Text The Keyblade War Chapter III: Beauty Of Apocalypse

[KHLegendIII 709]

Oh lord, Jexana, what's going to happen next?

[KingdomHearts3 2,591]

Wow, this was awesome. That scene of a war Dawn saw gave me chills. So Tsumugi has just about broken free and with Ventus already being successful, the last piece to completely freeing him is now in place. Kyle and Trish can now free Ventus. I look forward to more.

[The Transcendent Key 12,109]

To KHLegendIII, what indeed, am I right? Mowahahahaha!!!

 

To KingdomHearts3, indeed, Dawn was quite traumatized by what she saw!  And well, Tsumugi's trying her best, but things are proving difficult for her!  But yeah, let's see what happens! I'm glad you're looking forward to more!

 

Good evening everybody, I hope that you’re all doing okay!  So then, I’m all up and ready to post the next chapter of my story!  I sincerely hope you’ll all enjoy it!  So then, without further ado, here’s the next chapter!

 

Chapter Twenty Seven: Kingdom Hearts

 

(Start Song Here)

  A bright light…

 

  Nothing more than the pure brightness of said light….

 

  Kairi opened her eyes slowly, the light bothering her eyes.  But even as she opened them, she found she had to close them again, for the light that was facing her was so bright, that she couldn’t afford to look at it for too long!  Even with her eyes closed, she could feel the burning sensation of the light caressing her face!  She breathed softly, and she felt as though she was slowly falling.  Not, not falling.  More like…floating!  At first, Kairi couldn’t make out what was happening, but then, a quick flash of memory passed through her mind, and she remembered the very last thing she did!  The ice creature she had been battling alongside Maleficent, Pete, Armored Eraqus and Guardian Xehanort was about to unleash its final attack, and in a last ditch effort, Kairi had taken the full force of the attack and destroyed the ice creature with a powerful attack of her own!  And then, after that, only a bright, white flash pierced through her eyes!  She then came to the realization…

 

  “Am I…dead?” she asked.  Suddenly, she felt her feet land on something, indicating that if she had been floating, she had now stopped.  This time, she made an attempt to remain with her eyes open, and with that, she opened them wide, and then she noticed that the previously blinding light had now dimmed down.  She then noticed that she seemed to be in some kind of garden!  She saw all manner of beautiful flowers and trees, and beautifully decorated benches and a great, big water fountain, which is where she had precisely landed on!  She felt the cold water soothing her hands and feet, and then she noticed her reflection on the water.  She then stood up and looked around, and a sudden breeze gently blew past her.

 

  “Wait…it this…?” she asked to herself.  But the stopped asking herself the question, and instead, she started to look around.  Beyond the garden where she was, an immense field expanded before her! The grasslands extended for miles and miles without count!  The sky above was as clear blue as it could be, with not a cloud in sight!  In the distance, she could make out what seemed to be an ocean!  She immediately had goosebumps going through all her body!

 

  “This is….” she started to say.

 

  “That is correct.  This is Kingdom Hearts.” a voice behind her said.  Kairi immediately turned around to see who the person was, and it turned out to be someone she had been before!

 

  “Wait, you’re…that child!  You’re the one who helped us when battling Xylek!  You’re from here!” Kairi said as she looked at the child in awe.  The child nodded and put his hands behind his back and walked until he was in front of her, his back facing her as he looked at the horizon.

 

  “That is correct.  I am glad you remembered me.” he said as he glanced back with a smile.  Kairi was a little overwhelmed, and then she stuttered a bit before asking the question she had in her mind…

 

  “Am I…?” she started to ask.  The child nodded.

 

  “Yes.  You are indeed dead.  Your actions in the world of the living definitely proved to end your life, as your sacrificed yourself to save those who were with you.  Your allies.  I have to say, I did not expect you to perform such an action.  Especially to save people who at one point were your enemies…” the child said, stating his thoughts.  Kairi gave out a sigh and crossed her arms.

 

  “That doesn’t matter.  Even though they were enemies, now they are doing all they can to help my friends stop the Keyblade War that’s going to destroy everything!  They were helping us, and so, I knew I had to protect them, because they were doing the same for me!” she explained.  The child turned around and looked at Kairi with a curious expression, and then he sat under a big, wide tree, making sure to sit in the shade.  He smiled and put his knees close to his chest and he placed his head on top of his arms.

 

  “Hmm, what an amusing thing to say…then again, you are a Princess Of Heart, a lady with a pure heart untouched by darkness.  I should have expected no less from you.” the child remarked.  Kairi then looked down.

 

  “But…now that I’m dead…I’ve failed to fulfill my duty…” she said as she clenched her fists.  The child tilted his head and rubbed his chin, thinking upon the words Kairi just uttered.

 

  “Well, I don’t see it that way.  In my eyes, you’ve performed your duty admirably!  You were protecting people with your strength so they wouldn’t fall to darkness.  I say that you have done your absolute best!” the child said.  Kairi then looked at the child with a grim expression, and she shook her head.

 

  “That’s not entirely true…” she replied.  The child then stood up and leaned his back on the tree, crossing his arms.

 

  “What do you mean by that?” he asked.  Kairi remained silent for a few moments, and then she gave out a sigh.

 

  “During this whole time…I’ve been having doubts of myself.  Both as a Keyblade Wielder and as a Princess Of Heart.  During this whole time, I’ve been thinking of the burden these responsibilities bring on me…and many times, I just thought of ignoring everything…of turning my back and shunning the responsibilities I had to uphold!” she said.  She then took a moment to let those words sink in, and then she looked at the horizon.  “There were times when I thought: ‘Why did I have to bear these powers?’ ‘Why did I have to be chosen by the Keyblade?’ ‘Why did the people I love have to be involved in this…?’ For the longest time, I thought upon these questions, but I tried my best to ignore them…to put all those questions in the back of my head and not listen to myself asking them…but then, when things got worse…those questions came back…” she said.  At this point, the child’s face had grown grim.  “I was starting to ask myself why we were ever put on this path…and I hated myself for it.  If my friends knew what I’m telling you now, they would probably never forgive me…they’d probably turn their backs on me…because after everything we’ve been through, I’m pretty sure they’d be shocked at the fact that I didn’t want any part in this…and yet, I still kept pushing forward.” she said, her eyes now filling up with tears.  “I thought that if I could get my Key Of Balance, I could set things right and redeem myself from what I was slowly becoming…but now…it’s all over…” she finished, as she looked down, and she started to cry…

 

  She cried and felt ashamed.  She knew that she had to be better than this!  She knew she had to be stronger!  But in the end, these questions haunted her, and it seems, she died with these lingering thoughts in her head.  Suddenly, she felt the child’s hand placed on her shoulder.  She slowly looked up, and saw that the child was giving her a sad smile.

 

  “You truly are a Princess Of Heart.” he said.  “No one said that this path would ever be easy.  I don’t blame you for asking yourself these questions, because many Keyblade Wielders before you have asked themselves these same questions.  Being a chosen wielder of the Keyblade is an immense responsibility, and one that requires the ultimate sacrifice of the chosen.” he said, allowing his words to drift a bit.  He then walked towards the water fountain and sat on a bench just in front of it. “The chosen wielder must abandon any notions of a normal life, and instead walk on the path of a Keyblade Master until the very end.” the child said.  Kairi only remained silent, for she knew all too well about the price of being a Keyblade Wielder.

 

  “Or, of course, you could decide to use your abilities to destroy everything and bring chaos and destruction.  After all, the Keyblade can be used for destruction, as it can be used for good.” the child mentioned.  Kairi immediately shook her head at the comment.

 

  “That’s crazy!  I’d never do that!  I wouldn’t use the Keyblade to destroy!  Life is sacred in all of its forms, and destroying it is just wrong!  I wouldn’t even dare myself to go through with it!” Kairi exclaimed.  The child smiled.

 

  “And that, Kairi, is what makes you special.  You are a woman who cares deeply for others.  You have a strong sense of justice, and compassion as infinite as the sea which your name symbolizes.  You have the urge to protect and uphold, even at the cost of your own happiness.  That is something I find truly admirable in you.  A fine Princess Of Heart you turned out to be…” he said.  Kairi remained silent, looking down to the ground.  The child then chuckled, and Kairi looked up at him.

 

  “What’s so funny…?” she asked.  The child shook his head.

 

  “I think that you’ll be able to make sense of your troubling self with someone who’s understood your situation…” he said, as his eyes seemed to be looking at someone behind her.  When Kairi turned around, her eyes opened wide in shock!  The person standing before her was Aqua!  She couldn’t believe what she was seeing!

 

  “A-Aqua!?  Is that really you!?” she asked in disbelief.  Aqua smiled and nodded.

 

  “Yes, it’s me.” she said.  Kairi immediately ran towards her and hugged her tightly, holding their embrace for what seemed like forever!

 

  “I thought I’d never see you again!  I…I can’t believe this!” Kairi stated, overjoyed!

 

  “Well, I never expected to see you this soon…but here you are.” Aqua said with a smile.  “Kairi…I know that what you’re going through is hard…I went through the same thing many years before…” she stated.  Kairi looked at her  with wonder.

 

  “Really?” she asked.  Aqua nodded.

 

  “Yes.  Back when I was training with Terra and Ventus under Master Eraqus, the whole conflict that brewed up with Xehanort really tested our bonds…it tested our perceptions of who we were, and why we were fighting.  We let our worries overcome our minds…and we eventually split up, and it wasn’t until the very end that we all reunited!  But…because of Xehanort, we all met our demise.  During that time, I remember that the light had drawn me towards Destiny Islands…” she said, as she reminisced fondly that time she visited the island.  “I remember coming upon your friends Sora and Riku, and I could sense that Terra had already bequeathed the Keyblade to him.  I wasn’t going to do the same for Sora.  Instead, I told him that if Riku ever lost his way, that he’d make sure to bring him back to his senses…because I never wanted this for any of you.  If I would have done things differently, I wouldn’t have let you three bear the Keyblade…I’d never have wished this for any of you…because it’s no easy life.” she explained.  A small silence lingered, and Kairi remained looking at Aqua.

 

  “But when I met you back at Radiant Garden…I accidentally touched your Keyblade…and without realizing it, you had bequeathed its power to me…huh, who would’ve thought, right?” Kairi remarked.  Aqua agreed.

 

  “That’s right.  I never realized that I had bequeathed the Keyblade to you…I remember having cast a protective spell on you so that you wouldn’t be lost to the darkness, but I hadn’t realized that I had also passed on the Keyblade to you…” she said.  “But it seems as though I was wrong all along.  If you three hadn’t become Keyblade Wielders…I don’t know what would’ve happened.  We probably wouldn’t have made it this far!  Your friends made such a difference in saving the worlds…a difference that wouldn’t have been possible if they hadn’t received the powers of the Keyblade.  So in that regard, I’m glad that the Keyblade chose you in the end!” she replied.  “But, though you are a Keyblade Wielder, you are also a Princess Of Heart, and I know that it can’t have been easy for you to lead a life with these two responsibilities.  I can only imagine that you’ve had a hard time coming to grips with the overwhelming responsibility.” she stated.  Kairi nodded and sighed.

 

  “Yes…it hasn’t been easy…but I knew that I had to keep pushing forward, because I was chosen for this for a reason.  I was chosen to protect the worlds and safeguard Kingdom Hearts.  I accepted that, but I still had fear and doubt in my mind and heart…and now, everything just feels so surreal…” she commented.  Aqua put her hand on Kairi’s shoulder and smiled.

 

  “You have been through so much, Kairi.  You’ve seen the worlds almost be destroyed on many occasions, and you’ve helped the others save the worlds time and time again…I can’t even begin to express my gratitude to you for that…” she said.  Kairi began to cry.

 

  “But at what cost!?  For every time we’ve saved the worlds, we’ve lost friends along the way!  You, Terra, Roxas…it just feels wrong!  It’s not fair!” she exclaimed.  Aqua gave a sad smile and wiped off Kairi’s tears.

 

  “That’s life, Kairi.  For every living being that lives, there are also living being that die.  It’s all part of the natural cycle of life.  No one can stop this from happening…because in the end, death is just another path to take after life…it’s the will of Kingdom Hearts.  Hearts are birthed into the world, just as hearts fail and are brought back into Kingdom Hearts.  It’s an eternal cycle…so please, don’t be so hard on yourself.  Everything that’s happened is how it’s meant to be.  You can’t control life and death.” Aqua said as she held Kairi close and hugged her.  Kairi cried in her embrace, and remained silent, not knowing what to say!

 

  “And now that I’m dead…I won’t be able to help my friends stop the Keyblade War…” Kairi said as she pulled away from the embrace.

 

  “I know what you did, Kairi.  You sacrificed yourself to save Maleficent, Pete, Armored Eraqus and Guardian Xehanort…you sacrificed your mind, heart, body and soul willingly, without hesitation, all to protect them.  That’s something noble, and something that not everyone is capable of.” Aqua said.  The child, who had been sitting on the bench, stood up and now walked towards Kairi.

 

  “You have come here before your time, Kairi.  You are not meant to be here among us yet.” the child stated.  At that, Kairi looked confused.

 

  “What…what do you mean?” she asked.  The child smiled and looked at Aqua, who nodded.  Aqua then waved her hand in front of Kairi.

(End Song Here)

 

  “Step forth, Kairi.” she said.  And so, Kairi stepped forward.  Aqua then immediately summoned her Keyblade and took stance!  Kairi was confused for a moment, for she didn’t understand what was happening!

 

  “Wait…what are you doing?” she asked.  Aqua remained in her stance.

 

  “This is your final trial.  Prove to me that you still have the desire to protect others, no matter the weight of the responsibility that you carry over your shoulders!  Show me you still have the will to live!” she said.  Kairi then understood what this was.  Her ordeal.  In order for her to obtain her Key Of Balance!  And so, Kairi nodded and then summoned her Keyblade.

 

  “I’m not going to hold back!” Kairi said.  Aqua smiled.

 

  “I wouldn’t have it any other way.  Now, let’s do this!” she said.  They both nodded, and they started their battle!

 

  The child simply walked back a few steps and then sat on the grass to watch the battle unfold before his eyes.  He quietly observed the action that was taking place before him!  His hands were clasped together, and overall, he was interested to see who would come out the victor in this battle!  As he watched, beside him, someone else stood.  The child felt that person behind him, and he smiled and glanced back at him.

 

  “Why don’t you come sit down and watch the battle with me…Terra?” he asked.  Terra, who was by the child’s side, with arms crossed, shook his head.

 

  “It’s alright.  I can see the battle just as fine on my feet.” he said, as he looked onward.  The child then tilted his head and smiled.

 

  “Who do you think will win this battle?” he asked.  Terra shook his head after thinking for a moment.

 

  “I really don’t know.  It could be anybody’s match.  But, it all depends on Kairi’s heart…” he answered, as he continued to watch the battle unfold before him.

---

 

(Start Song Here)

  Meanwhile, at Alaya’s temple, the battle before them was taking a turn for the worse!  The sheer endless numbers of Heartless and Unborn that were gathering were staggering in amount!  Despite everyone’s best efforts, the creatures only retaliated stronger and with more fury!  Giant Behemoths and Darksides tried to destroy the temple more than once, but Alaya fended them off!  She was atop the roof of the temple, and she was fending off the giant foes with devastatingly powerful attacks of light that streaked throughout the battlefield, and looked as though they were lightning bolts raining down from the sky itself!  As she took care of the bigger foes, the smaller ones swarmed the temple vigorously, and the others were hard at work keeping them at bay!  Trish and Raxon were back to back, and they were taking out foes by the dozens!  A particularly bothersome batch of Unborn came, and they looked quite fearsome!  They were adorned with tiger armor and had razor sharp claws jutting out of their hands!  They viciously slashed at the duo, trying to outwit them and bring them down, but Trish and Raxon weren’t going to go out for the count! 

 

  “Now!!!” Raxon shouted, as both he and Trish slashed forward and performed a Zantetsuken attack, and immediately after, they both shot Firaga spheres towards each other, and then they batted them down towards the Unborn, and they were burnt to crisps in mere seconds!  When they landed on the floor, they both combined their powers to form Mine Field, a much more modified version of Mine Square, in which a wide range of ground was covered to the brim with explosive magic!  Every foe that tried to get near them was pulverized instantly!  So for now, they were able to rest a bit!  Trish immediately cast Curaga on herself and on Raxon, and they stood back to back, and she glanced back at him and smiled.

 

  “Not quite the battle you expected, huh?” she asked.  Raxon rolled his eyes and gave out a scoff.

 

  “Heh, not at all.  I mean, I knew that we were going to get hit hard, but come on, this is a bit too much overkill, woulnd’t you agree?” he answered with a question.  Trish smiled.

 

  “Well, that’s what happens when the worlds are at stake.  We take on impossible odds and overcome them!  That’s why we do what we do.  To protect those who can’t protect themselves.” she said. Raxon nodded and smiled.

 

  “Wise words, lady.  Wise words indeed…” he said.  A few seconds passed, and then Sky flew over them and spun around them momentarily.

 

  “Guys, I could really use the help!  These things are getting harder to beat, kupo!” the little moogle exclaimed!  Trish and Raxon nodded, and they continued onward, battling the relentless hordes of foes!

 

  Outisde, Maka, Crona, Black Star and Kid were taking down foes by the hundreds!  They were in the entrance of the temple, and each foe that came was obliterated by them in a matter of seconds!  Those that passed through them were being taken care of by Sky, Raxon, Trish and Alaya!  They all stood by each other, and Maka was swiping away Heartless with Soul like if they were flies!  Crona went berserk and bashed through crowds of foes like a rampaging bull with Ragnarok!  Kid aimed at aerial enemies with Liz and Pattie, taking them down before they could have a chance of swooping down on them!  And Black Star was adeptly taking out the enemy with precise and deadly sword strikes, courtesy of Tsubaki!  All of them were giving it their all to the battle!

 

  “This is tough guys, but we have to keep holding our ground, because if we let up, we’ll be slaughtered!” Maka exclaimed!

 

  “These things are creepy!  I wish they would stop appearing!!!” Crona complained as he continuously bashed a Neoshadow’s head!

 

  “Hold the line!!!  We need to hold the line!!!” Kid shouted as he shot a barrage of bullets that rained down upon numerous Heartless and Unborn, ensuring that they met an early grave!

 

  “Yahoo, this is exciting!  I’ve never felt so alive!!!” Black Star happily commented, as he jumped from enemy to enemy effortlessly!  He looked like he could go on battling for hours on end!

 

  As they kept battling, the sky suddenly darkened a bit more, and that’s when thunder started to strike more than once!  After about five thunderbolts, the sky was now being dotted by what seemed to be infinite Wyvern Heartless and Vulture looking Unborn!  It was astonishing to the point that the sky darkened even more because of the impossible amount of enemies that now dotted the sky!  At that, everyone felt immediately intimidated, for now things seemed to be taking a turn for the worse!  The enemy now came upon them ever more viciously, and now, parts of the temple were starting to crumble!  Alaya took notice of this, and she cursed under her breath!  She couldn’t believe that this was happening!  She needed to do something, and fast!

 

  “This temple has stood for so long…I am not going to let it be defiled by creatures such as yourselves!  Begone!” she shouted, as she leapt up high into the air and started to glow with a celestial light!  For anyone looking from far off, she would be mistaken for a blazing star in the heavens!  But from up close, you could see that she was shining with unbridled fur!  She swung her Keyblade with all her might, and with all the power she could muster, she transformed it into a giant, celestial bow, and then, with her left hand, she summoned forth a sharp looking golden arrow, and then she drew her bow, and once she fired the arrow up into the sky, it exploded in a glorious splash of light, and then, from that explosion, thousands upon thousands of beams of light started to swirl throughout the entire landscape, taking down both ground and aerial foes alike!  The sky only cleared up a little, for with each enemy that perished, a new one spawned in its place.  But, with the attack she had just delivered, Alaya knew it would be enough to hold off the enemy for just the slightest bit!  She then took a deep breath to recover from the toll the attack caused on her, and then, she transformed her Keyblade into a giant, extendable whip, and then she started to swing it furiously at the Behemoths and Darksides, making two or three desintigrate!  But soon, more came!  Alaya clenched her fists and gritted her teeth!

 

  “Is there no end to these monstrosities!?” she thought to herself, feeling overwhelmed by the situation at hand!

 

  Inside, Sky was casting spells by the second, ensuring to cover every corner of the inside of the temple!  He cast Magnega to draw countless enemies in, and Raxon and Trish took out as many of them as possible!  They then combied their powers and cast a fusion spell of Zero Graviza and Thundaga, called Zero Thunder, in which the enemy was crushed by the force of gravity, while ensuring they’d perish undoubtedly by having them be electrocuted while being crushed by said gravity!  With this spell, they were able to clear out the main hall, but it wasn’t long until it started to sprawl with enemies once more!  But this time, they didn’t come as endlessly as before!  Rather, it seemed as though their numbers had dwindled the slightest bit!

 

  “We’re doing it!  Slowly but surely, we’re beating them back!”  Trish shouted triumphantly!  Raxon nodded.

 

  “Aye!  It looks as though things are clearing up for us!  Let’s keep at it!” he said.

 

  “On it, kupo!” Sky said, as he continued to cast powerful spells!  A few moments later, they saw Maka, Crona, Black Star and Kid make their way inside!  Exhausted, Crona panted and pointed outside!

 

  “They’re pushing us back!” he shouted!

 

  And then, from outside the temple, a fiercely strong looking Invisible Heartless came in, with a magnificent blade and pure darkness oozing out of every corner of its body!  It stood before the others, and it cast a circle of dark flame, which surrounded them!  Now, they were trapped inside and couldn’t get out!  Without any other option, everyone got into a circle, to make sure they could be able to fend off the enemy at all sides, and so, the Heartless and Unborn attacked ever more relentlessly!  Everyone had to pick up the pace and fight harder, for now the enemy was stronger and faster!  Maka and Crona combined their attacks to form a giant shockwave that sent many foes flying all around the temple!  Black Star and Kid charged their energies and unleashed a full barrage of pure energy bullets that were infused with a secret technique that Black Star had cooked up!  It pulverized the enemy instantly!  But only more continued to come, and now the Invisible was heading towards them!

 

  “Damn, this thing’s going to require all of our attention!  We need to take this thing down as fast as we can!” Kid said!

 

  “Where’s Alaya!?” Raxon asked as he took out a few Soldier Heartless that were charging towards them.

 

  “She’s on the rooftop! With us trapped inside, she’s the only one fighting against all the other enemies outside!” Maka answered.  Raxon clenched his fists.

 

  “Damn…this is getting bad…” he said.

 

  “We’re going to pull through this!  I know we will!” Trish said, offering encouraging words to everyone!

 

  But even with encouraging words and all, it still wasn’t enough to give them extra strength, as the Invisible seemed to sap them of their energy!  It seemed to be feeding off of their power!  It grew more powerful, and then, it started swinging its sword at everyone, and it managed to knock them back a ways!  Most of them hit the floor, while Raxon and Trish crashed on the wall!  As they all stood up to keep fighting back, Maka tried to launch Crona towards the Invisible by using Soul as a catapult of sorts!  Once she swung Soul with full force, Crona shot out like  bullet, and then he pierced through the Invisible!  Or that’s what he thought!  But when he noticed, he saw that the Invisible had dodged its attack completely!  Instead, Crona crashed into a few dozen lesser enemies!

 

  Kid tried to fire off a homing shot that would follow the Invisible, but when he did, he noticed that the Invisible simply disappeared, almost as if it had poofed into nothingness!  Then, Kid found himself surrounded by dark purple flames, and before he could react, he was struck by the flames and sentn flying back!  He crashed down on a number of enemies, and was almost taken out!  But, he quickly recovered and kept fending off the lesser enemies!  Black Star attempted to catch the Invisible off guard, for he had jumped up to the ceiling and had remained perched there, waiting for the right moment to strike!  Once the moment appeared, Black Star lunged downward, but the Invisible quickly got out of the way and then hammered Black Star to the ground with his sword!  Black Star gave out a gasp and felt out of breath!  Things were not looking good at all!

 

  Sky tried to fire off a Megaflare spell, but before he could even make the spell materialized, the Invisible had disappeared and then reappeared behind him, striking him down with his sword!  Sky barely blocked the attack, as he quickly transformed his magic staff into a sword!  Had he been even a second later, he would have been cleaved in two!  But the Invisible didn’t let Sky rest, as it pushed him back with dark energy, sending him crashing through many Heartless and Unborn!  Raxon tried to go help him, but the Invisible grabbed him by the leg and started thrashing him about like a rag doll!  Raxon was staggered multiple times, but eventually, he was able to regain a bit of energy, and then he struck his Keyblade at the Invisible’s hand, and it let go as it flinched!  But it didn’t seem to indicate that it was in pain, for the fearsome Heartless was deadly silent!  Raxon was too battered to stand, and just when he thought that he was done for, Trish came and stood in the way, with her Keyblade raised firmly!

 

  “I’ve got you!” Trish said, as she tried her best to keep her footing strong, but unfortunately, the Invisible simply pushed her back and then grabbed her by the throat, slamming her to the ground multiple times!  Raxon couldn’t take this, and he transformed his Keyblade into a rifle and shot at the Invisible mulitiple times!  It then let go of Trish and went towards him again!  Raxon closed his eyes, as he was bracing himself for the finishing blow, when the Invisible was thrown back by a potently powerful Deep Freeze attack!  When Raxon glanced back, he noticed that Sky had cast the spell, and all surrounding enemies had shattered into millions of little pieces!  Trish stood from the ground, and while she got injured, she seemed to be ignoring the pain, and she cast Curaga on everyone.  But even with the spell, the injuries they were sustaining weren’t healing as fast…

 

  “We can’t let this temple fall!  We just can’t!” Trish said defiantly, as more enemies entered the temple!

 

  Outside, even Alaya was starting to feel the battle take its toll on her!  She was feeling heavy, and now she wasn’t able to deal as many strong attacks as she was dealing before!  But, she didn’t let that stop her, and she kept on holding off the enemy for as long as she could!  At this point, she had already taken down about one hundred Behemoths and one hundred Darksides!  But the more she took down, the more came to take their place!  The freshly spawned creatures were a short distance from where she was, so she took a slight breather.  She took in a deep breath and looked everywhere around her!  Even with her best efforts, and the efforts of her friends, the temple was still being overrun!  At this point, it seemed that all would be lost!  Alaya started to feel the desperate pang of despair, but she tried to shake it off!  She refused to believe that this would be how things ended!

 

  “This temple will not fall…not while I still draw breath!” she said defiantly, as she took stance anew!  A numerous amount of aerial Heartless were about to rain down chaos upon the temple, when suddenly, a giant, radiant beam of light crossed throughout the battlefield, causing a significant amount of enemies to perish instantly!  The Darksides and Behemoths that had been marching towards the temple were also utterly destroyed!  Alaya was taken aback by this, for she didn’t expect for this last minute miracle!  When she narrowed her eyes and looked towards the horizon, that’s when she gasped in shock!

 

  “Kosaku!!!”

(End Song Here)

---

 

(Start Song Here)

  At that same moment, Kairi and Aqua were trading blows, the two of them battling furiously with all their might!  Terra and the child had been observing the battle silently from a distance, and it seemed as though the battle could drag on forever, for both Kairi and Aqua were equally skilled!  Aqua fired off her Prism Rain attack, and Kairi dashed along the grass, outrunning each beam that attempted to hit her!  When the final beam hit, Kairi countered with Thunderstorm!  While the counter was effective at reaching its target, Aqua managed to block all the thunderbolts, and then she dashed towards Kairi and attempted to perform Time Splicer!  While Aqua was definitely lightning fast with this attack, Kairi was also quite the adept fighter, and she blocked all Aqua’s strikes to the best of her ability!  When the final strike was delivered, Kairi kicked Aqua in the stomach, causing her to stagger!  With this open opportunity, she delivered an attack she had developed called Light’s Crossing, a version of Zantetsuken in which the victim was slashed with a mighty piercing blow of light!  Additionally, the attack did double the damage, as a second slash of light struck Aqua, formed from the slash of light already in place, forming the cross that gave the attack its namesake!  Kairi turned around and kept her stance, while Aqua landed gracefully down, despite having received the full force of Kairi’s attack.

 

  “I have to admit, I didn’t see that one coming.” she said.  Kairi smiled.

 

  “Well, I had a good sparring partner in you!” she said, and at that, Aqua smiled as well.

 

  “That’s right.  I remember back then, when we used to train in Radiant Garden together, and then we helped train the new recruits.  Your skills were getting better by the day.  And now look at you.  Thanks to Master Yen Sid’s training and our training together, you’ve come into your own.” Aqua said, acknowledging Kairi’s strength.

 

  “But it’s not over yet!  I’m not going to finish here!  I have unfinished business to attend to!” Kairi said.

 

  “I’m sure you do.  Then let’s not delay our battle and show me your strength!” Aqua commanded!

 

  And so, the two Keyblade Wielders clashed anew, and this time, their attacks were quicker and more ferocious!  It was truly an intense battle, and through it all, Kairi was showing just how powerful a Keybalde Wielder she was!  She stood her ground, and she didn’t hesitate or doubt or stop at any moment!  She kept blocking Aqua’s attacks and countering them, and then it was her turn to deliver an onslaught of attacks!  She pushed forth and performed Ars Aracanum, delivering lightning fast strikes towards Aqua, who was barely blocking the attacks!  This attack, Kairi thought, she owed to Sora.  He had taught her how to master this attack, and as such, she was now almost as equally adept, if not more, than Sora at performing it!  With her final strike, she cast a surprise ice crystal that jutted forward and almost froze Aqua in place!  But, Aqua had lightning fast reflexes, and she dodged the attack just in time!  Kairi then pushed forwards, performing Light Dash, a different version of Sliding Dash that left a trail of light in its wake!  The light, in turn, provided some extra damage to whoever had received the attack!  While Aqua had blocked the first blow, she was caught unawares by the trail of light, and then she was sent propelling high towards the sky, and then she fell down on the grass!  Terra and the child, who had been observing the battle, seemed surprised!

 

  “Well, isn’t that impressive?” the child asked as he smiled.  He looked at Terra, who was rubbing his chin, his eyes closed as he was deep in thought.  He nodded and crossed his arms.

 

  “I agree.  She’s showing quite the impressive skillwork!  It looks like even though she’s had her doubts about what she’s doing, she still has the determination to get the job done.  It looks like she’s completely focused.  I have to say, there’s a reason she’s a Princess Of Heart.” he commented.  The child nodded.

 

  “Indeed.  If she can beat Aqua, then she’ll have passed the test…” the child said.  The both of them remained silent, and continued to watch onwards, as the battle between Kairi and Aqua continued!

 

  Both women were now starting to get ever more aggressive with their attacks, and with each attack they attempted, they left enormous gashes on the grass, and they even cracked the earth a bit!  Their power was raw and unbridled, and it was a sight to see!  As they clashed, marvelous streaks of light beamed throughout the grasslands, causing gusts of wind to blow the grass in a westernly direction!  The shockwaves caused from their attacks made the ground shake, and then, they reached a stalemate, and held each other’s positions firmly, neither of them budging in the slightest!  Aqua looked at Kairi, who had fiercely determined eyes.  Aqua could feel the fiery devotion that Kairi had built upon being a Princess Of Heart.  She could see in Kairi’s eyes that even though the fate she was given was one that she didn’t wish for, she still trudged on, carrying the responsibility of a Keyblade Wielder and Princess Of Heart!  It was at this moment that Aqua noticed how pure and sincere Kairi’s heart was!  No doubt a perfect reason why she was anointed a Princess Of Heart!

 

  “This light…” she thought to herself.  She then felt herself being pushed back, as she then noticed that Kairi was pushing her back with all her strength!

 

  “I’m not going to lose!” Kairi proclaimed, and then she dashed towars Aqua and then struck her with her Keyblade, launching her up into the air!

 

  Just as Kairi was about to perform what seemed to be her final blow, Aqua recovered and then released an intense amount of energy!  Kairi then realized that Aqua had an eerie aura about her!  It was then that she noticed that Aqua was using her Ghost Drive technique!  At this point, Kairi had to be on her toes constantly, for Ghost Drive was one of Aqua’s most powerful techniques, and surviving it required the ultimate focus!  Luckily, Kairi had more than enough focus!  As Aqua began to disappear and reappear constantly in an attempt to disorient Kairi, she managed to get a few strikes in, but then Kairi got the flow of her attacks, and she started blocking them one by one!  She was now getting the rhythm of the attack so much to the point that she was able to predict where Aqua would predict next!  And true enough, before Aqua even appeared, Kairi delivered a fatal strike that caused Aqua to fall to the ground!  She then launched Aqua up into the air anew, and then, her eyes turned completely white, as an intense aura of light surrounded her!  She summoned forth a pillar of light that held Aqua in place, and then she teleported right to where Aqua was, and started to attack from different angles, and she kept attacking until the streaks of light she left behind formed a star!  With the star completed, Kairi charged up her Keyblade and released dozens of beams of light that resembled Ragnarok’s, and then, just like that, Kairi dove down and delivered the final strike!  An intense explosion followed, and Kairi unsummoned her Keyblade, tired and unable to keep fighting!  She took a few deep breaths and then looked at Aqua, who slowly descended down until she landed on the grass softly!  Terra was amazed!

(End Song Here)

 

  “That was…” Terra began to say.  Applause soon followed by the child, who smiled.

 

  “Impressive.  I knew you were powerful, Princess, but I didn’t expect this much power.  I think that not even Aqua expected that display of strength!  Am I right?” he asked as he turned his gaze to Aqua.  She nodded and smiled.

 

  “That’s right.  I didn’t expect so much power, and yet here you are, standing triumphant!  You defeated me, Kairi, and you have proven yourself worthy of your Key Of Balance.  Step forth!” she said.  With that, Kairi nodded and stepped forward, and then Terra and the child stood by Aqua’s side, and the three of them extended their right hands and opened their palms, and from them, an immense aura and energy shifted, and slowly, streams of light started to pour out of their hands!  The streams of light coalesced and then entered Kairi, and immediately, she felt herself grow with newfound strength!  Then, her arm involuntarily raised itself, and then, her hand opened on its own, and from her hand, she summoned her Key Of Balance!  Kairi’s eyes opened wide at the sight!

 

  “This is…” she said, but didn’t finish, as awe overcame her!

 

  Her Key Of Balance was one of utmost beauty and power!  The blade beamed like a shining light through the darkness!  Through another person’s perspective, the blade seemed to resemble one of Xemnas’s ethereal blades!  The exception here, though, was that instead of red, the beam of light that shone from Kairi’s Key Of Balane shined a radiant white!  Along the sides of the blade, there were accompanying small, curved arcs of gold and white, and they spun around the blade, reaching halfway upwards the shaft of the blade!  The hilt was a smooth, circular shape that was colored gold, and the bottom was colored white!  A radiant wing was magnificently displayed on the right side of the hilt, and the chain of the Key Of Balance was a small heart filled with light inside!  Kairi admired the Key, and she remained staring at it in awe!  She didn’t even know what to say!  The child stepped forward, with his arms behind his back, and he nodded.

 

  “Well then, now that you have earned your Key Of Balance, the time has come for you to return to the world of the living.  Remember, you aren’t meant to be here yet!” the child remarked.  Kairi looked at Terra and Aqua, tears forming in her eyes!

 

  “Even though it was only for a little while, I’m glad I got to see you two again!” she said as she ran towards them and hugged them, crying and holding them close!  They hugged back with a smile, and they embraced Kairi tightly.

 

  “You’ll be okay.  You’ve proven you have what it takes.  Nothing can stop you from doing what’s right!” Terra said.

 

  “And when you see Ven…tell him that we love him…and that we miss him.” Aqua said, as a tear rolled down her cheek.  Kairi nodded.

 

  “I will.” she said.  The child then walked up to Kairi and opened a portal.

 

  “Are you ready to go now?” he asked.  Kairi nodded, her eyes full of determination!

 

  “Yes!” she answered!  And  with that, she stepped through the portal, and after a few seconds, she found herself falling from high up in the sky!

 

  “Huh?  What?” she asked to herself as she noticed her predicament!  She quickly snapped out of herself and then proceeded to dash through the wind to pierce her way down towards the ground!  As she approached the ground, she slowed her descension, and thus landed gracefully!  She landed just in front of Maleficent, Pete, Armored Eraqus and Guardian Xehanort!  Maleficent was definitely surprised!

 

  “Wretched girl!?  Is that really you!?” she asked.  Kairi smiled and nodded.

 

  “Yes, it’s me!” she said.  Pete, who’s jaw was dropped, quickly shook his head and tried to make sense of things!

 

  “But wait a second, didn’t you just go poof in front of us!?” he asked, feeling disoriented!  At that, Kairi tilted her head.

 

  “Huh?” she asked.  Malefient stepped forward.

 

  “What he means is, that right now, not even five minutes ago, you had vanished in front of us!  I assumed that reckless attack you had pulled off to take down the ice creature had destroyed you, but apparently, that wasnn’t the case!  How did you survive!?” she asked.

 

  “Wow…and here I felt like I had been gone for a longer time…and it turns out that I was gone for almost five minutes…huh.  But anyways, long story short, I got what I was looking for…and a second chance!” she said, as she summoned her Key Of Balance!  The others looked at it, and they were no doubt impressed by the blade’s design!  Maleficent crossed her arms and gave out a huff!

 

  “Hmph, well, now that we’re done here, I suggest that we take our leave!  No doubt that there are other matters that need attending…” she said.  Kairi nodded.

 

  “As a matter of fact, there is…come on, let’s go!” she said as she walked ahead of everyone!  They all followed her as she descended the mountain!  They were heading straight for Arendelle!

---

 

(Start Song Here)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fuDSyNQVuJg

  Elswhere, Tsumugi was in a deep fix.  She was about to send the message she had written for Dexeres, but she felt that she was being watched!  Ever since a few hours ago, she felt that someone was watching her!  But whenever she turned around to investigate who was watching her, she found that there was no one within sight!  This was something that deeply worried her!  She played it off, though, and she remained discreet about her awareness, and just kept pretending that she was under Jexana’s control.  But undoubtedly, each minute that passed proved ever more difficult for her, since she could feel Jexana’s power taking over her, trying to control her once again!  But she was fighting back, and she needed to send this message to Dexeres!  She just had to!  But right now, she was too at risk, and she needed to be sure that she was completely alone before she could do anything!  But, unfortunately…

 

  “Ah, there you are Tsumugi, I’ve been looking everywhere for you!” Emmxett said, as he came walking towards her!  She immediately regained focus and concentrated on acting normal, so that she wouldn’t arouse any suspicion.

 

  “What is it?” she asked.  Emmxett looked at the other airships and gave out a sigh as he gazed upon the stars.

 

  “Oh, don’t you just love the stars?  They’re all so wonderful, each telling a different story…each holding a different world…stars are truly incredible things, don’t you think?” he asked.  Tsumugi was emotionless to his statement, and then he rolled his eyes.

 

  “Oh yes, I figured that’d be your response.  You always have nothing to say regarding my comments.  You should be willing to keep up a conversation, you know?  But anyways, has there been anything…amiss lately?” he asked casually.  Tsumugi instantly knew that he was suspecting her, but still, she kept her cool and just remained emotionless.

 

  “Nothing to report.  None of the Keyblade Wielders have made their way back here, especially that boy Kyle.  I’ve just been supervising the airship’s repairs.  Everything seems up to date, and I doubt that we’ll be encountering the Keyblade Wielders anytime soon.  But still, I’m keeping a watchful eye, just in case…” she explained.  Emmxett rubbed his chin and then looked at the stars again.

 

  “Ah, well that’s good!  I’m sure that Jexana appreciates the efforts you’re putting in to ensuring we don’t get surprised again.  She’ll be most pleased to hear that everything is fine.” he remarked.  Tsumugi nodded.

 

  “Yes, I’m sure she will.  Anything else?” she asked.  At that point, Emmxett summoned forth his Kuzuri and immediately pointed it right at her, the blade just mere inches away from scraping her face!  The soldiers on deck gasped in surprised, and they all remained looking at the two, as they remained there, standing silently!  Tsumugi made sure not to flinch, and she remained as emotionless as she could be!  Emmxett smirked and then lightly pressed the tip of his blade on Tsumugi’s nose.  She still remained emotionless…

 

  “Tell me…where do your allegiances lie…?” he asked.  Tsumugi didn’t even delay a response!

 

  “My allegiance lies with Jexana, and with all of my comrades.  Together, we will bring down the Keyblade Wielders and ensure total conquest…and nothing will stand in our way…” she answered, still retaining her emotionlessness.  Emmxett seemed satisfied enough, for he quickly unsummoned Kuzuri and then bowed in apology.

 

  “Ah, I’m sorry then.  Do carry on!  I was just…curious…” he said, as he turned around and walked away!   The soldiers on deck got back to work, and Tsumugi was in the clear for now!

 

  “That was too close!”

(End Song Here)

------------------------

 

Kairi has earned her Key Of Balance, and she’s learned to keep pushing forward, despite the difficulties and the huge responsibility of being both a Keyblade Wielder and a Princess Of Heart!  And just when things were at their worst for Alaya and the others, Kosaku and The Order Of The X-Blade came just at the last moment to turn the tide!  And Tsumugi is about to deliver her message to Dexeres!  What will happen next?  Will Dawn be able to find her Key Of Balance?  Be prepared for Chapter Twenty Eight: “There Is Only One Road.”

 

Whew, what a writing workout!  That was the chapter everyone, I hope that you all enjoyed yourselves!  I know I enjoyed writing out Kairi’s trial!  And now, with Kyle and Kairi having earned their Keys, the only one left is Dawn, who still hasn’t earned hers!  Let’s see what happens to her, am I right?  Haha, but anyways, thank you all so much for your patience and support!  As always, please be sure to comment on what you thought about tonight’s chapter, and until next time, stay tuned for the next one!

[KHLegendIII 709]

Good job!

[KingdomHearts3 2,591]

Wow, I did not expect to see the Child of Kingdom Hearts when I did. That was a sentimental scene. I wonder what the child's name is and what Keyblade he holds.

 

Kairi finally obtained her key. Well, the pieces are falling into place. Ventus's freedom is getting closer and about to become permanent. I look forward to more.

 

Congrats on 4000 views!

Edited March 6, 2016 by KingdomHearts3

[The Transcendent Key 12,109]

To KHLegendIII, thanks!

 

To KingdomHearts3, ha, I know that you'd be happy seeing the Child again!  And well, who knows what his name is?  We might never know!  And yes, all the pieces are about to fit perfectly, and Ventus' rescue is near!  I hope you'll enjoy what's to come!  Ha, and thanks, I can't believe I've gotten over 4000 views for my story already! X_X

 

Hey there everyone, good evening!  I hope that you’re all doing okay!  So then, here is yet another chapter of my story, and I hope you’ll all enjoy it!  Things are getting pretty intense, huh?  Well, if you think you’ve seen intense, prepare yourself for what’s to come in the coming chapters!  Don’t say I didn’t warn you!  Haha, but anyways, without further ado, here’s the next chapter!

 

Chapter Twenty Eight: There Is Only One Road

 

  Dawn was at a loss.  Hiro and the gang had agreed to help her find her Key Of Balance, and they had started their search without delay, but even with the clues provided to them in the library that Fred had mentioned, there was nothing concrete pointing towards the location of Dawn’s Key Of Balance!  They searched the city, and when they found that they were getting nowhere, they all decided to split up, so that way, they could cover more ground!  It had been a few hours since they decided on this approach, and so far, it all amounted to nothing!  Dawn was starting to feel as if though this were all nothing more than a big goose chase!  But, given the situation at hand regarding the Keyblade War, she couldn’t let herself doubt, so she needed to press onward, even though she didn’t know where to look!  Fred, who had decided to accompany her, was eating a sandwich, and then he pointed towards Dawn’s left, and when she looked at that direction, she noticed the wreckage from the battle they had fought against the giant Heartless/Unborn hybrid!  City officials and repair crew were hard at work fixing everything, and there were news reporters and civilians watching from the sidelines!

 

  “Heh, I get super stoked whenever the news reporters talk about us saving the city!  It just gets me so excited!” he said as he finished munching on his sandwich.  Dawn glanced over at him as they walked.

 

  “So, you’re into the whole hero business for the fame, huh?” she asked. Fred shrugged with a cocky smirk.

 

(Start Song Here)

  “Eh, well, the fame’s pretty good, sure!” he said, but then he stopped, and his face softened as he smiled.  “But you know…the real reason I go out there to protect the people of this fair city, is because at the end of the day, after all the hard work all of us go through to make sure we keep the people safe, seeing their faces full of gratitude and of comfort and happiness really makes the hard work pay off, you know?  Like, sometimes when Hiro and the others and even myself are down in the dumps…the people’s encouragement keeps us going…and that’s what makes it all worthwhile…that feeling of being appreciated…that’s how I know I’m making a difference!” he said as he smiled.  Dawn was quite surprised by his answer!  Even though he seemed lazy and laid back, he took his job as a protector of San Fransokyo very seriously!  It’s something that Dawn couldn’t help but admire!  And that was also a reminder that appearances can be deceiving!

 

  “Heh, well, the city’s lucky to have you guys.” she said as she looked in front of her and gave out a sigh.  “I just wish I knew where my Key Of Balance was…but I’m sure we’ll find it soon!” she said as she gave herself a boost of encouragement!  Fred nodded in agreement!

 

  “Yeah, that’s the spirit!  No need to lose your cool, Dawn! We’re going to find your Key, definitely!” he said encouragingly!  They both smiled, and then they kept walking along the city streets for a good while before heading to a stop near the docks.  That’s when they took their time to look around and to see if there was anything remotely related to Dawn’s Key Of Balance!  They made sure to look around every corner, but so far, nothing had surfaced!

(End Song Here)

 

  As the day continued to roll on by, Dawn thought that she’d never get a lead on her Key Of Balance!  She and Fred had already scoured the docks a few times, and now they were in a former residential district, which had been abandoned because the terrain was unstable, and so, the former residential district was being used as a junkyard.  As they entered, Fred gave out a laugh and looked excited!  Dawn wondered why.

 

  “Um, is there anything here that’s getting you excited?” she asked directly.  Fred nodded.

 

  “Oh yeah, definitely!  Just imagine if a creepy garbage monster suddenly emerged from all this dump!  It could be like in one of the comic books I read!  A savage monster comes from humanity’s filth and wreaks havoc and horribly smelling destruction to everyone and everything!  Ha, I bet it’d be cool if we fought a monster like that sometime!” he explained.  Dawn couldn’t help but chuckle.

 

  “Ha, well you have quite the vivid imagination, don’t you?” she asked.  Fred raised his hands up in denial.

 

  “Oh, it’s not imagination, it’s truth!  Anything can happen!  Not too long ago, I battled this creepy evil dude named Callaghan, who had stolen Hiro’s nanobot invention!  He used the nanobots for his own nefarious purposes, always going after me and my friends!  But, when we got to the real deep stuff, it turned out that Callaghan only wanted to get his daughter back, because an accident had happened a while back with an experiment on portal technology!  Even though he was no garbage monster, he was a super powered threat, one that we all put down!” he said.

 

  “Oh wow…did he ever get to rescue his daughter?” Dawn asked.  Fred shook his head.

 

  “Well, actually, Hiro and Baymax did that!  But yeah, it just goes to show you that impossible things can indeed be possible!  Another great example is that giant creature we fought in the city!  If that thing’s possible, then what makes you think a garbage monster wouldn’t exist?” he asked, sounding quite devoted to his beliefs!  Dawn was convinced, and she nodded.

 

  “Well okay, if there’s a garbage monster, I’ll let you take care of it, since you’re an expert on this kind of thing!” she said with a smile.  Fred gave a thumbs up and chuckled.

 

  “No problem, sister!” he replied with a goofy smile.

 

  Just then, something sounded in the distance, and it immediately caught their attention!  Dawn summoned her Keyblade, and Fred pressed a button on a bracelet he had on his arm, and in a few seconds, he was covered with his battle armor!  He was breathing out fire, ready for whatever would come their way!  They remained deadly silent for the next few seconds, and they noticed that everything had suddenly gone deadly quiet…not even the wind was blowing!  And so, they both knew that something wasn’t right.  As they journeyed deeper into the junkyard, they noticed that there was a house among the heaps of garbage that looked almost intact!  Someow, it seemed as though that house was drawing them in, as they cautiously walked towards it!  Dawn could feel something bad was about to happen, but for whatever reason, she couldn’t seem to walk away, and neither could Fred!  They both glanced at each other uneasily, but they kept pushing forward, ready for anything!  Just then, a nearby pile of garbage suddenly exploded, and they both jumped back in panic!  They saw something rising from the garbage, but it didn’t seem to be anything corporeal.  No, it looked more like…a spirit!  At that, Fred gasped!

 

  “Oh wow, is that a ghost!?  Maybe he’s one of the unlucky souls that died here back when this residential district started to go all unstable!  Ooh, I wonder if he can talk!?” Fred wondered excitedly!  Dawn glanced over at him and shook her head.

 

  “I don’t think this is something you should be getting excited for…I can feel something bad coming from that spirit…something…unholy…” she whispered.  And indeed, the spirit seemed ominous and unholy, and it didn’t even bear a face!  It was just a floating mist that somewhat took on the form of a human, but the soft winds that picked up made its body swirl like mist before them!  When the spirit headed before them, it quickly pierced through Dawn, and all of a sudden, her eyes shut down automatically, and it was almost as if she had died instantly!  Fred panicked at this, and he quickly rushed to her side and shook her, trying to wake her up!

 

  “Dawn!  Dawn, come on, get up!” he shouted.  But Dawn couldn’t wake up…and it seemed as though Fred’s voice was getting ever more distant!  Before she knew it, his voice couldn’t be heard anymore!

 

(Start Song Here)

  When she was finally able to open her eyes, she realized that she was exactly where she had been with Fred, but something seemed…different!  As she looked all around her, she noticed that all the piles of garbage and junk had disappeared, and the residential district seemed almost livable!  It wasn’t long until she noticed large streaks of smoke billowing in the distance!  At that, Dawn’s heart suddenly picked up a few beats, for she immediately knew that something bad was happening!  She rushed towards the source of the streaks of smoke, and after much running, she came upon the city of San Fransokyo, and it was…in flames!  People were being slaughtered by the dozens, and some of them were being burned alive in their homes!  The destruction that was taking place was chaotic, and no words could accurately express the horror Dawn was experiencing!  As she ran through the city streets, she noticed more spirits like the one that had dashed towards her, and she noticed that those same spirits were sucking out the souls of the citizens and then making them vaporize into dust!

 

  “What madness is this!?” she exclaimed!  Suddenly, she felt an urge to look to her left.  When she did so, she saw Fred running towards her!  She was relieved to see a familiar face, and apparently, Fred was just as relieved!

 

  “Fred, thank goodness!  W-what the hell is happening here!?” she asked, disoriented.

 

  “I…I don’t know how to explain this…but somehow, when that spirit charged at you, it triggered something that set this world upside down! What you’re seeing here isn’t a vision, or a dream, or a hallucination…this is real.” he answered.  At that, Dawn’s face only grew more horrified, and she started to shake.  She couldn’t believe it!  “I think…this is your ordeal…” he said.  Dawn opened her eyes wide and she tried to grasp the magnitude of this situation!

 

  “M-my ordeal…?  But…this much destruction?” she asked. Before she could even think, a giant wave of darkness pushed through, and Fred was able to push Dawn down so that she wouldn’t get hurt!  They both took cover behind a pile of debris, and she looked at Fred with confusion and hopelessness in her face!

 

  “I don’t…understand!” she exclaimed!  It was then that she felt someone was watching them.  She quickly looked upwards, and she noticed someone hovering above them!  When she narrowed her eyes to take a good luck, she saw that it was…

 

  “Hiro!!!” she said with relief!  But when Hiro didn’t answer, this made her worry.

 

  “Hiro…it’s me, Dawn!  Fred’s here too!” she said.  Hiro then suddenly disappeared then reappeared just in front of Dawn and Fred, and both of them were surprised to notice that Hiro’s eyes were completely red, and he was oozing out an intimidating amount of darkness!  Dawn couldn’t believe what she was seeing!

 

  “Hiro…what’s happened to you!?” she asked.  Hiro simply smirked and was about to fire off a blast of energy right to Dawn’s face, but Fred pushed her out of the way and received the full force of the blast, causing a serious, fatal injury on his shoulder! 

 

  “No!!!” Dawn said as she pulled Fred by the other arm and dragged him out of there!  Dawn quickly cast Reflega and Mine Square so they would be protected, and that way, she could proceed to heal Fred’s wound.  As she cast Curaga, she was able to heal a bit of the injury, but the damage had proved too fatal.  “Hang on, don’t you give up on me, Fred!” she said, trying to keep him distracted, as he seemed to be fazing in and out, almost as if he were struggling to live!

 

  “His eyes…they were…they were red…he’s…being controlled!  What if the others are the same way!?” Fred asked, his eyes watering up!  Dawn didn’t know what to say, and she hated herself for it!  She was about to cast another Curaga spell, when she noticed that her Reflega spell had been broken, as Hiro had blasted it away!  Granted, the attack was reflected right back at him, and his armor shattered a bit, but he didn’t seem to be feeling the pain!  He was about to fire another energy blast when Dawn cast Slow.

 

  “Come on, we have to go!” she said, and Fred, who stood up with a bit of a struggle, followed Dawn, as they both kept running as fast as the could away from Hiro!

 

  “What are we going to do now!?  The city’s being destroyed, and our friends are probably being controlled, just like Hiro!” Fred exclaimed!  Dawn stuttered for a bit, and she couldn’t think of anything!

 

  “I…I don’t know what to do…” she said.  She was so discouraged, that she suddenly zoned out, and she felt helpless and weak!  She then started to get a headache, as visions of her friends came to her mind, and she saw that they were suffering!  They were all suffering so horribly!  Dawn tried to avert her eyes from all this, but she couldn’t!  She was going through hell!  She was feeling every single amount of pain, and she was helpless to do anything about it!

 

  “Is this how it all ends…?  Is this how it all comes to a close…?  Has everything been for nothing…?” she asked herself, giving in to despair!  She slowly drifted apart from everything happening around her, and she could feel death’s cold grip coming closer at her!  But, it wasn’t until Fred shouted that Dawn snapped out of it!

 

  “Dawn, help me out here!  We have to save all these people!” Fred shouted! Dawn shook her head, and without a second thought, she headed towards a few citizens who were trapped under debris!

 

  “Don’t worry, we’ll get you someplace safe!” Fred said as he lifted up a huge chunk of debris!  Many citizens got out, and then they proceeded to help Fred and Dawn get everyone else out!  Dawn noticed that they wouldn’t leave, and she tried to make them leave!

 

  “You can’t stay here, you’re all in danger!  You need to get far away from here!  San Fransokyo’s not safe anymore!” she stated!  One of the citizens, a young woman, shook her head.

 

  “We can’t just let people here die!  If we can help, we’ll do everything in our power to do so!  So we’re going to stay put with you!” the woman said with admirable determination!  It was at that moment that Dawn realized how courageous this young woman was!  Here she was, practically defenseless in the face of the situation that was happening, and yet she chose to remain, to help more people, so that they don’t have to end up suffering a grim fate!  Dawn found comfort in this young woman’s courage, and so, she nodded.

 

  “Alright, then make sure that no one’s left behind!” she said.  The young woman smiled.

 

  “You got it!” she said!  And with that, she headed with a group of other citizens towards different parts of the city, where more people were either trapped or running scared!  Dawn looked at Fred who, despite his injuries, was doing all in his power to ensure the people’s safety!  He truly was a hero!

 

  After a few minutes, they were able to get everyone they saw out of the debris, and they were able to group them all up together.  Once that was done, Dawn divided them into search groups, so that each group would take a different section of the city, therefore making finding other people easier!  This was a simple plan, and one that Dawn knew would work.  She and Fred were now in the town’s shopping district, and it was pretty apparent that it was worn down!  Most of the shops were destroyed, and what little remained was about to collapse!  They both looked around for any signs of people, but it seemed as though there was no one here!  Then, after a few seconds, Dawn heard heavy footsteps!  They soon became louder with each passing second!  Fred looked around nervously, and then he noticed that many spirits were gathering around them!

 

  “Dawn…I don’t like the looks of this…” he said.  Dawn glanced over her shoulder at him and offered a reassuring nod.

 

  “Just stick together…we’ll pull through this…I know we will!” she said!  In truth, she was a little skeptical that they’d come out of this unscathed, but another part of her heart was convinced that somehow, someway, they would survive this, and they’d be able to turn Hiro and the others back to normal!  Suddenly, the steps now became more frequent, and could be heard louder!  After a few seconds, a giant robot could be seen tearing through the buildings, and it had menacing red eyes and bronze armor!  It was as tall as a skyscraper, and it seemed most menacing!  They prepared themselves for battle, and that’s when Fred noticed…

 

  “It’s Baymax!” he said with a shocked expression!

 

  “What!?” Dawn asked, shocked as well!  She narrowed her eyes and noticed that it was true!  Baymax was inside the robot’s cockpit, and his eyes too were red!  He was being controlled as well!?

(End Song Here)

---

 

(Start Song Here)

  Back at Alaya’s temple, things had taken quite an unexpected turn!  Just when Alaya and the others thought that all hope had been lost and that the battle was over, Kosaku and the Order Of The X-Blade swooped in to turn the tide!  They came fiercely and with deadly fury!  Kosaku was ahead of the rest, and he was taking out Heartless and Unborn faster than you could blink!  He was displaying quite an exceptioinal level of skill as a swordsman and a mage, as he was using attacks that fused both styles of combat into one!  The others plowed through the hordes, and they were reducing them to nothing!  Kosaku then teleported right to where Alaya was, and he bowed respectfully in greeting.

 

  “Apologies, Alaya, it seems we almost didn’t make it in time!  But, I think we came just in time, if I do say so myself!” he said as he smiled.  Alaya had a reliefed expression on her face and she couldn’t help but let out a chuckle!

 

  “Well, you certainly always have impressed with your dramatic entrances.  I am glad you could join us!  Would you care to help me clean up this mess?” she asked.  Kosaku swung his Keyblade and nodded.

 

  “Of course!  It would be an honor!” he said!

 

  And so, both Alaya and Kosaku leapt down and stormed through the hordes of Heartless and Unborn, taking them out as fast as possible!  The enemy was now being overwhelmed by the power of the reinforcements that had arrived!  The aerial Heartless and Unborn didn’t last long in the sky, as the other members of the Order Of The X-Blade quickly sniped them out of the air!  The larger foes tried to make a retreat, but were overwhelmed, and they soon desintigrated into nothingness!

 

  Inside, the others were still battling against the potently powerful Invisible Heartless, and it seemed as though this enemy would best them, for it had everyone on their toes!  Even though Sky had cast Deep Freeze and taken out the surrounding enemies, the spell wasn’t powerful enough to take out the Invisible, as it still remained!  But Raxon noticed that not as many foes were coming into the temple, and this gave him the hope that they were winning the battle!  But, with the Invisible coming at them every time, he didn’t have time to think, so he focused all of his thoughts on the battle at hand!  He leapt up and slashed at the Invisible with his Keyblade, and then he got a few good hits in with his hook!  He then got out of the way so Trish could cast Thundaga, and the spell was able to hit its mark!  Maka swooped in and delivered a fatal slash, while Kid delivered some potent shots!  Crona bashed at the Invisible relentlessly, and Black Star performed all manner of ninja techniques that kept the Invisible disoriented!  It seemed as though they were pushing back, and they might have a chance at winning this!

 

  “It looks like thing are actually turning in our favor now!  It would seem like a ridiculous stroke of luck, if you ask me!” Raxon said, as he took a moment to catch his breath!

 

  “I don’t care if it’s luck or not, the thing is, we’re winning!  Well, at least I hope we’re winning, kupo!” Sky said, as he cast Curaga on everyone!

 

  “Push the enemy back!  Show no mercy!” Trish roared triumphantly, as she cast a beam of light that pierced through a dozen Unborn in a row, causing them to dissipate easily!

 

  “Let’s do this, yahoo!!!” Black Star happily replied, as he flung himself towards the enemy!

 

  And so, everyone started to push the enemy back, and they were starting to flee!  All fleeing enemies were quickly shot down by Kid and Black Star, and the ones who still remained close by were destroyed by Maka and Crona!  Trish, Raxon and Sky focused their energy on the Invisible, who was still standing! It was putting up quite the fight, and it didn’t seem like it was going to back down!  As Raxon started approaching it, it immediately discharged a wave of powerful dark energy, and it immediately bound everyone up!  They were now immobile, helpless to do anything!  The rest of the Heartless and Unborn started to attack them, viciously mauling them!  They could do nothing, except remain there, receiving each and every fatal blow!  Things were now looking increasingly bad!  The Invisible then outstretched its hand, and then waved both arms upwards, and when it did, five swords materialized out of pure darkness!  They each roared with mighty darkness, and the Invisible seemed to grow a bit more, and it looked like quite the harbinger of death!  Trish, Raxon, Sky and the others were helpless, and they figured that this would be the end…

 

  “We…we gave it all we had…” Raxon muttered, feeling defeated.  But suddenly…

 

  “Get out of my temple, dark spawn!” Alaya roared, as she pierced through the Invisible like if it was made out of paper!  Immediately, it dissipated into nothingness, and the remaining enemies cowered and tried to leave, but Kosaku and the others took care of them outside!  Alaya quickly dispelled the binding spell the Invisible had cast over her friends, and now they were all free!  They all sighed of relief!

 

  “Well, it’s a good thing you came alone, otherwise, we’d have been done for!” Raxon commented.  Alaya smiled and put her hand on his shoulder.

 

  “Friends have each other’s backs.  I assume that is correct?” she asked with a smile.  Raxon and the others nodded.

 

  “You bet!  Now let’s go kick some Heartless and Unborn butt, kupo!” Sky beamed excitedly!

 

  “Let’s finish this party!  These pests have outlived their welcome!” Maka said as she dashed outside and started to take out countless enemies!  Crona shuddered a bit and gave out a sigh.

 

  “Ugh…I really hate fighting…but I want these things gone, so let’s take care of them…” he said weakly and with dismay.  He then went outside and fought alongside Maka!

 

  “How deplorable…to think these enemies would dare attack such a symmetrical temple as this!  It’s a crime, I tell you, a crime!  It’s a good thing we came here to defend this beautiful place, otherwise, these creatures would have defiled the meaning of perfection!  Onward to battle!” Kid roared as he went outside and shot a barrage of bullets!  Black Star could be seen on the horizon, having quite a blast taking out their foes!  Trish, Raxon and Sky remained with Alaya, who seemed to have a peaceful expression on her face.

 

  “Thank you all very much…I appreciate your assistance.  You have all helped me defend this temple, and I cannot begin to express my gratitude…” she said.  At that, Raxon shook his head.

 

  “Hey, it’s like you said…friends have each other’s backs.  Don’t mention it.  We’re here for you.” he said reassuringly.

 

  Alaya smiled and bowed appreciatively, and with that, they all headed outside, to end this battle!  When they went outside, they saw that the enemy was attempting to escape this world by going through a portal of darkness!  It loomed large in the distance!  But Trish noticed that this wasn’t just any portal!  The portal that the enemy was attempting to make their getaway with was a portal to the Realm Of Darkness!  No wonder there had been so many relentless numbers of foes!  It all made sense!  They were coming from the Realm Of Darkness itself!  At that, she transformed her Keyblade into a Keyblade Glider and went towards the portal!

 

  “Huh, Trish, what are you doing!?” Raxon exclaimed, but Trish was already gone!  She was determined to close that portal!

 

  “I have to find someway to destroy this portal…if I can do that, I’ll be able to make all these enemies stop appearing here…it’s not going to be easy, but I’m going to take the risk…even if this all turns out to be for nothing!” Trish thought to herself.  She then thought of Ventus and Kyle, and a tear rolled down her cheek.  She hoped that she would be able to see them again, but she didn’t know if she’d have the chance.  And so, thinking of them helped ease her pain of missing them.  No, it was more than just that!  Thinking of them gave her the motivation to keep pushing forward!  She had to see this through, so she could be reunited with them, and they could be a family again!  She knew she had to do this!

 

  Kosaku was taking out the enemy with fierce power and brutal efficiency!  His comrades were fighting beside him, and little by little, they were reducing the enemy to nothing!  The Heartless and Unborn that tried to escape quickly found themselves beaten!

 

  “Push them back!  We’ve almost won this battle!” Kosaku shouted, as he delivered a series of fatal stirkes that would make even the most professional swordsman jealous!  And so, everyone fought viciously, with fiery determination and unstoppable power in their hearts!  Raxon had climbed atop a boulder and had transformed his Keyblade into a rifle, and he was sniping down the enemy at every turn!  Sky was below, providing buffing magic such as Haste, Protect, Shell and Berserk!  With these powerful magic spells, everyone was able to fight with increased strength and agility!  Alaya was mowing down Darksides and Behemoths with her Keyblade, and then she transformed it into twin lances, and then she twirled with deadly ferocity, and the lances seemed to form streaks of light that looked like bouncing glimmers of luminescent light!  She darted like a bullet towards the gargantuan foes and then took them out in one strike!

 

  Maka and her group stuck together, and they too, were taking out the enemy in quite the efficient and brutal way!  Kid shot fiery bullets, which Maka batted with force, to which Crona imbued darkness to the increasingly powerful bullets, to which then Black Star added lightning, creating an insane explosion that formed a crater near them, which took out hundreds upon hundreds of foes at once!  Black Star was on a roll, as he didn’t stand still for a single moment!  He transformed Tsubaki into a sword and then slashed away at the enemy, dodging their attacks and taking them out with precise and accurate fury!  Crona was crying, for he really didn’t want to be fighting now, for he much preffered to be sleeping!  He then got increasingly mad, as the Heartless and Unborn werne’t leaving them alone!  He then gave out a fierce battle cry and then dashed towards the Heartless and Unborn, mauling them and utterly destroying them!  It was quite the horrifying sight to see!  The others were lucky that he was on their side!  Kid kept shooting as many enemies as he could, and Maka kept up the pace with her constant swings and brutal speed!

 

  And now, nearing the portal, Trish reverted her Keyblade back to normal, and then she took out the streams of foes that were in her way!  When she made sure that the area was clear, she started to channel her energy!  She noticed that the Heartless and Unborn that were attempting to escape were quite a distance away, but it’d only be a matter of minutes before they’d reach her!  And if she didn’t destroy the portal in time, they’d escape, and she’d be done for!  And so, she put all of her focus and all of her heart into channeling her energy into her Keyblade.  Soon after, a radiant light started to emanate from her, and the ground around her began to shake, and small pebbles started to rise from the ground!  She kept her feet firmly planted on the ground, but even so, the ground was giving way due to the sheer power of the energy she was channeling!  She kept her focus though, and continue to channel her energy!

 

  “Hang on guys…hang on for just a few minutes longer…and this will be over…” she said to herself, as she was hoping that she would be able to close the portal in time!

 

  As the seconds passed, she could feel herself reaching her limit!  It seemed that there was no more power that she could offer!  But, even so, she refused to stop, and even though she was practically at her limit, she overexerted herself, and now, more power emanated from her forcefully, and soon, a giant circle of light formed, surrounding itself on the outline of the portal that lead to the Realm Of Darkness!  When the circle of light was fully completed, Trish then poured out even more energy, and soon, she felt lightheaded!  It seemed that all this effort she was putting in was taking its toll, and she felt her legs give way slightly!  But, even so, she kept standing, and she did not let herself kneel!  She needed to stop this!  She glanced back, and she noticed that the retreating enemy forces were getting nearer!  They’d reach her in a matter of seconds!

 

  “No…I wasn’t able to do it!” she said as she closed her eyes, ready to be mauled by the relentless hordes of foes!  But, as she waited for the killing blow, she realized that it never came!  When she opened her eyes, she noticed that the enemies around her had disappeared, and then she saw Maka, Crona, Black Star and Kid holding off the Heartless and Unborn!  Alaya, Kosaku and his comrades, Raxon and Sky poured their energies over to the circle of light Trish had formed!  When she turned back, she saw that the portal to the Realm Of Darkness started to disappear!  The circle of light was causing the portal to collapse, and within a matter of seconds, the portal was no more!  Now the enemy was cut off, and they had no chances of escaping!  They attempted to flee, but everyone quickly came in to deal with them, and before Trish knew it, the battle was won!  Alaya’s temple had been successfully defended!  She sighed of relief and fell to the ground, exhausted!

(End Song Here)

 

  “W-We did it…I can’t believe we did it!” she said in disbelief!  Black Star grinned happily and gave a thumbs up!

 

  “Ha, what’d you expect!?  When you have the mighty Black Star to assist you, any battle’s won, yahoo!” he said, and Tsubaki turned back to normal and rolled her eyes and then giggled.

 

  “Heh, well, we’ve succeded!  Now there’s no need to worry!” she said.  Soul, Ragnarok, Liz and Pattie also turned back to normal, and everyone gathered around, with weary but confident smiles in their faces!

 

  “Victory is ours, kupo!” Sky proclaimed triumphantly!

---

 

(Start Song Here)

  Back at San Fransokyo, things were definitely not good!  Dawn and Fred were now facing a gigantic robot, which was being manned by Baymax, whose eyes were red!  Was he being controlled as well!?  Even if that were the case, though, Dawn and Fred wouldn’t have much time to think about it, since the robot swung its gigantic arm at them!  They barely managed to dodge the attack, but were still swept away and tumbled along the debris the giant robot arm thrashed around!  This was definitely bad!  But, even with the given situation, Dawn and Fred needed to focus, for the fate of San Fransokyo was in their hands!  And so, they darted around the battlefield, trying to take on the robot on different sides, but the robot was too fast, and it leapt up high then slammed itself down to the ground, causing the ground to tremble and an immense shockwave to emanate, causing both Dawn and Fred to tumble down yet again!  They both ran towards each other and then took cover behind a pile of debris, as the robot started to shoot with its machine guns at them!

 

  “So, what now!?” Fred asked, half distressed, half annoyed.

 

  “I really don’t know…Baymax is manning that robot, and as long as he’s in there, that thing’s going to be almost impossible to take down!  But we have to try!” she stated!  Fred nodded.

 

  “I’m with you, sister!  I’m gonna throw fireballs at it and see if I can distract it!  While I do that, you try climbing on its arm!” he suggested.  Dawn agreed.

 

  “Alright, let’s give that plan a shot!” she said, and with that, they both immediately acted on said plan, as Fred started to throw an intense barrage of fireballs at the robot, causing its attention to be directed towards him!  It seemed as though his distraction was working!  Noticing this, Dawn capitalized and quickly started to run up the giant robot’s arm, hoping to get to the cockpit as fast as possible!  But no sooner than she was halfway up, the giant robot turned its head, and Baymax’s eyes locked onto Dawn, as he commanded a barrage of missiles to fire towards Dawn!  She was forced to dodge the attack, and in doing so, she had to leap off the robot’s arm!  Once safely landed on the ground, Dawn quickly began thinking about another way to defeat the robot!  It was then that she looked at its legs and noticed steam coming out from small pipes that were situated in the knee area!

 

  “Got it!” Dawn said with confidence, and with her concentration, she fired off two beams of light that headed straight towards the pressure points she had aimed at!  When the light beams hit their mark, the pressure points were eventually damaged, causing the robot to fall on its knees!  It was forced to use its hands to hold itself so it wouldn’t collapse completely into the ground!  As a result, this left the robot vulnerable, and that’s when Dawn exchanged an urgent glance at Fred!

 

  “Now, now!!!” she shouted, and he nodded, and the two of them leapt up high into the air and then started to fire off a combined stream of fireballs and beams of light!  They were focusing on the back of the robot, so as to disable it from standing!  But as they kept dealing damage to its back, the cockpit turned until it faced them, and Baymax shook his head slowly.

 

  “Think twice before you keep attacking…unless you want these organic beings squashed…” he said in a grim voice, and with a click of a button, he unveiled what laid beneath the back of the robot, and it was none other than Gogo, Honey Lemon and Wasabi! They were unconscious, and it seemed as though the robot was using their life forces as energy!  Dawn and Fred immediately stopped, and their faces were now awash with horror!  How could this be possible!?

 

  “No…you can’t do this Baymax, this isn’t what you’re meant to do!  You’re supposed to protect people!” Dawn shouted, hoping to knock some sense into Baymax.  But Baymax simply pressed the button to close the compartment where Gogo, Honey Lemon and Wasabi were being held, and his eyes gleamed with an evil, red glow!

 

  “I do not compute the nonsense you are spouting…you must now perish…” he said grimly, and with those words, numerous spirits started to gather  around, eventually surrounding Dawn and Fred!  Most of the spirits had possessed different machinery, and some of them possessed soldiers or policemen!  They were all now surrounding Dawn and Fred, who were helpless and were feeling quite small in the midst of this terrifying situation!  Dawn was drawing a blank in her mind!  She didn’t know how to react!  She felt as though everything was crumbling before her!  She then felt Fred’s hand on her shoulder, and she glanced back at him, and he gave her a sad, yet comforting smile.

 

  “Don’t worry, sister.  We’ll give it our all…even if we have to go down fighting…because we’re a team!  We won’t give—“ but he didn’t finish, for insantly, his eyes opened wide and he gave out a startled gasp!  When Dawn looked at his chest, her eyes grew wide with horror!  A laser beam had shot straight through him!  Dawn was now panicking, for what she saw before her was a horrifying spectacle!  Fred’s eyes started to fill up with tears, and then he gave out a smile, and his hand slowly slid off from Dawn’s shoulder…

 

  “You got this, sister…I’ll give you my strength…” he said, and with the last of his power, he imbued Dawn’s Keyblade with his fire, and after doing so, he knelt down on the ground and then fell on his face, lifeless!

(End Song Here)

 

(Start Song Here)

  “No!!!!!” Dawn shouted with pained agony!  Her suffering was so much, that she let out an intense aura of energy, and a beam of light shot down from the sky and landed on her, imbuing her with untold power!  Her eyes were now a crackling white, and her Keyblade was now longer and shining with radiant light, and Fred’s fire made it seem like it was a giant, flaming sword of light!  Her body was now emanating intense streams of light, and then, she slowly turned around to face whoever had shot down Fred!  When she did so, she noticed that it had been Hiro who killed him!  His eyes were red, and he was smirking, as if striking down Fred had meant nothing to him!  Dawn clenched her fists, and she felt untold fury building up inside of her!  She felt overwhelming power coming over her, but it wasn’t like last time, when she couldn’t control it…no, this time, she felt a sense of control!  This wasn’t like when she unleashed the power of the Goddess Of Twilight.  No, this seemingly came purely from the emotions residing in her heart!  She looked at Hiro with anger, but at the same time, she knew this wasn’t his fault.  She had to put him down, but hopefully, she wouldn’t have to kill him!  But, before even considering battling Hiro, she made it a point to disable Baymax first and foremost, and with a simply flick of her wrist, a giant thunderbolt crashed on the robot Baymax was in, and the intense surge of electricity caused the robot and Baymax to black out, therefore putting them out of the fight!  She then concentrated to make sure she hadn’t hurt Gogo, Honey Lemon or Wasabi!  Within a few seconds, she could hear their heartbeats, and that’s when she knew that her attack had not harmed them!  She then turned her attention back to Hiro, and to all the possessed machinery and people that were surrounding her!

 

  “I need to make sure all these things remain here, focused on me, so that way, the citizens will be able to escape…” she thought to herself.  It was with that train of thought that she expanded the beam of light that was raining down upon her, causing more enemies to be drawn to it like moths to a flame!  When she felt that she had caught every foe’s attention, she turned to Hiro.

 

  “I will save you all…I will…I have to do this…for Fred’s sake, and for everyone’s!” she said, as each footstep she took caused the ground to crumble!  Hiro remained unflinching though, and he just started to fire off laser beams!  But when they landed on Dawn, they dematerialized!  It was as if the light was causing the beams to lose their power!  When she realized this, she knew that Hiro’s attacks wouldn’t hurt her, and so, all she did was swing her Keyblade with mighty force, and then she enclosed Hiro in a fiery cage, causing him to faint within a matter of seconds!  When she saw that he wasn’t recovering from his unconsciousness, she then made the fire cage dissipate, and she put Hiro alongside the robot that held Gogo, Honey Lemon and Wasabi!  She then noticed that the spirit possessing Hiro had left his body, and was now fleeing!

 

  “Oh no you don’t…” she said, as she fired off a beam of omnipotent light, causing the spirit to dissipate instantly!  She then looked at all the other possessed machinery and people!

 

  “Come out and face me!  Only a coward uses others to fight for himself!  Show me your true face!” she demanded with authority!  A looming silence followed…

 

  After a brief moment, the spirits started to leave their possessed victims one by one, and they all seemed to be heading into one sole direction!  The spirits that had possessed the machinery also left, and all of them were gathering together, and that’s when Dawn realized that they all formed one, gigantic spirit!  It was oozing off quite the degree of ectoplasm, and it had red eyes and a faint purple mist for a body!  When all the spirits finished gathering up, they completely merged into the gigantic spirit, and it gave out a deafening screech that made the windows in the nearby buildings break!  The people who had been possessed were clueless as to what was going on, and they were panicking!  Dawn glanced back at them and waved her arm forward.

 

  “Go, get out of here!  Run as fast as you can, and save as many people as you’re able!  I’ll hold this thing off!” she said.  With that, the people quickly ran away from Dawn’s sight, looking for other people that might be in danger!  And so, with the area cleared, Dawn would be able to fight against the spirit without risking harm to innocent bystanders!  She swung her Keyblade menacingly and sneered at the spirit, and she could feel her heart increase its beat, and her fists clenched tightly!

 

  “I will destroy you!” she shouted, as she darted towards the spirit with the full power of light at her disposal!  She quickly proceeded to deliver a flurry of attacks and quick strikes that disoriented the spirit, but it managed to block the continuous attacks Dawn was dealing at it!  At first, Dawn thought her Keyblade wouldn’t hit the spirit, but it seemed she was wrong, for the spirit was definitely very much feeling the force of her attacks!  Knowing she could harm it, she increased the strength of her attacks, and even though the spirit was blocking, it was still being pushed back by Dawn’s sheer force!  It was definitely a heated battle!

 

  “You’ll regret having damaged this world and its people!  Do you hear me!?  You’ll regret it!!!” she shouted with fury, as she launched five beams of light simultaneously at the spirit, causing its arms and legs to be severed!  But, it being a spirit after all, its loosely misty body rearranged itself back together!  Dawn knew this wasn’t going to be a walk in the park…

 

  “I’ve got to do something…I have to put it down for good!” she thought to herself, but no immediate ideas came to her mind!  She made it her focus to not lower her guard, for the spirit could surprise her at any moment!

 

  And so, as she thought of someway she could bring down the spirit for good, it started to deliver a series of deadly attacks, and luckily, Dawn was focused enough on the battle to block its attacks, otherwise, things would’ve gotten very messy!  But the spirit only increased its number of attacks, and in the end, Dawn had to stop thinking of a plan, for the spirit’s relentless assault demanded her immediate and full attention!  And so, the spirit summoned forth a blade of darkness, and with it, it attacked Dawn, but she attacked as well, and both reached a stalemate!  Dawn looked tiny compared to the spirit, which was almost the size of a building!  They both kept their stalemate for a good while, but then, the spirit broke it off and shot off a beam of ectoplasmic energy that made Dawn fling off towards a nearby building, therefore causing her to crash inside one of the windows!  Luckily, she was able to avoid getting hurt by the glass shards, but the ectoplasmic energy seemed to slow her down somewhat!  But, that wasn’t anything the power of light couldn’t fix, as she let out a full surge of light energy, causing the ectoplasm to fade away!

 

  “You’re not going to bring me down!” she said, as she stood near the window, looking at the spirit, who was growling and preparing its next attack!  As she prepared to dodge it, she found herself having a fierce headache!  She couldn’t even react, as the headache was so mind numbing, that she just fell down the window and down to the ground!  She shuddered and groaned in pain, as her head became clouded, and her vision got blurry!

(End Song Here)

 

  “No…not now!!!” she exclaimed!  Soon, she saw that the power of light was slowly fading away from her body, and now, she was just her normal self!  Then, among the ruined buildings and piling debris, she saw…

 

(Start Song Here)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UTVlQ_0_Pls

  “Valgard!” she shouted, as she reached out her hand towards him!  He slowly turned around and then took notice of Dawn, and then, he gave a sincere and heartfelt smile.  Dawn shook her head and felt tears coming to her eyes!

 

  “No…” she said softly, as she could feel the guilt of what she had done tearing her apart from the inside!  Then, behind Valgard, she could see fire and smoke and darkened clouds!  Beyond the debris, she saw countless bodies piling up!  When she narrowed her eyes, she saw all of her friends fighting against relentless hordes of enemies and Keyblade Wielders and non Keyblade Wielders!  It was a total massacre!  Bodies were dropping everywhere, and worlds were being destroyed!  The sky was turning from pitch black to crimson red, as many stars started to go out!  She was witnessing a horrifying nightmare beyond her imagination!  And the worst part of it was…she couldn’t avert her eyes.

 

  “No…no, I can’t believe this!  I refuse to believe that this is how it all ends!  It can’t be!  It just can’t!” Dawn cried, as tears kept rolling down her face!  Valgard’s expression changed, and now he seemed sad, for seeing Dawn cry was something that broke his heart.  He walked towards her and put his hand on her shoulder, and when she looked up at him, she could’ve sworn that she saw him mouthing out something to her!  But whatever it was, she didn’t understand, for she was immediately brought back to reality by an explosion near her!  She panicked and saw quite a few chunks of debris about to fall on her!  She closed her eyes and winced, as she felt that she was about to get squashed!  But when she noticed that she didn’t die, she opened her eyes, and then she saw the same chunks of debris, but now, they had all been broken into tiny shards!  Then she noticed two people standing in front of her!  When she realized who they were, her eyes opened wide!

(End Song Here)

 

  “Xion!?  Yen Sid!?” she yelped, speechless!  And true enough, Xion and Yen Sid were the ones standing in front of her!  Xion nodded and held her Keyblade in hand, and Yen Sid too, was wielding his Keyblade!  This was something she thought she would never see!  Yen Sid was standing before her, wielding his Keyblade!

 

  “We came just in time, Master Yen Sid…thank goodness we weren’t a second too late…” Xion said as she helped Dawn up.  The old wizard nodded.

 

  “Indeed.  Had we come a second later, and you would have perished, my dear girl.” he said to Dawn.

 

  “I…I don’t understand…how did you get here?” she asked.

 

  “Well, actually, we were in a few worlds, mostly the ones that were the most damaged by the darkness and the armies of Keyblade Wielders, not to mention the non Keyblade Wielders and Heartless and Unborn.  The war’s already taking its toll.  Most of the worlds we’ve been to are in pretty rough shape, but luckily, we were able to gather the survivors and contacted Cid so that he could pick them up. The people we managed to save are safe and sound…but I can’t say the same for their homeworlds…” Xion explained.

 

  “Indeed.  This war has already taken the lives of countless innocents…and so I knew it was time for me to take action!  And so, I left my tower, and luckily, Xion came to assist me, and as she just explained, we have been travelling the different worlds together, helping in whichever way we can.  We even encountered some of the others and helped them  as well.” the old wizard remarked.  “But, more on that later, for it seems you are busy at the moment.” he said, as he pointed towards the spirit, who was running towards them!  Dawn clenched her fists and then stood up and summoned her Keyblade anew!

 

  “Yeah…I have unfinished business to attend to…”

-------------------------------

 

San Fransokyo is in a chaotic state, and now, with the help of Xion and Yen Sid, Dawn intends to take down the spirit that’s causing all this destruction once and for all!  And it seems as though Alaya and the others were able to fend off the hordes of Heartless and Unborn, but just barely, thanks to Kosaku and his comrades!  But, this victory is not one to be celebrated, for the war is still not won!  What will happen next?  Will Dawn be able to take down the spirit?  And what’s happened with Kyle since the last time we saw him?  Find out in Chapter Twenty Nine: “The Rescue Begins!”

 

Well everyone, that was the chapter, I hope you all enjoyed it!   As always, thank you very much for your patience and support!  Things are getting intense, huh?  Well, they’ll get even more intense as the chapters keep on rolling, so stay tuned for that!   Let me know what you thought of this chapter, and until next time, stay tuned for the next one!

[KHLegendIII 709]

Oh yeah!

[KingdomHearts3 2,591]

Wow, what chaos and ruin. That vision of the death and destruction was horrifying. Can't wait to see what's next.

[The Transcendent Key 12,109]

To KHLegendIII, haha, I can see you're happy!

 

To KingdomHearts3, yes, it's always horrifying to see a vision of that sort, am I right?  Haha, and I'm betting you'll like what you see next!

 

Good evening everyone, I hope that you’re all doing okay!  Wow, this month has gone flying by, hasn’t it!?  Before we know it, we’ll be at June, watching the coverage of this year’s E3, and hopefully, we’ll be getting some Kingdom Hearts related news!  Ah, but we’re still a ways for that to happen, so in the meantime, we’ll just have to wait, am I right?  But anyways, here’s the next chapter!  Enjoy yourselves!

 

Chapter Twenty Nine: The Rescue Begins

 

  Kyle was on his Keyblade Glider, traversing the lanes between.  He had conquered his trial and obtained his Key Of Balance, Lunar Ascension, and now, he was going to rescue his father from Jexana’s clutches!  He knew that battle would be difficult, even with Lunar Ascension, but he knew he had to do this, no matter the outcome! He had left the Keyblade Graveyard not too long ago, but the strange thing was, he didn’t see Braig anywhere! Braig had wanted to get Kyle’s Key, but he was nowhere to be found!  Could it be that he possibly lost interest?  No, that probably couldn’t be it. He didn’t look like the type of person that would get bored easily.  But, he had to discard Braig from his thoughts, for now, his thoughts needed to focus entirely on his father’s rescue!  He put his hand to his chest, and he could feel a fiery determination building up inside him!

 

  “I’m going to save you, Dad…just hang in there for me!” he said to himself, as he kept traveling across the Lanes Between!  Eventually, he’d catch up to Jexana’s fleet!

 

  As he continued his journey, he remembered the words that Shia had spoken to him before he left.  He remembered that they were in the valley of the Keyblade Graveyard, where all the ancient Keyblades lay in multitudes!  He had still been recovering from his battle against Ulrich, and he was battered and bruised, but he still didn’t let that get to him! He remembered that Shia had smiled and placed her hand on his forehead, therefore causing all his bruises to heal!  He had been instantly cured!

 

(Start Song Here)

  “You’ve conquered the deity that was housed within you…and now his power is yours, and with that, you have dominion over the power of the Dark Light.  I am confident that you’ll put it to good use, for I’ve seen that your heart is noble and you are noble of spirit.  The rest of your journey won’t be easy, and there may be times when you feel like everything is too much for you…but rest assured, with your resolve and undying will and strength of heart, you’ll be able to push through.  Your Key Of Balance deemed you worthy of wielding it, so I know you’ll be safe.  Now go forward, and fulfill your duty as a Keyblade Wielder!” she said.  Kyle nodded.

 

  “Thank you…I won’t abuse this power I’ve been given…I’ll use it to the best of my ability to protect my friends, and all the worlds!” he said with determination!  At that, Lunar, who had been by Shia’s side, smiled and bowed his head at him, and then he walked towards him and stood in front of him.  Kyle knelt down until his face and Lunar’s were even in height, and Kyle gave a sad smile as he petted Lunar’s head.

 

  “I wonder how things would’ve been…if you were still around…” he said sadly.  Lunar remained silent for a moment before speaking.

 

  “My dear Kyle…that is something that I do not know the answer of.  But know this.  No matter how things would have turned out, I’ll always have remained by your side, just like I am by your side now.  Never forget that.  For even though I’m not with you anymore in body, I am with you in heart and spirit!  And that is how it shall be, always.” he said.  Kyle could feel his eyes watering up with tears, and he sniffled a bit and chuckled softly.

 

  “That’s right…you’ll always be with me, in my heart.  I’ll always cherish the moments we had together, and I’ll always cherish our friendship.  And you’ll see…I’ll help my friends make things right!  I won’t let the worlds fall into darkness, and I won’t let my Dad be controlled by Jexana any longer!  I’ll bring him back, and I’ll find Mom too, and then, we’ll all be a family again!” he said with a determined tone!  Lunar smiled and chuckled.

 

  “You’ve grown into a strong, courageous young man, Kyle.  I couldn’t be more proud.” he said, as he started to fade away into sparkles of light!  Kyle smiled and started to cry.

 

  “Thank you…I love you Lunar…” he said as he stuttered a bit, tears rolling down his cheeks.

 

  “And I love you as well, my dear Kyle.  And never forget…I’ll always be in your heart.” Lunar replied, as he faded away completely, and the sparkles of light gathered and entered into Kyle’s heart!  Kyle could feel Lunar’s warmth in his heart, and he smiled and wiped off his tears.  He then blushed a bit, for Shia had been watching him cry, and then he gave out an embarrassed laugh!

 

  “Heh…don’t know why I’m crying!  It’s not like Lunar’s gone!” he said, and then he put his hand on his chest and could feel Lunar’s warmth.  Kyle gave a soft smile.  “No…he’s not gone.  He’ll always be right here…” he said.

(End Song Here)

 

  Kyle then suddenly snapped out of his thoughts, as he noticed something strange!  He could see that many stars had blacked out!  He halted his Keyblade Glider momentarily, and took a moment to observe the endless space around him!  He wasn’t seeing anything funny…he actually did see many stars that had blacked out!  He immediately grew worried, for this probably meant that the Keyblade War was already taking its toll on the worlds.  At this rate, it wouldn’t be long until many more stars would start to blink out!  This was definitely something troublesome!  He clenched his fists and felt his heart tighten!  He then thought of Trish, and then of Ventus, and then he looked at the stars that were still shining…

 

  “Mom…Dad…please hang on…I’ll save you, and we’ll help our friends stop the Keyblade War!” he said, as he then continued to drive his Keyblade Glider, going much faster now!  He also noticed that he could sense Jexana’s darkness!  It was faint, but he could feel it!  “Okay…that means I’m reaching her…” he thought to himself, and with that, he pressed on!

 

(Start Song Here)

  Meanwhile, on Jexana’s airship, Stralus, the Knight Of Ragnarok, had come aboard after searching for more soldiers to join the fleet!  He went towards Jexana and bowed his head in greeting and respect, and she, in turn, who was now outside, bowed as well.  It looked like she had recovered quite a bit from her injuries, and it seemed as though she was now filled with an undeniable sense of determination and conviction.  She was determined to see her goals through to the end!  Ventus was by her side, and he was as silent as ever.

 

  “So then, I trust that you’ve brought along more men for our army?” she asked.  Stralus nodded.

 

  “Indeed!  I was able to gather forth one hundred thousand soldiers, and they are ready to fight for us!  They have joined our fleet, which should no doubt please you.” he remarked.  Jexana smirked.

 

  “Yes, it does please me.  Good job, Stralus.” she said, complementing him.  He nodded and then turned to leave for his airship.  But before he did, he glanced back at Jexana.

 

  “And what of the boy?  While I was gathering more troops, I was searching for him as well, but he was nowhere to be found.  It seems your brother hid him well.  Shall I keep searching for them both?” he asked.  At that, Jexana seemed to snap slightly, for she was still very angry that Braig had appeared out of nowhere and saved Kyle!  But, she kept her composure and glanced back at him.

 

  “I don’t think that will be necessary…in fact, I have the strangest feeling that Kyle will come back fairly soon.  I can almost feel his power…” she answered.  Stralus crossed his arms.

 

  “Why would he return?” he asked.  Jexana then leaned her back on Ventus’ shoulder.

 

  “Because of my beloved.  You see, Ventus is Kyle’s father…and no doubt that dear little Kyle will want to come back to rescue him…in fact, I’m counting on him returning…that way, I can make sure he can die once and for all!” she said.  Stralus rubbed his chin as he listened.

 

  “Hmm…that’s right.  This man is the boy’s father.  Jexana, if I may, can I duel with Kyle if he returns?  I have a score to settle with him…” he said as he chuckled.

 

  “Yes, you may…but don’t kill him.  I want to have the honor of doing that myself!  So don’t play too rough with him.” she replied.

(End Song Here)

 

  “Fair enough.  Well then, I shall be on the lookout for him.  Farewell, Lady Jexana.” he said as he bowed and then took his leave!  Jexana saw him off and then went to her quarters along with Ventus.  She sat down on her desk and clasped her hands together.  Emmxett and Tsumugi were raiding one of the nearby worlds with some troops, and so she was alone in her quarters with Ventus.  She closed her eyes and was deep in thought.  Everything was calm and silent…when all of a sudden, she felt a shadow looming over her!  She immediately opened her eyes and noticed and arrow gun pointed right at her face, and then she saw Braig, the man wielding it!  Her face immediately grew furious with anger, and she was about to raise her voice when Braig shook his head and moved his finger.

 

(Start Song Here)

  “Ah, ah, ah!  I wouldn’t do that if I were you!  Besides, I want some private time to talk to my sis, you know what I’m saying?” he mocked.  Jexana gritted her teeth, and Ventus was about to charge at him when Bragi’s other arrow gun appeared out of thin air and pointed right behind his head!  Braig smirked and looked at Jexana, whose eyes had gone from furious to worried!  He knew that he had her where he wanted her!

 

  “Aw, see?  That’s better!  Now that the three of us have come to a mutual understanding, then I can sit down and talk to you.” he said as he pulled out a chair casually and sat on it, placing his feet on Jexana’s desk.  She hated how carefree and idiotic he was, and it just made her boil up with anger again!  But, knowing that she and Ventus were at risk of being killed on the spot prevented her from taking action!  And so, Braig unsummoned his arrow guns and crossed his arms.  Ventus loosened a bit, and Jexana felt relieved.  Braig smirked.

 

  “Heh, don’t think you’re safe just yet!  If any of you two make one sudden move, you’ll have it in no time flat!  Capiche?” he asked, making his point clear.  The looming silence that followed was a good enough answer for him.  He then cleared his throat and stretched out his arms.

 

  “Okay then, now that I’ve made sure you’ll pay attention to me, I’ve got a little…proposition to make.  Something that’ll benefit both of us!  I’m pretty sure you won’t want to refuse this little suggestion I have…” he explained.  Jexana clenched her fists and took a deep breath.

 

  “What makes you think I’d listen to anything you’d have to say…?” she asked under gritted teeth.  Braig chuckled and shook his head.

 

  “Heh, well, I think you’ll like what you’ll hear.  But anyways, as you probably already know, tough guy’s son is coming back here to rescue him…and I’m pretty sure you don’t want that complication ruining things for ya, am I right?” he asked, letting his words hang in the air.  “Just so happens that Kyle’s gotten his hands on his Key Of Balance…and I want that Key’s power…because I just know that I’d be able to have my way if I had that key…but yeah, I know how badly you want to kill him…” he said.  Jexana glared at him.

 

  “Don’t pretend you know anything about me!” she roared!  Braig then summoned his arrow guns forth again and put his finger to his mouth, making a “shush” gesture.

 

  “Watch the tone, little lady…unless you want things to get messy…” he warned, then unsummoning his arrow guns anew.  “But anyways, like I said, I know how badly you want to kill him.  Because I know how much Ven here means to ya!  He’s your whole world…your whole…existence! Ha, what mush!” he said as he couldn’t hold back laughter!  Jexana’s face was now with a sad expression, and her eyes were watering up.

 

  “It’s true!  Ventus means everything to me!  He’s what’s been keeping me going!  I don’t know if I could have been able to get this far without him!  He’s done much better than you could have ever done!  You left me alone when I was a little girl!  Mother and Father died with grieving hearts because of you!  They always worried about you, and no matter how badly I tried to make them feel better, their wounds never healed!  They took the pain you caused them to their grave!  And then I was all alone…you never came back…you never cared, dear brother…” she said as she cried, enunciating those last two words.  Her tears were rolling down her cheeks, and it could be said that this was the first time Jexana looked so weak and frail!  Braig remained emotionless, and waited for her to stop crying.

 

  “Geez…talk about waterworks!  Like I said, I get it!  I know how much this dumb idiot means to you!  In fact, I’ve actually known him for a  long time!  You could say…we’re good friends…” he said with a smirk.  Jexana’s eyes flared with anger!

 

  “Yeah, right, friends…I know that he was one of the Seven Guardians Of Light that brought down Xehanort’s Organization crumbling to the ground!  And you barely managed to slither away alive, dear brother…” she said with a smirk.  At that, Braig snapped and summoned his arrow guns again and slightly pierced Ventus and Jexana’s skin with the tip of said arrow guns!

 

  “Shut up, little sis…unless you want a mess!  You haven’t even let me tell you my propositioin!” he said as he slowly calmed down.  Jexana remained quiet, but this time, Braig didn’t unsummon his arrow guns.

 

  “So then…what I suggest is that we team up…at least temporarily!” he suggested.  At that, Jexana gave out a heartfelt laugh!

 

  “Ha, and what makes you think I’d want to team up with you!?  Now you suddenly want to spend time with your little sister?” she asked mockingly!  Braig chuckled and waved his hands dismissively.

 

  “Ha, as if!  No, little sis, what I’m trying to say here is that I’ll help you kill Kyle…or, well, at least, I’ll let you break him as much as you please…all that I’m really after is that little Key of his.  I’m sure that after you’re done with him, you won’t have the need for his Key Of Balance, am I right?” he asked.  Jexana shook her head.

 

  “No, I don’t.  I suppose you’re right…” she said, considering Braig’s offer.  “Well, if all you’re after is the boy’s Key, then I could consider our team up…” she said.  Braig smirked.

 

  “Well sis, this is a one time offer, and it’s limited, so you’ve got ten seconds to choose what you’re going to do, before I decided to let go of the trigger…” he said, as he started counting down silently with his fingers.  Jexana immediately nodded, without hesitation!

 

  “Alright…I accept your offer to help.” she said with a sour face!  At that, Braig’s face instantly beamed with a triumphant expression, for he had gotten what he wanted!

 

  “Atta girl!  I knew you’d make the right choice!  Alright then, so it’s settled!  And it couldn’t have been more perfect timing!  I can sense Kyle coming near…” he said as he unsummoned his arrow guns and stood up.  Jexana stood up and crossed her arms.

 

  “Just one thing, though.  An ally of mine wants to get his hands on him first, so until he fights Kyle, you won’t get the Key.” she stated.  Braig just shrugged.

 

  “Hey, fine by me!  The more battered and bruised the kid is, the easier it’ll be for me to snatch that Key of his away from him!” he said with a smirk.

 

  Jexana looked at Ventus, and his face was emotionless and grim.  She clenched her fists and then thought about how irksome it was to have to work with Braig.  She detested him and didn’t want anything to do with him!  But, if this would help take out Kyle faster, then she would welcome the help!  And besides, it would be even worse if Braig killed her and Ventus, so in the end, she really didn’t have much of a choice except to tolerate her brother.  She knew she wouldn’t like this, but for the time being, she had to accept it.  She looked at Ventus and sighed softly.

 

  “Soon this will be all over, my dear Ventus…and then no one will come between us anymore…” she thought to herself!

(End Song Here)

 

  Just a short distance away from her airship, Kyle was blazing through with his Keyblade Glider!  But by going in recklessly, he had caught the attention of the other airships of Jexana’s fleet, and now, they were pursuing him!  Kyle gritted his teeth and cursed under his breath!

 

  “Damn it, I should’ve thought of a strategy before coming here like this!” he thought to himself, as more airships gave pursuit!

---

 

(Start Song Here)

  Meanwhile, at San Fransokyo, Dawn, Xion and Yen Sid were battling the spirit that was ravaging the city!  The battle had dragged out for quite a while now, and even with Yen Sid’s powerful magic and incredible skill with a Keyblade, the spirit was one resilient foe that refused to go down!  Xion was providing support magic while also dealing heavy damage with her Keyblade!  Dawn was launching different spells, and even attempted to cast Slow and Bind, but the spirit seemed to be immune to these last two, as it didn’t slow down at all, and it didn’t remain in place!  The spirit let out an immense shockwave of energy, and some nearby buildings collapsed!  Dawn then started to run towards the outskirts of the city!  Xion and Yen Sid followed.  As they ran, Xion was wondering what Dawn was up to!

 

  “Dawn, why are we running away from that thing?  Won’t it just catch up to us in no time?” she asked as she ran.  Dawn nodded.

  “That’s the whole idea!  I’m trying to lure it out of the city so that it doesn’t take down more buildings!  If we keep battling it there, we risk leveling the city to the ground, and I can’t let that happen!  So let’s move out!” she shouted as she ran faster!  Xion and Yen Sid remained right behind her!  As they ran, the spirit started to spew out ectoplasmic energy from its mouth, and it stuck to the asphalt road, melting it and causing it to let out some steam!

 

  “This thing really packs a punch…Yen Sid, can’t we beat this thing in no time flat?” Xion asked.  The old wizard nodded.

 

  “Normally, we could, but it seems as though this spirit has something in it that keeps it from perishing once and for all.  It’s almost as if its connected to something…but to what, I cannot make assumptions of…” he said as he ran.  Suddenly, some ectoplasmic energy landed nearby him, and he glanced back at the spirit, who got closer to them!

 

  “Well, whatever it’s connected to, we’ll have to just forget about it for now, unless you want to become into a spirit yourself!” Xion exclaimed!

 

  “I see your point!  Alright then, let us proceed!” he said, as they kept running!

 

  It wasn’t long until they were finally able to reach the outskirts of the city!  There, the only thing surrounding them was a wide expanse of road, and no buildings or living beings were in sight!  This is where Dawn came to a halt, turned around, and waited for the spirit to arrive to them!  This is where she would make her final stand against this foe!  Xion and Yen Sid arrived shortly after, and they stood by Dawn, and watched onward, as the spirit came and then stopped a few feet away from them!  The spirit’s eyes were fixated upon Dawn, and she clenched her fists and gripped her Keyblade tightly!

 

  “You caused so much destruction…so much pain…and you cost the lives of so many people in this city!  And for that, I won’t forgive you!  You’re going to face my judgment!” she yelled as she pointed her Keyblade at the spirit, which let out a deafening shriek!

 

  “Alright, let’s do this, Dawn!” Xion said, but Dawn extended her arm and glanced back at Xion and Yen Sid and shook her head.

 

  “Sorry guys…I appreciate you coming here to help me…but this is something I have to do on my own.” she declared. 

 

  “But Dawn, we can help!” Xion said!  Yen Sid then placed his hand on her shoulder, and as she glanced back, she saw him shake his head.

 

  “Her heart is decided.  This is a battle we cannot interfere in.” he said.  They then both looked at Dawn, who remained standing in front of them, staring down the spirit!  She then glanced over her shoulder at them and then looked towards the city.

 

  “There are countless citizens in there who need your help…they’re lost and alone…scared and desperate…they need your help more than I do.  Please, go to them…” she said as she continued to grip her Keyblade tightly!  Xion nodded with a determined look on her face!

 

  “You can count on us!  Come on, Master Yen Sid, let’s go!” she said, and so, they both took their leave.  Xion then stopped for a moment and turned around to look at Dawn.

 

  “Hang in there for us, you hear?” she asked softly, as she then turned around and ran towards the city!  Dawn, who heard the comment, smiled and closed her eyes, placing her hand on her chest.

(End Song Here)

 

(Start Song Here)

  “Yeah…I hear you.” she answered to herself, and then, she opened her eyes, held her Keyblade with both of her hands, and then ran towards the spirit!  The spirit, in turn, screeched loudly and ran as well, and in just moments, the two of them eventually clashed, and once they did, Dawn’s Keyblade resonated with the spirit’s claws, and an immense surge of energy rocked the ground, causing small pebbles to rise from the ground slowly!  They both fought each other vigorously, and neither of them let up!  They fought as hard as they could, and they didn’t even take a moment to rest!  Dawn then attempted to leap back in order to create some distance between her and the spirit, and for the moment, she was able to do so, and with this opportunity, she summoned forth three pillars of light and then guided them with her Keyblade so that they’d harm the spirit!  The spirit tried to dodge the pillars, and was able to dodge one, but wasn’t able to dodge the other two!  This resulted in the spirit sustaining damage, but it was nowhere near to being beaten yet!  It then launched blasts of ectoplasmic essence, but Dawn blocked each of them with her Keyblade and then fired off a barrage of multimple spells!

 

  “I’m not going to let you take me down!  For as long as I breathe, I won’t let you harm others!  I will stop you!” she declared! The spirit only gave a low hiss, as its eyes narrowed, glaring at her, its anger building up!

 

  And so, instead of charging at Dawn again, the spirit instead remained there.  It seemed as though it was waiting for Dawn to make her move!  Without hesitation, she charged forward, and now her Keyblade seemed to be emiting a strange glow!  The spirit noticed this, and it suddenly became increasingly defensive, as it tried to back away as much as it could!  But even though it had created a bit of distance between itself and Dawn, she still managed to disappear then reappear behind it, and then she slashed at the spirit, creating a gash that seemed to take away a part of its essence!  It screeched in pain and then realized that Dawn could really kill it!  With this in mind, the spirit then went all out, becoming more aggressive and increasingly faster!  It was now keeping Dawn on her toes!

 

  “You won’t get away!” she shouted, as she performed a series of swift and deadly strikes which managed to hit their mark, causing the spirit to sustain heavy damage!  It screeched in anger and suddenly released an intense wave of ectoplasmic energy, causing Dawn to fall on her back!  She quickly got back on her feet though, and was ready to keep on fighting!  But just then, she noticed something!

(End Song Here)

 

  She might have been imagining things, but she could have sworn that everything around her suddenly seemed to fall silent!  She couldn’t even hear  her own breath!  She then saw the spirit slowly approaching her, and then, almost in an instant, she found herself directly in front of the spirit, her eyes meetings its red, glaring eyes!  She thought that she was a goner, but instead of attacking her, the spirit seemed to have…frozen in place!  Dawn took a moment to look and noticed that the spirit had stopped moving!  A few seconds later, a sudden flash of light blinded her momentarily, and when the flash dimmed down, Dawn saw something that definitely shocked her!  She saw countless amounts of souls, all screaming in agony and pain!  They were desperately trying to do something, but she couldn’t tell what!  She then saw one of the souls float towards her!  It was a tiny soul, with a bright yellowish color!  It sparkled and gleamed and rested upon Dawn’s hands!  She cupped the soul in her hands and took a closer look at it!  Then, she could feel tears rolling down her face!

 

(Start Song Here)

  “Are you here to set us free?” the soul asked!  Dawn felt heartbroken, for this soul was that of a small child’s!  She felt her heart clench, and she remained silent for a bit, trying to hold back her tears!

 

  “Nice lady, please set us free!  I want to see my mommy and daddy again!  I’m tired of staying in this scary place!” the small soul said with a sad tone.  Dawn tried to speak, but no words would come out of her mouth!  The sorrow she felt for this poor soul deemed her unable to say anything!

 

  “It’s okay if you’re scared, nice lady…we all are…we just want to go back to our loved ones…we want to finally be able to rest in peace…but this scary monster is keeping us prisoners!  We can’t escape…” the small soul explained.  “But ever since the monster’s been fighting you, it’s power has grown weaker!  That means you’ll be the one to set us free!” he said, his voice now sounding more hopeful!  Dawn then looked at all the other countless amounts of souls!  They were different colors, such as blue, purple, red, green, white, black, gray…all of these souls belonged to people that the spirit had devoured!  Dawn couldn’t believe this spirit had caused so much suffering!

 

  “Please nice lady…please…” the small soul said, as his voice dimmed down, and he slowly started to drift away from Dawn!

 

  “No, wait, don’t go!” Dawn shouted, finally managing to speak!  But the small soul was now out of reach, and was amongst the other souls that were suffering!  That’s when she saw Valgard again!  He was standing there, looking at all the souls, and his face was one filled with much sadness.  Much like Dawn, Valgard had always had a kind heart, and seeing all these souls suffering made him sad.  He stood a few feet away from Dawn, and he said nothing.

 

  “I need to save all these people…I can’t let them live this hell!  I need to guide them back to their loved ones!” she said as she clenched her fists!  That’s when it hit her!  “Of course…” she said, as she slowly started to emanate a powerful aura around her body!  Her power slowly continued to grow, and Valgard closed his eyes and smiled.  Dawn knew what she had to do!

 

  “I should have figured this out from the start!  All I need to do is pour out all of my energy, and the spirit will want to devour my soul because of its power!  Once I do that, I’ll catch it off guard and destroy it once and for all!  And hopefully, I’ll set all these suffering souls free!” she thought to herself!  She knew she had to give it a try!  And so, she continued to emanate a powerful aura, and her heart, mind and soul started to resonate!  That’s when Dawn snapped back to reality, and the spirit realized how much power she was pouring out!  It stood there and looked at Dawn with a deadly glare!

(End Song Here)

 

  “That’s right, you monster!  You want to eat!?  Come and get some dinner!” she challenged, and with that, the spirit charged towards Dawn, but instead of attacking the spirit, Dawn only stretched out her arms and closed her eyes, letting the spirit devour her!  Once the spirit started to suck out her soul, that’s when she took advantage and summoned forth a powerful sphere of light and flung it at the center of the spirit’s body!  The spirit, in turn, was surprised by what just happened, but before it could realize what had been done, it was already far too late!  The spirit started to fade away into nothingness!  As it did so, many orbs of light started to shoot out towards the sky, and the spirit screeched angrily at Dawn, attempting to finish devouring her soul before it vanished completely!  Dawn smirked.

 

  “Sorry, but it looks like this is your last meal!” she declared, and with a swing of her Keyblade, a brilliant stream of light shown, therefore causing the spirit to shriek in agonizing pain!  Its eyes disappeared, and it withered away and faded into nothingness, as the final orbs of light shot out of its once existing body!  Dawn fell to the ground, weakened greatly!  She could tell that she had sustained heavy damage, for she felt intensely dizzy, and she was losing a considerable amount of blood!  She could feel how weak she had become, almost as if all life had left her body!  She smiled though, for as she lay on the ground and saw the countless orbs of light, she saw that they were the souls she had seen!  And among all those souls, she could see the small, bright yellow soul slowly drifting towards the sky!  She smiled and teared up, and she slowly felt her life escaping her…

 

(Start Song Here)

  “I have…no regrets…I did…what I had to do…” she said, as she closed her eyes, welcoming death’s cold embrace…

 

  But just then, she found herself floating in a white space…one could say it could be her subcounsciousnes, or maybe this was simply nothing.  Perhaps a figment of her mind after death?  She looked around and saw that nothing surrounded her.  But she didn’t feel scared or confused.  She felt calm and peaceful!  When she looked around again, she noticed that Valgard was there!  He was floating just a few feet away from her, and he had a smile on his face.  Dawn smiled back, but felt her heart clench.  Even though she had died, the guilt she felt for having killed Valgard was still too strong…

 

  “Valgard…I can’t tell you how sorry I am for what I did…you know that I never meant to kill you…but I just…I just couldn’t forgive myself!  Even though you had forgiven me, I had never forgived myself for what I did.  I would always think about having killed you…it haunted me every day of my life!  As much as I tried to hide these feelings away…they never left me.  But now I realize that I was a fool.  A fool for not forgiving myself…for what’s the point of being forgiven if you can’t to it first to yourself…? I think I understand why this all had to happen…and even though I did what I did…I can now be at peace, knowing that it wasn’t in my control…and now…I can finally be able to forgive myself…” she explained, as she looked down.  When she looked back up, she saw Valgard smiling appreciatively.

 

  “You have overcome yourself…I knew that you could do it.  That’s my girl…” he said with a relaxed, soothing voice.  Dawn’s eyes opened wide, as tears rolled down her cheeks, and that’s when she was suddenly snapped back to reality!  She gasped in surprise and sat up on the ground!  She breathed in and out heavily, amazed by what had just happened!  When she looked to her right, she noticed something…it was her Key Of Balance!  The hilt bore two curved streaks of light, while the shaft and tip of the blade were adorned with a fiery phoenix wing!  The keychain took the form of the small yellow soul!  Dawn had done it!  She had obtained her Key Of Balance!

 

  “Thank you, nice lady!  Now I can go back to my family and be reborn!” the small yellow soul said, who had drifted down towards her and floated around her twice before heading upwards to the heavens!  Dawn gave a sad smile and tears rolled down her cheeks.  She then looked at her Key Of Balance…

 

  “Reborn Soul…”

(End Song Here)

---

 

  Back near Jexana’s airship, Kyle was outrunning an immense number of airships that were giving pursuit!  All he had been thinking of up till this point was saving Ventus, but he didn’t make it a priority to come up with an effective strategy for ensuring the other airships wouldn’t notice his presence!  But, it was too late to do anything about it now, so the only thing Kyle could do was improvise!  He glanced back and noticed the number of airships following him, and that’s when he decided to use Ragnarok!  He charged up his Keyblade Glider’s power, and when he felt it reached its maximum point, he unleashed the power of Ragnarok, as streams of red energy started to spread out and take out the pursuing airships!  For the most part, the attack was successful, for a great many airships were struck down, but there were still way too many remaining!  Kyle felt frustrated, but he pressed on!  He could see Jexana’s airship just a short distance off!

 

  “Almost there, Dad…almost there…” he whispered to himself!  That’s when he was blockaded by a steady line of airships, preventing him passage towards Jexana’s airship!  All the airships in line aimed their cannons at him, but they didn’t fire!  Then Kyle saw a familiar sight!

 

  “Hey, that’s Raxon’s airship!” he exclaimed!  Then, he saw another familiar sight!  He then glared as he noticed who the person was!

 

  “You again!” he stated coldly!  That’s when the person, who turned out to be none other than Stralus, started to laugh!

 

  “Ah, how I’ve been waiting for you to show up again, young one!  I was beginning to think that perhaps you weren’t going to return at all!  But, it seems Jexana was right…you have come back to save your father…an admirable effort, but one that will amount to nothing, as you will soon see!” he said, as he summoned forth a giant claymore, which he held with just one hand!

 

  “I don’t have time for this!  Get out of my way, or you’ll regret it!” Kyle threatened!  Stralus gave out a huff and shook his head.

 

  “I don’t think you realize the gravity of your situation, boy!  I don’t think you’re in any position to be threatening me!  After all, an entire fleet surrounds you!  If anything, I’d say that I have the upper hand here…” Stralus boasted.  That’s when Kyle smirked.

 

  “I think you’ll realize you’re making quite a big mistake in underestimating my power…” was all that Kyle said.  Stralus gave out a huff.

 

  “Hmph, is that so?  Well then, if you truly are as powerful as you claim, then surely fighting me should prove no challenge to you!” he said, taunting Kyle!  He held his Claymore at hand, and Kyle sighed.  He didn’t want to waste time, but it seemed as though if he didn’t fight Stralus, he wouldn’t be able to get to Ventus!

 

  “Alright, you’re on!” Kyle said, as he leapt off his Keyblade Glider, reverting it back to its normal form!  He then landed just in front of Stralus, who was now ready for battle!  All the other airships around Kyle remained still, and the soldiers on board Raxon’s airship remained silent and watchful, as Kyle and Stralus were about to begin their battle!

 

  “You, Jexana, and all of this fleet will regret having crossed paths with me and my friends!  You don’t know what you’ve gotten yourself into!  We’re going to stop you from hurting any more people, and we’ll prevent any more worlds from being destroyed!  I’m not going to let you keep destroying everything!  I can promise you that!” Kyle declared, as his face became grimly serious!  The power of the Dark Light was emanating from him, and his Keyblade, Lunar Ascencion, was vibrating with raw power!  The soldiers could feel it, and they felt greatly intimidated, but Stralus remained unflinching!  If anything, he seemed like he was really going to enjoy this!

 

(Start Song Here)

  “Ah yes, your power of the Dark Light is indeed strong…but will it be strong enough to help you defeat me?  Heh, we’ll see the results!” he said, as his body emanated a bright aura that housed amazing power!  His claymore looked incredibly heavy, and yet he wielded it as if it was nothing more than a knife!  Both warriors remained silent for a moment, almost as if acknowledging each other’s strength and power, and then, after a few seconds, they dashed towards each other and began their clash!  They immediately clanged their weapons at each other, and sparks flew and a giant shockwave formed instantly!  The sheer power these two were emanating was unreal!  The constantly struck each other, trying to land a hit, but they blocked each other’s attacks successfully, therefore, for the first few minutes of their battle, they were pretty evently matched!  Kyle attempted to disorient Stralus by using Reversal and then performing Thunder Dash, but Stralus caught him halfway into the attack and then flung him to the floor!

 

  “Heh, it’ll take more than that to take me down, boy!  But you’ve got form…you’ve got skill…excellent!” he proclaimed!  And so, the two of them clashed anew, and then Stralus pushed Kyle back with his hand, and then he swung his Claymore in wide arc, causing a gust of wind to push Kyle backwards, sending him falling and tumbling down to the floor once again!  But Kyle didn’t even rest a minute, for he immediately stood up and then attempted to break through Stralus’ defenses by performing Flurry Strike, an attack in which he combined Reversal along with Ars Arcanum, therefore creating an unpredictable and effective attack pattern!  But even with this attack, Stralus wasn’t being harmed!  Kyle couldn’t comprehend how such a heavily armored person could move and block his attack so fast!

 

  “This isn’t good…none of my attacks are landing on him!  I need to get a hit in!” he thought to himself, as he dodged one of Stralus’ attacks and then cast Bind, in an attempt to keep him in place!  But Stralus broke free rather quickly, and then he cast Slow on Kyle, but luckily, he barely managed to dodge the radius of the spell!  He then tried to use Poison, but Stralus nullified the effect of the spell by casting Esuna!  Kyle then leapt back and sidestepped momentarily, and Stralus did as well!  They were both staring each other down, reading each other’s movements!

 

  “I have to say…you’re quite the skilled warrior!” Kyle said.  Stralus chuckled.

 

  “You aren’t so bad yourself, boy!  Under different circumstances, we could have been allies…” he said.  Kyle smirked.

 

  “Yeah…but these are the circumstances we’ve been dealt with, so let’s get on with it!” Kyle declared, as he cast a Dark Light infused Firaga spell!  At first, it seemed as though the attack had hit, but then Kyle realized that Stralus had simply absorbed the attack!  He then performed the same spell, but fired it back at Kyle with much more raw power!  Kyle stood firm and blocked the spell head on!  He was almost sent tumbling, but luckily, he was able to keep his footing!  After blocking the spell, he tried to use Strike Raid, but Stralus simply batted the Keyblade back to Kyle!

 

  “Boy, you are hopeless!  You have no chance of defeating me!” he said, as he swung his Claymore forward, therefore causing an enormous gash to form on the floor, and a white energy beam pierced forward, and it managed to hit Kyle, sending him flying upwards!  Stralus then disappeared and reappeared right where Kyle was, and then he struck him with his Claymore!  Kyle had blocked the attack just in time, but it still sent him plummeting down to the floor where the gash had been made, and so, Kyle crashed through the deck of the ship and was now belowdecks!  The fall definitely hurt him a bit, but he didn’t let the pain stop him!  He cast Curaga on himself, and though he still felt the sting of the fall, at least his wounds were healed!  He then leapt up and was abovedecks again!

 

  “I’m not going down easily, Stralus!” Kyle said.  Stralus nodded.

 

  “I can see that…and that’s why I think you make an excellent opponent!  Now then, let us continue!” he said, as the two of them clashed anew!  Sparks were flying everywhere, and shockwaves were a constant!  The soldiers remained there, watching the battle unfold, and they were impressed by both Kyle and Stralus!

 

  At that same moment, Jexana was watching the battle unfold from her airship’s deck.  Ventus was standing right beside her, silent and ever stoic!  Jexana had her arms crossed, and her face bore a serious expression!  Braig was high up on the sails of the airship, and he was probably getting the best view of the battle!  He smirked as he saw Kyle battling Stralus!

 

  “That’s right, kiddo…you’re this close to giving me your Key…” he said as he chucked to himself. He watched as the battle kept unfolding, anxious to know who’d come out the victor!  Jexana was still feeling bitter after having talked to Braig, and she didn’t much care for their “alliance” that they agreed upon.

 

  “I swear, once big brother gets what he wants, I expect him to get out of my way…if he dares to interfere with my plans, he’ll regret having crossed paths with me again!” she thought to herself as she gritted her teeth in frustration!  Ventus, who was by her side, looked at her, seeming to sense the anger she was feeling.  He put his hand on her shoulder and gave a reassuring nod.

 

  “Everything will be okay, my love…there’s no reason to be angry…” he said.  At that, Jexana felt her anger ease up a little, and she gave a smile to Ventus and then kissed him passionately.  She gave out a sigh and then kept looking onto the battle. 

 

  “You’re right, Ventus…it’ll all be okay.  In the end, I’ll be the one with all the cards in my favor…and when that happens, we can start over…we can truly be together…” she said with a hopeful tone.  She felt her heart skip a few beats, and she leaned her head on Ventus’ shoulder.  She hoped that everything would go according to her plans!  She wanted things to go her way, no matter what!  Braig was just an obstacle, one that she’d surely overcome!  But for now, all she could do was wait until the pieces would fall in their proper places…

 

  Speaking of the battle, Stralus and Kyle kept going at it, and for a while, it seemed as though the two of them would never land any hits on each other, for they were just too evenly matched!  They suffered only the slightest of bruises, but other than that, they were still practically unharmed!  Stralus kept out dishing punishing attacks, but Kyle kept dodging and blocking them!  When he tried to attack, he found that Stralus stopped his attacks at every turn!  It just seemed rather impossible to break through Stralus’ defenses!  Kyle was starting to grow impatient!

 

  “I don’t have time for this!  The more time I waste here, the worse things become for the worlds!  I need to finish up here quickly!” he thought to himself!  Suddenly, he found himself slipping, and he almost fell flat on his face, but luckily, he was able to regain himself, and he rolled away just in time to dodge a powerful attack Stralus had almost dealt him!  Kyle straightened himself out and glared at Stralus, and Stralus just laughed, as if someone had told him a joke!

 

  “What’s the matter, boy?  So out of focus that now you’re losing your footing?  My, how sad!” he taunted.  Kyle clenched his fists and attempted a Sonic Blade attack, which actually managed to make Stralus fall back a few steps!

 

  “Shut up!” Kyle gnarled!  He then proceeded to quickly dash towards Stralus, and then he started to slash away at him, and to his surprise, he found that he was dealing damage to his armor!  Kyle took this opportunity and tried to strike Stralus as much as he could!  He then leapt back and focused his energy, summoning forth multiple swords of light that were on either side of him!  Wingblade!  A technique that Ventus had taught him!  Kyle was now going to put the technique to work, and as he dealt damage with a Fire Surge attack, he also took the swords of light and hacked away at Stralus, managing to scrape his armor significantly!  Even Stralus himself seemed to be surprised by this!  Kyle smirked and kept dishing out his array of attacks, until he dealt the final blow!

 

  “Take this!” he shouted, as he slashed at Stralus horizontally, causing him to stagger for a bit!  Kyle stood firm, and the soldiers surrounding him were all gasping and murmuring to themselves!  Kyle then walked over to Stralus and pointed his Keyblade to his neck!  Stralus looked up at him, and Kyle had a grim expression on his face…

 

  “Had enough yet?” he asked.  There was a momentary silence that loomed over the airship for a few seconds.  Soon enough, Stralus broke the silence, for he started to laugh fullheartedly!  Kyle himself was a little taken aback by this, for Stralus seemed to be enjoying himself!

 

  “Heh, enough, boy?  We’re just getting started!” he declared, as he let out an intense burst of energy that sent Kyle flying!  The soldiers all cheered for him as he stood up, and then he stuck his Claymore to the floor, and then, he started to take off his armor!  Kyle stood up and noticed this, and all the soldiers gasped, and their gazes were directed at Stralus the whole time!

 

  “Hmph, if you thought you were facing me with my full strength, think again!” he said, as he kept taking off his armor!  “Actually, I should congratulate you! I can’t remember the last time I had to take off my armor when facing an opponent!  Usually, my previous opponents wouldn’t offer much of a challenge…but you, boy…you are something special.  And to thank you for providing me with such a good battle, I will face you with my full strength!” he said, as he took off the rest of his armor, and now, he only wore a skin tight sleeveless black shirt and a light, silver and black chain mail with black boots!  He lifted his Claymore from the ground and pointed it at Kyle.

 

  “Now then, come at me!”

(End Song Here)

------------------------------------------

 

Kyle is facing a tough opponent in Stralus, and it seems as though now he’ll be getting a true taste of his power!  And it seems as though Dawn was finally able to get her Key Of Balance after much hardship!  But what will happen next?  Will Kyle be able to win against Stralus?  And how are our other heroes faring?  Stay tuned for Chapter Thirty: “Kyle vs. Stralus!”

 

Okay everyone, that was the chapter!  I hope you all found it to your enjoyment!  Wow, I can’t believe I’m about to reach chapter thirty already!  That just means that it would be twenty more chapters to go before this story ends!  I hope you’ve all been enjoying the ride!  As always, thank you very much for your patience and support, and as always, please make sure to comment on what you thought about tonight’s chapter!  So then, until next time, stay tuned for the next one!

[KingdomHearts3 2,591]

The souls part of this chapter gave me goosebumps and chills. Thank goodness they were freed. Boy, what a tough adversary for Kyle. Hope he finishes it soon so he can focus on Ventus.

[KHLegendIII 709]

Oh lord, Braig, you will not come close to succeeding at all, all you'll do is fail badly, you'll see.

[Keyblade101 526]

Oh man, so much has happened!!! These are AMAZING chapters and I LOVED them!!!  :biggrin:

 

P.S. Sorry for not commenting for a while, school got me backed up on your awesome story.  :angry:

[The Transcendent Key 12,109]

To KingdomHearts3, yeah, I'm glad you felt that way concerning the scene with the souls!  That's what I was aiming for!  A sad, yet chilling scene, ya know?  And yeah, Kyle's got his hands full!  Can he handle the pressure?

 

To KHLegendIII, ah, quite confident you are, hmm?

 

To Keyblade101, hey, glad to hear from you again!  I'm glad that you're doing okay!  Haha, and it's okay, no need to apologize!  I'm just glad you read my stories, ya know?  And so, I'm happy you've enjoyed the chapters of this story so far!  Lol, and yeah, school can be a bummer when there's tons of stuff you have to do, am I right? X3

Hey there everyone, good evening!  I hope that you’re all doing okay!  So then, here’s another chapter of my story! I'm so sorry for the delay, but I think I'll have made up for it, cuz this chapter is slightly longer than the other ones I've posted! Things are getting ever more intense now, huh!?  How will Kyle fare against Stralus?  Who will come out the victor?  Haha, if you want to know more, read on to find out!  Enjoy the chapter, everyone!

 

Chapter Thirty: Kyle Vs. Stralus

 

  A momentary silence befell Kyle and everyone else on the airship!  He just felt the slightest tinge of fear in his heart, for seeing Stralus the way he was now managed to intimidate him!  He gazed at Stralus’ face, and noticed that he had short, black hair and red eyes, and he had a scar that was barely noticeable, but was quite long, as if slicing through his right cheek, and his skin was light tan! Kyle could definitely feel the amazing amount of power that Stralus was exuding, and he wasn’t even doing anything!  He was just standing there, his feet firmly in place, and his Keyblade raised.  He was waiting for Kyle to make the next move!  His soldiers were all murmuring to each other excitedly, for apparently, they never got to see Stralus without his armor all that much!  Kyle contemplated what to do!  He knew that he shouldn’t underestimate his enemy’s ability, and just the fact that his mere energy was making Kyle feel uneasy was a clear sign that he couldn’t just charge straight forward!  He needed a plan, but he didn’t know what to do!  Whatever he would come up with, he’d have to act fast, for time was ticking, and he couldn’t afford to waste more time fighting Stralus!

 

  “Hmph, what’s the matter, boy?  Are you that scared of landing a hit on me?” he asked with a smirk.  Kyle shook his head.

 

  “I’m not scared of you!  You won’t stop me just because you took off your armor!” he barked back!  Stralus nodded and chuckled.

 

(Start Song Here)

  “Well then, as you wish.  If you won’t make your next move…then I will!” he shouted, as he literally pushed Kyle in the blink of an eye!  Kyle could feel the Claymore’s blade slice through a bit of his clothing, and he immediately tried to fall a bit further off from Stralus’ range!  He landed on the floor with a thud, but then quickly stood up!  He took a moment to look at his shirt and jacket, and noticed that a part of them had been shredded by Stralus’ Claymore!

 

  “Ha, I’m amazed that you were able to dodge that!  A little bit more, and it would’ve been flesh that dropped instead of clothing…” Stralus boasted as the soldiers laughed!  Kyle glared at him and clenched his fists!

 

  “Don’t get too cocky!  Just because you’re powerful doesn’t mean that you’re invincible!” Kyle declared!  Stralus shrugged and gave out a satisfied sigh.

 

  “That may be true, boy…but when it comes to power…no one compares to me!” he proclaimed, as he slammed his Claymore into the floor, causing said floor to crack around Kyle!  When the cracks completed forming, they spewed out a dangerously toxic manner of dark energy!  Kyle immediately jumped out of the attack’s range of effect, but before he could pick himself up and try to attack, Stralus was already behind him, and he slashed Kyle’s back viciously, causing a considerably big gash to form!  Kyle yelped out in agony, and he fell down to the floor, bleeding!  Stralus then attempted to deal the finishing blow, but Kyle was able to roll out of the way and then counterattack with Mine Square!  This, in turn, surprised Stralus and left him stunned, while Kyle cast Curaga on himself!  He then flinched as his gash began to sting!

 

  “Nngh!  Damn…this isn’t going to heal quickly…” he thought to himself.  But he couldn’t afford to keep distracting himself, for Stralus had already recuperated from the Mine Square attack and was now relentlessly attempting to destroy Kyle!  Kyle, in turn, was blocking as many attacks as he could, though some of the attacks did land on him!  Before he knew it, he had scrapes on his arms, shoulders, knees and legs!  He could feel the stinging sensation these bruises gave him, but he ignored the pain and kept on fighting!  He was eventually backed up into a corner, and it seemed as though Stralus had already won this battle!  But, Kyle immediately performed a last minute Reversal and then performed Blizzard Edge, causing an ice spike to raise from the floor, managing to hit stralus on his left arm!  But even though he was wounded, the wound didn’t seem to face him!  Rather, he just broke the ice spike and shook his arm a bit, as it bled!  He had quite the wide grin on his face, and then he dashed towards Kyle, cloaking himself in Thunder, and he electrocuted him, sending him flying towards one of the masts!  Kyle then stood up and shook off the pain and cast Curaga on himself again!

 

  “Damn, this isn’t good…he’s beating me to a pulp here!  But no…I can’t give up!  I need to finish this as soon as possible!” he thought to himself, and so, he dashed towards Stralus and performed Aerial Slam!  He managed to launch Stralus into the air and then slam him down to the ground, causing him to crash through the deck and land belowdecks!  The soldiers all gathered to look and see if Stralus was okay!  What they heard mere seconds after was pure laughter!  Stralus came flying out and started to hack away at Kyle with a technique that he had never seen before!  Kyle was helpless to block the attack!

 

  “Yes, yes, yes!!!  This is what I was yearning for!  A challenge!  An opponent worth obliterating!  You have my admiration, boy!  As a thank you gift, I give you one of my special techniques, Flurry Overdrive!  This attack allows me to strike with my Keyblade at a much faster rate than I normally would with an attack like Ars Arcanum or Sonic Rave!  This attack is much faster, and packs quite a punch!” he said as he kept hacking away at Kyle, who was trying to get out of the attack, but to no avail!

 

  “And now, this is where this battle ends!” he declared, as he delivered the final, painstakingly brutal blow that sent Kyle plummeting down belowdecks with a sickening crash and thud!  All the soldiers gathered around to see if Kyle had survived the attack!  And, extraordinarly enough, Kyle was just barely moving!  He was on all fours, looking at the floor, his eyes wide open with shock and disbelief!

 

  “No…this guy can’t possibly be this powerful!  I need to defeat him, or I won’t be able to save my Dad!  I can’t keep letting him get in my way!  Come on Kyle, you can do this!  Focus!  Use your power, and don’t let him win!” he thought to himself, as he slowly but surely stood up!  His back was dripping with blood now because of the gash he had, and his clothes were tattered and his body was bruised!  He still held Lunar Ascencion tightly, and he didn’t intend on giving up the fight!  He then looked up and saw that the other soldiers gasped in amazement and shock!  Apparently, they hadn’t expected him to survive that attack!  Stralus himself came down and gave a nod and a smile.

 

  “Ah, excellent!  I was sure that my Flurry Overdrive would kill you, but it seems as though you are quite the stubborn one!  Ah well, it serves me right, though.  I cannot be the one to kill you, but I got carried away and almost managed to do it!  Now then, do come at me!  I can’t wait to see what you’ll do now!” he taunted as he swung his Claymore and stabbed it on the ground and crossed his arms, waiting for Kyle to reorient himself!

 

  Kyle shook his head and felt a bit dazed, for Stralus’ Flurry Overdrive attack had certainly sent him reeling!  It took him a few moments to regain himself, but when he finally did, it wasn’t long until Stralus came at him without warning, swinging his Claymore with brutal force!  Kyle opened his eyes wide and reacted on instinct, attempting to block the attack with his Keyblade, planting his feet firmly on the floor!  He slipped a bit, but was able to hold Stralus’ attack at bay!  He then took the initiative and pushed back, using a sudden burst of strength that surged from within him, and said burst of strength made Stralus stagger and fall back!  That’s when Kyle delivered a fatal Blitz attack!  Which each consecutive strike, he managed to hit Stralus, wounding him and causing him to fall back further with his final strike!  Kyle then took no moment to rest, as he quickly dashed towards Stralus and performed Stun Impact, but it didn’t work, for Stralus seemed to be immune to the attack!  He then grabbed Kyle by the head and slammed him towards the wall, repeatedly smashing his head in on said wall!  Stralus seemed to be enjoying this!

 

  “Heh, well aren’t you full of surprises!?  You keep impressing me, boy!  Come on, keep entertaining me!” he said as he then flung Kyle towards the brig!  Kyle crashed through one of the cellars, and he shouted out in pain, as the wound on his back was now hurting immensely!  But even with the pain, he stood up and was determined to take down Stralus!

 

  “If you think I’m going to let you stop me, then think again!” he said, as they both clashed anew!  This time, their strikes were so powerful, that with each consecutive blow they dealt to one another, they kept damaging Raxon’s airship!  Kyle didn’t even want to know what Raxon would think if he saw the state his airship was getting in!  But, that’s a problem for another day, and one that’d be far more easier to resolve than the current situation at hand!  Kyle and Stralus kept clashing blades, until they reached a stalemate, and they both stared each other down, each of them focused and determined on winning this battle!  Kyle had a fiercely determined fire in his eyes, whereas Stralus’ eyes gleamed with excitement!

 

  “Ah, it seems Jexana was right about you!  You truly are a powerful one indeed!  No wonder she wants you out of the picture!  I can clearly see that you have what it takes to free your father from her hold!” Stralus remarked, as they both remained in the stalemate.  Kyle nodded with a serious expression on his face.

 

  “That’s right, and I won’t let Jexana keep my Dad any longer!  After I’m finished with you, she’s next!  And anyone else who stands in my way better watch out!” he declared!

 

  “Hmph, strong words, boy.  But, I believe you have enough skill to back up that tough talk, so I shall take your word for it!  It’ll give me all the more reason to keep fighting you with my all!” Stralus mentioned, as he broke the stalemate and then created a sigil in front of him with his free hand!  It seemed to be some kind of symbol that emanated with light!  When he finished casting the sigil, he swung his Claymore fiercely, and an intense shockwave of blue energy seeped out from the sigil, causing a few things in the cellar and the surrounding area of the airship to deteriorate!  Kyle immediately dodged the shockwave as best as he could, but even so, his skin was damaged slightly in the process, as it now had burns and miniscule bits of flesh chipped off!  He grunted in pain, but he cast Curaga on himself and ignored it!  He then countered Stralus’ attack with Collision Magnet!  Caught off guard, Stralus found himself floating and trapped inside a magnetic sphere!  Kyle quickly flung Stralus away from him, causing Stralus to crash through the cellars!  He stood up quickly enough though, and shot out a razor sharp barrage of Aeroga blades!

 

  “Yes, come at me!  Give me everything you’ve got!” Stralus shouted, as they both dashed towards each other and eventually fought their way up abovedecks!  The soldiers, who had been observing the battle as it unfolded, were all very impressed by the two warriors!  But they were getting a little restless, seeing as how Kyle wasn’t giving up the fight!  And they’d become even more restless, because Kyle wasn’t intent on giving up at all!  He was going to keep battling Stralus until he defeated him!  It was made apparent by the sheer force and fury with which he fought against Stralus!

 

  “Dad…please…hold on for me…just a little bit longer!” Kyle thought to himself, as he kept battling Stralus!

(End Song Here)

 

(Start Song Here)

  At that same moment, Emmxett and Tsumugi had returned to Jexana’s airship, and it seems they had completed their mission!  Emmxett stretched his arms out and seemed a bit tired, and then he gave out a sigh and looked at Tsumugi.

 

  “Well, I’m going to give our report to Jexana.  She’s going to want to know how things are faring.” he said.  Tsumugi nodded.

 

  “I’ll be right with you…I’ve got to go to my quarters for a moment…” she said.  At that, Emmxett glanced at her and kept her gaze momentarily.  She seemed as emotionless as usual, and there didn’t seem to be any strange change in her behavior.  He eyed her over again and found that she was just her normal self.  He nodded.  “Alright then, but be quick about it! Jexana may have need of us again.” he said.  Tsumugi nodded and then turned around, walking casually, as she normally would, to her quarters!  She made sure not to glance back to see if Emmxett was still watching her, for if she did so, she’ll have been raising more attention to herself, and that’s something she didn’t want!  Even though she could feel Jexana’s power holding a tight grip on her, she still fought against her will, and for the moment, she had regained her own will, and was now desperate to get her message out to Dexeres!

 

  After about three minutes, she arrived to her quarters, and noticed that everything was the same as usual.  Her bed was tidied up as she always left it, and her drawers and night stand were all in order, and her small bookshelf had all her books in place.  She closed the door and locked it, and then she went through everything, checking to see if Jexana had come around to tamper in her things, due to her suspicions!  But she noticed that nothing had been touched, except by herself just now, and then she gave out a soft sigh of relief.

 

  “Okay, this is good…my cover isn’t blown yet…Jexana thinks I’m still under her total control!” she said to herself.  She then took a deep breath.  “Now, I’ve got to find some way to send this message to Dexeres, and I have to do it quick, or Emmxett’s going to come looking for me…” she thought to herself, as she took out a folded piece of paper!  She re-read the letter she had written as fast as she could, to make sure she had gotten everything written down!  When she made sure everything was in its place, she tried to think quickly of a way to send said letter!  Then, a thought came to her!

 

  “Wait, that’s it!  Maybe if I implement this spell I’ve been practicing…” she thought to herself, as she then closed her eyes and started drawing a sigil on the letter!  The sigil looked like a moon and three stars, and when she finished drawing the sigil, she whispered some words, and then, the letter transformed into a small orb of light!  Tsumugi sighed of relief!

 

  “Oh, thank goodness…my spell worked!” she thought to herself, as she then opened the window near her bed and cast the orb of light aloft, sending it to Dexeres!  “Hopefully, it’ll reach him…” she thought.

 

  In the end, all she could do right now was hope for the best, but she was sure that her letter would reach Dexeres!  She had put a bit of her essence into the sigil she had drawn, and as such, that would guide the letter to Dexeres, wherever he could be right now!  With one less worry to think about, she opened the door and then headed towards Jexana and Emmxett!  Hopefully, her actions have gone unnoticed!  She then saw Jexana, along with Ventus, and Emmxett, who were all looking at a certain direction!  She felt curious as to why they were all looking in one fixed direction, but when she went towards them and looked to see what they were looking at, she noticed that Stralus and Kyle were battling each other!

 

  “He’s back…he’s come back to save his father…” she thought to herself, for she didn’t want to seem surprised!  She then looked at Jexana and bowed to her in greeting.  “Jexana, I trust Emmxett has given you our report?” she asked grimly.  Jexana nodded, with arms crossed.

 

  “Indeed.  Good work, Tsumugi.  Everything is proceeding as planned, and the worlds are at our feet…it’s all just a matter of time now…” she said as she smirked.  Tsumugi bowed once again.

 

  “Of course.  All shall be achieved, and victory will be ours…” she remarked.  Jexana gave a nod and smirked, for she was confident that things would go according to plan!  On the inside, Tsumugi was barely keeping it together!  She was struggling to keep up this charade!  But she knew she had to keep playing the part, otherwise, she’d be in for a world of hurt!  And so, she stood by everyone, and they all continued to look towards Raxon’s airship, where Kyle and Stralus were battling rigorously!

(End Song Here)

 

  Kyle was doing his best to block every single attack Stralus dished out at him, and for the most part, he was succeeding!  As Stralus kept on hacking away at him, he tried to think of something, a strategy, or just simply put, a powerful enough attack that would make Stralus lose the advantage in this battle!  He kept thinking as the two of them kept exchanging blows with each other, but nothing came to mind!  But then, that’s when it dawned on him!

 

  “Wait a moment…of course!  I’m such an idiot!” he thought to himself, as he then leapt back and repelled Stralus with a Firaga wall!  He then started to ooze out Dark Light from his body, and that’s when he started to transform into his Feral self!  Stralus caught on to what was happening, and he then started to laugh!

 

  “Ah, yes, the power of the Dark Light!  It was about time you brought up that power into this battle!  I was beginning to think you were holding back on me!” he said, as he started to let out a seemingly powerful aura from his body! His red eyes were now shining luminously, and that’s when Kyle realized that Stralus was probably preparing to dish out even more damage, for he could feel Stralus’ power!  But Kyle didn’t step down, and as he finished transforming into his Feral self, his Key of Balance also transformed, and now it looked much darker and more sinister looking, yet it still retained the wolf face it had in its normal form!  Kyle then growled and swung his Keyblade, his eyes glowing brightly with a threatening yellow!

 

  “You won’t win!!!” he growled out, as he prepared to charge towards Stralus!

---

 

  Meanwhile, Vanitas was panting.  His body was bruised from top to bottom, and his helmet had been broken, exposing his dark, spiky hair and his tanned face with yellow eyes!  He took a moment to catch his breath and then looked to his surroundings!  Everything was in ruins…despite the best efforts he and Dexeres and his friends had given to defend this world.  The war was taking too much of a toll, and Vanitas felt exhausted.  Beside him, Dexeres was sitting on the ground, his head bowed down and his hands clinging to his Keyblade!  He, too, was exhausted.  It was apparent the two of them had been through quite the battle!  Mickey, Riku, Gilgamesh, Ethan, Sora, Donald and Goofy were all close by, and they were all tuckered out as well!  They had all gone to as many worlds as they could, and for the most part, they were able to save a great many people from the destruction of the Keyblade War!  But most of the worlds they went to were in a horrible, pathetic state!  When they made sure they had saved as many people as they could, they gathered together and kept exploring worlds as a unified unit, so they’d have a much better chance of surviving and finding any survivors on the worlds they would go to!  For now, their work had been done.  Cid had come to pick up the survivors on his airship, but the world was already left in a sad, somber state.  Everyone was deadly silent for quite a while…until Vanitas gave out a sigh that broke the silence…

 

  “Well….that went as well as could be expected…but given how things are currently proceeding, us being in such bad shape is a downside…considering we’ve got a lot more fighting to do…” he remarked.  Dexeres hunched his shoulders a bit and stretched out his back, and then he looked at the others, who had weary expressions on their faces.

 

  “And at least we’ve gotten Yen Sid’s help…things would’ve been a lot harder if he wasn’t around to help us…and he even managed to heal up Riku’s wounds.” Dexeres commented, looking at Riku.  And true enough, the severe wounds that Riku had been carrying with him for a while were completely healed!  As a result, he had been fighting much more efficiently, and now, he was able to lend his full strength to his friends!

 

  “We cannot rest, my comrades!  There are still many worlds that need our help, and I am assuming all these Heartless and Unborn are as restless as ever!  They will not let us have a moment of rest, so we need to heal up quickly and go after them!  Then there is also the fact we will be facing Jexana’s enormous fleet soon, and signs are pointing to our battle with them being quite the glorious one!” Gilgamesh proclaimed cheerfully!  Even though he was tired, his fighting spirit remained intact, and that was what kept him going, despite the obvious exhaustion he was currently going through!

 

  “If by glorious you mean disastrous, then yes, our battle with them will be quite the disastrous one!” Riku said with a sigh.  Sora shook his head and clasped his hands together!

 

  “Come on guys, it’s like Gilgamesh said, we can’t rest!  Not now!  If we let up for even a moment, our enemies will get away with destroying more worlds and killing more people!  We can’t let that happen!  We’ll keep on fighting till our last breath!” he stated with courage in his voice!  His face stated he was downright tired, but he still had the strength to keep on going!  Ethan just remained silent.

 

  “Oh, I’m too pooped to fight any more!  There’s just too many of them!” Donald squawked tiredly, as he fell to the ground in exhaustion!  Goofy, who was normally the one who would lift everyone’s spirits, felt tired and defeated.

 

  “Gwarsh fellas, things are getting worse by the minute!  I’m starting to get scared…” he said. Mickey felt sad, seeing all of his friends so exhausted, and even though they tried to keep their spirits up, everything seemed just too overwhelming for words!  But even so, he took a deep breath, and he looked at everyone, trying to put on the bravest face he could!

 

(Start Song Here)

  “Fellas…I know that things are scary now, and I know that right now, we aren’t in our best shape…but we still gotta push on, for all those who’ve lost their worlds!  For all the sacrifices our fallen friends have made for us!  For everything that we believe in!  We can’t give up the fight now!  Even though things may seem overwhelming, we have to put up our bravest faces!  Even if we’re scared to death…we need to keep being brave, for everyone’s sakes!” Mickey proclaimed, with as much valor as he could!  His speech seemed to have made an effect, for the others smiled, and even though they were tired, exhausted beyond words, they had the strength to smile, to acknowledge Mickey’s words.  They knew that what he was saying was the truth!  They couldn’t back down!  Not now!  Everyone stood strong, and they truly showed that their pride as Keyblade Wielders was never to be defeated!  Suddenly, they all heard a noise!  They all summoned their Keyblades and prepared for battle!  Gilgamesh had his lances at the ready, and Donald was ready to cast spells with his staff, and Goofy had already raised his shield up, ready to defend his friends!  The noise they heard suddenly became a bit louder!  It seemed to be coming from their left, and they all looked towards the source of the noise, and then they saw what seemed to be a sort of portal!  They didn’t know what to do now, so they just remained silent and still!

 

  “Fear not, my friends, it is I, Alaya!  I am glad that I was able to connect to you!”  Alaya said as the portal glimmered with every word she spoke!  Everyone felt relieved and immediately unsummoned their weapons.

 

  “What is it, Alaya?  Anything to report?” Mickey asked.

 

  “Yes.  Kairi and Dawn have obtained their Keys Of Balance, and so has the third individual!  I wanted to inform you of this, and I also wanted to summon you back to my temple!  Things are about to get a little more difficult, so I require that all of you return here, and I suggest you do so quickly!  We just finished fending off an attack of an innumerable amount of Heartless and Unborn!  We were almost besieged, but luckily, Kosaku and the Order Of The X-Blade came just in time to help turn the tide!  Come back to us now, while there are no enemies to fight, for I sense that you are all weary…” she explained.  The others looked at each other and nodded.

 

  “Alright, will do!” Mickey said.

(End Song Here)

 

  “Then come through this portal.  It will transport you here immediately!” she said, and so, the portal opened up wider, and now, they were able to get across!  And so, one by one, they crossed through the portal, until they finally arrived at Alaya’s temple!  When everyone was present, the portal closed, and then they all noticed that the temple was in pretty bad shape, and Alaya and the others who had stayed to defend the temple were all pretty battered up!  Ethan noticed that Trish was on her feet, and his eyes immediately opened wide!  He started to tear up, and once she noticed him, she started to cry!  They both ran towards each other and hugged each other tightly!  Everyone else smiled as they embraced, and they remained silent.  Ethan and Trish wiped each other’s tears off, and Ethan was a bit lost for words!

 

  “My dear sister…you’re okay!  Here you are, on your feet!” Ethan said, not being able to hold back his tears of joy!  Trish nodded.

 

  “That’s right!  I’m here, brother!  Thank you so much for coming back to us!  Even when I was asleep, I could sense your presence…I could sense that you had come back to fight for us!  You don’t know how happy that makes me!  I missed you so much, Ethan!” she said as she embraced her brother again!  He sobbed and stuttered a bit!

 

  “I-I’m sorry, Trish…for not coming back sooner…I had to train, I had to hone my skills…and temper my resolve…so that I could be able to set things right…after all the things I did to hurt all of you…” he said.  Trish smiled and touched his face, and he looked into her eyes as she did so.

 

  “You’ve already done right by us, Ethan.  More than you could know.” she said.  Ethan smiled, and at that moment, he felt as though an immense burden had been lifted from his shoulders!  Now he felt much lighter…almost as if his regret had been completely erased from his heart!  He had done right by everyone.  He was redeemed!  Then Kid cleared his throat, and everyone looked to his direction!

 

  “My deepest apologies for interrupting this touching reunion…but I wanted to let you know, Lady Alaya, that we need to return back to our world.  I can already sense that things are going to get bad if we don’t go back…this war is making its way to our home, so we need to go back to defend it!” he explained.  Alaya nodded, and Raxon then stepped forward!

 

  “We’ll come with you!  After everything you did to help us defend Alaya’s temple, now it’s our turn to help you!” he said.  But Kid smiled and shook his head.

 

  “There is no need, old friend.  I appreciate the offer, but we need to handle this on our own. We’ll manage!  All of you focus on defending the worlds from further harm!  We’ll do our part as well!” he said.  Maka then stepped forward with a smile.

 

  “Never forget, that even though we’re worlds apart, we’re always connected to each other!” she said.  Black Star gave out a hearty battle cry and nodded!

 

  “Yahoo!!!  That’s right!  Our strength is your strength!” he said.  Crona twiddled his thumbs shyly and kicked his foot into the ground softly.

 

  “We’ll be in each other’s hearts…and that’ll give us strength to keep on going…” he said, and at that, Ragnarok popped up from behind his back and patted his head!

 

  “Aw, that’s so touching, Crona!  I could almost cry!” Ragnarok said, while Crona whimpered!  Tsubaki bowed down respectfully and smiled.

 

  “We have faith that everything will be set right!  I just know we’ll all be okay!” she said!  Liz crossed her arms, and Patty made a goofy face!

 

  “Take care of yourselves!” they both said in unison!  Soul put his hands in his pockets and gave off a smirk!

 

  “We’ll all pull through this, just you watch!” he said.  At that, Alaya smiled and nodded, and opened up a portal that would lead them back to their world!

 

  “Thank you, for all of your help!” she said, and all the Keyblade Wielders bowed down in respect.  “And good luck.” she said.  Kid smiled and raised his fist in determination!

 

  “Back at you, Lady Alaya!” he said, and with that, they all stepped through the portal and went back to their world!  Sora, Riku and the others looked at Alaya with curiosity.

 

  “So…I’m guessing those were some friends of yours?” Sora asked.  Raxon then stepped forward, with arms crossed.

 

  “My friends, actually!  Longtime friends that came to help us defend this temple!” he answered.  At that, Sora smiled.

 

  “Oh, well that’s great!  If they were able to help defeat the Heartless and Unborn here, then that’s good!” he said.

 

  “And any friend of Raxon’s is a friend of ours.” Vanitas mentioned.  Everyone agreed, and then Alaya went walking into the temple, and then glanced back at the others.

 

  “Come, my friends.  It is time to rest.  Kairi and Dawn will come soon.  For now, we wait for them and rest up ourselves for the coming wave of enemies…” she said, and with that, everyone went into the temple for some much needed rest!

 

(Start Song Here)

  Meanwhile, in San Fransokyo, things were finally over for Dawn!  She had obtained her Key Of Balance, but San Fransokyo had been left in pretty bad shape!  Luckily, many of the citizens were able to get out, but the damage to the city had been done, and the lives lost could never be brought back.  She stood there, with her Key Of Balance in hand, and Xion and Yen Sid stood beside her in silence.  They had all gone back into the city, and right now, they were seeing Hiro and his friends mourning for Fred’s death!

 

  “I…I did this…I-I killed him!” he stuttered in disbelief as he held Fred’s lifeless body close to him!  Wasabi, Gogo, Honey Lemon and Baymax were all grief-stricken, and Baymax trembled a bit, his head bowed down to the floor.

 

  “I cannot believe that I assisted in destroying this city…m-my programming was corrupted!  And because of that, San Fransokyo is now forever changed…we are lost…” he said.  The others were too shocked with grief to say anything, and then that’s when Dawn came down, along with Yen Sid and Xion!  She walked towards them until she was just a few feet away from them!  Hiro looked up at Dawn with a defeated face, and she knelt in front of him and put her hand on his shoulder.

 

  “It wasn’t your fault, Hiro.  The situation was beyond you…you couldn’t have been able to fight against the spirit that had possessed you…I wanted you to know that…” she said, trying her best to comfort him.  But it was to no avail, as his face was full of despair and pain!  He sniffed as tears rolled down anew, and he shook his head.

 

  “Out of my control or not…I killed him…one of my friends….I just…” he said, but couldn’t finish…

 

  Dawn stood up and looked up at the sky, and saw that it was a crimson red.  Symbolizing the bloodshed that had ensued…and ruin had been left behind all this bloodshed.  She knew that nothing she could say could be able to make Hiro feel better, for what had happened had been too much for any of them to bear.  She then looked at Hiro and the others.

 

  “I’m going to call Cid so he can be able to pick you up.  He’ll take you to a safe place, along with any other survivors that made it past all this destruction…” she started to say, but Hiro stood up and shook his head.

 

  “No, Dawn…we have to stay.  Our city’s been destroyed…and nothing but chaos has taken over.  Even with all that’s happened, we have to stay here!  We have to gather the people and protect them!  We have to rebuild our home!” he said as tears continued to roll down his face!

 

  “I understand what you’re saying, Hiro, but you can’t stay here.  It’s too dangerous!” Dawn replied!

 

  “Then in that case, take the people, and we’ll stay here.  We’ll manage on our own…somehow…” Wasabi said, trying to keep a brave face on, despite the despair of their current situation!  Dawn, whose eyes were full of tears, looked at them.

 

  “Are you sure about this?” she asked.  They all nodded.

 

  “We’re sure…we’ve got to woman up and confront this situation…no matter what!  So take the people and get them to safety…we’ll stay here…” Gogo answered.  Honey Lemon cried and wiped her tears off.

 

  “Go now…the other worlds are in danger as well!  You’ve got to go while there’s still time to fix things!” she said!  Dawn shook her head. 

 

  “Not before we give our friend a proper burial…” she said as she looked at Fred.  They all felt paralyzed for a moment, and then the tears started anew.  They all silently agreed, and so, they gently lifted Fred’s body…

 

  They walked through the city carrying his body, and they all remained silent while doing so.  Everyone had sorrow deeply engraved into their hearts, and there was nothing that could be able to mend them…for everything had been too much!  Hiro and the others kept weeping, but Dawn tried her best to hold back her tears!  She had to be strong for them!  Yen Sid and Xion were standing a few feet apart from them, and they glanced at each other momentarily as Dawn and the others carried Fred’s body.  Xion crossed her arms and closed her eyes…

 

  “It’s incredible…she’s matured so much.  And now she has her Key Of Balance, and she just keeps herself going strong, even when everything’s falling apart…” Xion said, looking at Dawn with admiration in her eyes!  Yen Sid gave out a deep sigh and stroked his beard.

 

  “Such is the fortitude of one who has seen the horrors of war…”

(End Song Here)

---

 

(Start Song Here)

  In the meantime, things were heating up between Kyle and Stralus, as their battle had now gone to a whole new level!  Kyle was in his Feral form, and he was relentlessly attacking Stralus with lightning fast speed and increased strength!  Stralus also held his own as well, as he managed to block, dodge and counterattack Kyle’s moves, staying toe to toe with his opponent!  The soldiers on deck were now starting to back away a little, for the battle was going to extremes that made them fear for their safety!  With each strike that Kyle and Stralus delivered to each other, the airship’s floor creaked, and some wooden splinters chipped off from the floor and masts!  Kyle intensely blocked a powerful, full on charge from Stralus, and then he performed a quick Reversal and performed Dark Light Edge, an attack in which he struck down with his Keyblade and made a spike of Dark Light emerge!  It scraped Stralus ever so slightly, and the two of them backed off from each other!  Stralus looked at his scrape, and saw that blood started to drip from it!  He chuckled, his luminous red eyes beaming with excitement!

 

  “Ooh, yes!  I have definitely never faced an opponent such as you before!  You truly have kept me entertained throughout this entire battle, and for that, I commend you!  You truly are a skilled warrior!  And I sense a changed air about you!  You seem more confident, you seem in control of the full extent of your powers!  Most impressive!  It seems you’ve done quite a bit of growing up, haven’t you?” he asked as he looked at Kyle, who was growling at him!

 

  “Yeah…I’ve grown during this entire time, and I’ve grown stronger, both physically and mentally!  And I’m going to use all this power granted to me to bring you down, and to ensure that I can be able to save my father!  I won’t let anyone stand in my way!  He will be saved!” he growled as his fangs shown and his feral features made him look much more intimidating!  Stralus gave a respectful bow and then charged his Claymore, preparing a powerful attack!

 

  “You certainly have the drive, the determination to achieve your goal, I’ll give you that.  But you still have the matter of taking me down at hand!  So I suggest you focus solely on our battle at the moment, unless you want to die!” he challenged!  Kyle smirked, his eyes gleaming a bright yellow!

 

  “Oh, I’m focused, don’t you worry about that!  It’s you who should be focused!” he replied!  Before Stralus could reply to that comment, he found himself overwhelmed, for Kyle had instantly teleported himself behind him, and he struck him, causing a wide gash to form in his back!  Stralus grunted in pain and lunged forward to put some distance between himself and Kyle, and the soldiers watching the battle gasped!  Stralus could feel the stinging pain in his back, and then he gave out a laugh!

 

  “Ah, I see what you did there!  I hurt your back, and now you’ve hurt mine!  An eye for an eye!  Or, in this case, a back for a back!  Well played, opponent!” he said.  “But, make no mistake, that attack was a lucky shot!  You’ll find it much harder to hurt me again!” he proclaimed, but before he could prepare an attack, Kyle had already teleported behind him again, and this time, he opened the palm of his hand, and from it, chains of Dark Light came out and enveloped Stralus from top to bottom, the only thing remaining visible of his body being his head!  Stralus couldn’t believe what was happening!  He hadn’t even recovered from the last attack Kyle had delivered to him, and now he was chained!  The soldiers began to prepare themselves, summoning forth their weapons and standing in defensive stances!  They were about to charge, but Stralus glared at them!

 

  “No, stay back!  This battle is between the two of us alone!  Do not interfere!” he shouted!  Hesitant at first, the soldiers lowered their weapons and continued to witness the battle before them!  Stralus then turned his attention to Kyle, who was seeping Dark Light!

 

  “It’s over, Stralus!” he said.  Stralus then smirked and closed his eyes.

 

  “That’s what you think…” he remarked, and in just a split second, he gave out an intense burst of energy, which severed the chains of Dark Light Kyle had summoned forth, and while Kyle reoriented himself, Stralus swung at him with his Claymore, then proceeding to deliver a series of brutal and powerful strikes, chaining up attack after attack after attack!  Kyle was taking the damage head on, for Stralus’ attacks were so powerful, that even when he tried to block, he couldn’t, for Stralus broke through his defenses!  With one final swing, Stralus sent Kyle flying, crashing through one of the airship’s masts, causing the sail being held by said mast to fall down!  The soldiers were surprised, and they started to cheer for Stralus, who had gained the upper hand!

 

  “Hmph, you’re stronger than I thought.  You truly are a worthy opponent!  It’s been an honor fighting against you!” he said, and then his face turned grim.  “Sadly, though I am not allowed to kill you, I shall at least deliver a fatal enough blow that you’ll be greatly weakened.  Consider yourself lucky that you will not be falling to my blade…” he said as he prepared the final blow!  And then, just as the attack was about to make impact, a sudden, massive explosion of Dark Light took place, and it sent Stralus flying high up into the air!  The force of the explosion was so great, that all soldiers on deck were blown away from the airship, leaving only Kyle the remaining person standing!  He then propelled himself upwards and prepared to end this battle, and with each second that passed, his body became more enveloped in Dark Light!  Stralus managed to regain himself in midair, and then started to seep out intense waves of light, and he too, prepared a powerful attack that would probably end this battle!

 

  “Ah, so you’ve decided to end this, eh?  Well, then I’ll attack you with every ounce of strength I’ve got in my body!  Steel yourself!” Stralus shouted, and Kyle said nothing.  The two of them clashed furiously, causing immense shockwaves to form and ripple away from them with each consecutive blow they dealt to each other!  Their powers were so raw and full of power, that all Jexana and the others could see were a purple colored orb and a golden colored orb!  So powerful were the attacks that Stralus and Kyle were dealing to each other, that they now appeared to look like masses of energy!  They clashed spectacularly, and everyone around Raxon’s airship could feel the intense energy these two gave off!  It was something to be feared!

 

  “Is that all you’ve got!?” Kyle taunted as he roared defiantly!

 

  “Don’t test me, boy!  You’ll regret it!” Stralus replied, as he gave out a powerful battle cry!  The two of them paused momentarily, and then they charged at each other again, but this time, their weapons were glowing brightly, Kyle’s Keyblade with Dark Light, and Stralus’ Claymore with a radiant light!  The light emanating from the blades grew ever bigger, until it looked like two giant streaks of energy were constantly trading blows to each other!  Then, they both fired off beams at the same time, and they reached a stalemate!  Now, only raw power would determine which attack would push through!  And so, the two of them put all of their energies into the beams they launced at each other, and for now, the beams merged perfectly in the middle, with neither of them gaining the upper hand!

 

  “This ends now…” Kyle said as he growled.  Stralus smirked.

 

  “Don’t count me out just yet!  I’ve still got enough strength to take you down!” he said, as he pushed his arms forward, causing his Keyblade to emanate even more radiant light, therefore, causing his beam to slowly push through!  Kyle struggled to keep the stalemate in check!

 

  “I won’t be defeated by you!!!”  Kyle roared, and with all of his might, he put all of his strength into the beam he had fired, and then, it started to push Stralus’ beam back!!!  Before Stralus could try to escape from the attack, he was already being consumed by the beam’s powerful energy!  Dark Light consumed him, and he gave out a muffled shout!  At that, all the soldiers panicked, and an explosion took place that was so bright, that it temporarily blinded everyone near the site of the battle!  After the light died down and the dust settled, Kyle had managed to land saftely to the floor, reverting into his normal form!  He was pretty beat up and was bleeding a bit, but you could tell by just one look on his face that he still wasn’t going to drop!  He was going to keep on going!  He walked towards Stralus, who weakly knelt on the ground, his head thrown back as he was looking at the stars!  His body was bloodied, battered and bruised!  Kyle stopped just a few feet away from him, and remained silent.  Stralus slowly hung his head, and then raised it to look at Kyle’s face, and he had a smile on his face!

(End Song Here)

 

(Start Song Here)

  “Hehehe…it seems that I, the great Knight Of Ragnarok, have been finally bested by one who has far more superior abilities than I do!” he said as he coughed out blood!  “You truly gave me an outstanding battle!  One that I hadn’t had in quite some time!  You are worthy of my praise and respect, young one!” he commented with a smirk.  “Had circumstances been different…we could have been friends…” he said, his voice now growing into a whisper.  He was about to fall face first on the floor, when Kyle caught him!  He held him and put his head on his shoulder, so that he wouldn’t fall to the floor!  Stralus chuckled softly and coughed up a bit of blood.

 

  “Well, aren’t you the noble opponent?  After battling your enemy, you catch him, saving him from falling…heh…I think now I’ve seen everything…” he whispered.

 

  “I’m sorry we had to meet this way…” Kyle said, truly regretting what was happening before him!  Stralus’ words indeed rung true!  If things had been different, they could have become friends indeed!  Stralus gave a soft smile and then sat straight a bit.

 

  “Since you gave your enemy kindness, I shall return the favor with a kindness of my own…” he said.  “Jexana’s fleet is strong…but you can be able to bring it down to its knees…” he said.  At that, Kyle’s eyes opened wide! 

 

  “What!?” Kyle exclaimed in surprise!  Stralus nodded.

 

  “Come closer…and I’ll tell you everything…” he said, and so, Kyle got closer to Stralus.

 

  Jexana was furious!  Stralus had fallen in battle to the likes of Kyle, and the fact that he was still standing was something that angered her deeply!  While she was boiling herself in anger, Braig simply smirked and crossed his arms, intrigued with the outcome this battle had provided!  Emmxett seemed most interested in this turn of events, and Tsumugi sighed of relief in her mind, for at least Kyle was getting much closer to getting his father back!

 

  “This isn’t good, Jexana…what do we do now?”  Emmxett asked, looking at her!  She remained silent, for all she could feel right now was anger!

 

  After Stralus finished speaking, Kyle slowly pulled away and nodded.  He kept holding Stralus close so that he wouldn’t fall, and he gave a nod of respect.

 

  “Thank you, Stralus…” he said.  The great Knight Of Ragnarok nodded.

 

  “You’re welcome…now…I can die a warrior’s death…” he said, as he slowly looked up at the stars.  He gave out a smile, and felt so content, that in just a few seconds time, he departed this world!  He slowly started to fade away into streams of light, until he disappeared completely!  Kyle then slowly stood up, and then turned around and stared directly at Jexana’s airship!  At this point, Jexana was about to snap because of all the anger she was holding inside, when suddenly, Kyle appeared just in front of her!  He was about to strike her down, when Ventus came and blocked the attack and pushed him back!  Everyone on Jexana’s airship prepared to strike Kyle!  But before they could do that, Kyle swung his Keyblade in two wide arcs!

 

  “Oh no, you don’t!” he said, as he then formed an impenetrable barrier, from which no one could enter or exit!  Unfortunately, Ventus wasn’t one of the others who had been outside the barrier!  This made things more difficult, for instead of just battling Jexana, now Kyle would have to battle her and Ventus!  He looked at Ventus with a determined look on his face!

 

  “This time, I’m going to free you, Dad!  I’m going to free you from Jexana forever!” he proclaimed!  Jexana, who was behind Ventus, just started to laugh maniacally!  When she walked in front of Ventus and then stopped, Kyle could notice just how demented she was!  Her eyes were completely wide, she tilted her head slightly, and her body was seeping out tons and tons of darkness!  Her anger, frustration and hatred were quite apparent, and Kyle knew that he had ticked her off for the last time!  She pointed her finger at him, and her fingers slowly started to produce sharp claws!

 

  “Heh…you think that you can just come waltzing here, coming to me when you’re surrounded by my whole fleet!?  Ha, you have absolutely no hope of winning!  You’ve been a thorn on my side, but now that all changes, for I’m going to finish you personally!  When I’m done with you, there won’t be a shred of your heart left!  I’ll rip it out of your chest and crush it in front of your father’s own eyes!  He won’t be able to do anything about it, because he’s mine!  You won’t take him from me!  You will not separate me from him again, do you understand, insolent boy!?” she exclaimed with a psychotic tone! Even Kyle felt a shiver down his spine after hearing her talk!  But, he quickly regained his composure and gripped his Keyblade tightly.

 

  “Jexana…everything you’ve done, you’ve done to leave pain and suffering to those left behind by your destruction.  You’ve commited countless horrors and brought sorrow to so many worlds…and you’ve driven families apart!  But that’s going to end, here and now!  I’m going to put a stop to this, and I will get my Dad back!  And there’s nothing you’ll be able to do to stop me!” he proclaimed, as he took stance!  Jexana scoffed and shook her head, placing her right hand on her right hip!

 

  “Ha, is that so!?  Well then, let’s see how you back up that talk!  Stralus may have been a strong opponent, but I’m no pushover!  No…I’ll destroy you, and utterly kill you!” she shouted!  She then raised her hand!  “Ventus, my love, help me strike down this fool once and for all!” she commanded him, and he slowly nodded and looked at Kyle grimly.

 

  “You will not hurt Jexana!” Ventus shouted!  Kyle gritted his teeth, for this was making matters quite complicated!

 

  “Dad…come back to me…please!!!”

(End Song Here)

--------------------------------

 

And so, with Stralus defeated, Kyle now finally comes head to head with Jexana, and now, they’ll battle each other, with Ven’s fate hanging in the balance!  Who will come out of this battle the victor!?  What will our other heroes do next!?  What’s in store for everyone!?  Find out in Chapter Thirty One: “A Heart, Liberated!”

 

Well everyone, that was the chapter!  Whew, I think that this one turned out a tad bit longer than most of the chapters I’ve posted so far!  Please forgive me for the delay!  You see, I’ve been working on getting my Driver’s License, and as such, I’ve been quite busy these days, not to mention that I also got Final Fantasy X/X-2 HD Remaster just this week, so I’ve been playing the game, ya know?  Take that along with the anime and TV shows I’ve been watching, and the house chores, and yeah, I’ve been quite busy, so my apologies for taking so long to post this chapter!  I hope you all enjoyed it, though!  Thank you all very much for your patience and support!  As always, please make sure to comment on what you thought of tonight’s chapter, and until next time, stay tuned for the next one!

[KingdomHearts3 2,591]

Wow, with Stralus gone, this changes everything. I wonder what he told Kyle?

[KHLegendIII 709]

Oh man, here we go.

[Keyblade101 526]

Whew, awesome chapter.  :smile:

 

Kyle, you've gotta defeat Jexanna! You can do it!

[The Transcendent Key 12,109]

To KingdomHearts3, haha, I know, things are intense, am I right?  As for your question, well, you'll find out soon enough!

 

To KHLegendIII, haha, I bet you're squirming in your seat at this point!

 

To Keyblade101, thanks, glad you liked it!  Haha, and well, the battle to come shall be displayed here, so prepare yourself!

 

Hey there everyone, good evening!  I hope you’ve all been doing okay!  So then, here’s the next chapter of my story, and may I say, this will be quite the high stakes chapter indeed!  Many of you have been wanting to see this battle for a long while now, and well, it’s finally here!  I hope you’ll enjoy it!  Onward to the chapter, my loyal followers!

 

Chapter Thirty One: A Heart, Liberated

 

(Start Song Here)

  The air was thick with tension!  It had all come down to this!  Kyle was now finally head to head with Jexana, and now, the coming battle would determine Ventus’ fate!  But the problem with this was the fact that Ventus himself was participating in this battle as well, which made this a very difficult obstacle for Kyle to overcome!  But even with this potent obstacle, Kyle still stood strong, and he wasn’t going to back down now!  Not when he was finally so close to freeing Ventus from Jexana’s hold!  Emmxett and Tsumugi, who had been repelled by Kyle’s barrier, remained just outside said barrier, closely keeping their eyes on the battle at hand!  Braig remained where he was, and he was quite amused by everything that was happening.  Apparently, he wasn’t going to make his move yet!

 

  “Heh, let’s see how well you do against your own dad and my little sister…this’ll be an interesting match-up…” he said to himself.

 

  And so, Kyle, Jexana and Ventus remained standing there momentarily, and an eerie silence befell them.  It seems as though they were all waiting on who would make the first move!  After a few more seconds, Kyle decided that he would be the one to make the first move, as he leapt up and delivered a powerful Blitz attack that made both Ventus and Jexana whirl backwards defensively!  Kyle immediately then took this advantage and then proceeded to launch multiple streams of Dark Light energy, trying his best to make sure he could concentrate all his fire on Jexana!  He only fired at Ventus when it seemed as though he was going to attack him!  Otherwise, he kept a closeful watch on him and kept him in place with a Bind spell!  But, with Kyle’s attention split, Jexana took the initiative and then used her power of darkness to extend out her hand, causing a darkened, clawed hand to extend from her arm and straight towards Kyle!  On instinct, Kyle instantly got out of the way, therefore his attack was stopped!  That’s when Ventus launched himself towards Kyle, as the two clashed!  His face was grim and full of determination to protect Jexana! Kyle clashed with Ventus over and over, until they reached a stalemate! 

 

  “I don’t want to hurt you, Dad!  Please, come back to your senses!  You’ve got the power!  I know you can break free!” he exclaimed, hoping he could knock some sense into Ventus!  And for a moment, it seemed as though Ventus was trying to fight back Jexana’s hold over him!

 

  “Kyle…this is too risky…I might end up killing you…please, go to our friends…forget about me!” Ventus said, trying his best to hold himself back from attacking Kyle!  Jexana caught wind of this, and her face immediately flared up with anger!

 

  “Not a chance!  I’m not going to abandon you!” Kyle proclaimed, and then, he broke the stalemate and cast Slow on Ventus, the spell succeeding in slowing him down!  Jexana quickly launched a dark claw at Kyle and managed to grab him, then proceeding to pull him towards her!  Just when she was about to use her free hand to form a dark blade with which to pierce through Kyle, he immediately broke free of her, and then backflipped away from her dark blade!  Jexana then gritted her teeth and cursed under her breath!  Things were falling out of control fast!

 

  “This isn’t good…this stupid boy has too much determination….he’s breaking through to my beloved….if this fight drags on, Ventus will leave my side!  I can’t let that happen!” she thought to herself as she clenched her fists!  Her anger was apparent, as darkness was seeping out of her intensely! She then summoned forth two dark longswords and propelled herself towards Kyle, and the two started to clash violently!  They both kept up to each other, in terms of speed and strength!  Jexana was baffled by the fact that Kyle still had this much energy within him, even after having endured a battle with Stralus!  The fact that Kyle was still at full strength was something that irritated her greatly!  She wasn’t going to stand for it, and so she increased the output of her dark energy, therefore giving her longswords a greater reach!  She managed to slice Kyle up a bit, but just barely!  Kyle leapt back and seemed to be affected by the attack!  Jexana smirked and chuckled to herself.

 

  “Well, it looks like you’re getting a bit rusty…I’m not going to let you get out of here alive…you will die by my hand!” she shouted!  Kyle touched his abdomen, and he felt a slight sting from the attack Jexana had just delivered to him!  He kept himself calm, and he took a deep breath.

 

  “I always knew this wasn’t going to be easy…now, all I have to do is keep focusing…” he thought to himself as he took another deep breath!  Within a few seconds, they clashed anew!  Emmxett and Tsumugi observed the battle, and they were impressed by the fighting on display!

 

  “It seem as though Jexana’s going all out on Kyle…she’s unleashing all of her strength, little by little.  Who wins this battle really depends on how Kyle goes about it…” he thought aloud.  Tsumugi looked at him and tilted her head in curiosity.

 

  “What do you mean?” she asked.  Emmxett glanced at her momentarily, and then looked onward to the battle again.

 

  “You see, the stakes here regard Ventus.  As you already know, he’s the boy’s father, and the fact that he’s battling both Jexana and Ventus himself gives the boy quite the challenge.  He’s trying to fight with his full strength, while making sure he doesn’t harm his father fatally.  At some point, Jexana’s going to exploit that, and when she does, the boy is done for.” he answered.  Tsumugi nodded.

 

  “I see.  Then the boy is in quite a fix…” she replied.

 

  “Indeed.” Emmxett nodded.

 

  A few seconds later, the Slow spell that had been cast on Ventus had now worn off, and he was now back into the fray!  He dashed towards Kyle and then attempted to strike his back, but Kyle was able to notice Ventus’ attack and leapt out of the way!  Ventus then attempted to attack Kyle with Strike Raid, but Kyle managed to block the attack, and he counterattacked with another Bind spell!  But this time, Ventus was able to avoid it, and he quickly performed his Flame Salvo technique!  Numerous streaks of flame started to shoot out from Ventus’ Keyblade as he encircled himself in flames, and the flames, in turn, headed directly towards Kyle!  Since they were so numerous, Kyle simply stayed in place, and then he closed his eyes and focused his energy, and when he opened them, he raised both of his hands, and a giant piller of ice was summoned, and it managed to stop the attack some, but even so, some streaks of flame passed through, but Kyle was able to absorb these with his Keyblade!  He then delivered them back as Firaga missiles and aimed them straight at Jexana!  Ventus immediately got in the way, though, and batted the missiles away!  Kyle cursed under his breath!  He should have expected this!

 

  “Damn…this is a lot harder than I thought it would be…” he thought to himself, but even with the situation at hand, he remained level-headed, and he made sure to keep his focus on the battle!

 

  Taking a moment to think of his next move, he decided to go on the defensive, and so, he cast Shell and Protect on himself, therefore raising his defense!  He then charged at Ventus and Jexana with Ars Arcanum, delivering each strike of the attack with fatal precision!  He made sure not to hurt Ventus too badly, while he added extra force when a hit landed on Jexana!  But Ventus was blocking each strike, as was Jexana, and when Kyle finished his attack, Ventus and Jexana countered with one of their own!  A combined attack in which Ventus cast Aeroga, sending Kyle up into the air!  While in the spell, Jexana teleported herself up towards the spell and then dived into it, filling it with darkness, concentrating its energy so it would sap Kyle of his strength!  She then summoned forth her dark knives and started to hack away at Kyle!  For the moment, he was defenseless, but thanks to Shell and Protect, the damage was halved, and therefore, he didn’t get as seriously injured as he might have otherwise been, had he not cast protective spells on himself!  As Kyle landed on the ground, he attempted to cast Stopga, but Jexana immediately caught wind of this and summoned forth her dark serpents to seize him!

 

  “Oh no, you don’t!  Not on my watch!” she hissed, as she moved her hands in rhythm with the dark serpents!  She controlled their actions, and when she clasped her hands together, the two serpents merged to form a giant, dark cobra!  It hissed as its yellow eyes gleamed menacingly, and Kyle was now blocking each attack the dark cobra landed on it!  It even cast Poison, but Kyle managed to dodge each attempt the dark cobra made at poisoning him!  Jexana was determined though, and she was pouring all of her strength to ensure Kyle would not have an opening!

 

  “Witness my power, you fool!  Witness as your foolish attempts to separate Ventus from me end in total and absolute failure!” she proclaimed confidently, as she swung both her hands down, causing the cobra to open its mouth wide!  It managed to get to Kyle, and it bit him, and he yelped out in pain!  His left arm was now covered in Jexana’s darkness, and as such, it was paralyzed!  Jexana smirked and gave out a satisfied cackle as she saw Kyle wince in pain!

 

  “That’s it!  Feel the pain I am inflicting on you!  Feel every ounce of it, and die!” she shouted, as she kept swinging her arms in different directions, causing the dark cobra to move with swift agility and attack with great ferocity!  Even with his limp left arm, he was able to dodge the cobra’s attacks successfully, and as soon as he could catch his breath, he cast Esuna on himself, which slightly improved his left arm’s condition!  But even so, it remained limp!  Kyle scoffed.

 

  “Yeah, I should have figured as much…but still, at least my arm’s a bit better now....” he thought to himself, and then he glanced briefly at Ventus, who was heading towards him!

 

  “Come on Dad…come on!!!” he thought to himself, as the two of them clashed anew!  Jexana soon joined the clash and therefore forced Kyle to hold the two of them back!  He was being overwhelmed by them, but when he took a deep breath, he let out a burst of Dark Light energy, which sent Ventus and Jexana falling back!  Then, Kyle imbued his Keyblade with Dark Light, increasing its attack capabilities!  He was thinking of going into his Feral form again, but he thought it was too soon, given the fact he had used his Feral form against Stralus!  And so, he decided against using his Feral form, and instead relied on his current strength!

 

  “I can do this…I need to do this!!!” Kyle whispered to himself in determination!

 

  Braig watched as the action unfolded, and he was smirking, almost on the brink of laughter!  He had his arms crossed, and he was enjoying quite the view of the battle!  He clapped his hands and felt pleased by what he was seeing!

 

  “Heh, this kid’s already doing a good job of ticking my little sister off!  Looks like I might not even have to step in, after all!  But I’m probably giving the runt too much credit…” he thought to himself, but then he shook his head.  “Heh, as if!  There’s a reason the Key Of Balance chose him…and I’m going to keep my eyes glued to this fight until its over!” he thought to himself as he continued to smirk!

 

  Jexana made it her priority to ensure that Kyle wouldn’t be able to attack, and so she pounced on him, delivering fast and fatal strikes, which Kyle was managing to dodge and block, but just barely!  Jexana then leapt back and slammed her fist into the floor, causing numerous dark spikes to burst from the floor!  In addition to the dark cobra she had summoned, Kyle was being heavily pinned!  With no other option, he simply braced himself for the coming attacks and then took them head on!  Due to the protective spells he’d cast on himself, the damage wasn’t all that fatal, but it did prove to stagger him quite a bit!  After he dropped to the ground, Ventus quickly followed suit and attempted to subdue Kyle with a powerful Quick Blitz attack, but Kyle managed to dodge it with a somersault and then he kicked Ventus, sending him crashing on the barrier wall!  Kyle then propelled himself and struck through the dark cobra, desintigrating it!  Jexana was momentarily caught off guard, and it cost her, as Kyle managed to graze her shoulder quite a bit!  She leapt back, though, and thust managed to prevent herself from being harmed any further!  She took a moment to glance at her wound, and she gritted her teeth as she saw blood dripping from her shoulder!

 

  “You will not win, Kyle!  You will die, YOU WILL DIE!!!” Jexana exclaimed, now enflamed by anger!  She dashed towards Kyle at insanely fast speeds, and she managed to break Kyle’s block, and then she delivered a series of insanely fast strikes and jabs, and then she summoned her dark knives and stabbed Kyle repeatedly!  At this point, Kyle’s protective spells had worn off, and so now, he was feeling the full pain the attacks were inflicting upon him! He grunted and shouted in pain, and Jexana, noticing she had the upper hand, smirked and kicked Kyle furiously in the abdomen, causing Kyle to momentarily feel out of breath!  He crashed on the floor with a sickening crack!  He quickly stood up and cast Curaga on himself, but even so, his wounds were still great, and while the Curaga spell did greatly numb out the pain, it wasn’t enough to close up the wounds!

 

  “This is not good…I’m not getting anywhere here…” he thought to himself as he eyed Jexana and Ventus, who was heading towards him!  Jexana smirked and crossed her arms.

 

  “Ventus, my love!  Finish this fool who would separate us!” she commanded, and Ventus nodded grimly, and in an instant, he dashed towards Kyle and performed Thunder Surge, managing to shock Kyle and send him tumbling down on the floor again!  Before Kyle could stand up, Ventus kicked him and stabbed his right arm!  Had Ventus’ aim been a bit higher, he would have beheaded Kyle!  At this point, Kyle entered into a momentary state of panic!  His own father had almost killed him!  Before he could say anything, though, he noticed that Ventus’ eyes were struggling to turn back to normal!  He was fighting back!

 

  “Kyle…I’m so sorry…I almost killed you!” Ventus said through gritted teeth and frustrated tears!  Kyle smiled and grunted in pain, and he removed Ventus’ keyblade from his arm and slowly stood up.

 

  “Don’t worry, Dad…just hang in there a bit longer!” he said!  Jexana saw what was happening, and she growled in anger and then prepared to cast a powerful spell on Kyle!

 

  “Ventus, don’t hesitate!  Take him down now!” she shouted, and unfortunately, Ventus reverted back to his grim self, and he attempted to swing his Keyblade at Kyle, but this time, Kyle was able to cast Bind successfully, therefore forcing Ventus to stay put where he was!  In addition, Kyle cast Stopga as well, thus disabling Ventus from moving at all!  That’s when Kyle knew that he had the upper hand!  Jexana gave out a desperate, infuriated shout, and she unleashed a powerful Zero Graviza spell on Kyle!  The force behind the spell was so great, that Kyle found himself barely walking!  The weight of the spell was so much, that he was almost crushed into the floor!  But he stood strong, and he ensured that he wouldn’t let this spell stop him!  He pushed through it, and then he cast Aeroga on her, causing her to whirl left and right with the trajectory of the spell!  He then concentrated his energy and then flung his Keyblade!  Jexana was just about to block it, and that’s when Kyle smirked.

 

  “I have to tell you, that’s not going to work.” he said.  Jexana raised an eyebrow.

 

  “What!?” she demanded!  She then unwillingly found herself being pulled forward towards Kyle!  That’s when he braced himself to prepare another attack!

 

  “It’s a new technique I was practicing called Magnet Raid!  It allows me to pull up close any enemy that’s too far away from me to reach!  And luckily, it seems my technique worked like a charm!” he said, as he delivered a devastatingly hard punch to Jexana’s stomach when she finally came close to Kyle!  Her eyes opened wide as she felt out of breath, and then she found herself being pushed back, and then pulled back towards Kyle again!  This time though, when she came close to him, he grasped his Keyblade and delivered a deadly powerful strike that managed to deal significant damage to Jexana!  She screamed in pain as she fell to the ground!

 

  “No!!!  Impossible!!!  I won’t die here!!!” she shouted through frustrated anger!  Emmxett and Tsumugi were shocked at what was happening, for they couldn’t believe Jexana was being bested!  Whereas Emmxett was starting to get desperate, Tsumugi was feeling very much hopeful inside!  She closed her eyes for a moment and felt quite relieved!

 

  “He’s doing it…he’s actually doing it…he’s defeating Jexana!  Once he defeats her, he’ll be able to free his father!  And perhaps I can finally break free as well…” she thought to herself.  She quickly snapped back to reality, to make sure Emmxett wasn’t looking at her!  Luckily, he was too busy worrying about how the battle was turning out!  Braig remained where he was, and he was definitely impressed by what he was seeing!  Kyle was delivering quite the amazing battle, and Braig was all the more pleased for it!

 

  “Yep…the Key Of Balance chose him wisely…that kid’s got great power…and I’ll have it all for myself once this battle’s wrapped up.” he said as he chuckled to himself.  He then looked at his right hand and closed it in a fist, clenching it with determination!  “Soon…I’ll finally have a Keyblade…and I’ll finally be able to spring my plans into action.  Working with Xehanort may have left me empty handed, but that won’t be the case this time…this time, things will go my way, and I’ll be the one to claim victory in the end!” he thought to himself, feeling very confident with the way things were turning out!

 

  “The Keyblade will soon be mine…”

(End Song Here)

---

 

(Start Song Here)

  Meanwhile, Dawn had bid her farewells to her friends in San Fransokyo, and now that things were settled and the surviving citizens were to be picked up by Cid, she was ready to head back to Alaya’s temple, alongside Yen Sid and Xion!  They were in the outskirts of the city, and Dawn was looking at her surroundings!  A great emotion of sadness weighed on her, and Xion could definitely sense it grasping her.  She walked towards Dawn and then put her hand on her shoulder.  Dawn was startled a bit as she glanced back, for she seemed to have been thinking of something.  She then offered a sad smile quickly afterward, and Xion smiled back.

 

  “I know things are rough…but we’ll make sure to set things right.” she said.  Dawn nodded silently, and said nothing.  Fred’s death had been something that was still weighing on her heavily.  She was right beside him, and she hadn’t been able to protect him!  That fact haunted her!  And then, almost as if Yen Sid had been peering into her mind, he cleared his throat to speak.

 

  “Dawn, you did all that  you could to defend this world and its people.  Should you have given in to despair, things would have taken a far more drastic turn…” he said.  Dawn clenched her fists and gave out a sigh.

 

  “That may be…but people still died on my watch…and that’s something I know I have to carry with me…but I’ll carry this weight…for it’s mine to bear.” she said, but this time, her face was full of determination!  “I’ll see this through to the end, and once we finally bring an end to this war…all of the departed can truly rest in peace!  Until then, I shall bear the responsibility of their deaths…” she concluded.  Xion and Yen Sid were so impressed by Dawn’s determination, that they did not question her!  Yen Sid then walked forward, and with a wave of his hand, opened a portal!  He then glanced back and looked at both Xion and Dawn!

 

  “Now then, are we ready?” he asked.  They both nodded, and then he nodded as well.

 

  “Very well then…let us proceed.” he said, and with that, the three of them went through the portal, and after a few seconds, they arrived at Alaya’s temple!  They noticed that quite the battle had taken place, for the entire temple and the surrounding area was in bad shape!  They headed towards the entrance of the temple, and once inside, they saw Alaya, who was sitting at the bottom of the stairs leading upwards!  The others were nowhere to be seen!  Alaya took notice of them arriving, and then she stood up, with a smile of relief on her face!

 

  “Ah, you have returned, Dawn.  I am relieved to see that you are safe. Xion, Master Yen Sid, I am glad to have you both here as well!  Welcome to my temple!” she said as she stretched out her arms cordially.  Yen Sid bowed his head and Xion gave a smile.  Dawn simply nodded.

 

  “Thank you Alaya…any word on the others?” Dawn asked.  Alaya pointed towards the resting quarters.

 

  “They are all currently resting.  Such is the toll this war has taken on them, and I told them that while we waited for all the bearers of the Key Of Balance to gather, we would rest up and heal our wounds.  It is good to have you returned safely here.” she said as she bowed down respectfully.  Before anyone said anything else, Kairi came through the entrance as well, along with Maleficent, Pete, Armored Eraqus and Guardian Xehanort!

 

  “We’ve returned!  Thanks to Maleficent and the others, I was able to get my Key Of Balance.  Plus, we were able to stave off an immense invasion of Arendelle!  I’m sorry for having come later than expected!” Kairi said as she bowed apologetically.  Alaya shook her head.

 

  “No, there is no need to apologize, Kairi.  The important thing is that you are here now, and you helped keep one of the many worlds safe!  Tell me, is everyone in Arendelle alright?” she asked.  Kairi nodded.

 

  “Yes!  It was hard, but I was able to convince Lilith Valkyrie and her Knights Of Yggrdrasil to withdraw from Arendelle.  It wasn’t easy to convince them to leave, but thankfully, I was able to help drive them away without meriting violence.  I say that was a job well done!” Kairi explained.  Alaya agreed and crossed her arms.

 

  “I am truly grateful that Arendelle didn’t have to suffer a grim fate.  For now, that world shall be safe, but if things keep progressing at an alarming rate in terms of our enemy’s plans, it will only be a matter of time until we are all drowned in the chaos of this conflict…” Alaya said with a worried tone.  Maleficent scoffed.

 

  “Hmph, all of you are insane if you think you’ll be able to take down the impossible odds standing against you…but since we’re here to assist you, I suppose we have no other choice than to face the impossible odds, no matter how disastrous the end result will be…” she mentioned as she closed her eyes.  Pete had a worried face, and he scratched his head and gave off a nervous chuckle.  It seemed as though he wanted to say something, but was contemplating on whether or not it was wise to speak his mind!  Armored Eraqus and Guardian Xehanort simply remained silent and stood near the entrance, keeping a watchful eye outside!  Pete then decided he needed to get his thoughts off of his mind, even if Maleficent scolded him greatly!

 

  “Well, er, pardon me, everybody, but this whole situation screams hopelessness!  I think the wise thing to do here is to run away and live to fight another day!  After all, sometimes doing that is best, if we wanna survive, that is…” he suggested.  Maleficent quickly gave him an intimidating glare and shook her head in disapproval.

 

  “You dimwitted oaf!  I will not have you running away!  You will stay by our side and face the inevitable!  Do not think you will get out of this situation!  This war is everywhere!  Even if we did run, there would be no safe haven for us, for we would face war at every turn!” she barked back!  At that, Pete squirmed a bit and looked down to the floor and kicked the ground.

 

  “Y-yeah, I know, I know!  I was just speaking my mind is all…” he said to himself softly.

 

  “I know that things are greatly intimidating…but we must not lose heart…now go rest.  There is still one more chosen who has not returned.  Go rest now.” Alaya said, and everyone then bowed in appreciation and went upstairs towards the resting quarters!  Only Dawn and Yen Sid remained.  Soon after, Cid’s airship came, and as soon as it landed, denizens from many destroyed worlds started to walk out of the airship!  Those, along with the citizens from Disney Castle, all went into the temple, weary and distraught and filled with sorrow!  Alaya then stepped forward and walked towards the incoming homeless people, and she gave a bow of welcome.

 

  “Welcome, one and all, to my temple!” she greeted.  She let those words sink in, as everyone stared at her.  She gave a soft smile and looked at the tearful eyes of all the homeless people that had been stripped of their home worlds because of the darkness of the Keyblade War!

 

  “My dear people…I know that right now, this is a time of great strife and grief for one and all!  I understand that all of you come from worlds which have been destroyed by the darkness, ravaged by the fires of the Keyblade War…and I know that this is not easy!  But rest assured!  Here you shall find sanctuary, and as long as I draw breath, no harm shall come to you!  We will protect you and ensure that you survive this harrowing conflict!  Our honor and our word is our bond with all of you.  We shall do our best to end this war, and ensure that all of you can behold a new tomorrow!  But until then, rest, for your minds and hearts and souls are weary.  My sincerest condolences go to all of you…” she said as she bowed once again.  It was obvious that Alaya’s words held great power, for her words had seemed to strike a chord in everyone who entered the temple, and even though their sorrow could not be erased, at least their hearts were now filled with hope!  And so, Alaya tended to the newcomers and guided them to their resting quarters.  Cid, along with Aerith, Yuffie, Leon and Merlin, walked towards Dawn and Yen Sid.

 

  “Whew!  Well, that’s that!  We saved as many people as we possibly could!” Cid said with an exhausted huff, as he sat down near the set of stairs leading to the resting quarters.  “I gotta tell ya…seeing all these people with so much despair written all over their faces is a tough thing to watch…it hasn’t been easy…but luckily, we were able to save as many people as we could, and that’s what counts!” he said.  Aerith, who was standing by Cid’s side, clasped her hands together.

 

  “Even though everything seems to be going wrong for everyone, in the end, everything will go back to normal!” she stated, as cheerful as ever!  Dawn could tell the sorrow Aerith was hiding, though.  Aerith was insanely good at masking her emotions, and right now, this whole situation was hurting Aerith deeply.  But, she put on a brave face to stay strong for everyone!  Dawn couldn’t help but feel a strong sense of respect for this woman!  Yuffie stretched her arms out and stretched her back as well, giving out a huff!

 

  “Well, I’m telling you, the Heartless and Unborn are growing by the minute!  In all the worlds we went to, they were swarming by the thousands!  Heck, I could even say millions!  Thank goodness we were able to come back, though!” she said as she sat down on the floor, not able to hold back her exhaustion anymore!  Leon was a little apart from the others, and he had his back leaning against the wall.

 

  “We have to make our move soon, or otherwise, things will take a turn for the worse.  And right now, we’re already neck deep into this whole chaos…we need to play our cards wisely…” he said as he closed his eyes, as he lost himself in his thoughts.  Merlin came over and sat down by Cid’s side, and he put his hands together and looked at everyone grimly.

 

  “Well, there’s obviously no sugarcoating it…things are bad!  But…let’s hope we still have a plan of action!” he said as he stroked his beard.  Yen Sid agreed.

 

  “Yes…we must have a clear plan of what to do before we can proceed any further…” he remarked.  Dawn was about to say something, but from the corner of her eye, she noticed someone, and she couldn’t help but look at whoever was coming down the stairs!  When she saw who it was, her eyes opened wide!

 

  “Father!!!” she yelled!  Kosaku immediately noticed Dawn, and his eyes opened wide, and the two of them ran towards each other and embraced each other lovingly!  The others smiled, for they knew that in this time of crisis, Dawn needed all the rays of light that would appear before her.  Kosaku was one such bright light!  They both embraced each other and then pulled away from one another, and took a few seconds to eye each other over.  Kosaku had a proud smile on his face.

 

  “My dear daughter…I am very happy to see you safe and sound.  Words cannot even begin to express how happy I am to see you!” he stated, and it was apparent by the look on his face that he was indeed happy!

 

  “And I’m so happy to see you doing well, father!  Tell me, how have you been since the last time we spoke?” she asked. 

 

  “Well, life has been quite busy as of late.  I, along with my comrades, have taken to traveling the worlds and protecting them from insurging threats.  After what happened with Xylek, I decided that the Order Of The X-Blade needed to be more active, and so we set out to patrol the worlds and ensure their safety.” he answered.  “But lately, things have taken quite the turn, for the Keyblade War has stirred quite the chaos everywhere.  I cannot tell you how horrible this whole affair is, and my comrades are all equally perplexed by all this.  For even with all our efforts, the worlds have fallen, and more keep falling as time passes…I blame it upon myself.  If I had acted sooner, then things would have been different, and…” he drifted off, but Dawn held his face and gave him a sad smile.

 

  “Father, please don’t burden yourself with the past.  I know that you regret what’s happened, but the best thing you can do to atone is to act.  And that’s what you’ve been doing!  You’ve been doing all in your power to help us in our fight against Jexana and her fleet!  You don’t know how much I appreciate your help!” she said.  Those words apparently struck Kosaku, for his sad expression had changed into a smile!  He embraced his daughter once again, and they both held their embrace.

 

  “I love you very much, my dear daughter.” he said.  Dawn smiled, tears rolling down her cheeks.

 

  “I love you too, father!” she replied!  Kosaku then pulled away, and he motioned his head upstairs.  Dawn was confused for a moment, and then Kosaku leaned closely and nudged her shoulder.

 

  “I’m not the only one who’s been wanting to see you.” he said with a soft chuckle.  Dawn then noticed Riku, who was looking at her with a smile on his face!  Kosaku then lightly put his hand on her shoulder.  She glanced back.  “Go.  He’s been waiting for you.” he said.  Dawn nodded and smiled, and then she ran towards Riku, and the two of them embraced tightly, and then they kissed each other with loving passion!  It had been a while since they had seen each other, and now, they just didn’t want to let go of each other!  They wished this moment could last forever!  After a few seconds, they pulled away from each other, and they looked into each other’s eyes.

 

  “I’ve missed you…” Dawn whispered with a hint of lust in her voice.  Riku chuckled and held her close.

 

  “Easy there, girl.  Heh, I’ve missed you too.” he replied, as they both enjoyed the moment they were sharing together now.

(End Song Here)

---

 

(Start Song Here)

  Back at Jexana’s airship, the battle was intensifying by the second!  Jexana was now resorting to using increasingly brutal attacks, extending the range of her spells and using the power of darkness to summon multiple dark snakes!  Kyle was now beginning to have a tough time keeping up with Jexana, as she wouldn’t let up!  In addition to that, Ventus, who had freed himself from Kyle’s spell, was also attacking, and it wasn’t helping things in the least!  Kyle was getting cornered now, and he needed to do something, and fast!  He briefly glanced all around him to see if he could use anything in the surrounding environment to his advantage!  But sadly, he couldn’t look anywhere for long, for he was being met by multiple attacks, courtesy of Jexana and Ventus!  He gritted his teeth as he felt frustrated!

 

  “Damn it…this battle is dragging out…if this keeps up, I’m going to get exhausted…I can’t let Jexana defeat me!  I need to free my Dad!” he thought to himself!  He tried to think of something that would help him gain the upper hand anew!  But, unfortunately, no ideas came to his mind right now, for he couldn’t think too long, due to him being bombarded constantly by attacks!  Jexana smirked as she realized that she was cornering Kyle!

 

  “Ah, not so tough now, are you, little pup!?” she taunted, smacking Kyle’s face and then proceeding to stab through Kyle!  Kyle himself was shocked for a moment, but when he realized that her dark dagger had pierced through him, he noticed that it didn’t leave any scar on his body!  He was beffudlded by this and swung his Keyblade with great fury, causing Ventus and Jexana to both leap back and dodge his attack!  Kyle then looked at his hands, and slowly, his veins started to glow a bright purple!  It was then that he started to feel weak!  He knelt on the ground and felt his breath escaping him, and he was feeling suffocation!  He went limp and fell down on the floor!  He could still see, but his body was immobile!  He glared at Jexana, who was smirking, victory in her grasp!  Ventus remained emotionless, standing by her side.  Jexana then walked towards Kyle and stomped on his body repeatedly!  Jexana let out a satisfied laugh!

 

  “Ha, and here I thought you were going to best me!  It seems that you were wrong!  It looks like all your plans failed, you stupid boy!  Did you really think you could defeat me!?” she asked as she laughed.  Kyle cursed under his breath and gritted his teeth, helpless to do anything!

 

  “What have you done to me!?” he demanded!  Jexana simply put her foot on top of Kyle’s head and then kicked him violently!

 

  “Well, it’s quite simple, actually!  Instead of killing you quickly, I decided to use my dark daggers to poison you with my special brand of darkness!” she answered.  “As you can see, my mastery of darkness has allowed me to use said darkness as a weapon of poison!  And well, since snakes are poisonous, I thought that would be the perfect animal to symbolize my power!” she proclaimed!  She then knelt down and looked at Kyle, who was furious!  “I mean sure, I could have killed you then and there, but I decided that it was best to make you endure a slow, painful death!  That way, you could feel your utter failure, and you would be reminded of it constantly until you die!” she finished up, and she gave out a satisfied laugh!  “Heh, and I’d say this was quite the success!  Now, in just a matter of minutes, you’ll finally die, and I’ll be here to witness it, along with my dear Ventus!” she said!  Kyle couldn’t do anything to change what was already done!  And so, he closed his eyes and fell into despair!

 

  “This is it for me…I tried my best…and I still couldn’t save you…Dad…” he thought to himself.

 

  “No!!!!!” a familiar voice rung loudly!  At that, Kyle’s eyes opened quickly!  He couldn’t believe what he saw next!

 

  Jexana turned around and noticed that Ven’s eyes were normal now!  His face was full of rage and determination!  Could it be that he had finally broken free of Jexana’s hold!?  Kyle was hopeful this was the case, and Jexana was all too fearful to find out!  Emmxett and Tsumugi were speechless, and even Braig found himself quite surprised at this sudden development!

 

  “Oh ho ho…looks like my old friend’s made a rebound!  How very interesting…” Braig remarked as he smirked.  Jexana, on the other hand, was shaking!  She shook her head and couldn’t believe what she was seeing!  Ventus was walking straight towards her, his face plastered with anger!  She shook her head and clenched her fists, refusing to let this go on!

 

  “No…I’m not going to let you get away from me!  You are mine, Ventus, and you will always be mine!  You will not be separated from me again!!!” she yelled out as she attempted to control Ventus again!  Kyle despaired, for he thought that Ventus would unfortunately fall again, but to his surprise, he found that Ventus wasn’t falling!  At the very least, he was trying his hardest to resist Jexana’s powerful control spell!  Jexana was now panicking, for she saw that her spell wasn’t working on him!  Kyle smiled of relief, and he instantly felt as if a gigantic worry had been placed off his shoulders!  He was still immobilized, but now he had confidence that his father could take care of things from here.

 

  “I knew you’d come back…Dad…” he thought to himself, as Ventus kept walking towards Jexana!

 

  “Damn, this isn’t good!  He’s going to kill her!” Emmxett said worriedly!  Tsumugi pretended to feel worried as well, and she feigned to act nervously!

 

  “We can’t break through the barrier…I’m afraid we shall have to prepare for the worst…” she said.  Jexana’s eyes flared with rage and she summoned forth dark swords and attempted to jump over Ventus in order to kill Kyle!

 

  “Damn you, boy!  You will pay for this!!!” she shouted, but was immediately stopped by Ventus, who leapt back in her direction and then pushed her back with his Keyblade!  She landed on the ground roughly, and Ventus placed himself in front of Kyle, in a protective stance!  Jexana’s eyes teared up as she saw that Ventus was indeed free!

 

  “My love…please don’t do this to me!  Please come to me…I need you!” she pleaded, almost innocently!  Ventus could feel his mind falling to Jexana’s spell, but his heart was now ironclad, and even though he was almost pulled into her spell again, his heart kept him strong, and he resisted the spell!

 

  “That’s enough, Jexana!  For so much time now, I was helpless to do anything!  I could only watch as you used me, as you made me hurt the people I love!  But no longer!  You no longer have any control over me, Jexana!  And now you’re going to pay for hurting my family!” he said with ironclad determination apparent in both his voice and his eyes!  Jexana punched the floor in rage.

 

  “No, this is unacceptable!  I refuse to let this happen!” she exclaimed!  Ventus immediately healed Kyle to the best of his abilities, and while the poison was healed, his body still felt numb, so while he was able to stand, he wasn’t able to put up much of a fight.  Ventus then pulled Kyle into an embrace, and the two held each other’s embrace, and they both began to cry!

 

  “Dad…you’re back!” he sniffed as he kept embracing his father!  Ventus nodded.

 

  “Thanks to you, Kyle…you kept fighting, even when I was helpless to do it myself…thank you.” he said, as he then turned around to face Jexana.

 

  “Now then…where were we?” he asked.  Jexana shook her head, still refusing to believe that this was happening to her! 

 

  “Damn you, Kyle…you will pay!!!” she screamed as the attempted to charge at Kyle, but Ventus charged towards her!  But just before he was able to land an attack, a portal opened midway, and it pulled both him and Kyle inside!  And just like that, they both vanished!  Jexana fell to the floor in shock, and the barrier vanished!  Emmxett and Tsumugi immediately came to her aid, while Braig remained where he was, speechless!

(End Song Here)

 

  “Jexana, we’re here for you!” Emmxett said, trying to help her up, but she immediately rejected the help and stood up of her own accord.  Her face was full of shock, anger, sadness and all out frustration!  She clenched her fists, and tears started to roll down her cheeks.

 

  “Damn it…this can’t be!  He’s been taken from me!!!” she exclaimed!  Tsumugi immediately tried to make something out of this situation and cleared her throat.

 

  “We shall go on the hunt for them straightaway…” she said, but Jexana extended her hand and shook her head.

 

  “No…” she answered. At that, Emmxett and Tsumugi both glanced at each other, and Jexana simply turned around, walked into her quarters, and slammed the door shut!  Emmxett shook his head.

 

  “I knew that this would happen inevitably…but she refused to take heed of my counsel…” he said, and then he sighed.  “May this serve as a lesson to her…” he said.  “Anyways, Jexana obviously looks like she won’t be coming out of her quarters, so I shall see to the troops!  We’ll perform a raid on one of the worlds soon, so we’d best prepare.” he explained.  Tsumugi nodded.

 

  “Right away, sir.” she said, and the two of them went to see to the troops!  Braig came down from where he was and slammed his fist against the mast, obviously angered by the outcome of this battle!

 

  “Damn it!  That little brat!  Because of him, Ventus was able to free himself, and my plans went into a downward spiral!  This didn’t go at all like I had planned!” he exclaimed through gritted teeth!  He clenched his fists, but then he regained his composure and shook his head.  “Heh, as if!  I’m getting ahead of myself!  This isn’t over yet…not by a long shot…” he thought to himself, as he gazed up at the stars.

 

  Jexana, in the meantime, was in her quarters, and she wasn’t happy at all!  She had just lost Ventus, and now she had rage, sadness and utmost hatred fueling her very being!  She clenched her fists hard, and tears rolled down her cheeks, but she didn’t yell, she didn’t do such a thing…she kept her tears to herself.  She then looked down on her hands as she loosened them up, relaxing a bit.  This wasn’t over yet, and she knew that she’d have Ventus again by the end.  She was sure of it!  Things had to go her way!  Or so she thought…

 

  At that same moment, Ventus and Kyle came out from the portal that had just suddenly appeared before them, and now, they landed directly in front of what seemed to be a temple!  Kyle and Ventus hadn’t been here before, so they didn’t know what to make of this place!  Even though it looked in quite bad shape, for some reason, there was no hostility or danger nearing this place!  Kyle could have sworn that he felt a familiar presence around!  He looked at Ventus, who was sitting on the ground.  He knelt by his father’s side, and they both smiled.

 

  “Well, it looks like we got lucky…we came out alive!” Kyle mentioned.  Ventus nodded.

 

(Start Song Here)

  “That’s right!  Even though I wanted to settle things with Jexana…I think in the end, it was best for us to have gotten out of there…otherwise, we might be in a sticky situation right now…” Ventus commented, as he thought of what had just transpired!  He then slightly leaned to the right, for he noticed that Kyle had lumped himself on him, and he was crying, his head dug on Ventus’ shoulder!  Kyle cried for a long while, and Ventus did too, and he gently petted his son’s head as the two remained there, after such a long time apart…

 

  “My son…we’re finally together again…” he said.  Kyle nodded.

 

  “That’s right…you’ve finally come back!  I knew you’d come back!” he said as he gave a smile! Ventus looked up at the sky and gave a deep sigh.

 

  “Well, that’s more faith than I had in myself…because for the longest time, I was beginning to accept the fact that perhaps I’d never be free…but here I am now.  Thank you for not giving up on me, Kyle…” Ventus said as he embraced him!  Kyle embraced him tightly, and then, when he saw the temple laying before them, he noticed someone come running down!  It only took a mere few seconds for him to recognize who that person was!  Immediately, his eyes teared up anew!  Ventus seemed to have noticed Kyle’s surprise, as he glanced back and he too, started to tear up!  The two of them stood up, and they started to run towards the person!

 

  “Ventus!  Kyle!” Trish shouted, running towards them with a tearful smile on her face!  Ventus and Kyle couldn’t find words, and when they reached each other, they all embraced each other tightly, as if they had never embraced anyone before in their lives!  They began to bawl out tears, as they held each other closely!  Finally, after all the hardship and hell these three went through…they were finally reunited!  No words could accurately describe how happy they were to see each other again, and they only kept embracing each other for the longest time!  A few seconds later, the rest of the Keyblade Wielders came out, and they remained at the temple entrance, all of them smiling and remaining silent, knowing that Ventus, Trish and Kyle deserved this moment of happiness!  A few of them were tearing up, too!  A few minutes passed, and then Ventus, Trish and Kyle pulled away from their embrace!  Trish smiled and touched both of their faces!

 

  “Two of the most important men in my life have finally returned to me!  Thank goodness you two are back!  I feared that we’d never see each other again!” she exclaimed, a few sobs escaping her!  Kyle laughed and put his arms behind his back, as Ventus would normally do!

 

  “Well, here we are, Mom!  We’re a family again!” he said, and Ventus leaned down his head and knelt down before Trish and Kyle.  The two of them were surprised by this sudden action!

 

  “Dad, what are you—“

 

  “Trish…Kyle…I don’t think any words will be enough to tell you how deeply sorry I am…for everything!  I tried my best to break free of Jexana’s control, and yet, through my best efforts, I still managed to hurt the both of you!” he said, his head bowed down to the ground!  “Trish…I don’t expect you to forgive me…Jexana and I…” he started to say, but Trish immediately put a stop to his sentence and pulled him up.  They both looked into each other’s eyes intensely, and Trish slowly shook her head.

 

  “Thath witch made us both go through hell…this isn’t your fault.  Please remember that!” she said.

 

  “But…I was conscious of what was happening!  Even though I was helpless to stop myself, I was still conscious of…”

 

  “I said that it’s okay!” she interrupted him again!  “That’s precisely why this isn’t your fault.  You were bound inside your own body…there wasn’t anything you could do…I know that.  I forgive you.” she said.  Ventus remained silent.  Kyle put his hand on his shoulder and nodded.

 

  “Mom’s right, Dad.  This wasn’t your fault.” he said.  At that, Ventus began crying anew!

 

  “Thank you…both of you!” he said, as he kept crying, and they embraced once again!

 

  The others were watching this unfold, and they remaind silent.  Alaya stepped forward and glanced at everyone, and then she looked up at the sky.

 

  “The third chosen has arrived…soon it will be time…”

(End Song Here)

----------------------------------------

 

And so, a family has been reunited again after enduring perhaps its most horrifying ordeal yet!  Now that all the Keyblade Wielders are reunited, and the three chosen of the Keys Of Balance are in place, our heroes will now take the initiative and go all out in their attempt to stop the Keyblade War from bringing more destruction!  What will happen next?  Stay tuned for Chapter Thirty Two: “A Brief Respite.”

 

Okay, that was the chapter, everyone!  I’m so so so so so sorry for the extremely long delay, but lately, I’ve been very busy, as I’ve been doing all in my power to get my Driver’s Licensce, and in addition to that, I got a temporary job, so there’s that, too!  Plus, with my house chores and my daily activities, well, the chapter came out a bit later than expected!  For that, I am truly sory!  I hope this chapter was worth it to you all, though!  Thank you so much for your continued patience and support, and as always, please make sure to comment on what you thought about tonight’s chapter!  Until next time, stay tuned for the next one!

[KHLegendIII 709]

Finally!

[KingdomHearts3 2,591]

At last, Ventus is free and what's even better is Jexana has her rear end handed to her and as a bonus, Braig's plan gets blown up in a single moment. If Jexana thinks she will get Ventus back, she is delusional and in denial. That was touching seeing Ventus, Kyle, and Trish all together again.

[The Transcendent Key 12,109]

To KHLegendIII, lol, haha, the moment you've been waiting for finally happened!  And I bet you're very satisfied! X3

 

To KingdomHearts3, yep, Jexana had everything, and now she lost it all!  She's definitely ticked off about what happened, and Braig's plans have definitely been torn asunder!  And yes, a family reunited guarantees touching moments, ya know?

 

Hey there everyone, how’s it going!?  I hope that you’re all having a fine evening today!  So then, here’s yet another chapter of my story, and for this chapter, the action’s going to take a backseat, because after all, our heroes need a momentary time of rest, don’t they?  So then, I hope you’ll all enjoy what’s in store for this chapter!  Without further ado, read on, my loyal followers!

 

Chapter Thirty Two: A Brief Respite

 

  And so, all the Keyblade Wielders had finally assembled, and now, everything was set in place for the pieces to get moving towards the final battle!  Everything was all set, but seeing as how everyone was exhausted, Alaya decided it was best to let the others rest for a bit, so they could be able to renew their strength, and so they could be able to better prepare themselves for the battle ahead!  For she knew that once they all set forth, there would be no turning back!  Odds are that they may not even come out of this alive…but they needed to do all in their power to stop the Keyblade War from bringing more destruction upon the worlds!  Alaya went to her quarters, while everyone else were in different parts of the temple.  Sora, Donald and Goofy were just near the entrance, and they were looking at the horizon, as everything seemed to be really still and silent!

 

  “Gwarsh…everything’s all quiet-like!  Kinda makes ya nervous, don’t ya think?” Goofy asked, feeling a bit uncomfortable!  Donald gave out a sigh.

 

  “I know what you mean, Goofy!  But at least it’s better that it’s this quite, because I prefer that over fighting endless swarms of Heartless and Unborn!” the little duck said.  Sora gave a smile and then looked outside.

 

  “Well, I guess this is what you call the calm before the storm.  After everything we’ve been through, it’s understandable if you feel nervous, Goofy.  I mean, I know how you feel!  This quiet is a little bit unnerving.  But don’t worry about it, we just need some rest, is all.” Sora explained.  Goofy nodded and then felt more at ease.

 

  “I guess you’re right, Sora!  We do need some rest!” he agreed.  Donald then crossed his arms and raised an eyebrow at Goofy.

 

  “Yeah, well you better not get lazy on us, you big palooka!  We need you awake and strong for the final battle!” Donald squawked!  Goofy smiled sheepishly and put his hand behind his head and laughed a bit.

 

  “Don’t worry Donald, I won’t let any of you down!  You can count on that!” he declared. At that, they all smiled and felt much better.  It was these conversations that made them feel at ease despite the current situation at hand.  A few seconds later, Kairi came walking towards them, and as she got closer, Donald and Goofy noticed her, and then they both looked at each other and laughed softly.  Sora raised and eyebrow and put his hands on his hips.

 

  “Hey…what are you guys laughing about?” he asked.  Donald quickly shook his hands and tried holding back a chuckle!

 

  “Oh, nothing, nothing!  We’ll see you later, Sora!” he said.  Before Sora could ask anything, he then saw why they left, as Kairi approached him.  He blushed slightly, as did she, and then they both exchanged honest smiles with each other.  Kairi then came close to Sora and held his hand, and they both squeezed tightly.

 

(Start Song Here)

  “How are you feeling?” Sora asked.  Kairi remained silent for a bit as she lay her head on his shoulder, and then, she looked up at his face and touched it, and then she wrapped herself in his arms.  She gave a deep sigh and looked to the horizon outside, as did Sora.

 

  “I’m doing okay.  Much better, after everything that’s happened.” she answered, and then she paused.  “You know…it felt so surreal.  When I went to get my Key Of Balance, I died…I really did die, and I was in Kingdom Hearts!  It was such a surreal experience, and I saw the child that had helped us defeat Xylek, and I saw Aqua and Terra as well…seeing them again made me feel so happy!  But at the same time, I felt an overwhelming sadness, knowing that they weren’t with us here.  Everything happened so suddenly, and I can’t exactly put it into words.” she kept saying.  Sora remained silent and caressed her as she kept talking.  “I was having doubts of myself…of my responsibilities as a Keyblade Wielder and a Princess Of Heart, and at the time, I didn’t know what to do regarding these responsibilities…but after having died and talking with Aqua and the child…I realized that I needed to keep upholding these responsibilities.  No matter how hard they may seem, I have to keep pushing forward, for the sake of myself and everyone I love.  That’s when I found my resolve renewed!” she finished.  Sora smiled as she said all this, and he kissed her forehead gently.

 

  “You went through a lot, and even though you went through a tough trial, you managed to come out on top, like you always do.  I’m proud of you, Kairi.  And whatever the future holds from now on, I know that it’ll be okay.  We just…have to keep heart and not lose focus of what we have to do!” he said.  “With you by my side, as well as our friends, I know we’ll be able to put a stop to all this, and the worlds can be at peace.” he said, letting the words resonate for a bit.  Then, he scratched his head a bit and started to blush, and then Kairi started to giggle.

 

  “Sora, what’s wrong?  You’re blushing!” she whispered as she tried to hold back laughter.  Sora laughed a bit nervously and cleared his throat, and then his face grew serious.  Kairi was a caught a bit off guard by Sora’s sudden change in expression, and then Sora inhaled deeply and then exhaled. 

 

  “Kairi…there’s something that I want to ask you…” he started.  Kairi remained silent and put her hands behind her back. 

 

  “Yes?” she asked, wanting to know what was on Sora’s mind.

 

  “Well…uh…I was, um, wondering…” he stuttered.  “Oh gosh…I even practiced this by talking to myself, and now I can’t bring myself to say it!” he exclaimed!  He then cleared his throat again and began anew.  “Kairi…when all this is over…” he began, and then he slowly knelt down on one knee.  “I was wondering…if you would marry me?  And I was thinking that…we could also raise a family together!  So uh…what do you think?”  he asked.  Kairi remained stupefied by what he just asked!  She was in shock, and she froze in place!  At that, Sora panicked, and he waved his arms in front of her and shook his head!

 

  “Ahhh, I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have asked this now, but I felt that I needed to!” he said!  “I…I wanted to ask you before the final battle goes down…you don’t have to answer right away!” he reassured!  “Take all the time you—“ he started, but was stopped short by Kairi, who held his face and kissed him passionately!  He kissed back with equal passion, and Kairi started to cry, and then she pulled away from the kiss and hugged Sora, not letting him go!

 

  “Sora…of course I’ll marry you!  I’d love nothing more than that!” she said!  At that, Sora felt like he was about to melt!  Donald and Goofy, who had been spying on them from behind a nearby pillar, were frozen in shock and speechless!  They were obviously happy for Sora, but they never expected for him to propose!  This was something amazing indeed!

(End Song Here)

 

  Meanwhile, Mickey and Minnie were tending to their subjects and to the people from the various worlds who had come to take shelter here!  They were doing their best to make sure everyone felt at home, and seeing everyone at least joined together and smiling was enough to make Mickey feel relief.  Even though things were grim, everyone kept hope alive, for they knew that this horrible nightmare would end!  Mickey found it hard to keep himself strong for everyone, but just as he felt that he was going to lose his grip, Minnie held his hand and squeezed it gently.  He looked at her and smiled.

 

(Start Song Here)

  “Gosh Minnie, I feel a lot less stressful when you’re here with me…it truly does help!” he said, mustering a smile.  Minnie smiled back and looked at everyone, as they either sat in one area or walked along the rooms of the temple!

 

  “Oh Mickey, don’t worry!  We’ll see all of this through to the end, and we’ll put a stop to the Keyblade War!  And in the end, everyone will be able to return to their worlds, and peace will come forth again!  I’m sure you believe this is true!” she said.  Mickey nodded.

 

  “Yes, I do believe that, Minnie.  But, with everything that’s been going on, I’ve been having doubts in my heart…I know that we’ll pull through, but it’s just…I feel scared…” he confessed.  Minnie gently cupped Mickey’s face in her hands and shook her head.

 

  “There’s nothing wrong with being scared, my love.  If anything, that fear is what drives you to become more courageous, both for your sake and for everyone’s sakes!  I know you’re scared…I am too! But we won’t let fear get the best of us!  Not when everyone’s counting on us!” she said, and Mickey felt those words and took them to heart.  He felt inspired by those words!

 

  “You know what, Minnie?  You’re right!  I’m not going to let fear get the best of me!  I’m going to stay strong for everyone and have courage!  That’s what I’ll do!” he proclaimed!  Minnie gave a heartfelt giggle!

 

  “That’s the Mickey I know!  Hehe, now then, let’s see to our subjects!” she said, and with that, she and Mickey went to talk to the subjects to see if there was anything that they needed!

(End Song Here)

 

(Start Song Here)

  Outside the temple, Dexeres, Vanitas and Gilgamesh stood, watching over the surrounding area, but at the same time, they were relaxing, for with the current situation, they needed a bit of time to refresh themselves!  Vanitas had his back leaning on a nearby boulder, while Gilgamesh was standing a few feet apart from him, with arms crossed!  Dexeres was a litte further apart from them, looking at the horizon, thinking deeply upon the things to come, especially when it comes to facing Tsumugi again.  He knew he’d eventually have to confront her, and he knew that he might have to kill her, but he didn’t want to!  He just felt that strong sting of pain in his heart, and he didn’t want to feel that pain again!  Vanitas and Gilgamesh noticed this, and they glanced at each other worriedly.  Deciding to try to break the ice, Vanitas stepped forward and walked towards Dexeres, stopping to stand beside him.

 

  “Still thinking about her?” he asked.  Dexeres quietly nodded while looking at the horizon.  He then gave out a deep sigh and looked down at his hands, then closing them into fists.

 

  “I don’t know what to do, Vanitas…Tsumugi was the one I loved…the one I held dear before everything happened!  For all this time, I thought her dead.  But here she is now, alive and well, but she’s with the enemy!  She’s being controlled by them!  I…I know that somehow, Tsumugi is still in there, and she doesn’t want to fight…but her body is not under her control, her thoughts completely restricted to the person giving orders…I…I’m at a loss with what to do.” he said, and then he paused.  “I know that it’s only a matter of time before we see each other again on the battlefield…but when that time comes, I can’t hesistate.  If I need to kill her, I’ll have to do it…there’s no other way.” he concluded, but he obviously didn’t like this idea.  Vanitas closed his eyes and thought deeply upon his friend’s words, and he thought about what he was going tos ay before going on to say it.  Usually, when it came to these kinds of things, it was oftentimes difficult for Vanitas to come up with good advice.  Even though he would give amazing advice to everyone, he’d always try to put the words together in his mind before saying his thoughts.  He knew that Dexeres was hurting badly, and he knew that no simple words could confort him, but even so, he had to try his best for him!

 

  “Well, we never know what’s going to happen in the future.  Nothing is ever certain, no matter how apparent it can be.  The one and only true thing that’s certain in this life is death, but everything else is a random factor.” he began.  Dexeres remained silent, and so Vanitas continued.  “True, your girl may be with the enemy, but that doen’t necesarily mean she’ll stick with the enemy for too long, you know what I’m saying?  I mean, look at me!” he said as he stretched out his arms.  “I used to hate Ventus’s guts, and I would’ve done anything to kill him!  And I pretty much hated all of you idiots!  But, with time, and after much thought, I had a change of heart, and well, here I am now, friends with you bunch of losers!” he said with a smirk.  He let the words hang in the air, and eventually, Dexeres let out a small chuckle.  At that, Vanitas laughed and nodded.

 

  “You see!?”  There you go!” he proclaimed!  “Just know that everything that happens in the future is a random factor…we can never know with absolute certainty what’s in store for us, but the best thing we can do is be prepared for the unexpected, even though that fails at times too!” he stated.  “Don’t convince yourself that killing your girl’s the only way you can free her.  Maybe there’s another way that doesn’t require her to die, you know what I’m saying?” he finished.  He then put his hand on Dexeres’ shoulder.  “It’ll be okay, you’ll see.  Am I right, Gilgamesh?” he asked, glancing over at him, and he nodded and walked towards the two of them!

 

  “But of course!  We must keep heart and press forward, no matter what trials and tribulations may await us down the road!  That’s the thrill of living life to the fullest!  The fact that you never know what complications you will face!  Sure, at first, things may seem impossible, but with a strong heart, you can push past the complications and make the impossible possible!  I am sure you will find a way to bring peace between yourself and your woman that doesn’t require slaughter!  I am with Vanitas in this!” the proud warrior proclaimed! Dexeres smiled and shook his head.

 

  “Huh, well I’m a real mess, aren’t I?  Heh, thanks guys.” he said.  They both nodded, when suddenly, a small orb of light slowly started to float down from the sky, heading down to their direction!

 

  “Huh?  What’s that?” Dexeres asked as he reached out for the orb…

(End Song Here)

 

  Inside the temple, in the resting quarters, Raxon and Sky were resting up, and they had done so for quite a while now.  They were in bed, but they weren’t asleep.  Rather, they were just looking at the ceiling, and they hadn’t been talking much.  There were times when words won’t necesarry.  Just having each other’s company was enough, and both of them knew that.  Sky turned over to look at Raxon, who was at the bed across from him.

 

  “I wonder what time it is, kupo?” the little moogle asked wearily, as he rubbed his eyes.  Raxon glanced over at him and then turned around to look at him.  He yawned and stretched his arms.

 

  “I don’t know, mate.  But I think we’ve been here for a while, though.  Everything’s quite, so I bet nothing’s happening, otherwise Alaya would have sent for us.” he answered. 

 

  “True, kupo.” Sky agreed.  “I wonder if…Kyle’s okay?” he asked.  Raxon was about so say something, when they heard some footsteps comign in their direction!  They expected Alaya, but they saw that it was Kyle who had come up to see them!  Kyle immediately went towards them!

 

(Start Song Here)

  “Guys!” he shouted as he went to hug Sky and then went to hug Raxon!  “I’m so glad that you two are doing okay!  I was worried about you!” he stated!  Raxon and Sky were also happy to see him, and they stood up from their beds and then they all sat on the floor! 

 

  “So, any luck with your Dad?” Raxon asked, remembering Kyle’s struggle.  Kyle happily smiled and raised his fist in determination!

 

  “Yeah!  I was able to save him from Jexana, and I was able to bring him back here!  He’s downstairs with Mom!  I guess you weren’t with the others when we arrived, huh?” Kyle asked.  Raxon nodded.

 

  “Aye, Sky and I were up here, resting.  But I cannot tell you how happy I am that you’ve finally reunited with both of your parents!  I bet you must feel a giant surge of relief, eh mate?” he asked.  Kyle nodded and his expression indicated he agreed with Raxon’s words.

 

  “Definitely…now I can finally rest easy, knowing that both of my parents are safe now…and welll, we’re a family again!” he answered.  Sky flapped his wings and then flew around Kyle a few times, happy with the good tidings!

 

  “Oh, that’s just wonderful, Kyle!  I’m so happy that you were able to reunite with your family, kupo!” the little moogle congratulated sincerely!  Kyle laughed, and Raxon and Sky felt happy for their friend, for seeing him so happy definitely lifted up their spirits, despite the situation at hand.  Kyle’s face then grew serious, and then he looked at the floor thoughtfully before turning his attention to Raxon and Sky again.

 

  “And in addition to all that, I found out about the Deity inside me.” he stated.  At that, Raxon and Sky drew quiet.  Seeing as they weren’t going to say anything, Kyle continued to speak.  “During my journey, I came upon a guy named Braig, and he told me of this Key Of Balance…that it was something that I had to gain…and well, I never trusted him, but he seemed to be telling the truth regarding that.  He took me to the Keyblade Graveyard, and there, I faced an ordeal, as I fought the Deity, who took corporeal form.  His name was Ulrich.  I also met someone named Shia…they told me about the true nature of the Deities.” he explained.  At the mention of Shia, Raxon’s eyes grew wide.  Kyle took notice of this and tilted his head.

 

  “Is something wrong?” he asked. Raxon remained quiet for a moment before answering.

 

  “The thing is…that woman you mentioned, Shia, well…there was a time when I knew her.  Well, not knew her like I know you precisely, but more of…well, it’s kind of hard to explain.” he answered, trying to find the right words to say.  He then recompiled his thoughts and then proceeded to explain himself.  “Quite a while back, just before I met Sky, I had encountered this Shia on my travels.  I was already on my journey to take my revenge on Jexana, when she appeared all of a sudden!  She explained to me how I would go down a dark path if I kept having thoughts of revenge, but I didn’t listen to her.  She said that there would be people that would stand in my way…people who I had never seen before.  People who would be drawn to my darkness…my hatred and lust for revenge.  Those people were the ones who wielded the Dark Light, and housed Deities inside them…” he said. 

 

  “Wielded?” Kyle asked.  Raxon nodded.

 

  “Aye…the first time I encountered one of these people, I was practically almost beaten to death…but I managed to outlast my opponent, but I wasn’t able to bring him down.  I witnessed how horrifying the power of the Dark Light could be…and how the Deity housed in him could bring so much death…” he said as he started trailing off.  He then came to and kept explaining.  “Because of my arrogance, many innocent people paid for my mistakes, and that first Deity destroyed many lives...I hunted him down and managed to kill him on our second encounter, and then Shia appeared before me again, saying that as long as I’d have a thirst for vengeance, people with the Deities housed in them would hunt for me.  That’s when I decided that I’d kill every one of them…” he said, then pausing.  Sky remained quiet, and so did Kyle.

 

  “By my fifth encounter with these people, I had decided that I would ensure that I’d kill every single one of these Deity wielding individuals.  I’d kill them before they’d go off and hurt other people because of me…and for the most part, I managed to succeed.  Even with my best efforts, people still died…but after having killed a great many of these Deity wielding people, and realizing that no more had come hunting for me…I thought that I had finished them all off.” he said.

 

  “Until I came along…” Kyle finished.  Raxon nodded.

 

  “Aye…when you came, and when we dueled, I could feel that you had that same power as the others.  And when you proved me right, I immediately knew that I had to take you down.  But at the same time, there was somthing inside me telling me that I shouldn’t kill you.  But my hatred was strong, and I couldn’t see past my anger…” he said.

 

  “So that’s why you didn’t trust me at first!” Kyle concluded.

 

  “Yep!  Please don’t take it personally, Kyle!  Raxon had to fight all those people and kill him, so he didn’t trust any of them!  That’s why we didn’t trust you in the beginning, kupo…” Sky said apologetically.  Kyle shook his head and smiled.

 

  “No, no, there’s no reason to apologize.  I can see now you had good reasons for mistrusting me. Now I have a clearer picture of things!” Kyle remarked.

 

  Raxon stood up from the floor and looked up at the ceiling.

 

  “That Ulrich fellow you had housed in you…I had encountered him before.  I can’t exactly explain how, but I think that the way it makes most sense is that I saw him in my dreams.  It felt horrifyingly real, though!  I could feel his darkness, and how he wanted to take over me!  I remember him saying something about needing a better host…apparently, he was having a hard time trying to take over you.” he said.  “And so he haunted me in my sleep for many, many nights.  About a week before Sky and I met you, the nightmares stopped.  And when I fought you and heared Ulrich talk, well, I became restless…” Raxon explained.  Kyle nodded in understanding.

 

  “I see…wow, that explains a lot!” Kyle pointed out.  Raxon shook his head.

 

  “I’m sorry for having treated you the way I did.  I shouldn’t have been so quick to mistrust you, but given how things had fared for me, I had to be cautious.” the pirate said as he bowed his head in apology.  Kyle put his hand on his shoulder and smiled.

 

  “Hey, that’s in the past, and we’ve already gone through that, so there’s no need to be feeling sorry!  You acted the way you thought you should act!  Look, the important thing is that now we’ve come to an understanding, and we know each other a lot better!” Kyle said cheerfully.  Raxon scoffed and shook his head.

 

  “My goodness, you’re quite the overly forgiving person, aren’t you?” he asked.  Kyle shrugged and laughed.

 

  “Heh, I guess so.” he replied!  At that, they all started to laugh for no reason at all!  Raxon thought deeply as they laughed, and he felt at peace, if only slightly for a moment!  He still had his mind set on revenge, but right now, he was willing to put that anger aside and enjoy the current moment.

(End Song Here)

 

(Start Song Here)

  At that same moment, Ventus and Trish were together, in one of the back chambers of the temple.  They had been alone together  for quite some time now, and they just held each other’s hands and walked along the temple.  The silence that loomed over them wasn’t one out of discomfort.  It was more of a relieved silence.  The kind where they were happy to be together and relieved that the nightmare they had been living had ended.  Well, at least to some degree.  Ventus and Trish then stopped as they neared a curve in the path that circled the temple, and Ventus cupped Trish’s face in his hands, and he gave out a deep sigh.  He then kissed Trish passionately, and she kissed him back with equal passion, and they embraced tightly, for they had missed each other very much!  They then pulled away and smiled.  Trish gave out a satisfied sigh as she looked at Ventus, and she touched his face gently.

 

  “There was one point where I thought I’d die…and that I’d never get to see you or Kyle again.  And thinking about that horrified me…it made me fall into despair, thinking that I’d never be able to gaze upon your faces again!  I’m just…still shocked that we actually survived this!” she commented. Ventus nodded.

 

  “Yeah…this has been quite a wild mess we’ve been in, huh?” he said, as they both chuckled gently.  “Thanks to Kyle and to our friends, we’re here.  And now, we’ve got to make the most of this and push forward, and help our friends end the Keyblade War once and for all!” he stated with confidence!

 

  “That’s right!  And after all this is over, we can go back to living our lives as a family again, with Kyle by our side!” Trish stated.  Ventus gently squeezed her hand, and then he looked at her with a sad expression on his face.

 

  “Trish…I can’t tell you enough how sorry I am…for everything…I-“ he started to say, but Trish quickly put her finger on his lips to silence him, and she shook her head and smiled.

 

  “Like I said, it’s okay.  We’re here now, and that’s what matters.  Don’t you go sad on me, you hear?” Trish asked as she pouted.  Ventus chuckled and hugged Trish. 

 

  “Okay!  Heh, come on, let’s keep walking together.” he said, as they continued to walk.  They were both immensely joyful that they were together again!  Despite the darkness of war, they were able to hold on to a shred of light thanks to their love for each other.  And that was something that was truly wonderful!

(End Song Here)

 

(Start Song Here)

  Further along the temple, Riku and Dawn were sitting together on the floor near a set of stairs that led downward.  They had been talking to each other ever since she arrived, and they were enjoying each other’s company!  Dawn was happy that Riku’s wounds had finally healed, and she could see that he looked quite better, compared to when she last saw him!  It seemed as though they had been talking for days, when really, it had just been a few hours!  They were smiling, and they felt happy to be with each other!  But as they continued to talk, Dawn’s face grew grim, and Riku noticed this, and then he gently touched her face and made her look at him.  They held each other’s gaze, and without words, she knew that he was trying to comfort her.  That’s when she threw herself in his arms and let him hold her! She started to cry, tears rolling down her face continuosly!  She had been acting so strong for everyone, but on the inside, she had finally snapped!  Riku held her close and embraced her and remained silent.

 

  “Riku…I saw so much anguish and despair…it was unbearable for me!  I…I tried to be strong, and yet, so much death surrounded me!  It was all  too overwhelming!  I still find it overwhelming…” she whispered.  Riku gently stroked her head and held her close.

 

  “I’m sorry that you had to go through all that Dawn…I can’t even begin to imagine how horrible it must have been.” he said, trying to comfort her.  She looked up at him and shook her head.

 

  “I saw a friend die by my very side, with my own eyes!  He was right there beside me, and I couldn’t do anything to save him!” she exclaimed!  But then, she calmed down.  “I know that it wasn’t my fault, but I feel a responsiblity for the people that have died around me…I feel like it’s my duty to see this through to the end,  so that their hearts may know rest.  I accept the fact that what happened to Valgard was an accident…I accept the fact that things happen unpredictably and are out of my control. I get that.  But even so, I need to hold myself responsible for these people’s lives!  I owe it to them to finish this, so that they can be able to rest in peace!” she said, now with a more determined face, the last of her tears falling!  Riku gave her a proud smile, and he nodded.  They then interwtined each other’s hands and felt each other’s warmth.

 

  “We’ll go through this, together.  No matter what happens, we’ll keep on going.  For all the lives lost to this war, and for all the lives counting on us!” he said.

 

  “That’s right!” Dawn replied.

 

  “Well, now that we’re all here, I guess it’s only a matter of time before we set out.  After all, we’ve had just about enough rest, and I’m sure everyone else is ready to head out.  We’ll have to be prepared for anything!” Riku remarked.  He then extended his arm towards a bag that was on his left side, and from it, he seemed to have a healthy variety of ítems!  Dawn peeked curiously at the bag, and Riku took some ítems out from it!  “Hi-Potions, Mega Potions, Elixirs, Megalixirs, Ethers…we need all of these ítems, as many as possible if we’re to set out soon!  We may not be able to come back, so we need to be able to keep up our strengths for as long as we possibly can!  I’ve done some scrounging up, and I figure that with the ítems in this bag, we’ll be able to last quite a while!” he explained as he sorted out the ítems, checking to see how many they were.  Dawn looked at the ítems and nodded.

 

  “That’s clever thinking!  You do have a good point!  We should keep as many ítems in hand as we can!” she stated.  Riku finished counting the ítems that he had taken out of the bag, and he then put them back in.

 

  “Well, at least we have enough ítems, so that’s one less thing to worry about.” Riku said, and then he stood up and helped Dawn stand up.  “Come on, let’s go downstairs with the others!” he suggested.  Dawn smiled.

 

  “Okay, let’s go!” she said, as they both walked downstairs!

(End Song Here)

 

(Start Song Here)

  On another part of the temple, near what seemed to be an inner garden, Xion, Yen Sid and Alaya were together alongside Maleficent, Pete, Armored Eraqus and Guardian Xehanort!  They had been planning their next course of action, discussing a multitude of ways they could go about their mission to stop the Keyblade War!  They had been discussing for quite a while now, and after a few ideas that were tosed around, it seemed as though they didn’t have a set strategy in place as of yet.  Xion had he reyes closed as she was deep in thought.  Yen Sid was looking up at the ceiling while stroking his beard, and Alaya was looking down to the floor while rubbing her chin.  They were at a loss as to what to do!  Maleficent and her party were patiently awaiting for another idea to surface.  Seeing as though no ideas were being placed now, Maleficent cleared her throat. 

 

  “Well then, I suppose I shall have to suggest another strategy for us to implement?” she asked.  Alaya crossed her arms and looked at the dark fairy.

 

  “Well, if there’s any strategy you’ve come up with, feel free to speak your mind!” she conceded.  Maleficent then walked to the center of the garden and took a look at her surroundings.  Pete was wondering why she was doing that, but he knew better than to question her, so he remained silent.  Armored Eraqus and Guardian Xehanort simply remained where they were, stoic and silent.  They seemed to be more like statues than people, for they barely moved at all!  Maleficent then cleared her throat and got everyone’s attention.

 

  “Well then, it’s clear that right now we face an enemy that surpasses quite the perceptions of countable numbers…so in that regard, we are completely in the dark.  We don’t know how many more people this Jexana girl has recruited to her army, and if her army grows day by day, then who knows how many more soldiers have joined her since!  In terms of numbers, we are at a disadvantage…” she stated.  Everyone remained silent.  She continued.

 

  “Splitting up at this point in the conflict would not do us a bit of good, as we may be outnumbered easily, and if anything should happen, we would probably be cut off from each other.  So splitting up is not an option!  What we need to do is stick together and go through the worlds….or well, at least what’s left of them.” she scoffed.  Then she became angry.  “Those imbeciles think that they can destroy the worlds I yearn to conquer!  They’ll learn soon enough not to cross me!” she growled, but then regained her composure.  “But in any case, any course of action, any strategy that we put in place must have our togetherness in mind.” she finished.

 

  “I agree with her.  If we split up, things are bound to get wild, and we don’t want that right now…” Xion said.  “I can feel the power of all the armies gathering towards Jexana…it’s an intimidating amount of power, that’s for sure.  We’ve already gone to as many worlds as we can, and most of them have been destroyed or are being destroyed!  We need to meet Jexana’s army in one place so we can fend them off and destroy them, therefore, preventing the worlds from suffering further casualties!” she stated.  Everyone nodded in agreement.

 

  “Well, I dunno about you guys, but I mean gosh, with all these armies coming together to fight for that Jexana person, isn’t it kinda odd that we don’t have an army of our own?  I mean, we may be powerful, but not even we can take on such ridiculously gigantic odds!  We need to find an army of our own!  And once we have that army, we’ll at least have a fighting chance!” Pete added in.  Yen Sid nodded.

 

  “That is correct.  But do not forget, two of our friends have powers to summon forth armies that can help us in the conflict to come.” the old wizard mentioned.

 

  “Ah, that’s right! Dexeres can control the Nobodies, and Vanitas can control the Unversed!  While we do have that advantage, it still won’t be enough, given the massive amount of armies that are gathering under Jexana.  And they aren’t just any cookie cutter enemies either.  They’re quite strong!” Xion commented.  That’s when Yen Sid’s eyes lit up!

 

  “I just remembered…” he spoke, and everyone turned their attention towards him.

 

  “Before the final battle against Xehanort, Sora and Riku both undertook the Mark Of Mastery examination, in order to gain new power!  The key thing to note here, friends, is that they took this Mark Of Mastery in the Realm Of Sleep!” he said, letting those last words hang in the air.  Everyone’s eyes lit up, for they hadn’t thought upon this possibility!  “With this being said, since Sora and Riku have traveled through the Realm Of Sleep before, then they can do so again, and they could be able to gather up the Dream Eaters, and there could be a way to pull them through the Realm Of Sleep and bring them over to us, so that we may have another army at our disposal.  This could be a very good opportunity for us to even up the odds.” Yen Sid finished.

 

  “That is a good idea.  I shall summon forth Sora and Riku immediately then.  I will be right back!” Alaya said, as she went to look for Sora and Riku!

 

  “Well, at least we have somethin’!  It’s better than not having a plan, dontcha think?” Pete asked.

 

  “Agreed.  At least we have a plausible course of action.” Maleficent said.

 

  After a few minutes, Alaya came with Sora and Riku, and Kairi had come as well.  Alaya explained the situation at hand and Yen Sid’s idea, and as soon as she finished explaining everything, Sora and Riku gave each other a momentary glance and then they nodded.

 

  “Sounds like a plan!” Sora said.

 

  “We’ll go into the Realm Of Sleep, and we’ll do all in our power to bring the Dream Eaters over here.” Riku stated.  Alaya nodded. 

 

  “I have no doubt about it.” she said, having faith in them.  Kairi then thought of something, and she cleared her throat to get everyone’s attention.

 

  “Guys, I think I can also help!  I think we may have another army that can help us!” she stated.  Alaya seemed surprised, and she wondered who she could mean.

 

  “Remember when I said that I was able to come to an understanding with Lilith and her Knights Of Ygdrassil, and how they left Arendelle without violence?” Kairi said.  Alaya nodded.

 

  “Yes, I remember.  Wait, do you mean to say that you can convince them to fight for us?” she asked.  Kairi smiled.

 

  “Yes, I think so!  It may take a bit, but I think I can get through to Lilith, and we can come to an agreement!” she answered. 

 

  “Then we possibly have two new armies at our disposal now.  It seems we might even the odds after all.” Yen Sid remarked.  Everyone now seemed more hopeful, for the thought of having more numbers to aid them was quite the comforting thought!  Suddenly, Dexeres came into the inner garden, and he seemed to be quite riled up!  Everyone wondered why he seemed to look so shocked and surprised!  Soon after, everyone else followed, and now all of them were gathered in the garden, and Dexeres looked at everyone, to make sure that no one was missing, and then he took out a piece of paper he had in his hand!

 

  “Everyone, I have something that can prove to be helpful to us!  This will probably help us turn the tide against Jexana’s forces!” he declared!  Everyone seemed shocked by this sudden announcement, and Alaya wondered why he thought his information would be helpful.

 

  “And who gave you this information, if I may ask?” she spoke aloud.  Dexeres hesitated a bit before answering, but then he inhaled and exhaled and looked at everyone.

 

  “It’s…Tsumugi…the woman who we had crossed paths with when we were with Jack Sparrow and Barbossa…” he answered.  At that, everyone’s eyes opened wide!

 

  “Her!?  But she’s with Jexana!  How do we know this isn’t some kind of trap she’s laying for us!? Donald squawked worriedly!  Everyone murmured to each other, for they seemed to have the same concern!  Dexeres quickly stopped the murmuring, though.

 

  “I have a feeling…that what she’s saying could be helpful to us…at least hear me out!” he pleaded!  Everyone then went silent, and that’s when Dexeres knew that he could proceed.

 

  “According to the information that Tsumugi gave me, it seems as though Jexana’s looking for some kind of ancient tomb that’s located somewhere in the Lanes Between!  It’s probably a world we haven’t been to yet!” he started to explain.  “It seems as though this tomb houses an ancient power, and said ancient power is said to choose someone who has notable strength of heart!  If the person is proven worthy, then an entire army shall be made available to the person with that strength of heart!” Dexeres finished.  At that, everyone seemed to rethink the situation, and it seemed as though they were welcoming this information!

 

  “Gwarsh, I wonder what kind of army that tomb has?” Goofy asked.  Dexeres shook his head.

 

  “That’s the only thing that this information doesn’t reveal.  It doesn’t seem as though Jexana knew what this tomb contained, only that whatever power it has can only be unlocked by the strength of a person’s heart!  So we’re technically in the dark as to what this army could be.  But with that being the case, i think it imperative that we get to this location before Jexana and claim the army for our own!  That way, we can at least have a chance at holding off Jexana’s forces!” Dexeres concluded.

 

  “Hmph, it seems as though we have multiple chances of turning the odds in our favor.  Let us hope that all these chances pay off!” Maleficent noted.

 

  “Well, then we should quickly spring into action!  The more time we waste, the more the worlds shall fall into turmoil!  We must not delay any longer!” Yen Sid advised.  Everyone agreed, and so, it seemed that their time of rest had come to an end, and now, they would need to move, for if they wanted to gain the upper hand against Jexana, they’d have to do everything in their power to gain as much strength as possible!

(End Song Here)

 

---

 

(Start Song Here)

  Meanwhile, Jexana’s fleet had come upon a resting place, and for the moment, all the airships were undergoing maintenance and repairs.  The soldiers were busy at work, making sure that their equipment was in check and that everything was in order!  Emmxett was busy overseeing the organization of the different armies, while Tsumugi was overseeing the next set of worlds they’d raid.  She was fighting off Jexana’s control greatly, but she could feel the heavy weight of Jexana’s power taking over her, and the more she tried to resist, the weaker she became!  She didn’t make it apparent, though, and she did all she could in order to make Jexana believe that she was still under her control!  Jexana, on the other hand, remained in her quarters.  She hadn’t gone out ever since she lost Ventus, and no one had come to approach her, for they knew that it was best to leave her be.  She sat alone in her chair, her arms on her desk, her head bowed down.  There was no telling what dark thoughts she was thinking, but it was clear that Jexana had deep boiled hatred for Kyle, more than ever, for taking Ventus away from her!

 

  “That stupid boy!  He’s going to regret ever having taken my beloved away from me!  I swear, the next time I see him, I’ll kill him where he stands! I won’t let him beg for his life!  He doesn’t deserve that luxury!” she talked to herself, as she clenched her fists.  She then heard a chuckle from the shadows.  She quickly glanced backwards, and noticed that it was Braig, who had been leaning his back on the wall.  How long had he been there, she wondered.

 

  “Well, aren’t you the sad little girl! Cranky that you got your toy taken away from you?” he teased.  Jexana growled and quickly summoned forth her dark knives and pointed them at Braig’s neck instantly!

 

  “Shut up, you bastard!  You didn’t do anything to help!  You just stood there and watched the battle, you didn’t even bother to come down and stop Kyle from taking away Ventus!” she protested!  Braig raised his arms and shook them in the air.

 

  “Now now, didn’t you say that you wanted the pleasure of killing the kid for yourself?  If I would’ve come down to help, you’d have only given me a sneer!  So I did what you wanted, don’t go blaming me for your sloppiness!” Braig replied, smirking as he enjoyed watching Jexana boíl with anger!

 

  “Why, you little…” she said, as she attempted to strike Braig, but he quickly blocked her attack and then twisted her wrist and held her arm!

 

  “Now, now, little sis, don’t get yourself into any unnecesarry trouble!  You know that you haven’t lost yet!” he said.  Jexana looked confused for a moment.

 

  “What do you mean by that…?” she asked. 

 

  “Pfft, well, Ventus may be out of your reach now, but you’ll eventually meet up with Kyle again!  Once you do, you can end him once and for all, I can have my Key Of Balance, and you can have your boy toy!  So I think we’re still in the game, wouldn’t you agree?” he asked.  At that, Jexana’s face softened, and she withdrew her dark knife and then turned away, returning to her chair and sitting on it.

 

  “Well, there is some reasoning behind your thoughts…it’s true, we haven’t lost this battle yet…but things didn’t go our way the first time.  What makes you think we’ll succeed a second time?” she asked.

 

  “Oh gosh little sis, I’m hurt!  I thought you’d have a bit more faith in your big bro!  But well, you are a cranky one, so I don’t blame you for doubting me.” he teased.  Jexana rolled he reyes in disapproval of this comment.  “Heh, you’ll see.  We’ll plan this all out accordingly, and the next time we come across those idiots, we’ll make sure that we’re the ones who come out on top!  It’s all a matter of strategy!” he said as he waved his hand dismissively.

 

  “Well, let’s just hope that things go according to plan this time…” Jexana remarked.

 

  “Oh don’t worry, we’ll make sure that things go in our favor this time around. Trust me, I’ve got this…” Braig said as he smirked.  He then opened up a portal of darkness, and once he walked through it, he disappeared.  Jexana was now alone again.  However, this time she seemed more confident that things would work out in her favor the next time!

 

  “Kyle…you’ve just guaranteed yourself a death sentence by my hand…and once I see you again, you will regret having taken Ventus away from me!  I need to save my beloved!  Being with those wretched fools will twist his mind!  I need to save him before it’s too late!” she replied, as she clenched her fists, a look of determination now forming on her face!

(End Song Here)

------------------------------------

 

And so, our heroes hopefully have a means for with which to turn the tide of the Keyblade War in their favor! Will their plans work out?  Will they be able to get the Dream Eaters, Lilith’s Knights Of Ygdrassil and the mysterious army that Dexeres spoke about to their side?  Be prepared for Chapter Thirty Three: “Return To The Realm Of Sleep!”

 

Well everyone, that was the chapter, I hope that you all enjoyed it!  So then, I’m guessing you all didn’t expect for the Dream Eaters to be mentioned in my story, huh?  Haha, well, I hope that their mentioning in this chapter surprised you!  But yeah, the next couple of chapters will be exciting, so stay tuned!  Please be excited! Thank you all so very much for your continued patience and support, and as always, please make sure to post your thoughts on what you thought of tonight’s chapter!  So then, until the next time, stay tuned for the next one!

[KHLegendIII 709]

This was a great chapter.

[KingdomHearts3 2,591]

Nice. Now everything comes into place. Keyblade War? I don't think it's such a war. It is a war, but not really with Keyblade wielders like the first time and most likely the second time. More like all types of darkness are now fighting each other and a powerful organization with no keyblade wielder whatsoever is raiding and destroying worlds. Nonetheless though, great story and nice chapter.

 

Ah, nothing like seeing a real marriage and a real relationship. Sora and Kairi, Riku and Dawn, and Ventus and Trish; those are real relationships and marriages.

[Keyblade101 526]

Wow, what a couple of awesome chapters.  :smile:

 

We got a bit more insight on Raxon's past.

 

One question: WHY IS JEXANNA SO OBSESSED WITH VENTUS?!?!?!?!?!?!

 

I mean was it even explained how she knew him? If it was I've completely forgotten so I'll need reminding.

[The Transcendent Key 12,109]

To KHLegendIII, haha, thanks, I'm glad you liked the chapter!

 

To KingdomHearts3, haha, yep, everything is set in place!  It's all just a matter of time before the final showdown finally peeks its head, and it'll be awesome, I can assure you that much!  And well, we'll see what happens in terms of the whole keyblade aspect of the Keyblade War!  And yeah, love is a wonderful thing, and the couples in this story symbolize it, even in the dark times they're going through! Also, I'm glad you liked the chapter! ^_^

 

To Keyblade101, thanks, I'm glad you liked the chapters!  Yep, now you can come to a better understanding of Raxon!  And well, as for Jexana's obsession with Ventus, what could it be indeed? And no, don't worry, it's never explained how she knows him and whatnot.

 

Hey there everyone, and good evening to all of you!  I hope that you’re all doing okay!  So then, here’s another chapter of my story!  For this chapter, Sora and Riku will be returning to the Realm Of Sleep!  Isn’t that exciting!?  Let’s see what’s in store for the two Keyblade Wielders! Read on, my loyal followers!

 

Chapter Thirty Three: Return To The Realm Of Sleep

 

  After all the Keyblade Wielders made preparations to be on their way and prepare for the final battle, Sora and Riku came to Alaya and Yen Sid, who were still in the inner garden.  Alaya nodded as she saw the two of them, and Yen Sid stroked his beard, as he seemed to be thinking about something.  Alaya walked towards the two Keybalde Wielders and looked at them in the eye.

 

  “Are you two ready for this?” she asked.  They both nodded.

 

  “Yep, just give us the gateway, and we’re all set!” Sora replied cheerfully!  Yen Sid stopped stroking his beard and then he looked at Sora and Riku.

 

  “Remember, it has been quite some time since the two of you journeyed to the Realm Of Sleep, so who knows how much has changed since the last time you went to it!  You must proceed with caution, and make sure not to forget the task at hand!  We’re all counting on you two!  Go now, and when the task at hand is accomplished, come back safely to us.” he said.  Riku smiled and looked at Sora.

 

  “Don’t worry Yen Sid, I’ll be by Sora’s side.  If I don’t keep an eye on him, he’s bound to doze off…” he commented.  At that, Sora pouted and put his arms on his hips.

 

  “Hey, what’s that supposed to mean!?” Sora exclaimed!  Riku simply laughed, and Alaya and Yen Sid couldn’t help but do so as well!  But, they all grew serious in a matter of seconds, and so, Yen Sid proceeded to open the gateway leading towards the Realm Of Sleep!  The portal opened, and it was a vibrant, pearlish purple color!  Sora and Riku glanced at each other, and then they both stepped in.  Once they stepped through, they found themselves losing any sense of solid footing, and then they found themselves falling down what seemed to be an endless abyss!  At first, Sora and Riku felt disoriented, but then…

 

(Start Song Here)

  “Oh wait, I remember this!” Sora yelled, as he was a short distance apart from Riku, and the wind was blowing harshly on their faces.  “I remember that in our last time here, every time we’d visit a Sleeping World, we had to dive through the gateway leading to it!” Sora explained! Riku acknowledged what Sora said, and then he looked down, as he saw some small obstacles coming into view.

 

  “Wow, I’m surprised you remember that, Sora!  It’s been so long, I almost forgot about this!” he said.  “Well, let’s dive through this gateway!” Riku replied, and Sora nodded, and so, the two of them straightened themselves out in midair and then dove down.  They slowly started to pick up speed, and as they encountered different obstacles such as floating debris or instantaneous objects that would appear from thin air, they found themselves twirling and weaving and dodging whatever came their way!  So far, so good!  A few minutes had passed, and they started to see the end of the gateway in sight!  But that’s when something started to appear in the distance!  Sora and Riku couldn’t make out what it was, given that it was far away, but as they dove closer, they noticed that it was a giant, dark creature!

 

  “Whoa!  Is that a Dream Eater!?” Sora exclaimed!  Riku squinted his eyes and soon enough, he found proof that the creature was indeed a Dream Eater!

 

  “There’s the proof!” Riku shouted, as he pointed towards the middle of the creature’s body, which had the Dream Eater emblem!  “It’s a Nightmare!” he added.  Sora clenched his fist in determination and then he shot out a determined look at Riku.

 

  “No big deal, we can take that Nightmare, no sweat!” Sora remarked with a positive attitude.  Riku scoffed and let out a chuckle.

 

  “You know something? That personality of yours never ceases to amaze me.” he stated.  Sora gave off a goofy grin, and Riku smirked.  “All right, let’s take this thing on!” he shouted! And so, the two of them dove faster, until they were a short distance away from the Nightmare!  As they approached it, it expanded, as its arms grew very long!  They were covered in what seemed to be twirled vines of thorns!  Giant, clawed hands were at the ends of these arms, and the Nightmare’s head appeared to have tusks, but it was hooded, and only its red eyes could be seen!  The Nightmare’s emblem beamed a crimson red, and an ghostly aura surrounded it!  It definitely seemedpowerful enough!

 

  “Okay, let’s get this show on the road!” Sora shouted, as he delivered the first strike!  He managed to hit the Nightmare, and it only slightly flinched, but it quickly counterattacked and almost made Sora tumble away!  But luckily, Sora was able to block the attack, and thus, he was still in the fight!  The Nightmare then started to fire out multiple dark orbs at the Keyblade Wielders, but they blocked each orb and even managed to reflect some back at thhe creature, causing slight harm to it!  Riku noticed this Nightmare wasn’t a pushover.

 

  “It looks like we’ll have to hit harder!  This Nightmare is strong!” Riku suggested.  Sora gave a thumbs up.

 

  “Sounds like a plan!” Sora said!  And so, the two of them combined their strengths and fired off a beam, side by side, and it shot right towards the Nightmare!  But suprisingly enough, the Nightmare absorbed the attack and then fired it back as a powerful dark beam with what looked like red, crackling lightning streaks!  Sora and Riku glided out of the way, but were soon met with a few chunks of flying debris that popped up all of a sudden!  Sora and Riku were caught off guard, and as a result of this, the Nightmare had an opening, and it seized this opportunity by thrusting its giant arms towards them, managing to grab both of them with its clawed hands!  Sora and Riku struggled within this Nightmare’s grip, but it seemed they wouldn’t break free!

 

  “This is bad!!!” Riku shouted!  Sora winced in pain as the Nightmare gripped them tighter!

 

  “You’re telling me!” Sora complained as he tried to breathe!  Riku then noticed that the Nightmare’s eyes started to glow with even more intensity!  That’s when he knew that things were definitely not good! 

 

  “Sora, now!” Riku shouted!  Sora immediately knew what Riku meant, and the two of them concentrated their energies and cast a combined Reflega spell, just as the Nightmare fired off a powerful laser attack with its eyes!  The attack bounced back at the Nightmare, and hit it right in the eyes!  The Nightmare roared in pain and let them go!  It was now blinded!  That was Sora and Riku’s cue!

 

  “Let’s finish it now, before it recovers its vision!” Riku commented.  Sora nodded.

 

  “Right on it!” Sora replied, and with that, the two of them charged up their energies and then performed a combined attack called Holy Dark Aura!  It was basically Riku’s Dark Aura attack, mixed with Sora’s Light version of said attack!  Both performed eight strikes simultaneously, and at the final strike, they both crossed through the Nightmare’s body, forming an x! And with that attack, the Nightmare roared in pain as it shriveled away!  Then, the gateway came to an end, as the other end of the portal opened, and Sora and Riku successfully crossed through it!  They both fell from quite a distance, as they could see the Sleeping World they were falling into!  Eventually enough though, they landed gracefully on the ground, and then noticed that they seemed to be in some sort of mountain range!  It looked like they were on top of one of these mountains, and from what they could tell, what awaited down below was quite a few hundred feet away!

(End Song Here)

 

  “So it seems that after all this time, there’s still a Sleeping World here.  I thought that the Realm Of Sleep had taken a different form after we awakened all the Sleeping Worlds that were here…but it looks like this one remained…” Riku thought aloud.  Sora looked around, but saw no one in the surrounding area.  He then walked towards Riku and shook his head.

 

  “Well, wherever we are, there doesn’t seem to be any people around.  It could be these mountains are uninhabited!” Sora deduced. 

 

  “It could be.” Riku agreed.  They then explored some more, and as they did, they noticed that the mountain range they were on also had many clouds hovering close by, therefore covering the land below.  They kept walking a ways, and eventually, they started to walk down the mountain, until they came upon what seemed to be farmland!  They kept walking, and still saw no people in sight!  But they did see quite a lot of llamas!  Sora walked towards one of the llamas and petted its head.

 

  “Aw, these guys are so cute!” Sora mentioned as he smiled.  Riku crossed his arms and glanced around, and then he noticed a man in the distance, along with a llama!  Riku walked towards Sora and nudged his shoulder. Sora glanced at him.

 

  “What is it, Riku?” he asked.

 

  “It looks like we’ve found someone.” Riku answered.  Sora noticed the man and the llama coming in their direction.

 

  “Okay, so what do you think we should do?” Sora asked.  Riku shrugged.

 

  “Well, I guess we let them come to us.” he answered.  And so, that’s what they did.  As the man and the llama got closer, they noticed Sora and Riku!  That’s when they stopped short, and it seemed as though they were afraid, or perhaps cautious!  The llama, in particular, seemed to be squirming, as if it wanted to turn around!  Sora and Riku glanced at each other and shrugged.

 

  “Um…are they afraid because of the way we look?  I mean, it’s not like we’re hunting for them or something.” Sora wondered.  As the man and the llama turned around, Nightmares appeared!

 

(Start Song Here)

  “We’ve got trouble!” Riku said as he summoned forth his Keyblade!  Sora took notice and summoned his Keyblade as well!

 

  “Let’s take care of them quickly!” Sora said, as the two of them ran towards the Nightmares, which were threatening to harm the man and his llama!  As they got closer, the Nightmares slowly creeped around and took notice of the Keyblade Wielders, and then they immediately headed over to their direction to dispatch them!

 

  “Well, it looks like we got their attention, at least!” Riku said.

 

  “Looks that way!” Sora replied, and so the two of them quickly proceeded to fight against the Nightmares that were now surrounding them!  They fought back to back and dodged or blocked whatever attacks the Nightmares threw at them!  These Nightmares looked like llamas themselves, and some of them looked like monkeys as well!  These enemies were clever, as they were using speed and strength to their advantage!  Sora and Riku kept themselves on their toes, and made sure not to let their guard down!  As a few monkey Nightmares prepared to leap towards them, Riku performed Zantetsuken and took care of them fairly quickly!  Then, the llamas were about to charge towards the two like a stampede, but Sora stopped them short with a powerful Blitz attacked that toppled them over like a pile of dominoes!  Quickly, the Nightmares were defeated, but soon, more came to take their place!  These looked like jaguars, and some of them were particularly fast, as they came running through the farmlands to attack Sora and Riku!  The llamas that were scattered around the farmlands all ran away in panic, as the jaguars continued their steady path through the grass!

 

  “Riku, we’ve got company!” Sora shouted!  Riku looked over to the Nightmare jaguars that were coming by the dozens, and he nodded.

 

  “Already on it!  Let’s do it, Sora!” Riku yelled out!

 

  “Right!” Sora replied, and so, when the Nightmare jaguars were a few feet away from them, Sora cast Magnega, drawing them all into the orbiting cluster of orbs, and then Riku added a Zero Graviga spell that crushed them down to the ground, therefore decimating most of them in seconds!  About two or three survived the attack, though, and managed to escape!  These were now circling Sora and Riku cautiously.  They knew that it wasn’t wise to charge at them head on, so they remained circling them.  Sora and Riku were just about to attack, when the remaining three Nightmare jaguars turned tail and fled!  They were quite fast, so Sora and Riku weren’t able to catch them!  They were about to chase them, but then the man that they had spotted previously came running towards them!

(End Song Here)

 

  “Hey, you two!” the man shouted.  Sora and Riku decided to remain where they were, and they saw the man coming closer to them.  The llama came closer as well, albeit quite cautiously.

 

  “I can’t tell you how grateful I am for what you two did.  Thanks for coming to save us!  I’m not sure we would’ve been able to handle those things!  My name’s Pacha!  Thank you for saving us!” the kind man said as he outstretched his hand for a handshake.  Riku shook his hand, and then Sora followed suit.

 

  “It’s no problem!  We’re always happy to help!” Sora said cheerfully.  He then saw the llama behind Pacha and outstretched his hand to pet him!

 

  “Here boy, you’re safe now!” Sora said, and just as he was about to pet the llama, it stood on two legs and shook its head and waved its legs at Sora!

 

  “Oh, no no no!  No touchy!” the llama spoke!  At that, Sora’s jaw dropped!

 

  “Oh wow, you have a talking llama!?” Sora asked, as he looked at the llama with amazement!  Pacha gave a sort of uncomfortable smile, and he rubbed the back of his head.

 

  “Actually…he’s not my llama…it’s kind of a long story…” Pacha answered.

 

  “What is it then?” Riku asked.  Pacha gave out a sigh.

 

  “Well, I know this’ll sound a bit crazy, but this llama here is actually Emperor Cuzco, and he was transformed into a llama by Yzma, who tried to take the throne from him.  It looks like she wanted to kill him though, but somehow wound up turning him into a llama instead.  I’m helping him get back to his palace to see if we can find some way to reverse the effects of the potion Yzma gave Kuzco!” Pacha explained.

 

  “Oh wow, that sounds rough!  So this Yzma’s bad news, huh?” Sora asked.  At that, Kuzco scoffed.

 

  “Oh, she’s bad news alright!  Just a few hours ago, we ran into her in a restaurant, and that’s when I found out that she wanted to kill me all along!  I mean, I’m the Emperor, I’m a nice guy!” Kuzco mentioned, annoyed!

 

  “Hmm, this sounds like a problem…” Riku stated.  “If you want, we can come with you until we reach the palace.” he suggested.

 

  “Really?  You’d come with us?  It wouldn’t be a problema?” Pacha asked.  Sora nodded.

 

  “Yeah, it’s no problem!  Besides, we’ve got some business of our own, so we’ll probably end up finding what we have to find by the time we reach the palace!  So come on, let’s go!” Sora said.  Pacha smiled appreciatively and gave a sigh of relief!

 

  “Oh, well I appreciate the help!” Pacha said.  Kuzco eyed Sora and Riku suspiciously.

 

  “Hmm, I dunno, these guys look kinda fishy…for all we know, they could be assassins Yzma sent to kill us!” the llama Emperor sneered!  Pacha rolled his eyes and glared at Kuzco annoyingly!

 

  “Kuzco, if they were assassins, they’d have already killed us!  Besides, something tells me that we can trust them!  And besides, we’re almost at the palace!” Pacha said.  Kuzco rolled his eyes and sighed.

 

  “Okay, okay, fine!  I’m okay with them coming with us!” Kuzco pouted.  Pacha clasped his hands together and looked at Sora and Riku.

 

  “Well, that’s that, then!  Let’s be on our way, shall we?” he asked.  Sora and Riku nodded, and so, they all proceeded to walk through the farmlands!

 

(Start Song Here)

  As the hours passed by, everything seemed calm and peaceful!  Sora and Riku kept a vigilant watch, though, and made sure that no Nightmares were in sight!  They were keeping a special eye out for the Nightmare jaguars that had fled, for it was only a matter of time before they’d encounter them again!  As they kept walking, they conversed with Pacha and Kuzco, and from what Riku could see, Pacha was a very honest, kindhearted man, whereas Kuzco came off as a jerk!  He remained quite and decided not to ask about Kuzco, and so they kept walking.  Sora looked up at the sky and noticed that it was a clear, radiant blue!  There were almost no clouds dotting the sky, and it looked beautiful!  He stopped for a moment to admire the scenery, and it wasn’t long before he noticed that he was falling behind!  Riku waved at him, and he quickly caught up to them!

 

  “You almost dozed off there, Sora.” Riku teased.  Sora chuckled.

 

  “Heh, sorry about that.  I was just looking at the sky!  It looks really beautiful!” Sora commented.  Riku took a moment to look at the sky and noticed that it was indeed beautiful!  He realized it had been a while since he had seen a radiant sky like this, and then his eyes fell back to the road.  He then glanced at Sora, who had been looking at him.

 

  “Well?” Sora asked expectantly.  Riku smiled.

 

  “Yeah…anyone could stay here and just look up at the sky for hours…it’s been a while since we saw such a clear sky like this…we’ve been through so much, and we’ve fought so hard, that’s it’s hard to believe all we’ve seen since we began this fight are grim skies…” Riku said.  Sora frowned a bit, and then he raised his hands in determination!

 

  “We’ll make it that way again!  When all this is over, we’ll make sure all the worlds don’t have to worry about a grim sky!  After all, it’s like Kairi said!  All worlds share the same sky!  One sky…one destiny…” Sora said as he smiled, thinking of Kairi when he uttered those words.  He gave out a soft sigh.  He missed her.  It was apparent from the look on his face!  Riku agreed with Sora’s words, and he felt an air of determination befall him!

 

  “You’re right, Sora!  We’ll set this right, I know we will!” he said.  Sora gave a goofy smile and gave a thumbs up!

(End Song Here)

 

  “That’s the spirit, Riku!  And you know, speaking of Spirits…how will we be able to find them?  After all, we’ve only found Nightmares since we arrived in this world!” Sora pondered.

 

  “Hmm…I don’t really know.  Let’s just focus on escorting Pacha and Kuzco to the palace.” Riku suggested.

 

  “Okay then!” Sora agreed!  Suddenly, they heard a noise, and when they turned to look in front of them, they saw that it was Kuzco, who was clearing his throat!

 

  “Excuse me, if you two are done talking, there’s somewhere we should really be, you know!” the llama Emperor snorted annoyingly!  Sora and Riku quickly ran toward Kuzco and Pacha, and they resumed their journey!  It wasn’t long until the sky started to darken a bit.  Everyone looked up, and they saw that pale, gray clouds now dotted the sky.  No doubt it would probably rain soon.  But still, they trudged forward and kept going along, and the journey so far was peaceful!

 

(Start Song Here)

  It was after a few couple of minutes that Kuzco started to stare at Sora and Riku, almost as if he was inspecting them!  Sora and Riku didn’t seem to notice, and Pacha didn’t as well, for he was just looking forward as he walked.  Kuzco kept eyeing the two Keyblade Wielders, and he saw that they didn’t have their Keyblades in hand!  He felt curious as to how they’d make a giant weapon of that size vanish in thin air when not in use!  This was something that intrigued Kuzco!  Unable to hold back his curiosity any longer, he casually walked over to Sora and Riku, and eventually, they noticed how close he was to them!

 

  “Uh, hey Kuzco!  Something up?” Sora asked.  Kuzco quickly looked away, as if the question was directed at someone else.

 

  “Oh, no no, not at all!  Just walking here, just stretching out my legs, you know…” Kuzco said, trying to act all cool and calm.  Riku smiled and glanced over at him, and then he outstretched his hand.

 

  “You’re wondering about this, aren’t you?” Riku asked, as he summoned forth his Keyblade!  Kuzco’s eyes shined with awe as he saw Riku summon the weapon forth, and then Riku unsummoned it, which caused Kuzco to practically go bonkers over how the weapon would vanish and reappear in the wielder’s hand such as it happened just now!  He got closer to Riku and looked at his hand, seeing if there was some trick to it!

 

  “I don’t get it!  How do you do that!?  How do you hide those big swords of yours!?  How do you make ‘em appear like that!?  That’s amazing!” Kuzco blurted out.  Riku laughed, and Sora did too.  Pacha smiled, seeing how Kuzco was interacting with the two Keyblade Wielders.

 

  “Well…I don’t know how to explain it, but to put it to you simply, the Keyblade responds to the wielder’s heart.  And so, when the wielder wishes to summon the Keyblade, it responds to my heart’s command and it appears.  At least, that’s how I think it works.  I’ve always thought about how woundrous and mysterious summong a Keyblade is, you know?” Riku explained.  Kuzco was very immersed in the conversation, and he then went deep in thought.

 

  “Hmm, a Keyblade, eh?  Heh, you two would make some fine secret bodyguards if you were in my palace!  Since you can hide those Keyblades of yours, no one would ever expect that you two would put up a fight!” Kuzco said.  Sora laughed.

 

  “Well, if you think so, Kuzco!” Sora said cheerfully.  Kuzco was about to say something when Pacha suddenly raised his hand! 

(End Song Here)

 

  “Shh, everyone, be quiet!  I think I hear something!” he said!  Everyone instantly went silent, and they remained still, to hear what it was that Pacha was hearing!  It seemed as though footsteps could be heard!  Quite fast footsteps that seemed quite distant!  Thunder started to crackle in the sky, and the wind started to pick up!  A storm would soon come!  Pacha and the others remained still, though, and they kept silent to keep hearing their surroundings!  That’s when they heard the footsteps coming up closer!

 

  “Come on, Kronk, they can’t be too far!  We need to catch up to that idiot Kuzco!” an angry sounding woman yelled!

 

  “Don’t worry Yzma, I’ll catch up to ‘em!” the man, whom Yzma called Kronk, replied.  At that, Kuzco’s eyes opened wide, and he darted around in a panic!

 

  “It’s Yzma and Kronk!  They’re gaining on us!  Come on, let’s go!!!” Kuzco demanded!  Without a second thought, everyone started to run like mad!  As soon as they were further away from Yzma and Kronk, that’s when they saw them coming up to where they were previously standing!  It seemed as though they spotted them, for Yzma was pointing in their direction, and Kronk was starting to run faster!  Yzma was getting quite angry, and soon, more Nightmares suddenly appeared!  Sora and Riku spotted the three Nightmare jaguars that had escaped them before, plus a bevy of other Nightmares, including a cluster of Komory Bats, two enormous Tryanto Rexes, and more Nightmare llamas!  Sora and Riku screeched to a halt and summoned their Keyblades and prepared to take on the horde of Nightmares coming their way! 

 

(Start Song Here)

 

  “Guys, come on, we have to keep going!” Pacha shouted!

 

  “Don’t worry about us, we’ll hold the Nightmares, Kronk and Ymza off!  This’ll give you time to put more distance between yourselves!  Go, go!” Riku shouted!

 

  “But...” Pacha started to say.  Sora glanced back and smiled.

 

  “Don’t worry Pacha, we’ll be okay!  Just go already!” he said.  Pacha was about to say something, but Kuzco shook his head.

 

  “They’ve already made up their minds.  Looks like their hearts are telling them to stay.  Come on, let’s go and take them up on their offer and get as far away from Yzma and Kronk as possible!” Kuzco said!  Reluctantly, Pacha started to run, as did Kuzco!  Sora and Riku stayed their ground, and now they were prepared to take on the Nightmares!

 

  “Here they come!” Sora shouted!

 

  And so, the first Nightmares that charged at the two Keyblade Wielders were the three jaguars from before!  They pounced on top of Sora, but he flipped them over quickly, managing to defeat one right then and there!  The other two were about to pounce on Sora again, when Riku took them out with a well executed Zantetsuken attack!  The jaguars instantly perished, and now the Komory Bats followed suit!  They surrounded Sora and Riku and started emitting their super sonic waves!  The waves were coming in fast, so Sora and Riku had to dodge or block as much as they could!  When the sonic waves ceased, the Komory Bats tried to fling themselves towards them, but Sora caught one by its wing and then used it to bat away the others before throwing the one he was holding away as well!  The other Komory Bats flew a bit higher, and they cast buffing spells on the Tyranto Rexes that were approaching!  They were still a distance off, but they were looming ever closer!  Sora quickly leapt up and executed a Ragnarok attack, which in turn, decimated the Komory Bats!  Now, only the herd of Nightmare llamas and the Tyranto Rexes remained!  Sora and Riku looked at each other and smiled.

 

  “Not bad!  We’ve taken them out fairly easily!” Sora boasted!  Riku smirked.

 

  “Well, we’re no pushovers, we’re skilled Keyblade Wielders!” he said.  They both nodded, and then, the Tyranto Rexes were now just a few feet apart from them!  One of the fearsome looking beasts attempted to swing its tail to knock down Sora and Riku, and it almost succeeded!  But luckily, Sora and Riku were able to get out of harm’s way just in the knick of time!  But soon after, the other Tyranto Rex came charging at full speed, and it managed to send Sora flying back a ways!  Riku was about to go over to him, but the other Tyranto Rex swung its tail at him, also sending him flying back!  They quickly got to their feet and saw that the fearsome dinos were charging at them again!  Sora and Riku then ran towards the fearsome foes, and as the two got closer, they leapt and then landed on the Tyranto Rex’s legs, and they propelled themselves upwards, then leaping high above them and proceeding to strike down, causing a purple shockwave to emanate, that staggered the fearsome dinos slightly!  Riku then cast orbs of darkness that surrounded one of the gargantuan foes, and then he clasped his hands together and caused the Tyranto Rex to fall down!  It would take a bit for it to get back on its feet again, so now was the perfect time to take care of the other giant foe!

 

  “Come on Sora, let’s get this over with!” Riku notioned. 

 

  “Roger that, Riku!” Sora said, as he then cast Firaga, Blizzaga, Thundaga, and then finished off with a flurry of attacks thanks to his Ars Arcanum technique!  The Tyranto Rex was receiving the full force of the attacks, and it couldn’t do anything, except accept total defeat and vanish!  Once Sora finished his string of attacks and dealt the final blow, the first Tyranto Rex was now history!  The other one soon got back on its feet, and Sora and Riku wasted no time in heading towards their recovering foe! Riku ran ahead and started to charge his energy, a dark aura surrounding him as his Keyblade started to seep out great power!  Sora, who was behind, leapt back significantly, and then started to run fast, each second granting him more speed!  He then cast Haste on himself, which made him run even faster, and when he reached Riku, they both outstretched their arms, and Riku spun around and flung Sora like a lance towards the Tyranto Rex, then proceeding to cover Sora in a shell made of darkness by using his Keyblade!  Sora was blazing through the battlefield, and just as the Tyranto Rex was about to start its charge, it was quickly decimated, as Sora pierced through the creature effortlessly, causing it to roar in agony as it fell to the floor and vanished!

 

  “Okay, that takes care of that!” Sora said.  Riku pointed forward.

 

  “We’ve still got that heard to take care of!” Riku mentioned.  Sora chuckled and shook his head.

 

  “No sweat Riku, we got this!” Sora said as he raised his fist in determination!  Riku shook his head and laughed.

 

  “Well, you got that right!  Well come on, let’s finish this!” Riku said!

 

  And so, with that being said, Sora and Riku both started to run as fast as they could, and Sora cast Haste on Riku, and now both of them were equally fast!  They blazed through the battlefield, and they were now starting to get closer to the herd of Nightmare llamas!  When they were just a few feet away from them, Sora took advantage of the burst of speed he had and performed a devastatingly powerful Sonic Rave attack, blazing through the Nightmare llamas effortlessly!  The foes were now in a confusion, prompting Riku with the opportunity to deliver a fatal attack of his own!  Riku enveloped himself in darkness and then started to rise up towards the sky!  His darkness seeped out, and within seconds, he outstretched his arms and launched countless streams of darkness that took out the remaining Nightmares!  Within just seconds, the enemy was now gone!  Sora and Riku stopped now, and they saw that Yzma and Kronk were getting closer! They noticed that the big fellow, Kronk, seemed to be carrying Yzma in a sort of portable shelter!

(End Song Here)

 

  “What’ll we do about them?” Sora asked.  Riku pondered Sora’s question.

 

  “Well, they no doubt know that we’re here, because I don’t think our battle went unnoticed, but I can’t say for sure what we should do.  Even if we stop them here, they’ll just rebound and make their way to the palace, so its best if we just confront them at the palace!” Riku said, offering his opinion.  Sora nodded.

 

  “Okay then Riku, if that’s the way you want to do things, then that’s what we’ll do!” Sora agreed.  They were both about to be on their way, when Sora noticed something on the ground!  “Wait, Riku, I see something!” he said, as he knelt down to pick up what he spotted on the ground!  He held it up for a momento and saw that it seemed to be a sort of light purple orb!

 

  “This must’ve been left behind by the Nightmares!” Sora deduced.  Riku could tell that the orb had a sort of essence unique to Dream Eaters, so he agreed with what Sora was saying.

 

  “Maybe a clue to finding the Spirits?” Riku ventured a guess.

 

  “Hmm, you could be right!  I’ll hold onto it!  If we find more of these things, then we’ll keep storing them!” Sora said.  Riku nodded.

 

  “Okay then, now that this is over with, let’s catch up to Pacha and Kuzco!” he said, and with that, they both ran towards the direction of the palace!  About five minutes later, Yzma and Kronk arrived to where they were, and Yzma was particularly angry!

 

(Start Song Here)

  “That villager and Kuzco slipped away from our fingers again!  I grow tired of this, Kronk!  I want to end things as quickly as possible!” she declared.  Kronk, sho seemed more absentminded than Yzma, simply stretched his arms and legs and kept himself warmed up, as he knew they weren’t going ot rest now.

 

  “Don’t worry, Yzma, we’re almost at the palace!  Once we get there, we’ll handle Kuzco and that villager!” he said proudly!  Yzma rubbed her chin as she looked at the road leading to the palace.

 

  “Hmm, I’m curious about those boys that were with Kuzco and his friend…they didn’t seem like they were from around here!  They were fighting some beasts, and they ran away in Kuzco’s direction…friends of his, perhaps?” Yzma thought aloud.

 

  “Well, could be!  Remember, you want to take over Kuzco’s throne, but not everyone likes you, so I’m sure Kuzco has some friends that don’t like you all that much!” Kronk suggested cheerfully!  Yzma made an irritated face and clenched her fists.

 

  “Thank you for that…illuminating guess, Kronk!” she said through gritted teeth!  Kronk smiled proudly!

 

  “You’re welcome, Yzma!” he replied.  She then pointed upwards!

 

  “Well, what are we standing around here for, you buffoon!?  Let’s catch up to them!” she commanded, and Kronk immediately started running again!

(End Song Here)

 

  Meanwhile, Sora and Riku had managed to put a considerable distance between themselves and Yzma and Kronk, so they figured that they would walk for now.  Sora took out the orb he had picked up and observed it more closely.  As he looked at it, he noticed some puffy, swirling clouds in the inside, and what seemed to be a glowing light!  As a person who had spent considerable time with Spirits during his last time in the Realm Of Sleep, Sora could definitely tell that this orb had some trace of Spirit Dream Eaters!  He just couldn’t make up what the orb was, though!

 

  “I wonder if this’ll help us find our Spirit friends?” Sora asked aloud.  Riku shrugged.

 

  “Well, I’m not sure, but holding on to the orb won’t hurt.  I’m sure we’ll find some clue as we go further along.  Maybe we could find out more when we unlock this Sleeping World’s keyhole!” Riku suggested.  Sora snapped his fingers! 

 

  “That’s right!  I mean, when we dived into the Realm Of Sleep this time around, we didn’t see any other worlds besides this one!  So maybe when we unlock this world’s keyhole, we’ll find a bigger clue to finding our Spirit friends!” Sora said excitedly!  “I can’t wait to see them again!” he said happily!

 

  “And the sooner we find them, the better!” Riku remarked.  Sora nodded in agreement.

 

(Start Song Here)

  “Hey Riku…did you ever think that our lives would end up like this?  Back when we were thinking of building the raft, I mean!” Sora asked.  Riku raised an eyebrow at this and glanced at Sora.

 

  “Heh, what brought that up?” he asked.  Sora shrugged.

 

  “I dunno!  The question just…popped into my head all of a sudden!” he answered.

 

  “Well…to tell you the truth, I never expected any of this to happen.  I never expected our lives to change so drastically.” Riku answered.  “Heh, it seems so long ago now, when we started down this road…being Keyblade Wielders.  We’ve seen so much since then, and we’ve been through so much with our friends.  When I think back on all this, I can definitely say that even though I didn’t expect my life to turn out this way, I’m glad we did end up on this path.  Because protecting the things that matter…that’s as good a reason as any to be a Keyblade Wielder in the first place, am I right?” Riku asked.

 

  “You betcha!” Sora answered.  “We’ve all been through our fair share of good times and bad times, but I think…well, I think that all these things that have happened to us in this life have served to make us stronger…to make us better people, you know?” he stated.  “Going on this long journey has opened my eyes to so many things…the people I love, how expansive this universe really is, the things that come unexpectedly…a lot of things, big and small!” Sora said as he put his arms behind his head. “We’ve definitely come a long way…” he finished, looking up at the sky as he thought about everything that had happened in his life up till now.

 

  “And we’ve still got a ways to go.  There’s still many things that are left out there for us to discover or learn about, there’s never really an end to the journey, you know?” Riku thought.  Sora nodded.

 

  “Yep, I agree!” Sora said!  Just then, raindrops started to fall from the sky, one by one, and thunder rumbled within the clouds.  A few seconds passed, and a sudden downpour took place!  Sora and Riku were now caught in this blanket of heavy rain!

(End Song Here)

 

  “Well, looks like we’ll have to get running again!” Riku said, as he and Sora both began to run again, for the rain was heavy, and they didn’t want to get too wet!  Eventually, they made their way to what seemed to be a naturally made stone staircase that at first seemed narrow, but then expanded until it took a wide space between two mountains!  Sora and Riku figured that they were close to the palace, and so they decided to go up the stairs, seeing where the trail lead them!  And true enough, when they arrived at the last step of the staircase, they saw Kuzco’s palace in the horizon!  It was still a few minutes away, but at least they were close now!  In fact, Kuzco and Pacha should be just around here!  Sora looked around and then saw a small cave where they could shelter themselves from the rain!

 

  “Over here, Riku!” Sora said, and they both ran towards the small cave!

 

  When they arrived, they were relieved, because now they didn’t have to keep getting wet under the heavy downpour of rain!  But they started to wonder where Kuzco and Pacha were!

 

  “Hmm, I wonder if they made it into the palace already?” Sora asked.  Riku looked at the direction of the palace and crossed his arms.

 

  “Most likely.  Given all the time we were fighting the Nightmares, I’m pretty sure it was enough time for them to arrive here.  So yeah, I think it’s safe to say that they’ve already arrived at the palace!  But it won’t be long till Yzma and Kronk catch up, so things might get a little hectic soon!  We’ll want to catch up with Kuzco and Pacha quickly!” Riku suggested.  Sora looked outside and saw the rain pouring down harder.

 

  “Well, it’s now or never!  We’ll just get stuck here if we wait for the rain to stop!” Sora commented.

 

  “Agreed.  Come on, let’s go!” Riku said!  And so, they ran under the heavy rain towards the palace!  It wouldn’t be long till they caught up to Kuzco and Pacha!

 

---

 

  Meanwhile, Tsumugi was in her quarters.  She had hoped that Dexeres had gotten her message, all while she was trying to pretend that she was totally under Jexana’s control! Fort he moment, things seemed to be in order, for no one suspected her!  Emmxett was keeping a closer eye on her than usual though, which meant that he was probably starting to get suspicious of her!  She grew nervous at the thought, and she looked at the door leading outside.  She heard the footsteps of soldiers going here and there, doing errands and preparing themselves for battle.

 

  “Soon, things are going to get worse…this war is going to come to a breaking point, and the end result won’t be a sight to see…” she thought to herself, worried about the outcome this war would bring.  She then heard a knock on her door, and she quickly straightened herself and acted as she normally would under Jexana’s control!  She stood up and approached the door and leant closely to it.

 

  “Yes?” she asked emotionlessly.

 

  “It’s me.” Jexana said.  Tsumugi gulped and felt a bit nervous.  Could she know what she’d been up to?  No, it couldn’t be, she thought!  She didn’t hesítate, though, and opened the door immediately.

 

  “Proceed, Jexana.” Tsumugi said as she welcomed her into her quarters.  Jexana stepped in casually, though her face bore a grim expression.  This made Tsumugi all the more nervous, but she kept herself calm and composed, doing her best to keep her facade working!  Tsumugi then closed the door and Jexana sat on a chair near Tsumugi’s bed.  She looked out the window at the soldiers going here andd there, and then she looked at Tsumugi, who remained standing where she was.

 

  “You may sit now.” Jexana spoke.  Tsumugi nodded and then proceeded to sit on her bed.

 

  “What mission do you have for me, Jexana?” she asked.  Jexana looked at her momentarily, and Tsumugi froze on the inside!  The constant staring and grim expressions were giving Tsumugi a hard time, and she was doing all in her power not to make herself obvious to anyone!  Jexana seemed to snap out of whatever she was thinking, for she just leant back on the chair she was sitting on, and then she looked out the window again.

 

(Start Song Here)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fuDSyNQVuJg

  “I received an intelligence report from Emmxett that a few of the Keyblade Wielders are on the move, and are heading towards the site we are attempting to reach.  I don’t know how they discovered this location, but it seems that now they’re on the move.  Do you know of anyone who could have leaked out any information to them?” Jexana asked, her eyes fixed upon Tsumugi’s face!  But Tsumugi remained strong and emotionless, and she closed her eyes and went deep in thought.

 

  “Hmm, I can’t say that I know of anyone.  We are a tight knit army, so I doubt there would be any among us who would want to betray us.  But if this is the case, then we have a serious problem in our hands.  Shall I look for this traitor?” she asked.

 

  “No.” Jexana answered abruptly.

 

  “No?” Tsumugi asked, pretending to wonder why Jexana gave this answer.

 

  “No, I am looking into the traitor myself.  Your mission is to go to the site that we are to go to.  You are to infiltrated the Keyblade Wielders there and kill them all.  Don’t let them get their hands on the power laying in wait there!  That power must belong to us!” Jexana declared!  Tsumugi nodded and stood up.

 

  “Understood, Jexana.  I shall leave right away.” she said.  Jexana stood up and then prepared to leave.

 

  “Good.  Make all preparations necesarry and leave immediately!  Leave none of them alive…” Jexana said, as she made her way out.  When Jexana left, Tsumugi gave a sigh of relief.  Thankfully, she was safe for now!

 

  But what Tsumugi didn’t know is that Jexana already knew of Tsumugi’s betrayal!

 

  “Hmph, you’re a terrible liar, you little fool.  I know that the one you love is the one heading towards that site.  Sending you there to kill him will no doubt test your will, and that’s when I’ll make my move.  After all…traitors need to be disposed of…” she thought to herself as she smirked!

(End Song Here)

 

-------------------------------

 

And so, Sora and Riku have stumbled upon a clue as to where they can find the Spirits, and hopefully bring them over into the real world to aid them in the Keyblade War!  Will they find any more clues? Find out in Chapter Thirty Four: “Battling Yzma!”

 

Well everyone, that was the chapter, I hope that you all found it to your enjoyment!  Ha, I actually fit this world into the story at a moment’s notice!  I realized that since I was going back into the Realm Of Sleep, I needed at least one sleeping world for Sora and Riku to go to!  And that’s when The Emperor’s New Groove came into my mind!  I hope you all like this world’s inclusion in my story!  As always, thank you very much for your patience and support, and please be sure to comment on what you thought of tonight’s chapter!  Well, until next time, stay tuned for the next one!

[KHLegendIII 709]

Oh no, Tsumugi, hang in there...