End of the World – Final Dimension
Nothingness...
The remains of the worlds, signified by the small patches of land that littered across the open space, lay scattered as the party touched down to their final destination.
"Woah..." Neptune gasped in awe. "Dark feels. Empty spaces. The creepy sensation and ominous Latin chanting in the background. Yup, this place definitely screams 'Final Dungeon' to me."
"Gawrsh" Goofy said. "Is that all the worlds left that was taken by the Heartless?"
"There's barely anything left around here..." Compa noted. "It's...really sad..."
"No doubt" IF said. "Still, we gotta find our way through here in order to find the Final Door."
"Those worlds will be restored when we beat Ansem and seal the Final Door, right?" Sora asked.
"You betcha!" Donald answered.
"Then, all the worlds will be restored and disconnected, right?" the boy continued. "Then, what's gonna happen to this place, and to us?"
"Hmmmmm" the court wizard hummed. "Good question..."
"Well, I think this place will just go poof and vanish"
The party turned to Goofy with surprised expressions.
"This is the Heartless' world, so that's what I think is gonna happen. But we won't be goin' nowhere!"
Compa hummed in turn. "He's right. So long as we never lose faith, we'll find each other again."
"Hear, hear!" Neptune cheered. "We're all practically stuck like glue at this point, and I'd rather not have it any other way!"
"Glue is a bit overselling it..." IF pondered. "But yeah. We just gotta keep each other in our thoughts and our hearts will do the rest."
"You said it!" Donald agreed with a nod.
Sora nodded as well, bringing out a familiar Promise Charm from his pocket.
"Be sure to hold onto it. I'll want it back when I come running to you, got it?"
The boy clutched onto the charm tight, bringing it closer to his heart.
"We'll see each other again. I know we will..."
Once the party got their bearings, they pressed forward, trekking through the ruined remains at the End of the World.
Realm of Darkness
"It's dark. Pitch black..."
That was the first thing I noticed once I got my bearings.
What bearings, though? I can barely feel my body. If I ever had feet, I can barely feel the cold ground beneath me. If my nose even works, I could at least smell what's around here. If my ears even exist, I could hear the ambience of this place.
But...there's nothing left of me. Just an ephemeral existence that is fading further and further away...
But then, a thought invaded my mind, or whatever's left of it...
"Hey, if we get through all this, we're going on a date! Just you and me! It will be nep-tastic!"
As my thoughts began to fill, filled with this person's voice, filled with cheer and optimism entered my mind.
Her large parka.
Her short, purple hair with two white clips on it.
Her cute face that always had a radiant smile on her.
Whenever I think of this person, my heart just ends up beating faster as my face is filled further and further with life.
I huffed. "Couldn't let me vanish in peace now, would you?"
That's right! I can't vanish now. I still have people to make up to! Responsibilities to look after!
"Me, giving up? Ridiculous. I am Noire! I only do everything, after all!"
Once my heart was filled with resolve to see her once more, I feel my body taking form, my existence solidified once more. Yet...
"This place is really dreary, huh?"
I looked around and saw only patches of ground across my view. This place is not like the castle I was once welcomed into, with it's somewhat majestic, yet rustic structure. No, this place feels...primal.
"I wonder if I could find anyone here?"
I closed my eyes and focused on my heart. I could feel only bits and pieces of my Share Energy left. Then again, that was my bad, going against a man who could take that witch head on when she had the power of four CPU's was not the best idea I had.
Still...
"Where are you, Riku?"
My thought shifted once more to the silver-haired boy I knew. A kindred soul who felt he had to keep everyone at arm's length to survive. Just like me, he has long fallen into these murky depths. Would his heart be able to survive, I wonder?
"It's not like I could survive around here, either. Unless..."
I focused my thoughts again onto him, hoping and praying I could find him around here.
And then, I saw it.
"Light?"
I felt a light blinking in and out over the distance ahead. I don't know who or what is making that light, but I do know one thing.
I may not be alone in this place.
"Better go there and find out"
My feet dashed forth as my heart raced, anxious yet hopeful that the source of this light could help me out around here...
End of the World – World Terminus – Hollow Bastion – Hidden Laboratory
"Hmmmmm..." Compa wondered, looking at the darkened hallway. "Did we ever enter this place before?"
"I don't think so" Donald answered. "But the walls of this place..."
"Yeah..." IF nodded. "This looks like somewhere in Hollow Bastion..."
"Oooooohhhh~" Neptune cooed as she clapped her hands in excitement. "Maybe this is one of those hidden rooms you can only find by glitching the game or something? Like one of those Out-of-Bounds type of stuff!"
"I dunno about that... " the guild agent wondered. "If that were the case, we wouldn't be able to find this room here, and this is the only way forward now."
"After going through all those rooms that looked like the ones from the worlds we've been to..." Sora mused, thinking back on the other rooms they visited in the World Terminus, including one that led to Pooh's book, of all places, even! "This is all we CAN go to..."
"Well, we're not gonna find anythin' out by just standin' here!"
Goofy then approached the door, which ended up opening by itself.
"C'mon, fellas!"
With no other recourse, the party enters the room, which is filled with strange gizmos and a peculiar device in front with three pods in the middle.
"What is all this?" the nurse wondered.
"Looks like some kinda hidden lab..." the royal wizard mused.
"What kind of dark, dreadful experiments have the previous owners of the castle been up to?" Neptune said in a deep voice as she shivered. "Just saying that has already given me the jitters..."
"What's this here?"
Sora approached the console located in front of the pods. It reads...
"Project: Arc Evacuation Device. Lifeboat Status: Used..."
Neptune started to snicker. "Life-boat? Seriously!? What kind of word is that!? That sounds...so stupid!"
"Hey!" Donald chastised. "I'll have you know. Lifeboats are actual things that exist. I would know!"
"Huh" Neptune said as she stopped laughing. "The more you know, I guess."
"Hey" Compa uttered, pointing to a piece of paper sticking out of the console. "There's something written on that"
Sora grabbed the piece of paper, which was folded.
"I'm opening it"
He unfolded the piece of paper, which revealed a cryptic message.
"What does it say?" Goofy asked.
"Let's see here...Heart Research Report No. 13."
IF, taking the unfolded paper, began to scan through it's contents.
"Ones born of the heart and darkness, devoid of hearts, ravage all worlds and bring desolation. Seize all hearts and consummate the great heart. All hearts to be one, one heart to encompass all."
"That must be talkin' about the Heartless" Goofy wondered.
"One heart?" Compa wondered.
"Does that mean the Heartless have been gathering up hearts to make one big heart thingy?" Neptune guessed.
"Maybe..." the guild agent said.
"Realize the destiny: the realm of Kingdom Hearts. The great darkness sealed within the great heart. Progeny of darkness, come back to the eternal darkness. For the heart of light shall unseal the path."
"Kingdom Hearts, huh?" Sora parroted. "Noire mentioned something about that before"
"So that would be the giant heart thingy that Nep-Nep must be talking about." Compa guessed.
"Sure but, what about this pro-ge-ny?" Neptune asked.
"Basically, an offspring or descendent, but who would descend from the darkness?" Goofy answered.
"Ansem?" Donald wondered.
"Possibly." IF said.
"Seven hearts, one Keyhole, one key to the door. The door of darkness, tied by two keys. The door of darkness to seal the light. None shall pass but shadows, returning to the darkness."
"The door to darkness?" Donald repeated.
"Maybe that's the Final Door Leon spoke of?" Compa guessed.
"Most likely." IF believed. "If what we know from this is correct, then the Heartless has been passing through this door, and only two keys can lock it."
"Sounds like a job for us, eh buck-o?" Neptune chirped.
Sora nodded. "Yeah"
"One born of the heart and darkness, hunger for every heart until the dark door opens."
"And that's it" IF finished. "That's all they wrote..."
"So, basically, there's a door that leads to this Kingdom Hearts." Neptune started.
"But from that door, the Heartless keep coming out of it, and only they can get through the door and back." Compa recalled.
"And in order to lock it, we need two Keyblades for the job, right?" Sora summed up.
"That sounds about it" IF nodded. "Still, this does explain everything that's happened as of late."
"How do you mean?" Donald wondered.
"Think about it. The seven Princesses. The Final Keyhole. The Heartless rampaging the worlds for hearts of both their denizens and their cores. All of it was done in order to create this...Kingdom Hearts"
"Do you think that Male-whatever knows about this?" Neptune asked. "She has been kidnapping those ladies for the Keyhole."
"Maybe" the guild agent hazarded a guess. "Maybe she only knows enough of it to know she could gain great power or dominion over all worlds with this."
"But, what does that Ansem feller have to do with this?" Goofy asked.
"He literally just popped up at the last second, didn't he?" Compa complained.
"Almost like he was a villain thought of at the last minute or something." Neptune guessed.
"He called Kairi a princess and told her that her role's over" IF recalled. "I think he may have been who wrote this piece right here."
"Now that you mention it" Goofy pondered. "Maleficent and her pals have been holding on to Ansem's Reports for a while now, right?"
IF nodded. "Right. And from those notes, they came to the same conclusion that whoever wrote this piece of paper did. By acquiring the Seven Pure Hearts, they can find the Final Keyhole that leads to the Final Door, from which within lies Kingdom Hearts, where all hearts gather. Whoever claims control of it shall rule all worlds."
"So, he was hoping that evil lady does his dirty work and claim the prize for himself?" Neptune guessed. "Blegh! Talk about unfair!"
"I don't know" the guild agent confessed. "There's a lot about 'Ansem' that we just don't know about"
"Last minute" the girl in the parka repeated. "I'm telling ya!"
Sora groaned, shaking his head. "All this guesswork's hurting my head. We should get going."
"Good point" IF agreed. "We're on a time limit here. The longer we wait, the stronger the darkness grows."
"Hopefully, we will have a nice spot to rest up before the big battle" Neptune hoped. "It's not like we're going to fight a big boss before the final boss, right?"
End of the World – World Terminus - ? ? ? - Volcanic Crater
"Why does the world want to prove me wrong?"
As the party floated down, they came face to face with a giant bat-like creature that spawned from a volcano, whose bald head and menacing face defined his sinister presence.
This is the Chernabog, a creature as feared as the Devil himself!
"Neptune..." Sora chastised.
"Maybe we should teach YOU about jinxes!" Donald snapped.
"Mr. Bald Demon is so scary!" Compa whimpered.
IF grunted, bringing out her qatars. "Well, we're in this deep now!"
"Yeah!" Goofy cheered, bringing out his shield. "We just gotta get past him!"
Everyone else followed his lead and brought out their weapons.
Sensing danger, Chernobog began waving his hands around, summoning the ghosts of the dead to attack his foes.
"Fly past them!"
The party charged past the ghosts, though some of them proceeded to play tricks against them.
"Go away, scary ghosts!" Compa cried, swatting away some of the haunted creatures.
"I gotcha!"
Goofy spun to Compa like a hurricane, shooing away all the ghosts in the process.
"Thanks for the save, Goofy..." Compa sighed in relief.
"No problem-o!"
Donald, in the meantime, has been blasting Firaza after Firaza to shoo the ghosts away.
"Go away, you!"
"That's it!" Sora charged his Keyblade with magic! "STRIKE!"
He then unleashed a mighty Thundaga at the area, sending the ghosts back to the afterlife!
"Alright, he's open!" IF shouted. "Ready, Nep?"
"Like you need to ask!?"
The duo then unleashed their techniques upon the bald demon's head.
"DELTA SLASH!"
"LA DELPHINUS!"
Angered at the insolence, Chernobog unleashed a large pillar of flame from where he stood, forcing the party back.
"Ah shoot!"
"Hothothot!"
Not done with his assault, Chernobog breathed in and unleashed a breath of flame against his opponents.
"Why!?" Neptune complained. "Why is it our toughest bosses ALWAYS go for nepping FIRE!?"
"Less complaining, more flying!"
"I'll show Mr. Bald Demon here a spell!" The girl with the key then charged her weapon with Wind magic and unleashed it against her foe while increasing her distance. "WIND SLICER!"
As the party flew around to find an opening, Chernobog summoned forth several will-o-wisps to haunt the party!
"More ghosties!" Compa cried. "Why must you haunt us so!?"
"I got them!"
IF flew to the nurse's side and repelled the wisps away...
"What the!?"
...or so it seemed...
"The wisps are gatherin' around Iffy!" Goofy shouted.
"Oh no!" Donald bemoanted.
"IF!" Sora called out.
The wisps surrounded IF, trapping her within their haunted clutches!
"IFFY NO!" Compa screamed.
Eventually, the wisps began to glow brighter and brighter...
"IFFY!" Neptune screamed.
...until...
"You're in for it now!"
...several qatars were thrown around the bald demon's area!
"GOTCHA!"
Eventually, the devil itself found it's forehead pierced by the guild agent's qatar.
"Now, for one last gift..."
Dislodging her qatar from the demon's head, she leapt back, keeping herself in flight as she arched her right arm back to charge her qatar with energy.
"Apocalypse..."
Chernobog attempts to fire off another breath attack...
"NOVA!"
...but IF was faster, sending a wave of energy against the mighty demon and slamming it down against him with her hand, engulfing it in a pillar of light!
"It's almost down!" the guild agent shouted. "Someone, finish him off!"
"We got this! Donald!"
"Right!"
The court wizard approached Neptune and imbued her Keyblade with magic!
"SUPER NEP BLADE!"
She then slammed the blade down, engulfing the bald demon in a wave of light.
"Fall to the Abyss" IF muttered.
The demon roared indignantly as it disintegrated into nothingness.
"Did they..." Sora wondered.
"Do it?" Compa finished.
After a good three seconds, the Chernobog was no more. All that was left was the open crater that housed it.
"How's...that?" IF gasped for breath.
"IFFY!"
The guild agent soon felt a warmth permeating around her, as Compa barreled straight to her and crushed her in a hug.
"Woah, hey, Compa. Settle down."
"I thought I lost you there! I thought you were gonna...that you're gonna...WAAAAAAAAHHHH!"
The nurse cried onto the guild agent's chest, who proceeded to pet said nurse on the head to comfort her.
"Iffy!"
"That was amazing!"
"What was that new technique just now!?"
Goofy, Donald and Neptune flew up to her, checking up on their friend.
"Easy, guys. One at a time..."
Meanwhile, Sora looked at the scene with a smile on his faces.
He then looked at the crater.
"Only one way forward, huh?"
And thus, the party descended down the crater, their destination ever closer.
"Weird" Neptune thought to herself. "Why am I getting the chills just now?"
Realm of Darkness
"There's no end to this place, huh?"
I continued to walk on the path in front of me, a path that never seemed to end.
Yet, with each step I took, my body began to feel heavier, the darkness weighing on me growing from a mere pebble to a large boulder. At this rate, I don't know if I'll ever reach the end of this.
"I really messed up, huh?"
I began to think back, back to when all this began.
"If there are other worlds out there, why did we end up on this one?"
It was a simple and curious question, really. Ever since I heard the stories of the man who left the islands, I became more and more curious about the existence of other worlds.
"In my hand, take this key...Its wielder you shall one day be..."
When I met another man who clearly wasn't from around the islands, my curiosity began to spike up even further. His existence should already prove that other worlds exist out there...
"Hello...My name is Kairi. Nice...to meet you"
But when she came in to our lives, I was convinced, more than ever, that worlds outside our own existed, and that was why...
"No barriers or chains to bind us! I'm not afraid of the darkness!"
I accepted the darkness' hold over me as a means to see the other worlds. When I came to, I was near a dark and menacing castle being ruled over by an evil fairy and her cohorts. I had nowhere else to go, so I accepted her offer for shelter while I sought to reunite with my best friends...
"Why concern yourself with his being? You see now, plain as day, that he has replaced you"
But then, when I saw one of them, hanging out with others and cared for by others, I felt something hurt from within me. I couldn't properly explain it, but I knew I didn't want to feel this way, so I opposed him while still trying to find her.
"You've really fallen to the darkness, haven't you? Can't you see that you and Kairi have never left his thoughts, not even once..."
Thinking back on it, that girl in blue was right. He would never abandon his friends, no, anyone behind. I called him foolish for seeking new friends, but the truth was...
"I was the foolish one."
I denied his aid time and time again. I would rather accept the power from dark forces instead, and look what happened.
My own heart is now cast deep into this dark abyss, with no end in sight.
I kept thinking back to the reason why I acted this way. Was it because I was that competitive with Sora? Did I want to prove I can handle things on my own when he always had others to help him?
Right now, I don't really know…
Maybe...it would be for the best that I just fade away here...
"C'mon, Riku!"
"Get up, Riku!"
No! Not yet!
My strength began to return as my thoughts seemed to rebel against me.
No, it was my heart, my bonds with them, telling me to keep on moving.
Ah, how I missed them so much.
"You're right. I can't give up now. There's still so much I want to tell you both..."
As my thoughts were filled with our times together back home, my chest felt lighter, my steps increasing in speed and my sight regaining focus.
But then, I felt my foot twist as I was about to fall...
"I just...want to see you both...one more time"
But before I could hit the ground, I felt someone breaking my fall...
"Thank goodness. I managed to find you."
I turned my head to my right to see a familiar girl with black hair, red eyes and a blue dress standing next to me, looking at me with a reassuring smile.
"Noire?"
End of the World – Linked Worlds
"Oh yeah!?" Donald declared, his staff lighting up in Fire magic. "Have a piece of this!"
The royal wizard unleashed a blast of Firaza, annihilating the Heartless in front of him.
"Guys!" Goofy called out. "Need a lil' help here!"
The royal captain is currently being hailed by a barrage of lightning-charged orbs being fired from one of the angelic-appearing Heartless.
This is an Angel Star. Flanked by two more of it's own, their deceptive appearances belies a power just as dangerous as the rest of it's kind.
"I got you, Goofy!"
Compa charged forward and readied another blast from her syringe.
"Get out of here! FROZEN TREATS!"
The blast of ice was enough to damage them, but the Angel Stars stood strong.
In fact, they began to ascend into the air and started spinning around, unleashing small but deadly twisters below them!
"Now things have gotten worse!" the nurse cried in a panic.
"Not for long!"
A figure then leapt above the twisters and aimed their sights squared on the three Angel Stars…
"Time for you to go! GRAVITY SLAM!"
…unleashing a powerful Graviga attack that eliminated the Angel Stars for good!
"Thanks for the help, Nep-Nep!" Compa thanked the girl with the key.
Goofy chuckled. "What she said!"
Neptune rubbed her nose. "Don't mention it!"
Donald then looked around the area. "I wonder how Sora and IF are faring"
Looking around the ruined area, they spot the two separately fighting two shadowy, floating humanoids, clashing against them with their swords.
These beings are the Invisibles, one of the strongest Heartless to ever exist.
"GAH!"
Sora tried to unleash his combos against it…
"Stand still!" He unleashed a dome of light around himself. "STUN IMPACT!"
But the Invisible dodged away, and then spun around, unleashing orbs of darkness against him.
"AH!"
Thankfully, Sora had an Aeroga shield around him, letting him weather the incoming attacks.
"That's it!"
Just as Sora prepared his next move, the Invisible he's fighting suddenly stopped moving!
Donald smirked. His Stopza was on-point!
"STRIKE RAID!"
With a few throws from his Keyblade, Sora managed to destroy the Invisible he was fighting.
"Nice!" Sora cheered, waving to his duck friend. "Thanks, Donald!"
The royal wizard responded with a thumbs up!
Meanwhile, IF continued clashing with another Invisible.
"To think Heartless like these exist…" the guild agent mused to herself. "They're quite tough!"
She then tried to launch an attack, but the Invisible dodged backwards and planted it's sword onto the ground as it vanished from sight.
IF clicked her tongue. "Now, where did he go?"
She soon found her answer as dark wisps surrounded her being…
"Iffy, jump!"
Thinking ahead, IF hopped up just as the wisps converged around her, narrowly avoiding a nasty hit.
And just in time, the Invisible returned, retrieving it's sword.
"No, you don't!"
However, when it was charging, a shot stopped it dead in it's tracks.
IF smirked, knowing who did it. "Thanks, Compa"
She then lit her qatars on fire and charged at the defenseless Invisible…
"FLAME SOUL SLICE!"
…and burnt it down to cinders, leaving it's ashes to scatter across the darkened winds…
"That's the last of them" IF said as the party gathered around her. "Nice work, team!"
"Man" Sora complained as he rolled his right arm. "Those last ones were quite tough…"
"Then again, we ARE deep in Heartless territory" Goofy noted.
Donald nodded. "Makes sense that the toughest ones would lie in wait around here…"
Neptune sighed. "You tell me. Good thing those things don't dual wield or something. Those would've been real nightmares to deal with…"
Sora shuddered. "C'mon, sis! Don't jinx us like that!"
As the party settled down, the Heartless symbol at the end of the room filled with green (not the grassy or forest type of green, mind you) has finally and fully crumbled, revealing a dark pathway.
Compa gulped, both from drinking her Hi-Potion and from the shivers she felt. "Where do you think this leads?"
"I don't know" IF admitted, fully consuming a Hi-Ether. "But standing around here isn't gonna give us our answer"
Sora nodded, finishing up his Elixir. "Yeah. Either that hag or that Ansem guy is ahead. We'd better be fully prepared"
The rest of the party nodded, as Neptune gulped down the last of her Elixir. "Okay, gang! Let's go go go!"
And thus, Nep Team Epic proceeded into the dark symbol, leading them into…
End of the World – Gamindustri – Progress' End
"Okay…" Neptune started as she and the party emerged onto the scene. "So, we walked into that dark symbol and now we're…Oh…"
The girl with the key stopped once she saw where they arrived at.
"Hey, fellers…" Goofy started, feeling anxious. "Isn't this place…"
Donald moaned, feeling afraid himself.
Sora nodded hesitantly. "Yup…"
Within their sights lies a desolate wasteland. Countless rocks and debris littered the ground. Ruined roads marred the terrain. Ruins and pieces of buildings scattered all around the place. And to top it all off, the tall tower dotting the middle of the area has been cut down, with only a fifth of it still standing amongst the ruins.
"This…is Gamindustri…"
Compa sniffed at the sight. "To think we'd be able to see what happened to it after we were sent away…"
She wiped a tear out of her eye. "It's still quite a depressing sight…"
IF nodded. "Yeah…"
"So…" Donald wondered. "Is this all of it?"
The guild agent shook her head. "This is only the city we were living in, within the nation of Planeptune. There are other nations out there, but I don't think we can see them from here right now"
"Where do you think the rest of this place went?" Neptune asked, looking around the desolate city.
"Histoire and I believe this entire world is sunken deep in the Realm of Darkness, deeper than what we can go to" IF answered. "This is likely just one part of it that can be accessed around here"
She then walked forward, pointing to the road northwest of the tower. "That road over there leads to the marketing sector. Deeper there is where the Guild was stationed. I would know. I pass by that road every day back then…"
Compa followed, facing to the tower's southeast. "And there's where the hospital was. I passed by that area whenever I go to give my thanks to the Lady Goddess here back then. I prayed for my family's health and for me to pass nursing school so I can be of more help to them and to my nation"
The nurse began to sniff. "I know it hurts to see this world being torn down by all the Heartless, but…just seeing was left of it here…It's just…"
IF nodded, patting her friend's shoulder. "Yeah. I feel all that, too…"
Neptune took a deep breath, approaching her two best friends. "Girls…"
The guild agent chuckled. "Don't worry about us, Nep. We're just taking in the sights here, to remind us of what we lost and what we're fighting for"
Compa nodded. "Recalling everything hurts…but I for sure don't want to forget this! I don't want to forget what it is we're fighting for! And more importantly, what we gained after all this happened!"
Now it was Neptune's turn to sniff. "Oh, you guys…"
The boys looked to each other, and nodded as well, steeling their resolves.
"C'mon, guys" Sora called out. "We gotta get moving"
"Yeah!" Goofy nodded. "We made a promise about this place, remember?"
"So, let's go fix this place up once we're done saving the worlds!" Donald declared. "Okay?"
The girls all giggled.
"Yeah!" IF agreed. "You're right!"
"Yessy!" the nurse agreed. "Let's get everything back!"
Sora nodded. "And we'll all do it together!"
"All for one and one for all!" Neptune chirped in. "Right?"
Everyone nodded at that. "Together!"
And with their resolves steeled, the party proceeded forward through the ruined remains of the Lost World, determined to save all…
"To think I'd be led right where it all began for me…" a witch mused as she bore witness to the ruined tower in front of her. "Fate truly is a cruel mistress, isn't she?"
"Blegh" an annoying, shrill voice complained. "Figures you'd show up. Thanks a lot, chills..."
She then hummed upon hearing footsteps behind her. Knowing her track record, there are only a few people who would be able to come to her at this juncture…
"So, you have come at last..."
The party approached the fallen tower where the likely exit lies.
Standing in front of said tower is the devious witch of Gamindustri herself, Arfoire.
"I'm surprised you all made it this far, I have to admit" the witch complemented. "For fools who have only have only gained power as the circumstance demanded, you have certainly proved tenacious foes"
Neptune grimaced. "Oh boy. Is this lady gonna monologue us before the final battle?" She threw up internally. "Gross…"
Arfoire huffed. She won't entertain this girl's insults anymore! "Surely you wish to hear what has happened to this place, don't you? I know you have been to places here that resembles the worlds you have visited, but this one is a lot different from them, don't you think?"
"Aw, why bother!?" Donald complained. "Besides, we already heard the story from Histoire! This used to be your home world, right?"
The witch huffed again. "So, she has told you, hasn't she? Then you must know, this place was once the pinnacle of progress. Technology has evolved greatly for the joy and prosperity of it's people. Happiness and joy can be found in every corner, no matter where you looked. In a way, we Gamindustrians knew true peace in the vast sea of worlds."
She then looked solemnly to the broken tower. "But then, all it took was for one goddess to succumb to her own darkness for it all to crash overnight. A disaster far worse than the Great Crash of Tari all those centuries ago…"
"So, then…" Goofy wondered. "Why go through all this? If your home world needed to come back, you should'a worked together with Histy instead of all this!"
Arfoire scoffed at the remark, turning around with scorn. "And leave it to another goddess created to serve at the whims of her people? No! I intend to become one myself to ensure this world will become something even greater than before!"
Sora huffed. "You think you can do better? Please! We're gonna restore all the worlds ourselves! If we let you have your way, everything won't be better than the last!"
The witch chuckled. "I see. So, you fools have decided to restore the worlds to the way they used to, shielded and disconnected. I didn't take you fools to be so dutiful."
"Better that than you messing things up everywhere!" Donald retorted.
"Is that so?" Arfoire questioned. "Why, if I had my way, I would make sure that the worlds would be better places to live. With my guidance, I can lead the worlds to a brand new age!"
"A ruler like you? Ewwwww" Compa complained. "I'd rather remain a Drifter than be a citizen of your Gamindustri!"
"Besides, who would want a thief and a cheater like you as our ruler?" IF fought back. "You're no better than Maleficent or Ansem. You're just full of yourself."
Arfoire growled at their protests.
"I wouldn't want an old lady like her as our ruler or goddess!" Sora followed on.
"So, uh, mind moving along, witch lady?" Neptune tried to ask nicely. "We've got a final boss to attend to and he's not getting any younger."
This only set Arfoire further down in rage.
"So, I'm just insignificant to you all, is that it!?"
She then summoned her clones once more, each wielding different weapons.
"Did you all forget that I have the power of all four CPU's now? Once I absorb the rest of Neptune's share energy that the boy is holding, I'll grab Histoire and obtain what is rightfully mine!"
Sora grinned. "Yeah? That's what you think!"
"And what would you do, boy?" the witches laughed in unison. "Neptune could not defeat me like this! Who's to say you can fare better, even with their help?"
"Oh" the boy answered as his left hand began to glow. "Just this."
"What!?" they gasped in surprise.
"Come out, Genie!"
Using the Summon Gem in his hand, he summoned forth the mighty Genie of the Lamp to help.
"WOAH!" the giant blue man shouted. "Calling for my help before the final battle!? You really don't want to pull any punches, huh fellas?"
Arfoire clicked her tongue. "It's him..."
"Woah now" Genie complained as he noticed the witch and her clones. "Since when can witches multiply? Don't worry, fellas! I've got the solution!"
Once he said so, he reappeared behind Arfoire and her clones with clones of his own, each wielding fake Keyblades.
"Fight fire with fire!"
"Fight numbers with numbers!"
"Like a taste of your own medicine!?"
"Time to say goodnight, witch!"
With swift motions, the Genies managed to disarm each of the Arfoires, and then slammed all four witches into each other, leaving just the one Arfoire behind.
"Woah!" Compa gasped in awe.
"That was quick..." IF said, flabbergasted.
But she recovered just as swiftly. "Anyway, let's gang on her, and quick!"
Wasting no time, the party all unleashed their attacks on Arfoire!
But the evil witch refused to go down! "You think I'll let y—"
"Tsk tsk tsk!" The Genie tsk'ed as he snapped his finger, halting the witch's movements with a Stopga spell! "Bad witches have no right to veto her punishment, so take it, why don't ya!?"
"Here goes!" Goofy declared, readying his attack. "GOOFY ROCKET, GO!"
"HEAVEN DEMON!"
IF unleashes a 10-hit attack!
"BLIZZAZA!"
Donald blasts with his strongest Blizzard spell!
"BLAZING AMMO, FIRE!"
Compa fires off her Firaga spell from her syringe!
"CROSS COMBINATION!"
Neptune unleashes her classic technique!
"ARS ARCANUM!"
Sora blitzes with his light-charged technique!
"Now, you don't go around and inject darkness into other people's being." Genie scolded the downed witch. "That's just asking for trouble..."
Arfoire growled as she tried to get up. "Stupid Genie...!"
"Give it up, Arfoire!" Sora declared.
"It's all over for you!" Neptune followed.
Arfoire chuckled. "Did you think this is over!?"
The witch got up as she began to channel darkness into her very being!
"Uh-oh" Genie cried. "That is not good..."
"Genie!" Goofy called. "Get back here!"
"Uh, my time's running out anyway so...Too-daloo!"
The Genie vanished in a puff of smoke.
"What is happening to her?" Compa asked.
"She's channeling darkness into herself!" IF answered, unsheathing her qatars. "Weapons out, people!"
"What's she gonna turn into?" Donald wondered, his staff at the ready.
"I dunno..." Goofy answered, hiding his head behind his shield.
The witch then let out a loud roar as more of the darkness began to fill her very being.
"NOW, BEHOLD THE FORM OF YOUR ONE TRUE GODDESS!"
The darkness began to dissipate from the witch, and in her place...
"Oh, come on..."
...there now stood a scaly, red dragon!
"ANOTHER FREAKIN' DRAGON!?"
"Man..." Sora said, sounding disappointed. "...and here I thought she was actually going to be original..."
Donald sighed. "I can hear people complaining about this right now…"
"And poor Mr. Author havin' to apologize to everyone and himself…" Goofy bemoaned.
"YOU FOOLS HAVE INSULTED AND OPPOSED ME FOR THE LAST TIME!" Arfoire roared. "NOW I SHALL WIPE YOU ALL FROM EXISTENCE MYSELF! AND ONCE I DO, I WILL CLAIM MY RIGHT AS THE ONE TRUE GODDESS AND DESTROY THAT FOOL WHO CALLS HIMSELF ANSEM!"
"Not happening!" Neptune declared, putting her game face. "You've caused too much trouble already, especially to me and Noire! This time, I'll give you a nepping so bad you'll wish you've gotten a better job instead!"
"Yeah!" Sora shouted, his grip on his Keyblade firm. "We're here to pay you back for what you forced Neptune to do! And you're not getting away this time!"
"YOU THINK I CARE!? PREPARE TO DIE, MORTALS!"
Arfoire began their fight with a fire-breath attack in front of her.
"Dodge to the sides!"
The party split up, with Sora, Goofy and Compa on the right side, while Neptune, IF and Donald stayed on the left side, sparing them from the worst of Arfoire's breath attack.
"THIS IS NOT THE ONLY TRICK ON MY SLEEVE!"
Suddenly, several shadowy swords and lances emerged behind her, primed and ready to fire!
"Shoot!" IF cursed. "She's still using the powers she absorbed! Brace for incoming fire!"
Arfoire roared once more, unleashing the shadowy projectiles against her prey.
"Not a chance! AEROZA!"
Thinking fast, Donald cast Aeroza shields to his side of the party!
"Take cover, fellas!"
Goofy, in the meanwhile, stood tall and covered his own group with his shield, bracing for incoming fire.
"I'm in range now!"
The guild agent then began to channel a magical glyph below the transformed witch.
"I'm with you, Iffy!"
The nurse followed suit by charging up magic into her giant syringe.
"BLISTERING COLD!"
"GRAVITY SHELL!"
The two girls unleashed their attacks against the dragon, leaving her screaming.
"GAAAAAAHHHH!"
"Time for us to follow up!" Neptune declared as she charged against the red dragon. "You ready, Sora?"
"After you, sis!"
Once the two closed in, they unleashed their techniques...
"CRITICAL EDGE!" A hard-hitting four-hit combo!
"SONIC BLADE!" Seven dashes from the ground!
"GRRRRRRRR..." Arfoire growled. "DID YOU THINK THOSE PUNY ATTACKS WOULD STOP ME!?"
She then flapped her wings against the party, pushing them back!
"Gah!" Sora groaned.
"We're being pushed back!" Neptune yelled.
"I'M NOT OUT OF TRICKS YET!"
The transformed witch then summoned a giant shadowy broadsword on her hands.
"What is that!?" the nurse cried out.
"NOW, SUFFER!"
She then heaved her sword forward, causing the party to split again!
"This is not good…" Sora bemoaned.
"But we're not out of ideas yet!" Donald boasted. "Goofy, time to ready 'that'!"
Goofy nodded. "Guys! Mind coverin' us?"
The rest of the party turned to IF, who nodded.
"We gotta keep her busy!" the guild agent ordered. "Keep them safe and focus on the dragon!"
"THIS WILL BE AMUSING"
Arfoire then transformed her giant sword into a giant shadowy axe for her to wield.
"NOW COME AT ME, FOOLS FROM GAMINDUSTRI!"
"Demand, and ye shall receive!" Neptune shouted. "Or something..."
"I'm coming, too!" Sora declared.
The duo, backed up by IF and Compa led the charge against the transformed dragon...
"DELTA SLASH!" A triangular electric attack!
"STRIKE RAID!" A thrown technique using the Keyblade!
"FLAME SOUL SLICE!" A fierce assault of flame!
"POISONOUS AGENT!" A shot of poison!
...but the witch met their attacks head on with her giant axe...
"NOW IT IS MY TURN! HEAVE!"
...and slammed it into the ground, forcing the group to split up to avoid the emerging icicle forming from the axe's surface.
"Don't think we're done yet!" IF declared as she readied another spell. "DEMON FLAMES!"
A pillar of fire!
"LIGHTNING BLAST!"
A shot of lightning!
"BLIZZAGA!"
A blast of ice!
"WIND SLICER!"
A slash of wind!
The group unleashed their magic attacks against her, but...
"YOU DARE TO STRIKE ME DOWN!? THEN YOU SHALL ALL SUFFER!"
Arfoire began to glow red as portals appeared behind her.
"Aw, smokes!" Neptune complained.
"GUYS!" Donald called. "We're done over here!"
"EVERYONE, PULL BACK!" IF yelled. "GATHER AROUND THOSE TWO NOW!"
"NOW DIE! METEOR RAID!"
The portals unleashed several meteors at the area, causing destruction to all that is unlucky to be around the area...
"AND ANOTHER!"
She then summoned a rain of black, ethereal swords on the whole arena, threatening to skewer anything they hit!
"EXCELLENT" Arfoire boasted. "NOW, ALL THAT IS LEFT TO FIND THE BOY AND-HUH?"
As the smoke around the area cleared, the transformed witch noticed a glowing light in the center of the arena...
"IMPOSSIBLE!"
...which contained the whole party as they were protected by a powerful shielding magic...
This is not just any Combination Skill. This is a Unity Skill, a type of skill made when the thoughts and feelings of the entire party are united as one, creating something incredible.
In this case, the desire to protect their friends allowed Donald and Goofy to create this magical barrier. Hence, it shall be called Unity Barrier.
"Good thing we managed to prepare this in time now, huh?" Donald boasted as he channeled his magic into the barrier, with Goofy's shield as the focal point.
"Yeah!" Goofy cheered. "Now, it's time to fight back!"
"THIS CANNOT BE!" Arfoire shouted. "I WAS SUPPOSED TO WIN!"
"Not this time!" Sora declared as he prepared another summon. "Prepare to lose, witch!"
As Sora finished his summoning, a tiny dragon emerged on top of the boy's spiky hair.
"'Sup, y'all!" the tiny dragon greeted. "Name's Mushu, guardian dragon of the Fa Family! Nice to meet y'all!"
He then took a deep breath. "Okay, who y'all want me to roast?"
"Let's start with that poser over there!"
Mushu gazed upon who Sora pointed to.
"An imposter, eh? If she were more beauty than scaly, I'd take her on a date. Too bad, so sad..."
"I'm dispelling the barrier now!" Donald declared as he slowly released the barrier.
"Okay. Sora, keep her busy!" IF ordered. "Nep, Compa, let's finish this!"
The two girls nodded.
Once the barrier is disabled, Mushu opened fire against the transformed witch...
"Time for you to get the Mushu Treatment!"
...blasting her with a rapid barrage of small fireballs.
"STOP IT, YOU INSECT!" Arfoire yelled. "YOU DARE STRIKE AGAINST A GODDESS!?"
"Yeah, we dare!"
The dragon then heard several stabs in the ground around her vicinity. Several qatars were stabbed onto the ground.
"HAAAAAHHHH!"
Arfoire then felt something stab her head...
"This is for taking Nep's powers..."
Once she has taken a literal stab at Arfoire's head, IF jumped out and began to charge her qatar once more.
"NO, YOU DON'T!"
"Gotcha now!" Compa yelled as she aimed her syringe right at the wounded Arfoire's head.
"BREAD CRUMBS, FIRE!"
The shot burst forth, unleashing a wave of pillars of light that rained down upon the vile dragon.
"AAAAAAGGGGGHHHHH!"
"Now, begone!"
IF then slashed upward, sending a burst of energy against the transformed witch that slammed down along with the guild agent's hand.
"APOCALYPSE NOVA!"
"One more shot! Mwah!"
Not letting up, Compa sent an air kiss infused with light energy against the enemy dragon, wihch burst into fireworks that sported a heart with a C inside of it.
"She's almost down!" Donald shouted.
"Take her down, Nep-Nep!" Goofy cheered.
"We're counting on you, Nep!" IF yelled.
"You got this, Nep-Nep!" Compa exclaimed.
"Do us proud, sister!" Sora cheered.
"AW-RIGHT!"
Neptune raised her Keyblade up as she is charged with share energy.
"Time to say good night, witch! NEPTUNE BREAK!"
She charged forth, sending an upward slash against her!
"AGGGGHHHH!"
And then, she hopped onto the nearby wall and continued her charge, dashing against her with One...
Two...
Three...
Four...
Five...
Six Dash Attacks!
"HAAAAAAAHHHH!"
Neptune then slammed her Keyblade against the dragon, sending her down to earth.
"IS IT...OVER?"
"Nope!"
Neptune then threw her Keyblade upward, caught it mid-air and dashed against the dragon again, slashing her upward...
"And now..."
...dashing against her forward...
"...the grand finale! HAAAAAAAAAAH!"
...and then slammed down against her again as a pillar of light erupted from the ground beneath her.
"NOOOOOOOOO!"
As Arfoire yelled in pain, her form began to crack and glow.
"I CAN'T...I CAN'T LOSE! NOT WITH THE POWER OF ALL CPU'S! NOOOOOOOO!"
As the cracks grew wider, Arfoire exploded in a glow of light as four orbs, white, green, black and purple, flew out of her.
"Look!" Compa cried out as she saw the orbs flying out.
"Those must be the powers she absorbed." IF guessed.
"Hey, isn't one of them goin' to us?"
As Goofy figured, one of the orbs, specifically the purple one, floated down to Neptune.
"Look at that" Donald said.
"This thing..." Neptune started, gazing upon the orb that held a power symbol inside of it. "Feels familiar."
"If what IF said is right" Sora figured. "Then that must be the power she took from you."
"Hmmmm, I wonder"
Neptune then absorbed the orb into her being, causing her to glow for a split second.
"How do you feel?" Compa asked her friend.
Neptune hummed. "Not any different, that's for sure"
"Well" IF shrugged. "At least that power's not going to anyone else's hands. We can take relief in that."
"Do ya think you can turn into that pretty lady again?" Goofy dared to ask.
"I dunno" Neptune shrugged. "Lemme try. HUP!"
She raised her arms up, and for about three seconds...
"Nope. Got nothing..."
...nothing happened. Weird...
Sora chuckled. "That's fine. We prefer you just as you are."
The girl in the parka hummed again. "Maybe I should learn to transform to see how you would take it."
"Gah!" The boy reacted.
"Who knows?" the girl teased. "Maybe I oughta share some of my energy with Kairi. See if she can turn into quite the bombshell for ya!"
Sora's face, no, his whole head, became red as he covered his face in shame.
Neptune snickered. "C'mon, buck-o! You're so easy to tease!"
"I'll say" Donald commented.
"Ugh..."
The party turned to see where Arfoire was, finding the witch lying down, writhing in pain as her body became ephemeral, fading from view.
"Is she getting up?" Compa wondered, holding her syringe tight.
"I don't think so" Goofy guessed.
"That transformation must've taken a lot outta her" IF figured, crossing her arms. "Not to mention injecting herself with that much darkness..."
"I don't feel sorry for her, that's for sure" Donald said without a shred of pity.
"No...It was...supposed...to be...all mine..."
That was the last thing the witch said as she faded away into the darkness, leaving only the party left in the ruined area near the tallest tower.
"It's weird" Neptune started. "We've defeated her, but..."
"Yeah" IF interrupted. "I get ya. We're not in the mood to celebrate this either."
Neptune chuckled. "Sorry..."
Sora shook his head. "Don't be."
"Besides" Donald said. "We still got one more bad guy to go!"
"Yeah" Goofy agreed. "We still gotta beat Ansem!"
"That's right" Compa cheered. "So, cheer up a little, Nep-Nep!"
"Final stretch, Nep" IF reassured. "Think you can hang in there a bit longer?"
Neptune took a deep breath and slapped her own cheeks.
"Yeah! We got this!"
Sora nodded. "Okay, let's go"
The party then ventured forth into the broken tower, it's door emitting a bright light that guided their way out of this desolate place…
Neptune stopped her step for a moment, taking in the sight of the tall tower, one she has now seen three times in her life. First in her trial. Second in her shared dream. And the third is now, in the world's present state.
She clenched her fist and placed it near her heart. "Don't worry, Histy. We'll get it back. All of it. I promise"
The girl with the key proceeded forth, every step she took filled with purpose and resolve…
Realm of Darkness
"Still, are you sure about this?" the boy asked.
"I'm positively sure" the girl answered. "If Neptune could do this with Sora, I don't see why I couldn't do the same with you"
"This isn't a competition, you know?" the boy sighed.
The girl chuckled. "I am aware. Besides, I want us to survive so we can see them again."
The boy laughed. "Fair enough."
"How are you so far?" the girl asked with worry.
"I can still feel the darkness, but it's not as heavy as before" the boy answered, clenching his fist. "Your Share Energy must've helped."
"Obviously" the girl said proudly. "Our energy should help us resist the darkness as long as our faith in each other doesn't waver."
"Faith, huh?" the boy pondered. "I guess I can give that a try"
"That's good. Now, then. Shall we?" the girl asked.
The boy nodded as they proceeded forward. "Let's"
AN: And here we are, at the final world of the game (no, not that Final World!). First off, for those who were expecting a certain DoS to appear in this story...Sorry, but this Arfoire is based on the OG/Rebirth1 incarnation, so she instead turned into a once-unique Dragon boss instead. Although, considering what happens to beings like her in this universe, who knows what can happen after this encounter...
Secondly, the boss fight itself originally took place in the Linked Worlds section (the green area where you fight waves of strong Heartless before the last Save Point. Level 1 runners will know this area VERY WELL), but then I read a comment somewhere and an idea struck, so I changed it into, what is essentially, a visual preview (to the best of my ability) of Gamindustri's current state in this story. What's funnier, is that before this, I just made it another area in the World Terminus section before changing it into what you see now. Funny how ideas come together, eh?
Since I'm here now, I'll read your reviews straight up! Here goes:
Hopeful Determination
- That would be an idea, but time was not on their side at that moment. Besides, I'm sure this will come up at some point later in this series...
ShootingZero
- Thanks on the princess part! This is one of the parts that got me worried when implementing it. Good to see it got some good reception.
- I can't wait to see what I'll cook up about that, too!
- The remaining CPU's and Candidates will all appear eventually, but there's one thing I can say right now. If not for the existence of one character, Nepgear would have been in that person's spot instead of her current position in the stories to come. That's all I can say.
keybladelight
- A place of darkness can be described as a sort of hell, yes?
3bodyjaa
- Thanks for the hype! We are getting close to the end now.
Luis945
- We shall see soon enough...
Anyway, with the witch out of the way, all that's left is the final boss himself and that wi-Huh? What's up? Someone wants to speak through Nepstation? Now? But the hosts are aw-? It won't take long? Okay then! We have an emergency broadcast! Tune in right now, folks!
NEPSTATION
Kairi: Greetings, everyone. I am Kairi and I am here with an important message. As you well know, Neptune and Sora, the usual hosts of this program, has gone on to the End of the World to face down the source of all Heartless. They and their friends are currently going through the toughest fight of their lives to save our worlds and our lives. I know I am about to ask much from everyone, and I don't expect an answer so soon, but...
*Kairi bows*
Kairi: Please! Grant them your strength! They may be brave and strong and they also go forward with a smile, but I still worry about them! I may have faith in Sora in whatever he does, but ever since recent events, I've begun to realize the limits he and his friends may have!
*Kairi stands*
Kairi: It may be impertinent to say this, but I know everyone who watches or listens to this program has no doubt heard or met them in person. The never-ending cheer they bring. The reassurances they bring that everything will turn out okay. The...feeling you have around them that tells you 'They're good people and they're my friends'. I'm sure at some point we all felt that when we were around them. So, again, I ask of everyone listening right now. Please!
*an image of Donald, Goofy, Compa and IF appears onscreen*
Kairi: Lend them your strength! Give them words of encouragement so they can be reminded of whom they fight for! For Donald and Goofy, I'm sure your loved ones back home are praying for your safe return with your King in tow. For Compa and IF, I know we haven't spoken much, but I would really love to exchange stories with you two, be they with Sora or about Gamindustri. The other Drifters are counting on you to come back alive, safe and sound!
*an image of Sora and Neptune appears onscreen*
Kairi: For Neptune, I'll never forget the boundless cheer you brought with you, wherever you go. I'll never forget the tears you bottled up when you were feeling sad. And most of all, I'll never forget the strength you possessed. Your courage was one of the reasons I began to train myself to fight. So, thank you, Neptune.
Kairi: And as for you, Sora. You'd better not slack off when you're this close to the finish line! I know there isn't much else to say, but...even in the deepest darkness, I know you'll never give up. Every time you lost to Riku back then, you'd always get back up and try again. Every time you see someone feeling sad, you'd find ways to cheer them up. You may not have been chosen by the Keyblade at first, but the fact that you kept moving forward in spite of the odds, further proved that you have inner strength that you we always knew you had. Please, never lose sight of that strength. Never lose that goofy and happy smile you always have. That smile...is part of the reason I kept on going, even after I arrived in a strange world, away from home...
*Kairi bows again*
Kairi: That is all. Thank you...for listening to me...