Chapter 57: attack of the 50 ft rodent

I do not own kingdom hearts or the properties shown in this fanfic. They belong to the respective owners and the original story is based on the works of Darius Almighty. Kingdom hearts and trials of the keyblade is owned by square Enix, Disney, and Tetsuya Nomura. Please support the official release.

Right. Now for the final conclusion of taking back radiant garden! This fanfic features a heartless version of godzilla! (please play any japanese music of how Godzilla means for the nice kind folk of Japan)

With that out of the way, here's the next chapter. Enjoy!

With the generator destroyed the shield encompassing the city beginning to fold in on itself, for the first time in weeks the people of Radiant Garden could look up to a sky without pollution blocking their view; they could finally breathe in the free air. Then they saw something else in the sky, specs that grew larger as they descended. They were Rebel Alliance drop ships, lead by none other than the Shera, heading straight for the city as fast as they could, the shield no longer a hindrance to them. They'd split up and had started landing in all parts of Radiant Garden. Reinforcements had arrived.

The Shera landed in the middle of the large city square, its propellers coming to a stop, its ramp coming down. "Come on, boys!" Cid hollered, standing before a force of Rebel Alliance soldiers armed with laser rifles. He himself wielded his metal spear. "You want to live forever? Not while you're with me you're don't! CHAAARRGGEE!" Rebel soldiers rushed out of the airship and into the streets, the same happening with all the other drop ships. Stormtroopers were instantly met in battle by their sworn enemies, lasers flying back and forth, casualties occuring on both sides. But the Imperial forces were slowly being pushed back under the combined assault of the Rebels and the heroes of Radiant Garden.

From one of the drop ships emerged a figure among the Rebel troops. It was a man clad in a simple brown cloak, hood over his head to conceal his eyes. He looked out into the city and the battlefield it was about to become, then strode calmly into it.

"Yeah! Viva la resistance!" Barret cheered when he emerged from the drop ship. His metal arm switched to his cannon and opened fire, bullets mowing down countless Stormtroopers. An AT-ST came into view and, when its head turned to him, Barret switched his arm again, transforming it into a powerful laser cannon. In one powerful green energy blast he blew its head right off, its smouldering body crashing to the ground. "God bless this city!"

Two Stormtroopers were blown right off their speeder bikes by two precise shots from a triple barreled handgun, their rides crashing and exploding afterwards. Vincent Valentine blew the smoke from his weapon and was about to holster it, when more Imperial soldiers emerged from the streets around him. Stormtroopers surrounded Vincent on all side, hundreds of them at least, each one of them aiming their rifles squarely at him. "It's only fair to warn you," Vincent said calmly. "I know gun-fu." He suddenly turned into a hideous blood-red shroud and swept through their ranks, an unstoppable emissary of chaos and death. The soldiers screamed, firing their guns, lashing out with their fists, but he was too fast, too sleek - too deadly.

Aerith and Tifa found themselves fighting back to back against everything the Imperials could throw at them, and were knocked back by strong fists or powerful magic. They came at the ready; they were together as an AT-ST came at them and suddenly someone leapt over their heads. A blond haired man wielding two giant swords came running towards the vehicle, slicing through both of its legs, toppling it to the pavement. As the man recollected himself, he turned to both the women. They gasped.

"Cloud!" they exclaimed at the same time.

"Get down!" Cloud shouted, just before ten Stormtroopers went flying over their heads. Not far off Imperials were being torn to pieces by the alien of destruction named Stitch. For being so small and cute he was vicious and powerful. He jumped cackling through the Stormtrooper ranks, punching and kicking, grabbed two of their rifles and unloaded into them mercilessly. A speeder bike came zipping round a corner and went barreling for Stitch. Stitch tossed the rifles aside, knocked away the lasers it fired with his bare claws, and growled as the rider came straight for him. Instead of splattering the little guy all over the bike like the Stormtrooper had intended, it came to an abrupt halt when Stitch grabbed the front, sending the rider screaming into a wall.

"Blue punch buggy!" Stitch laughed, and used the speeder like a baseball bat against the Stormtroopers. Another AT-ST came into view then, and Stitch threw the bike with all his might at its head where they collided in a nasty explosion.

Tifa and Aerith were so mesmerized by the blue fuzzball they didn't even notice Cloud and mounted up on his bike. "Cloud, wait! Don't leave!" Tifa shouted. Cloud looked at both women who loved him, their faces hopeful and at the same time confused. He looked away sadly. Kick-starting his bike, he roared down the street before the two could stop him. Stitch was gnawing on a screaming trooper's leg when he heard Cloud coming, immediately leaping onto a building's wall and pushing off it, somehow landing on Cloud's back as he came flying by.

"Cloud!" Aerith called after him. But he was already gone...so fast that Aerith wasn't sure he'd ever been there at all. "Cloud?"

"We've got these guys by the balls now!" Wayne Szalinski declared happily , watching with Lulu as battles took place, without actually involving themselves in them. "This is only a true testament to brains over brawn! Hahaha! Laugh with me, Lulu!"

"Not on your life," Lulu said dourly.

"Oh right, I forgot. You're completely devoid of laughter. But I tell you, Lulu, this fighting really brings out the beast in me! I feel like I can bend steel girders! Dance with the devil! Grow a beard! I can - uh oh." An AT-ST was coming toward them hot and heavy. "Get the shrink ray! The shrink ray!" But the Imperial walker was already upon them, preparing to fire. Suddenly, out of nowhere, Herbie came screeching down the street with Ron behind the wheel, stopping before the AT-ST. Kim crawled from the passenger window, hefting the biggest laser cannon any of them had ever seen, pointed it at the walker, and blew it to smithereens in a single deadly shot.

Szalinski blinked in astonishment. "Uh, a bit overkill, don't you think?"

"That's what I said," Ron said. Rufus nodded in agreement.

"Hey, I didn't start this war, but it's on!" Kim shouted fiercely. A Chocobo came riding up then, carrying Jack Skellington and Zidane as its riders.

"The hour of victory is at hand, my friends!" Jack Skellington declared. "We shall fall drive them out of this fair city. No longer will it bear the chains of oppression! For Hollow Bastion!"

"Radiant Garden," Lulu corrected.

"Whatever."

"Uh, guys?" Zidane stammered, looking off to the distance where the citadel was. "What is that?" The citadel, a smouldering hole now in its center, had something coming out of it. And it was big. It was a massive Heartless, in the shape of some kind of lizard. Spikes lined it back, sharp teeth adorned its mouth, and large yellow eyes set themselves on the city. Crawling its way out of the citadel, it let out a massive roar across the land.

"It's...," Kim stammered.

"It's...," Jack Skellington gasped.

"It's HEARTLESS-ZILLA!" Ron screamed.

Once Heartless-zilla made its way out into the open, it leapt into the street, landing with a crash that shook the entire city. Another roar let loose as it started destroying everything in its sight. Buildings were smashed apart with a mere step. The nearly-beaten Imperial forces now had yet another problem to deal with, as Stormtroopers and AT-ST's were viciously attacked or simply eaten as they tried in vain to fight back.

Plan NO HEART was a relatively new idea introduced to the Empire by Chief Bast himself. It was his reasoning and understanding that, while the Heartless were a dangerous enemy, when dealt with correctly, they made for an excellent tool. His superiors rejected this idea, opining that the risk of falling to a Heartless incursion was too great, but that didn't stop Bast from implementing the plan himself. And, a little genetic manipulation never hurt, either.

Back in the citadel, Sora, Kairi, Jack Sparrow, Mulan and Shelke recollected themselves from the shock of the explosion. Kairi recovered the fastest, ran to the window and looked outside, the blue sky meeting her eyes immediately. "The shield's gone! It worked!" she cheered. The celebration was cut short because soon she caught sight of the massive Heartless monster rampaging through the city. "Uh oh."

"When are we gonna catch a break?" Sora groaned. Quickly, he opened the window and leapt out onto the sill. "Mulan, Jack, you guys look after Shelke. Come on, Kairi!"

"What? But-AAAAHHHHHH!" Sora had grabbed Kairi's wrist and took her with him when he leapt from the window sill. Suddenly, in a bright flash, the two were flying off on the back of the great golden eagle, Marahute, and straight for Heartless-zilla.

"Ah, to be young," Jack Sparrow sighed leaning out of the window. "And be able to fly on a giant pigeon."

KHKHKHKH

Meanwhile, in a dilapidated old building in town, two combatants oblivious to the happenings in the city continued to duke it out. Beast and Azul the Cerulean were going all out. Right now, Beast was dodging shells blasted from Azul's cannon with animal-like reflexes or knocking them away with his Keyblade, then sending it flying like a boomerang. It knocked Azul's cannon from his hands and he was all but defenseless when Beast checked into him. If Azul wasn't so large himself the attack would have taken him out. Instead, Azul smiled. "Yes. This is how a battle should be," Azul chuckled. "Two warriors giving their all, locked in mortal combat with everything on the line."

"You've got issues, pal," Beast growled, his Keyblade reappearing in his paw.

"Do I?" Azul scoffed. "You, who are cursed by love, forced to live an agonizing existence because of it, have the right to say that to me?"

"Love isn't a curse! Love is a way out, an escape from the pain. It's brought me more than power ever could. Someone like you would never understand that."

"Boo hoo," Azul mocked. He took a deep breath. Beast couldn't be sure, but thought that his eyes were now glowing. "Let the killing begin! Feel the wrath of Azul the Cerulean!" Beast's eyes widened when Azul suddenly burst with blue light. Azul's form was changing, growing into something much worse. Beast could see claws growing from his hands, horns sprouting from his head. When the light faded, the transformation was complete. A massive blue bear-like beast stood in Azul's place, the same one he had transformed into the day he and his allies assaulted Disney Castle. It stood on all fours, staring Beast down, teeth bared and dangerous.

"I thought I had it bad," Beast mumbled.

The Azul monster roared and backhanded Beast with one of its paws. So much strength was behind the blow that Beast went flying ten feet. He recovered quickly and threw his Keyblade, only for the monster to knock it effortlessly away, while roaring again with monstrous ferocity.

KHKHKHKH

Back outside, Vincent Valentine fired at Heartless-zilla from the roof of a building, then leapt from the building before it was reduced to rubble by giant claws. Aerith fired a bright Holy spell at the beast while, at the same time, Adelbert blasted magic from Lula. In the sky Jake in his dragon form flew all around it, breathing fire at it when he could. Kairi and Sora did the same on the back of Marahute, both of them shooting firaga spells from their Keyblades. sonic came from nowhere and fired off his speed attacks only for the monster to punch right through it. Bullets, spells, lasers and the works all bombarded the Heartless, but with its massive size they just weren't doing enough damage.

"You know what they say," Jake shouted buzzing around the Heartless like a fly. "The bigger they are-" He was cut short by a backhand from Heartless-zilla that sent him flying into a wall. "The harder they hit..."

"Jake!" Sora called.

"Look out!" Kairi cried; Sora was just in time to see Heartless-zilla knock them away with its other claw. Marahute cried out in pain and quickly dropped from flight, with Sora and Kairi holding on with all their strength. Luckily, the eagle managed to even out before they all pull off a weak landing and crashed in the street. Marahute disappeared after that, Sora sending her back to her own world before she was hurt further. "What are we gonna do? We've tried everything! It's just too big!"

"I don't know," Sora sighed. "We need some kind of giant robot composed of smaller robots with colourful people in tight suits piloting it! Never one around when you need it!" Heartless-zilla's large yellow eyes turned down to both of them; it took a deep breath and fire streamed from its jaws. "Look out!" But there was nothing they could do, nowhere they could run. As the fire was about to overtake them, Sora threw himself over Kairi.

Nothing happened.

When Sora dared to open his eyes he found he was still alive, as was Kairi in his arms. The reason was right in front of him. There was a figure standing there, clad in a brown cloak, its back turned to them, dirty blond hair the only part of this person that was visible. The stream of fire was being blocked, split down the middle by this figure, and all he was doing was holding out his hand. Though it wasn't merely his hand that was doing this, it was some kind of power. A power Sora had come to know quite well.

"The Force?" he whispered. "Jedi?"

Heartless-zilla stopped belching fire and roared in anger at the man, who stood undaunted. The man then raised his other arm and from his waist zipped a familiar small metal cylinder. As soon as it reached his hand he pressed a button, and his lightsabre sprang to life. All the lightsabres Sora had seen so far had been red, the colour of fire and death. This lightsabre, however, was the colour of life, a vibrant bright green. As Sora continued to stare, the man turned his head to look at him, and Sora noticed that he was quite young. That young face flashed him a grin before he took off with great speed down the street, straight for the Heartless.

The man headed straight for Heartless-zilla's legs, jumping and dodging every time the monster tried to step on him, then went in for the attack. Green light sliced through both of the Heartless' legs, causing the monster to cry out in pain and fall to its knees, bringing it down to a lower level. With the power of the Force the Jedi suspended large pieces of building debris from Heartless-zilla's rampage, then sent them all hurtling at the beast, nailing it in the face, knocking it flat on its back, and crushing several more buildings in the process. Now that it was down, the man leapt onto its belly and ran along its body to reach its head, then leapt into the air, spun his lightsabre, and made to implant it into its skull. Unfortunately, the Heartless suddenly sprung to life and grabbed him in mid-air, roaring straight into his face. It stood back up with the Jedi gripped in its claws, and opened his jaws to swallow him whole, when the green blade burst from its hand and the mystery man relinquished the Heartless' grip by slicing off its black fingers. Before he could free fall, the Jedi stabbed his lightsabre into the giant monster's arm and with his momentum he continued cutting down the arm all the way to its wrist, until the entire appendage came right off. Heartless-zilla roared in pain in anger, now with a stump for an arm. It was small cause for celebration, as suddenly the creature's arm grew back, good as new.

Back down in the city, the others could only watch. "This would be so cool if it weren't for the massive Heartless destroying everyone and everything around it," Ron mumbled idly. Rufus was chattering something on his shoulder, trying to get his attention.

"We're screwed," Zidane sighed. "We're really, truly, undeniably screwed." Rufus kept on chattering to louder proportions.

"There's gotta be something we can do," Kim growled, tossing aside the laser cannon which had long ago gone empty. "Hey, genius!" she called to Wayne Szalinski, who started nervously. "Can't you do something? Hit it with your shrink ray!"

"I can't!" Szalinski stammered. The shrink ray was beside him, and he was typing away furiously. "It wouldn't work, it's too big! A bigger target requires prolonged exposure. It won't take the full blast if it keeps moving around like that. It's like posing for a photo, it has to stand still!" Rufus slapped his tiny forehead. He leapt off Ron's shoulder and kicked Szalinski in the head. "Ow! What the? You can't hit a guy with glasses!" Rufus didn't listen, but was inputting commands into the shrink ray by jumping from one button to the next. Whatever the naked mole-rat was doing, the invention began to hum to life. "Uh oh. Get away! It's gonna fire!" Everyone quickly backed away, but Rufus leapt into the cannon's line of fire.

"Hit me!" he grinned. The beam of energy hit him head on, and the effects were a bit unexpected.

A strange rumbling set off across the city. "What's that?" Sora asked aloud. Something was shaking the ground, and it wasn't from Heartless-zilla.

"Wait. What's THAT?" Kairi cried pointing to the sky. Something was rising above the city rooftops, growing larger and larger until it was at epic proportions. It was big, it was terrifying, it was...

Naked?

"RUFUS!?" nearly everyone in Radiant Garden shouted. The naked mole-rat known to many as Rufus, normally a hand-sized little devil, now stood a whooping fifty feet, towering above the city, equal to the giant Heartless in strength and size. His buck-toothed mouth formed a devious grin and he pounded his chest before letting out a high-pitched battle cry over the land.

"Whoa!" Mushu exclaimed, as he and the Gullwings watched. "Guy brings a whole new meaning to 'bare all'! Come on, buddy! Do it for the little guys!" Yuna, Rikku and Paine cheered on as well.

"Alright, Rufus!" Ron cried from the mole-rat's feet. "Show him who's boss! Make him your bitch!" Rufus looked and gave a grinning thumbs up.

"I can't believe I never thought of this," Szalinski muttered. "And I call myself a scientist. Any two-bit electrician knows to fight a monster you have to make a monster! I don't deserve to wear this lab coat!"

"Finally, he gets it," Lulu sighed in relief.

"Now, that's just mean," Szalinski muttered pathetically.

Heartless-zilla now noticed that it had a contender for big man on campus, turning to face Rufus with angry growling. Rufus grinned from cheek to cheek, fixing himself into a wacky karate pose.

"These giant monster battles never end well," Sora gulped.

"Ho ho, bring it on!" Rufus squeaked in confidently. The Heartless roared and charged, crushing many buildings in its path. Rufus did the same and, in a cataclysmic clash, they collided into each other.

KHKHKHKH

Beast flew across the room for what must have been the twentieth time and, he wasn't going to kid himself, it really hurt. Azul's monstrous form came stomping for him again and Beast weakly raised his Keyblade to retaliate, only for Azul to knock it away and head butt him in the chest, sending him flying yet again. The Keyblader tried to get back up, but every muscle in his body screamed in protest. "Stand," came the growl from the Azul beast, stalking its way towards him. "Stand! This is not over yet!" Beast was thrown away again and into a wall. "You disgust me. Your transformation is a gift yet you seek to rid yourself of it, and for what!? For love? For her? If it weren't for the Horned King's plans I would have killed her long ago! I assure you though, she will die. When this is all over, she will die. Though not before you do. In fact, I'll be doing her a favour. After all, who could ever love a-"

Azul never even saw Beast's fist coming as it collided hard with his face, sending his massive form skidding across the ground. Feeling like he was hit by a freight train Azul staggered back up, only to receive another high-powered punch. Beast poured on punch after punch to the Cerulean animal, scratching with his claws, biting with his teeth, Keyblade forgotten, an insane, almost murderous look in his eyes. Beast leapt onto Azul's back and started pounding on his head all over again, then grasped both of the creatures horns and pulled them upwards, stretching Azul's back to the breaking point. Azul cried out in pain but Beast threw him yet again as he leapt from his back. Weary, Azul barely saw Beast clasp his hands together, and deliver one powerful, axe-handled blow into his chin. Azul flew back to the ground, and this time, he didn't get back up.

A bright blue light suddenly enveloped the bear-like creature and, when it subsided, Azul was still there, but now back to his human form, clutching his chest in pain and staring at Beast in absolute astonishment.

"What...are you!?" Azul gasped, before his yellow eyes widened. Beast stood across the room from him, still snarling with an absolute rage, now hefting Azul's own giant cannon in one of his hands. Beast snarled again, reared back as far as he could go and hurled the cannon like a spear with all his might, straight back at its owner.

SWIISCCHHH

Azul scream of pain only came out as a gasp, as his own weapon was now impaled through his chest. Azul coughed and gasped, blue blood spilling from his mouth but, through clouded vision, he could still see his opponent, teeth bared as if wanting more.

Azul grinned despite the pain, his blood stained lips making him look insane. "It seems...you were more a beast...than I." Azul rose, but staggered backward as Beast's Keyblade reappeared in his hand, pointed straight at him. From the tip a small flame emerged as a fire spell, but it quickly grew it size and power. Soon it blazed with fire that could match the one that blazed in Beast's eyes. Azul chuckled again, coughing out more blue blood. "Very well, then. I'll see you in hell." Beast let loose his strongest and loudest roar yet, anger and hate becoming his power, and the firaga fired. The blast of pure heat hit Azul head on and he was catapulted backwards, crashing through the concrete wall and outside, where there was only one place to go: down from the tall building.

"HAIL HORNED KING!" Azul yelled, plummeting to the ground, laughing insanely the entire way.

Beast was breathing heavily, teeth and claws still bared to attack even though there was no one left to fight. The murderous look in his eyes began to fade as he calmed down, and he was back to normal once again. It took awhile for him to realize what had transpired here, what he had done, but when did, he was absolutely terrified. His Keyblade dropped from his hands and he collapsed to his knees, looking at his hands, his claws, with utmost horror.

Was the Beast taking over?

KHKHKHKH

Meanwhile, the ground shook as Heartless-zilla and the jumbo-sized Rufus duked it out in epic proportion. They walked right through buildings, trashing them to rubble, picked up the ruins and hurled them at each other, punching and kicking each other mercilessly. "Go Rufus!" Ron cheered from street level. "Show him that naked mole-rat might! Give him a left, then a right, a tail!" Rufus spun and nailed the Heartless with his stubby tail. He spun to do it again but Heartless-zilla was able to grab his tail this time and used it to throw Rufus hard into the ground, sending shockwaves through the city, reducing even more of it to rubble. "Ouch. Well, you'll bounce back, buddy!"

Rufus sprung to his feet and looked around, grabbed a monorail train off its tracks and twirled them around like they were nunchucks. Heartless-zilla ripped off the top of a pointy tower and wielded it like sword. They charged each other, ground shaking, and collided, makeshift weapons entangling. They each struck against their opponent in a deadlocked clash, until the Heartless kicked Rufus in the chest and onto the ground, raising the sharp tower to finish him off, when Rufus kicked the Zilla's leg out from under him, also sending it to the ground. The naked mole-rat then stood across two apartment buildings and jumped, slamming into Heartless-zilla and pinning him to the ground. Everyone in town winced.

"I taught him that," Mushu said to Yuna.

The Heartless kicked Rufus off of him and stood back up. It breathed in deeply, fire breath building in its mouth, readying itself to finish off its naked mole-rat foe once and for all. "Look out, Rufus!" Sora called. Rufus was way ahead of him. He ripped a building from its foundations, reared back and threw it. Just as the Heartless' fire breath reached its zenith, the building lodged itself between the Heartless' jaws. Heartless-zilla let out one frightened squeak, before its head exploded in a fiery blast. Black goo rained down on Radiant Garden and many a person was splattered with Heartless gunk. The last of Heartless-zilla faded away, its large symbolic heart rising to the sky as a final gesture of defeat. With black goo still raining down, Rufus pounded on his chest and let out a squeak-like roar.

"You will never a see a stranger sight," Vincent Valentine noted, wiping black gunk off his shoulders. Cid stood not far off, wiped some of the goo on his fingers and tasted it.

"Not bad," he grinned.

KHKHKHKH

That night they celebrated in the citadel. Though the self-destruct of the Central Control Network had caused damage to the inner workings, most of the citadel was largely undamaged, still standing strong and proud even after all it had been through. Perhaps V had known this would happen. If they didn't prove to him that the state of a building was less important than the lives of the people, then they truly did not deserve to have it back. At least that's what Quistis had theorized. No one would forget the day that Radiant Garden was freed from Imperial tyranny, but Quistis would never forget the man that made it all possible.

"I'm feeling generous this night, mates!" Jack Sparrow announced, stumbling as he carried two bottles of rum. "Rum all around! To the young, to the old, to the big, to the small, but mostly to the women!"

"I'll take some!" Zidane exclaimed snatching bottle of rum.

"You can't drink that," Lulu stated irritably. "You're not old enough."

"Not old enough to fight in a war, either. Yet here I am!"

"I'll drink to that, dude!" Jake laughed and clinked bottles with Zidane's; both of them downed their rum. A second later they both stiffened up, and passed out dead away. Lulu sighed in annoyance and walked off.

Mushu slithered his way up Yuna, who was alone and sitting on a table. "Hey, what's up, little lady?" he said slyly. "Hey, guess what? I like you and you so obviously dig me, so how 'bout you and me head off and get a little celebration of our own going on, know what I'm saying?"

"Aw, you're sweet," Yuna said smiling. Mushu grinned triumphantly. "But I'm sorry. I already have a date." Mushu's grin fell from his face.

"With who?"

A shrill whistle alerted his attention. There was Rufus, back to his regular pocket size and wearing tiny sunglasses, Rikku and Paine hanging off both his arms. Mushu's jaw hit the floor.

"Well, I'll see you later!" Yuna said cheerfully. With that, all four of them walked off arm in arm, as Rufus looked back at the flabbergasted dragon, giving him a sly wink.

"Beaten by a rodent," Mushu admitted miserably. "This is high school all over again."

"Ah, there's nothing like the happiness of a victory, eh, Artoo?" C-3PO asked his counterpart. "To bask in the glory of a triumphant attack and having no part of it. It's a new high for me!" R2-D2 beeped something. "What do mean I'm a downer?" 3PO asked disdainfully. Artoo beeped again. "What do you mean you're too cool for me?!"

Beast sat all alone at the edge of the room, cloak wrapped around himself, refusing anyone from getting near him. His lonely eyes looked at his paw, remembering it didn't always look like this, and clenched it into a tight fist. When he last became the Beast he had shut himself from the outside world in fear of ridicule and resentment, but also in fear what this beast would become if provoked. Belle had locked that part of him away, but she was slipping from his grasp with every passing day. Would he ever see her again? Would she want to see him again if she knew what he had done?

"Hey, Beast!" Little Marlene came running up to him, tugging on his paw excitedly. "po and Yuffie are doing a rum shot competition! Wanna see?" For a while, Beast just stared at the little, who in turn was looking at him with big excited eyes. It reminded him of Belle. Somehow, Beast, smiled, and allowed himself to be lead off where Naruto had already passed out.

Scanning the crowd, Sora caught sight of someone for the person he had been looking for since after the fight. It was the young man in the cloak, the Jedi that had helped them in the battle. He was just standing idly by, watching the celebrations with a smile.

"Hey there!" Sora greeted cheerfully. The man turned to him, and gave Sora grin.

"Hey," he replied in a friendly way. "You're Sora, aren't you?"

"Yeah, how did you know?"

"Nearly everyone in the Alliance knows you by now. You are the boy who saved the universe." Sora grinned not knowing what else to do. "He'd never really grasped the fact he was something of a celebrity. "It's a pleasure to meet you, Sora. My name's Luke."

"Nice to meet you, Luke!" Sora said, clasping the young man's hand. "You were incredible out there! I've never seen moves like those! Where'd you learn to do that?"

Luke smirked. "From the best. You were pretty good out there too. You know, until I had to save you."

"What?" Sora shouted. Luke laughed good naturedly, and somehow Sora found himself laughing as well. "I've never met a real Jedi before. You're the best one ever could have met!"

"Really?" Luke asked curiously. "What do you know of the Jedi, Sora?"

"Well, actually-"

"Hey Luke!" Han Solo staggered drunkenly over to them, slinging an arm over Luke's shoulder. "You gotta try this stuff, man," Han slurred, a bottle of rum in his hands. "It's like there's a party in mouth and I'm getting kicked out for being too awesome! Or something to that effect!"

"Maybe later, Han," Luke laughed. "Sorry, Sora. What was it you were going to say?" Sora was about to answer, until something across the room attracted his attention.

"Uh, nothing," he answered. "Sorry, but I got to go check on something. It was nice meeting you!" With that said, he ran off. Luke watched him go, and smiled an intrigued way, then went to go help Han as he started throwing up.

Ellone was standing by herself when she saw Sora approach. "Sora," she greeted, smiling kindly. "We can't thank you enough, Sora. We never thought we'd get our home back. We owe you everything."

"It wasn't just me. It was everyone. The Alliance, V, all of our friends pulled it off." Sora then grew at bit awkward. "Can we talk? Alone I mean." Ellone looked confused at the request. Nonetheless, she agreed to it. Sora lead her away from the party and into another part of the citadel.

Just then unbeknownst of the party the old version of sora sees taking ellone away from the party.

"I leave it up to you ellone." He whispered. "Those consequences of knowing the truth will hit him hard. But you haven't heard the side of the story about this have you…sora?"

But not everyone in the citadel was celebrating. The leaders of the hero party were meeting in another part of the citadel. "According to Shelke, it'll take several days to decrypt the Keyblade War files," Leon informed the leaders of the Rebel Alliance. "Whatever information they hold might be beneficial to us, hopefully in more ways than it could be beneficial to them."

"The Empire has lost this battle," Leia said softly. "But they'll be many left to come. The Emperor is constantly plotting ways to gain more power. He won't stop until the entire known universe bows before him."

"Another of their plans is already underway," Admiral Ackbar sighed regrettably. "One that could mean utter destruction for us all."

"What is it?" Aerith asked.

"A weapon," Leia answered. "One more powerful than anything that has ever been built, with enough firepower to destroy an entire planet."

"A planet?" Quistis repeated in disbelief. "I find that hard to believe."

"I'm afraid it's all quite true," Ackbar said. "It is the Galactic Empire's ultimate weapon. It is known as the Death Star."

"The Empire constructed a Death Star in the past," Leia went on. Her expression seemed to sadden as she spoke her next words. "I've seen what it's capable of. It was only through extreme fortune that the Rebel Alliance was able to destroy it the first time."

"The first time?" Leon repeated.

"We've received news that a second Death Star is currently being constructed," Ackbar said regrettably. "One that will be much more powerful than the first.

"Where is this thing?" Leon asked. "It's incredible that its been being built this whole time without any hearing about it." Leia and Ackbar looked at each other awkwardly.

"We...don't know," Leia admitted. The heroes gave them dubious looks. "After the failure of the first Death Star, the Empire is taking no chances with this one. Everything involved in its development has been done under the utmost secrecy. Not even our highest ranked spies could tell us much about it."

"The only clue we have is that it orbits a planet," Ackbar said. "A planet called Endor."

A strange feeling washed over Aerith as soon as she heard that name. Images started flashing before her eyes. Images of an ancient city, people wielding weapons shaped like keys, three armoured warriors razing the city to the ground. The city was then gone, replaced by an endless desert, where Keyblades were planted in the ground like stalks of corn...

"Discover who you are, you must."

Aerith was immediately snapped out of it, holding her head and wondering just what had happened. "If the Death Star is allowed to be completed, it would make the Empire all but unstoppable," Leia went on. "We'd have nothing left to oppose them; the Emperor would have the power to destroy countless worlds on a whim.."

"If we attack while it's still being built, we might have a chance," Ackbar said. "We've been able to steal the plans for its construction, and have even discovered a way to destroy it. The only thing we don't know is where the damn thing is!"

"Maybe I can help with that!" They all turned toward the room's entrance where Cid stood leaning against the doorway, looking pretty darn smug. "I may be a simple pilot/mechanic but I know my way around a block or two. I know the routes and the pathways, the shortcuts through the alleys, the way over the fence, the-"

"Get to the point," Quistis sighed annoyingly.

Cid sniffed disdainfully. Reaching down into his pocket, he pulled out a golden sphere, not much bigger than a baseball, with strange alien patterns encircling its surface. "Nifty little thing, this is," he grinned. "You'd never guess this was a map of the entire universe." Leia and Admiral Ackbar gave questioning looks. "Within this little orb is the known universe as charted by Captain Nathaniel Flint. There's not a world out there that isn't on it." He twisted it around in his hands for a bit. "I'm still trying to figure this thing out but, after a bit of tweaking, I should be able to find your lost planet." Leia and Ackbar's faces filled with hope.

"Are you saying that you can find Endor?" Leia asked anxiously.

Indubitably," Cid answered grinned. "Man, that's a fun word."

"Now this is a reason for celebration!" Ackbar laughed, walking off for the party. "Quickly, before all the drink is gone."

"It's a good thing Sora kept this," Leon said as he stared at the map.

"I think he was meant to have it," Aerith said softly. "Everything happens for a reason, Leon. We needed the Alliance to take our world back, and we happened to have a solution to their own problem. We were all meant to come together. All of our destinies are intwined."

"Are you alright?" Quistis asked. Aerith seemed to come to her senses ans she shook her head.

What was happening to her?

KHKHKHKH

Sora had lead Ellone to an empty hallway, making sure there was no one around. "Sora, what's going on?" she asked tensely. "Is something wrong?" Once Sora was sure they were alone he turned to her.

"I want you to show me what happened to my family." Ellone nearly fell over from the shock.

"S-Sora, no I-"

"Do you understand what this means to me? All my life I've wondered who my real parents were. Now I have a chance to know! Good or bad I have to know the truth. Use your powers to show me what happened."

"Please, Sora," Ellone pleaded. "I know how good a person you are. I've seen what happened back then. You won't like what you see."

"I need to know." Ellone looked away, trying desperately not to meet his eyes. "Please, Ellone. I have to know." A pained expression came over the girl's face.

"Alright," she whispered, and looked Sora in the eyes. "It's because of me that you've seen these things. And I'll take responsibility for it." She came closer to Sora, standing right before him. "Close your eyes, Sora." Sora did as he was told. He felt Ellone place her hands on the sides of his head. "And I'm sorry."

A strange feeling immediately took Sora over. His consciousness was wrenched from his body; he traveled through time and through space, until a bright flash consumed his vision, and he knew no more.

And that concludes another chapter. Be sure to write nice reviews, adapt the original story (Darius Almighty's work) on DeviantArt, turn it into a webcomic or post the story on TV tropes or follow and favorite it. And remember may your heart be your guiding key!