Villain in Your Story
Chapter 1
"Do you think that we deserved a happy ending?"
On a distant shore where the soft waves lapped against the sand, Leon sat on a rock gazing out to the sunset. Golden beams of light pulled down across the sky, darkening with every passing moment until dusk engulfed the sun. With each fading ember, Leon's heart beat a little slower, his eyelids felt a little heavier, and his mind felt a little emptier. The Heartless were gone, the worlds were saved, and his mission was over. He could rest now. Forever.
But as the strength slipped from his fingers, his chest started to ache. Something was missing from deep inside, like a hollowed out memory of a feeling. It ghosted against his torso like fire and ice intertwined.
Did the Heartless steal it from him? Or did he bury it so deep that he couldn't find it anymore?
Wait, how did he even get to a beach?
He looked down, sharp eyes refocusing away from the haze. The waves looked inviting. Deep, dark, infinite. They wanted him. Their siren song stripped away the remainder of his clarity.
Leon jumped. And sank.
He was drowning—in fear, in doubt, in confusion, in longing, in loss. Too many anxious thoughts tore through his mind, but none of them felt right. His heart yearned for something else stolen. A gentle voice gone, taken by the wind to lands unknown.
The Light slipped away. It was all so cold.
What should've been a celebration turned violent. The Keybearer stood victorious against the Darkness that seeped through the Door. But when he turned his back to watch the Light reclaim its throne, Ansem reached his claws from the abyss and struck.
A slash of metal, a cry in agony, and a fallen warrior. Everyone looked with wide, horror-filled eyes as Leon kneeled wounded behind Sora. Time stood still and it seemed like forever before Sora bolted to his friend's side.
"Leon! How—why?"
"They'll come at you…from out of nowhere…" Leon struggled to breathe. He clung to his Gunblade as a crutch, staying firm like a statue even as the warmth seeped out of his fingers and toes.
While Sora stared helpless, Donald tried casting curative spells, but they weren't working. Then Aerith came, inadvertently shoving everyone to the side. She placed her hand on Leon's chest, channeling all of her magic into it. Green tendrils of light swirled around the giant gash, but it wouldn't close. It was too late.
Leon looked at her. She was level with him, kneeling just to his side, her healing hand starting to tremble while her free hand reached for one of his, squeezing it as hard as she could. He tried to say something to her, but his energy was sapped. All he could manage was a guttural sputter as his hand fell limp in hers. A blinding light exploded out of his chest, paving the way for his shiny heart to float up along the path. The Door to Kingdom Hearts creaked open once more, breaking the Keyblade's lock.
"Hold on! I'll save you!" Sora quickly aimed his Keyblade, but it wasn't working. He shook it, punched it, and kicked it. But nothing happened.
Goofy and Donald each put supportive hands on Sora's shoulders. They knew it was over. There was nothing anyone could do. Leon was gone.
"No, I won't let you take him!" Aerith surprised everyone with her sudden outburst. "We all have our time, but this isn't his!" She chased after the heart as it floated closer to the Door. Then, with one mighty jump, she reached an arm up high. Acrobatics were never her strong suit, however. Her fingertips barely grazed it, but that small touch sent a rush of emotions flooding into her body. In that moment, she felt everything that Leon had always kept hidden. Secrets, hopes, wishes—an inner strength like steel that held back so much pain, resisting the Darkness in a way she never deemed possible. Leon was everything she knew him to be and so much more. Too many things went unsaid, and that made her even more determined to get him back. Without hesitation, Aerith ran through the Door just as it slammed shut.
"Aerith!" Yuffie and Cid charged frantically past the Keyblade master. They grabbed at the Door, trying everything to rip it back open. Yuffie slashed it with her shuriken and Cid blew up some sticks of dynamite. But it wouldn't budge. They turned to Sora, yelling at him to do something. Just as Sora started to stammer out an answer, the Door disappeared.
On the other side, Aerith wandered around in the dark guided only by a heart that grew fainter by the second as it flew off into the distance. Her legs were getting tired, but she knew she couldn't stop. Hungry, yellow eyes were trained on her. The shadows watched for any sign of weakness, ready to pounce the second Aerith faltered.
Inside the Darkness lurked more than shadows, however. Fear creeped in from every corner of the expanse, its whispers trying to paralyze Aerith's heart.
"You'll never find him," said the Fear. "He's gone forever. And you will be too. You'll never leave here. Never. Never. Never."
"Keep calm," Aerith thought to herself, clasping her hands together in prayer as she persevered.
"You can't do anything. You're a failure as a healer. You're a failure as a friend."
"Think happy thoughts." She focused on the cutest thing she could imagine. "Adorable moogles cuddled on a couch…"
"There's no way out," hissed the Fear.
"Fluffy chocobo chicks kwehing in a garden…"
"Your heart will be ripped out and gobbled by the shadows."
"Baby cactuars sleeping in the desert…"
"You'll be alone in the abyss forever. In the cold, in the dark. Dead."
"Leon scrunching his face when he's in deep thought…"
"You're going to die."
"Leon giving tummy rubs to puppies when he thinks no one's watching…"
"You're going to die."
"Leon when he secretly gifts toys to the orphanage…"
"You're going to die."
"Stop it!" Aerith shouted, her praying hands broken into fists. The yellow eyes were legion, and they drew ever closer. But Aerith wouldn't let the shadows touch her. "I'll give you something to look at!" She threw up her hands over her head and static jumped from her fingers. With a loud crack, lightning streaked through the darkness and struck a tower of eyes, exploding it into oblivion.
Aerith felt triumphant, if not a little relieved. She summoned another bolt, followed by two more. Slowly, all the eyes vanished until it was completely pitch black. The endless expanse no longer bothered her, though. She just conjured up some fire and continued walking.
"Remarkable."
Aerith stopped. A chill rippled down her body. She didn't want to turn around, but she knew bearing her back to him would be the end. Trembling, she spun on heel in time to see Sephiroth raise his blade. Without thinking, Aerith flung a fireball at him, but he just batted it away with a confident smirk.
Memories once buried in the deepest corner of her mind gushed out, drenching her heart with dread. She was a helpless girl standing frozen as the world burned around her. Shadows were devouring everyone, and she had taken the children to safety in her last sanctuary. But the Darkness creeped into the church, pouring into young, vulnerable Cloud. It unleashed the most fearsome of all fiends, who exploded out of Cloud's chest with a long katana poised to slice through everyone. Without pause or remorse, he cut down Tifa and then set his sights on Aerith, who shielded the tiniest children with her outstretched arms. She challenged him with her defiant eyes, biting back the urge to cry and willing her legs to stop trembling. She tried not to blink as Sephiroth pulled up his bloodied sword. She couldn't look away. She didn't dare. He wouldn't get the satisfaction.
"Remarkable," Sephiroth said, awestruck. The inner light burgeoning off Aerith had him transfixed. He almost hesitated to strike. Almost. With a flick of his wrist, he slashed. But he didn't hit Aerith. Leon jumped down from the rafters at the last second and took a gash to the face in her stead. Blood streaming down his forehead and nose, he yelled out a fierce battle cry as he swiped at Sephiroth with a crackling torch. The cinders distracted him long enough for everyone to run. The roof then collapsed, sealing Sephiroth inside.
Leon had shielded her that day. He saved her. In so many ways. But now she was alone. All alone in the Darkness with no hope.
With a swift flick of his wrist, he slashed at her, knocking Aerith down with a scream.
"You're finished," Sephiroth snickered. He prepared to thrust his katana and Aerith could do little more than brace herself as she lay stunned on the ground.
"Don't give up!"
Metal sliced against metal and Aerith reflexively curled into herself, shielding her body as best she could. All around her, blades continued to clash as Sephiroth fought ferociously to kill his prey. Was it real or were the Heartless playing tricks on her? Could she trust anything in the Darkness? She wanted to light another fire to look, but just as she nudged her head up, another clap of steel sent her ducking back.
On and on the fight dragged on, kicking up wind and making Aerith feel like she was seconds away from being blown to bits. The peering eyes reemerged, looming ever nearer the longer Aerith remained paralyzed.
"You have to get up," she told herself. "You have to stand and fight back. You have to!" Willing herself up, she recoiled a few times when the fighters came to close. It took a few tries, but eventually she managed to get to her feet and brush herself off. Aerith quickly summoned some lightning to push back the shadows, with each burst momentarily illuminating the field. Sephiroth was dancing through the air, keeping fast pace with her mysterious, new ally.
"I can't keep this up forever," he called down to her, parrying a thrust and lunging himself off the katana to maintain aerial latitude. "You have to do something!"
"Like what?" she cried. "I'm a healer, not a swordsman!"
"He's a Heartless! Just like all the other shadows in this place! He was born from you and he'll just keep getting stronger the more you feed him!"
"I'm feeding him? How?"
"He's leeching off the darkness in your heart. You need to face up to that somehow, and fast!"
"But I thought I was doing that already," Aerith muttered, clasping her hands in prayer. She struggled to slip into a trance. The air weighed heavier than before and she couldn't shake free of the words echoing in her head.
"You're going to die."
"Happy thoughts, happy thoughts." Aerith focused on a garden—her garden. Bright, yellow flowers blooming up from the green earth. Crystal dew dripping from their soft petals as their sweet fragrance filled the air, carried by a gentle breeze. She stood in the middle, under the bright sun. Its rays warmed her body, illuminating her like a goddess.
Sephiroth suddenly stuttered and left himself unguarded. With one precise slash against his torso, he was gone. Sephiroth disintegrated into a puff of smoke that blew away into the Darkness.
"You did it."
Aerith opened her eyes and ran over to her defender, lighting the path with a fireball in her palm. "Is he really gone?" she asked while simultaneously studying the fighter to see if he needed healing. He was a boy—maybe about Sora's age, but taller and with silver hair. There weren't any notable injuries on him, but he looked weary and maybe a bit melancholic.
"For now. But he'll be back the second your heart falters."
"Well I'll just have to hurry faster, then."
"Cheeky," the boy snorted, amused. "What are you even doing here? The Door should've been closed."
"I could ask you the same question, mister…?"
"Riku."
"Wait, I know that name. Aren't you Sora's friend?"
"Yeah. And you're the lady from Traverse Town. The one always chasing after that brooding guy."
"How do you know that?" Aerith said, flustered. She could feel her cheeks reddening. "And my name is Aerith, not 'lady'."
Riku willed away his sword and turned his back. "Let's just say I've visited." He started walking. "Well, be careful out there…Aerith."
"Hey! You're leaving?" she ran after him.
"I'm not sticking around for another ambush."
"We should go together. Strength in numbers."
"I still don't get what you're even doing here. This place isn't for…" Riku trailed off, not sure he could finish the thought with any tact.
"For...?"
Riku thought for a moment then dropped it. "Anyway, I think you should go home."
"Not until I get him back."
"Who?"
"'That brooding guy'," she quoted in jest.
"What, he's in here too? Did you all take a harebrained field trip or something?"
Aerith willed the fireball to float and autonomously light the path while she clasped her hands in prayer. "None of this should have happened. Sora closed the Door. We were all on our way home, but Leon…he…Well, he needs my help."
"You really do follow him everywhere," Riku sighed, stopping to watch as Aerith stood still in silent contemplation. "Fine, we can go together. For now. But I'm not in the business of headhunting anymore, got it?"
"Anymore?" Aerith asked, opening her confused eyes.
"Long story," Riku grumbled, starting to walk again. "What I'm getting at is: if I feel like my journey's taking me to other places, I'm going. Whether you find Mr. Broody or not."
Aerith softly smiled. "Deal."
And just like that, a pact was formed between two unconventional allies. They set off deeper into the Darkness looking for hope, answers, and a future. But what Kingdom Hearts had planned would push them to their limits past breaking point.