Chapter 36
Everyone kept on running inside Sark's command ship. A few guards appeared out of nowhere and Goofy shot them on the head unmercifully. Donald would then jump on the wall and actually run, while swinging his twin lightsabers incredibly fast as he sliced and diced a few of Sark's robotic men. Sora was relieved they were robots and not humans. Sylvia used a healing spell to give everyone strength. Vanitas pulled out a dagger and stabbed a few of the robots along the way, while staying close to Sora.
Riku on the other hand kept on attacking with his chainsaw. Like a maniac, he laughed as the robots fell. No one said anything, which surprised Sora. But Kairi was stumbling as she ran. She looked angry. Very angry. She wanted a piece of Darth Vader back there, but she gritted her teeth. She then pulled out her pink lightsaber, ran ahead of everyone and started to slice them in pieces next to Donald.
"Die all of you!" she cried.
Again, no one said anything. Sora watched helplessly as Kairi raged against the robots. Sark quickly went into the hallway, startled by the noises. He expected company, but he didn't expect everyone to arrive destroying his men.
Sark was about to say something. He was about to put his hand forward and tell everyone to stop. He was going to be the authority. In his mind, he was thinking of putting everyone in jail, next to Bruno of course. He would then deliver Sora to Chernabog and all their worries would be over.
Sark put out his hand. And Kairi chopped it off in an instant. Sark wasn't able to process what just happened. Kairi chopped his hand off with her lightsaber. And then, she pierces it in his stomach. She then twisted the blade and sliced up to his face, and ultimately his head. Electrical sparks flew from Sark's body. It was then that Kairi realized she didn't do away with a robot.
"Kairi!" cried Sylvia.
Sark fell to the floor, dead. Kairi saw him, and she gasped aloud. Goofy and Donald pulled her hands quickly, while avoiding touching the lightsabers.
"Forget him! There's more coming!" cried Donald.
Kairi snapped out of it and kept on attacking the robots. Sora looked back at the unfortunate Sark. His eyes were wide open and he was bleeding. It wasn't human blood. It was more like a black oil like ooze that was spreading all over the ground. Sora looked away from the horrific site and kept on running.
…
Darth Vader and Sephiroth caused a massive mess in the throne room. The walls were cut with sword marks, and the throne itself was cut to pieces. They kept on trading blows and not one of them put a scratch on each other. Their fight was perfection. Each and every attack melded beautifully with each other like dancers.
"This isn't getting us anywhere. I feel like I need to spare your life and perhaps forgive you. But you are still alive. How is that possible?" asked Sepiroth.
"I told you. The power of the Dark Side of the Force is what allows me to move. I breathe it. I live it. I worship it. It is a part of me that allows me to survive in this black coffin I live in." said Darth Vader.
"Hard to imagine you were human once. And you said it perfectly accurately. Your suit IS a black coffin. Then there is no need for you to die. It seems you are already in some state of death." said Sephiroth.
"Before you leave me in peace, I have one question for you. I have read up on you a while back. It is said you are this planet's salvation, and that you are linked to the heart of this world. Why would a divine being stoop so low to work for a demon from the outside world?" asked Vader.
"I have my personal reasons. Such as you, when you chose that suit." said Sephiroth.
"I never chose this suit. This is the result of the ultimate betrayal." said Vader.
"You know suffering. So do I. But there are others who do not know the meaning of the word." said Sephiroth. He then used his Masamune to slice the ground. And the castle was begging to move.
"So, you decide to sink my castle. Fool. The Mouskateers are on Sark's ship, which is linked to this hallway right there. Shouldn't you sink that instead?" said Vader.
"Mustafar's lava flow is similar to the life stream. I know how to manipulate it to my will." said Sephiroth with a smile.
"Not alone you won't. Let's make this into a competition. We were tied to swordplay. I wonder how the powers of the One Winged Angel would do with the power of the force." said Vader.
"Please stop. The force this and the force that. Isn't there anything else you would rather boast about?" sneered Sephiroth.
….
"Vader knew your father?" asked Sylvia to Kairi.
"Yes. He was an engineer for him in this castle. I thought he killed him." said Kairi sadly as they ran.
"Look! Isn't' that Marvin the Martian!?" cried Max.
"Oh dear. Are you here to save me or to do away with me." asked Marvin nervously.
"We are here to rescue you!" said Goofy cheerfully.
"Who's Bruno?" asked Sora.
"He's an unlucky guy Vader locked up. We better hurry and save him." said Marvin.
"You know the way? Lead us then." said Vanitas.
"Hold on, you kids. Before we leave, we have to make sure there are no more of Sark's robots." said Marvin.
The mention of Sark made Kairi shiver.
"Sark won't be coming. We need to save Bruno. Where is he?" asked Goofy quickly.
"Right this way!" cried Marvin, leading everyone into the hallway. Marvin ran as fast as his little legs could carry him, making Sora chuckle inside.
Just then, an alarm sounded. "That's not good." said Max.
"Something must have happened." said Riku. He then turned off his chainsaw.
"Keep going!" cried Sylvia.
Everyone kept on running and they reached the cell. Bruno was meditating and he opened his eyes wide.
"The Mouseketeers. I knew you would save me. But now, we are all going to die." said Bruno.
"Wait, what?!" cried Sora.
"What do you mean?" cried Donald.
"Vader and Sephiroth. They are pushing lava into the command ship. If we don't move along, we will all burn!" said Bruno, opening his eyes as wide as he could, making him look deranged.
Kairi turned back and yelled. "You won't hurt my friends!" she cried and ran.
"Kairi! Wait!" cried Sora as he chased after her.
"Sora! Kairi! No!" roared Riku. The ground split apart and lava burst up, separating the group from Sora and Kairi.
Kairi ran back into the hallway with the dead robots and the fallen Sark. She didn't care if she had to step on them to get to the hallway. Sora ran behind, but he struggled to get to her.
Eventually, she arrived at the destroyed throne room, And she ran up to Vader. She pierced her lightsaber in his stomach, like she did to Sark.
Vader did not expect that to happen. He gasped aloud and his breathing became critical.
Sephiroth on the other hand looked and didn't say a word. He folded his arms as Kairi then moved her lightsaber out of Vader's body, through the ribs.
Vader however did not fall to the ground. He looked at Kairi and ignited his lightsaber.
"Just like your father. He defied me. Fortunately, he took his own life. Imagine how glad I was knowing he did me the favor of taking himself out!" sneered Vader.
Kairi screamed and kept fighting Vader with her lightsaber. Sephiroth watched as the fight went on, and the alarm kept on sounding even more dire. Sora arrived and he was powerless. He had no weapon, he had nothing to aid Kairi.
"The dark side of the force is a pathway to many abilities some consider to be unnatural. As such, you will be sad to know that if you cannot kill me." said Vader.
"I will!" cried Kairi.
"You would kill a ghost of the Darkside?" asked Vader.
"Ghost?" cried Kairi.
"I died a long time ago. I was defeated by my son, Luke, a Jedi Knight. I am but a fragment of the darkside that survived. This means that you are too late." said Vader.
"Fragment or not, you are going to die, and you won't hurt anybody again!" cried Kairi. She then used her lightsaber to cut off Vader's mask. It flew across the throne room, only for it to explode.
Kairi watched in horror as a familiar face was looking back at her. It was her own. Then the body vanished into a puff of smoke.
"What was that?" cried Sora.
Sephiroth then laughed. He laughed very softly, but it was very mocking and insulting. He then took it upon himself to explain.
"Since this was a fragment of the darkside or whatever it was, it reacted to Kairi's negativity. It was a powerful anger she carried that this fragment manifested into her after she destroyed it. This means only one thing. Kairi has become Vader." said Sephiroth.
"You're lying!" cried Sora.
"Kairi, how does it feel to be a cold blooded murder? You killed Vader. He may have been a ghost or a fragment as he said he was, but he was alive, like a person." said Sephiroth.
"I didn't just kill Vader. I killed someone else. Someone in the hall." said Kairi.
"I beg your pardon?" asked Sephiroth.
"I killed someone else!" cried Kairi.
"You did? Shame." said Sephiroth.
"Stop it! Stop hurting her Sephiroth! Stop it!" cried Sora, standing in front of the One Winged Angel.
"You. You're the boy Xehanort is obsessed over. You look so small and meek. How could a boy like you be such a menace to an old man like him?" Sephiroth said as he observed Sora up and down.
"Please… stop this at once. No more killing. No more darkness. My friends and family… they are not themselves. They are suffering in this world. And I bet you suffered. Something happened to make you horrible. What was it?" said Sora.
Sephiroth raised his chin and looked down on Sora. "I have lost faith in humanity. There is nothing left for me to live for. This world, this dimension. It shall be mine. And mine alone." said Sephiroth.
Sora shook his head. "You people are hopeless. You live on the the suffering of others. If Xehanort wants me, he could have me, but spare everyone else." said Sora.
"You would give yourself up for them? For her? She's a mass murder now. She killed two people." said Sephiroth.
"She's my friend. And she's a hero!" cried Sora.
Kairi turned to see Sora.
"Kairi is a hero to us all! She fought against that fragment. A fragment that you couldn't even destroy! She stopped him, and thanks to her, no one will be hurt by him and that man in the hallway! If she did away with you now, she had no choice! She's doing what heroes do! Kairi would spare your life, but she knows that you are a heartless and soulless monster who only craves to watch the world burn! If she needs to destroy you, so be it! She is saving the world from YOU!" said Sora with a newfound courage he never thought he had.
Sephiroth's eyes widened and he gritted his teeth in anger. Sephiroth was usually calm and he took things a little easier. But Sora hurt him where it hurt. He wasn't able to kill Vader. Kairi took him out in a couple of seconds. And Sephiroth couldn't even place a scratch on him. His large black wing spread wickedly with black feathers falling all over the ground. And he didn't say a word. He pulled out his Masamune. And he was about to slice Sora in half. He was about to.
But then, Kairi ran and deflected the blade with her lightsaber. Sephiroth snarled and flew back. He armed himself with his Masamune, ready to fight. Kairi was also about to get ready, but lava started to ooze into the throne room. Sora stood back as the lava started to burn its way inside, making the throne room unbearably hot.
And then, a miracle happened. A beautiful miracle.
Kairi's lightsaber disappeared. It disappeared for just one instant. And in its place, an elegant weapon appeared. A long and beautiful blade with flowers decorated on the tip of the sword.
"A Keyblade! Impossible." Sephiroth said in anger.
Kairi looked at her new blade and she braced herself. Sephiroth was now on top of her, but her Keyblade stopped Sephiroth's sword from hurting her. With all her might, she pushed Sepiroth away. When she did, she then did something unexpected. With the Keyblade in hand, she ran into the walls of the lava infused throne room and she made incredible acrobatic attacks against Sephiroth.
Her way of attacking looked so beautiful, it was like watching a ballerina doing pirouettes. Sephiroth found that he was not doing anything to hurt Kairi. He growled like a beast and kept on attacking. Eventually, Sephiroth was able to hurt Kairi somewhat. He did manage to cut her skin a little and blood did came out. He then pressed his blade into her head softly, making a deep cut and blood rolling down on her face. But that didn't stop Kairi. She ran up to Sephiroth and kept on attacking him.
And then, Kairi hit Sephiroth with her Keyblade. It didn't pierce through his body, but it did hurt him massively. Sephiroth's large black wing touched the lava with its tip and soon his large black wing was engulfed in flames.
Sephiroth screamed. He never screamed. But the wing was damaged and the fire eventually got to the rest of his body. Sephiroth tried to roll on the ground. But instead of rolling into solid ground, he rolled into the lava, finishing the rest of him.
Kairi stood triumphantly before the lava and screamed. Sora watched in disbelief at everything that happened. He didn't know what to say. Kairi then ran to Sora. And she held out her hand.
"Let's go." she said aloud. Sora held her hand they ran outside while the throne room was now getting engulfed in lava. When they reached outside, they saw everyone by the truck. Marvin was with them, as well as Bruno.
"They are safe! Just like you said they would be!" cried Vanitas cheerfully.
"My predictions are never wrong." said Bruno.
"Really? How about when you said we were all going to die?" asked Max.
"That would be… later. Much later into the future…." said Bruno, trying to sound mysterious.
"It's no wonder no one talks about you." said Donald.
"I never heard of him. I didn't know he was a Mouskateer." said Goofy.
Kairi still held on to Sora's hand as they walked towards the truck.
"Quickly guys! We need to find a safe place! Mustafar is not looking great right now." said Max.
Kairi didn't let go. She still held on to Sora's hand. By the time they reached the truck, she then kissed Sora on the cheek.
She quickly went inside the truck while Sora was blushing. "Sora, hop in!" cried Riku.