#He was lost in the dark but found the light again // Riku

[yoroshiu]

Thinking about Kingdom Hearts' narrative with communication.

As with a lot of conflicts in story and real life, much of the most heart wrenching stuff in this series stems from a lack of communication or a severe misunderstanding between characters.

The Foretellers fall apart due to mistrust that was bred in between them, as according to the Master of Master's plan, and a lot of their interactions are full of deceit and witholding information. In an effort for most of them to do what MoM says while simultaneously realizing that they could go against his word to save the world, it inevitably leads to war.

Baldr, in his grief, is kept separate from his friends, alone until the darkness overtakes him and he ends up being consumed by it. As a result, everyone is taken by surprise and there's already too many bodies piled up by the time he's dealt with. Even when Hoder appears before him, they are unable to meet in the middle and turn on each other. He ends up killing many friends and plants a seed into what Xehanort becomes.

The basis of the Wayfinders and Eraqus is that they constantly don't talk to each other properly, pushing each other away until their tragedy becomes inescapable. Eraqus not telling his students about anything Xehanort has done, for instilling such an unforgiving view of Light and Darkness, for not telling Ventus the truth until it was too late. Terra, Aqua, and Ventus not being able to talk or clear things up until Xehanort is already beyond knees deep into his plans, and despite having their love for each other go beyond any possible discord, it is not enough to prevent unfortunate fates that befall them.

The Destiny Trio, especially Riku earlier on, suffers from a lack of communication. While not as turbulent as the other trios, it's Riku's tendency to hide away and lash out that builds the conflict between him and Sora. For one reason or another, a quite literal and physical reason for Kairi, they were unable to talk which goes on and on until RIku gets possessed. And it his shame that pushes him to hide for such a long time in the second game as well. Sora has also picked up on not saying anything, deciding to perish without letting anyone know beforehand, and the full-on effects of that have yet to be explored.

The Sea Salt Trio was built on miscommunication. Secrets, unknowns, caring so much that you believe that it'd be much better to fade away without a word than to burden someone with the pain of truth and knowledge. It drives a wedge between Roxas, Axel, and Xion at multiple points. Axel, who was stuck between loyalties, kept information to himself and ended up driving Roxas and Xion away at one point and another. Xion, who found out the truth and also made big decisions without fully explaining to the other two, also inevitably leaves a grief that digs into them even when they don't remember her. And Roxas, who was the probably the biggest victim of not being told anything, ends up barrelling forward, trust broken up until the pieces finally fell in place and he had to accept his fate in tired resignation.

But it's when love overcomes the lies, clearing them away that these groups of friends can come together and start again.

A lot of the emotional turmoil that Kingdom Hearts displays often comes from the very human act of communication with others and how often we fail to do so. The fragility that comes with one kept secret, or one mispoken phrase. How badly people get torn apart when no one says anything. Yet, it also shows how it can potentially be overcome with enough love and determination to recover what was lost, and even if it's not the same as before, there's potential to make things better.

TLDR; Connections are the basis of Kingdom Hearts. Communication is a foundation of connection. The highs and lows of communication is something that Kingdom Hearts explores extensively in the stories of its characters, and that has resonated with me so heavily that I stay up thinking about it.

[daily-rikukingdomhearts]

I AM SUPER SORRY FOR BOTHERING YOU im trying to get back into Kingdom hearts (your art is really cute btw) im trying to make an AU but i have no fucking idea where Kairi's body went when she lost her heart in KH1 when her heart's with Sora later Riku finds her body and he has it WHERE DID HER BODY GO? i saw a reddit post where somebody said Maleficent found her body and her body probably went to hollow bastion because that was radiant garden BUT HOW DID HER BODY GET THERE?? i forgot a lot of things maybe i can figure it out myself? but if you have an answer that would help me

I love asks ☝️🫵 you are not a bother! And thank you for the compliment. As customary, I have to post a Riku photo due to the nature of this blog:

As for your question:

I truly have no fucking clue 😬 I looked and looked and I couldn't find anything!!!! I looked in the manga, light novel, the wiki, and cross referenced with other kh experts but didn't come up with anything canon. Here's a BEST LOGICAL GUESS...:

Since Maleficent is collecting the princesses of heart she most definitely found Kairi

If it was in Hollow Bastion or Neverland, I don't know. Hollow Bastion used to be Radiant Garden and Kairi is from there so she probably ended up there like Riku did at the beginning of kh1 because, remember, Riku didn't end up in Traverse Town like Sora. The reason I'm thinking Neverland is so Maleficent can manipulate Riku. Again, she's gathering the princesses of heart, Riku wants his friends back together, he's been manipulated into thinking that Sora has replaced him, and he just had a major blow to the ego in Traverse Town. It's possible that Maleficent tells Riku that Kairi is in Neverland so he can play hero and save her, that way he can be more easily controlled. Those are two options.

It's just ... Hard to say. Because they don't really care about Kairi. The only people who care are Shiro Amano (the manga author) and half of the fandom. They really just halfheartedly throw her in the dumpster in every game which is a shame! She could be a great character.

As for how her body got there! I dunno! Kingdom Hearts is weird. Like here's a flow chart that my experts and I discussed:

Both Kairi and Sora are the only people who could keep living along side their nobodies. However when their nobodies "woke up" they were in completely different places than expected, Naminé being at Castle Oblivion and Roxas being in Twilight Town.

Personally! And just personally! I think it has something to do with your heart like how much dark and light it has in it, etc. Depending on that factor, that's where you get spit out. I could be 100% wrong though.

The nice part about AUs is that you can kinda do whatever the fuck you want... I have an AU where I kept the world system and keyblades and changed everything else cause no one can stop me. If you want Kairi in Hollow Bastion, slay! If you want her in Neverland, cool! If you want to ignore this post, even better! Do what you want! I hope you get back into kingdom hearts!

[mythicalartistx]

The KHML trailer has us all wondering....

WHO IS SHE!?

Skuld is X theory and bloodline theory/ Necklace Theory also mentioned

And I'm going to be analyzing and deciphering who I think she is.

In KH UX Ephemer goes to an era in the future and founded Scala ad Caelum

Skuld also came there when they both traveled through time.

And we know that they are the parents to Xehanort.

In Dark Road, we see a dark haired girl who looks like Skuld give blue-coated person, "player" Xehanort.

Then child Xehanort tells Player that he had dreams of Player's friends and states there was a dark haired person kind of like mom.

Then player reveals that Xehanort has the same bloodline as his friend Ephemer.

Now wait, what does this have to do with this girl?

Well this girl could also be related to Ephemer or Xehanort.

NOMURA also revealed in a previous interview when the first trailer — the 2022 ML trailer got released that it is four generations after the character Player arrives

If she is that means she could be a relative or sibling of Xehanort. And what if this relative or the relative's descendants eventually goes to destiny Islands after Xehanort leaves.

And that's why I think Riku might be their descendant who is also Ephemer's descendant. It explains him being Light and him having a necklace that relates to Light which he gives to Sora.

It explains why Riku is seemed as special.

Then I also think Player might have reincarnated into Sora... But that's for another time.

Now we get to Skuld. Now she is an interesting case especially since many people including myself think she is X as in Experiment X from the reports in KH3

The person that Lea/Axel and Isa/Saïx snuck in Ansem's research area to see. And they planned to save her, but she disappeared. And that's Saïx whole reason for how he is in the organization but he got lost on the way.

But X was clearly stated to be younger so maybe she went to where Ansem and his apprentice were first. Then Luxu got her and sent her back to the time right before ML era.

Or Ephemer and Skuld traveled through time again after the silver haired person was old enough to take care of everything. Skuld just looked young or maybe they just used the term girl because that's what she was.

Skuld arrived at Radiant Garden where she lost her memory and Ansem did experiments on her. Then Ephemer arrived after four generations in the future after Brain arrives and after Player arrives.

Luxu then takes Skuld to the ML timeline after player and Brain arrives and Xehanort is born.

And Missing Link will be the key to these questions the hidden chapter that probably will be forgotten to many in the KH world.

Anyways Kingdom Hearts Missing Link Hype

[airawisteria]

See, Kairi might not be my favourite character from KH (though, she's really fun to draw), but, like, the way she is so insecure about her friendship with Sora (I would say Riku as well, but let's be real here, those two could barely be considered friends, maybe acquaintances by this point, honestly) is something that would be so interesting to explore. I'm assuming it's probably from the trauma of losing her home world and everyone she cared about, like her Grandma, when her world was consumed by darkness—but, wow.

Even in KH1 where she and Sora are, in my opinion, the closest they've ever been shown to be, she's going on about leaving alone with Sora, the way that she immediately gives Sora a good luck charm the second she knows he's about to leave again, the way that she reaches out to Sora so desperately as if to say, "Please don't leave".

Then, in KH2, she straight up just forgets (not that it was her fault) about him and goes on with her life perfectly content. Once she realises, however, she immediately tries to remember him with such desperation that you have to wonder—why does she care so much for Sora but was perfectly fine staying on Destiny Islands instead of looking for her world or desperately trying to hold onto her memories of her Grandma? I think, at this point, some people would brush this off as 'her romantic feelings for Sora', but, like, is it really just that? I think it's more so about how she doesn't want to lose Sora completely as she did with her home world. She almost lost Sora completely, memories and all, and I think that after you've experienced losing your loved ones and the world that you've grown to love/have always loved almost completely at the ripe old age of a nursery kid. That leaves scars (obviously). So, when she realises she might lose someone she knew she was close with—she does whatever she can to get him back. Kairi wasn't able to do that with her home world, but maybe she could with Sora?

So! She immediately writes Sora a letter, puts it in a bottle and lets it float away. It's also probably why she takes such an active role in KH2, especially compared to KH1 where she was passed out for most of it and when she was awake she wasn't really doing much (like, Nomura, mate, couldn't you have had Kairi at least try to fend off some of the heartless??), but here she might still be getting kidnapped and stuff, but!! She's actually actively searching Sora out, trying to find him, fighting Axel, fighting the heartless with her keyblade, she's even the entire reason Sora even fucking found Riku, in the end. Now, let's fast forward to the end of KH2, Riku and Sora are stranded in the Realm of Darkness while Kairi is in Destiny Islands. She's alone, again. Imagine, finding two of your closest friends in the past, and then, bam! They're gone, again. And, again, you're helpless to do anything about it. That has to do something to your self-esteem, right? You've almost lost your friends twice, lost your world twice (kinda) and you couldn't do anything about it both times. It's like you're destined to be the only one left behind, the only one who can't take part in the Mark of Mastery exam, the only one who isn't in the Realm of Darkness or fighting Xemnas, the only one in the Realm of Light, and, the only one who will never be able to catch up with your friends.

So, the Mark of Mastery happens and Kairi's busy learning how to wield a keyblade with Lea/Axel. Just like how Sora's failures are getting to him, Kairi's incompetence is getting to her—I mean, have you heard her voice lines? She even fucking cuts her hair not because she thinks it's getting too long or something, but because she thinks Sora might like her more with short hair. It isn't about her, it's about how she needs to keep up, how she needs to be someone the others can turn to, how she needs to be on the same level as everyone else—because if she isn't, how will she ever be able to be there for her friends? How will she ever be able to stop being the 'damsel in distress'? She doesn't send her letters to Sora anymore, probably because she thinks she and Sora are no longer the same friends who could connect easily and talk to easily—she thinks Sora and her have gained some distance. Distance that could probably be shortened over time, maybe, but distance that is stopping her from being able to open up to him. Then, there's the whole paopu fruit thing where she gives Sora another good luck charm because, like in KH1, she's scared to lose him, again. So, she intertwines their fates, because what other reassurance does she have?

And, then, the whole thing with the Keyblade Graveyard happens where Sora has a mental breakdown, and Kairi isn't strong enough to be there for Sora—but, Riku is. I don't think she remembers that bit, but during the first timeline, she reaches out to Sora specifically. Maybe it's romance, or maybe it's her trying to be with him so she won't lose him again.

But, anyways, onto the second timeline. Sora loses Kairi again cause Xehanort's being an asshole as he does. This time, Sora has to sacrifice himself for Kairi to return—and so, she loses him, again. Only this time, it's all her fault (not that it really is, just what I think she thinks about the matter). And within seconds, her self-esteem probably crumbles—she's lost someone again, someone precious again, someone she couldn't save, someone who had to save her, just like how it was with her Grandma.

Okay!! Rambling about Kairi over, but, like, I could go on and on about how much losing her home world was like for her and all that jazz.

[twewycrim3s]

Absolutely Terra, also just lay down all the info you can give me

Well here's a copy paste of the story I wrote up for it

The battle of 7 Lights and 13 Darknesses approaches. The battle to keep Kingdom Hearts safe and sound or overcome by darkness. The journey at the current time seems to flow with the path of Light. However, one hero of Light decided to risk their lives for another's. This light being Sora. All to protect Kairi from being kidnapped instead, the boy still risking his all to keep his friends safe.

Sora didn't want time to repeat. He didn't want his friends to die, not again. So if he just altered everything, instead of letting things play the same. Then just maybe the fates will truly alter, even though he knows of his own consequence. He'd never be able to speak about what he saw in passing before this action. So he shoved Kairi before she could be grabbed in that barbed cage and disappeared himself.

The sacrifice gave Xehanort another guardian to tinker with, similar to Ventus. The trial to see if the boy could form the X-blade with his heart. However, that trial proved nothing to Xehanort. So once again he took the choice to force the pure dark and light from none other than Sora.

Yet with much regret Sora's heart didn't belong to only him at the time. Causing his heart to fracture while remaining in his body. The end result left Sora in a strange mental state and left a nasty mark on his chest.

These trials went on for 2 years before he found his escape, the one day his restraints were loose he took advantage of it. He didn't even care he had no top on and his scar showed. He ran no destination in mind, only ran to where he thought the exit was and hoped his friends would feel his calling heart. When he felt outside's warmth on his exposed torso, even if night he felt such relief. Quickly making his way further away from where he was held captive.

He kept running and running til his body collapsed from exhaustion. Then weakly moved to hide in a small cave like structure and only sit and wait. Things will be ok could hear water and saw bushes with fruit as he got here. Just wait…

After a few days of being a free man, dazed and confused he heard the sound of Riku and Kairi. Their voices echoing in his ears as he fought to wake up and go to them. They grew closer and closer…then soon he heard their startled sounds, unable to see their faces as he turned to look at them, vision blurry. He couldn't talk to them, but he wished to. Yet, truly before he even could say anything he was wrapped in a blanket and scooped up into Riku's arms. Truly rescued and back home once and for all. Back with his friends, but due to his condition begged to not be near his mom. Not yet. And Riku decided to let him stay at his place.

The guardian of light wasn't the same bubbly happy go lucky self. He seemed more drained and grumpy. His keyblade was broken and worn down. It seemed his very self was broken and in need of major repair. Is it truly possible to repair something so fractured?

Roxas and Ventus went back to where they needed to go, but who would help patch Sora? Only time will tell.

Extra Info:

Sora is too weak to summon his keyblade back if he loses it, he has massive nightmares and is being tracked by Xehanort while he sleeps if too stressed. This server is Dark theme filled due to Sora's damaged heart do keep that in mind. There is SoRiku so if against the ship it is not advised either. In KH3 Sora spoke to a chirithy and got sent back in time to try and fix what he lost. however, in this AU it uses the same concept but makes it worse. He begs to go back in time to save where it truly all seemed to be an issue. Be able to truly intervene and not be a figment ghost. So the CHirithy agrees, but gives Sora a major consequence if he tells anybody what he's done. Else SPOILER FOR SERVER CANT SAY!! So he keeps a major secret with him while he decides to protect Kairi from being snagged by Xemnas. For himself to be snagged himself and held captive for 2 years before he was found via his dreams with Riku.

[wilygryphon]

Ragnarok de Dies Irae (Kingdom Hearts Fic Idea)

I had the idea for a Post-KH3 Kingdom Hearts fanfic a few years ago, but I am currently in no place to start writing it (due to having two big stories ongoing, although I did start on an introductory chapter as a taste a while back). I outlined a bunch of ideas for myself, and I'm throwing them up here for you to see. And, if someone is interested in writing it and wants to collab with me and my ideas, I'll leave the door open.

Premise:

Centuries ago, the World was flooded with darkness and divided.  Recently, a fabrication of the x-blade was forged, then destroyed.  The walls between worlds shattered and many worlds were pulled into darkness.  A world made of darkness materialized, and a door between the Realms of Light and Darkness materialized, then was sealed, and the dark world dissolved and the worlds returned to light, though some remained asleep.  A Kingdom Hearts made out of captured hearts was created, then blown to bits, only for a world to be generated within it and destroyed.  Then, two Keyblade Wielders harrowed the Realm of Sleep.  While this happened, one man generated a time loop to enact his plans.  One of the wielders bent reality and time to resurrect the dead.  Finally, Kingdom Hearts was summoned and corrupted, then purified.  The fabric of the worlds was bent again to save one more person, and the savior was taken in her place.

Reality is fragile.  Too much abuse will tear holes in space and time.  That has happened.  Delicate barriers protecting the worlds from dangerous forces have come undone, and powerful entities have begun to make their way here.  These gods have been sealed off for a reason, and now their very presence threatens the worlds.

Riku and Kairi are still recovering from the loss of Sora, with Kairi turning to the gym and vigilantism to vent her frustration.  Donald and Goofy mourn as well, though Donald is trying to hide it.  Roxas, Axel, Xion, Isa, Aqua, Terra, and Ventus are still trying to put the pieces back together and figure their lives out from here on in.  Naminé is still getting used to the crowd and having friends.  The Radiant Garden Restoration Committee, now aided by Ansem and his apprentices, are putting their town back together stronger than ever before.  Four recompleted Nobodies gather, wanting to uncover the mysteries of their lost past.  And the Foretellers, excluding Ava, now guided by Luxu, are preparing the future that their Master once saw, while Maleficent and Pete observe from a distance.

Master Yen Sid detects a series of anomalies in the worlds and reaches out to Mickey and Aqua to alert them.  They tell Riku, and Kairi asks to come along, wanting to contribute and not feel useless.  Searching Dwarf Woodlands, they face strange new monsters and a hostile mirror demon.  Kairi breaks down, because while she finally gets to explore a new world, Sora is not by her side.  When she is pulled into a mirror by the demon and sees Sora’s Heartbinder, then hears his voice when she touches it, she begins to have faith that Sora can be found.  Sharing their findings with Yen Sid, the sorcerer advises that they gather their allies and search the worlds for information on the anomalies.  He also grants permission to search for Sora, though he prohibits the use of complicated measures (a la the Power of Waking which doomed him in the first place) to do so.

Cut back to six months ago.  Sora wakes up in the middle of a traffic intersection in a strange city.  He tries to get help from passerby, but they do not react to his presence, as if he were a ghost.  As he wanders, he is watched by several winged figures and a mysterious man in a black coat.  The Reapers speculate on what could have brought him to Shibuya, since he does not seem to have entered the UG in the usual way.  Regardless, they elect to put him into the Reapers’ Game to keep under close watch.

[pred1059]

Runaway Wind Chapter Twenty Five

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Nobodies had no dreams.

Oh they certainly could have aspirations and desires. Things that they wished to possess. But to touch the world of slumber? For the heart to wander and dwell on what mattered to it while asleep? Naminé knew that was impossible. And yet on so many nights, she found herself trying to run from the dark with Ventus. Seeking shelter when they could from the shadows.

Maybe it was due to Naminé’s existence. An impossibility in itself. With a heart of pure light, a heartless could never be created from Kairi. Yet when Sora released the hearts within him with that keyblade, somehow she was created from some splintered will from the princess of heart. And if Kairi’s heart being released from Sora could create herself,  then it only made sense that Ven’s released heart could create something like a nobody too. Even if his body was far away in Castle Oblivion.

Was the same true for Sora? Did he create a Nobody, or something close?

Well right now, none of that mattered. What mattered was that hidden from everyone was a sliver of existence that used that new body to live again. A dark keyblade wielder that made Riku’s fall look tame in comparison. The one that menaced Ven and his friends so long ago...

“Vanitas!?” She cried out as she used another figment to block his keyblade wreathed in shadow. The blow shattered the construct and knocked her back.

“Well, well.” Vanitas raised a hand and gathered a ball of flame. “Looks like Ventus got enough of a backbone to spill his guts.” He shot the projectile and vanished, reappearing a moment later to shoot another as Ventus blocked it. “Not that it matters.” This time, Naminé was the one who had to defend, she reached for her weapon.

He conspicuously absent weapon. “My sword?!” In her shock she fumbled for a card, but the fireball was faster, and soon she was knocked back.

Vanitas chuckled as Ven moved to block the rest of the barrage. “Funny thing about dreams. You only take what you fall asleep with.” In a blink, Vanitas appeared right next to her, snarling, “So all you’ve got now are cheap card tricks!” 

This time she was ready with a card to block the attack. In a flash, her figment was ready to parry Vanitas’ magic. And in that opening, Ven rolled over to deliver a kick into his side. Seeing Vanitas stumble back, Ven began to slash away at him again and again. Blow after blow hit him until he finally lost his balance.

But then Vanitas’ body froze mid fall. And Ventus stopped his attack in wide eyed recognition.

“Too slow!”

That was Ven’s only warning before Vanitas appeared behind him, the dark decoy fading. Their keyblades clashed for an instant, before Vanitas used the impact to flip back and send out an arc of lightning. Rolling back, Ventus called out. “Vanitas, listen! You don’t need to do this!”

“You really think you can stop me with words?” Though Naminé tried to approach from the side, Vanitas simply sent out a pool of shadow to become a larger Unversed to block her way. “You’re forgetting I want this!” With that, he dived towards the ground, into a pool of shadow. 

Ventus backed away, and turned to attack the bruiser swinging at Naminé. “You don’t need to live your life in darkness!” As the unversed turned to face it’s new attacker Ven and Naminé both moved to strike. With figment and keyblade, the dark monster fell.

“What I am is darkness!” But with his proclamation Vanitas erupted from the ground fire cascading all around him. Naminé frantically tried to evade the barrage along with Ventus. Though as Vanitas reached the peak of his jump he vanished, only to reappear to bring his blade down on Ventus.

Ventus jumped back, and as Vanitas landed and lunged forward he blocked with his keyblade. “How can you be sure of that if all you do is stay here?” Ventus cried out in the clash, “You’ll never know the truth unless you look for it yourself!”

Vanitas’ eyes narrowed as he stepped forward, steel screeching as they stared each other down. “You...”

“YOU!”

Ventus’ and Vanitas’ eyes both widened at the voice, and Naminé looked up towards where the shout came from. A blue haired woman leaping down from one of the cliffs towards the duo. But her eyes were trained on only one person. “VANITAS!!!” At hearing his name, the helmeted boy leapt away from Ventus. Just in time to avoid the combatant’s barrage of ice from her weapon.

No...her keyblade. As different as it was from Ven’s or Sora’s Naminé knew what the woman held was another of those legendary weapons.

“Ven! Stay close to me!” With a wave of her keyblade, the woman began to conjure a sphere of water. With a thrust, she cast the torrent forward.

Vanitas backed away frantically waving his hand to create unversed to block the barrage of magic. “Yeah. Not sticking around for this!” Using the opening his creations had given him, Vanitas dove into a dark portal.

The woman scowled at the escape. But as she began to take a step forward, she stumbled down to her knee. Ven rushed to her side to catch her as she used her keyblade to steady herself.“Aqua, are you alright?”

“Aqua?” Was this one of Ven’s friends that he talked about? Either way, it was clear she wasn’t in the best shape. “Let me help you up.” Naminé ran up to Aqua’s side, and though she was smaller she was able to use Aqua’s keyblade to help prop her up.

“Yes.” Aqua answered with a nod as she slowly rose to her feet.“Just tired. I don’t know how long I can keep doing this.” She shook her head as she tried to walk towards the cliff for support. ���For all I know, I could be asleep already if I’m imagining all of you.”

Ven gave a small smile, “Dream or not, it’s nice to see you again Aqua.” But as he said it, he began to flicker just a bit. And Naminé’s view of the dark world began to dim as well.

Seeing them caused Aqua’s expression to become more weary. She looked over to her and asked. “You’re helping Ven. Who are you?”

Ven had already begun to fade from view, and as the dark world around her faded away she answered, “My name is Naminé.”

Aqua gave a weary smile as she vanished from sight.

“Naminé. Please take care of him.”

Aqua’s request lingered as Naminé awoke in her room in Hollow Bastion.

Once again, Aqua was alone in the dark. Ventus and his friend had vanished into the void. But even so, the connection hadn’t quite faded. As her fingers entwined with her wayfinder, she could tell the link she once held with Ventus had been reforged, ever so slightly. And there was a new one. One forged with the girl accompanying Ven, Naminé.

The one who held her keyblade, if only for a moment.

"In your hand, take this key. So long as you have the makings, then through this simple act of taking…” 

She had not passed on her keyblade formally, and part of Aqua wondered if she ever would. Even so, stories and tales of keyblade wielders passing on their weapon from a simple touch were in the back of her mind. 

“...so long as you champion the ones you love."

Maybe Naminé would have better luck than Aqua did in keeping her friends safe. 

Vanitas sat far from where Aqua had interrupted him, legs dangling off the edge of a gnarled cliff. He ran a hand over the smooth surface of his helmet. Ventus’ words running through his mind. “The truth, huh?” He really had some nerve to throw that back at him. That was always little Ventus’ problem. Never knew when to stand and fight, and when to sit down and shut up.

But there was one thing Vanitas was willing to concede. “Maybe I have been here too long.” Standing up, he conjured a portal of darkness and began to trek outside of the realm he called home these last few weeks. 

“At the very least. I’m going to make sure he knows I’m real.”

Not to mention he wouldn’t have to listen to the old man anymore.

For Larxene, the one major upside of the Castle Oblivion assignment was the relative peace and quiet. Especially from the Organization’s command. While yes, it made organizing a coup much easier, it was mostly because she couldn’t stand having to answer to anyone but herself.

But if she wanted to have any chance of walking away tonight, she needed to set that aside. Because Xemnas, Xigbar, and Saïx wanted her to talk. The superior of the organization looked down on her from his throne. “Explain your actions today. Because of you, Maleficent slipped through our fingers.”

How fortunate then, that she did have an explanation. “I kept Naminé in check so she didn’t get too dangerous.”

Xigbar rolled his eye, unimpressed. “As if! So what if she gets more cards for her deck? That’s why we train and have an army of Nobodies.”

Larxene crossed her arms. “I’m not talking about combat or magic. The moment she realizes what kind of power she can tap into, the more problems we’ll have.” It was one of the main reasons she made sure Naminé learned respect, after all. The other of course being entertainment.

Xemnas’ eyes narrowed at her. “Elaborate.”

“She has power over Sora’s memories, and the people that met him.” That was the gist of the report she and Marluxia sent when they first found Naminé. But there was always one possibility that they wondered about. One that was a threat that they could not ignore. “How long before she figures out how to control the memories of people who have heard of him?” 

Because if she could begin to manipulate such a power, and decided to turn it against the organization? Everything they had worked for would be nearly worthless. They could barely trust their own notes, even if they realized something was wrong. Far better then, that the witch be kept in line.

Xemnas nodded at her answer with closed eyes. “You are shrewd in your judgement Larxene.” Though any sense of calm was erased by the pointed glare he gave her. “But if you cause problems for the organization again, you will cease to be a part of it.”

She paused before answering. “Point taken.” But she wasn’t a fool. Right now, she was on probation. And what’s more, she was positive that Xemnas was onto her.

Though if anyone else in the council chamber cared, they didn’t show it. Xigbar went on to ask, “You think the C.O. team is having a better time?”

Well, if they were just going to go on, might as well listen in. Saïx answered calmly, “Assuming Zexion has control of the situation, there should be…”

Zexion? The kid? Sure he was one of the Organization’s founders. But what was he doing…?

And at that moment, she realized everyone else had stopped the conversation to glare at her. “Oh. I’m sorry. Am I dismissed?” Larxene said in her practiced tone that held no sorrow whatsoe—

“Dismissed, Larxene.”

Oh right. That was the other reason she didn’t want to be around the Organization’s leader. Xemnas had the nasty habit of instilling something close to fear in her. At his command, she teleported away in a dark portal.

Honestly, Marluxia owed her for this. He was relaxing in charge of Castle Oblivion while she was out running field duty and playing nice with the top brass. No doubt his plans were running as smooth as clockwork.

“WHY ISN’T THIS WORKING!?!”

Marluxia winced at Vexen’s shout as he slammed a fist into the control panel besides the tube. “I thought you had perfected this technique with the other replica. What did Zexion call them?”

“Exon,” Vexen answered tersely before returning to recalibrating the machine for the new Replica. Number i. Marluxia had no idea why Vexen wished to use such a paradoxical nomenclature of numbers. His only answer long ago was a dismissal and a comment about Marluxia not having an appreciation of algebra.

Whatever the name, Vexen still had to properly process the data for the princess of heart.  One that would create a new being in her likeness that they could control to manipulate Sora. The replica they had made of Riku was useful enough in starting to unbalance the boy, but they could not delay any longer. The princess was closing in on Sora’s position, and if she made contact this scheme and their plan could be in jeopardy. And Vexen’s patience was wearing as thin as Marluxia’s as he began to ramble, “I had thought with the notes I had gathered from the Superior’s work on my project I could account for the fluctuations brought about by replicating a princess of heart! But it just won’t—!”

“Can you make them stable enough to live?” Zexion’s voice cut through the chatter, and Marluxia’s hand tensed. He was loath to have his command subverted after having worked so hard to establish himself as the lord of the castle. But Zexion had insisted on more and more control as his plan to dominate Sora had progressed.

Vexen turned and looked at Zexion. “I could introduce a smidge of darkness to stabilize it, but the resulting replica would be different enough that Sora would not accept it!”

Zexion simply smiled as a green eye met Vexen’s frantic gaze. “Do not fear, for I will make up those differences.”

“Ah! Of course!”Vexen was mollified as he relaxed and turned to his device with a smile. “You’ve become quite resourceful with your illusions Zexion. It seems that number I shall see usage after all.”

Zexion simply stepped forward and placed a hand on the glass. “Yes, Xion shall be instrumental in breaking the keybearer.” 

Vexen simply gave a distracted affirmation of the replica’s new moniker. But Marluxia had enough of enduring this farce. “Your command of the situation is concerning.”

Zexion calmly turned to face him, hands behind his back. “But necessary. Given my power is pivotal to controlling Sora.”

Again his plan was the crux of Zexion’s justification. But there were always other factors as Marluxia knew. “What of the others? Riku and Kairi are not to be taken lightly.”

Zexion simply shook his head. “Once Sora is ours, the others will fall.” 

Marluxia raised his voice. “Your authority here—”

“Is absolute,” Zexion reached into his cloak to produce a paper as he answered more sharply, “As given by Xemnas’ orders.” Marluxia snatched the document to read it, and to his aggravation, the superior had indeed signed off on this change in command. Zexion simply plucked the sheet out of Marluxia’s hands and returned it to his person. “Do not fear. Your assistance is still necessary. But for now, you are dismissed”

This had gone on long enough. Slicing rose petals began to swirl around Marluxia as he began to call upon his scythe. “You—!”

“Dismissed.”

And at Zexion’s command the wind died. Marluxia knew what it was like when Xemnas issued a command. By the sheer force of his will it left no question that was to be obeyed. And such power was enjoyed by those whom Xemnas had chosen. 

And Xemnas always chose such people to wield that power for a reason.

So Marluxia stood down, and simply turned to leave. As he passed the door, Lexaeus was in front of him walking by. The giant of a man almost bowled over him, but just in time, a hand caught Marluxia before he fell. “Apologies.” Lexaeus answered as he helped Marluxa steady himself.

And Marluxia felt something pressed into his hand as Lexaeus held it.

A note. A primitive form of subterfuge. But right now, Marluxia wasn’t too picky about the method. Quietly excusing himself, he made his way down the hall towards his room. Clutching the message that was given to him. Whatever it was, he wasn’t going to waste it as he quickly sealed the door shut to his chamber. In the safety of his quarters, Marluxia unfurled the paper.

Your concern is not unnoticed or unfounded. Meet tonight.

-V

[damagedh3art]

Lore

Despite being on my main blog already and reblogged here. Here is a separate post. Includes story and some additional info. Post is long so do be sure to expand!

Story

The battle of 7 Lights and 13 Darknesses approaches. The battle to keep Kingdom Hearts safe and sound or overcome by darkness. The journey at the current time seems to flow with the path of Light. However, one hero of Light decided to risk their lives for another's. This light being Sora. All to protect Kairi from being kidnapped instead, the boy still risking his all to keep his friends safe.

Sora didn't want time to repeat. He didn't want his friends to die, not again. So if he just altered everything, instead of letting things play the same. Then just maybe the fates will truly alter, even though he knows of his own consequence. He'd never be able to speak about what he saw in passing before this action. So he shoved Kairi before she could be grabbed in that barbed cage and disappeared himself.

The sacrifice gave Xehanort another guardian to tinker with, similar to Ventus. The trial to see if the boy could form the X-blade with his heart. However, that trial proved nothing to Xehanort. So once again he took the choice to force the pure dark and light from none other than Sora.

Yet with much regret Sora's heart didn't belong to only him at the time. Causing his heart to fracture while remaining in his body. The end result left Sora in a strange mental state and left a nasty mark on his chest.

These trials went on for 2 years before he found his escape, the one day his restraints were loose he took advantage of it. He didn't even care he had no top on and his scar showed. He ran no destination in mind, only ran to where he thought the exit was and hoped his friends would feel his calling heart. When he felt outside's warmth on his exposed torso, even if night he felt such relief. Quickly making his way further away from where he was held captive.

He kept running and running til his body collapsed from exhaustion. Then weakly moved to hide in a small cave like structure and only sit and wait. Things will be ok could hear water and saw bushes with fruit as he got here. Just wait…

After a few days of being a free man, dazed and confused he heard the sound of Riku and Kairi. Their voices echoing in his ears as he fought to wake up and go to them. They grew closer and closer…then soon he heard their startled sounds, unable to see their faces as he turned to look at them, vision blurry. He couldn't talk to them, but he wished to. Yet, truly before he even could say anything he was wrapped in a blanket and scooped up into Riku's arms. Truly rescued and back home once and for all. Back with his friends, but due to his condition begged to not be near his mom. Not yet. And Riku decided to let him stay at his place.

The guardian of light wasn't the same bubbly happy go lucky self. He seemed more drained and grumpy. His keyblade was broken and worn down. It seemed his very self was broken and in need of major repair. Is it truly possible to repair something so fractured?

Roxas and Ventus went back to where they needed to go, but who would help patch Sora? Only time will tell.

Additional Info

Sora is too weak to summon his keyblade back if he loses it, he has massive nightmares and is being tracked by Xehanort while he sleeps if too stressed.

In KH3 Sora spoke to a Chirithy and got sent back in time to try and fix what he lost. However, in this AU it uses the same concept but makes it worse. He begs to go back in time to save where it truly all seemed to be an issue. Be able to truly intervene and not be a figment ghost. So the Chirithy agrees, but gives Sora a major consequence if he tells anybody what he's done.

He keeps a major secret with him while he decides to protect Kairi from being snagged by Xemnas. For himself to be snagged himself and held captive for 2 years before he was found via his dreams with Riku.

Sora only managed to escape by using his Keyblade at the last second, truly risking death. He hits his own heart, spliting it into pieces himself rather than letting Xehanort do such an action. Which in turn combined his crown charm, his keyblade, and something else to his heart. Which as a result lead to him being tainted with darkness in a few places, have bits of white and darker bits of hair, have a cracked crown symbol on his chest, and trouble showing the emotions he used to always feel. He has saved the trio's and the few past members of the organization! There was no final battle with Xehanort, Xemnas, Ansem, or Young Xehanort yet. Sora is aware they are all alive and hates how he delayed something they could have finished once and for all. Feels regret for being so reckless and a risk for almost giving Xehanort what he wanted to unlock Kingdom Hearts.

[pkmndaisuki]

i keep thinking the story of the light we first see kairi's grandma tell all the way back in kh1 is forever relevant, and it mentions that "fragments of light survived in the hearts of children" and those children "rebuilt the lost world"

that tale being the opening to khux tied it to the dandelions (primarily ephemer) rebuilding after the keyblade war, leading to scala ad caelum's founding, but i think you're on to something too, especially tying to how light survives.

ven, a dandelion himself, his light survived alongside sora.

kairi's light survived being flung from radiant garden.

riku's light survived being consumed by ansem sod twice.

and sora's own light has survived time and time again.

xehanort's light was all but snuffed out in the end. he split himself into more and more entities of darkness, journeyed through the darkness, utilized the darkness to his whims. and one could argue that eraqus was his light, as we saw in dark road they were best freinds and that past was alluded to in bbs. but xehanort struck down eraqus, extinguishing the last of his light. (but eraqus' light survived within his adoptive son, terra)

and once xehanort's time had come and he would no longer survive, eraqus, his light, guided him to the end. and they both returned to the image of themselves as children.

back to the destiny trio, the fandom already calls them "the destiny trio" anyway. sure it may be mostly for growing up on destiny islands, and i don't know if they exactly parallel xehanort, but surpass him.

riku is able to utilize darkness and survive being in it without being completely consumed by it anymore, and despite fighting with his best friend who champions the light, they were never truly torn apart and instead their bond grew stronger (unlike xehanort and eraqus).

sora has been more or less chosen over xehanort by kingdom hearts itself more than once (it responding to sora declaring "kingdom hearts is light!" by bursting through the darkness to destroy ansem, and the x-blade ultimately being weilded by sora after beating xehanort and using it to seal kingdom hearts once more)

kairi, like xehanort, was taken from her original home at a very young age to the island, but instead found solace in the island and was happy there with her friends. xehanort just felt it was too small and resented being stuck there, and jumped at the chance to leave (and truthfully return to the world of his birth as shown by the ending of khux).

and the way the three of them are inextricably bound to one another, the way they always try to help or seek out one another, and no matter what are able to reunite if only for a short while, that's got to be some kind of destiny at play. but it's one they fight for and work towards.

because destiny is never left to chance.

Really hoping that Xehanort being heavily paralleled with all three of the Destiny Trio (Sora, Riku, Kairi) is a hint that all three of them are Children of Destiny and the prophecy was never actually about just one person carrying the weight of the world on their shoulders.

[yzafre]

when I'm lost in the storm (and I'm calling) | Ch 10

AO3

First | Previous

When Kairi woke, she knew something was wrong.

She came awake jerking bolt upright, heart in her throat and a scream trapped in her throat, reaching out into the empty air.

For several long minutes she just sat there, heart pounding, staring blankly at the wall.  Inside her heart, Sora and Riku both pulsed with a tense, battle-ready energy, a sickening dread that made a home in her own stomach.

I’m here, she pushed, then again, again, I’m here, I’m here, I’m here.

She wasn’t sure how long she kept up with it, but when she came back to herself the pre-dawn light was beginning to cast shadows across her room.  Heartbeat still going too fast, she held still, trying to figure out what drew her out of her fugue state.

There – a noise from the other room, followed by a low grumbling.

Slipping from her bed, she crept to the door, inching it open and peeking through the crack.  Beyond, Axel stumbled through the dimly lit living area, finally stopping to slump into an armchair with a sigh, leaning heavily on his knees.  He buried his face in his hands, shuddered once, then went still.

Kairi shifted back, intent on leaving him alone, but the floorboards creaked with the shifting of her weight and his head snapped up, eyes blazing, before settling as his gaze met her own.  Discovered, she slipped out of her room to join him.

“Kairi,” he rasped, coughing when his voice caught before trying again, “Couldn’t sleep?”

“No.  You?”

“No.”

Kairi perched on the edge of the couch, folding her hands together.  Across the room, Merryweather’s antique clock tick-tick-ticked away, accompanied by the buzz of crickets outside the window.

Another bundle of emotions down the bond – a single moment for them, a drawn-out moment of time for her.  She breathed through the outside emotions, eyes growing damp with frustration.

“Something’s wrong.  Sora and Riku, they… They’re in danger.  I know it.”

Axel kept quiet for a moment, before drawing in a long breath and sitting up straight.

“You told the others, right?  They’ll take care of it.”

“Will they?” Kairi asked, and it came out faster than she wanted, sharper.  She swallowed, but – it was already out there, “King Mickey is searching for them, but they didn’t seem to have any idea where to start.  Meanwhile they’re out there, fighting something, while I’m stuck here – “

She cut off with a gasp, suddenly feeling as if she’d been plunged into ice water, her mind being forcibly plunged into that in-between place in their hearts.  She fell into Sora instantly, instinctually, mouth flooding with the taste of putrid water as his heart gave off confused bundles of emotion.

With a pulse of magic – light! – she wrenched herself free of the whirlpool, placing herself between her two bonds where she could finally see.

There was a distortion surrounding him, dark and rippling.  It was – it wasn’t really there, she thought – or, no, it was, but not here, in the in-between.  It was there, wherever he was, and she was just seeing the impact it was having on him.  It couldn’t stop her from reaching him, except –

She reached for him, touched him, but she could see the way her message was absorbed, abstracted, into the Darkness seeping into Sora’s heart.

She could reach him, but he couldn’t hear her.

She turned, diving for Riku instead, relieved to find the connection clear, slumping against his heart in relief, falling into him, barraged with a flood of – Kairi? – Gray hair and an eyepatch – no time – pillar in the sky – wreckage of a city – pain! – before being jolted from the connection.

When her vision cleared, she found herself clutching her chest, breathing heavily as Axel kneeled in front of her.

“Kairi?  What is it?”

“There’s no time.  They need help now, and I – I think I saw where they are.”

Axel squeezed her arms, once, then nodded sharply as he shot to his feet.

“Then let’s go.”

“They’re not answering.”

Kairi gripped the edge to the console, watching the spinner on screen go in circles as the call tried to connect.  Beside her, the scientist – Ienzo, he’d introduced himself – shifted uncomfortably.

When she and Axel had exited the time-distortion, he’d lead her up to the offices and computer room, where many of the former Organization members had taken up residence.  There’d only been two of them present when they’d arrived, and the older man had left to run some errand after the second or third attempted call.  None of the Restoration crew was present – it was the middle of the night, out here, and they were staying at their own place; they’d dispatched another member to call them over.

The call disconnected – no answer.

Again.  No answer.

Again.  No answer.

Again.

A hand came down on her shoulder, and she startled, magic fizzing at her fingertips before she cut it off.

“Still no answer, huh,” Axel sighed.

“No,” Kairi said, squeezing the edge of the console, “Then… we’ll just have to go rescue them ourselves.”

Axel’s brow pinched, his face twisting in a grimace, “Well, let’s make sure we know where we’re going first – maybe they’ll answer in the meantime.  What did you see?”

“There was a… pillar of darkness,” she said, “A destroyed city, and… the one Organization member, with the eyepatch.”

“Xigbar?” Ienzo cut in, activating another screen, “Then, our missing members are likely wherever this is taking place, as well.  And a city means the world needs to be developed to a certain point.  We can cross out any worlds that don’t meet those criteria.  Do you know anything else?”

“Um,” Kairi hesitated, “I don’t…”

“What about when you met with the old sorcerer, before?  Anything you learned then?” Axel prompted.

Kairi took a deep breath, closing her eyes and recounting the points she remembered from the meeting, “They will likely want to reappear where Xehanort is reforming, they’ll have to come out of the Dream Realm into this world, time-travel might be involved, and… past versions of Xehanort cannot exist at the same time as the present one without an anchor.”

She opened her eyes once more to see Axel mouthing time-travel with an incredulous expression.  Ienzo simply nodded thoughtfully.

“Where Xehanort reforms… but then, should that not have been here, with the rest of us?” Ienzo wondered.  But perhaps, if instead we focus on the fact they need to leave the dream…”

“And that the missing Organization members are there,” Axel added, coming up beside Ienzo to peer over the list.

 “Well, yes, but how is that relevant here?”

Axel tapped at the edge of the console, “Kairi said they need to exit the dream, right?  And that’s going to be so they can meet up with the rest of the Organization members and do… whatever their planning.  Which means they’ll probably want to make sure the landing point is somewhere they’ve got influence.  The home field advantage, if you will.”

“I see.  Then, if we put all that together,” Ienzo began typing again, “A city, relevant to the Organization, and easy access to other realms – oh, of course.”

The list filtered down, and Ienzo quickly opened the location at the top of the list.  It brought up an aerial photo of a dark landscape, a white citadel floating above the city.

“That’s – “ Kairi started, before cutting off and shaking her head, “But, the last time I was there it was falling apart.”

Ienzo nodded, “The World that Never Was is a strange world.  It’s made of nothingness – even if it did fall apart, I do not see why it could not come together again.  Further, it perfectly matches our criteria.  A world that never existed anywhere, can then exist everywhere.  Its very nature lets it have a foot in all realms; that’s part of why the Organization was set up there.”

“I never thought about it,” Axel said, staring contemplatively at the image, “But, I suppose that’s how Saix monitored all the worlds for activity so easily, and why I could slip directly into the datascape when looking for Roxas, instead of having to access DiZ’s computers.”

“Exactly,” Ienzo said, “And though I’ve never worked with these... dream realms before, it is likely The World that Never Was will be connected to it in much the same way.”

“Then how do we get there?” Kairi asked.

“Get where?”

Kairi turned, finding Leon entering the room, Aerith on his heels and a half-asleep Yuffie slumped over his back.

“Leon,” Kairi said, “We figured out where Sora and Riku are.”

Leon perked up, sliding Yuffie from his back and handing her off to Aerith before hurrying over to peer at the console himself.

“Have you contacted the King yet?”

Axel snorted, “Well, we tried, but it seems His Majesty doesn’t want to pick up.”

“We’ll just have to go ourselves,” Kairi said.

“What?” Leon said, “No, you’re not nearly ready for that.  You need to finish your training.  Besides, you don’t know that they haven’t figured it out themselves; maybe that’s why they’re not answering.”

“But we don’t know they have, either.  How can we take that risk?”

Leon shook his head, “This is out of your league.  You’ve only been learning for what – a month?  And – “

“And Sora didn’t even have that!” she protested.

“Kairi, that’s not – “

“The bigger problem is figuring out how to get to the place at all,” Axel called, speaking over them. 

They all turned, finding Axel once more lingering around Ienzo, whose console screen was showing a series of alerts.  Leon stalked over with a scowl, squinting up at it.

“That’s a lot of Darkness.”

“Right?” Axel said, “My experience?  Approaching something like that directly is going to come with a nasty fight.  The other option is creating a corridor, but with readings like that, even that’s going to have some extra risk.  There’s a reason we wear these coats.”

“Coats?”  Kairi had never thought about it – she just thought it was a uniform.

Axel plucked at the thick fabric of his coat, “Yep.  This material is meant to ward off the Darkness.”

“Are there any left?”

Axel looked to Ienzo, who tipped his head, “We may, though it would be far too large.  We’d have to alter it to fit, although… the fabric is difficult to work with.  It may take several hours.”

“We don’t have that kind of time,” Kairi said, “I’ve been through a corridor before, and I was fine.”

Axel shook his head, “That was already risky, and it didn’t have these kinds of readings.  It’s not safe for you like this.”

“You’re saying I can’t go, too?”

“No, that’s not – “ Axel cut off with a sigh, pinching the bridge of his nose, “Look, I’m the last person who can talk when it comes to doing stupid things for your Flight – I’d be a hypocrite if I tried to stop you.  I’m just asking you to think for a minute.”

“But they need help now.”

“Then let me go ahead, and catch up with us once you get the coat fitted - I can handle this.”

She jerked back, stung, “You think I can’t?”

“You saw Naminé,” Axel snapped, “You saw how she ended up – that’s what comes of running through the Darkness unprotected.  Do you want to end up like that?”

“My Flight is worth the risk,” Kairi insisted, “Please, I have to go.  I have to, or else – ”

“What good are you if you run in to save them and just die – you think they want that?”

“I don’t care.  I won’t be left behind,” she said, “Not this time.  This time, I’m going to protect them.”

“There’s no way to – “

“What about the armor in the creepy basement?  That kinda feels like the coats do.”

The whole room went silent, turning to Demyx.  Kairi hadn’t seen him come in – judging by the others’ expressions, they hadn’t either – but there he was, perched on a stool in the corner, carefully tuning his instrument.

“Armor?” Axel asked, quickly followed by Leon snapping, “What basement?”

“You know, the one below all the pod things,” Demyx said, “I found it when I was jumping around looking for good places to play.  The acoustics in that place were wild, but in the end, I just couldn’t get over the murder vibes, you know?”

They all exchanged startled glances, then descended on him.

Demyx couldn’t show them how to get into the basement – he’d figured out how to get out of the basement once in it but had no idea how you were supposed to open it up, initially.

Leon and Aerith together managed to figure it out eventually, and they all made the long, long trip down the stairs.

The basement really was as creepy as Demyx said.  The further they went down, the quieter the air became, the hums of machines fading away.  At the bottom, the only sounds came from themselves – their footsteps, their breaths – echoing up the long stairwell.

Inside was worse.  Like Demyx said, there was armor – two sets of armor.  They laid on the floor, heads tilted towards the entrance, the voids in their helmets boring into them.  One set, blue and silver, was in scattered pieces, all lined up like a fossil at an archeology site.  The other, in yellows and browns, was intact, but had one arm stretched out and a Keyblade pierced through its head.

There was something about it – a spark, a thought, the shadow of a memory.  Almost in a trance, she stepped over the blue armor, reaching out for that Key.

Who?

Kairi flinched back, head snapping down to the pinned armor below.  She could swear it was staring at her.

Her… successor?

The armor shuddered, then went still, the force of its presence fading away.  Kairi glanced back at the Key.  Maybe it would be fine to touch now, but…

She turned back, finding Axel and Leon crouched over the blue armor.  Axel looked up as she approached.

“Good news – this definitely has some hefty protections on it.  On the other hand, the fit might be….”

“Can we make it work?” she asked.

“I mean, probably.  We might have to pick and choose which pieces you wear.  Though, kinda feels like I’m disturbing a grave.  ‘Murder vibes’ was right,” Axel groused.

Kairi swallowed.  He had a point, he did, but her Flight needed her.  Mind made up, she reached for the helmet.

The moment her hand touched the armor, all the pieces began to glow.  Heat grew at her throat, and the pearl-drop necklace at her collar-bone gleamed, as if in answer, and the glow grew to a brilliant flash, blinding her.  When it faded, the armor had disappeared save for a single piece – a silver pauldron, glimmering brightly.

“What?”

Kairi reached down to pick it up, the magic in the armor-piece fizzling pleasantly against her fingers.

“Well, that might be a problem,” Axel drawled.

Leon, on the other hand, looked thoughtful.

“Try putting it on.”

Unsure, Kairi nodded.  It took her a moment to figure out how, though.  There were no straps on the inside, but as she ran her finger over the lining she found little pockets of condensed magic that buzzed eagerly against her.  On a hunch, she brought the pauldron to her shoulder and reached out tentatively with her own magic.

The armor snapped into place, and Kairi gasped through the shock that ran through her.  She could feel it connecting to her, foreign and slightly ill-fitting, but accepting her all the same.  The magic inside it spun to life, falling into a low, circular pulse at the center, giving off a sense of anticipation.

On instinct more than anything, Kairi reached up, pressing a hand against that well and greeting it with a pulse of her own, and it sparked, exploded.  Another flash, and she could feel the armor settling around her like a shell.

Tentatively, she straightened, flexing her limbs and bending her joints.  The armor moved with her, and though it was obviously loose – it wasn’t too bad.  She didn’t think it would hurt her, in any case.

“Well, alright,” Axel grinned, “Looking good, Kairi!”

“This should work, then?  I – “

Pain ripped over her like a tidal wave, a scream echoing from a great distance, and Kairi hit her knees.  She could breathe, but somehow, she was still gasping for breath.  She plunged into her bonds, feeling Riku clearer than she had since this began, but Sora was –

Sora was –

Heart racing, she blinked back to the real world, where Axel was staring at her with a pale face, hand clutched to his chest.

“We have to go.”

The World that Never Was was just the same as it always had been – deathly quiet, damp, and dark.  Was he in the Sleeping Realms proper?  Was he back in the real world?  Riku wasn’t sure how to tell; this place had always been odd to the senses.

He was still in his smaller from, and the Spirits were still present, so…

He kneeled down, running a hand over Meow Wow’s back.  The creature was looking better – there was still some staining to his coat, but it wasn’t spreading, and the Spirit had energy once more.

“You’re… a Spirit made of Sora’s dreams, right?  Think you can get me to him?”

The Spirit stared up at him over its now-purple muzzle before giving a sharp yip and darting away.  Riku followed after, Komori Bat flying at his shoulder, as they climbed up, up, up through the city, until they reached the foot of the Castle.  Meow Wow howled at the gap, and Riku quickly picked it up, spreading his wings to fly the short span.  The moment he set down on the other side the Spirit began to wiggle, thrashing in his grip until he set him on the floor.

Immediately, it was off once more.  They ran, racing through halls and twisting stairs, until he reached a large white room with white thrones stretching towards the ceiling.

In the lowest one, just inches off the ground, Sora slumped, unmoving, cloaked in Darkness.  Riku stumbled to a breathless stop, even as Meow Wow kept running, racing towards Sora.  Several feet away it scrunched up, leaping for Sora’s lap, only to freeze in mid-air, caught in a crackling wall of energy before it was blown away.

“No!”

Riku rushed over, kneeling over the Spirit as a cloaked figure dropped down between him and Sora, tipping the hood from his head to reveal a stream of silver hair.

Komori clicked angrily as the boy sneered at them.

“Hands off my new vessel.”

“Vessel?” Riku questioned, standing over the Spirit, letting his Key fall into his hand.

“Yes,” the boy said, “It has been a long time coming.  We had originally had our sights set on you; but you developed a certain resistance to Darkness so, much like the Keyblade, we moved down the list.  There was Roxas, next; unfortunately, he developed a heart far more quickly than we could have predicted, and grew wild, until he was returned to Sora.  And so, we arrive at this: Sora, the thirteenth vessel, within our grasp.”

“Thirteen – what do you mean?”

“That is the goal of the Organization, of course: To divide Xehanort’s heart amount thirteen vessels.”

Movement above.  Riku craned his head up as cloaked forms began dropping into the seats above – thirteen thrones, thirteen vessels – though not all the seats were filled.  At the center of it all, a dark, swirling mass filled the highest seat, two empty thrones flanking him on either side.

“Your presence is no longer required,” the silver-haired boy said, “I’m afraid it is time for you to leave.”

As one, the Organization began to move.  Riku spread his wings, leaping straight up to avoid several members colliding at his location in a clash of weapons, then immediately spinning to the side at a high-pitched whine, a bolt of energy shooting past.

There were so many of them, and all of them skilled enemies; it was all he could do to evade.  He quickly found himself cornered, enemies closing in from the side, from above, from below.  He could hear his Spirits still fighting, but in the chaos, it was impossible to spot them.

A light burst down from above.

“Reflega!”

The Organization clashed against the shimmering wall of magic, before being thrown back by the spray of light given out as the sphere shattered.

“Riku!  I’m glad I made it in time!”

“Mickey!” Riku gasped in relief, “It’s Sora, he’s – “

“Oh no!” Mickey gasped, taking in the full situation for himself, “Hurry!  Grab Sora, and let’s get out of here!”

Riku didn’t hesitate, diving down towards his Flightmate, dodging incoming attacks as he heard Mickey covering him from above.  He spun past a sharp, pale-pink scythe, wings aching as he pulled up to skim along the floor, hands outstretched to grab Sora.

Like a ghost, the silver-haired boy appeared standing on the armrest of the throne, which began to ascend.  Up – up towards where that swirling mass of shadow was starting to condense.

“No!”

Riku wrenched his wings back, arcing upwards, but a cloaked blur slammed into him from the side, sending him crashing into the rising pilar of one of the other chairs.  Gasping for breath, he struggled to right himself, but sharp claw-like knives slammed into the marble inches from his throat, crackling with lightning.

“Now, now – didn’t you hear the man?  Why don’t you settle down and behave yourself,” a high voice crooned, trailing off into mocking laughter.  Behind her, Sora’s throne reached its peak, stopping just across from the Darkness.  The silver-haired boy held out a hand towards the swirling mass, a thin tendril stretching out in response, flowing steadily towards him – towards Sora.

Komori Bat streaked upwards in time with the racing of Riku’s heart, screeching wildly until he was swatted from the air.

No.  No, Sora - !

Light, from above.

It streaked down, a blue blur on pale wings that crashed into the boy, knocking him from his perch as Riku’s heart suddenly echoed with triumph.  The other Organization members all turned their heads up in unison, half of them abandoning their goals to head towards the stranger – who was hefting Sora up – instead.  Even the woman holding Riku down was distracted, and Riku used the chance to kick out, gaining some distance and wrenching himself away from her knives and fluttering back to the floor, his Spirits gathering around him.

He cast another glance upwards as he went – this new ally wore blue and silver armor, gleaming in the white light of the room.  As the Organization closed in, his heart raced – no, weighed down like that, there’s no way they’d be able to avoid –

Before he could lurch into motion, a flare of fire burst from the side, cutting off the Organization’s advance and giving their ally time to descend, Sora in their grasp.

“Sorry!” Axel’s voice called over the crowd, as recognizable as always, “But I’m afraid I’ll have to stop you there.  I’m a bit invested in the hero remaining as he is now.”

“You two?” Xigbar called, dropping from the sky onto his perch, staring down with a wild eye, “How are either of you here?”

Riku was distracted from the banter by both Mickey and their new – not new, his heart whispered, we know you, oh, we know you always – ally landing beside him, Sora being laid carefully at his feet.

“Aqua?” Mickey whispered, and Riku had never heard his voice so vulnerable.

Their ally froze, head twitching up slightly, but refusing to look away from Sora.

“No, I’m afraid not,” the armor replied, voice soft and so familiar, and Riku’s stomach turned violently, terror and elation fighting for prominence in his heart.  His heart reached out almost involuntarily, greeting its match in a rush of it’s you, it’s you, I missed you, I need you, I’m terrified for you, trembling beneath the rush of here for you, scared for you, refuse to part from you he got in response.

Kairi hesitated slightly, then reached up, tapping the shoulder of the armor, causing it to dissipate into specks of light.

With a crash, Axel landed by them, and their attention was returned the fight.

The Organization arrayed around them, holding off, as the silver-haired boy stepped closer.

“You!  Who are you?” Mickey demanded, an edge to his voice as Axel staggered to his feet, falling in behind the Keyblade wielders.

“I am Xehanort from the most distant past,” he answered, and ice flooded down Riku’s spine, “My future-self gave me a task – to visit the splintered versions of myself in many worlds, and ensure they gathered here today: the day my most future self will return, and the thirteenth vessel will be acquired.”

Mickey scowled, “There are rules to time travel.”

“Indeed,” Xehanort agreed, “First, you must leave your body behind to do it.  Then, there must be a version of you waiting at the destination.  And on arrival, you can only move forward.  You cannot rewrite destiny.”

“That’s right, you can’t re-write destiny,” Mickey said, “You and your present self can’t be here at the same time – you’ll turn back into a heart and disappear into the past!”

Xehanort smirked, “Without an anchor, that is true.  But do you really think we would leave our destiny to chance?  Amongst all our projects, we have also worked on a way for all of us to exist together – indeed, to even by strengthened by the power of our ultimate self.  It only calls for the proper vessel for our heart.”

He pressed a hand to his chest, and at Riku’s side both Mickey and Kairi gasped.  His eyes snapped to his Flightmate, puzzling at the little wrinkle of frustration at her brow, the signs of an answer just out of reach, even as Mickey cried, “No, don’t tell me – “

“Yes,” Xehanort said, as the mass of darkness above pulsed, beginning to collapse into the form of a body, a dark shining power at its core, “I will not be displaced – call this our proof of concept.  And now, for the final test.”

He reached a hand up, palm to the sky, to his future, and the Darkness swelled.  Three Keys flashed into existence, Mickey moving a hair faster than Riku or Kairi, leaping forward with magic swirling around him –

“Stopza!”

The world went perfectly, utterly still.  Only the four of them at the center still moved, their panting suddenly uncomfortably vivid.  Mickey turned back to them.

“Kairi, Axel, this was incredibly dangerous of you – and I have some questions I’d like to ask about where you got that armor – but, thank you.  I don’t know what would have happened if you didn’t arrive when you did.”

“Of course,” Kairi replied, “They’re my Flight.”

Mickey nodded, once, “Now, let’s get out of here.  I can’t hold them for long.”

Riku kneeled down, hauling Sora into his arms.  As he began to stand, his eyes caught on Meow Wow and he hesitated.  What would happen to him, when he - ?

A crack.

Riku snapped his head up, scanning the area even as he pulled Sora closer.  Nothing moved.

Next came not a crack, but a thrum – low, felt in the bones more than heard, but pulsing slowly, rhythmically.

Finally, it could be seen, just barely: a shimmer of the air surrounding the forming Xehanort above, the Xehanort of this time.  As he watched, the distortion in the air slowly moved down, down, down.

The force reached the young Xehanort below, pulsed once more, and went still.  For a moment, it looked like nothing would happen.

It started slowly, subtly.  The ring of yellow around the boy’s irises began to bleed, collapsing inwards, until it covered the whole of his eye.  His hand twitched once, twice, light growing from his palm until it stretched out, a Key flashing into existence.

The boy began to move, stutteringly at first, then smoothly, naturally, bringing the Key out in front of him.  For a moment he stared down at the Key with a sense of awe, before those golden eyes snapped up, a cruel smirk crossing his face.

“If you insist on interfering, I suppose I will have to try a different trick,” Xehanort said, “Perhaps you will even recognize this one.  You aren’t the only one who has learned from this journey, after all.”

He held up a hand, and Riku’s vision began to blur.  He blinked a few times, trying to dismiss the double vision – only, he realized as a hum began to build, first one tone, then two, then three, all in harmony, layered on top of each other, it wasn’t him.  It was the world around them refracting, like the planes of a prism, separate views of the same space, and hadn’t he seen this before?

Realization slammed down on Riku, and he lurched forward.

“No!”

The very air began to warp – he felt the magic closing around him, felt panic rush down his bonds, their ties looping and shifting around each other, until – the world stretched, twisted, before it shattered.  Riku stumbled, the breaking of realms sitting oddly on his tongue.  He blinked the sudden stars from his vision, already compressing energy in his chest, ready to send it to Sora on the other side.

A flash to the left, and he dodged, Xehanort’s blade slamming down where he once stood before he vanished into thin air – no, into the other dimension.  Riku released his energy, just as in Traverse Town, sending it down the bond to the other side, to Sora –

But Sora was asleep, he remembered, shrouded in Darkness, still.

No, he thought, if Sora’s not there, not on the other side, how am I supposed to - ?

There was a flood of presence down his bond – anger-fear-determination– lapping over him before receding like a tide.  His heart tumbled in his chest.

Kairi.

The world cracked, and Kairi was alone.

It was the same room – white on white on white, tall chairs towering above, a circular center floor – but the enemies were gone, The King was gone, Axel was gone, Riku was gone.

She hadn’t known what she was doing, when she’d placed her heart before Sora’s.  She’d just felt the magic, felt it enveloping Riku, then spreading down the bond, heading towards Sora – Sora, who was already drowning.  So she’d raced in, placing her own heart in the magic’s path, twining her bond to Riku with Sora’s until they could hardly be separated, hoping, hoping –

And it had worked.  The magic had shifted, crawling towards her, consuming her instead.  And now she was alone.

Or, not alone, perhaps.

She barely saw Xehanort before he flickered out of existence, and a howl went up behind her.  A strange creature darted past her ankles, stopping where the boy had disappeared to growl furiously.  Some sort of bat winged past, hovering in circles above the other.

Inside her, Riku’s heart began to race.

Kairi let her Key fall into her hand, scanning the empty room.  She wasn’t quite sure what these creatures were – hadn’t really paid attention to them before, too focused on saving Sora, on reaching Riku, on finally having her Flight within her grasp – but if they were on guard, she would be as well.

Her high-strung focus let her react – the moment Xehanort flickered back into existence, she was swinging, her Key slamming across his cheekbone, sending him reeling back.

A streak blurred across the room, the Bat raking its claws across him as he stumbled, the small cat-dog bouncing in after.  She swung once more, but this time was blocked by his own Key, furious eyes glaring at her from behind his hair.

“You,” he snarled, pressing his weight back against her, “How did you get in here?”                                                                                            

Kairi braced herself, but her feet still slid slowly back on the tile floor.  A shadow behind caught her eye, and she twisted her grip, spinning the Key until the teeth caught on his, locking their blades together.

“What, didn’t see me coming?” she asked, “I thought you had this all planned out.”

One of the creatures howled behind him, and his eyes went wide.  He moved to intercept – but Kairi gripped tighter to her Key, locking him in place, and he jerked futilely.  Growling in frustration, he spun, twisting through her – and out of reality.

Gone again.

She paused, heart pounding in her ears.  The world was still, but inside her there was chaos, Riku’s end of the bond surging with a growing energy.

It was strange – she could almost… sense him.  As if he was there, moving across from her.

The power built and built, then –

A snap of air tearing, and Xehanort was before her again –

Like a tidal wave, the energy shot down their bond, crashing into her heart, strengthening her limbs, nearly overcoming her senses –

She dove for Xehanort once more, doing her best to keep up as he refused to fall for the same tricks –

He disappeared once more, and she could feel Riku tugging on their bond, calling for her until she let that energy go, letting it cascade back down to him, and –

Okay.  She could work with this.

It got easier each time – the power came sooner, overwhelmed her less, was easier to relinquish, until they were shifting back and forth within the exact moment that Xehanort shifted between planes.  It was a struggle, and she was flagging, but the thing was –

The thing was –

She thought it would be harder than this.

She fully believed Leon was right, when he said the fight she was heading towards was out of her league.  She just went anyways, because how could she do anything less, when her Flight was in danger?  And she’d thought she’d have help – Axel, Sora, Riku, they’d all be by her side.  Instead, Sora was comatose, she was cut off from Axel, and Riku, while fighting with her, was separated by some strange dimensional wall.  And this was Xehanort, the source of the villains her Flight had faced before.

It should be harder than this.  It should be near impossible for her, as she was now.

But it… wasn’t.

She was being pushed, true.  He was clearly stronger than her, and she was taking more damage than she was giving, and she’d already made it through half the stock of recovery items Axel had shoved in her pockets as they left, but –

She wasn’t being destroyed.

He wasn’t much better than Leon, really.

And there was something about his movements – the way he swung, and recovered, the jerk of his blade.  It wasn’t till he made an attack and she thought – oh, Leon would be all over me if I failed to follow through like that – that it clicked.

He looks like me, she realized, He looks like me when I’ve understood what to do, but my body hasn’t adjusted to it yet.

And just like that, the floodgates opened, and one realization cascaded into another.  This was the youngest Xehanort – he’d said it himself.  He may have been gifted power by his future self, but he hadn’t learned how to use it yet.

He’s just like me.

If that was the case, then – well, she wasn’t the only one fighting.  She didn’t have to win this.  She just had to be clever enough to keep up.

She just had to be annoying enough that he would rather fight Riku than her.

Kairi downed another Ether, her magic drained from the last Fira she cast, following the trace of Riku’s energy across the arena.

This was her last recovery item.  If Riku didn’t finish this off quick, she would have to seriously adjust her tactics.   Xehanort certainly was looking worse for wear, but…

Riku slammed the energy back towards her, and she let the empty bottle drop, the glass shattering against the ground, lashing out with her Keyblade just as Xehanort appeared.  He blocked, but with his forearm, which gave an ominous creak, before he spun free, returning with his own counter-attack.

She dodged; he attacked again – this one was thwarted by the bat screeching in, slashing at his face and batting its wings in his eyes before flying out of reach.  The dog-cat wiggled forward, nipping at his heels and breaking his footing so Kairi could dart back in, spinning into an attack that –

He caught her Key on his, meeting her eyes in fury.

“Enough!”

Power exploded out from him, blowing her back, sending her crashing to the floor.  She immediately began moving, a good decision as she felt the rush of a blade passing a hair’s breadth from her head.  She stumbled back from the next attack, a blur of silver crossing in front of her, stars still in her vision, then swung blindly, and –

A hand closed around her wrist.

The pressure of his grip against her wrist almost made her hand spasm, but she stubbornly clenched it through the pain, refusing to let go of her Key.

“Do you really think you can stop me?  Keep me from my destiny?” he said, “You, has never even been a consideration for the Organization?  The hands of fate are not so easily moved.”

Kairi ignored his continued monologuing, thrashing wildly against his grip.  She had to get free, she couldn’t let it end like this – Sora and Riku needed her.  There had to be a way – what did she know?    Powerful but inexperienced, time travel, needed a vessel to keep him anchored –

Like the stars aligning, the answer on the tip of her tongue snapped into place.

Naminé’s voice, the whisper of a memory – a body, waiting for a heart – something to pour memories into, made by the Organization.

This wasn’t his body, just a vessel with a heart locked inside, and she had –

She fumbled with her pocket, fingers slipping against cool metal.  Hurry, hurry, hurry.  A jerk of her wrist, a plunge.  Resistance, then a smooth, even glide.

His grip on her wrist above their heads tightened, loosened, fell away.  Light flashed off the blade and reflected in his wild, startled eyes.  A breath passed as they stared at each other in matching wide-eyed disbelief. 

There was a knife in his chest. 

She’d put it there.

A single breath, and his eyes steeled, determined.  He brought his hand, fingers tearing for purchase around hers, Dark magic snapping at his fingertips, burning against her hand.  The handle of the knife began to melt.

Kairi’s heart slammed back into motion, pounding a sharp staccato as she grit her teeth and pulled. 

The hook at the tip caught, like a fishing spear in the ocean, and his head threw back, throat convulsing around a horrible, heart-stopping scream.  Light began to gleam in his chest.  It emerged slowly, a swirling mass of light and dark, moving inch by inch until it suddenly released all at once, the scream sputtering out.

The heart on the tip of her blade shivered before sparking, magic circling around it, the clock rewinding – tick-tick-tick – before collapsing inwards, squeezing until it stole away like a breath.  In its absence, the Dark magic continued to eat its way up the metal of the knife until it collapsed into dust beneath her hand.

The body slumped to the floor, an empty puppet, the dead weight hitting with a hollow thud, before the space settled into utter silence.

Then, with a crack, the air began to break.

Next

[withinyourimagination]

@sparkadream​ continued from here X

Riku smiled as brought the other out to dance a bit while they were at the masquerade. The silver-haired teen couldn’t help himself, there was something about Veillios that drew Riku to them. 

“If you do it’s fine. I just want to dance with you a bit, is that so bad? Plus it’ll help us blend in a bit better.” Riku looked down at the other through his mask while they began to dance. As he did his heart began to pound a bit. What... is this feeling? Riku thought to himself as he was careful to not step on the other’s feet.

[cryo-knight]

Sometimes I think about the fact that a Wasteland/Epic Mickey world would be so absolutely perfect for Kingdom Hearts, with the themes of heart and memory, and even arguably light and darkness between both, but knowing that Disney is highly unlikely to use Oswald in any significant way at any point in the future is actually super disheartening, especially for Epic Mickey fans like myself.

I've always had this headcanon that, say if Oswald were to appear in Kingdom Hearts, what his role would be. I always think back to the connection between Sora and Mickey (or even Ventus and Mickey) who were always sort of a parallel to each other. They both care deeply about their friends, and help guide others to the light. Sora's KH1 design was even based on Mickey, and both wield a version of the Kingdom Key.

When it comes to dark parallels, an immediate comparison to Sora would be Vanitas. You could also argue Roxas, however, from a directly visual standpoint, it's Vanitas who looks like the dark version of Sora, and Roxas is now actively one of the guardians of light.

And who do we know of that works as a dark counterpart to Mickey, other than Oswald himself. It's established in Epic Mickey 1 that Oswald doesn't like Mickey, resents him in fact (though this changes towards the end of the game), which sounds a lot like how Vanitas resents Sora and Ven. Unlike Mickey, Oswald was forced to sit there, watching as he and the people he cared about become forgotten, and couldn't do much of anything to prevent Wasteland from being mostly destroyed by thinner and the Blot, losing the one person he cared about most in the process. It would be easy to imagine someone going through all that, and ending up falling to darkness. Even the people living in Wasteland don't hide the fact that they're genuinely sad about not being remembered, though Oswald actively tries to make things better for them given the circumstances.

Interestingly, as a bit of a side note, Horace Horsecollar was actually living in Wasteland during the events of Epic Mickey, but was later added as a character residing in Disney Town in BBS.

Both Oswald and Mickey are kings. In Epic Mickey, Oswald is the king of Wasteland, and in Kingdom Hearts, Mickey is the king of Disney Castle. With Disney Castle being found in the Realm of Light, I've always thought it would fitting if instead of being in Yen Sid's tower, Wasteland was found somewhere in the Realm of Darkness. This then leads to Vanitas, as after he was destroyed in KH3, if he were to be rebuilt again like he was in Monstropolis, I'd be fitting for him to end up in Wasteland with Oswald, a world literally made for those who were forgotten, losing their hearts. And when Vanitas was first separated from Ven prior to BBS, he had already lost half of his heart, which could arguably be connected to Oswald losing Ortensia during the Blot's attack, albeit with very different circumstances.

This gets shaky when taking into account that Vanitas' real heart might actually still be inside of Ven's from when they fought at the end of BBS, and the version of him we see in KH3 is a time traveled version, however, as I already mentioned, this is just a headcanon I've had since around 0.2.

I know the story for KH4 is mostly going to center around the world of Unreality, and presumably Riku getting Sora back, as well as potentially dipping into the coming battle between the Master of Masters, the Foretellers, and the guardians of light, however, we know that when searching for any sign of Sora, the BBS trio actively started making trips into the Realm of Darkness. And wouldn't it be interesting if they wound up stumbling across a world of forgotten people, and Ven somehow ran into his other half once again.

[storm-driver]

i posted this at 1 am, but im more awake to expand on this.

the writers themselves said early on in kh3 that the only person who might be able to "make the dive" to save aqua would be someone who was close to her, which we all know is bullshit at this point. so i say fuck it, why wouldn't someone who isn't particularly close to ven be able to just wander into castle oblivion and wake him up?

(plus is gives credence to that one line in 358 where xion supposedly found the chamber of waking by complete accident)

the master's defender (eraqus' keyblade) can still wash up on the shore, but let sora recognise it off-handedly. let him stare at it and realise that it absolutely shouldn't be here, and something is wrong because it's not. let something stir in him, and tug him towards somewhere that he'd once wandered to before. with the singular thought in mind, that someone has to finally wake up.

let him find the castle, but not quite know what he's supposed to do there. let him recognise the walls and feel the fluttering memories come to the surface. let him recognise the trauma of being stuck in these walls and having the pages of his memories torn out of the bindings. let him recognise how much it hurts, yet feeling the nudge of the hearts within him, to keep his head up and feel their warmth and comfort.

the keyblade in his hand will tug him somewhere where it knows it needs to go, weaving through the rooms of aches and pains, and finally revealing a room that would only let someone of the same heart and mind enter. let him find the chamber of waking again, and be stunned by the comatose body he'd find inside. asking questions like why he looks like roxas, and feeling a warmth in his heart that's trying to answer.

let him release that heart at last, and feel the scales in his very soul shift as that light leaves him. let the boy wake up with the biggest aches in his limbs, and barely able to hold himself upright without help. let sora realise just how strange it is, especially now that there's a hollow feeling in his chest, where his heart must have been. let ventus wake up at last, and finally start on his road to recovery.

let sora ask questions about it all, and realise how empty he feels inside. let him try to cope by continuing his journey and moving forward with a can-do attitude. let him understand why things ended so screwed up, and let him feel the solace and comfort from the other two people still in his heart. let him process it all, and come to his own conclusions about how he's supposed to feel.

let ventus work at last to save his friend. let him spring back up as soon as sora comes back around to deliver any news, and insist they need to look for aqua after riku had gone missing. let them both realise they need to go after their friends, despite how unready they may both be. let them make that dive into the darkness and wade through it as both aqua and riku had to. let them finally talk to each other about everything that had happened. let ventus explain what happened 10 years ago. let sora express how odd it all seems to him. let them both slowly warm up to each other, as they realise they're more used to the other than they thought.

and finally, let ventus help to save aqua. in a way that's reminiscent of aqua's fight against vanitas 10 years ago, let ventus save aqua from the darkness possessing and corrupting her. let him be desperate and pleading, let him show the vulnerability he'd only ever show around someone he loved and cared for like his family. let aqua hear the voice of her friend, and realise she hadn't lost all hope. let her hear his desperate cries, his battered body, and even recognise his own keyblade. let them finally save each other.

bear with me, kh3 rewrite where sora is guided by eraqus' keyblade to castle oblivion early on in the game, and he stumbles his way into the chamber of waking to find ven, brings him back to everyone else to let him rest and recover for a couple disney worlds, and after a few worlds, he's ready to go save aqua, and a whole "world of darkness" world appears on the map, and ventus is your party member the whole way through the world. him and sora can have a proper conversation about their weird af situation, ventus can bear witness to The Horrors that is the worlds plunging into darkness for almost a dozen years. anti-aqua can be the final boss and ventus gets unique dialogue while fighting her.

just think about it.

[braveheartstoryteller]

"No... The road to dawn." - Riku in KH:CoM

Out of all the characters in Kingdom Hearts, I find Riku the most emotionally resonating. His path from light, to darkness, then to light again, makes him one of the most compelling characters in the series, of a series full of great characters.

But what does his line at the end of Reverse/Rebirth mean? To do that we have to look at his story.

He knows by now that he made a mistake. A huge one that could have meant he would have been lost in darkness forever. But due to Sora and others, he not only got is body back, he also was able to leave the darkness behind, physically at least. His heart though was still wounded by the experience, the wound still festering. It followed him to Castle Oblivion, where he faced it for the first time. But that wouldn’t be the end it.

Because of this, he still felt weak. It’s why he parted ways with Mickey, going on without his friend, afraid of hurting him. Over time he simply tried to co-exist with the darkness, as well as use it. But that didn’t help him conquer it.

After a battle with Roxas, which left him weak, he finally gave in. Becoming that which he hated. Ashamed, he hid. Hiding in the shadows, helping where he could, but never revealing himself.

It wasn’t till The Castle that Never Was, that it all catches up to him. But there he found love and acceptance, despite his choices. Then comes a measure of grace as Ansem the Wise’s contraption explodes. It washes him clean, giving him again another chance.

I find the end of KH2 interesting. We find him at his weakest physically, after both the exaustion of battle and taking a hit for Sora. Yet I think this is fitting. After relying on the darkness for so long, it takes a bit to get used to the light. Yet, despite this, he feels freedom. Finally able to speak his heart and make his peace with Sora. It is a joyful ending, and a new beginning.

It wasn’t till the mark of mastery exam though when he has a final confrontation with his darkness. At every turn, he finds reminders of his fears, his darkness and shame. It makes him face it all over again. But at the end he realizes something. In order to finally best his darkness he must bring it to the light.

"I know the way. Consume the darkness, return it to light.” -Riku in DDD In so doing, he finds a measure of healing and a way forward. He finally finds the strength to protect what matters.

So then, after all that, what is the road to dawn? I think he wanted to understand, not to simply forget. After all, he was given that choice. In order to truly find freedom over his darkness, he had to walk through it. In the end that road led to dawn, and to light. He finally became a keyblade master as was his destiny. But all that came before tempered him. Yeah he would have saved himself so much pain if he’d chosen another path. Yet like our own stories, nothing was wasted. We find redemption and understanding instead, just like he did.

[cielcreations]

“Don’t. Hurt. Sora.” - Kingdom Hearts Fanfic

Inspiration from this post by @zillychu!

"Take this!" Sora exclaimed, shooting out fire from his Keyblade at the Heartless. They disappeared, making him sigh in relief. His Keyblade disappeared as he placed his hands on his knees, panting. He had gotten separated from Goofy, Donald, the king, Riku, everyone. They were at the final stretch of the fight against Darkness, and yet, here Sora was, feeling absolutely exhausted. Cuts, bruises, and his clothing a bit torn from the amount of Heartless he has encountered.

He knew there was going to be a lot, of course there were! They were facing off against Xehanort for, hopefully, the final time, of course he was going to send out the Organization to defeat them as well as as much Heartlesses as he could. He wanted to win this fight, he wanted to destroy the world. But Sora, despite the travels, despite getting the Power of Waking, he wasn't strong enough.

Sora stood up straight, putting a confident smile on his face, I can't give up, I won't give up! No matter what, I can do this! As long as my friends are here, we can do this! He thought, continuing to walk through Keyblade Graveyard. Of course, more Heartless spawned in front of him, a lot more. Sora began to slash at the creatures, his arms beginning to get tired out, his legs shaking. He was completely surrounded by these things. Sora spun in a circle, summoned fire, water, ice, lightening, healed himself, using all his magic to try to win this fight.

Sora screamed in pain as one of the Heartless slashed at his back. The brunette turned around and immediately slashed it back, the Heartless disappearing.

"Sora!" The brunette heard his best friend yell.

"Riku..." Sora whispered, trying to stand, trying to keep steady. He screamed as another Heartless attacked him. Sora surrounded himself in ice before digging his Keyblade into the ground, legs shaking, barely able to stand.

The ice began to break from the Heartless attacking it. Sora groaned, exhausted, his whole body in pain.

"H-Heal..." He muttered, but it wasn't enough. He still had cuts and bruises all over his body, completely out of magic.

He groaned, eyes fluttering, I'm sorry everyone... I can't continue-

I'll take care of it, Sora. Rest up.

Sora gasped at the voice, feeling like he lost control of his body as he passed out.

***

"SORA!" Riku screamed.

"Sora!" King Mickey yelled as well, both defeating some of the Heartless, trying to get to the brunette as fast as possible.

"MY TURN!" They heard a different voice yell.

They watched as the brunette jumped into the air. He spun around in the air, holding a black and a white Keyblade in his hands. Riku and Mickey looked up in shock as the brunette put the Keyblades together, pointing it at the Heartless. Two beams of light came from the Keyblades, shooting at the ground. Riku looked down and gasped, picking up the king and running back.

"Riku what-"

Pillars of light came out of the ground, completely destroying most of the Heartless. Sora easily landed on the ground and, in the blink of an eye, destroyed the rest of them. He finished and held his hands up, the Keyblades disappearing. He brushed his hair out of his eyes, stiffening as he turned, the black Keyblades appearing in his hand again.

"Wow, Sora, we've never seen you fight like that before!" Mickey exclaimed, smiling, "Guess you had it under control after all! Are-"

Riku stood beside the mouse and smiled softly, "That was a good save, Roxas."

"Roxas?!" Mickey exclaimed before looking at the brunette, "...Now that you mention it, the way you fought... and your Keyblades... Is it really you, Roxas?"

The brunette smiled and nodded softly, "It is." Roxas's voice came from the brunette's mouth.

Riku sighed, "Sorry we haven't found a vessel that works for you, yet."

"It's alright. You guys do have the Vessel, I just need a connection to inhabit it."

"A connection?" Mickey questioned.

"Right now, my strongest connection is with Sora." Roxas explained, holding where Sora's heart was, "It's why I'm not able to use a Vessel. I'm completely connected to Sora's heart since I'm his Nobody. I just need a connection to help find my way to the outside light."

"What do you mean 'outside light?'"

Roxas blinked, "Oh, that's just what I call out here. I'm sure you guys already know, but Sora is just... he has so much light." He had Sora hug himself, "It's so warm, so comforting. If I could get a strong connection to help me light the way to the vessel... I'll be able to have my own body." The brunette then smiled, "I'm just glad I haven't been separated yet! After all, Sora would've been really hurt if I didn't come."

Riku nodded, "Thank you for saving him."

"Of course!"

"...Roxas?"

"Hm?"

"Don't push yourself." Riku smiled softly, placing a hand on Sora's shoulder, "I'm going to lecture Sora about pushing himself and getting in over his head, but that doesn't mean you should either. Don't force anything to happen. You'll find that light and connection eventually. Forcing it will only hurt you, and we don't want that."

The brunette blinked, "...We?" Roxas questioned.

Mickey nodded, smiling, "Riku, myself, Donald, Goofy, Sora, Namine, Lea, Kairi, everyone! None of us want you to get hurt!"

The brunette blinked before tears came to his eyes.

"A-Ah, are you okay?!" Riku exclaimed.

"S-Sorry!" Roxas exclaimed, wiping Sora's eyes, smiling brightly, "You just remind me of Axe- er, Lea!" He put Sora's hand to his heart, "Makes me... really happy."

Riku smiled.

The brunette then stepped back, "Heal." He healed Sora's body before standing up straight, "Alright, I'm going to give Sora back control. He might fall forward, so be prepared to catch." He closed his eyes.

"Roxas, wait!" Riku exclaimed.

His eyes opened again.

"Next time we meet, you'll have your own body." Riku smiled, "And we'll get some paopu fruit!"

The brunette's eyes widened before he smiled, "You get me some paopu, I'll get you some sea salt ice cream!"

"It's a deal."

Roxas chuckled before closing his eyes once again. Sora's body went limp and Riku caught him, the brunette groaning. His eyes slowly fluttered open, confused.

"What... happened...?" Sora questioned, his voice back to normal, "I... I was hurt and felt like... I was going to pass out... but then I felt like someone hugged me and... did I fall asleep."

"No, Roxas saved your behind." Riku glared, "But he's not saving you from me."

"Ah, don't lecture me! I know I was reckless, but-"

"No buts!"

Sora whined as Riku began to lecture him, Mickey laughing.

I'll see you all soon. Sora heard Roxas say. He could almost feel the blonde's smile.

[sweeteastart]

✨Day 4✨

of the @khoc-week 2021 :)

Themes : 1. Sacrifice, 2. Alternative Universe, 3. What is your character afraid of ?

Mikana

1. Mikana wouldn't be one to admit it but she sacrifices quite a bit in her attempt to save her sister. Firstly by sacrifising her childhood, her autonomy and later on, the only friends she had for Xehanort plans. All of that for only a chance of him helping her sister do better. Because she is the only thing she have left, her only family.

3. At first, Mikana was ordered by Xehanort to infiltrate the guardians of lights and act as a spy. However as time pass by and Mikana grow closer to them and more precisely Vanitas and Ventus she grow anxious. Not only did she really grew to like them but she also realized they would despite her with all of their hearts if they found out. But even worst than Sora or Riku finding about her involvement with Xehanort, she was horrified at the thought that Van or Ven could come to hate her.

Sika

1. Sika was in love with Orion. It was reciprocated. However they started to drift apart when their best friend Erid, and the third disciple of Master Ivi, died during his mark of Mastery. Mark of Mastery that Sika passed and Orion failed. Things grew even more sour when Sora fell on White Castle post KHIII and the lonely Sika got closer to him.

Soon after, Orion attacked them, Master Ivi stopping the teenager and sacrificing herself to give Sika and Sora à chance to escape. This is after this incident that Sika swore to herself that she would take down Orion, no matter the price to pay. And she fulfilled this promise when, to take down Orion, sh sacrificed her own life.

3. Losing her memories. Above all else, Sika wants to remember everything she went through. She mostly want to remember how being free and happy feels. The freedom Sora and his friends made her experience and that she hold dear.

Bunny

1. After Anis betrayal, Bunny quickly realized something was a miss : Contrary to what might seems at first sight, on the three remaining pods towards the real world, only two were in a working state. Prioritizing her friends over her, Bunny pushed and locked Skuld and Ephemer in the two available pods.

She felt terribly sorry when she heard Ephemer desperate plea but she couldn't indulge him. He was an union leader et so was Skuld. They had to leave no matter the consequences. So she send them to safety even if she was truly terrified at the idea of dying.

3. Sadly, Bunny's worst fear was to not be able to properly protect her brother and her friends. She always felt that she was too weak. Too soft.

Anis

1. Anis consciousness awaken in his new heart. Contrary to what he had imagined, he wasn't assimilated but more in a spectator role. Soon enough, he learned that the new heart name was Xehanort. Anis truly wanted to help the boy stay away from the darkness however all he could do is watch without doing anything. Conscious, Anis started to grieve all the friends he lost. But his already grieve muted into a devastating rage when he recognized someone.

A boy, that was now a man, who now was indulging himself into darkness : Luxu. Slowly Anis started to piece together his own memories and the new information he got and understood Luxu involvement in the Daybreak Down fall. He was the traitor Brain book was talking about. He was the reason for all those sacrifices.

3. Anis is terrified he won't be able to save his sister and his friends. He fears he won't be able to do anything for them.

Mikana,Bunny and Anis

2. Since the last few prompts weren't really fun i decided to draw something lighthearted ! Like the theme suggest this is an AU and i called it : Magical Fix it AU. In a nutshell, this is basically the magical AU i've been working on for a year but without any drama. The Magical AU is basically a universe were the characters live in a modern society in which some people have powers and magical forms. In this AU, Bunny and Ephemer are together and had Sakore and Mikana. As for Anis, he had a wife named Faey and is 'Naminé's father. For the three other character here they are Strelitizia, Plume (the girl in the foreground) and Xail (the little blond girl next to Sterli) (the two last are @lennsart ocs ).

Pêche

1. Pêche was an unknown member of the Organization and New organization and it wasn't without reason : They were the watchdog. They were tasked to keep a watchful look on both the members of the Organization and the guardians of light by Xemnas. One of their abilities was to hide in shadow. Being able to spy anyone from their own shadow was a huge advantage.

However as times passed, they grew attached to some of the targets she had to watch over : those being lights or even Organization members. They started to omit some things on their reports for Xemnas. And as time went they lied about anything that could prejudice any of the people she grew attached to. It was a given that Xemnas would soon found out but they felt the later he would, the better.

3. Pêche can't feel anything but sometimes they wonder how it would be to do so. Since they have memories of their time as Daisy, they can somewhat understand the benefits of it but emotions seems so strange and foreign to them. But at the same time, Pêche truly fear they won't ever be able to feel again. They fear that, like Xemnas and Xigbar repeated so many times, they are nothing but a broken tool.