Guestwithideas: Glad to hear from you again. I'm glad you liked who the hot spring went, and brining in Chirithy was a way of informing the group of what has been happening outside. The battle with the Dreadlords was fun to write, and since they are kinda based of the ones from Genealogy, i wanted to have them pose some form of threat.
Chapter 24: Invisible Ties
"Validar! Show yourself!" Chrom shouts to the vast empty space before them. Small purple fires line the walls, doing nothing to the growing darkness surrounding them. It was abrupt when they charged inside to be met by the almost suffocating darkness if not for Lissa and Naminé summoning orbs of light to guid their way. Lea's flaming sword added to the light, illuminating the stone floor before them.
"My my… So eager to run to your deaths, Lord Chrom?" Validar's voice echoes around them as the darkness seemingly moves. Instinctively, the group huddle into a defensive circle, eyes darting to their surroundings. "And you bring so few of your friends… Are your bonds really that fragile, I wonder?"
"No more games, Validar! Stop hiding in the shadows and face us!" Validar chuckles at Chrom's demand, almost insulted that he was ordered to show himself.
"Why should I? I am right here…" He speaks, slowly stepping out of the shadows before them, a javelin throw away. Seeing him step out of the shadows, Chrom and the others advance towards him with slow but determined steps. Validar smirks at them as they approach before throwing his arms wide into the air. "Welcome, to the Dragons Table! And the end of your life."
"Shut up! Where are Sora and Kairi!?" Terra shouts, interrupting Validar. He glares at Terra, annoyed at the interruption before a cruel grin forms on his face.
"You want them? Well, here they are." He motions with his hands as the darkness around them recedes, the purple fires blazing in tensity as a vast hearth ignites behind him. Above the blaze, was the Fire Emblem, nestled on top of a dais. And on either side of Validar were the capsule, holding Sora and Kairi with their moths gagged.
"Mom! Dad!" Oceania calls out, relief and fear mixed in her voice. Caelum puts out a hand on her shoulder, stopping her from sprinting forward while Validar laughs at them with mockery.
"Why rush? They are not going anywhere. After all, we need them."
"What are you talking about Validar!?" Chrom shouts back, Falchion aimed at Validar. Validar tilts his head with a thoughtful look, as he rubs his beard. In an instant, it was gone before his deranged smirk took its place once again.
"Perhaps, this will answer your question." He says with a snap of his fingers. To his left and right, six beams of light erupted from the ground as stone moved against stone. From the ground, six more capsules revealed themselves to the group, shocking them with their occupants.
"Emm!?" Chrom and Lissa shout in surprise and shock, seeing their elder sister chained up in one of the pods asleep. Lucina's eyes widen in alongside before glancing at the other five pods, her fear growing at the back of her mind.
"Aerith!" Zack exclaims, seeing her in the pod next to Emmeryn. With eyes filled with anger, he aims the Buster Sword at Validar. Every fibre of his being resisting the urge to charge with all his might. "Let her go creep!"
"No can do hot shot." 'Luxu's voices echoes from the side, as he reveals himself to the group. "See, we need her and the other princesses for a certain something. I'm sure your Key-friends know what I'm talking about." Lea, Terra, Naminé and Ven look at each other with confused looks, before they were replaced with looks of horror.
"Oh crap…" Lea eloquently says as he looks at Sora and Kairi, who themselves were staring at 'Luxu' with wide eyes filled with realisation. 'Luxu' smirks at them before laughing out loud with glee.
"Yeah! That's right! It's not just Robin or the Fire Emblem that Master Grima needs. But the X-Blade as well!" 'Luxu' reveals with a wide grin as the looks of shock before him. None more so that the future children.
"But why did you capture the other princesses!?" Ven asks. While it was true Sora had the X-Blade, it was fully forged. What reason could they have for kidnapping the Seven Princesses of Heart?
"Let me counter that with a question of my own. What did the old coot use to make the X-Blade?" 'Luxu' asks back with his arms crossed. "I'll tell you what. Thirteen Keys of Darkness. Nothing more, nothing less. But you know what IS missing? The Seven Keys of Light. What the old man has made is a X-Blade made from nothing but Darkness. How could you call it the true X-Blade in that light?" He smirks as his lone eye falls on the capsules, a dark gleam hiding behind it. "And that's why we need the Seven Princesses. To finish what the old man started."
"We wont let that happen!" Lucina shouts back, her Falchion pointing at 'Luxu'. "We overcame our fates to see our future stop! We wont let you summon Grima and destroy the world!" Unfortunately, her words only spurred Validar to laugh at her in mockery.
"Overcame? You misunderstand. Walhart and Gangrel were always fated to fall! All you have done was push their defeats further along." He reveals, enjoying the looks upon their fates with ecstatic glee. "But I pray today's spectacle lives up to your nightmares! The Awakening Rite is not only for Exalts and Naga, you know. With it, we will arouse Grima! But our lord needs a mortal vessel, a vessel we Grimleal had worked generations to create with the Fell Dragons blood. A vessel which you so kindly brought along…" He motions with an open hand to Robin, who glares back with fire in his eyes.
"Never! I would rather die first than become a Fell Dragons puppet!" He shouts back, hand tightly gripping onto his tome. "You may claim that you created me, but my life began on the day Chrom found me in that field. The same day I met Sora and Kairi. I have been all over this worlds, and I helped change it for the better! I have fought with, laugh with, and BLEED with my friends and wife! And THAT is what matters!" He takes a moment to breath before returning his gaze at Validar. "The ties we forged, the bonds we share. Thay are of a power greater than Grima!"
Validar sneers at his son, unimpressed with his defiance. "I see. In that case, let us test those bonds shall we?" With a snap of 'Luxu's fingers, a wall of shadows erupts in the group, separating them from Chrom and Robin who stand against Validar alone. "So long as the dark barrier stands, no other soul can reach us. You must face your grime fate alone!" He turns to look at 'Luxu' with a grim smile. "I trust you can entertain our guests for now?"
"With pleasure." With a snap of his fingers, Heartless-Risen emerge from the shadows surrounding the group. Leaving them with their backs to the barrier. Glancing around with his one good eye, 'Luxu' smirks before pointing towards the trapped group. "You be good kids now!" He quips, before vanishing into a Corridor of Darkness.
The second he left, Chrom sprang into action. Levelling Falchion towards Validar, he sprints forward before coming in with a high swing. Validar catches it with darkness enveloping his hand as the two fall into a quick and fast tempo, Chrom swinging hard and fast while keeping Validar on the back foot.
All the while, Robin slowly circled around to Validar's back, charging a lightning bolt in his hand. But just as he began to finish the spell, Validar forced Chrom back before unleashing a blast of Darkness at him. Chrom ducks low, rolling under the blast as he strikes upward, aiming to strike just as Robin casts, only for Validar to teleport away.
Catching a glimpse of something above him, Chrom looks up. His eyes widen as Validar hovers above them, charging an orb of Darkness, aiming directly at Robin. "Above!" He cries out, catching his ashen-haired friend's attention. Seeing the oncoming attack, Robin dives back to avoid the blast, returning fire with an Arc Thunder he had been charging up. The strike flies true, only for Robin to grimace as the blast passes through an illusion of Validar, who laughs at the attack.
"Pitiful." He says, his voice echoing around them. Suddenly, Validar tackles Chrom with an aura of Darkness, slamming him into a nearby pillar. Dazed, Chrom struggles to his feet as Validar looks on, charging up another orb of Darkness. "Die!" He yells, flinging the orb at him only for a blast of thunder to destroy it before it reaches Chrom. Annoyed, he turns to glare at Robin, sparks crossing his arm as he returns the glare. "Stubborn boy, where did you get that perseverance from?"
"Try looking in a mirror!" Robin bites back as Chrom slides to his side. "Destiny is not going your way this time!" He shouts, launching another orb of thunder at Validar, Chrom rushing in right behind it. Validar smirks as the orb approaches before teleporting again. They were playing into his hands, and neither of them were aware.
"Mother! Behind you!" Owain cries as he dashes to Lissa's side, striking down a Heartless-Risen that had gotten close. Lissa looks over with wide eyes before a grateful smile crosses her face just as she brings her axe around into another one attacking Owain's flank.
"There's no end to them!" Say'ri exclaims as she slashes down two more. "Fie! We will be swarmed before long!" A flash of fire rushes past her as a wall of flame erupts before her. Turning to her left, she sees Lea with Flame Liberator pointing forward before he turns to the side.
"Just have to hold on until Chrom and Robin kick Validar's but! But man…" He looks around the see of red and yellow eyes as an unpleasant memory returns. "This is giving me some unwanted flashbacks…"
"Having a little, regret?" Honō asks as she goes back to back with her mother and father. Say'ri raises an eyebrow at her daughters words before hearing a chuckle escape Lea's lips.
"Nah. I can handle these punks." He quips with a smile. Say'ri shakes her head before refocusing on the foes moving around the flaming wall. It surprised them when Lea managed to form a wall of fire by swinging Flame Liberator around one day, but in this place it was proving to be worth its weight.
An orb of light impacts the ground before her, scattering the Heartless-Risen as Naminé joins them, tome in hand. "If Lea has time to do a quip, then we must be doing okay." She says with a grin, motioning her head to the surrounding area. It was true that at the start it seemed as though the entire room was flooded with foes, but that seemed to be nothing than the shadows playing tricks on their eyes. A streak of orange and silver blasts past them as Terra and Zack unleashed a dual Sonic Blade around them, weapons ripping through the dark-filled beings.
"How you holding up Zack?" Terra asks as she swings his spear around him. Zack jumps over him before brining down his Buster Sword in a twohanded slash and releasing a beam blade from the edge. The blade shoots forward, tearing through any Risen in its way before slamming into a nearby pillar.
"Fine, for now." Zack says as his eyes wander to the shadow barrier. "But I'd rather be in there." His eyes fall on Aerith's pod, barely seeable through the shadows. Terra follows his eyes, understanding Zack's words. He knew he would have done anything to get Aqua out of the Realm of Darkness if he could have. Using his shield to bash away another Risen, he glances back to Chrom and Robin locked in their fight with Validar. To his eyes, it looked like they were in a stalemate, with Validar teleporting around and Robin blocking Validar's shouts at Chrom, who guards Robin's flanks and back.
But even so, it felt too easy.
"Naminé, try attacking that barrier." Oceania suddenly asks, sliding next to her. "Even if it doesn't break, it should distract Validar and allow Uncle Chrom and Robin the chance they need." Naminé looks at her future niece, contemplating her words.
"It's worth a try." She reply before charging up an orb of light in her hand. Ven, Lucina, Caelum and Oceania stand near her, striking back at any of the Risen that remain as Naminé continues to channel magic.
Finally, she releases the orb with a trust towards the barrier. The orb explodes upon contact, the sound reverberating throughout the hall. The flash of light was blinding for several seconds as it seemingly scares the remaining Risen back into the shadows while everyone else close their eyes.
Validar, who had been readying another attack, turns to the flash with a sneer. Like a morning mist, the light fades away, revealing the barrier still standing but vastly weakened by the attack. "Fools! Did you really think such a strike would destroy the barrier!" He cries out, amused at the feebly attempt to destroy the barrier. He grins expecting to hear cries of despair, only to narrow his eyes at hearing none.
Instead, all they were doing was smirking. It only took him a few seconds to realise why, but as Validar turned around to face them again, he was struck by a lightning bolt. His muscles paralyzed by the blast, he could only glare angrily as Chrom rushed up to him.
"This ends here, Validar!" With a slash of Falchion, Chrom leaves a vast gash across Validar's chest. Purple mist begins to seep from his skin as Validar stares blankly at his chest while Chrom backs away slowly as Robin joins him. Their eyes never leaving Validar.
Then, like a puppet having its strings cut, Validar falls to the ground. Chrom and Robin share a glance, grateful to be finally done with him.
"This isn't over… Damn you BOTH!" Validar's voice suddenly echoes from his body as a orb of darkness is shot from his hand. It flies forward before slamming into Robin who had just managed to push Chrom out of the way. The blast sends Robin back, landing right in front of Sora and Kairi's pods as smoke rises from his chest. Everyone outside stare in shock as Chrom rushes over to his friend, helping him up to his feet.
"You alright?" Chrom asks while he steadies Robin on his feet. Robin nods with a shaky head as he keeps his eyes close. Chrom smiles in relief before tuning to look at Sora and Kairi who look at the both of them with thankful eyes. Eyes that only widened into horror seconds later. Confusion rushed through Chrom's veins, before an ice cold dread quickly followed.
Turning around, he was greeted by Robins eyes glowing an eerily purple as he looked back at him.
Before he could do anything, his stomach erupted in pain and heat, as sparks arced across the skin. He stumbles back, looking down at the shard of lightning sticking out from his abdomen. Looking up, he see's Robins eyes had returned to normal as his face erupted into horror and shock, while his right had sparked with lightning while shaking in dread.
"This is not your-your fault…" Chrom grits out in pain, fighting to stay standing. "Promise me, you'll escape from this place… Please go…"
And with that, he falls to the ground.
"Father! NO!" Lucina's voice echoes through the hall as she sees her father die, falling to the ground as Robin watches on breathed of all will. Then out of a blast of purple fire, Validar appears before her, blocking her view of Robin as he looks on with a satisfied grin. She feels her knees give out as she falls down, Caelum and Oceania rushing to her sides as the others join her, casting glares at Validar.
"You fiend! How did you live!" Owain shouts in anger, wanting nothing more to rush up the podium and strike Validar down. If not for the barrier.
"With the five Gemstones in hand, my magic knows no bounds. Robin is powerless to resist me! Death holds no sway over me! Human bonds, relationships, familiar ties. They are all but leaves in the wind. They offer nothing!"
"It's not over yet Validar!" Ven shouts back. "So long as we draw breath, it's never over!" Validar chuckles darkly at Ven before raising his arms high towards the barrier.
"Did I not already say? So long as this barrier holds, nothing you do will change fate!" Validar drops his arms before crossing them, projecting an aura of authority as he looks over the group with glee. "Nothing you do could ever change fate. Our victory has always been assured."
Despair began to take heart as they looked on with anger. A feeling not helped as several Heartless-Risen began to appear from behind, lances encased in shadows. All the while, Lucina could only look to the floor in defeat. Her will crushed as everything she fought to change had been in vain. Even if they could kill Validar now, they couldn't save her father, or Robin. "Everything we have done was…worthless…" She mumbles to herself as the Risen close in from behind, the light she had held onto extinguished.
"THE HELL IT WAS!" A loud voice suddenly echoes from above as two figure drop down onto the Risen. Everyone's heads, apart from Robin, turn to the source as they were met by an unbelievable sight. One of the figures who had dropped was Flavia, wielding a blessed sword and axe instead of her usual silver ones.
But it was the second figure that had everyone in shock. Dark skin, bald head with an eyepatch over one eye while swinging around a blessed axe with one hand like it was made of wood. Slamming it into one of the last Risen, he turns to look at Validar, his one eye glaring with an intense hate as he rests the axe on his shoulder.
"Don't you put any stock in this destiny hogwash! Let the dead shine about their fate…" He takes a deep breath, before slamming his chest with his left hand. "As long as I draw breath, I choose to keep fighting! That's what life is all about!" Khan Basilio loudly declares as he looks at the bewildered group, struggling to believe that he was standing before them.
"Basilio! How are—!? Riku and I saw you crushed under a landslide!" Terra asks, shocked at seeing the West Kahn before them. Basilio laughs loudly at them as he and Flavia join them, a jovial grin on his face.
"Hah, and I almost was worm food as well! Even with the help from the little lady and her friends. Those few blows from Walhart were all I needed to know that he was out of my league. Would have played possum to get by if it weren't for that hag. Luckily, I had help from the most unlikely of places."
"Who?!" Validar shouts with anger. "Who helped you!?"
"That would have been me, psycho." A calm voice erupts from the side, as a figure in a black coat appears from the shadows, clasping his hands behind his back.
"Organization XIII!?" The wielders of the Key ask in shock as the figure approaches them. The figure looks at them before sighing dramatically as his arms slump.
"No! I am not with that crazy Keyblade Warring cult! I've been wearing this before they were even born!" He shouts in indignation before huffing with his arms crossed. "Why couldn't he have chosen a different jacket?" He mumbles under his breath.
"This…does…not…MATTER!" Validar suddenly shouts, anger filling his voice. "You will be dead by the time Lord Grima comes! You cannot change that fate!" That anger only grew as Basilio and Flavia burst out laughing at him as the MoM walked up to join them.
"This guy is supposed to be the manipulator? I'm not impressed. He still believes that things are going to plan." The MoM asks, barely holding back a chuckle of his own. Validar's anger tapers out as he looks at the newcomers with confusion alongside the rest of the group.
"Did you not know Validar? Robin had already predicted what would happen here. He told both me AND Chrom that he had a dream of this. This very fight." Flavia reveals with a growing smirk on her face, while everyone else looks on in puzzlement. If Robin knew what was going to happen, did he have a plan to deal with it?
"And guess what else what else was in the dream? The Five Gemstones! When Flavia gave my stone to Chrom, Robin was what fate had in store. Did you really think that Robin would allow Chrom to bring the real Gemstones here to Plegia?" Basilio adds on with folded arms. Validar's face twists in anger, even as he tries to smirk with a response.
"A worthy bluff, fool. But I have had your party watched ever since you left Carrion Isle! I know every move that you took, even your little excursion to that hot spring resort in the mountains! Robin has never been near ANY of the stones!"
"You forget one thing, 'King'." The MoM speaks, wagging his finger in front of him. "While you were watching them, I was watching from the shadows. You men were only watching those who were alive, yes? Those you know about? They weren't watching us." He motions to himself and Basilio, who gives the MoM a stink eye.
"You could have helped when I changed the stones around you know. Making an old man like me climb in through a skylight…" He grumbles softly, to which the MoM shrugs his shoulders at. The little interaction had re-sparked the light of hope withing the group, as they all turn to face Validar with new conviction, even as the King himself brock down into a ranting rave.
"No matter! None of this matters anyway! Chrom is still dead! Robin is under my control and cannot be broken! Your fates are sealed! Destiny cannot be changed! And Grima will—!" His ranting is ended as the sound of electricity crackles and sparks behind him, building in intensity as a soft glow lights up. Puzzled by the sound, he turns around only to find Robin pointing his hand at him, an orb of thunder sparking like a lit fuse hovering before him as his eyes stare at him with pure anger.
"CHECKMATE!" Robin shouts as he unleashes a fully charged Thorn on Validar. Unprepared for the sudden attack, he is blasted backwards before crashing into the barrier, blood sprouting from his mouth as its shatters from the force of the blast. Already weakened earlier by Naminé's attack, the barrier disintegrates as Validar lands on the floor with a heavy thud. Raising his head up, his eyes widen in horror as, with a steady hand from Robin, Chrom rises back onto his feet with beads of sweat on his face.
"Father!" Lucina cries out in happiness as she rushes to hug him, stepping on Validar's right hand. Chrom accepted the hug with a grunt, the injury on his stomach not yet healed. "You're alive." Lucina speaks as tears flow from her eyes.
"I am…Just like how we planned." Chrom reveals, giving his friend a weak smile. Robin shakes his head, exasperated, as he returns the smile.
"You asked me to make it that intense. You KNOW I could have made it less painful." He replies as the group rushes past them to free the captives. Chrom gives a strained chuckle before glancing at Emmeryns pod as Lissa and Naminé work to release it. Lucina looks between the two before giving a tear-infected giggle, wondering how Sumia and Tiki would react if they found out about this.
"No…" Validar says with growing dread as Terra places his spear next to his head. With his right hand crushed and the wound on his chest by Robin, he could only glare as the Shepherds went to work on the pods.
A hiss from behind alerted the three to Sora and Kairi's pods opening, the chains wrapping around their bodies vanishing into darkness as they removed the gags from their mouths. No sooner did they remove them, they found themselves enveloped in a hug by Caelum and Oceania.
"I knew you would rescue us." Sora says gently as he pats his daughter's head. Oceania gives off a small sniffle as she tightens the hug.
"Don't EVER do that again! We already lost you once. We couldn't handle losing you a second time." Sora gives a soft chuckle as he pats her head, Kairi doing the same with Caelum. Another hiss on their right, and Emmeryns pod was opened, with Lissa and Naminé moving the sleeping Exult to the ground.
"Emm! Can you hear me!? Wake up!" Lissa cries, shaking her shoulder, but Emmeryn remains asleep. Before Lissa tried again, the MoM walked up to her and placed his hand on Emmeryns face, whispering a spell under his breath. A few seconds later, Emmeryns eyes flutter open as she groggily returns to the land of the living. She looks around, waiting for her vision to return, before finding her gaze locking with Lissa.
"Lissa?" Emmeryn softly breathes, her eyes watering as Lissa wraps her elder sister into a hug, crying tears of joy. Emmeryn could feel her breathing hitch as she glanced to her left, seeing the Master of Masters kneeling beside her before spotting a very familiar hair of blue walking towards her. "Chrom?" It was all she got out before finding herself in a double hug with Chrom and Lissa.
"Sister…I'm so glad you're alive…" Chrom says as tears flow down his cheeks. Emmeryn, deciding to stay quietly, lets her siblings hug her as the others work to break the remaining princesses out of their pods.
"Come on, Aerith, wake up!" Zack pleads to her as he holds Aerith gently. A soft groan escapes her lips as she opens her eyes, her vision filled with Zack's ecstatic face.
"Zack?" She says as a swell of emotions rises in her as Zack envelops her in a hug. One she gratefully returns. "You're alive…we thought you were…were…"
"I'm sorry for disappearing on you guys. I'm not going anywhere this time. I swear." Zack mumbles to her. Aerith closes her eyes as she leans into Zack, contempt with knowing he is alive. She would interrogate him later to find out what happened to him.
All around, the other pods were opened, much to the joy of their occupants as they awakened from their slumbers. Before all eyes fall on Validar, who could only look up with a furious glare.
"It's all over Validar. We changed our destiny. We have won." Chrom proudly declares with a grin. Before, a flash of purple erupts next to Validar, revealing the other 'Robin' standing beside him with a bored look. Those who had not seen him before looked quickly between the two Robins as questions soared through their minds. While the Master of Masters looks on from behind, his hidden eye narrowing at the being before him. Time for the exposition. He mentally tells himself.
"You may have altered the course of history. But you have not changed its destination." He says uncaringly, sending shivers down the recently rescued princesses. "It is still written that Chrom died here at your hands. Or, perhaps, to be more precise…mine." A dark smile forms on his face as dark flames envelop his figure.
"Just who are you?! We know that you are not Robin!" Kairi asks, a hand reaching for Destiny's Embrace. 'Robin' sighs in disappointment as he looks over the group with bored eyes.
"You can be so daft sometimes…Think about it. If I am not 'Robin', then I must be something possessing him, correct? In that case, the answer should be simple." He tilts his head before raising his right hand. "But I suppose I can give you a hint." On the back of his hand, an emblem began to glow in a deep purple light before the fires behind him shot up into a dragon-like head. With two long horns on either side and eight glowing red eyes. A figure that Lucina and her friends knew all too well.
"Grima!" Lucina shouts through gritted teeth, venom in her voice. 'Robin', or rather, Grima, laughs at her mockingly as the group before him finally puts the dots together.
"Correct! The 'Robin' that you see before you is nothing but an empty shell. I had long ago consumed his heart. No trace of him remains. Just like what was supposed to happen to you." He glances at Robin, an ire flaring behind his eyes.
"What are you talking about?" Sora asks, gripping Kingdom Key in his hand.
"I knew that if Lucina and her friends managed to rewrite history, I would cease to be. So to prevent that, I attempted to unite the two of us, but the shock of my attempt wiped Robin off all his memories. Such a weak heart could not hold my vast powers."
"That's why I couldn't find anything…" Naminé mumbles quietly to herself, heard only by Robin standing beside her.
"Seeing my attempt fail, I decided on the next best thing. By making sure events that were to happen did. Such as when Validar was killed in his failed assassination on Emmeryn or when you safely rescued her from Gangrel."
"That lightning we saw…that was you?!" Lissa demands a fury building in her eyes.
"As much as I would want to take the credit, it was not me." Grima dismisses offhandedly. "Although, it is a shame that we had to recover her whole. It would have been much more simpler if we had her heart." He glances down at Validar, who looks at him pleadingly.
"My Lord! Please, help me!" Validar pleads, raising his broken hand. "I can still—!" He never gets to finish as a dark blade plunges into his chest, blood bursting like water from a burst pipe. Validar choked on his own blood as he looked at Grima in shock, as a cold and disappointed stare glared down at him.
"You have served your purpose, puppet." Grima growls before tearing the blade out of Validar's chest, leaving his follower to die a pathetic death. Turning back to face the Shepherds and Guardians, Grima grins with glee at the looks he is seeing. All of them stared in shock at the weapon in his hands.
From the tip of the point to the bottom of the hilt, it was almost as tall as him if standing upright. The handle was made from two rectangular guards fused together, with grips in each guard for its user to hold it in three different ways. Coloured in shades of black, purple and red, two long black blades extend from the two guards, while long frills extend from the sides, the colours morphing from black and red with a hint of purple. From the two blades rose another blade, its shape modelled after a normal sword blade coloured in hues of purple. While all around the blade, seven red lights swirled around in perfect harmony.
And dangling from the two bottoms of the guards was a keychain.
"Is that…the X-Blade!?" Sora shouts in alarm, seeing the legendary blade held in Grima's hands. Although compared to the one Xehanort had created, this one looked more demonic than benevolent. And the seven orbs floating around the blade did nothing to ease his fears. His fellow Guardians shared his thoughts as they stared at the blade wearingly as Chrom and his fellow Shepherds remained on edge, feeling the pressure emitted by the blade as a glow enveloped Grima.
"You are correct, in a sense." Grima reveals, holding the blade up high. "This is the true form of the X-Blade! Formed from Xehanort's Thirteen Keyblades of Darkness and the Seven Hearts of the Princesses of Heart!"
"But how can you even wield it!" Ventus shouts. "There is no chance that the X-Blade would even allow itself to be wielded by you! The only reason Xehanort and Vanitas could was that they were already Keyblade Wielders and the Keyblade would never choose a person like you!" Grima lowers the blade with a huff, shaking his head despondently.
"You would be right if it was not for a loophole." He looks directly at Sora as a grin forms on his face. "Since the X-Blade has chosen him, it is fair to say that I would never be able to wield it. Even if he was to die. So…" He holds up his left hand as another floating heart appears above it, encompassed in shadows. "I forced it to obey with your own heart."
"What!?" Everyone shouts in shock, staring at the floating heart in Grima's hand.
"You didn't think I brought you here to remove you as an obstacle, did you?" Grima says with an exasperated sigh. "I'm sure the other 'me' has figured out what I intended to do." Everyone looks at Robin, who is staring at his evil doppelganger with narrow eyes.
"Then tell me this, 'me'." Robin spits as he takes a step forward. "How did you do it anyway?" Grima chuckles as the darkness around him solidifies into a swirling mass behind him.
"Why not? You will be dead soon anyway…" He says, his eyes glowing.
Flashforward.
Grima walks through the Dragon Table with an ecstatic grin on his face. Behind him, lying on the ground before the empty pods, was Chrom's unmoving body. Slain by him. It was a pity that Robin had managed to throw Falchion out to one of their comrades before he managed to take over completely, but it was a minor setback.
He still had all the stones. Chrom's only daughter was still a child. He had six of the seven hearts needed for his grand plan. Or rather, he had all that he needed before him.
Kneeling on the ground, pinned by his Risen-Heartless, were the final two pieces for his plan.
Sora and Kairi.
The two fools had stayed behind to give their friends a fighting chance. But all it had done was drop the final pawns into his lap. Oh, they remained defiant, refusing to surrender even with Validar, Aversa and 'Luxu' assisting his forces. It was only after he took to the field that they finally broke.
"Well, shall we get this started, boss?" 'Luxu' asks, summoning No Name to his hand as he steps before Sora. Grima grins darkly, stepping up behind him as Sora glares at them both.
"Yes. We shall." He says before plunging his hand into 'Luxu's back. The man, taken aback by the sudden attack, blinks at the hand emerging from his chest. Grasping onto his heart with a vice-like grip. "Your usefulness has come to an end." Grima informs as No Name vanishes from 'Luxu's hand and appears in Grima's. Violently ripping his hand from 'Luxu's back, he watches as his body fades away to darkness before gazing at Validar and Aversa. With a cruel grin, he stalks over to the two, surrounded by the Heartless-Risen.
"My Lord!? Why are you doing this!?" Validar asks with confusion in his voice. "Have we not been loyal servants?!" Grima smirks at him before plunging the blade into Validar's chest. With a simple pull, he draws the Keyblade out of him before doing the same to Aversa, her cries of pain echoing around before they are quickly silenced.
"You monster…" Kairi mumbles as Grima walks over to them, his grin never leaving his face.
"Don't think you have won…our friends will find a way to beat you…" Sora says through gritted teeth. Grima tilts his head, seemingly thinking of a response, before shrugging his shoulders.
"They can try." He responds before plunging the blade into Sora's chest. The sharp edge of the Keyblade sliced through the bottom of his necklace. Sora cries out in pain as the blade pierces through him before an orb of light is pulled from his body. Weakened by the battle, Kairi could only watch on, horrified, as Grima violently extracted his heart before a wave of darkness swarms over Sora's body. With a sadistic grin, he turns to Kairi as he lifts the blade to her chest. The blade hovered over her necklace. "Thus begins the end of man."
And with a single thrust, he pierces her chest with the Keyblade.
Flashforward ends
"You bastard…" Sora says with building anger as everyone readies themselves for a fight. Grima merely chuckles at their response, holding the X-Blade high.
"Try all you like. Nothing can ever harm me as long as I hold the X-Blade!" He gloats with glee before turning his attention outside. "And since you have refused to eat at the Dragon Table…I WILL CLAIM THIS FEAST FOR MYSELF!" With a blast of purple light, the corrupted X-Blade shouts out to the sky as the fires around Grima burn in intensity. Releasing what was happening, as rocks began to fall around them, the group rush to exit the table as lightning thunders above them.
Reaching outside, they find their friends falling back to safety as the Dragon Table collapses all around them. Lightning strikes nearby, forcing them to the ground as a vast shadow falls over them. Turning their heads to the sky, they find the source of the shadow hovering above them. Coiled like a snake around the ruins, holding its head up to the sky as it roars in revelry.
The Fell Dragon Grima had returned.
And behind him, forming from parting clouds, was a large purple-shaped heart with meteors of black fire raining down from its surface.
A corrupted Kingdom Hearts had been summoned.