Now The Guardians depart Scala ad Caelum
Aqua knelt down by Hoder's side waiting for her to regain consciousness.
"Hoder...Hoder." She gently shook her. "Wake up."
Mickey knelt by her side. "I feel a pulse. She just simply passed out. She should come to in an hour or so."
"That's a relief." Sigrun sighed.
"Still," Terra lamented. "That her brother has been kidnapped by Xehanort and is being used for his Organization...It's all going to be too much for her to bear."
"We'll all have to be there for her when she recovers." Ventus pointed out.
"I know." Aqua sighed sadly. "I can only imagine how beside herself she's going to feel."
"Well we should cross that bridge when we come to it." Vidar assured. "For now let's get her to the infirmary."
The Upperclassmen all lifted up their unconscious friend and carried her down the stairs.
Aqua turned to her friends. "Come on, let's pick ourselves up."
The other Guardians slowly got to their feet with Myde making his way over to the wounded Lea and Isa.
Isa was slowly getting up and nearly stumbled when Myde caught him. "I gotcha." He smiled, he summoned Abyssal Tide and used a cure spell to fix Isa up.
At once, Isa's injuries and his clothing damage was reversed he turned his attention to Lea.
The Melodious Nocturne winced at the injuries the Redhead had received and Isa could only put a hand to his mouth.
While Isa had it better with messed up hair, a slightly cut face, and slight dirt marks and tears in his coat before the healing spell was used, Lea had it much worse. His hair was disheveled, his face was covered in bruises and cuts, his gloves were ripped exposing a few fingers and his coat was completely torn as were his pants and boots.
On the bright side, his chest was rising and falling which showed he was alive, just very injured.
Isa was easily fixed but Lea...it would take more than just one cure spell and he had just received his Keyblade.
"Uh guys, little help?" He called out to his friends.
They all walked over and gasped upon seeing Lea's battered form.
"We all need to pool together our magic to use a cure spell that'll fix him up." Myde told them. "Who's with me?"
All the Guardians raised their hands.
"Yeah, Hi-fives!" he cheered as he slapped hands with each of them. "I love these attitudes!" (1)
The Seven Guardians circled around Lea and summoned their Keyblades, pointing their tips at the duo while Isa stood behind with The Academy Trio and Master Odin.
The seven concentrated with their Keyblades as the tips radiated with an emerald green glow that Lea's body began to share for a moment before dying down.
Once it did, Lea's form was rejuvenated. His face was devoid of all injuries and his clothes were repaired.
His eyes slowly opened and he stood up, his legs slightly wobbling.
"Ugh...I do not feel Ok." He grabbed the low wall for support.
"Yeah." Mickey cringed. "You took quite the beating from that thing. But you're all right now."
"Lea!" Everyone turned to see Isa rushing towards him, nearly panicked.
"Hey, Is'." Lea casually waved. "Glad to see you're-"
He was cut off by Isa throwing his arms around his best friend and pulling him into a nearly choking embrace.
"Okay?..." Lea trailed off.
"You scared me!" Isa scolded as he continued hugging his friend.
"What?" Lea asked, slightly amazed.
"Even back when we were Axel and Saïx, I was so afraid something bad would happen to you and I wouldn't be there to protect you and..." Isa let out a few sniffles and Lea could tell he was fighting back tears. "I don't want to lose you again."
Lea was touched by what his Best friend said and they pulled back.
"Hey." He smiled tenderly, "I'm a tough guy. I've handled a lot throughout my times as both Lea and Axel."
"I know," Isa sighed. "I'm just...Why did you do it? Why did you sacrifice yourself for me?"
"Because...Because" Lea trailed off and he turned to Myde who simply nodded.
The Redhead took a deep breath before he finally spoke the words he was holding back for so long. "Because I love you, Isa."
Isa's eyes widened for a moment before he spoke. "I...I love you too, Lea. I always loved you."
The two men stared at each other lovingly before they leaned in and pressed their lips together for a kiss (2).
"Awww!" Aqua, Minnie, Ortensia, Vor and Urd went.
"WOO-HOO!" Terra, Ventus, Myde, Mickey, Oswald, and Hermod cheered.
The two of them pulled away with a tender smile before sharing another embrace.
Once that was done, The Academy trio turned to the Wayfinder Trio.
"So...that was Xehanort. huh?" Hermod asked glumly.
Terra, Aqua, and Ventus nodded.
"Are you three going to be OK?" Mickey asked.
"Maybe." Hermod spoke up. "I mean we still need time to process all of this."
"I know it must be hard from your perspective." Oswald comforted the three of them. "I mean while he is an enemy in our time we can understand that he used to be your friend."
"Thanks." Urd spoke in a depressed voice.
"But do you hate us because you guys are his enemies in your time?" said Vor.
This surprised the Guarfdians
"What? Of course not." Terra put a comforting hand on her back. "Yes, Xehanort is our enemy and you guys are his friends from this era..."
"But we don't hate you just because you three are acquainted with him," Ventus assured.
"Some of us even used to work for him." Myde told them as he and the Radiant Garden Duo walked up, Lea's arm around Isa.
"But we were saved from that and work for the good guys." Lea added.
"And we work to redeem ourselves every day." Isa finished.
"But you didn't help him do all of these terrible things." Ortensia told the trio. "There's nothing for us to hate you for, not even being his friends, well Ex-friends."
The three gave off forced smiles at this.
Master Odin walked up to the Guardians.
"If I may." He spoke up, "I could give you some more details about who Xehanort was in this era...if you want to that is."
"Sure." Aqua replied. "We love to know as much as we can about him."
The others nodded. Given they only knew so little about him outside of his time in the Land of Departure (Ventus, Terra, and Aqua,) As Terra-Xehanort (Mickey and Minnie), or as The Leader of the 13 Seekers of Darkness (The Rest).
"Come with me, all of you." Odin gestured for the Guardians and the Academy Trio to follow him as he walked back through the door that led to the roof.
The Guardians followed him, intrigued to know more about Xehanort from their time.
Master Odin's Room
The 13 of them followed Odin into his room as he began to discuss Xehanort.
"He appeared in this world when he was around your age." He gestured to Ventus. "When asked, he told me he came from one of the worlds beyond, yet I sensed he already had some history with this world."
"Interesting," Ventus mused. "Wait, what do you mean history already?"
"When I sensed the great Keyblade Potential inside of him, I also sensed the bloodline he inherited it from."
"Which was?" Mickey asked.
"That of the Keyblade Master who founded this World: One of the furst Keyblade Masters: Master Ephemer."
"Ahhh." Everyone went.
"In fact, when this Academy was built, he gave it his Keyblade."
Odin summoned the Master's Defender for them to see.
"So this was the Keyblade one of the earlier Master wielded." Aqua mused.
"Yes." Odin nodded. "And I can imagine you possess the version from your era as well?"
Aqua nodded and summoned her version of Master's Defender. "This Keyblade was wielded by Eraqus. I believe that sometime later in this Era, you pass yours onto him."
Odin nodded. "That is very likely. And I'd also like to wonder if I passed on the other Keyblade entrusted to this Academy to Xehanort as well."
He gestured to a golden Decor hanging above the Chalkboard.
Attached to the center was, no mistaking, The Gazing Eye Keyblade.
Everyone stared at it in awe.
"You said it was entrusted to this Academy?" Isa asked Odin.
Odin nodded. "It is a Keyblade salvaged from the Age of Fairytales."
"Age of Fairytales?" Lea asked.
"The times from before this world was created," Vor told them. "Before Scala ad Caelum was built, another town existed before it: Daybreak Town."
"Daybreak Town." Ventus murmured as the name rang familiar to him.
"It was ruled by Seven Ancient Keyblade Masters." Urd continued explaining. "Five of them who trained other Wielders to become defenders of light."
"However, that town was destroyed by a tragedy. The place was flooded with most of the ruins submerged underneath these waters and only a few people surviving." Hermod added. "Those survivors built over the ruins and founded this City. One of them being the aforementioned Master Ephemer."
The Guardians were amazed at this.
"And what about the Keyblade?" asked Terra. "How did it survive."
"This Keyblade, as I mentioned before, is from the age of Fairy Tales; Wielded by one of the Seven Ancient Masters. When Master Ephemer's Keyblade was given to this school, another man resembling a Master of that age gave it to this school, entrusting the Academy to pass it on to someone who was worthy."
"A shame that 'someone' ended up being Xehanort." Terra muttered.
"Terra." Aqua scolded.
"No, he's right." Odin sighed. "I always sensed Xehanort had a grand ambition in him, maybe that was the reason I entrust him that Keyblade in the future. He may have been destined for great things, but..." he sighed. "To think this was his destiny. And that I will be giving him the tool to forge it with."
"And it'll get worse for you once you learn what will happen once we deal the rifts." Oswald lamented.
"How so?" Odin asked.
"Once we win and get the X-Blade for ourselves..." Mickey started.
"Which is the only thing that can seal these temporal rifts." Minnie interjected.
"Which means we have to fight in Xehanort's planned Keyblade War." Ortensia added.
"The timeline in your era will reset to before the rifts appears." Oswald finished. "Which means that all of you will forget everything that happened after the merge, meeting us, your knowledge about Xehanort. Everything."
Odin stroked his beard before letting out a sigh. "I see." He solemnly spoke. "So that means to preserve the timeline, our memories will be reset and we will be doomed to repeat the mistakes that lead up to your point in time."
"Yes." The Guardians and the Academy Trio spoke in unison.
Odin said nothing for a while. His head facing the floor, his eyes closed, before he looked up.
"Well then, I suppose that's how it will have to be."
"Master..." Urd spoke solemnly.
"If you Guardians are able to defeat Xehanort and close the rifts. That should be solace enough to know that in spite of time playing out as destined, he will still be stopped in the end."
Vor, Urd, and Hermod let out depressed sighs at this and the Guardians watched them group near the window staring at something.
Upon further inspection, the others saw it was some sort of strange chessboard with Black and Gold pieces on one side, and white and silver ones on the other.
"What's that?" Minnie asked.
"This?" Hermod turned to her. "Oh, it's just a little game Xehanort and Eraqus loved to play. Alba and Ater."
"Every time after class and after class hours, they would always run up to this window area and play this game. Xehanort would usually win it." Urd explained.
"Sometimes, Vor, Hermod, Bragi, Baldr and I would spy on them and even place bets." Vor giggled before her face fell once she mentioned Bragi and Baldr and how Vanitas...
"Baldr." Hermod sighed. "Why were they taken from us like that? Especially Bragi. He was a great friend."
The Guardians could only look at the three in pity. They had overall lost four of their friends
"The Organization will PAY for what they did to Bragi and Baldr." Terra growled. "I promise you, they won't go unpunished."
"We will stop Xehanort." Aqua added. "We'll make sure of it."
Vor, Urd, and Hermod exchanged looks.
"Well," Aqua trailed off. "I think for your sake, It'd be more appropriate if I said: Saved him from himself."
"No," Urd spoke up. "It's not that, it's just."
"Just what?" Lea asked.
"If it's ok with you and Master Odin..." Hermod slowly spoke. "We would like to join you on your mission."
"What?" The Guardians exclaimed in surprise though Odin wasn't shocked.
"I know this is at least a long time from where we are," Hermod spoke shakily, "But if something like this is going to go down and we actually have the chance to help stop it, then we shouldn't say 'no'. We're Keyblade Weidlers, we use these tools to protect the innocent, not show off."
"It may be dangerous, we know that," Urd added. "Not to mention we don't know what lies for us beyond this world."
"But we know that as long as we have each other and you guys, we can get by it no problem!" Vor finished.
"So...what do you say?" Hermod asked.
The Guardians looked at each other and shrugged.
"Well OK." Mickey nodded.
"The More the Merrier," Lea smirked.
"Is that okay with you, Master Odin?" Aqua asked the elderly master.
Master Odin nodded. "Certainly."
"You mean it, Master?" Vor asked eagerly.
"I do." Odin nodded. "On one condition; Swear to me you three will come back alive. (3)
"We promise." Vor smiled.
"Don't worry, nothing will take us out that easily." Urd nodded.
"You can count on us." Hermod agreed.
"We'll do our best to protect them." Terra assured Master Odin. "We will bring them AND Baldr back home safe."
"Hey." A firm but slightly teasing voice came from behind them. "Baldr is MY responsibility."
They turned to see Hoder and the rest of the Upperclassmen standing in the doorway. Hoder was being escorted by a middle aged man wearing a tan and white robe. A brown leather belt with a silver buckle with blue eyes, shaggy grayish-brown hair with a short beard(4)(5).
"Hoder!" Aqua exclaimed. "You've recovered."
"That I have." Hoder smiled sadly. "Thanks to Master Ullr."
"I have always been great with using healing magic to treat children." Ullr spoke with a smile before dropping into a sad frown. "While her bodily injuries have been managed, her emotions...seem to be failing her."
The other Guardians and Students knew what it was about.
"Hoder." Aqua sighed. "We are all so sorry about what happened to Baldr. But I promise you this, we will save your brother and bring him back."
"I know you will," Hoder replied. "Because I'm going to help make sure that comes to pass."
She too turned to Odin.
"Master Odin." I would like to accompany the Guardians on their quest too."
"Hoder." Odin spoke softly. "While I know you can handle yourself with strength, I am not so sure you can do so with emotion. I fear your desire to rescue your brother may cloud your better judgement."
"That's not gonna happen." Heimdall walked beside her.
"Because she'll have us to help keep her in check." Vidar added as he did the same.
"Make no mistake, we have every intention of rescuing Baldr as she does." Vali spoke gruffly.
"But we'll have a better chance to do so if we stick together." Sigrun smiled.
"Though, we don't actually intend to fight the Organization with a hands-on approach." Vala clarified. "But rather, we would like to travel these new worlds from your Era to see if there is a clue to helping us combat your Darkness."
"Once we do, we will use it to help you in your fight with this future Xehanort." Helgi smiled.
"We haven't found anything that has helped us so far, but by all means you're still welcome to try." Mickey assured.
Oswald nodded. "This world has a lot of knowledge lost to the past. Perhaps you know something that we don't."
Sigrun giggled at this compliment. "Perhaps." She smiled.
With that, Ullr let Hoder go and she and the other six Upperclassmen
At that, Masters Frigg, Forseti and Ymir joined behind Odin and Ullr.
"So all ten of you are going?" Odin asked.
Vor nodded. "We are."
"I see." Odin nodded. "Then we shall see you off with some words of guide Ted and advice: Cooperate well with each other, especially the Guardians. Since they know more about these other worlds then you do. It's wise to take their advice when they give it."
"Don't forget to understand when there's a fight you can't win." Ullr added. "Do not stay and fight if you know you can't win, For all the Healing Magic you have to save a life, once it's gone, no Magic, aside from a few rare sources can restore it."
"Also, take your individual skills into account." Forseti added. "It not what exactly they are that matters, but rather how you use them." He turned to Myde with a smile and the small man reciprocated the gesture.
"Follow orders, don't get into trouble." Frigg smiled sternly.
"Know that true knowledge comes from challenge and setback." added Ymir.
"And above all..." Finished Odin.
"May your heart be your guiding key." All five Masters spoke in unison.
The ten students (and the Guardians) all gave understanding nods.
Suddenly, the Alba and Ater board began to glow and float into the air.
Everyone turned to it.
"What now?" Hoder asked warily.
"Don't worry." Aqua told her. "This is a good thing." She turned to the other Guardians. "So who wants to do this one?"
Myde stepped up. "Since I got my Keyblade, I'll do it."
He summoned Abyssal Tyde and pointed it at the Board as a glowing Crown Emblem appeared underneath his feet.
The Game Board shot a beam of light into the sky revealing a Keyhole. A beam of light shot out from Abyssal Tide and hit the Keyhole in its center. It made a locking sound and then vanished.
"What was that?" asked Helgi.
"That means your world is safe from Darkness for the time being." Terra told them. "And with that, let us depart, team!"
"How?" Asked Vor.
"By doing this." Mickey pulled out the Gummiship Remote and the Twenty of them were beamed up as the Masters watched in awe.
Cid was typing on his Gummiphone, cataloging Hringhorn as a Level 10 danger before sending the information to Jiminy Cricket.
A massive beam of light nearly threw him off his chair. He turned and saw The Guardians and the Ten Academy Students.
"You're back!" He exclaimed. "And I see you got some company."
"Everyone, this is Cid." Lea introduced the students to Cid. "Cid, these are our New Allies: Vor, Urd, Hermod, Hoder, Vidar, Vali, Vala, Heimdall, Helgi and Sigrun."
"Hey...you all." Cid waved.
"So who exactly is he?" asked Vali.
"More importantly," Sigrun interjected. "Where are we?"
"This is called the Gummiship." Isa explained. "It's a source of Transportation for us Guardians."
Vor, Urd, and Hermod walked to the Cockpit's Windshield and took in the view.
"Woaaahhhh. Look at all those worlds from up here." Vor cooed.
"I never realized this is what they looked like from up here." Hermod smiled with amazement.
Urd noticed Scala ad Caelum from where they were and how the world was surrounded by a Violet Ring of energy.
"So that back there is the rift to our world." She spoke solemnly.
"Yes." Ventus replied. "Once we get the X-Blade it will be sealed."
"And what about us?" Hermod asked. "If it's sealed then we'll have to return home before then."
"I don't think so." Ortensia replied. "It said in the book we read back in the Libarty, that all anomalies will be returned to their proper places; so that means no matter where you guys are in our time. Once your eras are closed, you guys will return back to them with your memories of the future erased."
"That's a relief." Hermod sighed. "The last thing we need is a weird Paradox from all this crazy bullshit."
"Agreed." Aqua nodded. She turned to Cid. "Alright, Cid. Take us away."
Cid smirked with a nod and turned back to the controls, steering the Gummiship away from Scala ad Caelum.
As the Gummiship closed in on Radiant Garden. The Students listened to the tales the Guardians were sharing with them.
"So you, Terra, and Ventus grow up to be Xehanort's apprentices?" Vala asked.
The Wayfinder Trio nodded.
"Well, Terra and Aqua were at first." Ventus explained. "I was Xehanort's apprentice in the past before he fractured my heart after creating Vanitas from my Darkness."
"So that's why Baldr mentioned there was no Darkness in your heart." Hoder mused. "It was all extracted from you when Vanitas was made."
Ventus nodded.
"Why would he do that?" Vor asked.
"One of his earlier attempts to forge the X-Blade." Ventus replied.
"Ah." She nodded.
"After that I was comatose for a while, Xehanort took me to a world called Destiny Islands where his original plan was to leave me to die."
Everyone gasped.
"That dirty bastard." Vali snarled.
"But then I came into contact with a newborn boy named Sora who I joined hearts with, my Heart was able to mend. After that, Xehanort took me to Eraqus and asked that I be made his third apprentice."
"The Master kept such a strong eye on Ven." Aqua told them. "While Terra and I were given more freedom, he wasn't allowed to leave our home in The Land of Departure."
"The three of us shared a dream of being Keyblade Masters," Terra continued. "However, Ven was too young during the day Aqua and I both took the Mark of Mastery Exam so he was to wait a little longer while we were being tested to be Keyblade Masters."
"I passed the Mark of Mastery Exam while Terra didn't." Aqua told them. "It was because Master Eraqus feared the Darkness in his heart."
"I know that Master Aqua." Hoder replied. "You told me that when we first met."
"I know." Aqua told her. "I was just explaining it for the rest."
"Ah." Hoder nodded.
"These creatures that come from Vanitas." Ventus continued. "The Unversed."
"Those dark squiggly things back in Scala ad Caelum." Hermod clarified.
"Yeah," The youngest apprentice continued. "They began attacking worlds and Terra and Aqua were sent to deal with them. And I snuck off as well." He sheepishly added.
"Well, that's rebellious." Urd smirked.
"Yeah." Ventus sheepishly admitted. "Though it was more of some cajoling from Vanitas so I would play a part in Xehanort's plan."
"Which was?" Heimdall asked.
"To get the X-Blade by having me and Vanitas clash," Ventus explained.
"Anyways," Aqua continued. "I was given a second task from Eraqus...to spy on Terra and see if the Darkness was going to overtake him."
"We traveled world to world, protecting them each from the Unversed, making new allies along the way," Terra explained before his face turned grim. "Before we fell into Xehanort's trap."
"Xehanort told Ven about his purpose as the X-blade and drove him to confront the Master on what he had supposedly been hiding. Eraqus then tried to murder Ven to stop Xehanort's plan from coming to fruition." Aqua explained.
"But I stopped him and fought him back." Which was part of Xehanort's plan. He struck Eraqus down and fled to the Keyblade Graveyard." Terra added with guilt.
Vor, Urd and Hermod looked disturbed at this. It was one thing to hear that Xehanort kills Eraqus in the future. But to hear that Eraqus tries to off his own students was a whole other.
"Once we chased him to the Graveyard, Xehanort and Vanitas took over the bodies of Terra and Ven respectively." Aqua told them.
"Vanitas to merge our hearts to form the X blade and Xehanort to see what awaited beyond his old age." Ventus replied. "But I persisted when Vanitas took over and I fought him within my own heart and won."
"But as a result, his heart was damaged." Aqua explained. "His body was left comatose so I hid it in the Land of Departure and used the world's Keyhole to transform the landscape into a place called Castle Oblivion: A labyrinth inside a castle which only I could navigate."
"But what about Ven?" Vor asked.
"My heart found its way back to Sora's heart." Ventus told her.
"The baby boy who sheltered your heart when it was broken?" Vala asked.
"The very same." Ventus nodded. "He took it in and helped it mend."
"Wait." Vidar spoke up. "If your heart was connected to his...doesn't that mean?..."
"Yes." Ventus nodded. "I ended up passing the power of the Keyblade onto him."
"Wow. A bequeathing Ceremony." Sigrun mused. She turned to Terra and Aqua. "What about you two? Did you pass your powers onto people before you were separated?"
Terra nodded. "I gave the power of the Keyblade to Sora's best friend: Riku."
"And I...well unintentionally...bequeathed it to Sora's girlfriend: Kairi." Aqua finished.
"They were the ones who saved the worlds from Xehanort...or rather...the Heartless and Nobody he split into."
"Nobody?" Asked Heimdall.
"Those gray enemies." Minnie told him. "The counterparts of Heartless: Their leftover bodies without hearts. Though the ones with the strongest wills are able to maintain their original forms."
"That card guy; Luxord is an example of one." Lea told them. "And before we were saved, Isa, Myde and myself were nobodies. We were part of an Organization lead by Xehanort's nobody, Xemnas."
"Xemnas?" Urd asked.
"The names of Nobodies that are part of the Organization are the letters of their original names scrambled around.
"My name in that Organization was Saïx." Isa told them.
"Demyx." Myde added.
"Axel." Lea finished.
"And 'Xemnas'?" Urd asked.
"An anagram of the name he stole from his Professor: Ansem the Wise."
"Wait, 'Professor'?" Vor asked. "When did that happen?"
"It comes after the rest of the story of Terra, Ven, and I," Aqua told her. "After I hid Ven's body in Castle Oblivion, I was able to track down the Xehanort-possessed Terra in a world called Radiant Garden where I battled him in an attempt to free him. Terra's heart tried to fight back against the possession but Xehanort gained the upper hand and used his Gazing Eye Keyblade to drive Terra's heart out of his body to be held captive by a Dark Guardian he could summon at will. After that Terra-nort fell into the realm of Darkness where I chased after him."
She stood up and walked to an open space as they turned to her.
"I couldn't save both of us in time before the portal closed so I chose to save Terra-nort, believing that I could save Terra too."
She tapped her shoulder, donned her Keyblade Armor, and summoned Stormfall.
"I sacrificed my Armor and Keyblade to carry him back to the Realm of Light..." She used her magic to remove the armor as it, alongside her Keyblade fell to the ground. "And I fell into the Realm of Darkness with my Master's Keyblade as my only weapon.
She summoned Master's Defender in her hand for them to see before dismissing it alongside her dropped Keyblade Equipment.
"When Xehanort relocated my heart," Terra explained. "He ended up with slight amnesia and could only remember his name. He was taken in by Radiant Garden's Sage-King Ansem and became one of his Six Apprentices."
"But over time, his memories began to resurface and he began scheming again." Isa explained. "This time, he used the Nature of Hearts and the Heartless to further his agenda. And he convinced the other Apprentices to perform a coup over Ansem when he refused to allow them to further their experiments."
"They put my discarded Armor and Keyblade in a hidden room called The Chamber of Repose and Terranort used it to contact me from my Banishment in the Realm of Darkness to try and trick me into revealing Ven's Location," Aqua added. "Not that he succeeded."
"After enough time, he removed the hearts of the Five other Apprentices with his Keyblade, including Isa's, mine, and his own." Lea explained. "But before that, he took on Ansem's name."
"Which is why His Heartless took on the name Ansem and his Nobody Xemnas." Myde finished.
The Students and Foretellers were just simply stunned.
"Wow..." Hermod slowly spoke. "Just...I can't..." He let out a trembling sigh.
"Xehanort's done a lot of fucked up things in your time." Urd lamented. "He really has gone that far..."
"But wait." Vor turned to Lea and Isa. "Where do you two come in?"
Isa sighed. "Lea and I were trying to break into The Radiant Garden Castle to rescue a Girl who was being used as a Test Subject in Ansem the Wise's research. She was addressed as 'Subject X'."
"But eventually she disappeared," Lea added. "We became Ansem's apprentices to figure out what happened to her and well...we got caught up in the middle of Xehanort removing the Hearts of the other Apprentices and well...what he did to them, he did to us."
"As for me," Myde added. "I'm not sure exactly what my past was like...a few things are a bit blurry, but I do know that Xehanort...or rather him as Xemnas recruited me along with Luxord and two others named Marluxia and Larxene due to an ancient past with Keyblades.
"Ah." The others nodded.
"9...10...11...12." Vala counted. "So not counting Heartless Ansem, that makes 12 members of Organization XIII." She replied.
"Of the first one, yes." Oswald nodded.
"So who was the 13th?" She asked.
"Sora's Nobody; Roxas." Mickey told them.
"Sora? The little boy who saved Ven?" Hoder asked.
They nodded.
"When their world fell to Darkness, Sora was separated from Riku and Kairi." Isa explained. "Kairi's heart was separated from her body and took refuge inside of Sora's heart."
"So if she was separated from her body...then who was her Nobody?" asked Sigrun.
"We'll get there," Ortensia assured her. "Riku, was manipulated and possessed by Heartless Ansem to steal Six of the Seven Princesses of Heart. To open the Door to Darkness and Access Kingdom Hearts"
The Students gasped upon hearing this.
"The Princesses of Heart?" Vidar asked. "As in the Seven Maidens of pure light?!"
The Guardians nodded.
"I thought it was just a myth." Helgi mused. "Wait...why Six and not all seven?"
"Because, Kairi was the Seventh." Mickey explained.
The Students gasped even Louder.
"So what happened next?" Vor asked.
"After Sora repelled the Ansem-Posessed Riku and closed the Door to Darkness. He needed to free Kairi's heart from his body. So he used a Dark Keyblade that could Unlock hearts from bodies to return Kairi's heart to her body. But in the process he lost his."
Everyone gasped in shock and sadness.
"Poor guy." Urd lamented.
"But don't worry. He's OK now." Mickey assured them. "As are Riku and the Other Princesses."
"And after that, Sora was reborn as Roxas?" Heimdall surmised.
"Not exactly." Ventus replied. "He was actually a separate person from Sora because the latter held onto his sense of self when he became a Heartless. And even more so when Kairi used her powers as a Princess of Heart to create a new body for him."
"And because Kairi's heart was inside a body that was cast off and reborn as a nobody. One for her was created too: Naminé." Aqua told them.
"Because her existence came from Sora." Terra told them. "She had the power to manipulate the memories of his heart. And when some of the Organization members found out about this, they used it to their advantage to control Sora. So they could use him to Overthrow Xemnas."
"The ones who didn't were focused on a second project: No. i." Myde told them.
"Or simply, Xion." Lea explained. "She was used as a replica, a clone of Sora. Made to use the power of the Keyblade in case Roxas proved no use to them. I befriended her along with Roxas and the three of us would always spent time together. Eating Sea Salt Ice Cream atop a Clock Tower in Twilight town."
"That sounds like fun." Hermod smiled.
"It was...while it lasted." Lea sighed.
"Oh no..." Urd realized what was possibly going to happen. "What happened to them?"
"They both found out who they belonged to and they wanted to go back to him. Xion because her existence was built upon the foundation of Sora's memories which Naminé was trying to fix after the Coup in the Organization failed." Lea explained.
"She absorbed them from Sora through Roxas." Isa explained. "And that delayed the process of repairing his memory. When she found out about this, she went against the Organization's plans to turn her into a complete replica of Sora and planned to help save the real one. She fought Roxas and intentionally lost...both the fight and her life. And the memories she absorbed from Sora returned to him while the memories everyone had of her were sealed away."
Everyone gave off small sounds of sadness and pity.
"Poor Xion." Lamented Sigrun.
"But she was ok." Myde assured them. "The remnants of her heart remained safe inside of Roxas. Which also remained dormant inside of Sora."
"And Roxas was eventually returned to Sora as well." Mickey added. "As was Naminé with Kairi."
"She, Sora and Riku defeated both Ansem and Xemnas. Which recompleted Old Man Xehanort, and Terra's body too." Minnie finished.
"That's a relief. So you were able to get your body back?" Vali asked Terra.
"Kinda." Terra sighed. "But we're not quite there yet. You see after Xehanort was restored, he went about his plan in forming the present Organization XIII."
"From what we heard, they were on 12 vessels, not counting me when I was recruited as a reserve member," Myde added.
"My empty body was filled with a fragment of Xehanort's heart thus recreating Terra-Xehanort for the Organization." Terra added. "Since my heart was contained in the aforementioned dark Guardian."
"On the hero's side, we managed to restore Naminé, Roxas, and Xion using a Replica Program to remove their hearts from inside Kairi and Sora's bodies and into artificial bodies." Lea explained.
"That's Amazing!" Vala exclaimed. "But wait. I thought nobodies didn't have hearts, and were also the empty shells of their original identities."
"Also," Helgi added. "You said Xion was created out of memories that belonged to Sora, if those returned to him how, was she remembered to be restored?"
"First off." Myde added. "We SO have hearts. They regrow inside of us. And like we mentioned before. Roxas and Naminé are basically separate people from Sora and Kairi so they had their own hearts...as was Xion."
"And as for how Xion was remembered; records of her still existed inside the Organization's database which Isa as Saïx found out." said Oswald.
"I became a double agent for the real Organization." Isa explained. "I wanted to atone for what I did in the old one yet because I was chosen to be one of the 13. My hands were tied."
"Isa informed Xehanort's apprentices about the plan to restore Roxas, Naminé and Xion." Myde explained. "Oh yeah, and I helped after I was restored."
"And once Roxas, Naminé, and Xion were brought back, the time came to rescue us." Ven explained.
"They first rescued me from the Realm of Darkness...well after defeating me when I was exposed to the Dark essence in that hellpit for so long." Aqua started.
"Then Aqua restored castle Oblivion into the Land of Departure where Sora used the power of waking to save me." Ventus added.
"Then they took the fight to The Organization's home base In the World that Never Was where they rescued my body from Xehanort...and as a bonus, we also managed to restore Isa.
"After Terra was rescued and I was restored." Isa finished. "We assembled as an even bigger group of Guardians of Light."
"We're stronger now...together." Lea smiled at his boyfriend who smiled back as they intertwined hands.
"And it going to be even bigger now that the 10 of us are joining!" Vor cheered.
"Well technically, it's only the three of you joining as we're taking a more hands-off approach." Hoder reminded.
"All the same." Aqua spoke up. "Our party has gotten bigger, and that's not even taking into account who the rest of our team has run into on their journey."
"'The rest of them'." Hermod clarified. "So if I'm remembering everything you said correctly the rest of your team consists of Sora, Riku, Kairi, Roxas, Naminé, and Xion. Yes?"
"Alongside our Royal Court Magician Donald Duck, his girlfriend and Lady in Waiting; Daisy Duck, the Captain of the Royal Guard; Goofy and his son Max." Mickey added.
"And those latter four are toons like you four?" Urd asked.
"Yep." Ortensia nodded.
"Okay, NOW I can see how much your little party has grown." She added.
"Yeah." Ventus added. "Our little group of Guardians really is evolving."
"We're almost as big as the Loud House." Lea pointed out.
This gave Myde an idea.
"Hey Cid!" he called out. "Play Life is Better Loud!"
"Got it!" Cid smirked.
He pressed a few buttons, the song began to play and the Guardians began to sing along to it.
[Life is Better Loud from The Loud House Movie Plays]
Terra: Woke up just like any morning
New day, same sunlight pouring down
Ventus: Danced on to the beat I'm drumming
High hopes pulled my feet off the ground
Aqua: Heart stopped, didn't see you coming
Felt like you took my breath away
Myde: I knew this was the start of something
And I think I knew you felt the same
Mickey: Time frozen,
Minnie: eyes open
Both: Spun my world around in motion
Just a step away
Just a slip of fate
Lea: Oh, you'd never know how one simple interaction
Isa: Could lead you down a road
Where anything can always happen
Both: The picture in our mind changes all the time
Bigger than what we'd imagined
Oswald and Ortensia: We wouldn't change a thing about it now
All: Life is better loud
[The Students danced along to the music break]
All: Ain't no stopping now
Life is better loud
[At this The Academy Trio decided to join]
Urd: Oh, it feels like home no matter where we are together
Hermod: Wish we'd always known the bigger crowd was always better
Vor, Urd, and Hermod: We wouldn't change a thing about it now
Vor: Life is better loud (In the Loud House! The Loud House!)
Life is better loud (In the Loud House! The Loud House!)
Loud House!
(Life is Better Loud ends)
"That was...so much fun!" Urd breathed.
"Do you guys do that all the time?" Helgi asked.
"Well, usually we do things like this we have down time." Myde explained. "So you can look forward to us doing fun activities in between the Organizations's plans of attacking worlds."
"And it'll be a blast with the rest of our team." Lea added.
"I can't wait to meet them." Vor smiled with glee. "When will we?"
"When we stop by Radiant Garden for Cid to drop us off." Explained Mickey. "We'll meet up with them there and we'll all travel to our base of operations at Disney Castle."
"Sounds like a plan." Hermod smiled.
"Hey. Speakin' of!" Cid called out. "We're closing in on our destination."
"The Guardians and the Academy Trio hurried up to the cockpit and took in the view of Radiant Garden from its distant point in the Sea of Stars.
They also noticed a second Gummiship closing in on the world as they neared it themselves.
What the Guardians wondered was. What exactly did the other group do on their half of the adventure?
The End
Kingdom Hearts: Light Road
Directed by:
Gameshowkidd
Published by:
Gameshowkidd
Special Thanks to:
J. Tom
SSJ30
Jdimock
Cwoods1997
Wald2000
Voice Cast
Willa Holland-Aqua
Jason Dohring-Terra
Jesse McCartney-Ventus
Quinton Flynn-Lea
Ryan O'Donohue-Myde
Kirk Thornton-Isa
Bret Iwan-Mickey Mouse
Kaitlyn Robrock-Minnie Mouse
Frank Welker-Oswald
Audrey Wasiliewski-Ortensia
Sarah Blandy-Vor
Erika Harlacher-Urd
Yuri Lowenthal-Hermod
Anairis Quinones-Hoder
Hayden Panettiere-Sigrun
Logan Grove-Heimdall
Alex Bankier-Helgi
Stephanie Southerland-Vala
Kwesi Boakye-Vidar
Xander Mobus-Vali
Robert Belgrade-Master Odin
Rachel House-Master Frigg
Christian Slater-Master Forseti
Gary Oldman-Master Ullr
Linda Blair-Master Ymir
Haley Joel Osment-Vanitas
Christopher Lloyd-Master Xehanort
Robin Atkin Downes-Luxord
With
Cole Sprouse as Bragi
And
Roger Rose as Baldr
Additional Voices
Kristin Chenoweth as Ricky
Jessica DiCicco as Zed
Lara Jill Miller as Leon
Jadah Marie as Cristian
Nour Jude Assaf as Sawyer
Natalie Coughlin as Nellie
Haley Tju as Sienna
Sean Kenin as Len
So that's the end of The Scala ad Caelum story. But stay tuned for the Epilogue of Both Stories coming up in the final Chapter.
Review and I'll see you soon.
(1) Tangled the Series: Destinies Collide The Gondola to the Dark Kingdom.
(2) Adventure Time: Come along with me: Princess Bubblegum and Marceline kiss.
(3) Fire Emblem Engage: Chapter 5: Alfred and Céline say goodbye to their mother: Queen Éve.
(4) Clothing appearance is that of Luke Skywalker in Star Wars: The Force Awakens, The Last Jedi and The Rise of Skywalker.
(5) Facial appearance is that of Sirius Black from the Harry Potter Movie Series.