Chapter 20: To the bitter end

A/N: We're finally getting to the end! I think after this chapter, there will be one more and then the epilogue.

Now that Hikari has a new Keyblade, it's time for her to kick Young Xehanort's ass.

Disclaimer: I don't own Kingdom Hearts; I just own my characters.

Enjoy!

/

SLAM!

Young Xehanort spat up blood as his body was slammed to the ground. He wanted to say something, but he couldn't thanks to the hand that was wrapped around his throat. He was violently pulled back up where he became face to face with Xemnas. If looks could kill, he would have been turned to ashes.

After his little 'fight' with Hikari, the older Nobody dragged his body back to the castle and proceeded to discipline him.

His method of disciplining was violence.

"You stupid, selfish little parasite" Xemnas hissed.

He slammed the boy back to the ground where a crater formed from the impact.

"I said I would handle Hikari!"

He picked him up and slammed him back to the ground.

"You were supposed to listen to your orders (slam) But instead you go behind my back (slam) You destroyed a keyblade that we needed (slam) and you put your filthy hands on my daughter!"

As he said that, he slammed Young Xehanort so hard to the ground that he went through the floor and crashed to the lower part of the castle.

Xemnas looked at the hole he made with disgust. For someone who acted so tough, he was still a bratty teenager.

"Looks like someone is in a bad mood"

Xemnas looked over his shoulder with narrowed eyes at Xigbar.

"You were behind this"

Xigbar shrugged acting like nothing was wrong.

"I may have given him the idea to shake Hikari up a bit" he admitted.

Xemnas growled and lunged at him. Xigbar quickly stepped back and held his hands up.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa, I never told him to kill her. Even I admit that was going a little too far. The old coot still needs the brat alive for this plan to work"

His usual shit eating grin suddenly vanished.

"But I am curious why you were freaking out over the kid almost getting killed. Don't tell me you really do care for her"

Xemnas stormed past him. The glare he gave Xigbar made his skin shiver.

"Mind your own business" he growled.

He left to go see if Young Xehanort was still alive.

Xigbar growled in frustration. This was not how the plan was supposed to go. If Xemnas was attached to Hikari, then that was just going to complicate things.

"Nagu you idiot! I always have to clean up your messes" he hissed.

/

Hikari and Riku ran through the castle corridors. Time was running out and they needed to find Sora before anything could happen to him.

"Lumen said she sensed him near here" Hikari said.

They rounded the corner and ran down a hallway. When they reached the end, they found themselves in the Organization throne room. There were thirteen chairs formed in a circle. Each one was raised at a different height, clearly showing everyone's rank in the Organization. It was no surprise to Hikari that Xemnas's chair was the highest. The lowest chair however clearly belonged to Roxas and Ankoku. When they were thrown into the Organization, they were the newest, so they were ranked lower. This chair should have been empty since they were no longer part of the Organization, however it was occupied.

Sitting in its seat was Sora's body. The boy was still fast asleep, trapped within the dream realm.

"Sora!"

The two of them ran over to the chair and went to grab him but they got thrown back. Young Xehanort appeared before them, standing in front of Sora so they wouldn't get to him again.

"Hands off my new vessel" he said.

Riku groaned and slowly got up. He growled when he saw the creep who tried to kill his girlfriend.

"Vessel?"

Young Xehanort nodded. He held back the urge to flinch from the pain it caused him. He still hadn't fully healed himself after getting slammed through a few floors of the castle.

"We originally had our sights set on you" he admitted.

"But you developed a certain…resistance to darkness so we did what the Keyblade did and moved down the list"

He turned to Hikari. If only Xemnas hadn't interfered, he would have been rid of this pest.

"You on the other hand were a perfect candidate. Turning one with a heart made of pure light should have made an interesting vessel. But unfortunately, your…father…had other plans and scrapped the process"

Hikari still didn't understand why Xemnas decided against turning her into a Xehanort clone, but she would worry about that after she got out of here.

"Organization XIII's true goal is to divide Xehanort's heart among thirteen vessels" Young Xehanort continued.

"Thanks to you three, we learned not all of our candidates were fit for the task. But we managed to make up the difference. And now, Sora, the thirteenth vessel is within our grasp!"

"Thirteen…Xehanorts?" Riku said quietly.

The room suddenly filled with members of the Organization. All the empty chairs from before were filled. The last one stayed empty, yet a dark cloud formed around it.

"The real Organization XIII" Young Xehanort said.

"I am Xehanort from the most distant past. My future self gave me a task-to visit the splintered versions of myself in many worlds and ensure they gathered here today"

"You mean you're a time traveler?" Hikari asked.

"Not quite" Young Xehanort said.

"There are restrictions to movement through time. First, you must leave your body behind to do it. Then, there must be a version of you waiting at the destination. Upon arrival, you can only move forward as per the laws of time. And you cannot rewrite the events that are destined to happen"

Riku had a bad feeling about all of this. The thought of Xehanort time traveling left an uneasy feeling in his stomach.

"What have you done?" he ordered.

Young Xehanort ignored him and looked at the dark cloud forming on the highest throne.

"My most future self will arrive soon" he said.

"Then, time for all of will return to normal and I will go back to my era to live the life fate has in store. He can vouch for that"

Before anyone could do or say anything, Hikari's pendant glowed. Riku looked at it in confusion. It never glowed unless-

Just then a ball of light flew out from it and Taiyouko emerged with King Mickey in tow. The sorceress didn't waste any time and performed a spell.

"Time!" she yelled.

The whole room froze in place. All the Organization members including Young Xehanort were trapped within Taiyouko's spell.

"Mom!" Hikari cried.

"Thank goodness we made it in time!" Mickey said.

Taiyouko finally turned to them when she saw her spell was going to hold. Her usual green eyes were a deep yellow for a few seconds before turning back to normal. Hikari didn't see it, but Riku sure did.

"Those eyes looked like…"

"Grab Sora!" Taiyouko ordered.

"I can't keep this spell up for- "

Xemnas suddenly appeared in front of her and pinned her to the ground. He looked at the woman who had changed everything for him. The one who he couldn't let go.

"You should know your magic doesn't work on me" he reminded her.

Taiyouko glared at him and struggled to get out of his grasp, but Xemnas kept a firm grip on her hands.

Hikari and Riku rushed to go save her, but Young Xehanort appeared in front of them. Mickey ran forward to attack him, but the boy swatted him away and had him hit one of the chairs. The King fell to the ground passed out.

"I said hands off"

"How can you be moving?!" Hikari said.

Young Xehanort ignored her and summoned his Keyblade. He finally had it with his plans getting interrupted. This time he was going to silence them for good.

"BEGONE!" he roared.

Riku summoned his Keyblade and lunged at him. Hikari ran to her mother to save her, but Xemnas grabbed Taiyouko and jumped up to his seat. Since his was one of the taller ones, it would be hard for Hikari to get up there.

Taiyouko tried shoving Xemnas away and looked at her daughter.

"Help Riku! I'll take care of this!" she ordered.

Hikari bit her lip. She couldn't leave her mother alone with Xemnas, but she knew how Young Xehanort fought so Riku was going to have a hard time.

Turning around, she dashed over to where the two boys were fighting.

Taiyouko raised her hand and aimed it at Young Xehanort. If she used that spell again, she could give them a winning chance. Xemnas quickly grabbed her hand as she started chanting the spell.

"If you keep using that magic, you'll break the seal" he warned.

Taiyouko tried pulling her hand away, but he wouldn't let go. The more she struggled the more he pulled her close.

"Why would you care? I bet you're dying waiting for that to happen. Why push off the inevitable?"

Xemnas grabbed her face and turned it, so she was looking at him. His stoic mask that he always wore was gone. In its place was a sad, tired expression. It was the look of someone who was about to break.

"I never wanted to hurt you three, Tai. All I ever wanted to do was to keep you safe" he said softly.

Taiyouko wanted to pull away, but she couldn't. When she looked at him, she could see the Xehanort from her past. The one she gave her heart to. Tears welled up in her eyes as she thought of the past.

"How is everything that you've done meant to keep me safe?" she chocked out.

Xemnas got close to her face and pressed his lips to her ear.

"Because I found a way to free you from that witch" he said.

Taiyouko gasped.

/

"Riku!"

Riku clashed blades with Young Xehanort. When he saw Hikari running towards them, he quickly stopped her.

"Stay back! I got this!"

He didn't want her to fight him again after he almost strangled her. He didn't want Xehanort to see she got a new Keyblade.

This was his fight and his fight alone.

Young Xehanort cackled at the sight.

"What's wrong? Did you like what I did to her neck? I'm sure I could have done a better job"

Riku growled and shoved him away.

"If anyone's neck is going to get wrung it's yours!"

The two boys fought. One was to defend his girl's honor while the other wanted to be rid of this annoying headache.

When Young Xehanort clashed blades with him again, Riku grabbed his wrist and dismissed his Keyblade. The boy was puzzled by what Riku was about to do but he got his answer right away.

Pulling back his fist, Riku swung and punched Young Xehanort square in the face. The boy yelped when he felt his nose break. He was so stunned by the shock that he dismissed his Keyblade. That was all Riku needed. Grabbing the boy by the front of his jacket, Riku pulled him forward, so they were face to face.

"Let me show you what a nightmare really looks like" Riku said icily.

For the next couple of minutes, he proceeded to beat the living crap out of Young Xehanort. For being a skilled Keyblade wielder he sure didn't know how to handle hand to hand combat.

Hikari slowly stepped back when she saw how crazy Riku was getting. Guess this exam got to the better of him too.

Riku landed a sucker punch to Young Xehanort's face again and watched in satisfaction when the boy went flying. Young Xehanort spit out a mouthful of blood as he looked at Riku.

The boy didn't realize he didn't put up a fight because he was still injured from his fight with Xemnas. If he hadn't had the crap beaten out of him this fight would have ended differently.

No matter though. He stalled Riku long enough. He knew the time spell wouldn't last long so was willing to become a punching bag so his future self would appear.

Warping back to his seat, he decided he had enough of these two and this timeline. He would get his revenge later.

But for now, it was time for the main event.

When the fight ended, so did Taiyouko's spell. Time went back to normal and all of the frozen Organization members could move again.

However, that also meant time could move again for one individual. The dark cloud that formed on the highest throne finally took shape of none other than Master Xehanort himself.

The mastermind behind all of this was finally here.

"Master Xehanort! We were right about you!" Mickey cried.

The old man smiled darkly as he stared at the king. It had been a long time since he last saw him, but he still acted the same.

"All of this was decided" he simply explained.

"My twelves selves would welcome me here on this day, when I would return a complete person. It is the future which lies beyond my sight"

Hikari fought off the urge to shiver when she looked at him. She had seen him in Lumen's memories but to actually see him in person was a whole other story. This was the man that ruined everyone's lives.

"Why are you doing this?!" she demanded.

Master Xehanort raised an eyebrow when he looked at her. So, this was the girl that was giving one of his twelve selves a hard time.

"In ancient times, people believed that light was a gift. From an unseen land by the name of Kingdom Hearts" he said.

"But Kingdom Hearts was safeguarded by its counterpart, the X-blade. Warriors vied for that precious light, thus beginning the 'Keyblade War'. The violent clash shattered the X-blade into twenty-six pieces-thirteen of light and thirteen of darkness. And the only real Kingdom Hearts was swallowed by the darkness, never to surface again. I once tried to create my own pure light and darkness to forge the X-blade, but the attempt ended in failure. In my eagerness I had lost sight of the correct way to achieve my goal. I acted rashly; I can admit that now"

Mickey shook with anger. He thought what happened to Lumen and the others was just a tiny glitch to his plans. Their lives were just a minor setback.

"What you did back then-your mistakes-changed the destinies of four of my friends!" he yelled.

Master Xehanort shrugged showing what happened to those four souls didn't bother him.

"Ah, but destiny is never left to chance. I merely guided them to their proper places. The broken boy who failed to be the blade…the misguided master who sacrificed herself for a friend…the reckless youth who became my new vessel…and the naïve girl who led them all to their doom"

Mickey looked at the ground sadly. A decade later and he still felt guilty for not helping those four when they needed it the most.

"I couldn't find a way to save 'em. But I wanted to believe that their sacrifices stopped you for good. Why? How was I so blind? I should've seen it as soon as Maleficent started gathering the eight princesses of heart"

Xehanort rubbed his chin when he recalled the witch.

"Yes. They were all my doing. I used the evil fairy to find eight of the thirteen pure lights for me, just as I was preparing thirteen vessels of darkness"

"But you failed" Riku pointed out.

"Sora and Hikari stopped you in your tracks in every count"

Master Xehanort narrowed his eyes in annoyance.

"Yes…they did" he said slowly.

"Such an unexpected pair indeed. I never knew the Keyblade would pick such random souls. But I have not abandoned my ambitions-the thirteen guardians of light and the thirteen seekers of darkness"

"Thirteen guardians of light?"

Mickey started connecting the dots and realized something wasn't right.

"Well, for Keyblade wielders there's me, Riku, Hikari and sora. And my four friends so that's eight. Who would the other five be? Wait…that means…thirteen seekers of darkness…"

Master Xehanort cackled.

"Yes, little king. Perceptive as always. But Sora and another on your list belong to me now. And that puts you two guardians shot. But worry not. All of the pieces are destined to appear. Your thirteen lights just like my thirteen darkness's, whose final clash will beget the prize I seek- the X-blade!"

He stood up in his seat and summoned his Keyblade.

"But first, the thirteen darkness's shall be united. All the seats have been filled. And now the last vessel shall bear my heart like the rest!"

Sora's seat slowly started to rise so it would face Xehanort.

Riku, Hikari and Mickey panicked.

"Sora!"

They raced to grab him but were stopped by Ansem and Xigbar. Ansem summoned his dark shadow and had it grab Riku and Mickey while Xigbar pinned Hikari down and aimed his gun at her head.

"Should have run when you had the chance poppet" he said.

"Now why don't you be a good girl and stay down?"

Taiyouko went to push away from Xemnas when Xigbar aimed his other gun at her.

"If you want to take your daughter's place, I have no problem with that either. I'm in cleanup mode right now"

Xemnas pulled her back. He summoned one of his eternal blades and had it aimed at Xigbar's head. The Nobody narrowed his eyes at the sharpshooter. It was as if he was daring him to try something.

Xigbar laughed and turned to Hikari.

"Aww, isn't that cute? He's still trying to act like he was your dad. I bet Laguna would have done the same too"

Hikari's ears perked when she heard that name.

"You know my father?"

Xigbar wore a cruel smirk.

"Maybe"

Sora's seat finally reached the same level as Xehanort's. With his Keyblade aimed at the boy, he cast a spell at him. The spell flew across the room and hit the seat Sora was sleeping in. He thought he had succeeded but scowled when he saw the spell suddenly zipped to the other end of the room while Sora was dragged away from his spot.

"They made it!" Mickey cried.

Holding Sora over his shoulder was Axel while Tsukiko stood next to him holding her scythe out. She had used her powers to have the spell suddenly go in the opposite direction.

"Axel!?" Xigbar shouted.

Axel/ Lea scoffed.

"Axel? Please. The name's Lea. Got it memorized?"

Xigbar growled and took his weapon off of Hikari's head.

"You're not supposed to be here!"

"We lost our invite on the way here" Tsukiko joked.

"Besides we had a promise to keep"

"We'll always be there to help our friends" Lea said.

"You had the perfect little script, but you kind forgot to write out the sequel. Now let's find out what happens next!"

Xigbar looked at Xehanort. He should have rushed this instead of telling them what his plans were. Now they were screwed.

"What now, you old coot? Our time is up!"

Xehanort snapped his fingers and ushered one of the twelves copies of him to go for Sora. The cloaked figure summoned a familiar Claymore and slammed it onto Lea's Chakram. The force of the impact caused the copy's hood to fly back, revealing long blue hair.

Lea gasped when he saw who it was.

"Isa" he gasped.

Isa otherwise known as Saix just started at him coldly.

With Xigbar distracted, Hikari used this chance to escape. Summoning her new Keyblade, she swung it at Xigbar's head. The sharpshooter jumped back in shock, causing her to go free.

"Hikari, use the new power I gave you!" Lumen cried.

Holding the blade up, Hikari watched as chains of light flew out of it and zipped all over the room. All of the organization members were wrapped up and pinned to their seats. Riku and Mickey were freed when the chains wrapped around the Dark Shadow and pinned its arms to its side.

Xigbar struggled to free himself but couldn't. When he looked at Hikari he paled when he saw that all too familiar blade.

"Where did you get that?!"

Xehanort on the other hand had a different reaction. Instead of looking shocked he was pleased. A cruel smile was on his face when he saw that oh so familiar blade.

"You clever girl" he muttered.

"So that's where you have been hiding"

Hikari was amazed at what her new Keyblade could do. So, this was what Lumen's powers could do. Boy was she going to have fun coming up with new spells.

But she could do that once they got out of here. She looked at her companions and was relived when she saw they were free.

"Hurry! While I still have them tied up!"

When the dark shadow saw Hikari's Keyblade, something inside of it suddenly snapped. Letting out an ear shattering screech, it tore itself from its binds and lunged for the girl. Hikari found herself pulled up in the air as the shadow grabbed her and started pulling the blade from her hands. In the commotion, the chains went slack. Now freed from their bonds, Ansem and Xigbar pinned Riku to the ground so they couldn't save Hikari. Tsukiko jumped to her aid but was blocked by Saix. Lea couldn't do anything since he was holding Sora and if he moved, he had a feeling the boy would be kidnapped again.

They were all cornered.

Finally having enough, Taiyouko did something she had hoped she wouldn't have to do. Pushing away from Xemnas, she let herself fall to the ground.

"Tai!" Xemnas cried.

When Taiyouko looked at him, all he could see was yellow eyes.

"Liberi Fitali!"

The whole room was engulfed in a bright light that blinded everyone. All of the Organization members were thrown back by the spell that the sorceress threw at them.

When the light died down, Hikari was shocked to see two large golden wings sticking out of her mother's back.

"Mother?"

Taiyouko ignored her daughter and looked at Xehanort. He may have ruined her life as well as Lumen's, but she was not going to let her daughter share the same fate.

Summoning her crossbow, she aimed the arrow at his head. Xigbar aimed his weapon at her to shoot her, but Xehanort held his hand up to stop him.

"We are out of time" he said.

"Neither the union of light nor darkness has been achieved, and we must all return whence we came. But the gathering of the thirteen is nigh. Let us finish this as the fated place, once your lights and my darkness have joined together!"

Slowly the Organization members disappeared and returned to where they came from. Xigbar looked at them and scowled.

"This isn't over yet" he muttered.

Young Xehanort smiled cruelly knowing he managed to cause them harm.

Xemnas and Taiyouko locked eyes with each other. No one said anything. Nothing needed to be said. Despite all that had just happened they understood what the other was saying. Taiyouko's showed hurt and betrayal while Xemnas's was that of pleading. She would not accept his help if it meant harm would come to others.

Hikari kicked the dark shadow in the face and jumped away. The shadow weakly tried to grab the Keyblade from her, but she held it out of the way. The creature made some muffled noises behind its bandages. Hikari couldn't make out what it was saying but two words she heard clearly:

Help her

Finally, the Organization vanished, waiting for when they would clash once more.

And that was how the Mark of Mastery exam ended for our heroes.

/

A/N: And with that the Mark of Mastery exam is over! It was a hectic test but at least no one got killed.

Now that the danger is out of the way, everyone has to figure out how to wake up Sora.

Please review and tell me what you think!

Take care!