#Blade Fuse Clip | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

yzafre · 4 months ago

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we're flying above the valley below | Finale

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Kairi’s heart ached as she watched Naminé crumple. Beside her, Sora started forward, but Riku caught him by the shoulder, shaking his head.

“No - this... isn’t for us.”

“But,” Sora stopped, swallowed, glancing back and forth between the two curled into each other and the sky above, “If they stay here, they’ll be out in the open if Xehanort’s magic goes off.”

Kairi cast her gaze up at the sky, taking in the thickening plumes of magic, the condensing mass of power above the highest spire of rock. Something dark flitted between it all, slowly arcing its way towards Xehanort.

Or, she realized, perhaps it was Xehanort.

After all, the youngest of the Organization had escaped her before she could finish him.

“You guys go ahead,” she said, “I just spotted the younger Xehanort – I'll deal with him, then come down to retrieve Naminé and Hitoshi. It shouldn’t take long.”

“You sure?” Riku asked.

“Yes,” she said, “I’m finishing this.”

Sora nodded, “Then, we’ll leave it to you.”

As they flew off, she craned her head back, planning her path, setting her timing. She started low – wide loops around the jagged cliff Naminé and Hitoshi were on, biding her time – and then, when the moment was right, she swooped down, gathering momentum to arc back up and streak into the sky.

Just as her upward momentum began to die, she reeled back, storing up strength, then flung the Keyblade up. It flew forward with blinding speed, nearly clipping Xehanort if he hadn’t twitched out of the way – but that was fine. When it was inches past his face, she grasped the connection between her and her Key and tugged, pulling herself through space to wrap a hand around the hilt and twist, slamming her blade into his stomach and baring both of them down.

The wind whistled past her ears as they fell; disoriented, he didn’t have time to react at the speed they were going. Kairi kept her wings pinned back even as they hurtled ever closer to the ground below. Almost there – almost, almost, almost – now!

At the last moment, she spread her wings, air catching underneath them immediately, if a bit painfully, arresting her momentum just enough for her to angle off and avoid collision. Xehanort wasn’t’ so lucky.

A plume of dust went up from where he landed. The waters rising through the cracked earth below hadn’t made it this far, though the nearby cliffs were fused with the strange white stair-stepping features, glinting stone pavement creeping across the ground from their edges.

This close, they almost looked like buildings.

Just as she touched down, Xehanort levered himself up with a groan that quickly turned into a snarl.

“You,” he hissed, “Have caused me far too many problems.”

“Well. This will be the last.”

His face twisted in anger, and he lunged.

Objectively, Xehanort was stronger than her.

Oh, not as much as he had been back at the start of this Journey. There was no teacher like experience, and she had grown fast. But he was stronger.

But he was also carrying wounds from Terra’s armor, who was stronger than both of them still.

He was weak, and he was faltering – and on one lunge forward, his legs gave out, and he hit the dirt, Dark smoke beginning to drift off his form. Despite how he struggled to get up, it was clear he was through.

“You - you think this means anything?” he says, “I'm only one version of myself – I'll just go back, and start us on the is path once more. Look.”

He pointed to the sky, where the Dark sphere of magic beneath Kingdom Hearts was reaching critical mass. Now that she was paying attention, the crackle of energy in the air was more than just adrenaline. It was the very power of that magic beginning to press down on them.

Xehanort grinned, eyes burning through the Darkness that had nearly consumed him, “Maybe I won’t get to see it now – but someday, I’ll make it here again. And I will succeed.”

If Kairi wanted to respond, she didn’t get the chance – his body finally gave out, and he faded away.

She stared at the place where he vanished for several long moments, before shaking the strange prickling unease off. Her job was done – she needed to get to Naminé.

On the way back, her eyes were constantly drawn up to that condensing magic, the dense blaze falling through the sky around it. At this point, there was no way she could make it up there. She was stuck down here, with nothing she could do again.

Sighing, she let her gaze wander down, where it caught on a group of figures milling about agitatedly below, in the shadow of the great pillar.

Oh – the Princesses. It was easy to forget, in all the fighting, but that was why they came here in the first place.

Maybe... there was something she could do.

Once they managed to find some kind of equilibrium, Terra, Aqua, and Ventus took to the sky, escaping the earthquakes that shook the ground with increasing frequency. The situation looked much worse when Terra wasn’t seeing it through the haze of someone else’s eyes.

They met up with four others – a mouse, a red-head, a young girl, and a kid that looked shockingly like Ventus – as they circled the land. It took some searching, but they managed to find stable ground on one of the growing white peaks, landing on a clearing paved with what looked like three different types of stone and surrounded by structures that might pass for buildings, if the only buildings you’d ever seen were in an impressionist painting.

“You’re all okay,” Ventus said, relieved, “You all defeated your opponents, then?”

The Mouse shook his head, “I lost track of Marluxia, actually. Though, I don’t think he can make more trouble at this point.”

The red-half barked a laugh, “Oh, you’d be surprised.”

“So, all that’s left is Xehanort, then?” Aqua asked, and they all turned to survey the world, in all its damaged glory.

You’d never recognize the Keyblade Graveyard as it was now. The plateaus were crumbling, with strange, tiered peaks breaking through them, dotted with spiraling trails and ruined buildings that almost reminded Terra of the Land of Departure. At the very bottom, water seeped up through the growing cracks in the world, flooding the valleys and slowly turning each peak into its own island, the wasteland converting into an ocean world.

The sky, in contrast, was nearly on fire, dark plumes of magic thick as clouds, hanging low in the sky, threatening to burn anyone moving through the airways.

“Yeah, there’s no way we’re getting up there,” the red-head said.

“But we have to,” said the kid that looked like Ven, “Sora said, if that attack goes off, everything below it gets decimated. If they can’t stop it, we’re dead.”

“Maybe not,” Ven said. Terra turned to him, wondering what he saw – but Ven wasn’t looking up, he was looking down, a strange light in his eyes as he stared at water.

“What do you mean, Ven?” Aqua asked.

Ventus pointed towards the horizon, tracing an invisible line between the peak forming around the pillar Xehanort stood on and the water below.

“The reflection – it's wrong.”

Frowning, Terra turned to squint down at the water. At first, he didn’t see what Ventus obviously did, but no, there was a hint, there, the shadow in the water flaring out the deeper it went, curving in elaborate flourishes.

“Down there,” Ventus said, voice almost hazy, “We can ride it out down there.”

“Are you sure?” Aqua asked.

“Yeah,” Ven said, finally turning away from the water, “Trust me.”

Aqua pursed her lips for a long moment, then nodded.

“Alright, we’ll follow your lead, Ven,” Mickey said.

“Woah, woah, woah,” the red-head protested, “I never agreed to go for a swim!”

“Would you rather take your chances up here?” the black-haired girl asked, and he subsided.

The shift happened in three phases:

First: breaking through the surface tension and diving into the water. It was deeper than it should be. The ground that once stood there was seemingly missing, instead giving way to a bottomless drop below.

Second: a twist in gravity. They couldn’t have swum down more than thrice his height before there was a popping and swirling in his ear, and any sense of direction left him. He spun, disoriented, until there was another pop and the concept of up was suddenly re-established.

Third: they passed through another kind of barrier that rippled across his skin like surface tension, and suddenly they were climbing out on to the steps of a tower, easily breathing though water still surrounded them.

“Isn’t this the place you - “ Someone started, and at first Terra thought it was Ven, but then came the reply - “Yeah.” - and no, that was Ventus. The first was the boy that looked so much like him.

“Come on,” Ven said, voice uncharacteristically solemn, heart giving off a steady beat of – aching – longing – loss – and headed in.

Terra and Aqua, following close behind, exchanged a glance and a feeling of confusion-concern-care.

Ven led them through a small side entrance, through waterworks and machinery, up several flights of stairs. The place held a strange sense of unreality – many aspects blurred over and indistinct, except where they weren’t, where they were sharp and almost hyper-realistic. Others shifted from impressionistic to realistic, becoming clear in the wake of Ventus’ gaze, as if his attention made them real.

They continued until they came to a landing where he paused, body oriented to the next flight up before he shook his head, abruptly pivoting to the side.

“In here,” he said, staring up at the large, ornate doors, “The lifeboats are in here.”

Ventus, Terra, Aqua. Axel, Roxas, Xion. Mickey. Seven people.

Seven lifeboats.

If they were there – would they be there? He remembered some missing, and then they all took the rest, and -

And this place wasn’t supposed to exist anymore, either. Nothing but a memory.

Yet here they were.

He shoved the heavy door open, shadowed memories sharpening the moment he saw the vaulted ceilings, the pipes and machinery, the pods, the world sharpening into reality with them.

It was so over-whelming he was late to note the man standing over the center pod, back to them.

“So you, too, were drawn here,” he said, and Ventus was seized by – pink hair and bright eyes and hands around his throat and grief and crumpling and forgiveness and darkness bursting and -

And his name remained stuck on the tip of his tongue, just out of reach.

“It’s strange. I have no memory of this place, and yet... something in me aches,” he continued, chuckling darkly, “That’s not supposed to be possible, either. And I can’t help but think... this is all your fault.”

Marluxia lunged, scythe cutting through the air. Ventus met him with solid defense – one, two, three – on the fourth, Marluxia froze up, muscles seizing, before he dropped to the floor, dark smoke wafting off him.

“Lauriam!” The name punched out of Ventus, agonized, the weight of it driving him to his knees beside his old friend.

“Lauriam,” Marluxia repeated, as if relishing the taste of his name, “Oh. I see. It’s all starting to come back to me, now.”

Ventus held him tighter, pressing his mouth into a tight line to try and suppress the quivering in his jaw, swallowing down the lump in his throat. Not that it mattered. Lauriam kept fading in his hands, growing lighter and lighter.

“Lauriam, they’re gone. It’s all gone. We’re all that’s left.”

“Well, I should hope so,” Lauriam said, “I didn’t drag you all the way to that lifeboat for you not to make it out. Although, ending up in another Keyblade war wasn’t what I planned, either.”

A laugh forced its way painfully through the tightness in Ven’s chest, “We did a bad job running from it.”

“Yeah. Maybe... we’ll do better, this time.”

“Maybe.”

Lauriam finished fading with a bittersweet laugh, and all that was left was the distant grinding of machinery.

“Ven?” Aqua called.

Bracing himself, Ventus stood, turning back to them. Terra and Aqua’s hearts chased him with concern, but right now he – he couldn’t…

“Okay. These pods can ride out anything. Everyone get in.“

One after the other, they climbed into the pods. He could see the uncertainty in many of them, but – what else could they do?

Finally, they were all in place. Ventus just managed to close the lid when the world began to shake.

Darkness exploded out in a wave across the world. It ripped through the earth, opening great fissures, tearing the great cliffs and mountains asunder, before it began to tear into the rubble as well.

Darkness exploded out in a wave across the world, and Sora despaired – they weren’t fast enough, they weren’t strong enough – he could only hope Roxas had passed his message on and the others had fled to one of the other worlds hanging in his sky -

A wave of Light chased after the Darkness. It spread like a rainbow ribbon, twining itself around the Dark magic, ensuring it, caging it, stopping its spread. The two warred against each other, fed off each other, leading the Darkness to turn on its opposite rather than the world around it.

“What?” Xehanort snarled.

“Sora, look!”

Sora turned, looking where Riku was pointing. On a still-intact peak next to him, a group of figures stood in a circle, Light pouring off them and spilling into the sky.

“The Princesses of Heart,” Riku breathed, “They’re holding off the Darkness.”

“Yes,” Xehanort said, “They are indeed holding it off – but, they are just holding it off. I will simply have to remove this obstacle myself.”

“No!”

Xehanort spread his wings, and Sora and Riku moved as one.

The three met in the middle. Sora and Riku caught the χ-blade in between their two Keys, the Kingdom Keys sparking together and ringing like a chime. Light burst out, blinding them, burning at Sora’s hands till he flinched and let go. Riku flinched beside him as well, all of them pulling back and away.

Sora cracked his eyes open cautiously as the Light faded, then gasped, eyes going wide.

“What?” Xehanort exclaimed, “Impossible!”

Hovering between them was a second χ-blade, an exact mirror of Xehanort’s but for the Keys making up the guard, which were color-shifted to match the ones Sora and Riku wielded.

“A heart of pure darkness, and a heart of pure light,” Riku said quietly. “It wasn’t people. It was the hearts of the realms.”

Hesitantly, Riku reached out, wrapping a hand around the hilt. It sent a shiver down Sora’s spine, feeling the touch as if it was his own Key, suddenly becoming aware of the second star taking up space in his chest. He could feel Kairi in the distance, faintly marveling at its presence beneath her focus on her work with the Princesses.

“Can we use this to stop Kingdom Hearts?” Sora asked.

“No,” Xehanort snarled, “I will not be stopped now, not at this juncture! Kingdom Hearts, hear my plea!”

Bright beams of light pierced down to halo Xehanort, slowly forming a door that engulfed him, the doors immediately beginning to swing close.

“No, you don’t!”

Riku thrust their χ-blade forward, a beam of light connecting the tip to the door, holding it open and tethered to reality.

“Sora, go!”

“But - !”

There was a rumble. The sky behind Kingdom Hearts began to crack, deep, dark fissures spreading across the expanse, dripping heartless down onto the ravaged world below. The rainbow Light twined like a lattice through the air stretched up, creating a barrier to contain them within this world – though trapping them here with the heartless as well.

“Sora, you have to!” Riku said. “I can’t keep this up forever, and the heartless will just keep coming.”

“But what if the heartless reach you?”

“I can help with that,” a new voice cut in.

“Huh?”

Hitoshi appeared over the edge of the cliff, pausing a moment to help Naminé up behind him.

“Hitoshi,” Riku said, while Sora watched him warily, trying to settle the sudden clenching in his stomach, “Got your head on straight?”

“Heh. Yeah, got all the pieces lined back up, with a little help. Sorry, about before. Let me pay it back to you. I’ll keep the heartless away, so hero-boy here can go take care of business.”

“But… that’s a lot of heartless,” Sora said, “And we don’t know what happened to the others. Can you really take all of them?”

Hitoshi paused, confidence warring with uncertainty on his face, but then – like a sign from above, the answer came. Trumpets echoed through the air; Sora’s head snapped around. Above, a glowing host descended from the sky, flying down in a procession from the closest world, led by a glowing figure on a Pegasus.

“Is that… Hercules?” Sora gasped.

Behin him, one of the host raised its trumpet once more, blowing a loud, long note. Hercules raised his sword, and the whole crowd began to yell, flying down as one to clash against the Heartless.

A birdcall shrieked through the air. It took a second to spot, but a giant raptor streaked through the sky, sharp talons tearing through all heartless in its way as it made a b-line for the princesses, transforming into a large, heavy-set man who stumbled into a run the moment he was in contact with the ground.

Behind Sora, cannon-fire. He spun sharply, wings flaring to regain balance. A large pirate ship flew through the air, Peter Pan flying circles around the mast, easily spotted with the glowing ball of sparkles hovering about his head.

And – there was Genie, throwing magic around wildly, Aladin just behind him on the flying carpet. There, a streak of red flew through it all, Hiro clinging to Baymax’s back. Everywhere, people descended from the worlds hanging in the sky, joining the fight.

“Sora, look!” Naminé said, grabbing his shoulder. He followed where she was pointing to see two gummi ships streaking down, lasers blasting. The one leading the charge, he would know anywhere.

As the ships banked into a sharp turn, figures began emerging from them – a trio of corvids flying in sync, spiraling down to the ground below, another pair in black making a risky, flightless jump and plummeting into the fight, a final set flying high above, slowly arcing their way towards Sora.

As they approached, Sora began to recognize them.

“Donald, Goofy!” Sora called, rushing forward, pulling them into a tight hug, “What are you doing here?”

“Well,” Goofy said, mussing Sora’s spikes, “When that there Kingdom Hearts appeared in the sky, along with the other worlds, we thought maybe something had gone wrong.”

Donald nodded imperiously, “We knew you needed help, so we decided to round up all your friends.”

“But, what about the World Order?” Sora wondered.

“Pah! Forget the World Order,” Donald blustered. “What does it matter when there might not be a world soon?”

“It also doesn’t mean much when the worlds are all hanging in the sky, right where they can see each other,” Goofy teased.

“Well, that covers that,” Hitoshi said, standing on the edge and peering out at the battle below, “Naminé and I can make sure any that escape that army don’t interrupt Riku. So, Sora. Looks like you’ve got a job to do.”

“Right!”

He turned heading towards the door – pausing when footsteps followed behind him. Peering over his shoulder, he found Donald and Goofy on his heel.

“Guys?” he asked.

“What? You didn’t think we’d leave you to fight alone?” Donald asked.

“Just like old times,” Goofy added, placing his hand out, Donald quickly stacking his hand on the pile, “All for one...”

Heart aching and over-full with affection, Sora placed his hand on top, grinning to fight back the tears.

“And one for all!”

Sending one last wave of affection and determination to his Flightmates, locking eyes with Riku once more time, Sora plunged through the door.

Sora stepped onto a moonlit beach. The wind whispered over the trees in the center of the island, a soft counterpoint to the waves lapping gently against the shore. Across the water, Kingdom Hearts hung big and bright against a velvet, starless sky.

Destiny Islands.

The nostalgia hit hard, and he reached with his heart for Riku and Kairi. Instead, he hit some sort of barrier; he could feel their tether, still connecting him, but it was like they were shut off in another room, their presence but a distant murmur.

Swallowing down his unease, he took a deep breath, letting his wings bloom from his breath, stretch; they’d already given him everything he needed.

They had their part to play; it was time for him to play his.

There was a silhouette, standing at the edge of the water, χ-blade in hand. Sora approached slowly, Donald and Goofy silent behind him, until he stood side-by-side with Xehanort, staring out at the waves. For just a moment, if he only looked through the corner of his eyes, it was as if a young boy was standing next to him, gazing longingly at the open horizon.

The familiarity hurt.

Then Xehanort sighed, head tipping back, and the illusion broke.

“How strange, that at the end of all things, I would come back to this place. And yet, how fitting.”

“Is it really that surprising, that you would go home at the end?’ Sora wondered.

“Home?” Xehanort scoffed, “This place was a prison. My destiny was always to leave it behind. And now, after all these decades, I am on the cusp of achieving my dreams.”

Sora took in a deep breath.

“I can’t let you go through with this. I’m going to stop you.”

“Hm,” Xehanort ducked his head with a chuckle, turning to pace away, “You, and what weapon? In forming your χ-blade, you forfeited your Key to the Kingdom – the only thing that made you special.”

....ah.

Sora paused, reaching for the power in his heart, stomach swooping. The first thing he found was the blazing beacon of his χ-blade, Riku’s presence tangled up in it. It sparkled, familiar and wonderful, but distant. Disconnected. It was his, but it wasn’t a part of himself – there was something about it that was...

He kept looking, digging into the shadows, and there it was – another light, smaller but warm, as familiar as his own hand. He touched it, and his chest lit up, and he could feel it with every breath.

The same energy that had brought him this far – the star that had sparked in his chest all that time ago, desperate and alone in Hallow Bastion – still with him, even when the Kingdom Key was gone.

He held a hand out, and Light answered. It spilled from his palm, dancing through the air till it filled the vague outline of a Key, stray Sparks curling in little arcs around it. It shimmered through his veins, steady even as it laughed in anticipation – who will we be next?

Anything. Everything. A thousand possible futures, a thousand possible shapes, waiting for him to settle. To choose.

Xehanort sneered at the formless Light.

“You think you can face me with an unforged Key?”

“I think I’m going to try,” Sora answered.

“And besides – he's not alone!” Goofy said, stepping up beside him.

“Yeah!” Donald added, “We’re here, too – there's three of us, and only one of you!”

“Well, then. I’d say that makes it about even.”

And with a wide, wicked grin, Xehanort attacked.

The fight wasn’t going well.

The Light – his Light, the star in his heart that supported his Key – wanted to help so bad, gave Sora everything it had, but -

Without a settled form, it could only do so much.

They were flagging, all of them. Donald stumbled, wavered; Xehanort moved in to take advantage; Goofy guarded, a last-minute maneuver, but the force of the blow sent his shield flying back; Xehanort wound back to follow up.

Sora caught the blow with his weapon, and the Light shattered.

“Well,” Xehanort said, “I did warn you.”

Things went quickly, after that.

Sora tried to evade until he could spark the Light again – but he didn’t have Ventus’ speed.

Sora tried to break through Xehanort’s guard, to find a way to fight with just his own body – but he didn’t have Xion’s martial grace.

Sora tried to call on his magic, to fight from a distance – but he didn’t have Roxas’ deft manipulation of spells.

A storm whipped up around them, and Destiny Islands began to crumble. Still, Xehanort advanced.

First Donald was knocked away, then Goofy, chasms opening up between them, the wild winds whipping away the ground they stood on, so it was just Sora and Xehanort left in the heart of it all. Darkness swirled around Kingdom Hearts, turning and turning, growing all encompassing, eating away at the edges of the world, pulling it away like gravity, consuming more and more of the land left behind.

Still, Xehanort advanced.

Sora retreated, step by step – until he felt the ground give beneath his heels. Where could he go? He spread his wings, looking to the sky – Xehanort's wings bristled behind him threateningly, the winds howling louder around him.

This can’t be the end.

Above, Kingdom Hearts shone bright.

Please! Someone, anyone, I need help!

“This is the end,” Xehanort said, raising the χ-blade high, “You have no weapon, and no allies – utterly alone and useless.”

Sora breathed, and knew the lie for what it was.

Maybe none of them could reach him here – maybe even those who came into fight with him couldn’t keep up. But he had every memory and every lesson they’d ever taught him engraved in his heart, carrying him through. No matter what happened next, nothing could erase that.

“I’m never alone.”

Light.

Kingdom Hearts flared, and a hundred stars burst to light in Answer around Sora. They floated out of his pockets, circling around him like little moons – Keychains, flashing in the light, every memory of every world he’d ever visited.

Faster and faster they whirled, soaking in the Light shining down on them, condensing closer and closer till all their lights merged and then – in one last flash, they burst out –

In their wake they left a gleaming, glittering Key: three thin steel prongs rising from where they wrapped around the heart-shaped decoration in the hilt, glowing red filigree wrapping through the blades until they met the elegant silver curves and points of the teeth, containing their own matching heart in the design.

Sora, a hundred voices whispered, their faith and hope flooding his heart, We’re here.

Breathless, Sora reached out, taking their love in his hands. With this, he had a chance.

With this, he could fight.

When everything stopped shaking and the movement of the lifeboats reduced to gentle rocking, when a dim light could be seen through the small windows on the door, when they opened the pods and pulled themselves out, the world remained. It was damaged, perhaps beyond repair – the cracked earth was scattered into crumbling chunks, floating in the water and the sky, interspersed between scattered, ruptured hills of white ruins – but it remained.

Terra sucked in a sharp breath.

“Terra?” Aqua asked.

“Sorry, it’s just – doesn't it look a bit like home?”

Ventus hummed thoughtfully, “I guess, if you squint. Do you think the Land of Departure was a part of a land like that, once?”

“But, how did it get like that?” Mickey wondered

“Probably something just like this,” Aqua said, “Look.”

She pointed, and they all looked out, past the broken landscape to the figures moving between it all: thousands of heartless, and hundreds of people, all working together to fight them.

“The people from all the worlds,” Xion breathed, “They’re all here, fighting.”

“Well, we better go and help,” Axel sighed, “Fighting a battle like this without a Keyblade isn’t much fun – trust me, I was in their position very recently."

“Considering I took my Keyblade back, I think you’re in that position again now,” Roxas observed.

“Enough talking,” Aqua said, spreading her wings, “It’s time to fight.”

One after the other, they took off after her, weapons flashing into their hands as they streamed into the battle like shooting stars.

They separated quickly, separating naturally into groups, with Mickey flitting off on his own.

“Jeez, these guys are never-ending,” Axel groused, “At this point it’s a battle of attrition, and I don’t know how long we can keep this up.”

“Sora said he had a plan,” Roxas insisted, gesturing out and dropping an Aerora in the middle of the swarm, Xion darting in to cut through the gathered heartless, “We just have to trust him.”

“Well, hopefully Sora hurries up.”

A blast of magic barreled through a row of heartless like bowling pins, a floating blue man bouncing in excitedly.

“Well, hey, you guys know Sora, too? How fun, so do – “ he cut off abruptly, pointing down at them with a dramatic gasp, “Disappearing guy?! And his disappearing friend?!”

Roxas turned, waving sheepishly at Genie, who stared with his jaw dropped, pointing back and forth between Roxas and Xion.

“Genie, you know these guys?” Aladdin asked, swooping in on the flying carpet.

“I do!” Genie exclaimed, turning abruptly in the air, fireworks popping in the air around him and – not so coincidentally – taking out some of the encroaching heartless, “I’ve met him twice! The first time that carpet ran off and insisted he was our friend, and the second! Well, the second he gave the advice that led to me coming to talk to you and Jasmine.”

“Hey, Roxas,” Axel muttered, watching the desert-world residents drift off into their own conversation, “You know the point was to not be seen while on missions, right?”

“I tried,” Roxas sighed, “It just... never worked out.”

“How many other people did you meet?”

“Well, you remember the fairy lady on that water world,” Roxas said, pausing in his attack to point up at the giant pirate ship flying through the sky, “And then... oh, there was the world with all the competitions.”

He pointed up towards one of the gleaming worlds above, where the glowing, toga-wearing warriors were streaming from, “That one. Actually, the guy there told me to visit again, but... I guess I never did.”

“You’ll have to introduce us when this was all over,” Xion said, “Now both of you stop lazing about and come help me!”

“Right!”

“Sorry, Xion!”

“Wait, Ventus?”

Ventus stumbled to a stop, turning at the call of his name.

“Ventus, watch out!” Aqua said, darting in to cut down a heartless trying to take advantage of his distraction, “Pay attention! This is no time for distraction.”

“Sorry! But someone was calling me.”

They both looked to the side, meeting the startled eyes of Hercules, staring at them from across the field. Shaking his head, he leaped from the back of the Pegasus he was riding, hefting his shield to smash his way towards them.

“Wow, I can’t believe it’s you! It’s been 10 years and you – you haven’t aged a day!” Shaking his head, he turned his head to Aqua, “And we’ve met too, haven’t we? What was the name?”

“Aqua,” she answered, “We did meet, briefly.”

Hercules laughed breathlessly, “You all disappeared so quickly – we never knew what happened to you. What a place to run into you again!”

Ventus chuckled, scrubbing a hand through his hair with a sheepish grin, “Yeah, well - “

“Hey! Are you guys talking, or fighting?” Terra called.

“Sorry! Wait for me!” Ventus called back, quickly darting after him, cutting through heartless as he went.

“It was good to see you again,” Aqua said, “But I need to join my Flight.”

“Right - right! We’ve got a fight to win – we can catch up afterwords?”

“Yeah. Good luck,” Aqua said, turning to fly off after Ventus.

“Good luck!” Hercules called after her.

She soared above the battle, cutting through the flying monsters that filled the sky, keeping an eye on her boys dancing through the chaos below. And it wasn’t just them – all across the battlefield, fighters from all worlds were joining in, holding off wave after wave of monsters.

It was funny. They’d always dreamed of being Keyblade Masters – her, and Terra, and Ven – going out and saving the world. But in the end, it didn’t come down to them at all. They were just one part of the bigger picture, and not even the most important one.

Still... that was no reason to slack off.

Tucking her wings in, she let herself spiral down towards the ground below, landing in a Grand splash of magic that rippled out through the heartless, clearing several feet around her. Springing to her feet, she sent her Flightmates a bright grin.

“Keep up, you two!”

Beyond Kingdom Hearts, at the end of all worlds, Sora and Xehanort clashed.

Blow after blow, their strength, their power, their will was pitted against each other, until, by some unseen cue, they leapt apart, each bringing up their Key, unleashing a beam of pure, unbridled energy. The two streams met in the middle, conflicting powers fighting to overcome one another.

Slowly, Sora began to slide back.

“Sora!”

Two pairs of hands caught him, warm on his shoulder. Donald, Goofy – he hadn’t seen them appear through the mists, but here they were, steadying him, adding their strength to his own. It spilled into his heart, flooded through his veins, wound around his hands, his key, tri-powered magic building and building until nothing could stand before it.

Xehanort faltered.

In the aftermath, he kneeled, leaning heavily on his χ-blade where it pierced into the ground trying desperately to stand.

“Why – how?”

“It’s over now – you lost!”

“No,” Xehanort growled, “I won’t accept defeat. Not this time. Kingdom Hearts….”

He stretched his hand out to the great Light above; Kingdom Hearts shone down impassively.

Sora shook his head, “What are you even trying to accomplish? What do you think is going to happen?”

“A purge,” Xehanort answered, “The world will be returned whence it started. The world began in Darkness, and from that Darkness came Light. From the Light came the people, and the people had hearts. Evil burgeoned in those hearts, begetting more Darkness. And that Darkness moved across the world like a plague. The Light, the symbol of the world’s hopes, was devoured by shadow. Leaving nothing but ruin – an utter failure.”

“You really think that?”

“Can you deny it? You’ve seen it, the corruption, creeping through every world, every heart. It consumes even this best - I won’t let it happen again.”

“So your answer is to destroy everything?” Sora protested.

“Such a world doesn’t deserve to exist. The first Light – the Light of Kingdom Hearts – it can give us a new start. An empty world, pure and bright.”

“…that’s not your decision to make.”

“Then whose was it?” Xehanort asked, though he did not wait for an answer, “We are stuck in an eternal cycle, that will only continue to pollute the world. Someone has to stop it – to stand up and dictate a new destiny.”

“Even if that’s right… it isn’t you. Destiny is beyond anyone’s control. If there’s someone to lead us into a new world… they have to accept that.”

Xehanort’s face twisted – a strange mix of frustration, disgust, and resignation.

He laughed, low and bitter, “You… make me think of an old friend. So, tell me. What is your answer?”

“I don’t have one,” Sora answered.

“Hah. And you think to criticize me? Your naivety – “

“But!” Sora interrupted, “I don’t need one, not really. Whatever future there is, it has to be one that everyone makes together. All I can do is my part. And maybe we’ll falter. Maybe it will hurt. But I won’t look away. I’ll face it, as many times as it takes.”

Their gazes met, silent in a standoff at the heart of all worlds, Kingdom Hearts standing in judgement.

Finally, Xehanort sighed, head dipping with the weight of it.

“Fine, then. I concede. The future is in your hands… Master Sora.”

Staggering to his feet, he pulled the χ-blade from the earth, offering it out, hilt first. Sora approached hesitantly, but the man didn’t move, simply tilting the weapon further in offering.

The moment the χ-blade changed hands, Kingdom Hearts lit up, beams of light falling down on Xehanort, piercing through him, fading him like a ghost until his body grew too thin to contain his heart. Free from its confines, it rose, joining the source of all hearts once more.

In the distance, a deep, sonorous bell began to ring.

“Do you hear that?” Sora asked.

“Yeah, but – where’s it coming from?” Goofy wondered.

“Who cares about that?” Donald snapped, “We gotta find a way out of here!”

“Right, we – “ Sora cut off as the ground beneath them rumbled. The small, floating remnant of the world beneath them shook, then stretched, the three of them being rapidly rocketed apart.

“Sora!”

“Donald! Goofy!”

Sora raced after them, but the land moved faster beneath his feet. He took to the skies, but they were lost to the mists, the storm having faded to a fog that closed in when he wasn’t looking.

Soon, he was alone. Just him, the Darkness, and Kingdom Hearts above.

“Donald? Goofy?” he called once more, but his words were swept away in the stillness. Instead, there was a hum, something below his hearing that he could feel in his bones.

Come closer, it whispered, Come here.

Come home.

Heart in his throat, he reached for his bonds. The gossamer threads still slipped through his fingers, the connection strained and stretched, nothing but a low murmur. But Riku and Kairi were there, their lights steady in the distance.

Yes. It was time to find his way home.

Tipping one wing down, he circled towards Kingdom Hearts till he could alight on the nothingness before it. The Light loomed above him, enormous, taking up his whole vision while the Darkness pressed in close behind.

And yet it was so cold.

Welcome, bearer of the Key, a voice whispered, light and silvery, winding its way into his lungs, Long have we waited for you. Fate and Our power are in your hands.

Sora swallowed.

“I’m not Xehanort. I don’t want to destroy everything.”

Our power is not limited to the unmaking of worlds, no matter what the Fallen thinks. Just as We can destroy, so We can create. You do not need to start anew to shape the world you desire: all of time and space are in your hands.

What did the Dream-Eater say, before – that it was not only space that was bending?

“You mean… I could change it all? Keep the heartless from ever attacking?

Yes.

Power settled on him like weights, like a predator’s gaze.

What will you choose, O Child of My Child? That light voice shivered up his spine, Will you take My power, and heal the world? Put everything back as it should be and undo it all – the hurting and the bleeding and the ripping apart?

Destiny Islands, whole and hale – to never be separated from his Flight, to never let the storm consume Riku. Or even further back – to change whatever fate caused Ven to seek refuge in his heart, to keep Aqua from ever getting lost.

To keep Xehanort from ever starting down his Dark path.

“No,” Sora said, low and slow but sure, “No, that’s not my choice.”

Then you choose to create the world anew? Another voice asked, deep and smooth, rippling from the nothing around him to vibrate through his bones, You who are beloved by the Child of My Child, you would wipe clean this destruction, and craft a more perfect world?

“No, that’s not it either.”

The air quivered, the Darkness curling curiously around the Light as cold beams shimmered across Sora’s face.

Then, what path do you take?

“I just… want to go home. Just as it is.”

You would leave things as they are? The Light asked, soft and tender and condemning, All those who have died, who have suffered from schemes and tricks and invasions. You have all Our power to save them, and you would do nothing?

“Everything that has happened… it’s been awful,” Sora said. “And we’ve hurt. But, we’ve also learned from it. We wouldn’t be who we are, if we’d walked a different path. Who am I to make that kind of choice for them?”

But what about the Darkness?The Dark hissed, suddenly tight around his chest, his throat, All the Heartless that have been unleashed in the world, that have been created through the arrogance of mortals? They will still be there, and they will always be a threat.

“Maybe,” Sora answered, “But no matter what we do, the Darkness will always be there. I’ve got that feeling that even if I undid it all, or made a new world… the Darkness would appear always, even if it was in a different form.”

The Dark uncurled from his shoulders, pooling up in the Light’s shadow, streaming off it like a cape.

“All this time, we haven’t been fighting for a new world, or to undo all his harm,” Sora explained, “We just… wanted a future together. So we fought the people trying to take it from us. That’s all. No matter what happens next, as long as we can face it together, I know we’ll be alright.”

Silence held the entire world still, before it released with a sigh, weight lifting off of Sora.

We hear your conviction, Bearer of the Heart of Light, Kingdom Hearts rumbled, its laughter skipping across his skin, Though, perhaps one who has bent time should not speak of calmly accepting the future.

Light beaded up along its surface like a drop of dew, growing until it fell under its own weight, dropping into the nothingness below. It splashed when it landed, the droplets multiplying and spreading before lifting back into the air, curling and shaping itself into a filigreed door.

Go forth, Beloved child. Open Your Door, and let Us sleep once more.

Your future is waiting.

Like the light of the moon eclipsed by the rising of the sun, Kingdom Hearts faded.

The Darkness faded first, the corona of shadows dripping Heartless into the world below slowly petering out. Then, the storm that heralded Kingdom Heart’s emergence calmed, the cloud barrier concealing the monolith once more. Finally, even the clouds themselves faded away to reveal a clear sky, the sun rising above the jagged horizon.

The night was over; the battle was theirs.

Without reinforcements, the horde of heartless finally began to thin. Eventually, they began to flee of their own will, popping away or merging into the shadows. They would emerge another day, just as they had always done, but for now – for now! Across the battlefield, cheers erupted, a hundred voices screaming their victory together.

High above, a door shimmered into existence, letting a young hero flutter into the sky.

Below, two heads snapped towards this emergence with unerring precision, quickly disengaging from the companions around them, spreading their wings and taking off.

They met in the sky, spiraling around each other in breathless laughter, their hearts, singing as one.

You’re here – you won!

Safe, you’re all safe.

We did it.

It’s over. It’s over. It’s over.

Later, they would have to face the heartless that escaped. Later, they would have to navigate the implications of a hundred worlds hanging in each other’s skies, in reach of one another as they had not been since times long past. Later, they would continue to unravel the consequences of their predecessors’ decisions.

But for now, it was time for reunions.

They Keyblade wielders and their friends all drifted together again, introductions that were missed in the chaos of Before finally being made.

“What now?” Riku asked, his arm a warm pressure where it pressed against Sora’s left, “We’ve been fighting for so long, I’m kind of at a loss.”

Kairi tipped her head into Sora’s shoulder, so close he could almost feel her the vibrations of her voice as she answered, “I guess... now we all go home.”

Sora watched as the other’s mingled – Ventus and Roxas dancing carefully around each other as they explained what they knew of their situation to a bemused Terra, Aqua studiously ignoring the way Xion watched her with curiosity, Axel constantly picking and teasing at his Flightmates, never going without touching them for long.

“I think," Sora said, “Maybe we’re all already there.”

Sora was born into a world where your heart had wings.

It didn’t always make things better, but in the end?

It was enough to lead him home.

#kh #kingdom hearts #fanfiction #wingfic #wrap your wings au #Yza writes a thing

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