I do not own Kingdom Hearts or any of the characters.
Lost
Tyler stumbled slightly as his foot caught on the ground, then stopped, steadying himself before adjusting Lightning on his back, beginning to walk again. He sighed. He wasn't regaining his strength. It had been almost a full day since he'd saved Lighting, and yet his strength had only been slipping. He given her his cloak to protect her from the darkness while she was unconscious, but he was starting to think maybe that was why he wasn't regaining his strength.
Suddenly, a group of Shadows leapt at him from all sides, and he summoned his keyblade, spinning in a circle and slashing them all. Then, he let it disappear as he caught Lightning as she shifted, shifting her back into place before continuing to walk. As he walked, his mind began to wander, wondering what everyone else was doing, imagining their reactions when he returned with Lightning. Wishing she would hurry up and wake up so he could kiss her and be sure that everything was going to be alright.
Finally, after hours of walking, his foot caught on the ground and his legs gave out, both falling to the ground. He sighed, pushing himself up and gently lifting Lightning into his arms, sliding over to sit against the wall, holding her against him.
"Just for a little while," Tyler sighed quietly. "Just a few hours. Just enough to regain some energy." Then, he rested his cheek on the top of Lightning's head and closed his eyes.
Oswald frowned as he walked into Yen Sid's study. "It's been days. He should be back by now. Sora and Riku have already finished their test. Xehanort's back, we've begun to try and collect as many Keyblade Wielders as we can, and now one of our strongest has gone missing. Mickey and Riku can't be trusted to stumble upon him while they're searching for Aqua."
"There is always the possibility that he has been taken by the darkness," Yen Sid said. "He went alone to face two of the person who trained him to fight. He may have been unable to defeat her."
Oswald frowned, staring at the ground.
"You are worried about him," Yen Sid said.
"Of course I am," Oswald said. "You have no idea how annoying it's getting having to listen to that little brat cry because she misses her uncle."
"Is that the only reason?" Yen Sid asked.
"Of course it is!" Oswald said irritably. "That brat never stops."
Yen Sid smirked but nodded.
"What will you do?"
Oswald sighed. "I'm going after him."
"How will you do that without a way to open a way to the Realm of Darkness?" Yen Sid asked.
"Oh please," Oswald snorted. "Mickey's not the only one who wields a Keyblade of Darkness."
He held out his Kingdom-Key-shaped keyblade and a dark portal formed in front of him.
"You can create pathways to the Realm of Darkness, and yet you allowed Tyler use a collapsing Dark Corridor to cast him into the darkness at random and hope he ended up in the Realm of Darkness?" Yen Sid frowned.
"Well, he was bound and determined that he had to go that way," Oswald shrugged, smirking. "Who was I to tell him how stupid he was being?"
Yen Sid sighed. "You haven't changed, I see."
Oswald huffed. "Why should I change? I've done nothing wrong. Just as I did nothing wrong before."
Yen Sid remained silent, and Oswald walked into the portal, which sealed behind him.
Tyler paused, bending forward slightly and shifting Lightning higher, taking a moment to try futilely to catch his breath before straightening and continuing to walk. He wasn't sure how long they'd been there. Time was funny when the ball of light, be it a sun or really shiny moon, never moved, and the dark twilight was perpetual. But it had to have been days. His heart continued to guide him straight, but he had no way of knowing how far, or if he'd be able to make it there without being able to regain any energy. He didn't know exactly why he couldn't, but in the several days since the fight, he'd been steadily weakening.
"Hang in there Lightning," Tyler said, looking back at her and smiling. "Claire." He smiled. "It's been a while since I used your real name, hasn't it?"
He looked around as he sensed Heartless approaching and summoned his keyblade, only for them to all slowly fade from his senses as they fled. He sighed. He was glad the keyblade drove them away, but it was hardly a perfect solution. Sooner or later, they'd probably realize he barely had the energy to swing it anymore. He sighed as he let it disappear again, continuing to follow his heart. After another hour, they reached a trail made by stones lining a straight line. He smiled slightly. Couldn't get much more clear an indication that this was his path than that. He followed the path for close to an hour before finally stopping, staring at what lay ahead.
Oswald scrambled to the top of the rock formation and stopped, watching the scene unfold. Before him, there was a Demon Tide, a massive flying cloud of Shadows. It took the form of an elongated trail of them roughly fifteen feet wide, but with a massive ball of liquid darkness with Shadows' body parts sticking out all over it. Riku was fighting it, however, just as Oswald reached the top of the rock, it shot forward, crashing into him, the ball of melted Heartless swallowing him. Mickey shouted in dismay and fear, leaping at the Demon Tide, shouting in effort and slashing it, only for the light shining from his keyblade to flash, hurling him backward as a group of Heartless along the top were destroyed, though more emerged from the ball of darkness to replace them. Mickey pushed himself up, looking at his keyblade, which had cracks running along the blade from about the middle of the front edge, then back at the Demon Tide, swallowing hard and readying himself.
""You've grown weak Mickey!" Oswald scolded. "Frail!" He leapt forward, flipping through the air over Mickey as he summoned both of his keyblades.
"Oswald!" Mickey gasped.
"You used to be so much stronger than this," Oswald said. "Where's the conviction with which you once drove me from my home?" He shot a disgusted look back at Mickey, who wilted slightly, then raised his keyblades, both shining instantly. "Allow me to fight your battle for you, since you lack the spine."
Then, he slashed, both keyblades slamming into the ground as the Demon Tide raced toward them. A pair of massive waves of light shot outward, ripping through the Heartless cloud like blades. Instantly, the entirety of the Demon Tide burst into clouds of darkness, the ball of darkness shining before fading along with the light, leaving Riku lying on the ground. His eyes opened slowly and Mickey ran over, giving him a worried look.
"Are you okay?" Mickey asked.
Riku pushed himself up to a sitting position, staring down at himself in surprise for a moment before turning to Mickey. "Where'd the Heartless go?"
"Oswald destroyed them all and saved you," Mickey said, gesturing to Oswald, who simply nodded.
"Thanks," Riku said, standing and holding a hand to his head. "I owe ya."
"I know you feel invincible, but we're not," Mickey said as Oswald eyes Riku's keyblade.
"Are you alright Mickey?" Riku asked.
"Yeah," Mickey said. "Thanks to Oswald and the new gear. But...your keyblade..."
Riku looked down at it, noticing for, the first time, that the blade was snapped off halfway down. "Oh." He chuckled.
"The Heartless here are stronger than what we expected," Mickey said. "I guess we probably shoulda powered up our keyblades before we came in here, huh? I think that we should go back to Master Yen Sid's so we can regroup."
"But Aqua's...still down here, alone," Riku said, lowering his keyblade. "Facing enemies like that."
"I know," Mickey said.
"What if she's feeling as scared and alone...as I felt the first time I came here," Riku asked, staring out to sea. "How long are we supposed to keep her waiting in this awful place?"
"She's made it more than a decade," Oswald said. "A few more days or less won't kill her."
"What if it does?" Riku asked.
"But Aqua...she's like Sora," Mickey said.
"What!?" Riku almost shrieked.
"No no no!" Mickey said hurriedly. "Strong like Sora!"
"Jeez, what's with that reaction?" Oswald asked.
"Okay," Riku sighed heavily, smiling. "Good. Then I guess she's gonna be alright. Sora could fall into any darkness and swim his way out."
"Besides," Mickey said. "We won't be long."
"Right," Riku nodded, taking a couple steps forward, then stabbed his keyblade into the ground.
"What are you doing?" Oswald asked.
"Can't use this keyblade anymore," Riku said. "Might as well leave it here. For the other me."
"Why?" Oswald asked.
Riku gave him a strange look. "It's broken."
"And?" Oswald asked, receiving confused looks from both of them. "What, just because it's broken, it's now useless? You'd really just cast it aside just like that?"
Riku and Mickey looked at each other, both confused.
"Wow," Oswald said, shaking his head. "You have no loyalty. To your keyblade or your heart. You're a pathetic excuse for a Keyblade Master. Both of you." He walked forward, letting both of his keyblades disappear as he walked over. "I expected you, of all people, to understand, Mickey. A keyblade isn't just a weapon. It's strength isn't the same as a sword. It's strength is that of your heart." He gripped the keyblade's grip. "If your heart is weakened by doubt and fear, your keyblade is likewise weakened and can be broken. But if you banish your doubt from your heart…" he pulled it free of the ground and the keyblade began to shine before the light spread from the keychain inward, the blade being completely restored when the light faded its way along the blade. "Here." He shoved it into Riku's chest, Riku catching it by the grip. "Next time, have a little faith in your keyblade. And just so you know, you two are Keyblade Masters, and yet Tyler learned that lesson on his own after less than a year with a keyblade." he reached into his pocket, pulling out a keychain with a blank silver coin on it. "If you want whoever this other you is to have that keyblade, he can use this one." He clipped it to Riku's keyblade beside the other and it shone transforming into the same charm as Riku's. Then, he tugged the new charm and the point where it connected to the keyblade shone before separating, the light spreading until there was a full replica of Riku's keyblade, which dropped, stabbing into the ground.
"Whoa!" Riku said. "How'd you do that!?"
"It's amazing what you can learn when you actually pay attention to what your master teaches," Oswald said, shooting Mickey a dirty look. "Instead of just assuming you know better and stealing magical items or banishing people from their own homes."
Mickey deflated yet again and Oswald huffed.
"Let's go," Oswald said. "We're heading back to Yen Sid's tower. Tyler will be fine on his own."
"Wait, he's not back yet?" Riku asked.
"No," Oswald said. "But he'll be fine. I've never seen anyone with a light as strong as his."
Oswald summoned his own keyblade again and held it out, a portal opening before he walked through, Mickey and Riku both following.
Tyler stared at what lay ahead of him for a couple seconds before looking to his left and seeing a rock that didn't look to rough. "That should do." He walked over, gently and carefully setting Lightning against the rock before sighing, twisting his back and smiling at her peaceful expression. "Wait for me, alright Claire? I'll be back as soon as I'm finished."
He kissed her gently for a moment before pulling back and kissing her forehead. Then, he pulled the cloak's hood up and stood, sighing and turning back to what lay ahead. From the path he'd followed, the rocks turned outward at a forty five degree angle for about a hundred meters before ending. beyond them was a massive, seemingly endless, expanse of black stone, cracked slightly here and there, and reminding Tyler of the Bonneville Salt Flats from his old world, except instead of white and sunny, it was black and dark. However, the main problem, besides the prospect of walking all the way across it, was the massive sea of Heartless present. They were about seventy five percent Shadows, twenty four percent Soldiers, and one percent looked like Shadows that grew into the size of a human, except crouched, highly toned lean muscle, longer claws, longer, more tagged antennae, and dark purple veins sticking out on their heads. And there were thousands of them.
He summoned his keyblade and took a slow breath, stilling his mind and banishing the fear of the inevitable. He had a single job to do. There was no room for anything else. After a moment, he sprinted forward, narrowing his eyes and deciding against focusing his magic into his body. He didn't have the strength for that, or for magic. He'd have to do this entirely with his keyblade itself.
He slashed his way into the horde, moving as fast as his exhausted body would allow, spinning and slashing, stabbing, deflecting claws, and then slashing again. Heartless exploded into clouds of darkness around him rapidly, all of them mobbing him, ignoring Lightning entirely. He flipped over one of the larger Heartless, then slashed downward through a Soldier as he landed, only to feel claws bite into his back shallowly. He sucked in a pained breath and spun in a circle, slashing them all, then took a second to steady himself. One of the larger Heartless leapt at him and he slashed it in an upward arc, diverting it over himself as it burst into a thick cloud of darkness. Then, his keyblade curved around and flashed back down, beginning to tear through the Heartless again.
He fought his way further from Lightning, seeing the Heartless currently had no interest in her. He didn't go so far he couldn't get to her, but he went far enough to lure the Heartless away from her. He stayed at that happy medium as he worked his way through the Heartless first one way, then back the other. Most of the Heartless were slow, though the bigger ones were far more dangerous, so for the most part, the hardest part was finding the strength to continue fighting.
Tyler slashed a pair of Soldiers on his right just as one of the bigger ones lunged on his left, their claws tearing through his side. He shouted in pain and slashed it, then spun, deflecting another's claws behind him, destroying that one too. Claws stabbed into him from behind and he stabbed backward, feeling the claws disappear as he destroyed the Heartless. He channeled light into his body briefly to purify any darkness that seeped into him, then turned, slashing a trio of airborne Soldiers out of the air, only for one of the larger ones to burst from a spot of darkness on the black stone ground, its entire hand driving itself into his gut. He coughed up blood, groaning, before pulling the Heartless's hand out of himself, then slashed the Heartless. He turned, slashing in a circle as the Heartless surged, then focused his magic, jumping and getting clear of the ground. He grimaced. He didn't have much choice. He needed to clear room. So, he focused his magic, and as he stabbed downward through a Shadow into the ground, an explosion of light shot outward, blasting dozens of Heartless. He coughed up more blood instantly, panting, sweat dripping from his face and running into his eyes. He groaned forcing himself to his feet before pulling his keyblade free and wiped his eyes with his shirt.
Several of the larger ones lunged, a set of claws grazing his chest, back, and each thigh. He shouted in pain, crumpling to the ground, and the Heartless swarmed. He managed to shove himself to one knee, slashing a wide arc ahead of himself, only for claws to slash his back from his right shoulder to his left side. He staggered forward, stabbing his keyblade into the ground to stay standing, then turned, ripping it free and slashing the Shadows chasing him. He turned, slashing the other side, then turned again, only for a Soldier to slash his shins. He shouted in pain instantly, and this time, the Heartless were too close. He couldn't recover in time to fend them off and dropped his keyblade, instinctively trying to use his arms to fend them off. Tears fell from his eyes.
I'm so sorry, Tyler thought. I love you. Claire.
Lightning groaned, opening her eyes and seeing the inside of a black hood. She didn't remember wearing that, but she also didn't remember being seated against a black boulder on a black rock ground. She raised her head and her eyes widened as she saw a sea of Heartless. They weren't paying her any attention. It looked like they were attacking someone. She tried to stand, but her legs buckled and she fell to her hands and knees. However, just as she did, a voice cut through the air, shrieking in pain. She gasped harshly. That was Tyler's voice.
"Tyler!" Lightning shrieked, shoving herself to her feet and charging, even as her legs wobbled and threatened to give out. She swiped an arm, and a bolt of lightning exploded down in the Heartless in front of her. "Tyler!"
Tyler's voice shrieked in agony again, and Lightning could see where the Heartless had surrounded him now, seeing them slash with their claws.
Lightning shrieked in desperation, firing several Firagas into the army of Heartless in her way, terror flooding her as she felt her already nearly-nonexistent energy drop sharply in response. The Heartless noticed her this time, however. She reached for her gunblade, but found her carrier was missing, and then remembered having dropped the gunblade itself before being cast into the darkness.
No! Lightning thought. Not now! Please! I need something! Anything! I need to save him! Please! Someone! Help me!
Light shone in front of her hand instantly before fading, leaving a keyblade. It had a black, contoured grip identical to that of her gunblade, which Lightning's fingers closed around instantly, it had the metal sections from just above her gunblade's grips attached to the bottom of the grip, then angled outward in the front and back as a guard with a small red spike extending from the top of the guards inside, reaching toward the guard but falling just shy of connecting, a black blade with the bottom shaped into a hollow teardrop then a diamond shaped opening where the blade transitioned into the teeth. The teeth of the keyblade were, once again, the metal section from between her gunblade's grip and blade on the back and a smaller version of her gunblade's handle extended about two inches from the front, though it was thinner, barely half an inch wide, then, above the keyblade's teeth was the last three inches of her gunblade's blade. The charm was the same pink, rose-shaped crystal she used to summon Odin, though barely half the size. In full, the keyblade from the tip of the blade to the end of the grip was about the same length as her gunblade had been, but was almost entirely weightless.
Without missing a beat, the moment Lightning's hand closed around the grip, she slashed, destroying a wide arc of Heartless as they leapt at her. Her face instantly set into a fierce look of determination, anger, and defiance. He began to spin and slash, shredding the Heartless rapidly, summoning Odin's crystal to her hand as she did before tossing it and slashing it as it fell, not slowing her assault at all. A moment later, Odin was shredding his way through the Heartless with a deafening bellow that she had never heard before, blasts of lightning, wind, and light slaughtering the Heartless until Tyler was finally clear before Odin passed over him, slashing the Heartless in a massive arc on the far side. Lightning held her keyblade in the air the moment she saw Tyler's shredded and mangled form, green light flashing from her keyblade before a massive green flower bud formed over him before vines wrapped around him. Then, the flower bloomed as the entire thing shone green and faded, Tyler's wounds all sealing in seconds. His eyes fluttered open as Lightning reached him in time to slash several heartless.
"Claire?" Tyler croaked.
"Can you stand?" Lightning asked.
Tyler looked down at his body before groaning loudly, hauling himself up and resummoning his keyblade, taking a long breath before focusing. Feel like stretching your legs Alexander?
A blinding white light suddenly shone from the air before him before Alexander stormed out of it, his massive arms sweeping Heartless aside rapidly. Tyler smiled as he felt some of Alexander's strength flow into him. He hadn't even realized that was an option. However, as soon as it stopped, he spun, slashing a pair of the larger Heartless out of the air as they leapt at Lightning from behind. He smiled as his back bumped Lightning's and she flashed him a smile.
"I'll watch your back if you watch mine," Lightning said.
"Always," Tyler smiled.
Lightning smiled and nodded as the heartless began to swarm toward them again. They both stepped forward, beginning to shred the Heartless, this time rapidly working their way through the army, moving around however the tide of battle guided them, though they both remained within three feet of each other. Odin and Alexander both mostly did their own thing, but each wiped out Heartless even faster than Tyler and Lightning, not that anyone minded.
The fight began to drag on, minutes stretching into an hour, then two. Finally, just as both Alexander and Odin disappeared in a pair of flashes of light due to whatever magic allowed them to remain when summoned running out, the heartless that remained, barely a hundred, suddenly raced along the ground past Lightning and Tyler, swarming together before rising in a pillar of swirling Heartless with a ball of liquid darkness at the top. Tyler and Lightning both turned to the new threat and readied themselves, both smiling.
"I'm sensing a single presence now," Lightning said.
"Yup," Tyler said. "The ball. Shall we?"
"Together," Lightning nodded.
They both shot forward and the Heartless swarm shot toward them, the cloud of Shadows around it spiraling faster and faster as it shot toward them. Then, just before it reached them, Tyler and Lightning both leapt past it, crossing and slashing diagonally across the ball in an "X", both of their keyblades shining. Light began to shine from the ball of liquid darkness, turning it white before it began to fade with the light, the Shadows all gone once the light had faded. Tyler sighed, turning to Lightning just in time for her to throw her arms around his neck, sobbing at the same time as mashing her lips into his.
He dropped his keyblade, which stabbed into the ground and wrapped his arms around her back, allowing tears to fall down his own cheeks as he kissed her just as desperately as she was kissing him. Finally, Lightning pulled back, hands sliding around to clutch at his neck as she pressed her forehead to his.
"I love you so much!" Lightning sniffed. "You stupid, stupid bastard!"
Tyler smiled. "I love you too Claire."
Lightning's smile widened. "I thought you had forgotten."
"No," Tyler said. "I had just gotten used to calling you Lightning by then."
Lightning smiled and kissed him again, more calmly this time. "You weren't supposed to be able to save me. I couldn't see past my death. I could never see past my death."
"Maybe that was because the darkness of having been turned into a Heartless and Nobody was blocking it," Tyler said.
Lightning nodded before her eyes widened, tears flooding down her face again. "I didn't mean it! Everything my Heartless said was a lie!"
Tyler smiled, kissing her. "I know. I will never doubt you Lightning."
She smiled gratefully, hugging him tightly for a long few minutes before finally pulling back.
"So, you're a keyblade wielder?" Tyler asked.
"Apparently," Lightning nodded, summoning it back to herself and holding it out for him to inspect. "It just appeared when I was desperate to save you."
He smiled, picking his up and swapping her, seeing her eyes widen in surprise when she saw first the blade, then the charm.
"You turned my necklace into a charm?" she asked.
"Yes," Tyler nodded. "I didn't know if it would do anything, but I thought it was worth a shot. You can have it back if you want it, though."
Lightning shook her head, both of them swapping their keyblades back. "Keep it. Going by my memories of you beating two of me, that keyblade's just about perfect for you."
"Of course it is," Tyler said. "You've always been the greatest source of strength for me."
She smiled, pushing his shoulder lightly. "You're going to make me cry again!"
He laughed. "Serah said it looks like a gunblade you once used."
"Yeah," Lightning nodded. "Overture. Take off the back guard, straighten the front one, and move the bayonet that this has for the teeth down to the base of the blade and that's basically it. Except, that it was actually made to be wielded backward, since that how it folded into a gun."
"Really?" he asked, staring at the gun, imagining it as she had said before turning it over and grimacing instantly. "I don't think I could do that. My OCD would kill me."
Lightning laughed. "I usually turned it around when fighting up close, then spun it when I switched to a gun."
"Makes sense," Tyler nodded, then looked around. "So, now what?"
Lightning looked around as well before letting her keyblade disappear and taking his hand. "It doesn't matter to me. As long as I have you, I'm content."
Tyler smiled, letting his keyblade disappear too, then kissing her before they turned, continuing to walk out into the massive open expanse of black rock.
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