside from Hawkeye, there really only seemed to be two other members of the Avengers team that did not have crazy suits or incredible powers or technology, a young red haired woman in a black, skin tight suit with yellow wrist bands, who introduced herself as Natasha Romanoff, the Black Widow, and a dark skinned man in a black and red flight suit with a large back pack and goggles named Sam Wilson, the Falcon. After the quick greetings were exchanged with the two, Aqua found herself immediately liking Black Widow due to her intense focus and well disciplined nature, while Terra thought Sam was a very friendly guy as well.
Moving back to the stranger members saw the Keybearers being introduced to someone they first thought was a man with red skin in a green and yellow outfit with a yellow gem in his forehead by the name of Vision, but said individual was quick to correct them on their assumption by informing them that he was actually an android, much to their shock, as the Vision seemed to act quite human for a machine. In addition to the android member was a man that wore a suit of armor that made him seem like a more heavily armed version of Iron Man with less bright colors, and who introduced himself as Rhodey, alias War Machine, followed by a pair of twins by the names of Pietro and Wanda Maximoff, alias Quicksilver and Scarlet Witch. The male of the twins was quick to show off why he was called as such when he raced out of the jet to the other side of the world and then back again in a matter of seconds while Wanda merely said that she would rather show them why she went by her codename after they reached their destination.
Moving on from the twins, was a man in a black and red suit, with a silver helmet and belt by the name of Scott Lang, who informed the four that he went by the code name of Ant-Man. When he first heard the name, Terra had to snicker a little, leading Aqua to elbow him in the stomach and shoot him a disapproving look until Scott assured Aqua that he did not mind seeing as he received similar reactions all the time and that he was not the one who chose the name. Along with Scott was a woman that claimed to be his partner in a similarly designed suit that was colored yellow and dark blue who introduced herself as Hope Van Dyne, the Wasp. Hope was the one who explained to the four Keybearers that she was actually the daughter of the previous Wasp and Ant-Man and had taken up her mother's old mantle after her father had named Scott his successor. The four then found themselves moving on from insects to arachnids when they met a young man in a red and blue suit with a spider shaped symbol on his chest and back, and a red mask that had large, white eyes, who called himself the Amazing Spider-Man. They were a bit nervous about the web head at first, but Ven soon found himself liking Spider-Man quite a bit, saying that Spidey seemed like a really funny guy.
The final member of the group was probably the one that caught all four Keybearers off guard, as he seemed to be the most normal of the otherwise strange group. The man introduced himself as Bruce Banner, and from first glance, they honestly thought that Bruce had a rather rough lifestyle, given that his hair was rather mussed up, and his skin was a bit pale, indicating he did not get out of his house much. Aside from that, he wore what appeared to be a dark colored shirt and a pair of dark purple pants that had dark highlights running up the sides right to a red version of the same decorative "A" that the four had been seeing so much of lately. When Terra asked Bruce if he had a codename like the others, Bruce just said that he had "the other guy" and that the four would see what he meant by that later on.
With all introductions out of the way, and Wasp and Ant-Man shrinking themselves down so that there would be enough room for everyone aboard the vessel that Steve informed the Keybearers was known as the Quinjet, Roxas quickly handed the three from the past each a summon charm that they could use should the need arise. Of the three summon charms Roxas handed to them, only Terra received a charm that would summon someone that the three had not met before, as Aqua and Ven received charms for Stitch and Peter Pan respectively, while he received a charm that would someone by the name of Genie. With everything now dealt with and all preparations complete, Tony immediately sat himself down at the main pilot controls while Roxas took the co-pilot seat so that he could guide the group to their destination after saying a loving goodbye to Naminé, promising her that he would come back soon.
As soon as they were through the world barrier and flying to their destination, everyone found themselves in a rather tense silence, knowing that their destination was likely to have a very dangerous welcoming committee. Feeling that he could not take the silence for too long, even if most of them were mentally preparing themselves for the battles ahead, Ven finally broke the silence as he asked, "Are you guys sure that none of you are too cramped in here?"
"Relax, we're fine," Spidey assured his friend from his perch on the ceiling. "It's not like the place is packed to the point that we can barely move around like on a New York subway at rush hour or something."
"Hey I thought you'd be a bit happier if it was that cramped, Ven. After all, it would give you and Aqua a good excuse to do a little more cuddling," Terra told the blonde with a teasing smirk.
Aqua and Ven's faces immediately turned bright red at Terra's remark, as he seemed intent on not letting them forget about the position they found themselves in when they landed in Yen Sid's tower a short while ago, but before either one of them could say anything in response, Roxas added in, "Don't take it too personally, you guys. Everyone was making fun of me and Naminé like that for a long time, even after we finally got together. At least you guys aren't as bad as Sora and Kairi are with their feelings for each other."
"I swear you two, if you don't knock it off right now," Aqua growled at the smirking boys warningly.
She was immediately interrupted by Thor, who was heartily laughing at the conversation before saying, "Worry not, Lady Aqua. Such well-mannered teasing is quite normal for brave warriors who are about to face such a great battle in which they will soon meet their destinies. Truly, this day shall long be remembered in a great many songs in Valhalla."
"He means that in a good way, right," Ven asked Hawkeye.
"Honestly, it's hard to really say sometimes," the archer shrugged. "It's usually best to just take it as a positive most of the time, unless he says it with a tone that's a bit more morbid and then just smile and nod."
All four Keybearers immediately took the archer's advice and did just that, feeling a bit more relaxed now after their little exchange of words, when the Quinjet suddenly shook under the force of an explosion. "We've got a number of bogeys coming at us fast," Tony shouted from the pilot's seat. "Hawkeye, Widow!"
"We're on it," Hawkeye replied as he and the redhead immediately jumped into a pair of seats on either side with a set of controls that clearly operated some of the ship's weapons.
Ven, Aqua, and Terra then glanced out the window to see that what was originally a peaceful route was now fraught with numerous monsters and ships that were coming after them in all directions. "Sora, Kairi, what just happened over here," Terra immediately shouted, thinking that the two would be able to explain what was going on.
"What do you mean? What's wrong," Sora immediately asked, worriedly.
"We had a nice, easy path before us, and the next thing we know, we're being attacked on all sides," Aqua explained as calmly as she could over the explosions.
"Is that all," Kairi asked in disbelief, almost as though she could not believe that the three were worrying about something that was an everyday occurrence.
"No, it just appeared out of nowhere," Aqua clarified.
"Well if that is the case, then welcome to our world, literally," Kairi informed the three. "Sounds like you're experiencing the affects of time shifts firsthand while finding out just what we have to go through every time we normally have to visit a world for the first time. We always have to fight a bunch of monsters and things along the way before we can safely approach a world, since we couldn't bypass that by traveling on a Keyblade Glider like you guys normally do."
"Well if that's the case, then maybe you can help us out in the present," Ven then asked.
"Which present," Sora asked. "You're in our present. Do you mean our past-present or your present-future?"
"I hate you," Aqua growled in annoyance, knowing that Sora just pulled the same joke on them that she did on him and Kairi shortly after they first met while pointing out an obvious fact at the same time.
The battle that ensued was quite fierce, but with Hawkeye and Black Widow manning the weapons and Tony at the flight controls, the Quinjet was able to make it through relatively unscathed, and soon enough, they could see the massive form of the dark, depressing world that Xehanort and his forces used as their base of operations. Everyone could only look on in awe for a moment merely due to the world's size alone, before Tony finally brought everyone out of their musings by flying the Quinjet straight through the world barrier. "Okay, so that's the hard part down," Iron Man stated confidently.
"Don't kid yourself or anyone else for that matter," Roxas immediately warned the armor wearing hero. "That was the easy part. We've barely even begun to get close to reaching the final goal of this mission."
At Roxas's words, everyone was quick to begin final checks on their suits, equipment, and other items, just as a final precaution for the inevitable confrontation, hoping against hope that the blonde Nobody was wrong.
Sadly, Roxas's warning was well given, as the minute the Quinjet had penetrated the world barrier, Xehanort had immediately perked up from his observation of the battle at the Mysterious Tower. "It would seem that we have some unexpected visitors," the elder, fallen master softly mused.
"So what," Vanitas asked in a non-caring manner. "You want me and those other two to deal with them? It'll be over quickly, and we'll finally get to do something."
"No," Xehanort stated. "I need you three to act as the final lines of defense for the castle. All the same, that does not mean that we can ignore this act of aggression that clearly states that the forces of light are underestimating our true power. Send the Nobodies to intercept them."
Vanitas immediately smirked beneath his mask before disappearing into a Corridor of Darkness, only to reappear in the Grey Area a little while later where Xion and Riku were currently sitting in boredom, though given how quickly the two seemed to have been scooting away from each other, Vanitas had to think that they were not feeling that bored when he came in. "Hope I didn't interrupt you two lovebirds while you were in the middle of something," Vanitas stated in a tone that was both teasing and suggesting that he really did not care if he did at the same time.
"What's going on," Xion immediately demanded in an attempt to divert the attention away from that line of conversation while lifting her hood over her head to hide the red tint on her cheeks. "Is the master finally sending us to fight?"
"Not quite," Vanitas stated. "We've got some uninvited guests heading our way and he wants us to serve as the final line of defense for the castle while sending Xemnas's little pawns to hold them back."
"But why hold us back like this when we could end it without even trying," Riku demanded. "We're obviously the strongest out of all our forces after the master, so why does he insist on holding us back like this?"
"How should I know," Vanitas scoffed. "I'm just following orders."
"That doesn't sound like you, at least not the Vanitas I had heard so much about," Riku stated in observation. "Last I checked you only carried out orders if they benefitted you or you got some kind of thrill out of it. Since when are you an obedient little servant that willingly takes orders without question?"
"Since I realized the master's real power, as you will soon if you keep talking like that," Vanitas immediately replied while giving Riku a clear warning, and from the tone of his voice, it was clear that Vanitas meant it as a warning.
"We understand," Xion immediately said as she placed a hand on Riku's arm when it seemed he was going to protest again. The three then departed from the Grey Area through Corridors of Darkness so that they could take up the defense positions that they were told that they would take in the event something like this happened, all the while never knowing that Xehanort had arrived in a secret room that no one else other than Xemnas and Ansem ever knew about.
"Everything seems to be going as you predicted, master," Xehanort reported as he actually kneeled before a figure in an extravagant version of the Organization XIII coat.
"So the Keyblade Masters of the past are coming," the figure asked in a cool, deep voice that would send shivers up an average person's spine.
"Yes, and it would seem that they brought some extra help. I've tasked Vanitas with dispatching some of our Nobodies so that only the Keybearers will enter the castle, and from there, it will only be a matter of time."
"Yes," the figure chuckled darkly. "Only a matter of time."
After everyone on the Quinjet confirmed that they were ready to finally disembark, Tony began bringing the ship down for a landing in an area where it would not be spotted, but he immediately started bringing the ship back up again when a large number of Dusks suddenly sprung up from the ground that they were about to land on. Iron Man immediately began flying the ship over the dark, twisted city as more and more Nobodies manifested beneath them, until the Nobodies who could fly suddenly appeared before them and started attacking them. Seeing that there was no way they could land their ship without beginning their counterattack immediately, Captain America immediately strapped his helmet like mask on before climbing onto a motorcycle in the back with Black Widow seating herself behind him.
As soon as he received the okay, Iron Man hit a control that dropped the two down onto the street, and they were immediately racing off to fight the Dusks that had surrounded them. A minute after Cap had jumped off the bike to toss his shield through some Dusks and Creepers while Black Widow took control of the bike, Thor, Vision, War Machine, and Falcon had opened the door on the ship and jumped out, with Falcon extending a set of grey and red wings from his back pack as soon as he was in the air, and engaged the aerial enemies with weapons blazing. Iron Man quickly brought the ship around to fire a few rounds of its own at some of the enemies both in the air and on the ground before allowing Quicksilver, Ant-Man, Wasp, and Spider-Man to join the battle as well.
As soon as he was out of the jet, Ant-Man was quick to shrink down and call for some of the ant life on the World That Never Was to come to his aid, immediately providing him with an aerial assist and an army to overwhelm the Assassin and Samurai Nobodies that were about to strike at Black Widow from behind. Wasp then flew in with her stingers charged and fired on the Dancer and Gambler Nobodies that were coming out of the woodworks to try and attack Spider-Man, allowing him to throw a few web-shots that soon had them tied down to the nearby walls. Quicksilver then raced past a group of Dragoon Nobodies and threw them off balance for a minute before calling out into his radio, "Falcon, what's your status?"
"Engaging," Falcon replied as he flew down towards the area that Quicksilver had just raced through. He then reached down to his sides and flipped a pair of pistols into his hands before firing a number of rounds on the Dragoons that Quicksilver had just disoriented, taking them out in a very effective strafing run. He was about to fly over to Captain America's position after seeing the super soldier was becoming surrounded by Samurai when he saw some Snipers flying directly towards him, prompting him to take evasive action and return fire as he cursed, "Shit."
A minute later, Iron Man set the Quinjet to autopilot and jumped out to join the fight as well, with Hawkeye and Scarlet Witch following behind him shortly after Thor had cleared an area for them with a burst of lightning from his hammer. Bruce and the Keybearers then jumped out before the jet had gotten too far away from the battlefield to land in a safe area that was a good distance away from the enemy's attention. After Scarlet Witch blasted some Sorcerers aside with a wave of her hands, the group was quickly able to gather together in the center of the world, just at the base of Memory's Skyscraper. "Well I'd hate to say I told you so," Roxas commented.
"Then don't," Terra told the blonde before summoning his Keyblade, indicating that he was more than ready to join the fight. Before he could though, he found himself cut off by Ant-Man's arm.
"You need to save your strength for the castle," the shrinking hero told him. "These guys are just the previews for you and your fellow Keyblade Wielders."
"But we're not going to be able to just walk right through them," Ven pointed out. "In case you haven't noticed, they seem to have put their biggest guys in the way of the path towards the castle."
Everyone looked to see that it was just as Ventus had said, for a number of Berserkers were blocking the path to the Brink of Despair, which they would have to get to in order to enter the Castle That Never Was. "I'll be able to get you through," Banner then said.
"How," Terra asked, honestly not seeing how Banner was going to be able to do what he said.
"Simply put, it's time for him to get angry," Black Widow replied.
"Well tell him to hurry up and suit up," Iron Man called out over the radio frequency that the Avengers were using. "War Machine and I are bringing the party to you."
Everyone immediately looked up to see the two armored heroes flying towards them with a massive dragon shaped ship following behind them, which Roxas recognized as a duplicate of the dragon form Xemnas used in his final battle against him, Sora, and Kairi when they first took on Organization XIII. "Stark has very strange idea of a party," Quicksilver commented.
"Agreed," Scarlet Witch nodded as they watched Bruce start walking towards the massive monstrosity.
"You may wish to move back a short distance," Vision warned the Keybearers. "It is not normally pleasant when Bruce Banner gets angry."
"Haven't you figured it out by now that's actually the secret to controlling my abilities," Banner asked as he looked the massive beast with unwavering determination, while at the same time, Aqua noticed that his skin had begun to take on a green tint. "I'm always angry."
The Keybearers' eyes all then widened when Banner suddenly began to change into a massive, muscular monster, tearing all of his clothes other than his pants in the process, and upon seeing this sudden change occurring, they immediately moved away a bit before the massive being that they assumed was "the other guy" that Banner had mentioned slammed one of his massive fists into the dragon, causing it to immediately be thrown up on its nose like it was nothing. Iron Man then flew down to fire an arm missile at the massive beast at the exact same moment that War Machine fired numerous rounds from his wrist mounted and shoulder guns, causing the monstrosity to explode in a massive blaze of flames right above the other Avengers' heads.
Aqua was about to prepare a healing spell to cast in case any of the heroes had survived, when she and the other three saw that all the heroes were all completely unscathed. The group then gathered together in a circle, glaring up at their numerous opponents as they readied both themselves and their respective weapons for battle, while the massive being that was once Banner let out a bestial roar as Iron Man and War Machine landed amongst their teammates with Falcon, who was quickly reloading his guns, while Hawkeye notched a new arrow, Spider-Man reloaded the web shooters on his wrists, and Black Widow whipped out a pair of stun batons. Looking on at this circle of heroes, the four Keybearers could see a group that while at first glance may seem like a mismatched group of people that could never work well together, were most certainly a force unlike any other, a team that could face the battles that no one else ever could, and a group that was in a class of hero beyond anything else, much like they and all other warriors of the Keyblade were.
Wasp then looked up towards the Castle That Never Was to see that a few more copies of the same dragon ship and some more Berserkers were starting to head there way, and quickly drew everyone's attention to this by saying, "Guys, we've got company."
"Well what're we waiting for? Call it Cap," Spider-Man then casually requested.
"Alright, first thing we need to do is clear a path and safely get you four to the castle's entrance," Captain America stated as he waved his hand between the four Keybearers. "Once that's done, we'll need to keep their attention on us while keeping them from getting back into the castle or anywhere near the Quinjet so that we have a way out. Hawkeye, I need you on the roof of the skyscraper, eyes on everything. Call out patterns and strafes. Stark, Rhodes, you've got the perimeter. Anything tries to get near the Brink of Despair or so much as moves towards the ship you turn it back or turn it to ash."
"One of you mind giving me a lift," Hawkeye asked.
"Not a problem, Barton," War Machine replied as he blasted into the air with Tony, the archer firmly in hand.
"Thor, Scarlet Witch, you're going to need to try and bottle neck that entry point that they're coming from and slow them down," Captain America continued. "Quicksilver, Spider-Man, and Falcon, you're going to lead Aqua, Terra, Ventus, and Roxas to the castle's entrance. Make sure you don't give them any reason to fight as well so that they can save their strength for their real battles. Once you three are done, you're to either join Stark and Rhodes in covering the perimeter or the rest of us in keeping up the fight here. And Hulk." When the green giant turned to look towards the captain, Steve just pointed towards the Berserkers blocking the path and said, "Smash."
Hulk just smirked in reply and then leapt directly at the large Nobodies with a loud roar, destroying them instantly when he landed on top of them. That was all the prompting anyone needed to proceed with their respective parts of each side's plans, as Quicksilver immediately ran ahead of his group while Falcon and Spider-Man followed behind him as fast as they could, with Roxas, Aqua, Terra, and Ventus right behind them. As they ran through the chaos, they noticed that there was a few times when Iron Man, War Machine, Vision, or even Hawkeye had to spare a few shots that saved their lives by the skin of their teeth, and it was not hard to spot each of the other Avengers as they continued fighting in ways that none of them would have ever believed possible. Soon enough though, they saw that Hulk had cleared a path with a little assistance from Thor and Quicksilver, prompting Falcon to break off and join in with fighting the enemies in the air and keeping the perimeter secure while Spider-Man swung back to the others who were at the center of the fight as the four Keybearers raced through to the light path that led from the Brink of Despair to the entrance of the Castle That Never Was. The four only glanced back for a minute to be sure that the Avengers would be alright, and they had to laugh a little when they saw that after they had both paused to catch their breath, Hulk had hit Thor in the side without even glancing at the blonde, and had given them a smile and a small wave in good luck.
When Captain America saw that the four had made it to the castle entrance, he immediately called for anyone who was available to focus on keeping the perimeter secure while making sure the enemy's focus was on them. Spider-Man then landed next to Cap after dismounting from a web swing and asked, "You sure they'll be okay, or that we'll make it through this?"
"In answer to the latter, we've dealt with worse before, son, and we'll do so again," Captain America replied as he tossed his shield through some Samurais, and then watched as Thor slammed his hammer into the metal disk, sending it flying through some Snipers before it finally returned to his hand just in time for him to spin around and use it to slam it into more dusks. "As for the former, they'll have to be. They're our best hope. Now get your head back into the game."
Spider-Man nodded in reply, and immediately formed a web-slingshot to go flying through some Gamblers and Sorcerers as the captain raised his shield above his head and shouted, "Avengers, assemble!"
That battle cry was the heroes' cue to turn their fighting up to the next level, as they were quick to unleash hell on the Nobodies that were attacking, leaving one to think that it would be nothing short of miraculous if any of the Nobodies that were fighting in this battle would survive to fight another day.
"You're kidding me," Terra exclaimed as the group raced through the area of the castle that was known as Nothing's Call. "You mean after all that, things still didn't change?"
"I know, I don't get it either," Roxas replied in response to Terra's shock at the story he was just telling them. "And to think that Naminé and I went to so much trouble helping Kairi."
"You don't seem too surprised it turned out the way it did," Aqua noted.
"Well to be perfectly honest, at this point nothing would surprise me when it comes to Sora's cluelessness about the fact that Kairi shares his feelings," Roxas informed the blunette.
After hearing the story of how Naminé and Roxas had helped Kairi to try and send Sora a subtle hint on her feelings for him, Ventus was honestly surprised himself that the plan they had just heard about did not work, but he was even more surprised at Roxas's most recent comment on the matter. "You mean that he's that bad," Ven asked his fellow blonde.
"Let me put it to you this way," Roxas replied. "The only thing that would surprise me on the matter at this point would be if Kairi stripped naked in front of Sora and the boy was still clueless on the matter."
All three Keyblade Wielders of the past found their eyes widening at hearing that comment, before they found themselves unsure on whether they should laugh at the remark or be a bit disturbed by it, as the thought of Kairi doing such a thing as Roxas had suggested was actually a very scary thought since it was just so out of character for her to even consider doing anything of the sort. They were immediately brought out of their musings when they heard a humorless laugh fill the halls around them and a voice call out, "Sounds like you're really enjoying yourself with your new best friends, traitor. I guess we're more replaceable to you than I ever realized."
Ventus then looked to see that Roxas had frozen where he was standing, as the Nobody had immediately recognized that particular voice. A minute later, the person said voice belonged to emerged from a Corridor of Darkness and lowered the hood of their black coat to reveal Xion standing before them with a very pissed off look on her face as she glared at Roxas. Aqua, Terra, and Ventus had frozen in place for a minute after seeing how much the girl blocking their path looked like Kairi, but they were quick to shake themselves back to the situation at hand and summon their Keyblades, only to find that Roxas had not done the same. The strange thing was that the girl in front of them had not drawn a weapon either, but instead just continued glaring at Roxas as if she were trying to kill him with a look as a tense silence developed between them.
Eventually, Roxas broke the silence by taking a step forward and pleading, "Please Xion, don't get in our way now. I know that you can see just how messed up things are. Can you really tell me that you're actually happy with things they way they are right now?"
"Of course I'm not," Xion snapped. "And you know why? Because my best friend turned his back on the Organization, on me, and left me to fend for myself! Even Axel wasn't always able to do something to help me whenever Saїx or the master found something with my performance to be less than perfect, and every time they did, it was always in comparison to you! There was just no way I could ever be anything that could measure up to the great Key of Destiny, and whenever I thought of going to you for comfort, I had to remember that you weren't there anymore because you had betrayed us and left me to suffer!"
Xion's words cut deep into Roxas's heart, but as she continued to rant, Roxas could see her eyes were not only beginning to gain a few tears but were also changing from their usual, pretty blue to sickly, yellow-gold that was reminiscent of Xehanort's. "I never meant to hurt you, Xion," Roxas replied. "Believe me, every time I went out to fight, one of my first thoughts was always on how I could save you and Axel from the Organization's clutches. I never betrayed you guys, and you never stopped being my best friends either."
"JUST SHUT UP," Xion shouted as she summoned her Keyblade, which Roxas noticed was now more sword-like with a curved, notched blade, and a noticeably sharp edge. A set of Nobody thorns made up the teeth and guard while the color scheme was silver and black, clearly indicating that it was like a fusion of the color schemes of the Oathkeeper and Oblivion Keyblades, and it did not take long for Roxas to recognize that the token was in the form of his Nobody-thorn charm. "I'm not listening to anymore of your lies! If you want to pass through here, then you'll have to defeat me and my Two Become One Keyblade first, and the only way you'll do that is if you're able to do the one thing that you claim to never be able to do to a friend. You understand me, you damn traitor? You're going to have to kill me!"
Roxas's eyes widened in horror at the words that Xion was saying, feeling a terrible pain forming in his heart in the place where Xion's friendship was, but when he looked at Xion's eyes, he saw neither the pretty blue that were normally there, nor the sickly, yellow-gold of Xehanort's, but a clear, empty silver that almost radiated with an evil like he had never felt before. The feeling was shared amongst Aqua, Terra, and Ventus, but the three were quick to shake it off as they prepared to charge forward and meet Xion's challenge head on. Just as they were about to charge though, Roxas raised his arms up to stop them and quietly said, "Stay out of this guys."
"Roxas," Terra asked in confusion.
"You're not actually going to fight her are you," Ventus asked, silently pleading with his fellow blonde at the same time to not do so.
"Roxas, she's your friend," Aqua tried to reason. "You can't fight her, especially in a fight like that. Just let us handle things and…"
"No, I can't let you do that. This has been a long time coming now. I guess deep down inside, I always knew it would come to this if I wanted to save Xion, but I didn't want to believe it, nor could I. At least, not until now," Roxas snapped to Aqua as he stepped up to face Xion. Seeing how serious he was about the matter, the three could only nod sadly before stepping back and dismissing their Keyblades, leaving the matter to Roxas as he requested.
"Alright Xion," Roxas then said as he settled his gaze on the girl before him. "If you want to fight me so badly, then you've got it, but no matter what happens, I'm not going to kill you, because I will save you. No matter what it takes, I'm getting my best friend…no, I'm getting my sister back!"
As he said those last few words, Roxas swung his hands to either side, and summoned forth both the Oathkeeper and Oblivion Keyblades, then spun them around above his head before bringing them down into a ready position as he assumed his battle stance. Terra, Aqua, and Ventus were immediately shocked at the sight of Roxas being able to wield two Keyblades without the use of a Drive Form like Sora and Kairi, but they were quick to shake their surprise off so that they could move clear of the battle as the two combatants charged at each other.
Roxas made the first strike, slashing the Oathkeeper Keyblade at Xion's, knocking her black and white weapon aside for a minute so that he could bring Oblivion down to strike, but Xion was quick to regain her balance and then spin around so that she could raise her Keyblade into a defensive position just in time to block the incoming blade. Roxas continued to push down on Xion's Keyblade before Xion finally pushed back and unleashed a series of two-handed strikes on the Dual Keyblade Wielder, prompting Roxas to quickly raise each of his blades to block Xion's strikes with one or the other before they could get close, much to Xion's irritation. The girl then leapt back before firing a blast of ice magic at Roxas, which he quickly rolled away from. Sadly, Roxas was unable to stop Xion from landing a powerful slash on him with Two Become One, and was thus sent flying across the room as a result.
Roxas quickly jumped to his feet once again before twirling his Keyblades and releasing a whirlwind of light and dark magic with a powerful, dual-outward slash. The attack hit Xion head on, but the girl was able to recover just in time to unleash a series of Nobody Thorns from her Keyblade directly at Roxas. Roxas was somehow able to evade the storm of thorns, and then elected to throw his Keyblades like buzz saws a number of times before firing off a blast of light magic that drew Xion in close, allowing him to wildly swing both Keyblades at Xion left and right and then dash straight ahead with another powerful, dual-outward strike, leaving a shockwave that threw Xion into the air in the process.
Xion was quick to right herself before leaping directly at Roxas and using the Sonic Rave ability that Roxas had seen Sora use on many occasions in the past to strike at Roxas multiple times, throwing Roxas off balance long enough for her to slam her foot into his back in a hard kick after coming out of the final dash. Roxas quickly scrambled to his feet again before he cringed and said, "Would you watch it with those things? I swear, those high heels of yours might as well be registered as lethal weapons."
"Less talking, and more fighting," Xion snapped in response, clearly not interested in anything Roxas had to say, even if it was a small exchange of banter during the fight. Before Roxas could respond, Xion had already dashed towards him again and used another powerful ability of Sora's which sent Roxas flying across the room once more until he landed on his back.
Seeing this, Terra felt he could no longer sit on the sidelines and started to charge in, but before he could get any further than three steps, a red and silver Chakram suddenly struck the ground in front of his feet, cutting him off. He then turned to the where the weapon had came from with Aqua and Ventus to find none other than Axel standing there with a surprisingly serious look on his face as he waved a finger saying, "I'd stay back if I were you. This battle is one that only they can fight and them alone. Got it memorized?"
When he heard that particular catchphrase, Ventus's eyes widened in surprise as he whispered, "Lea?"
"No, but you're close," Axel clarified. "The name's Axel. That's A-X-E-L. Get it memorized, Ven."
Ventus was about to question the redhead on how he had become a Nobody and why he was there, but the sound of Keyblades clashing against one another immediately drew everyone's attention back to the battle at hand, just in time to see Roxas had knocked Xion's Keyblade out of her hand and now had it pinned to the ground with one of his Keyblades while the other was pointed at Xion. "It's over Xion," Roxas stated with great finality.
Xion only scowled at Roxas before reaching a hand out and causing her Keyblade to vanish from where it was much to Roxas's surprise. The Keyblade then reappeared in Xion's hand, and she used the weapon to land a powerful slash on Roxas that nearly brought him down to his knees. However, Roxas refused to give in, as he stood up once again and asked, "Is that all you got, Xion?"
"Stop calling me that," Xion snarled as she slashed at Roxas once more, causing him to stumble and lose his grip on the Oblivion Keyblade when he used it to try and block. Xion then continued her assault as Roxas tried his best to defend with the Oathkeeper, but Xion was moving too fast for him to keep up until they finally locked blades again, pushing against one and other in an attempt to overpower the other.
"Xion is your name," Roxas persisted as he continued to push his Keyblade against the girl's. "When we first met, you were introduced as Number XIV of Organization XIII. I was also the first person you ever said anything to and who you showed your face to. Your favorite ice cream flavor is Sea-Salt, which I introduced you to after Axel introduced it to me."
"SHUT UP," Xion shouted as early signs of tears began to form in her eyes. "I am not that weak, pathetic puppet! I'm me and no one else! You can't trick me like that!"
Xion then finally won out in their contest of strength as she pushed back on Roxas's Keyblade enough to cause him to lose his grip on the blade and be sent off his feet once again. Xion was immediately holding the tip of her Keyblade at Roxas's neck as soon as he landed on his back, panting heavily as she let a small, victorious smirk grace her now darkened features, but the smirk immediately vanished when she saw that Roxas was still looking up at her defiantly, almost as though he was now fighting her with his eyes. The sight of this angered Xion enough that she raised her Keyblade to strike Roxas with a killing blow, but just as she was bringing it down, she seemed to freeze in place before she started shaking, almost as if she were struggling against herself, an idea that gained further merit when Roxas noticed her eyes were changing color once again, but this time between the clear, empty silver they had gained, and her normal, pretty blue color.
Seeing this immediately told Roxas what was going on, and he opted to give one last push in order to free his friend from whatever was clearly controlling her and said, "You were one of my first friends, and my first best friends, but you're more than that to me now. You're more than just my best friend. You're my sister."
"Shut up," Xion shouted, almost as though attempting to defy everything Roxas said would allow her to stay standing and keep her Keyblade poised to strike him down. "I'm not any of that, and you…you're a traitor. You're my mission."
"Then do it," Roxas then said, causing the girl to freeze in her tracks, eyes wide. "Go on and finish it. It won't matter to me, because no matter what happens, I'm with you until the end."
Xion continued to stare at Roxas in wide-eyed shock until she closed her eyes and raised her Keyblade once again, and screamed in anguish as she brought it down, a resounding clang echoing throughout the castle reaching everyone's ears the minute she did. Upon looking up, Roxas could see that Xion had impaled her Keyblade a few inches away from his face, intentionally missing him, and he then rose up into a sitting position just in time to see the girl wobble on her feet for a minute as she stepped back a little before finally falling to her knees and openly sobbing. Roxas slowly stood up and made his way over to Xion until he was able to place a hand on one of her shoulders and softly call out to her, leading her to look up at him with eyes that were truly hers.
"R-Roxas," Xion slowly asked, almost as if she was unsure of her surroundings.
"Yeah Xion," Roxas smiled softly. "It's me. It's over now, and you're safe, just like I promised you would be."
Xion merely nodded meekly in response to this before throwing herself into Roxas's chest and sobbing into his shirt, letting out a muffled apology over and over again as Roxas wrapped his arms around her in a comforting hug, letting her know that everything would be okay now, and that the world had not ended. He then looked up to see the others approaching them, and immediately raised a curious eyebrow in Axel's direction, immediately asking the question that the redhead still needed to answer.
"What? Did you seriously think I was really going to be okay with the Organization using my best friends or hunting them down like animals or something," Axel chuckled in response to his friend's look. "Come on, Roxas. You know me better than that, especially after all the time you spent hanging out with Lea."
"What? I don't get it," Roxas said, now even more confused than before.
"Hello, I'm on your side," Axel finally revealed, saying it like it was the most obvious thing in all the worlds as he did. "I've been working as a deep-cover double agent for Yen Sid and the king ever since you left and I found out about what they were going to do to Xion. I had to be really careful though since even the slightest slip up would've given me away and given Xemnas reason to turn me into a Dusk."
Roxas just looked on at his friend in disbelief before he finally smiled in thanks and then helped Xion to her feet as she wiped her eyes of any remaining tears. The group of friends from the past had to let out a collective smile at seeing the three friends finally reunite, and they could instantly feel a rise in their hopes that everything would turn out okay as they looked on at the three talking and laughing together, and even comforting one another like they had never been apart. That feeling of happiness immediately evaporated when Axel was suddenly hit by a blast of dark magic that sent him colliding into the wall.
"Well why am I not surprised," a smug voice asked, and everyone immediately turned to see Riku walking into the room, clad in his black and purple outfit that was so much like the one Vanitas wore. "I come down here to make sure that my girlfriend is alright, and what do I find instead? A bunch of traitors and some relics that should've stayed in their own time."
Aqua and Terra were quick to recognize Riku from when they had met him before, but they still developed scowls like the rest of their group after they heard him speak. Roxas was the only one of them to look at Riku in confusion before he glanced at Xion and then widened his eyes in shock after piecing together what Riku was implying, "Wait, Xion. You're going out with this guy?"
Xion immediately adopted a sheepish expression as she rubbed the back of her head with one hand and said, "What? He's cute in a dark, brooding sort of way. Plus once you get past his attitude, the power of darkness that's controlling him, and all the other bad things, he's really not a bad guy."
"Oh my god," Roxas moaned. "I finally get my sister back and already I find out she's going out with guys that I don't approve of for a multitude of reasons. One of those being the fact that I just can't stand the guy."
"Hey! You have no say in who I do or don't date, Mister," Xion lightly reprimanded. "Besides, you just don't like him because you can't get over the fact that you could never beat him in a sparring match."
"Not true," Roxas huffed indignantly. "He's also a total asshole."
"If you two are done, I'd like to get on with this so that I can get my girlfriend back to her senses and actually get in on the real action," Riku loudly interrupted.
Roxas was about to shout out something in retort when Terra suddenly stepped in between him and Riku, and summoned Ends of the Earth to his hand. "If you want to fight someone then take me on," Terra practically commanded.
"Terra, what're you doing," Roxas asked.
"Look at his eyes," Terra stated. "They're just like Xion's were when you guys were fighting, and that means he's being controlled by the same thing that was controlling her."
Everyone looked to see that Terra was right, as Riku's eyes were indeed the same shade of clear silver that Xion's had been just a moment ago. As Aqua slowly began to make her way over to Axel in order to heal the redhead, Ventus took the time to ask, "So we can snap him out of it if we beat him right?"
"Something like that," Terra replied. "But you need to leave this fight to me. I'm the one who passed the power of the Keyblade to Riku, so in a way, that makes him my responsibility."
Ventus was about to protest against this, but Roxas stopped him with a quick look that told him not to, which was immediately followed by Aqua saying, "Do what you have to do, Terra. We'll do what we can to heal Axel and then help out if you need it, but until then, we'll let you handle it on your own."
Terra smiled to both his friends when he saw Ven finally nod in defeat and immediately thanked them as Ven and Roxas helped guide Xion away from the area so that he could focus solely on Riku. The two simply stood across from one another, analyzing their respective opponent and how they appeared to fight based on their current stances, and never saying so much as a word to each other. Roxas honestly felt like he were watching someone prepare to start a duel with a Samurai Nobody until Terra finally broke the silence in an attempt to try and appeal to the real Riku that was buried deep in the darkness that now poisoned the boy's heart. "I don't know if you remember me, but we met a long time ago on Destiny Islands," Terra told Riku. "You told me that day that if you ever acquired the kind of power that would allow you to travel to other worlds, you would use it to protect the things that matter, like your friends. Do you really think that what you're doing still follows that vow?"
"Man, how much more of relic can you be," Riku asked in an arrogant tone as he threw in a dark chuckle just for good measure. "I am using my power to protect what matters. You're all just too stupid and close-minded to even attempt to see it. Once we're done here, nothing will matter, because everything will be right with all the worlds."
"Then explain how that is if you're fighting those friends you swore to protect," Terra then demanded. "Don't you realize that's what you've been doing, or have you forgotten all about Sora and Kairi? They're trying everything they can to get you back, and yet all you're doing is constantly putting them in danger."
"What…but I…no, I'm…" Riku gasped, and he then placed a hand on his head for a minute as he groaned in pain. It seemed for a moment that Terra's words were reaching Riku, but that belief quickly vanished when a strange energy seemed to flash throughout Riku's body for a minute, ending his sudden headache as he looked up and confidently said, "That's an impressive attempt at deception, but I know better than to fall for your ancient tricks, relic. I'm doing everything I can to ensure Sora and Kairi do have a future, and I'll do whatever it takes to make that happen, even if I have to destroy you to do it."
Riku's declaration truly confused everyone, even Axel and Xion, as they had no idea what Riku meant by that since this was the first either of them had heard of such a thing. Whatever the reason he said that was though did not matter as Riku had immediately assumed his battle stance once more as the power of darkness surged around him. Terra could see quite clearly that there was not going to be any hope of getting through to Riku as long as the boy was in the state he was currently in, and in that moment, he had to wonder if this was how Master Eraqus had felt when Terra had tried to fight against him. It was not something that Terra had long to think about though, as Riku had suddenly appeared behind in a flash of speed that one could not have been able to track if they had blinked, and Terra immediately jumped away before firing off a Ragnarok Shot Lock at Riku, which the silver haired boy easily deflected with his Keyblade.
"If you're done wasting time, it's time to see who the real master of darkness truly is. You or me," Riku then declared as he let the darkness flow through him without end, emitting an energy that seemed almost suffocating to those around him. Terra was very tempted to meet Riku's challenge by unleashing his Dark Impulse Command Style, but he knew that doing so would be a mistake, so he simply readied his Keyblade and charge in, unleashing a series of powerful attacks on Riku.
Riku was quick to evade Terra's powerful strikes, and if he could not evade them, he was just as quick to deflect or parry them before striking back at Terra at a speed that Terra just could not keep up with. Riku then back flipped away from Terra and used his Dark Aura ability to rush past Terra several times in a stream of dark energy as he struck the older Keyblade Wielder, before he finally appeared above Terra and struck with a powerful, downwards slash that unleashed a shockwave which sent Terra flying. Terra was honestly surprised that he was even able to stand up after that last attack, but he was not going to quit just yet, as evidenced by the fact that he was able to stand up again after using his Keyblade for support.
Of course, the course of action that Terra was taking was easier said than done, as it was quite clear that Riku's dark powers were far greater than anything that Terra had ever faced before. Terra was not sure if this was due to the fact that the world they were currently on was so close to the Realm of Darkness or if there was some other reason that he did not know about, but all he did know was that there was not much of a chance of being able to fight the darkness out of Riku with the way things were going at the moment. He was quickly back on the defensive again when Riku unleashed a series of blasts with his Dark Cannon, but his defense did not hold for long, and he was soon down on his knees, struggling to stand up once again.
"Is that really all you've got," Riku asked in mock disappointment. "I had thought that the mighty Master Terra, the first to have supposedly gained mastery over the power of darkness without being corrupted by it would've been a much better opponent than this. Guess I overestimated you if it's taking this much just for you to call out your dark powers."
"You're wrong," Terra rebuked. "No matter what you say or what you do, I will not use the darkness to fight you, or any battle like this."
"Humph. Pathetic," Riku scoffed in annoyance, and he then fired off another volley of his Dark Cannon, only for it to strike the barrier of a Reflect spell, much to the shock of both boys.
"Terra, now's your chance," Roxas called out, causing Terra to turn around and see that Ven had cast the Reflect spell that saved him just minutes ago, and that Roxas was now on his feet trying to tell him something. "You have a way to get rid of most of his darkness."
"What're you talking about," Terra asked, truly confused and just barely able to focus on the topic that much due to the fact that Riku was still pounding away at the Reflect spells that Ven kept casting with his Dark Cannon.
"You'll see as soon as you start doing it," Roxas replied. "But you need to act fast. Use the Summon Charm!"
Terra's eyes instantly widened in realization of what Roxas was talking about, and he quickly pulled said charm out of his pocket and began focusing the light magic within him into the charm, just as Roxas had told him and the others to if they wished to use them. A minute later, the charm seemed to jump in his hand before firing off a stream of magic that knocked Riku back, causing him to cease in his assault on Terra, and allowing Ven to finally catch his breath after casting so many reflect spells. Blasts of magic continued to stream out of the charm at random, leading Roxas and the others to take cover in case any of the blasts started to come close to where they were, until a large cloud of blue smoke erupted upward, and a large blue figure emerged from the charm.
"Oi," the figure exclaimed. "Traveling millions of miles across the cosmos will leave ya seriously stiff in the joints. Hang on for just a quick sec."
Much to Terra's shock, he and Riku were both lifted up by the backs of their shirts and left to hang in mid-air while the large blue man rotated his head and arms around in perfect circles before shouting, "Whoa does it feel good to get back out here where the real action is! Let me tell ya, I haven't had all that much fun since Al got his big, snazzy Keyblade, but hey with something like that, I don't blame him for not really needing his old big blue buddy around all that much anymore." The figure then looked at Terra and said, "Say, you don't look anything like Sora, Kairi, or Roxas, either that or you're one of the two boys all grown up now and I've been out of this action longer than I thought."
"Uh…I'm not either Sora or Roxas," Terra finally cut in. "My name's Terra."
"Terra, huh? Well good to meet you Terra. You know, you strike me as a real down to Earth kind of guy," the blue man then joked in response. "But that being said, I am the all-powerful, uncontainable, amazing Genie of the Lamp! Not so much on the lamp part now seeing as I'm a free genie of course thanks in no small part to my buddies Al and Sora, and now, since you summoned me, I'll be able to grant you any wish your heart desires so long as it falls within my cosmic powers and the basic genie rules, same as I always do for Sora and his buddies."
"Okay, so what're the rules," Terra asked, wanting to make sure that he fully understood everything about his sudden partner before making any hasty decisions, and only mildly noting that Riku had been frozen in place with a well-timed Blizzard spell from Aqua.
"Rule Number One: I can't kill anybody, so don't ask" Genie stated as he made a slicing motion in front of his neck that ended up causing his head to fall into his hand, and still be able to talk despite that. "Rule Number Two: I can't make anybody fall in love with anybody else."
"Guess that would explain why neither Sora nor Kairi have ever asked you to help with their little relationship," Terra mused.
"Well actually, Roxas did ask me to help once, and since they are both already in love with each other, it doesn't really count. I was honestly surprised that the little wish he wished up didn't work to be honest," Genie stated, leading Terra to wonder just how far Roxas and his friends had gone in their attempts to finally get Sora and Kairi together. "Rule Number Three," Genie then declared as he started to turn into a zombie version of himself. "I can't bring people back from the dead. It's not a pretty sight. I DON'T LIKE DOING IT!" Genie then reverted to his normal self before finishing, "Other than that, feel free to wish away, my young friend."
Terra adopted his usual thinking pose before smirking a little and asking, "Could you remove the darkness that's poisoning Riku's heart if I asked you to?"
Genie looked towards said silver haired boy and began to fly and poof around him as he seemingly examined the boy with a fine toothpick, until he eventually looked back and said, "Well it might be a bit of a taxing job, but I can definitely give it my best shot. First things first though; say the magic words."
Terra smirked, having just heard what he needed to hear and thus declared, "Genie, I wish for you to remove as much of the darkness poisoning Riku as you can."
"Your wish is my command. ALAKAZAM," Genie replied as he spun his hands around and fired a beam at Riku. A minute after the beam struck, Riku had started screaming in agony as a tornado of magic energy erupted around him. The tornado seemed to grow larger and larger as it siphoned out the excess darkness inside of Riku faster and faster until finally, the dark energy was blasted out into the air and tornado vanished. Terra and the others all looked eagerly in Riku's direction, thinking that Riku was finally free, but their mood quickly changed when they saw that Riku was still wearing his darkness battle suit as he struggled to his feet. They were all beginning to think that Terra's wish was not successful, until Terra saw Riku's eyes changing from the clear silver that they had all seen earlier to their usual blue-green.
"What happened," Xion finally asked. "I thought that would've set Riku free."
"I'm sorry kid," Genie apologized. "But that's the best I could do, but don't worry, he's not as strong as he was before."
"Are you sure about that," Terra asked as he readied his Keyblade while watching Riku slowly stand up.
Genie immediately did another quick survey of Riku like the one he previously did before he finally reported, "Yep. I'd say he's down to about a full quarter of what he was before at most, if not less. You should be able to knock the rest right out of him now."
"Wait, aren't you going to help," Terra asked.
"I wish I could, but that little brilliance of magic has completely worn out all the energy that's needed for me to stick around. Sorry, but I've gotta make like a banana and split, so see ya round Terra," Genie said, and he then disappeared in a small explosion of blue smoke, leaving Terra to face Riku on his own once again, but this time with a fighting chance.
When Riku finally regained his footing, it was clear to everyone that he was struggling with himself more than he was before, and that was all the advantage Terra needed before he charged in and struck with a series of powerful blows, allowing him to unleash his Critical Impact Command Style. Riku was of course shocked by how quickly he was knocked back before Terra had even attempted to activate the Command Style, but he was quick to shake it off and stay true to his nature by showing he was not going to go down without a fight, and thus charged right back in, firing a Dark Cannon as he went.
The minute he deflected the first blast from Riku's Dark Cannon barrage, Terra instantly saw that Genie was correct in saying that the younger boy's dark powers were much weaker than they were before, as Terra was able to deflect the blasts with very little effort. Terra then charged forward and unleashed a series of strikes with his active Command Style that knocked Riku around like a rag doll until the boy was a bit stunned by one of Terra's blows. Terra took advantage of Riku's dazed state in order to cast a Mine Square spell around him that exploded right under Riku's feet almost instantly after it formed, and immediately after, the glow around Terra changed to bright brown, and brought about an illusion of rock particles being emitted from his body.
"Whoa," Roxas exclaimed. "That doesn't look like that Dark Impulse Command Style I heard about."
"It's not," Ventus replied with a grin. "It's Terra's second Tier Two Command Style: Rockbreaker."
A minute later, Terra charged forward and unleashed a series of powerful strikes as he dragged his Keyblade through the ground, causing a number of boulders to be sent flying into Riku every time Terra attacked along with his normal strikes. Riku did his best to either counter or block Terra's strikes and the boulders, but he soon found himself unable to block one without being hit by the other, and any attempts to block both were met with futility. Riku found himself unable to dodge any of Terra's attacks with the Rockbreaker Command Style as well for the same reason as his inability to block the normal attacks, and he soon found himself getting frustrated enough to attempt another strike with his Dark Aura. Unfortunately, Riku soon discovered he was not able to build up the dark energy necessary for his ultimate attack as quickly as usual, and he was thus unable to protect himself when Terra suddenly leapt into the air to unleash the final attack of their battle.
"Command Style: Rockbreaker Finisher," Terra shouted, and a minute later, three massive boulders were suddenly pulled up from the ground into a floating position around him, and with a single, circular swing of his Keyblade, Terra sent all the rocks flying outwards in multiple directions, most of them being focused directly on Riku. Since Riku was still trying to build up the energy for his Dark Aura attack, he was left wide open to Terra's strike, and was immediately faced with the full force of Terra's attack. As the glow of Terra's Command Style wore off, everyone watched in amazement as Riku's dark battle suit vanished in a sudden wave of shadows and was replaced by a sleeveless, black zip-up tank-top, a white and yellow vest, a thick, white band on one wrist, baggy blue pants that were held up by a black belt, and white sneakers.
Seeing Riku's sudden change in appearance immediately had everyone worried, but no one was faster to reach the boy than Xion, as the worry for him was clear in her eyes. After Xion gave Riku a few shakes, the long, silver haired boy finally began to stir and looked up to greet Xion's eyes with his blue-green ones. Before anyone could say anything else, Riku surprised everyone by leaning up and capturing Xion's lips in a powerful kiss, shocking the girl completely before she returned it in kind.
"Ahem," Roxas coughed loudly, clearly annoyed by the two so blatantly displaying their affections in front of them. "Do you guys think that you can wait a bit before doing that?"
Xion and Riku parted from each other with a small smile being exchanged between them before Riku said, "Oh go make out with Naminé, killjoy."
"Yeah, he's okay," Roxas then determined before looking away as Terra held a hand out to help Riku up, a hand that Riku gladly accepted.
"Hey listen, sorry about that whole relic thing earlier," Riku apologized to Terra. "To be honest, you're actually a big inspiration for me, so I don't know where that even came from." He then looked to the others as he added, "I also want to apologize for everything I did. I know it may not mean much considering what I did, and I most likely don't deserve forgiveness from anyone, but I honestly did want to stop it from happening. I tried so hard to stop, but I couldn't. It felt like I was watching a movie that I was starring in while I was trapped in my own body."
"Hey, you're not going to start going all emo on us now, are you," Axel then joked, cutting Riku off from any further self-hate.
"He'd better not," Xion stated with a slight warning look in Riku's direction. "It would be completely unattractive on him."
"Oh, I think I'm going to be sick," Roxas moaned, leading Ventus to snicker at the other blonde's expense.
"All that happened because you had been overwhelmed by the power of darkness," Terra assured Riku. "And because someone had poisoned your heart with so much of it. You shouldn't blame yourself for something that was beyond your control, because now you can start making things right again with your own power."
Riku gave a small smile in thanks to the older boy before receiving an encouraging nod from everyone else in the group as well, even Roxas after Xion had elbowed him in the gut. With all that now dealt with Aqua then said, "We should hurry and get back to finding that Time Window now. There's no telling what Xehanort will send after us once he finds out that both Riku and Xion are free of his control."
Riku quickly adopted a pensive expression before saying, "Wait a minute. A lot of things that happened are a bit fuzzy in some regards, but one thing that I do remember clearly was that it wasn't Xehanort controlling me. He only made it seem like that as a show for everyone else, but it was never him controlling me or Xion."
"Well if it wasn't old baldy, then who was controlling you guys," Axel then asked.
"I…I can't remember," Riku said as he struggled to do so. "I don't know why, but all the memories of the person's face are a complete blank, while all the others of him while he had his hood up are still crystal clear, but the sound of his voice is fuzzy."
"Xion, can you remember anything about this," Aqua then asked, hoping that the younger girl might have a clue as to the mystery person's identity.
Xion scrunched her face in thought for a minute before sadly shaking her head as she replied, "No. My memories of those things are the same as Riku's, but there is one thing I do remember. He was powerful; very powerful. I could remember feeling like I was being crushed and suffocated all at once whenever I was just standing near him, and when he spoke, his voice was even more emotionless than Xemnas's ever was, while somehow being filled with a cold emotion that I could never place, if that even makes sense. If I had to make a comparison, I'd have to say that he was probably more powerful than Xehanort could ever dream of being."
That answer immediately froze everyone in cold shock. The thought of someone that was stronger than Xehanort alone was scary by itself, but with everything Xion had just said to describe the person that was controlling her and Riku, it honestly made them believe that there was a very strong chance that it was very true, very real, and would likely prove to be the most dangerous being any of them had ever faced. Even though they did not want to think about this person for long, they were all quickly searching their memories for someone who could likely fit the bill, only to come up short with every idea they came up with.
Eventually, Aqua shook herself out of her worry and told everyone, "We shouldn't focus on that at the moment, especially given where we are at the moment. Right now, we need to get to that Time Window and get me, Terra, and Ven home so that we can help Sora and Kairi prevent this future from ever happening. If we can do that, then it won't even matter who this mystery boss behind the scenes is because he will likely have ceased to exist along with this timeline."
"She's right," Riku immediately said. "And we need to hurry, but we'll also have to be ready for anything. Vanitas was already waiting for us at the Hall of Empty Melodies in case Xion and I failed to stop you guys, assuming that's what they really want to happen, but I have no idea who to expect after that."
Everyone immediately nodded in reply to Riku, and then began racing through the Castle That Never Was once again. The thoughts of the mysterious individual that was controlling Riku and Xion still plagued their minds, but at the moment, they were able to keep most of their focus on the task ahead of them. What none of them could have known was that same mysterious figure was watching their progress from his own private chambers with mild, dark glee, almost eagerly awaiting the moment when he finally came face-to-face with the Keybearers that had come to his stronghold.
"Not to worry, you will all know exactly what you are up against soon enough," the figure chuckled darkly. "It is only a matter of time now, but soon, such a thing will not ever be in your favor again. I look forward to our encounter and the moment when all hope leaves each of your eyes…my old friends."
Yen Sid Report 11:
A most surprising development came about on a day when Sora and the others were all away on missions, for it was on that day that I received an unexpected visitor with an even more unexpected request. Number VIII of Organization XIII, Axel had actually approached me saying that he wished to change allegiances and join us. Were it a true Nobody, or even a Nobody of anyone else, I would not be so skeptical about his reasons and likely less suspicious, but given that this is the Nobody of Lea, and the fact that he seems to share many of the same mannerisms as the wielder of Bond by Flame, if what Roxas has told us of his time with the Organization is any indication, then I do not think I was mistaken in accepting his help.
It was not long before we began to see the fruits of having Axel working for us as a spy in the Organization, for it was thanks to him that we discovered a way into the World That Never Was through the virtual Twilight Town that Ansem had created in the event that we failed to convince Roxas to join us and help revive Sora, and it was also thanks to his aid that Sora and the others were able to successfully make it through the Castle That Never Was so that they could have that first confrontation with Xemnas that would end Xemnas's plans. Truly we had gained a great ally within the forces of darkness, and one who joined us for all the right reasons, just as his best friend, Roxas had.
I only wish that all the events of that day were as fortunate, but sadly they were not, for it was also on that day that we lost Ansem. The man had tried to thwart Organization XIII's plans to use the hearts they had captured in order to form a doorway to Kingdom Hearts by digitizing the hearts with a machine he had created, but sadly, it seemed that Ansem had once again underestimated the true power and value of hearts, and as such was lost to us in a brilliant explosion that resulted from his machine seemingly overloading. We cannot say for certain what had happened to our friend, but I was told that before he met this terrible fate, he had actually laughed at his foolishness, saying that he finally realized how much of a fool he was to ever think he could truly comprehend the true power of hearts. Wherever you are now Ansem, I only hope that you have found the answers you once sought, and that we may one day be reunited once again.
AN: Well, that happened. We saw the return of the Yen Sid Reports with this chapter, the Avengers of this story got to show off their mad skills, Xion and Riku are back on the good guy side, and now there's some crazy, mystery figure pulling the strings behind the scenes that no one ever knew about except for Riku and Xion, who can't remember who it is anymore. Yeah, I know that the mysterious figure who is the real leader of the bad guys thing has been done in Kingdom Hearts before, but I just couldn't find a way for this story to work without it happening.
Hades: But who is this guy? I mean, come on, you gotta give us something to work with besides that bit of dialogue he had.
Xemnas: I am surprisingly curious on the matter as well, or at least as close to that as I can be.
Xehanort: As am I. After all, you did imply that this person was more powerful than I am.
AN: You really want to know? [villains all nod as they get in close after AN motions for them to do so] IT IS NONE OF YOUR BUSINESS! And at the moment, you readers will just have to wait and see for yourselves, but you won't have to wait long, as that unveiling will come in just two chapters, which will lead to the start of the final stretch for this story, so try to restrain yourselves from guessing, especially if you plan on posting those guesses in your reviews in the event that you're right.
Now, the Avengers in this story, in case you hadn't realized it, I basically used all the Avengers members that had appeared in the MARVEL Cinematic Universe or who are said to be appearing in said universe at some point in the future, hence the inclusion of Wasp and Spider-Man, and their appearances are that of their most recent ones in said universe. Speaking of which, I have to admit that many moments and lines in this chapter drew some inspiration from those movies, so see if you can spot any of them.
Also, the fights between Roxas and Xion, and between Terra and Riku. Admittedly, I wasn't going to include both fights in this chapter, but I ended up doing so because to do otherwise would've made the next chapter in this time frame a little too long for my tastes. Also, the first of those two fights, I will admit I drew some inspiration from the final fight between Captain America and Winter Soldier in Captain America: The Winter Soldier, but that was because I felt it just worked so well for that fight. As for Terra and Riku's fight, I dare you to tell me that there hasn't been a moment where you weren't curious as to who would win if that were to happen.
Finally, the reveal of the pairing between Riku&Xion. I will admit, I have nothing against MOST of the pairings that have come up or been done in the Kingdom Hearts series, but in the case of the pairings in which Xion is involved in, I honestly like the pairing of Xion&Riku best. Don't get me wrong, I like Roxas&Xion just as much as the next guy, but I honestly think that Roxas belongs with Namine more than he does with Xion. Plus whenever I think of Roxas and Xion together, one of the first things that comes to my mind is that of a sibling relationship.
Also, yeah I let Xion and Riku both live, and that's because I like both characters a lot. I know I seem to bash on Riku a bit every now and then, but he is still a cool guy. As for Xion, I can kind of relate to her a bit. I mean she started out as this quiet, shy girl who had a lot of trouble getting close to the people around her until she met Roxas, and when I was little, I was a bit like that myself. I had some trouble making friends without outside help, and was the quite, shy person that was normally sitting off to the side because he was nervous about being around other people. I didn't have to worry about bullies as much as Xion did, but still, that's one of the reasons why I like her character so much, and why I really felt bad for what happened to her at the end of 358/2.
Now enough with the sappy, emotional stuff and this seriously too long author's note. Next chapter, we're headed back to the past, as you'll see as soon as I say, Onto the Preview!...
As the heroes in the future continue in their exploits, Sora and Kairi arrive in Arendelle to find the kingdom trapped in an eternal winter, and they quickly discover that the best chance of finding Mickey's past self may lie with the runaway queen and her sister who had gone after her. With this knowledge in hand, Sora and Kairi set out and quickly meet up with Princess Anna and the new friends she had gained to help her in her journey to find her sister. Will the two groups be successful in their endeavors, or more importantly, will Sora and Kairi survive the princess's attempts to finally get them together? The answers to these questions and more, next time.
Please read and review, and see ya real soon!