#where no one has ever heard the name or seen the face of Sora Kingdom Hearts

[last-flight-of-fancy]

okay here we go, Vanitas theory time because I can’t stop thinking about it. As with any theory I am fully aware and prepared for this to be completely debunked, but hey, theorizing is fun and I think it’s a neat idea.

Which I’m gonna put under a cut bc I like to talk about my son and his potential a lot.

Before I jump headfirst into it I do want to say that this entire theory rests entirely on the assumption that the heart hotel isn’t quite empty yet, and that Vanitas is still quietly hiding out in Sora’s heart.

Personally, I am pretty confident in this assumption, but as it is not yet explicitely confirmed I do feel it necessary to put the disclaimer. It’s KH, there’s no telling what wild twists will throw everything we know into entirely new contexts.

In the interest of clarity I’ll do a brief overview of this idea for those who may not know. We see in KH that when a person dies goes sparkly glitter into another persons arms they tend to take up residence in that persons heart, like a safety net. We’ve seen this a bunch of times over the course of the series; Xion to Roxas, Eraqus to Terra, Kairi to Sora.

There’s even instances of it happening without any physical contact to speak of; Ven to Sora, Repliku to Riku... and i hesitate to add this one but honestly I suspect this happened with Strelitzia to Lauriam too. No confirmation on that tho, just a suspicion.

And then there’s of course the outliers, with Roxas to Sora not really fitting either category due to DiZ meddling, and the most curious one to me personally- Sora to Kairi, which should have happened but... didn’t.

(as with any hypothesis, it is important to consider points against your theory too, and this instance drives me nuts every time i think about it. WHY.)

The last we see of Vanitas in BBS is him vanishing into the glowing lights and into Ven’s heart station.

(listen I could talk about this scene all fucking day okay. Even Repliku vanished with dark whisps, but Vanitas glows just like all the other light aligned characters. when he hits the bottom the station lights up and reveals itself to be Ven’s. I have thoughts about this too but that is not this essay.)

Okay so bviously that’s all pretty straightforward, but surely he would have left with Ven too, right? When Ven was returned to his body?

Not necessarily.

The closest example to this I think would be Roxas and Xion; Xion was released first, despite being in theory two layers deep in Sora’s heart (as she was in Roxas’ heart when Roxas joined with Sora). Roxas was freed shortly thereafter, but I do think this does point to a heart within a heart within a heart is less a babushka doll of hearts and more... maybe an incomplete web, where the hearts may connect to each other, but they are far more connected to the center point (which here is Sora).

I also think it’s important that the narrative (specifically Remind) went out of it’s way to make it clear that the Vanitas in KH3 is from the past, drawn forward through time like several other members. I’ve seen people be angry about this as it’s also brought up at one point that Monsters Inc had enough negative energy to reform Vanitas all on it’s own, and well. Doesn’t that just seem sort of pointless?

So. Why point out there was an easier way to do what they did? I don’t think they would unless there was a reason they couldn’t. If current Vanitas is still hiding within Sora, he’s essentially unavailable to Xehanort. As a result he has to turn to other means by pulling a past version instead.

(there is also vaguely tangential evidence in things like Rage Form. Though I think this is equally likely to be only reflective of Sora’s declining mental state and repression, I’m noting it here anyway)

All that said I’m sure you’re wondering how this relates to my theory. It’s crucial honestly, for a couple different reasons.

Now, when it comes to KH there’s no real way to predict specifics. It is a series that adores twists and turns and red herrings, each one throwing previous revelations into whole new lights. It’s one of the reasons I love the series, so I’m going to try and keep my strokes here as broad as possible to avoid hinging everything on what could be an unfounded assumption.

Probably will still happen but hey, I’m gonna give it my best shot ;P

So my theory is this: Assuming the above is all true, Vanitas is perfectly positioned to be a critical part of how Sora and Riku get back home from Quadratum.

(and yes, I know FGM quips that if Riku runs into trouble he should come straight back home, but to me it felt like a light hearted joke, kinda as if to say ‘I know we can’t come with, but we’ve still got your back’. After the sheer amount of hoops they have to jump through to get Riku there, it would feel a little strange if he could now just jump back and forth at will. However, like with many things this is an assumption. We won’t know for sure until the next game, so for now I’m rolling with what I can see and interpret)

Kairi’s Memories, NS’s connection to the other world, Riku’s Dreams. All needed to make the jump.

Vanitas has the memories of Daybreak, even if a bit muddled and confused, he has the connection to Ven... Honestly that just leaves the dreams. (His only goal has been to feel whole, pain free. Could that be attained in the other reality? oops I’m slipping into blatant speculation again BUT STILL)

On a purely plot related level his connection to Ven, while antagonistic at best, could certainly serve the same function that the Nameless Star did in being the connection Riku needed to enter Quadratum. Whether they like it or not and even though they almost definitely can’t merge back into one person anymore, that connection remains.

But I have more than just plot reasons for this theory- Kingdom Hearts is a series that runs on emotion after all. It’s greatest strength is in it’s characters, their internal struggles, and how real those emotions feel and are felt. Even when (and perhaps especially when) those emotions are repeatedly denied by either the textual narrative or other characters.

Which is why I want to talk about how this could possibly go if indeed Vanitas is there with Sora, between their characters and what that could mean for them.

Obviously like I said earlier I can’t make any hard assumptions, and there’s no telling how exactly Vanitas will be reintroduced; an internal voice to Sora like Ven was in most of KH3? Something Sora can see and feel? Are they both within Yozora’s heart (as is the current theory) the whole time or do they transition elsewhere at some point? Something else entirely?

Regardless of the specifics it IS the perfect time for us to get that Vanitas Redemption Arc we’ve been begging for and that he’s deserved for so long.

(if you are somehow not on the Vanitas; Future Good Boy train and made it this far, I encourage you to read all the Vanitas centered excerpts from the novels and also check out the Hero’s and Heroine’s Medley from the Kingdom Hearts Orchestra, composed by the series musical genius Yoko Shimomura (who frequently places musical nods and hints in the soundtrack), which at the very tail end features Vanitas’ theme. The former highlights how Vanitas is a victim shaped by pain, circumstance, and lies, the latter hinting quite strongly at his potentional to be a force for good as far as I’m concerned)

https://remember-kingdom-hearts.tumblr.com/post/28798364782/bonus-translation-of-the-novel-chapter-dark no seriously if this bit of the novel doesn’t make you feel for Vanitas I dont know what will.

https://keijitranslates.tumblr.com/post/186619714655/vanitas-monologue-kh3-novel Vanitas’ kh3 monologue, which imo highlights how even he doesn’t really know what’s going on with him. His knowledge is both more than everyone else while also at the same time warped by manipulation and lies, making it confused and uncertain at best.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l9VZ6XPFTlA The medley. Also it’s KH music and thus amazing. You all know this.

Not only that but he’s also in a perfect position to challenge Sora as well, assuming they get to talk to each other. If you know Violet Howler’s essays on KH and the Heroine’s journey (which I ADORE please watch them or read the doc if you have the time, they’re phenomenal), you may now be thinking about how he’s pointed out that Yozora is likely in the position of psychopomp to Sora’s descent. And I’m not disagreeing with this! We don’t really know yet what exactly Yozora’s deal is, but I do think Vanitas could serve as auxillery to this, forcing Sora to confront both his own Darkness and Darkness as not being wholly evil in general.

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1h5l2II-JvkNE5en3B7emErk5O8QKB5p-LVDlmZFS_qw/ Violet Howler’s essay doc on the Heroine’s Journey

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCPOVJTNgLjMz9Y0NBfFkSZQ The ongoing Video Essay’s on the same subject

(and if you would like some pure fantasy speculation here, I like to imagine this being done through poking at Sora’s own natural empathy. “You still hate the darkness. You can say you don’t but I’m not stupid. You reject the dark, you shrink away from your own shadows. You say I can be more than just bad, but I am always going to be made of darkness, so which is it, Sora? Because it can’t be both.”)

(also also, and i’m sorry for all these asides, but given all this I kind of think Yozora is going to be integral to making Sora realise his big fat gay Riku Feelings, while Vanitas is going to be more about making him realise that he still holds a number of unacknowledged biases)

Okay, so this is about as far as I got on my first brainstorm session on this theory, but when I came back to it later I realised there’s another part to this that I hadn’t considered yet, which handily solved the one thing I felt was missing from all this.

The past.

And it really did bug me until I figured out what it was, bc if you’re not considering all the pieces then you’ve probably missed something. Sure we (probably) get those delicious character arcs, but it left a lot of history sort of dangling in the wind, unresolved and unacknowledged. Stuff like Ven/Vani’s history in Daybreak, as Union leaders, their lost friends and just fucktons of trauma. Especially when it is implied in the novels that unlike Ven, Vanitas does remember at least a little bit of those Union days, it doesn’t feel right to never get any resolution on that.

And then I remembered that we’ve got a couple of other plots I’d forgotten about; namely with MoM in Qaudratum and the Foretellers in the regular verse. Both with their own ties to Daybreak, even if not directly to Ven, and both possibly heralding long awaited answers and resolutions to the khux storyline.

How exactly? Who knows, but the ties are certainly there and available. I fully expect either a series of cutscene’s or (hey I can dream) a whole game centered around the foreteller business, which I can only assume will involve Ven and the other former khux kids eventually. Something similar could happen with MoM and Vanitas. Granted this is drifting into speculation again, but hey, I see what I see.

All of this and then when all is said and done, the day is won and Sora and Riku have finally talked properly and done a big kiss of true love, Nameless Star is returned to her proper place... There’s our boys still trapped in Quadratum. I kind of expect this to be a sort of... bigger version of the Dark Margin scene at the end of KH2 honestly. The sentiment that they’ll be okay as long as they’re together, and happy at least for that, even if it means not being able to go home.

Am I saying Vanitas could be that letter in a bottle that bumped into their feet on the sands of the dark shore after an undisclosed amount of time? Yes, yes I am. Him and Ven both, with the full possibility that Kairi herself may end up involved as well, considering she has her own yet unexplored mysteries and is now apprenticing under Aqua, thus in close proximity to Ven for the foreseeable future.

But as always with KH, we’ll see how it goes. It’s always possible it will do something else entirely and I’ll be just as satisfied. I just needed to show you all my brain worms XD

[minijenn]

Keys to the Kingdom Preview

HERE YA GO NERDS FUCKIN JOIN IN MY SUFFERING 

***

“Xehanort is taking over Sora’s heart!” Ventus shouts, his voice hitching into a sob as this horrendous fact finally, finally forces itself out. Suddenly, all eyes are on him again, shocked expressions across the board as the others all try to make sense of what they just heard. Yet even amidst their shock, Ventus continues, unable to stop himself now, knowing that he couldn’t, even if he wanted to. Not after all this time of having to harbor and hide this. “H-he’s trying to turn Sora into his lest vessel,” he explains morosely, tears streaming down his cheeks all the while. “He’s been filling his heart with darkness for months now. When I was inside of it, I-I… I tried my best to fight him off, we all did, but… it wasn’t enough. Sora’s still… h-he’s being…” Ventus shudders, unsure of even what to say next. Because really, what can be said about a situation that’s so utterly unspeakable?

It ripples through the other lights like a shockwave, the terrible truth far too few of them knew about until this very moment. The study is far more still and silent than it's ever been before, with even the usually calm and collected Yen Sid seems completely bewildered by what’s just been said. Along the far wall, Axel swiftly stands upright, no longer leaning as he’d been before. Aqua draws in a sharp breath she nearly forgets to let out, Terra taking her hand to steady her when he sees her sway ever so slightly. Donald and Goofy fall into the same sort of regretful resignation Ventus has already adopted, while Mickey desperately tries searching for something, anything to say and ultimately finding nothing. 

But the ones who are struck the hardest by this heartbreaking revelation are, of course, Riku and Kairi. Ventus’ first sentence alone had been enough to spark starting tears in Kairi’s eyes, but everything else he says is what ultimately makes them fall. She grips Riku’s arm like a vice, practically leaning against him for support as she chokes out a tight, terrified sob. Yet for his part, Riku doesn’t move, doesn’t even look over at her as he instead stares straight at the marble ground before him, his eyes wide, yet his expression unreadable. Kairi is the first to break the longstanding silence by tensely whispering his name, but he doesn’t respond. He can’t respond; all he can do is stand there, frozen in fear and grief and anger, and hope that it isn’t true; it can’t be true, it can’t be, it can’t-

“That… no, that isn’t possible!” Mickey finally speaks up, nearly echoing Riku’s thoughts exactly. “We saved Sora from-”

“It didn’t work!” Donald cries, shaking his head. 

“The Organization kept telling us, even as far back as when we started lookin’ for the Keys, that Sora was turning into one of them,” Goofy details anxiously. “But we didn’t believe them.”

“We should have,” Donald huffs, frustrated with just how long it had taken them to realize something was wrong. Because if they had caught onto the problem sooner, than maybe, just maybe, Sora would still be standing here with them now. “There was plenty of evidence, between the X-shaped scar they gave him, and the cracks on his Keyblade, and those new dark powers he started using…” The magician pauses at this, both him and Goofy rubbing the still-sore spots on their arms where Sora’s accidental magic had struck them back in Twilight Town. While they’d mostly healed up from that ordeal physically, the emotional sting of it, or rather, from when Sora had tearfully run from them seconds after, still lingers all the same. 

“But we didn’t find out until we saw his hair starting to turn white and his eyes turning yellow,” Goofy glumly reports. “He begged us not to tell any of you--like we said, we wanted to, but… he was so sad and scared, so…”

“So we kept quiet and I cast a glamour spell on him to hide what was happening to his body,” Donald admits, ashamed that they’d even done that much. Because in condoning Sora’s stubborn secrecy, in going to such great lengths to help him keep that secret, they’ve done so much more to hurt him than to help him like they wanted to. And of course, they’re only realizing that now, when it's far too late. “We shouldn’t have listened to him; we should have just forced him to come back here and tell all of you!”

“But we didn’t…” Goofy sighs guiltily. “And we’re so sorry, both to all of you… and to Sora most of all…”

While most of the others have no idea what to even say at this juncture, Mickey is the one to speak up again, his tone and expression mutually disappointed as he looks to his two longtime friends. “Wow, this is… a lot to take in…” he begins, just as overwhelmed as all of the others are. “I really wish you fellas had said something sooner.”

“Yeah, I think we’re all wishing that,” Axel says incredulously. “What I can’t believe is that you three all stayed tight-lipped on this whole thing for so long! I would have thought that Sora at least would have let something slip, even by accident.”

“H-he was scared of what would happen if any of you found out,” Ventus mutters, rubbing his arm as he glances away from the group. “That’s why he asked me to not tell anyone either. I thought he’d come clean on his own sooner or later but…” He sighs, finally realizing that had been too much to hope for. After all, Sora had managed to keep this all so well-hidden even well before he’d even awakened. Why had Ventus ever been foolish enough to think that would stop once he came along? Why had he ever thought that he even had a chance at changing Sora’s mind when it had already been made up from the moment this all began?

“Ven…” Aqua says, her tone torn between stern and sorrowful. “You knew, from the minute you woke up, that this was happening to Sora… and you didn’t once think to tell any of us? Not even me?”

“Aqua, no, I just… Sora asked me to-”

“You should have known better!” Aqua scolds. Her blue eyes blaze with a kind of intense ferocity that Ventus has rarely ever seen, ferocity he’s almost never seen directed at him. “Both of you should have known better! Your heart was inside of his, that means you must have known how serious this was! If you tried to help him from the inside before, then why didn’t you do anything to help him once you were out!? Why didn’t you tell us, Ventus!?”

He flinches, as if physically struck, by the sudden sharpness of her seldom use of his full name. He opens his mouth, only to immediately close it again, any words he might have said, even the apology he wants to offer her and everyone else here, falling short. Aqua’s severity doesn’t even soften when she sees Ventus’ tears begin to fall anew, nor does she turn calm when she feels Terra’s comforting hand find a place upon her shoulder. 

“Aqua,” he says, his earnest, steady tone finally diverting her attention away from Ven. “I-”

Before he can get another word out, she suddenly falls apart on him, cutting him off as she throws her arms around him, burying her face into his chest as her shoulders shudder with starting sobs. “We just got you back…” she mutters so quietly only he can really hear her. “I-I can’t imagine losing anyone else I care about to him… not again…”

[mytwitterisdogtoast1]

Kingdom Hearts 3 broke my heart.

I am a fan of Kingdom Hearts. i've been here through the first game and even though I grew up without the money to play every game I stuck with the series as best I could. In fact I've bought multiple copies of games on multiple systems and beat a couple of the games not just once but 3 or more times. Here is a list of the things I've done involving this series.

1: I bought KH1/2/COM on more than one system such as ps2,3, and 4. 2: I've played and beaten on the hardest difficulty on each main installment (except critical mode of 3) 3: I have 100% KH1 which might not seem like a big deal but it is the only game I have 100% ever. Got all the trophies and so on. 4: I stuck with the story and even recently before 3 came out played and beat most of the games. (except DDD since it wasn't my kind of deal since I don't like the flowmotion part of the combat.)

You could say I'm a fan of the games and have done what I can to in general keep up with the series as well as have enjoyed the series.

But then 3 came out and I was just not happy with it. After waiting for so long and playing the game and screaming and ranting about certain plot points that just don't make sense to me (KH is notoriously hard to keep up with plot wise and I am just not the brightest person in the world when it comes to shit. Like I really need some things explained outright for me and to some degree do not mind spoilers for some things) I swore off KH the entirety from now on cause it was just that bad of a game for me. It wasn't a horrible game but the direction they started taking it in was just so far removed from what the original 2 games in the numerical series were that this was just NOT Kingdom Hearts at all. Sure you can say it is a love letter to the biggest of fans but I can say that a letter to regular fans was something it needed to do more than cater to such a rabid fanbase compared to a regular fanbase. I thought this was unfair and then bought Memory of Melody. That is now the worst game in the series to me. So I dived into what people thought and looked at a ton of youtubers who played the game and saw what they thought. I looked at reviews of non youtubers and read what they thought and the game has made the fanbase more divided than anything I'd ever seen from a fanbase. So I replayed the game with the intent to write down all I felt on the game to give it a fair review. Like I said I'm a filthy casual and I can give stuff a large break when it comes to media and have a large understanding of what that thing is meant to be. Sometimes a product is meant to be a certain way and we have to enjoy it for what it is and I can try and do that. I mean I love the WWE and Yugioh and anyone who is a part of those fanbases knows in their hearts (kek hearts) how bad those things can be at times. So I played the game and wrote down all the thoughts I had on it and Some might be easy to explain while others are in general probably at least fair on how I feel about it.

Kingdom Hearts is a series not meant for the new comer. It knows what it wants to be and does that thing. It isn't here to make everyone happy and that is just absolutely fine in general. I've been a fan and it makes me happy that the game is one long story that I can appreciate and make call backs to in stuff. I remember being so rewarded when I looked at my then best friend who skipped over chain of memories (I had to emulate it but I think it was fair of me to do so since I bought the game 3 times since now that I have the money to do so) and said he knew what happened because he saw the cutscene of Sora reaching the top and Namine betraying him by putting him into a pod. I laughed at him cause he was a fool who knew nothing of how the story went cause he foolishly just thought he didn't NEED to play the game. This made me more invested into the series than he was. I stuck with the series reading up articles and even watching videos on the series for stuff I missed out on since again i couldn't afford everything. They were building a story over a decade long and at the end it just didn't do it for me. It's not that the story wasn't the end of the series in general. Heck gotta make dat' money Y'all but in general this was the end of a saga for Xehanort and it just didn't cut it. But maybe I'm not starting at the right spot to give my feelings on it. Maybe I'm coming fresh off a game play and feeling a rant building for multiple reasons. So let me start with the positives before I bury the list under a pile of problems for me.

So I'll be putting things in order of good, mixed, bad. They will be somewhat fair and if they have an answer you have my sincerest apologies but remember I'm slightly the "dumb" and would in general like to just get simple straight answers. Something simple and clean if you would. On that note

1: The starting song is a god damned banger - Face my fears is up there with sanctuary which is better than Simple and clean. To be fair though simple and clean was made in like a flight and pretty much is nonsensical to the game in general. However it is a good song. How could it not be with one of japans best pop artists? Have you heard sakura drops? Colors? Traveling? Apples and cinnamon? Fuck man this song is just really good. 2: The game looks great - Sure the game might not look like ps2 graphics anymore but this isn't a bad thing it just is a different thing. The only time I thought it looked bad was during the pirates area where they had to make real people. Sometimes it is better to have a different art theme and even if something is just ok at best during it it can still be over all great. Everyone looked good during it. It just in general looked like a new version of KH entirely. 3: You can power up keyblades - One of the best parts of the game is powering up keyblades. Now sure mickey saying "we should have powered up our keyblades" is a stupid line in general when they are magic items and not fully meant to break form normal stuff but i think the ability to latch onto a key and make that sucker your main key is a great idea. Finally I can power up keys like sweet memories or the kingdom key and go through the cutscenes with the keyblade never changing and it look like it's meant to be there. 4: The whole getting treasure for sinking ships - Even if in general people might not like the ship combat the idea of being a pirate and stealing treasure from a ship when you sink one of the large ones is one of the best thematical ideas in the game. You can just sail the ocean and just pirate ship for loot if you wanted to and since you get xp during it and get your ship to be better it just is a great idea in its entirety. 5: Rikus keyblade - That is one of the better keyblades. I'm not gonna lie but the final fantasy cloud based keyblades where they are more realistic have been one of my favorite designs and I am sad i can't throw it on sora. I like the idea of an actual blade instead of a blunt weapon in the game since it just feels cooler sometimes. Riku getting a keyblade that not only looks more like a sword but is also still a key for a more modern car is one of the cooler things they have ever put in. 6: The call back to union cross players - This was a little lover note to people who played the game. They grabbed a ton of names and threw them in as you threw hundreds of keyblades at the giant heartless storm mob thing. I think it is great and even if I didn't play one of the names that pops up is my actual name so I find that pretty cool whenever I see it.

And that is it. Those are the best parts of KH3 to me. Everything else is either a mixed bag or just not good. I'm sure you can tell which one has more in it. As for the stuff that is in the middle of both good and bad let me make it clear that some stuff that is bad will probably be talked about in the bad section because it needs its own commentary.

1: All the party members - I always was a little sad having to remove one of the characters in my party to add the one new person they wanted to add in and was always sad at that limitation but with 3 you can now have ALL THE MEMBERS. This is great because now I have access to all of my forms with donal...... Oh right, they're not in the game anymore. 2: Nice to one and done an area - Back in the day when I first played the original first game I never went back cause I beat the level and thought it was extra stuff. When I got older and playued through 2 I was a little impatient and just didn't want to keep going back. Now as I am older and wiser and more patient I just do the thing cause it's a part of the game and deal. Thankfully it is all in one trip which is good CAUSE I DON'T WANNA FUCKING PLAY THESE LEVELS EVER AGAIN. 3: I'm gonna say it and people are gonna question me (probably not I'm not a large content creator thus people probably don't care about my opinion so strange of you to be here reading this) but I fucking hate winnie the pooh. I don't like him as a person and I'm just not a fan of his entire world. I only like Eeyore and not cause "gosh that's how I feel" Eeyore is the fucking man. He never lets his bad mood get him down and he powers through even when life is shit. Good for him man. Love that guy. Such a trooper. I just don't like pooh but the levels. God Kingdom Hearts mini games are just mostly not fun in general so not having to play so many mini games in poohs level is fantastic. EXCEPT EVERY WORLD HAS A DAMNED MINI GAME IN IT. 4: Speaking of mini games the ship combat is fine. - It's just, fine. 5: I had so much money - I don't remember playing any other game having so much money. I remember caring and investing and even trying to get money to spend on stuff in some points and in here it just.... I never spent it until i got bored and started using food. I didn't use food until the last world and beyond cause I wanted to finish the game faster. I mean the change of pace having money is nice but there was nothing really to do with it. Maybe I should have bought Hayner, Pence and Olette a ton of pretzels with it. 6: Playing as any other keyblade wielder - Man this was one of those great moments that I was excited to do. Having played as many other characters during other games was always nice and refreshing and being able to do so here was great. It got me excited to play as Mickey again since I got to use him a few times in KH2 or to be able to use Ventus or Aqua again cause they were gonna be saved and be able to fight in the upcoming battle. That is you know. If they are used in the game more than one time each. 7: Giant heartless battle - One of the best moments in the game was the "goofy just died" moment. Not because The goof man "died" but because you got to solo fight a crowd of enemies and in this game it was so cool to have that call back. The shit icing on that beautiful cake was having to use the train to win. Like it just felt like I was making no progress and I can't on my own fight the enemies and no matter how hard you try you can never stop the enemies ever. 8: The what if scenario - The group dying was pretty cool and was a great what if but would have been better if they didn't come back to the past and have Ventus run up and think it was Terra again. It was cool for the lingering will to step in and help but even then the whole situation was so stupid that it could have been written better. What if instead of doing the whole scenario it was a mind fuckery to sora to put him down mentally like they had been trying to entire game. What if it showed him losing and that it was possible? Instead we got this long winded scenario where people didn't learn from their first mistake and tried to go run up to Terra when in that moment Aqua when Ven tried going should have grabbed his shoulder and said "you know it's not him so let's just get ready to fight"

Those are the mixed bag moments I was commenting on. Some things are fine and aren't really an issue except the are a part of a bigger problem in itself which makes them a mixed bag. The last part's I'll be writing about are pretty much a giant rant or asking questions to things. There are problematic points I'll be making as well. So now let's look at the bad stuff in KH3. However, before I get into it, I want to also write down the not as bad stuff as well as some of the really big stuff so I'll make sure to point out when it is a gripe that isn't the worst thing in the world compared to it actually being not good.

1: Nitpick/The social media is dumb - Look I'm not much of a social media person and I know todays kids and teens are all about that jazz and such but man this part of the game is pretty dumb. I am in no way too old to "get hip with it grandpa" and think social media is a bad thing. Times and things change but WHY IS THIS A THING? Sora and friends are out saving the world and probably do not know about current phones since they are so busy. They would be like really old people trying to catch up with todays world and just in general should not have time enough to do it. Sure giving a phone is fine which whatever they can just add in ways to contact which again makes the phone fine but social media is dumb. What platform are they on? Who is following them? What world is this being sent to in general? Does anyone really care?

2: Nitpick/Why 7 VS 13? - I think the number is just really off. Ok look the original organization 13 was fine. Having 14 members in it wasn't a big deal and sure fighting them seperately and not all in one game made me a little sad until final mix came out but at least i got to fight Marluxia in all his pretty boy glory. The point I make is they just seem to have stuck with the 13 which is fine I guess? It just seemed like it was more or less there for no real reason. Sure we would have to fight every single Xehanort around such as Ansem, Xemnas, Terranort, Xigbar who works with old man Xehanort, Young Xehanort, Old man Xehanort. If you also in general wanted him to have each good guy fight a bad guy we would need one for each single keyblade wielder to come out. So let's say Kairi and Axel were just gonna join in so we can have for whatever reason Xion and Roxas just pop out to fight people. We would have need for a total of 7 enemies to fight. Let's just use these guys here as people for people to fight. We can have terranort fight someone before he comes back as lingering will to fight and get his body back. We can have Kairi fight Xion until she defects in general and fights another person with her. We can have axel fight Xemnas so he can get revenge and then have him lose and Roxas can come out. So on and so forth until we have just enough for each person to be matched with another person. You wouldn't need to stretch and find whatever you can and just fill the numbers. You could have at that point just filled it with villains you knew you wanted on your team. Not just bring back generic dudes who don't even need to be here. I'll get more into that in a moment but the numbers just seem off and could have been anything not 7 v 13 but like I said. Nitpick.

3: The plot of Sora flying around this time is a little weak. - So Sora lost his powers and needs to get them back. So he fucks off for a bit until he can regain the powers. Wouldn't it be better if he also trained with Kairi and Axel? What about just going into the realm of darkness to help the others get Aqua? What if instead of just going back and forth to each Disney world like he normally did he in general just.....trained. See the point of the other games was "close the keyholes of the world so heartless stop getting in. Stop those nobodies from opening Kindom Hearts." Kind like saving the world is a great motivation to have compared to "fuck off until you are good or something". It's one of the biggest issues in general. Now if he was told something more substantial than "you need the power of waking" than it would have made the grind through much better. Add in a new plot element for him to need to travel to lands in general so he can earn the power of waking. Send him to places to get that shit instead of "get stronger". You think I can't just do that shit with story? Shit's boring man lemme do stuff.

4: You cannot turn off attractions - That is without playing critical mode. Man Attractions are in general one of the worst parts of the game. Sure I find it hilarious when I'm fighting an important boss (such as Xemnas) and I last hit him with a merry go round but in general they just suck. They aren't fun and they slow the games combat down with a cinematic. Sure they can be "avoided" and I "don't have to use them" but they exist in the game. They are the creators vision and he wants you to use them. If they didn't want it to be a huge part of the games combat system they wouldn't add it in and the fact that it shows up so often just kinda proves they want you to use the thing. Combat in here is very floaty if you haven't noticed and a more grounded approach is sometimes best. This is what the attractions do since they still try and attack you thus getting closer to the attraction in the first place. It's really a jarring object. Telling me not to use it while having the chance to actually accidentally press the button is frustrating. It's the smaller version of telling someone don't be mad when they are mad or try not to be depressed. It's hard to avoid and the answer isn't just "don't do it." Especially when the game puts in abilities to make them more prominent such as extending the time on them. Another point on this is that if the developer wanted them to be optional they wouldn't sometimes be mandatory or even show up during boss fights. Either this was an added on horse shit thing where Disney was like "add attractions or we're done" or Nomura just was like "i recently went to disney land and you gotta put this in it's dope". Joke aside it is one of the worst parts of the game since I can't turn them off and it is hard to get around them. Let me turn them off fully or let them be used as an ability where you can add them in if you want it. Customization should be more of a thing than a gimmick you keep getting. Also they show up so often and I believe in every enemy spawn group. Multiple times even if you miss it the first time. Having so much prominence placed onto this one mechanic just shows they went in hard on it and sure if it was just the rock titan or just the horde of heartless at the end or maybe even rare I wouldn't find it much of a problem but it is EVERY FREAKING COMBAT. I hit that button on accident more times than I wanted to that in general I was trying to use a spell but I missed it by seconds or something and the carnival ride started up and I just said "god dammit" and had to end it dealing a burst of damage since you can't just stop it, it has to go full swing. Also only in critical mode is kind of bullshit. Add it to every mode in the game and it'll be less of an issue.

5: Nitpick/Sora is an idiot - Look I don't mean the whole "he's so stupid now he just is always happy or has dumb dialogue" I mean the idiot tried to touch fire and instead of water magic which he now has and I spammed on the fire balls he walked up to a freaking inferno of flames and just tried to see if it was hot by touching it with his bare hands. Shit Sora you dumb fuck Goofy had a better idea than the mage and the main character and he's not always the brightest. Fuck you.

6: There is too much stuff in this game - Way too many mechanics and most of them are on forever. You have so much you can do such as the shotlock, Flowmotion, Carnival rides, Extra forms, Summoning the fat cat dream pokemon, so many mini games,  just so much shit and I'm sure I forgot something. Now look I can let go of the whole "cat" thing because it is a summon and those are normal but in general it just feels like the entire game was overloaded with everything from every other game EXCEPT for cards and if we don't have cards for character upgrades or something it feels like a waste. (that's a joke) The point is that there is too much stuff and it's all filler and fluff and we can just have a nice game without 10,000 things to learn in the first section of the game.

7: Nitpick/ I think the selfies are just dumb - I've taken a total of maybe 5 selfies. All of which are to show a single person in that specific moment. Selfies don't really do much in the world we play in for KH3 and I just think it is in general a dumb game mechanic. However it is not required to do so it's not a big deal to have in. Just another nitpick.

8: Food and cooking - Look, this is not monster hunter. This is not another game where food is an important detail and sure I don't mind the addition of it if you really wanna put it in but it does make the game easier when used. In that direction fine making a game easier isn't a bad thing, however, constantly telling me now is a good time to find ingredients for little chef is annoying every time. I could figure it out if I really wanted it but in general since it is an optional mechanic to which I can just buy the parts for it and even the food at a kupo shop than what is the point in adding in the game play mechanics for it? The mini games are dumb and take too long to do for such a small mini game. Crack and egg get soup. Nothing else but crack an egg. So than the game is too short for a mechanic I'm supposed to do often? Why not add in a larger game so that I can help him create the object one time to see if he likes it and then when he adds it on I can order the object from him. Don't add it into the kupo store if I you want me to make it and don't make me make it be so tedious if you want me to make it. Also why is sora cooking at all? It's Remys passion not mine. He's even shown to run a packed restaurant all on his own at the end of the game in the credits scene.

9: More customization please - Here's a major issue I have with the game. There is less customization compared to other games. This is strange as in general it seems to be the same. The problem is this. I have to use flowmotion in the game. It is not an option because in certain levels it is a legitimate requirement to use for moving elsas castle. It is required in a couple other places as well but the point still stands. I need to have them equipped in order to make progress. The fact that in KH2 I could turn off big moves from team members but cannot now takes the agency away from me from making my fighting style more what I want to do. This means in order for me to really enjoy the game I have to really accept mechanics I was not a fan of in DDD. Maybe having an option for character customization such as turning off forms, and what special attacks you wanna do would be nice instead of giving everything under the sun. Do I want to be a fast mobile fighter? Than make that a character level abiliy choice instead of just making me have it from the start and also making it mandatory for levels. Allow me to remove the big moves with my team and stop making them always on since I never liked them. Sure I can ignore them but it comes down to the same thing as the attractions. Sometimes you cannot avoid hitting the wrong thing. This also goes into the whole magic sucking ass in this game. Every spell is offensive and thus it just feels like it is the same. Wanna do a little small thing with some damage? Wanna do massive damage comparatively? It just feels like they wanted to simplify the whole having a summon, having a spell, having 2 items on or something along those lines. This stops you from having more options on your character and just stream lines you in to a generic build. I didn't use ice once past the first time finding out its pretty much a fire ball. I used cure, fire, water, thunder. Thunder for crowds, fire for damage, water for crowds also because I just stopped caring and cura cause I heal all my damage cause DONALD NEVER HEALS YOU. WE'RE 4000 GAMES IN MAKE DONALD HEAL BETTER. This again comes back to the limits. Let me turn them off since I do not like them. If they worked as magic they would be better cause the magic sucks ass in the game. I mostly after a while stopped doing any real care in magic and just used healing. This also comes back to the original abilities in second form that you can unlock via smacking them with your keyblade. They would be nice since the magic in the game again sucks ass so having something to use magic bar that is not cure would be a nice touch.

10: For a guy who lost his powers I sure have a ton of abilities right away - Remember when in the beginning of each game you lost all your powers and had to slowly unlock everything and it would come to you not just willy nilly? Man those were the days. Could earn powers for reasons. I'm not helpless in the game if I can run up mountains or sky scrapers. If I can glide with the shotlock from one spot to another. I'm too strong if anything at the start and it just makes you feel like the game is padding time before the small amount of story at the end that matters. This could have literally been with the final chapter prologue and it would have worked fine. But no, we didn't get that. That leads into us just spending time until something happens. The story has its own issues (which I will touch up on near the end) and it has some really bad pacing issues. There is bad pacing, and then there is bad writing because of bad pacing. Why not put some shit in the middle. Show I'm getting better instead of just having me just do everything all at once.  That's not really an issue if they space parts of it in or let me play as the other characters while sora is fucking off for power. Imagine if they added in more parts with Riku while Sora quests for strength. Imagine us going through the land of darkness instead of just Disney world after Disney world. Imagine what we could have had had it not just been all the Disney stuff then the finale all at once. It wasn't bad pacing for the end to pick up, it was bad pacing for there to be nothing in the middle. This is where the final fantasy characters could have been nice. Adding in the end of the Cloud and Sephiroth stuff so we can fight for more power there. Having us talk with Leon and the gang while they battle with some heartless just in the area and needing help. This would have made better pacing since it would have cut the monotony of the Disney grind. There are times when you just sit there waiting for stuff to happen as you run through world after world waiting for plot in general to just move forward. This does not mean it is bad pacing, this just means there is nothing important going on and leads to the story just falling short of being gripping and engaging. I again bring up the final fantasy characters because let's face it, if they did exist it would give something in general more time to flesh out. There is nothing to do but repeated disney movies that either play out like normal or that you play no real part in since it is after the story in the whole movie. Sure it was great to see what happened with boo and the monsters but Randall just is there and I'm sure he was gone at the end of the first movie. In fact after using my Disney plus account (#notsponsored) to just hit the end of the movie it shows him in a trailer getting beat with a shovel. He probably got back but still.

11: The combat is too "floaty" - I'm in the sky like fucking constantly man. Like all the time. Which is a bad thing since the fucking god damned level creation is now just a tall hallway. See I say tallway (patent pending) beause the level of the game is still pretty small but now it just also goes up a long way. I know this because there are so many flashing walls that there should be seizure warnings in the beginning of the game. It doesn't stop either since in general you have to climb high and doing so brings you ledges and if you have to hit people flying then you are gonna fall. Sure we can use magic but magic runs out and is complete ass. Now look this isn't just me saying it can happen since it does right in the hercules area. The first area where they could have been testing thing and probably did which means someone dealt with this shit and said it was fine enough to pass. That's just bad game mechanics right there. If you want me to be floaty in combat that do not put ledges I can fall down in your game. I do not want to climb all the way back to the top just to get into more fights I might fall down because of. Maybe make the parts I'm on bigger platforms. It just seems they want us to use the attractions because you can't fall off the safe attractions. Another thing is that it isn't just combat that is "floaty" but your movement is also a little too fast. Making larger areas and then making us speed up into a sprint is fine but having me stop right next to a save spot inches too short of touching it only for me to Vroom Vroom right over it because of how fast and far I move is god damned infuriating. It also continues combat wise as an issue in that once you get the ability to knock people up you start going into air combat and smacking them away and you can do that so much since in general the areas you fight in are so large that you can knock a single heartless out of the spawning area enough that you have to run back to fight it.

12: Proud mode is a fucking joke - I think I died a total of one time in proud mode which is probably more than others. See the difficulty has been said to be really easy on this games play through and I'm inclined to believe them. Here is the thing. I know critical mode now exists. I just don't like it. See critical mode was doable in 2 since it was just again harder stuff but in this it is no longer you playing KH3. It is you playing Dark Souls which if I wanted to play that kind of game I'd pop in my copy of bloodborne or turn on my copy of dakr souls 2 which in general I'm not a huge fan of so I stopped playing those games. Difficulty in a game is fine but there is going from hard to fuck why am I playing dark souls? No I'm not the kind of guy who says anything hard is dark souls because I grew up in the era of gaming where games had one difficulty and you had to learn to "get gud" or deal with never winning. Even if I was never good at games I didn't shy away from things being difficult. There is however an exception that the game changes so drastically that there is no happy medium between pants shittingly hard or baby mode. The other thing is that in general DLC should not dictate if a game is good on its own. DLC is meant to enhance the fucking experience and should not make me want to have to buy something (this was free) to get a god damned happy experience out of something that cost me top dollar to begin with. If I need your DLC to have fun or enjoy the story than you clearly missed the damned mark. DLC is extra boss battles. It is final mix of the game when it comes out. It turns your vanilla play through into more than what it once was. It adds aesthetics to the game not makes the game difficult and if it does it doesn't make the game different to such a degree that I'd rather fucking play a game that was created to be that difficult because their combat system is hand crafted for said difficulty. Secondly on that list of being too easy who the fuck thought kupo coins was a good idea. I literally just stopped giving a shit since I could use my now always full magic bar since magic is ass to heal when I needed it and to just run away with my big fucking area during battles and not take damage until I could go in and do slappies for a while before running away and gauging if I need to heal and then if I died come back to life. With all the power moves and free attractions each combat I could have beaten proud mode without gimping myself by trying to not use attractions. The forms didn't help with that either because I would just second form and have a brand new powerful thing to do since it was right there. Not only that but rage form is a full heal and why am I heartless sora again? Either way rage form into run away fast because I run like I'm form kenya with all the movement abilities and then with kupo coin and magic makes the difficulty in here easier than "just don't use it". Mostly because it is implemented in the game and they want you to use it. Telling someone not to use the thing is again stupid because if they didn't want me to use it they would remove the feature. This is no longer a kids game. I'm over 10 years older than I once was and I'm a big boy and want to not be treated like a child. Sure they could be putting it in for kids but why not just have it in easy mode since kids will either do easy mode or know they want that extra challenge.

13: Many of the fights and heartless are just not that good compared to earlier games - So firstly the giant horde of heartless was cool one time. Each time you fight it it gets more and more boring and feels like a cop out on trying to make a good battle and a "oh man this is such a cool idea lets use it alot more than we need to". For a game that was in development for 6 years you think they would have more varied enemies and fights and by that I mean more better heartless. Also some of the heartless are just kinda eh in general. Not only that but the places we visit feel like the heartless are kinda thrown in there and they just made way less enemies than normal. Maybe that is me forgetting if other games did the same thing but I can remember many places having more unique enemies that made more sense. Like why is the monkey heartless here? This is not the time to return to monke or some shit like that and it makes 0 sense when I have to fight it in more than one area. How about the lady heartless with the umbrella. Doesn't fit in every single place it shows up and just feels like it is there. Sometimes they do a nice job putting in certain heartless such as the reindeer which I thought was a nice touch but i don't remember them interacting at all with the reindeer from frozen. I also in general remember each heartless having a newer form such as the fat heartless eventually turned into fire breathers and then eventually into shield dudes. They do not make a reappearance but the fat ones show up all over the place and it would be nice to fight things that are great for the area. Some just also have eh designs and the game just feels poorly made because of it. Some bosses are just boring as well. In fact off the top of my head I can't really remember one I like but I sure as shit can remember the one I hated most which happens to be the airship section where you board a machine gun heartless to fight that sky bird thing in the pirates section. I even found the robots in general tedious because they were hard to beat without the use of the robot suits and felt like another tacked on gimmick to use to make combat more easy. Had they been a single section and not everywhere in the store it would have been cooler but instead we had many fights to do with robots who almost always wrecked my shit. In fact it ruined combat a little for me in general and made the section of toy story a little less good. See most of these issues I have with the places are the grand scale of things and having to go back and forth with them with having really unmemorable heartless for the most part and just not finding the game to be that great with some of the more important parts. Enemies help to flesh the game out to be cooler and as much as I love the generic heartless the worlds make the heartless cooler by making them change to be better suited for the world they are in. Having extra enemies like nobodies and unversed without having much of a reason to have them there other than "you remember this right?" seems like a waste of design chances. Some just either were frustrating tank sponges and the others were just not good. The other issue is some bosses appeared numerous times and just didn't feel impressive when fighting them since they just keep coming back. The giant heartless who I saw in hercules mode coming back on the bridge where you first meet Baymax makes the scene not great since it is a simple color swap at most and it is the same thing again. A lot of the bosses in general just feel ok at best too design wise. I can look back at many of the designs and just name really enjoyable ones who are better than the ones we got here. Honestly the designs are just so much of a let down I don't even wanna revisit the stages which is good because the game just isnt that much fun. One of the more unfun parts of enemies is also the shield stuff they have sometimes which is just more ways to give them extra health. Why not just in general just give them more health since it is just a way to beef them up? Not only are they now mostly damage sponges but the fact that some turn into shielded damage sponges just makes me less happy to fight things. The worst version of unfun boss happens to be the lich at the end when you need to rescue everyone from it. The thing is that it not only takes forever and makes you have to fight it numerous times but it also has the ability to make you unlock from it and in such large areas that becomes tedious to deal with lengthening the entire fight from the already long fight it is.

14: Quick speed round of things I don't like that are just not as good as earlier games - Magic sucks in this game. It's all relatively the same since it is all offensive. Aero was in general the same as thunder since it is aoe with a secondary effect. Water, Fire, Ice are all the same as they shoot a ball of the element that homing devices onto an enemy and when not in general locked on fucks off wherever. I miss the older spells and how they worked and felt more unique in 2 while also having more than just offense. Maybe introduce more spells to the next main entry based on the spells of every other game? I'm just not a fan of some of these worlds as they are all new. I haven't had a chance to catch most of the new movies (even thought I have disney plus which is great you should totally buy it #stillnotsponsored) I just don't like some of the places and the mini games in the don't help. Slight inconvenience but making me have to press x as I load new levels is kinda dumb. Maximus should be a party member. Give me him instead of eugene. Why do I need the flowmotion to progress? Hooray WATER LEVELS MY FAVORITE. Crabs. Watch me beat davy jones in a 4 on 1 battle.Darkubes are dumb. Jesus christ Jiminy shut up I'm trying to grind in the best place for the end game. Oh look it's an organization member maybe I can figh....nah they gone now. THERE ARE SO MANY CUTSCENES.

15: 2 final things before the story issues - Playing as other characters, keyblade forms. One of the biggest gripes I had in this was each time I used a new keyblade i wanted to fight with it and not transform into a new form because I do not like the new forms. They do nothing for me and since they kind of all are ok at best that it just kinda feels meh to me to use them. I pretty much used the kingdom key because second form was fine and stayed a keyblade. If anything I would rather have a new style of fighting like second form in general like the original forms are in KH2. I like valor and wisdom form and as cool of a call back as it was for the 2 first keyblades to be given to you I don't like the final ability to be used which makes me less inclined to find a weapon I do like. Which leads into my second final gripe. I was really excited to play as multiple keyblade wielders. Playing as mickey in 2 was super fucking cool and I miss that. Playing as Aqua and Riku in this made me hope for eventual fights at the end where it was each person fought someone else and you would get an ability to play through a final area for extra boss fights as any character for extra gameplay. I was excited to see what Axel and Kairi could do since in general they finally had moments to shine. You could make them fight and even if they did win just have them lose via cutscene and bring back Roxas and have Xion turn to your side. So many issues I have with that because it goes into another issue of.......

16: Everyone but Sora is fucking worthless - I have seen Dragonball GT and the main main main main main issue I have with that show is no one matters except Goku. See in other series characters could fight and kill or do something against the not main villain and be worth a damn but when GT happened everyone kinda just. Became worthless. No one could win a fight except Goku especially near the end when they had him fight 7 dragons. Sora does the same here when he has to be involved the final boss rush in the game. I'd have liked to see other characters stand out but even then he is the only one who can fight Xehanort when Mickey failed to do anything. It was all sora. Even waking Aqua was all sora. The only time someone did something was when Aqua fought Vanitas and still got her shit kicked in at the end during the cinematic and at that point he just didn't wanna fight 3 people. This is a shame because as I already said it would have been cooler to have those characters fight people and it matter. Let's break down the people who would be on our side Riku Kairi Axel Roxas Terra Ven Aqua Xion Sora Mickey Thats a total of 10 different people to play as. That would have made the final boss fights unique and super cool. You say that would have taken so much time and I say "Cool" but it would have been cooler to fight as these different characters. If they put in 2 extra just do them all. It is the most let down of let downs in gameplay mechanics. Who could they have fought in the game? Let's look at the villains Xigbar Marluxia Terranort Young Xehanort Xemnas Ansem Larxene Luxord Older Xehanort Evil Clone Riku Vanitas Saix Xion There are 12 total people to fight that are not the original Xehanort and each one could be fought with someone totally different. If Xion fights twice but wasn't really trying the first time she can be fine for the second battle. Let's give everyone a person to fight. Let's get the easy ones out of the way. Remember the ones who we fight first don't matter as much because each person not Older Xehanort do not matter even if they are him in other forms. Terra as the lingering will is gonna fight Terranort and get his body back. Riku can fight Ansem who tries to use his darkness and their past against him. Kairi can fight Xion who is noticed to not even be trying and then kairi can be captured to still do the ending they planned for. Xion who now defects can join and fight Larxene Axel can fight Xemnas and lose leaving him almost die while Roxas can jump out and fight him instead Ventus can finally defeat Vanitas Aqua can fight and defeat Xigbar who she has some history with Sora can fight and defeat Luxord so he can give him the card he was going to give. This fight can be more simple than the others and Sora can have to fight against the other Riku Mickey can fight Marluxia Before losing his fight with Xemnas Axel can fight and beat Saix We get to the final battle and while Sora who ran off to find Kairi he has to get through Younger Xehanort to get to the older one.

Look at that clean battle line up. Throw them in the correct order and you can have fights with so many people and even do the stuff needed for it to make the story go smoothly. Everyone gets to be unique and have their day in the sun. The final fight would be sora and gang fighting Xehanort and since the end game would be choose who fights who you can literally have over 120 different fights total if you leave out Donald and Goofy from the sora versions of fights. Heck allow us to fight the final boss final main form and we can in general have even more as we fight him with each character.

17: What is the difference between a heart and a soul? - This is a simple question because they keep saying we don't need the bodies cause we still have their hearts and I'm just having troubles figuring out if the story writers know the damn difference between a heart which is a physical thing or a concept of the soul which is the metaphysical thing. You know like what makes you you.

18: Why doesn't Axel have 2 keyblades? - Like I like that he holds it the way he does, it's very him very unique and all that but if Roxas can have 2 and he gets one from Xion who is no longer a part of him because she is right there than why can't Axel who is specifically a dual wielder of weapons get 2 of them? I mean give the main a sword that is like a Chinese Dao sword combo. It literally is a blade that turns into 2 blades. Like don't even tell me that shit is unable to happen cause Ventus fucking gets that strange keyblade because it is unique to his style so if that is how it works and they all have based on their personality he should have two. Especially since it would be a great call back to my favorite Axel line in the entire series. "Two!?"

19: Clone Riku should not be a boss - Remember when we beat the shit out of Riku as Sora and then Riku clone and then Riku beat Riku clones ass? He's not a challenge. "He was given more darkness powers" Nice, cool cop out there. Fuck you.

20: Why kill everyone just to set up a story line when you could just do it better - So this one is a little subjective. Need sora to meet Chirithy or whatever its name is and maybe set up remind dlc or whatever but in the end you could have just broke his spirit from his body and put him in the other world by making Xehanort who tried taking him over show him everyone dying and it causing Sora to blank out and travel there as a spirit or some shit. It could have worked just as fine allowing the rest of everyone else to go fight the enemies at the end giving sora time to eventually wake up and join in while Donald and Goofy protect him. Then when he wakes up Luxord who could have said "I'll handle the boy when he wakes up could have just did what he wanted to do with the card then. It's just a dumb moment and we could have instead of dumb gameplay where we have to put ourselves back together and have to save everyone and re watch a stupid ass cutscene just watched a cutscene and went back while everyone handled what they needed to.

So before I get into the final 4 parts to get into I hope that you know I was trying to be really fair with a bunch of these and not just looking for things to gripe about. When I didn't understand things I made myself look up to make sure I understood and didn't just bitch about it for the sake of bitching. These last 4 things are kind of in general I beleive super fair.

1: The battles stop as you talk with each person - Nothing kills a fight sequence like starting it, defeating a single enemy in it, talking with a full blown conversation to them, then as they die restart with another fight scene to do it with every single person in the fight. WHY WOULD MARLUXIA AND LARXENE ALLOW LUXORD TO GIVE HIM A CARD? Why would they stop fighting? Why would Ansem, Xemnas, and Young Xehanort watch as one of the others fell and talked? Why would any sane fucking person do that? It makes 0 sense and ruins that boss rush.

2: I know you need to set up another game but fuck you - You literally made the happiest of endings where everything is the best for everyone ever and I MEAN EVERYONE except for Sora and Kairi. Fucking fuck you man. I'm not even mad that that was the ending but when everyone comes up fucking peaches and cream I tend to question the product even if they need to set up story. They can do it better, do what you did at the end of 2 and send a message in a bottle and say "there are still other worlds out there that need us, just not in this universe" or some shit like that. Shit if in general they can have emotions in games than have sora have to jump into the game. You already said my microwave can feel love so than if he can be in that rex universe than he can just go in after he has a nice break with all of his friends.

3: No - Xehanort was not a good guy the entire time. He literally murdered people and stole a childs body and ripped the emotions out of another child and made them not whole. He got a child so angry he murdered his new sorta dad. He pretty much was the whole reason anything bad happened and he was "misguided and wanted to good but did bad to do so". Then in the end he's forgiven and everything is fucking fine? Then he turns into a good guy and goes into the big heart in the sky. This is the kind of writing that literally kills off stories for at least me. Not everyone needs a second chance and sometimes people are just evil. We need stories that have people die at the end sometimes. I know it is fantasy and it can be all rainbows and butterflies but dear god Steven Universe was literally "no you" and that was the end of the entire fucking series. This is the same thing. It might not be "no you" but fuck this ending. This was a story that was supposed to end a 17 year long story and the end of this single part literally spits in the face of people who played it by saying "hey guys, he wasn't bad, he is sorry now". That is complete and utter horse shit. I don't mind that this is not the end of the series. I don't care because if I stuck around this long I would do the same if the story had a satisfying ending. Fuck man in the new game he's even evil then unless that is just how Kairi remembers him but let's face it. The gang would have told her what happened and this is just horse shit in general. This is a fucking stupid story and I literally am fine with alternate realities since time travel and other dumb stuff has been the main name of the game the entire fucking time but let's face it. This is one of the worst ideas for an ending for a villain. The buold up is fucking massive and the payout is just sad.

4: NO - Fucking xigbar. I don't even know how to put this into words how much of a let down it is for Xigbar, Fucking XIGBAR to be the next main enemy. (or at least it looks that way). Fucking we could have had Luxord. We could have had Marluxia. We could have had Demyx. We could have had fucking I don't know Vexen. We could have had fucking anyone but we get Xigbar. You could have slapped any other character onto his scenes and gotten the same amount of out of nowhere shit to explain him being next but it is fucking xigbar. Fucking unreal.

So yeah. That's my massive wrap up on KH3 and I personally do not know where I stand from here. Maybe if the next game doesn't play like shit in 400 years when Nomura gets off his ass and lets us have kingdom hearts 3.76 tie in to 4 which is oddly enough a main title and not a second part of 3 I'll see how it plays. Until then I think I'm gonna sit hereand never touch 3 again and never finish Melody of Memory.

[oveliagirlhaditright]

For SoKai Day/my headcanon day for Kairi’s birthday. Aqua intentionally bequeaths Kairi the Keyblade upon their first meeting, which gives her the Keyblade at four-years-old--that she then uses to force Apprentice Xehanort to stop torturing her and send her to Destiny Islands faster than he would’ve liked--but she can’t summon it when she loses her memory. But the night the Islands fell, Destiny’s Embrace returns to Kairi and she doesn’t lose her heart. Thus she gets to go with Sora on his journey from the get-go, and the story shifts. AU. Canon divergence.

https://www.archiveofourown.org/works/26506168

Hero

Chapter One

Kairi—when she eventually remembered this had happened—would always be thankful that Aqua had decided to bequeath her with a Keyblade in the moment that she had saved her...

Initially, Kairi had had her Destiny’s Embrace Keyblade when she was four and five. And she had even used it against Apprentice Xehanort to the best of her ability, when he had kidnapped. And she now thought that was what had allowed her to get to Destiny Islands (where it was safe and beautiful, and not painful and horrendous like Radiant Garden had become).

After that, she had lost her Keyblade for years. Probably because she had lost her memories. But it would appear again when Sora and Riku both needed her to have it, and that mattered more than anything in the world to her.

Three Years Earlier

The fourteen-year-old Kairi, who was now looking out at the sea and trying her best to reminisce, did not recall much from when she’d washed up on the shore of Destiny Islands and Sora had found her. She vaguely thought she might have had some sort of weapon in her hand, maybe, but it had vanished the moment her best friend had found her... and so she’d for a long time believed him, when he’d said it had just been a water gun that the ocean had carried away again.

And while a future Kairi would laugh at this—and wonder how Sora had been so blind in that moment. But, hey. Memories became hazy over time—she still became friends with him after he doubted her. And his best friend Riku, too.

And speaking of Riku… it wouldn't be until Riku went into a secret place on the Island and sought out a mysterious door there—for the second time, he would tell Kairi when she followed him in there—would the Keyblade return to her, and Kairi attempt to seal a Keyhole (after Riku had already left) and be unable to.

After that scary moment (as Kairi tried to focus on the pretty lights and colors she’d just seen from the Keyhole and not the larger parts of what was happening), some memories returned to Kairi. And she didn’t want them at all! Not of these ones, anyway, of her grandmother screaming and her being ripped away from her as she did so.

And as Kairi ate dinner with her family that night, getting ready to go on their great draft adventure, she dreaded the other shoe dropping next, as that always seemed to happen for her.

So Kairi tried to focus on the good things while she could—that it seemed like Sora was starting to realize it was okay to like orange more than red... That Riku seemed to be seeing that there was more to Selphie, after all... That she was about to be a class representative—and focused on them when Riku, later, seemed to be looking at her angrily, as she held her Keyblade in the storm. And he then tried to kidnap Sora before he fended him away with his own Keyblade: Kingdom Key, if Kairi was hearing its name right in her heart.

And as the redhead saw strange shadows all around her now… to say that she felt horrible for doubting Sora when he’d talked about these sorts of things earlier, would have been an understatement.

She should 've known it was real—even if it had just seen them in a dream—and that even though Sora had dismissed the reality of it easily when she had somewhat pressured him to... he had only done so because of his trauma of it, much like what she had done with her own memories.

"I'm sorry, Sora!" Kairi yelled out to him now, as she was almost blown off the paopu islet by the wind whipping all around them. She wanted him to know that, in case something unseemly happened to one of them on this awful night.

But Sora, being Sora, didn't seem bothered by their earlier argument at all.

Instead, he grinned at her through this tornado—grinned!—and caught onto Kairi's hand so they wouldn't lose each other. "That's okay, Kairi. But you know how you can make it up to me? By admitting that I'm cooler than Riku right now!"

And before Kairi could really react to his joke at all, Sora was already charging into battle against the massive shadow with his Keyblade in hand.

And Kairi could tell that this was something he wanted to do before he died, if it came down to it: defend her to his last breath.

And so far, he was doing a pretty good job of it! He'd somewhere gotten the clever idea to run up the monster’s arm and attack its head, which was doing some substantial damage. Kairi could tell this by how it seemed to be taking the creature more and more of its leftover strength to summon more of its minions.

Thought now there were homing lasers coming from the beast, that Sora seemed to have no idea about and were heading right for him!

But not being one to be undone, Kairi ran towards Sora as fast as she could. She meant to just wrap her arms around him and sacrifice herself for her dear friend, but she'd accidentally positioned her Keyblade just so, so that she deflected the lasers... into the monster's head, no less!

And Sora noticed what she’d accidentally done, the same moment that Kairi did and he beamed at her. "Kairi, see if you can do that again! Let's work together and try and beat the boss!"

"Okay!"

Since Sora was still more agile than her, he continued to rest on the abomination’s arm and attack its head.

Kairi, meanwhile, was attacking its one hand—being sure to steer clear of the one sphere it sometimes made—and trying to deflect lasers (Sora was, too, and he probably managed to send back one-in-ten for her every one-in-twenty).

But when their enemy found a last bout of strength to summon more and more of its minions, that was almost too much for Kairi. She had cuts all over her from where they’d attacked. And then there was darkness on the ground that tried to pull her into it like quicksand?!

"Sora, it's too much!" Kairi complained, just as the two of them har miraculously landed their final blows on the boss.

But they didn't get too much time to celebrate; the gust that had almost taken Kairi into the air before, grabbed both her and Sora now and they were thrown into the ether.

As they flew, Kairi told a misty-eyed Sora, "I'm glad I was finally able to stand by your side, Sora! I've secretly always wanted to do that, and I'm so glad that I did!"

Kairi may have heard Sora say her name after that, but she couldn't really be sure. Because soon, she knew nothing.

…

Kairi did not pass out upon entering a new world like Sora did—and how amazing it was, to think that they were in another world!—Instead, she landed on her feet... which was probably why she stayed awake, because after landing on them from the height that she did... she nearly snapped her legs in half. And oh, the pain there was great.

Sora was unconscious at the end of the small alley they were on. And once she’d deemed that she was able to walk, without hurting herself—because there had been no guarantee she hadn’t twisted her ankle from such a fall—she’d been walking over to where he was to wake him up, but a yellow dog licking his face beat her to the punch.

"Eww! Gross, doggy!" Kairi cried out for Sora’s sake. "I swear I actually like dogs—and you, I’ll bet—but I’m sure Sora won’t appreciate being slobbered on like that!

And just as Kairi had exclaimed that, and Sora began to stir, she heard a voice before her insulting their companion? And another one... calling for a Pluto? Oh! Pluto must've been the dog, Kairi realized numbly. For as soon as the puppy had heard that name, he had darted off.

And even Sora, who had only just woken up, was reaching for him; and it made sense to the redhead, because if anyone adored canines it was Sora.

"Kairi, what's going on?!" Sora asked her with a very tired voice, the moment it became clear that the little guy wasn't coming back.  "Where are we?"

"...We're in another world, Sora, if you can believe it. And it’s as advanced as our home’s become! It has cobblestones and lights that I can see just above us. Impressive, huh?" While Kairi said all of this this like a teacher telling their student something, she partly hated herself for it... Sora and Riku had wanted to see other worlds more than she had, so shouldn't they have been the ones to figure all of this out and tell her?

And speaking of Riku... Kairi had temporarily wanted to exclude him from her and Sora's trip... and now he had fallen. Was it her fault? If so, Kairi wasn’t sure how she could ever forgive herself. She had to make it right!

Sora must have noticed that Kairi had lost some of her initiative… because linking her arm with his, he began leading her into the city. "Come on, Kairi. Let's see if we can find any adults here who can help us."

And Kairi nodded sadly, as she let Sora take her away. But she tried to find some of her usual fire again, by the time they found an establishment. The last thing she wanted right now was for Sora to worry, after all. He—and they—had already been through enough.

"Yo, mister!” Kairi called out, taking a page out of Riku and Sora’s book. “Could you give us some shelter, and perhaps help us find our friends?" She and Sora had just strolled into a shop painted in green.

Before they'd come here, Kairi and Sora had gone up one story in this town, and Kairi had seen another store that was sealed off.

And when Kairi—being more daring than she even had been on the Islands for some reason—had gone atop its roof and looked down the chimney, she'd seen the most adorable little creatures!

The redhead had then been struck by the desire to try and go down the chimney like Santa Claus, in order to get to the cuties. But Sora had pulled her away from it faster than she could blink, sighting that since they didn't know if Riku was injured somewhere or not, the last thing they needed was for her to get hurt. It was then that they’d realized they needed some sort of semblance of reality.

So here they were: at another shop in this small town. And was it Kairi... or was Sora looking at her with an amused but happy expression on his face after her outburst?

But Kairi didn't have time to focus on any feelings Sora might or might not have for her right now. Instead, she was paying attention to the man coming from behind the tan counter, with a band on his waist that matched it. Kairi wondered what that was about...

"Well, if you aren't a fire cracker for a child. You remind me of someone else I know. So what can I do for you, again?”

"We-we're looking for a friend of ours,” Sora supplied, now seeming lost in thought. “Way taller than Kairi and I, with silver hair and green eyes and a huge attitude problem. This is gonna sound crazy... but we think we're in another world from our home one,"

This blond man—with hair that looked like an ice cream dip to Kairi, like Wakka's—gave Sora a sympathetic look, before sighing and returning his attention to her. "I hate to break it to y'all, but I guess I better prepare ya for this new, cruel world yer in... If your star—your world—blinked out, there's a good chance many o' your loved ones are dead."

"No, I don't believe it!" Sora exclaimed, banging his fist on the counter as he did so. And Kairi instantly put a reassuring hand on his back and leaned into him some, as she tried to not cry herself.

She wouldn't believe her friends and family from Destiny Islands were gone, any more than she believed her grandma from her home world was dead. She just wouldn't.

"Why don' ya two have another look around town, and see if ya can't find yer loved ones. Now that you've explored a little, the magic keeping the doors to the other districts sealed should be open. And then if ya still can't find anyone older ta take care of ya, I’ll do it. I’m Cid.”

“I’m Sora.”

And after Sora had introduced himself, Kairi found he didn’t have to be told twice. The two fourteen-year-olds went back outside and tried to find the door to the next district.

And as they went through said door, Kairi would spy two strange fellas who seemed to be looking for someone… just as another stranger summoned a monster!

Author’s Note: When I first played Kingdom Hearts, it wouldn’t let me go to the other districts until I explored thoroughly—I think my game was glitching some, when it did this even when I’d been all over the first district—so I decided to make that canon here.

I wish this chapter was longer, but I sadly don’t have the time at the moment.

This is the story I’ve mentioned about Kairi getting to be a hero and part of things from the get-go—that wasn’t supposed to have any shipping, as I feel fans attach Kairi to a relationship too much—but SoKai is of course in here, because it’s me. But at canon levels. Like canon KH1 levels here.

And the first part of this chapter is more telling, not showing. But I mean to have flashbacks about those parts later, that are more showing.

And while Kairi is the hero here, I’m trying to have her develop that way realistically (and not completely outshine Sora), since I still doubt Kairi ever sparred on the Island and whatnot. So she still has to learn the ropes, but she will.

[thedeliverygod]

Reasons Why I Really Enjoyed Kingdom Hearts III

The music. Every time I listen to the Kingdom Hearts Orchestra -World of Tres- soundtrack, it makes me want to play the game. The music is so much attached to the imagery and gameplay that I can’t seem to separate the two. Granted, I’ve always loved the music of the Kingdom Hearts series. But there is something about hearing music from KH3 that makes me go “wow, I really want to go play in the Kingdom Of Corona right now” etc. That’s something I never really experienced before this game; I of course relate the music to the worlds and moments that they played during, but they’ve never gotten me in the mood to immediately go turn on my console and play. Also, full Kingdom Hearts III soundtrack when??? (I suppose the answer is when all the DLC is released and the soundtrack is considered COMPLETE but... I just really want it okay.)

The visuals. Continuing off the last point... Kingdom Hearts III is G O R G E O U S. I had my doubts about the unreal engine and honestly, I had my doubts about KH getting a more detailed look in general. I enjoyed watching the FMV videos at the beginning and ends of the games but the more cartoony in-game graphics always felt like home to me. It took some time and a lot of trailers to gain my approval, but the final product was gorgeous. Granted... I honestly still have some complaints. Mostly about my old boss, our own King Mickey; I feel the new style doesn’t show his emotions very well but hopefully that’ll improve in time? Moving on from the characters... The worlds. Omg, the worlds. The detail that went into them is astounding; not to mention the effects that magic has on your surroundings when using it! And then of course, there’s the battle animations. Flashy, amusing, and destructive? A win, in my opinion, and definitely true to the Disney name.

World Building. The worlds are finally not lifeless dioramas from the movies! It always bugged me when they’d talk about climbing up a mountain or something like that, and in reality we’d pass through 2 or maybe 3 areas with very gradual elevation changes and the characters would be like “phew what a rough journey” and you’d be like “that literally took one minute but okay”. The North Mountain from Arendelle is a REAL MOUNTAIN. Like the Heartless knocked me off after I had been climbing for like 20 minutes and I felt like I had suffered an actual loss. How dare they make my perilous journey even longer by knocking me off the side of the mountain?! Luckily, I found a shortcut so it was fine, but it actually felt like accomplishing something while climbing that mountain which was... amazing. My other favorite experience was gathering together the green blocks to make the cactaur in Toy Box. Being in that play area made me feel like a kid again, I haven’t been in one of those spaces in so long and it was nostalgic and just so fun to crawl through all of those ball pits and tunnels to find those blocks. Lastly, there were finally citizens in the worlds! Mind you, there were kind of like maybe 5 designs at most that got repeated over and over... but still! It was a vast improvement from what we’ve seen in recent years.

Dialogue & Interaction. Let me tell you how excited I was that there was FINALLY DIALOGUE WHILE EXPLORING! It was so fun listening to the trios conversations and funny quips. Of course, “Look, it’s a lucky emblem!” and “This looks like a good spot to find some ingredients!” did get annoying, especially when I couldn’t find where the heck said things were, but I think an update calmed those exclamations down because I heard them a lot less during my 2nd playthrough. Adding the selfie function the gummi phone? BEST. DECISION. EVER. I had so much fun taking selfies with the various Disney characters and seeing what their reactions to the camera were. Of course, characters like Hiro & Honey Lemon knew what a camera and a selfie were, but Anna, Elsa, and Kristoff? They were just like ummm do I smile for this thing? Okay!!! And then there’s Mike and Sulley who make especially funny faces for the camera. It’s just all around a blast. Moving on to cutscenes, I know there’s been some debate about the voice direction but my personal opinion is this game is the best it’s ever been. The conversations and especially jokes (thank god) finally sound natural. In the past, things have been either just really forced or really cheesy and I’ve just sort of been like “Oh, well it’s Kingdom Hearts/it’s Disney, it’s gonna be cheesy.” But like there’s a right way to be cheesy, and the moments I’m thinking of... aren’t it. KH3 did it right. There’s still a few things that were rough around the edges, like Sora’s “unforgettable... like your face~” to Donald lol it was still really funny but it was also just like “oh my god you nerd”. Also all the jokes about Sora not being a Keyblade Master yet came off as just mean spirited to me, but that’s another subject entirely.

Character Moments. KH3 gave us a lot of what we had been waiting for. Aqua’s reunion with Sora and Riku, the boys she met on Destiny Islands so long ago. Her long awaited return to the realm of light. Aqua and Sora waking Ventus up from his long, deep slumber. Terra’s redemption and reunion with his friends. Aqua, Terra, and Ven getting to see Eraqus again and saying goodbye. Kairi and Lea becoming keyblade wielders (officially). Kairi and Xion facing off in battle. Xion and Roxas brought back to life as replicas and their reunion with Axel/Lea. Sora and Kairi sharing a paopu fruit. Sora and Namine finally getting to talk (at least, somewhat). Namine getting a body through a replica. The return of org members who had vanished after CoM & KH2 (Marluxia, Demyx, Larxene, etc). The return of Replica Riku. Others I’m probably forgetting lol.

Reveals & New Info. With the end of a saga, we have some mysteries finally answered. Of course, this game is also setting us up for a new saga, so we’ve also got a lot of lose ends. Luxu is revealed as Braig/Xigbar. The Master of Masters is shown in the secret ending after vanishing for thousands of years, but who are they? Not to mention the foretellers managed to show up after also being absent for a long period of time as well, minus Ava. What’s she up to? Who’s Yozora and why did he show up as a video game character in Toy Box but also in the same world as Riku in the secret ending? Nomura-san says that the Shibuya shown in the secret ending isn’t the same universe as TWEWY, but why bother introducing the characters and Shibuya itself if it’s not going to tie in later? What exactly is happening at the end of KH3? Is the group looking out over the ocean or looking at the tree where Sora and Kairi are? Are both scenes happening at the same time or at separate times? Why exactly does Sora vanish? What are the exact stipulations and reasonings behind all the warnings Young Xehanort gave Sora? There’s so many things I am so eager to learn about and I can’t wait for DLC and/or the next full game.

The Story Is Not Over. We’ve got DLC coming to us, and from the sound of it, a decent amount of it. At least, enough to keep us satisfied until the next game. And please, no “they should have sold us a complete game” comments. They said multiple times they had to cut content in order to release a game that fit on the disc. Also remember, KH2.8′s Birth by Sleep 0.2 -A Fragmentary Passage- was originally supposed to be the INTRO of KH3. If they fit all the content they wanted to fit into KH3... we would probably be looking at a 2, maybe 3 disc game. Anyway, good things come to those who wait, so that’s all I’ve got to say on that. 

[cutegirlmayra]

Sokai: Kingdom of Missing Hearts

More Sokai?! You bet’cha!

Prompts are on shutdown! Don’t send any in until the grand reopening is announced :)b

Prompts:

“The light of our hearts...” The mysterious man walked towards Kairi, who just recently, was still within Merlin’s training but had to flee when it was momentarily compromised.

She adjusted herself and summoned her keyblade.

“Is weak when we’re apart.” The black-hooded man finished, seeming to quote something as his mysterious keyblade began to slowly burst out hazy darkness out of it, growing rapidly as he continued. “Though they say that’s not true... I’d like the vow to remain. Let’s let light die within the dark... if we’re ever too far from its spark.”

He finished and gestured to Kairi to listen, “This poem was written by a depressed lover. I find it rather... touching... to disappear within the void of loneliness than to be too far from love’s light.”

“I... I don’t understand. What do you want!?” Kairi bundled a hand into a fist, placing it on her chest as she readied herself to fight if needs be.

“What? Not a lover of poetry?” the man shrugged, but then chuckled. “Shame... I need you to bring someone to me... someone who would come if you were separated from him... I need him to surcome to the light. Wouldn’t be so bad if you did too. I’d reunite him with his light... through the darkness swallowing you both.” he flung his keyblade back, then rapidly dashed towards her.

She went to strike, unafraid, but the image disappeared the second she did so.

“What..?” she looked around, not sure what was going on before something jammed into her side.

“AHH!!...Ahh...haaa...” she collapsed as the darkness that had surrounded the strange and unfamiliar keyblade seeped over her body.

Leaving the Keyblade in, the figure stood up straight, snapping. “One down...” He looked over his shoulder, “One to come...”

-Yen Sid’s Tower-

“Ah! Kairi!” Riku, upon the door opening to reveal Kairi laying unconscious with a strange keyblade stabbed into her side, immediately dashed towards her and gripped the side of the table. “Kairi! Kairi, open your eyes!” When she didn’t respond, his shoulders slumped and his body began to shake, turning violently to Yen Sid. “Who did this!? What did they want?”

“Calm yourself, Riku... A keyblade wielder has trapped Kairi in a never-ending nightmare realm within her heart.” Yen Sid closed his eyes, “I’m afraid if we were to remove the keyblade... her heart would be lost, and the darkness would corrupt her physical form left behind.”

He reopened his eyes and placed his hands into his long sleeves, “It’s unclear... how exactly he was able to summon the power. A forbidden poem triggers the cursed realm, but one can’t simply just utter it to bring it forth... we’re dealing with a powerful new enemy... one who seems to want mischief more than simply just chaos.”

“Isn’t that the same thing!?”

The two now looked to Axel, walking into the room, looking even more hostile than Riku had been.

“Whoever this loser is, I’ve never seen his keyblade before. EVER!” he swiped a hand out, clearly upset. “Which means he’s not apart of the organization. At least, not officially, anyway.”

“They can’t recruit?” Riku glared, but Axel flinched back, a little hurt by his expression.

“Hey! Don’t pin the blame on me! How am I supposed to know what’s going on inside those crazy ol’coots minds now!?”

“Enough. Both of you. I know you care about Kairi... but this is no time to panic.” Yen Sid looked kindly to both men, as they did take heed to his words, and looked down in frustration.

“Is there really nothing we can do? Without risking her heart?” Riku spoke up then, unable to make eye-contact with anyone. He kept his anger fixed on a point on the ground, not wanting to upset Yen Sid again, or inadvertently make Axel feel bad.

“There is a chance... But who knows where Sora has gone off too.” He seemed to be a little hopeless on that last part, but Riku quickly looked up.

“The gummiphone?”

-The Gummi Ship-

“Sora! Look out!” Donald cried out in his signature duck’s voice.

“I’m trying! Err... Hyah!” Steering through the universe to get to another world, Sora’s pocket suddenly came to life with sound.

“Hey, that’s that there Gemmiphone, right?” Goofy bent his head down to look but Donald quickly corrected him.

“Gummiphone!” he quickly jumped out of his chair, but Sora moved the ship and he was squabbling across the floor, sliding to slam his butt against the side of the ship. “Heeeyy!!!” He let out his infamous anger and swung his fists around.

“Gwosh.” Goofy put a finger to his mouth, then looked back to Sora.

“Kinda busy!” he admitted, before finding an astroid to hide behind as he sighed. He put his keyblade down, something he was using to guide them towards the world, then pulled out his phone.

“Riku? Is everything alright?”

“Not really. Before me and Mickey could start our search for Aqua, something came up.”

“Woah, Riku looks pretty serious.” Sora lightly stated to Donald and Goofy, who had come up to look over and down at his Gummiphone.

“Sora... I don’t know what’s going on with you right now, but... It’s Kairi.”

Sora’s eyes widened, bulging at her name.

“What was that? Riku, what happened to Kairi!? Is she alright? She’s with Merlin and Axel, isn’t she!?” He leaned more and more towards the Gummiphone, his worry overtaking him as Donald and Goofy looked to each other, seeing him lose his composure.

“D’wah...”, “Ohh...” the two seemed to share the same reactions.

“Not... quite...”

“Huh? Axel!”

Sora saw Axel enter the frame, scratching the back of his head as Riku adjusted the Gummiphone and tilted it towards him.

“We were compromised. Only for an instant, mind you. Merlin sent us through different portals and the guy followed Kairi, coincidentally.”

“The guy..? Wait, where’s Kairi!?” Sora gripped the phone, his emotions getting the better of him.

The two looked to each other, almost sharing Donald and Goofy’s expressions.

They turned back to Sora, as if making a decision.

“It’s best you head to Master Yen Sid’s, Sora. We think your power could help... it’s got to be you, Sora.” Riku nodded firmly to him.

“My... Power? Ohh...” Sora looked off and let one of his hands go from the phone, looking at it. “But my power’s not back yet... I don’t even know if...” he formed a fist, shaking it as he closed his eyes and tilted his head.

“Don’t worry, Riku! Axel! I’ll be there faster than you can say ‘Sora’s here!’.” He gave a confident smile, but once the Gummiphone was off--and after Riku and Axel nodded to his statement--he felt his whole body fall into the Gummi Ship’s chair.

“What if... I can’t even save Kairi?” He felt his head hang low.

Donald and Goofy shared a look again, before changing it to a fierce look of conviction. “Sora!!!” Donald stomped a foot down, bundling his fists together in front of him. “You can do anything, Sora! You just gotta believe you can!” he stepped back as Goofy also gave it a go, encouraging Sora as well in his own words.

“Yeah, that’s right. We wouldn’t be able to do half of the things we can now without each other. I’m sure Kairi trusts you to help her too.”

“Yeah, we’ll do this together! Like everything else!”

“D’ah! You said it, Donald!”

Sora weakly looked up to them, “Donald... Goofy...”

After giving his friends a quick look, seeing each of their smiling and confident faces towards him, he smacked his hands into his cheeks and perked up a bit. “Right!” he threw a fist up, “Kairi’s saved me so many times! I can’t let her down now!”

“Yeah!” The two cheered together, also raising their fist.

-Back at Yen Sid’s Tower-

It was a minute before Sora and the gang arrived, and when they did, they came bolting in like lightning, heading straight to Kairi.

“Kairi!” Sora raced by Riku and Axel, who let him pass as he barged into the heavy table and looked over Kairi’s state.

The darkness was swarming all around her in a moving, living smoke. The keyblade was securely in her side, but there wasn’t any blood. It was strange... even it’s design was something Sora had never seen before.

He fell to his knees, spending a moment to feel before doing anything further.

Just like Axel and Riku, though... anger filled him and he stood back up, reaching for the keyblade.

“No!” Riku swung an arm out.

“Don’t touch that, Sora!!!”

“I can’t use the power of awakening just yet-! But I can use my own power to save her!” he gripped the keyblade’s handle.

Yen Sid stood up, “Sora! Halt!” he was about to cast a spell when he noticed Sora suddenly overcome by the darkness as well.

“I... I don’t feel... my strength...” Sora, losing his fight, suddenly leaned his head back and collapsed over Kairi.

“Sora!!!” Everyone cried out, racing to his side.

Then... They all heard snoring.

“Wha?” Donald stepped to the side, shaking Sora’s body before noticing he looked asleep.

“He... Couldn’t pull the keyblade out?” Riku looked to Yen Sid, “What’s going on?”

“How... interesting.” Yen Sid lowered his once raised hand, “After being alerted of Kairi’s predicament, I thought he might act hastily. However, I never truly expected him to completely abandon trying to awaken her, and instead, diving into the realm himself...”

“He what!? Listen, not one of the things coming out of your mouth is the same as the other words that came from it just a few moments before.” Axel slightly complained, but Yen Sid seemed relatively calm by his reaction.

“The unusual keyblade tore into Kairi’s heart, which is why her physical body was unharmed. But by means of the curse embued in it, that left Kairi’s heart punctured with darkness that took her mind into another realm within her own heart. This is the reason why she seems to sleep... But her training was not all in vain, as she is filled with a powerful light.” Yen Sid began to explain, which captured everyone’s attention. He looked back to Kairi and Sora, “Kairi possesses a strong, kind heart. I worried that if we were to remove the keyblade, it may cause her to falter to darkness. I took this as an opportunity, although unfortunate, to see if her peril could lead Sora to regaining his lost power.”

“Hold up, you’re telling me you used the situation to your advantage?!” Axel burst from his quiet listening, bending his body as though ready to fight. “You’re just as bad as the organization!”

“Bite your tongue, Axel.” Riku looked back to Axel, scolding him.

“What?! You can’t seriously say you stand to reason for this guy!?” Axel swung a hand in frantic gestures, “What has the world of light come to, huh!?”

“I know it sounds kinda harsh... but it’s true. We need Sora’s power.” Riku looked down, seeming ashamed to admit it, but forcing himself too.

Yen Sid looked down as well, “I know it sounds unorthodox, but any way to help Sora regain that power as soon as possible... is crucial to our purposes in this war.”

The others remained silent, but Axel fumed quietly to himself, turning away from everyone and folding his arms. “Hmph. Nothing you say will change my point of view.”

Sora began to speak in his sleep, and the others quickly turned to listen in.

“Kairi... Wake up... I have so many... adventures... to tell you... zzzz.”

Riku suddenly summoned his keyblade, going over to free their hearts but Yen Sid threw his arm up again, “No, Riku! If they do lose their hearts, it’s over.”

Riku lowered his keyblade, “So we have to just stand here and do nothing!? My friends are trapped in an endless nightmare!” He gestured back to them. “My heart’s already been inside the darkness, maybe I can-”

“I’ll not lose another light.” Yen Sid shook his head, “We must believe in Sora and Kairi’s light. There is a second poem to the first, written by the woman before the first poem was ever conceived. She created it as though knowing her beloved would succumb to torment at her lost.”

He began to recite, as Sora’s heart glowed from the words. “Though light seems to dim and fade, never is it darkness made. Though our hearts be long gone from this world, I still believe in the eternal flame. Light connects even within the night. Let stars collide, and a path be made bright.”

Sora’s heart burst and suddenly he woke up on a stained glass window beneath his feet. It looked like... “Kairi’s heart?”

“Sora!”

He quickly looked up and gasped, a Heartless jumped at him and swiped, as he was knocked back away.

Shaking it off, he looked up to now blurred vision. The floor seemed to shift into many scenes of Kairi’s life and adventures, before being swarmed in darkness and then broken through light.

“What’s... going on?”

Kairi swiped her keyblade at the horde of Heartless that quickly formed again after the explosion of Light from Kairi’s heart.

She looked exhausted, as though she had been fighting for a long time.

“Kairi... she needs me...” He slowly gathered the strength to get up onto one knee. “Kairi!” he called out, desperate to help her. “I’m coming!”

He fell again as another Heartless attacked him, then another, and soon he was piled on by a group of them that kept pummeling into him, ripping at his back.

He tried to endure but just like before, the floor became swarmed in darkness, and then a memory from Kairi’s past broke through the last depiction and burst into light.

For a moment, relief. Sora looked around, seeing there was no more horde and quickly got to his feet, dashing to Kairi who stumbled a moment to stay balanced on her feet.

“Sora...” Her eyes seemed distant, but she reached out to him.

He immediately grabbed her, holding her close as their light combined.

“You called me out of darkness once...” He stated as the Heartless hordes grew in number again. The last memory was being overwhelmed in darkness again, and it seemed as Kairi kept summoning new light from herself, it was quickly overcome time and time again by darkness.

She was running out of happy memories to sustain herself...

Sora looked to the horde, gritted his teeth, and summoned his keyblade. He moved Kairi behind him, letting her lean a little on his shoulder and back, as he glared the massive force of dark enemies down. ‘I can do this.’ he took a deep breath, ‘No matter how long it takes..! I will do this!’

He readied himself for a showdown, his typical positioning of his bent knees and keyblade off to his side in both hands.

“It’s my turn to return the favor!”

“But... Sora... You’re powers...” She worriedly placed a hand on his shoulder, sliding it to touch his neck as he looked down. “You still have them... don’t you?”

“I... I don’t know how to awaken your heart, Kairi.” Admitting that almost broke him. He closed his eyes, unwilling to see what kind of disappointed expression she might make.

But instead, she giggled.

He opened his eyes in shock and turned to her, knowing the horde was about to pounce at any second now, their numbers overwhelming at this point.

“I’ve missed you, Sora.” She lightly smiled to him, then tilted her head in a cute sense of trust. She was unworried, how could that be?

“I meant your other power,... don’t you know? The one you never can lose.”

“H-huh?” Sora tilted a little more towards her, his ear now right up by her mouth as he didn’t notice the proximity at the moment.

The horde jumped forward.

“You really don’t know? It’s your smile, Sora... Darkness just can’t stand to be around it.”

In that moment, light overwhelmed the darkness, and Kairi and Sora’s combined light began to lift them out of the dark nightmare realm that seemed to loop in a continual struggle, due to Kairi’s unfaltering heart.

With Sora’s added strength, the mysterious keyblade began to wobble as though floppy, then stiffen and shift before disappearing in balls of twinkling light.

Sora was the first to wake up, shaking his head before Kairi got up too, placing a hand on his head and grinning kindly to him.

“Good morning, sleepyhead.”

“Ah... Kairi!” his eyes shone at the sight of her.

They embraced.

It was bittersweet though. Although everyone celebrated that the first poem was the counter-spell, Yen Sid still reminded everyone they needed further training, and to be careful.

Merlin put an even more powerful spell, thanks to Yen Sid’s instructions, and hid Kairi and Axel better for their training.

At least it wasn’t the organization... but before they all left back to their tasks, Sora and Kairi spent a second to say...

“You have to continue the fight, Sora! I’ll complete my training, just you wait and see!” With that never-ending supply of positivity, Kairi was bubbly with energy.

“Heh.” Sora flicked his finger under his nose, “You never change, Kairi... Though you do get stronger every time I see you. It’s hard to believe that just a little while ago, you had a keyblade sticking out from your side.”

She confidently put her hands to her hips, mimicking her younger years, and leaning towards him, accusingly. “Are you saying I should be complaining?”

He shook his hands out, “No, no! It’s just... I’m kinda torn.” He looked down, admitting how he really felt.

Kairi straightened up, dropping her playful act a moment and listening to him.

“You want to stay... don’t you, Sora?”

He nodded, “Who wouldn’t want to be... with the people they love more than anything?” he seemed to be referring to Riku too, and she smiled at that innocence.

She didn’t take it the wrong way, but... she knew the feeling... and knew what more to say.

“Tell me all about your adventures when you get back. Don’t miss a detail, okay? I want to know everything.” she put her hands behind her back, tilting her head with a modest nod.

It was heartbreaking, but also sweet.

Sora, wishing he could give her one last hug, stepped forward to try for it but then harshly pivoted, ducking his head from her view to hide the painful realization that if he did so, it may hurt them both worse...

“I promise... Wait for me, Kairi!” he shook a fist and then looked up to give her back a overly happy grin.

“Will do!” she chimed before taking a step forward... and then rushing into him with a big hug.

He was taken aback... maybe they were both stronger than he thought.

He hugged her, knowing she was his true strength.

“So long... Sora.” Was she... gripping him tighter?

He knew exactly what she was feeling now, and pulled her even deeper too, digging his head into her shoulder. “Em... Wait up for me.”

“I’m always with you... in your heart... Sora.” she pulled away, but it was hard for the both of them.

It took them a moment, but they finally looked back into the other’s glossy eyes.

“And I with you... Kairi.”

He began to let her go... slowly... before dashing to the Gummi Ship.

She lingered in the moment, watching him rush up the lowered panel that lead into the Gummi Ship before stopping abruptly... looking back, and giving her an energetic wave.

She giggled, waving back just as much. ‘I’ll always miss you, Sora...’

‘I’ll never, ever forget the strength of your light... The presence of your heart... Kairi.’

They both slowly lowered their hands... their eyes turning kinder, before the two headed off.

“You, uh... You didn’t want to give him the letters?” Axel, feeling a bit like a third wheel, still had a hand up and behind his head.

“They’re more for me, remember?” She just walked right passed him, a smile still apparent on her face. She nodded cheerfully, but he could tell there was a quiet sadness there.

“You know... you don’t always have to be so strong.” He walked after her but stopped when she paused. “Just saying. You’ll miss him, right? So it’s okay to have... a shoulder to cry on.” he patted his shoulder with the hand that was behind his head, winking slightly as though to keep everything light.

The wind of the Gummi Ship taking off blew her hair gently back...

She turned around with a sly look, “You say that as though I need to cry.” She then looked up after the Gummi Ship, “But I know we’ll be together again... maybe not now, or even soon... but we will. We’re connected by an unbreakable bond... Our hearts are always filled with the connection of light. We won’t shut them out in fear of losing that connection, that path towards each other...” she shook her head, closing her eyes a moment in the sunlight, “I’m not sure what darkness thinks it can do... but darkness strives to sever the connection of hearts... that’s why, nothing good can dwell in it.”

As she opened her eyes, she was surprised to see Axel staring at her in the way he used to when reminded of something he forgot.

“What?”

“Oh, nothing! Sorry...” He looked away.

“Axel...” she lightly scolded.

“I mean-! It’s just so wholesome.” He faked it off, pretending it wasn’t the thing he couldn’t remember, but Kairi just smiled and followed after him.

She didn’t look back.

She didn’t need too.

Sora was right here... in her heart. She touched it lightly, and Sora--sitting within the Gummi Ship--touched his too.

Neither would succumb, because love can’t exist in darkness.

[aliceslantern]

Until We Meet Again, a Kingdom Hearts fanfic, chapter 4

The last thing Ienzo expects is to fall in love during the war. Unfortunately, impulses are much harder to fight when one is human. But then Demyx disappears under mysterious circumstances... and leaves Ienzo in a wholly unexpected and indelicate situation. But how to deal with such a thing when he can barely deal with being human?

Chapter summary:  Ienzo tries to raise the child on his own, but his hope for Demyx's return won't quite die.

Read it on FF.net/on AO3

---

Dilan and Aeleus visited him and the baby later in the day, when their rounds permitted. “What a secret to keep,” Dilan muttered, shaking his head. The newborn, in his arms, looked even smaller than she actually was. “ Really , Ienzo. Are you so terrified of inconveniencing anyone?”

He swallowed. Only Even knew of her true parentage, and Ansem and Aeleus had been too tactful to ask.

“Never thought you would become a parent first,” Dilan murmured. “Yes. Where is the creature that put you in this situation? I should pay them a visit. ”

Ienzo swallowed. “I’m not sure,” he said honestly. “But it… It wasn’t his fault, Dilan. Blame… faulty contraception.”

“Who was it? You’ve hardly left the castle in all this time--and this must’ve happened during--” His eyes went flat. “Ienzo.”

“Dilan.”

“Really? Demyx ? You couldn’t find yourself some village boy if you were that desperate?”

He scowled. “It wasn’t like that. He’s different than you remember, Dilan, there was more life in his eyes--”

“His gold eyes. And yet he still left you, and in this situation.”

Ienzo swallowed. “I didn’t know until six months out. If he truly left --that wasn’t the reason why.”

“And you haven’t been able to reach him?”

“...No.”

Dilan looked at Ienzo’s (still unnamed) daughter. “You love him,” he said simply.

He took a breath. “I do. Yes. I know it… makes no sense. But I’m so tired of fighting how I feel, Dilan. I know there’s no point hoping he’ll come back.”

“...He may never know about her.”

Ienzo felt a stab of pain. “Maybe not.”

A sigh. “Torrid drama, is it not?”

---

Ienzo found himself more scattered than ever before. His daughter needed a name. Dilan’s words haunted him, and Ienzo realized that he had been hoping for him to return somehow, miraculously.

Did I really mean so little to him ? Had this just been a fling on Demyx’s part? Something to pass the time? Did Ienzo truly understand him at all? Had he been wrong?

He devoted himself to study of a different kind, parenting books, books of baby names. Nothing seemed to fit quite right for a long while, until he happened to find a damaged photo of his mother while cleaning out a drawer for her clothes. Cara.

While he did have help from everyone else, Ienzo still felt very much… alone, other than his daughter. Mentally, he found it almost impossible to focus on work, even when he brought the baby with him. Mostly he felt very… tired, and constantly stressed that he wasn’t good enough for Cara.

About three weeks after her birth, he was giving her one of her night feedings. She had a little bit more awareness now, was able to keep her eyes open for periods of time, though they were still unfocused. She looked up at him hazily from her place at his breast. Ienzo looked out the window, rocking slightly in the rocking chair that had been dragged in. He found himself trying not to fall asleep, silvery moonlight dancing along the wall.

A loud crash in the hallway startled both of them, Cara losing her grip and starting to cry. Ienzo shushed her, a thick fear coming over him. Heartless were much rarer these days, but they weren’t gone . He reached for a spell and crept towards the door. “It’s okay, love,” he whispered to her. “I’ve got you.”

Slowly, Ienzo opened the door. There were sconces in the hallway, but the light was dim, and he squinted in the gloom. He held magic in one hand, ready to throw the spell, only to hear a voice, one that made his heart stop -- “Wait, wait, please don’t--Zo?”

He exhaled heavily.

“I’m sorry. I’m sorry I was gone--” He stumbled. He sounded dazed.

“Demyx?”

He came into the light. He was worse for the wear, his hair lank, his face gaunt. His eyes were teal, not gold. Ienzo’s breath caught. Perhaps at his reaction, or his tight grip, Cara started to cry. “What’s that you’ve got?”

More footsteps, and then Ienzo saw Riku , of all people. “He ran ahead of me,” the boy said, panting. “We were looking for Sora and I found him--he asked for you.”

Ienzo could not move. Cara was still crying quietly, so he loosened his grip.

Demyx squinted. He was wobbling a little, his skin sallow. “Is that a… baby? Why do you have a--” He collapsed into a crumpled heap.

Riku crouched down next to him, and gently, Ienzo did too. “Thanks for bringing him,” Ienzo said numbly. His heart was pounding; with his free hand, he reached to take Demyx’s pulse; it was erratic.

“Of course,” the boy said. “He’s… a character, but he helped us. And I’d figured I’d get a status update on Kairi while I was here.”

“I should call Even. He looks very unwell.” He took out his phone, his hand shaking.

He nodded. Then, “...So… what’s the story about that?” Gesturing towards the baby.

Ienzo hesitated.

Riku raised a hand. “Right. None of my business.”

He swallowed. “She’s… mine. Actually… ours. ” Pressing his fingers against Demyx’s forehead. The other man had a fever, his skin flushed, sweaty.

His eyebrows shot up. “ Oh. ”

“It has been an unexpected situation,” he mumbled. “Putting it lightly.”

“I bet. Well… uh… congratulations, I guess.”

Ienzo sighed. “Thanks. Can you help me with him? Please?”

---

Demyx was thankfully easy to stabilize, though he wasn’t in good shape. It seemed as though he’d been living rough for quite some time; he seemed much smaller and thinner than Ienzo recalled. Ienzo saw the veins in his skin, faint splotches and scratches of bruises. With a jolt, he realized that the bed they’d placed him in was the one where he’d given birth--though it weren’t as though there were many options.

The relief was almost as strong as the nerves. He came back. He really came back. The heavy sense of loss and loneliness had eased. But how to explain Cara? “I haven’t seen you in months, here’s our daughter?” He couldn’t help but feel a bit smug when Dilan stuck his head in.

“Seems to be human,” Even said softly. His lip curled. “He must’ve really wanted to see you, to beg for you in such a state. Does that make you happy, Ienzo?”

He scowled, but then, “At least he can meet our daughter.” Cara was awake and blinking stiffly.

Even sighed. “Barring unforeseen complications, he should recover. Fever, malnutrition, and he was also anemic, which explains the collapse. I just--” He put a hand to his brow.

“What?”

“I suppose there really was some change,” he said softly. “He clawed his way back to you. Who’d have thought.” A groan. “I suppose things will get interesting now. Let’s see how he reacts.” He patted Ienzo’s shoulder. “Shout if you need me.”

It seemed to take eons for Demyx to come around; Ienzo was actually in the middle of feeding her when he heard him stir. Demyx gasped a little. “Zo,” he said, struggling to sit up. “Zo, I’m so--”

He turned back to him from the window.

Demyx squinted. “Is that… are you… I thought I dreamt the baby…”

“Not quite.” He sat down in the chair next to the bed.

He took a quick, almost pained breath. “Is it--”

“She’s ours.”

He blinked quickly, his eyes watering. “Oh,” he said. “Oh. I… I’m sorry, I tried to… I’ve been trying to get back for months , but I lost that power, and…” He was trembling. “I only ran because I didn’t want him to find me and hurt you if he knew we--”

His lips twitched in a hesitant smile. “What happened to the phone?”

He exhaled, unable to take his eyes off the baby. “Busted,” he said. “My power flared all weird when I lost the piece of his heart. Completely fried the circuits. I looked for months for a way to get back--I ended up seeing Riku almost by accident. And I knew that was my only chance.”

Ienzo hesitated. “I don’t know what I thought,” he said. “What happened between us was so new --”

He made an odd noise. “I’m a lot of things, but if I wanted out I would’ve at least texted you. No.” The tears ran over. “I felt like I finally had something to hold on to--to fight for--and then…” He reached out to touch Ienzo, his face. “I’m sorry.”

“You came back. That’s what matters.”

“She’s really mine?”

Ienzo nodded. “I didn’t even know until six months into the pregnancy. Almost no symptoms.”

He gasped out a sob. “Could I--”

Ienzo helped him sit up and eased Cara into his arms.

“I can’t believe I missed you,” he said to her. “I’m so sorry.”

“You came back.”

“You were alone with her.”

“Not really. Not quite.” He sighed. “Though explaining it to the others was… well. I went into labor before I could manage it. Quite dramatic.”

Demyx laughed through tears. “I want to be better,” he said. “I want to… help you, Ienzo.”

He leaned forward to kiss him. It tasted like salt and potential.

“Give me a chance to make it up to you,” he said. “I don’t care if the others hate me--I can’t believe--” He hugged Cara gently. “I’m a dad .”

“We both are.”

“I’m not alone anymore.”

Ienzo realized he must’ve been for months, however long it took him to find his way back, dealing with new humanity on his own, only clinging to the hope of seeing Ienzo again. “No. We aren’t.”

---

Once he’d gotten medicine and a few square meals, Demyx seemed more like himself. Humanity had softened something in his eyes--so had fatherhood. He adored Cara, and for the first few days would barely let anyone else touch her. Ienzo would catch him at odd moments singing softly to her, or just talking, like she was much older than just three weeks.

Ienzo was relieved. Having someone to share the moments with--and the night feedings--made him approach parenthood with less dread, less fear.

“He found out about her and he stayed ,” Dilan said softly. He and Ienzo watched Demyx feeding Cara in her new nursery. “I’d thought--well, hoped, really--to put the fear of god in him.”

Aeleus and Ansem had looked for a crib and other extra furniture in the castle, and had luckily find things still serviceable. All of these things ended up in one of the apartments in the castle, so Ienzo could live near her. ...And so could Demyx. Even hadn’t exactly been happy about that.

“Child, that’s part of how you got in this situation in the first place,” he’d hissed.

“He deserves to be near her too,” Ienzo said levelly. It wasn’t like he could have sex at the moment anyway, at least not for another few weeks; they were both too exhausted to be in that mood anyway. “He’s been nothing but good with her since he arrived.”

“I’m shocked, honestly,” Even said. “So wishy-washy, that one.”

“He’s always been alone,” Ienzo admitted. “He’s always wanted friends, family, someone… and it never worked out. It’s changing him. She’s changing him.”

“She’s changing you too,” Even said, squeezing his shoulder gently. “You deserve happiness, Ienzo. You deserve to pursue something for yourself.”

“Do I?” he asked softly.

“After twelve years of servitude to that awful creature? I should say so.”

“And of our mistakes?”

“Worthy of redemption,” Even said.

“I still must work to make a better world,” he murmured. “To-- help --I want to be good for her so badly.”

“And so you shall.”

---

As the weeks passed, and Cara grew, so did their relationship… their family . Seeing how well Demyx took care of their daughter, Even begrudgingly began to accept their love for what it was.

Demyx was a good father. He knew how to soothe her moods (because, it seemed, she had inherited Ienzo’s temper), how to get her to sleep, how to make her smile and laugh. There was a light and life in his eyes that Ienzo had never seen before; a maturity, too. It only increased the pull between them. He’d never seen Demyx work hard at something before. Ienzo was able to go back to helping investigate Kairi’s heart, to helping make the world better. But both Cara and Demyx were always at the forefront of his mind. He didn’t think it was possible to love so much, and so hard.

“The only thing I wish is that I could’ve been here with you,” Demyx said, one evening after they’d gotten Cara to sleep. “I wish I’d never left.”

“I wish that too,” Ienzo admitted, brushing his finger along Demyx’s cheek. “Demyx, if you’d have told me of your concerns… we could have figured it out. We could’ve protected you.”

“I’d done enough of hiding behind people, and making people work for me,” he’d said. “The minute Vexen asked me to help him… I don’t know. It… showed me there was a different way. I was needed . It felt good.” He laughed a little. “Honestly… I thought if I worked hard… it would make me look better for you.”

“It did,” Ienzo admitted. “Knowing you wanted to help changed everything.”

Demyx kissed him softly. “ You changed everything. At least for me. And then she did.” He glanced over his shoulder towards the cracked door that was their daughter’s nursery. “I know I can be more.”

“We both can,” Ienzo said. “I used to think I was a monster. But now… not so much.”

“Our life is ours now,” Demyx said. “Finally.”

“Finally.” Ienzo kissed him again, for a longer time. “I… look forward to it very much.”

---

It took Ienzo time to genuinely fall in love with Cara. He loved her; he would do anything for her. But in the beginning, before Demyx, she had been a source of stress. It was still stressful now, but seeing her learn and grow, and having a family to do it with, made it so much easier. He felt affection towards her more easily, especially when he nursed; it became less of a chore to do so. Ienzo found himself telling her stories, letting his power build the world around them, fairy tales, the stories of the good parts of his early life. The more awareness she gained, the more he loved it.

Ansem and the others were unexpectedly good sports about it; Even especially. He would stomp and pretend to huff in annoyance if Ienzo asked him to watch her for a few minutes, but Aeleus told him that often Even would ask to take her from him if the man was babysitting. Once, Demyx caught him cooing over her when he thought nobody was looking, and showed Ienzo a covert video he’d taken of Even singing Cara a lullaby.

For the first time since he’d been human… Ienzo thought he might be happy. He still had so much to do and so much to make up for. But the days lost the awful, dreading quality they’d had; he found he was able to work better, smarter.

“I’m glad,” Demyx said softly. “I know it was a… surprise , but I… I don’t think I could imagine life without her.” Cara looked up at him hazily.

““Surprise” is putting it lightly,” Ienzo said, chuckling a little. “She really didn’t let me know she was there. But I… know what you mean.”

Demyx met his eyes. “I couldn’t imagine it without you either,” he said. “If not for you… I don’t know. Where would I be? What would I be? Icky.”

Ienzo touched his throat. If not for the Riku replica, he'd still be Zexion… which… "I know what you mean." Cara curled a tiny fist around his finger. "What do you want, Demyx?"

"To take care of both of you. To make music."

"That will satisfy you?"

"I wanted not to be alone, and I'm not," he said. "What about you?"

It crashed over Ienzo, and his eyes watered. He thought of forgiving and being forgiven by his family, but… without rebuilding those bonds forgiveness was a selfish act. "I wanted that too."

Demyx leaned over to kiss him. "Us against the world."

He smiled. "Indeed it is."

"I can't wait to teach her everything. And--god. No shortage of grandpas, huh?"

"I think Dilan would kill you if he heard that." He chuckled. "But yes… there's so much to teach her. Her generation is the first to… be free of that mess. To be normal. " A tear broke free. Demyx brushed it away. "I have to make it worth it." He kissed her, and she snuffled. "I have to."

"We will." His eyes grew sharp, serious, and Ienzo felt a rush of love. "I won't leave you again."

"That so?"

He pressed his forehead against Ienzo. "I promise."

---

Demyx kept that promise.

Cara grew older, started toddling around, babbling. She looked more like Demyx, to Ienzo's pleasure, but seemed to be more like him in countenance. The weeks, months, years seemed to pass quickly. Sora returned… Ienzo turned his efforts towards helping the restoration committee and raising his daughter.

Demyx stayed. Their relationship took root, gave him a sense of someday, of waking up next to each other and thinking they might do this always, of… perhaps having a child on purpose. But those were thoughts for later.

"I suppose I should thank you," he murmured to the child in his arms after she had so hesitantly fallen asleep. "You made me see." He didn't think he could love at all in the beginning, much less so selflessly. He set her down gently in her crib and thought about the future.

[phoenix-downer]

Of Which Reason Knows Nothing - Chapter 2

I’m happy to post the second part of the project @chibiranmaruchan and I collaborated on! (You can find the first part here). They drew the art, and I wrote the fic. Working with them was a lot of fun, and I’m really happy with what we’ve created. I will also be posting this story to FFN and AO3 if those are your preferred reading spot(s).

Length: ~3000 words

Summary: Kairi may have lost someone important, but she isn’t alone, and she isn’t without hope. And her mysterious dreams just might have a clue as to Sora’s whereabouts…

Characters: Kairi, Sora, Riku

Additional Info: Implied Kairi/Sora, Riku and Kairi friendship. Post-Kingdom Hearts III. Referenced Character Death. Guilt, Grief/Grieving, Angst, Comfort, Dreams, Friendship.

Enjoy!

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That night, Kairi wore Sora’s hoodie to bed again. Maybe it wasn’t related to her dream at all, but it couldn’t hurt to wear it, just in case there was some sort of connection. 

As her eyes flickered shut, she murmured, “Sora, if you’re out there… if you’re trying to reach me… I’m listening.”

Neon lights, flashing colors. An enormous city with skyscrapers pointing towards the moon, trying to reach the heavens but getting pulled back down to earth. Water on the ground in puddles as raindrops splashed into them, disturbing the surface of the water, reflecting the surroundings like a mirror. 

She was back. She was back in the same place as before. 

White paint on the ground. Lots of lines running across the street. Big billboards running dozens of different ads at the same time. Cars with bright lights, too bright in the dark. The sky a strange shade of purple with ominous black clouds. A big white tower with the numbers 104 in neon red letters. 

She glanced at one of the puddles nearby. A face with blue eyes and spiky brown hair stared back. Lifting her hand, she gasped at what she saw. It wasn’t her hand. It was Sora’s, and he was holding a small black pin with a skull-looking emblem on it. He turned it over, and the whole world seemed to go wonky.

“Huh?” He dropped the pin and clutched his head.

“Sora!” she cried, but he couldn’t hear her. His Gummiphone buzzed in his pocket, and he pulled it out. 

The message said: 

Reach 104. You have 60 minutes. Fail, and face erasure. 

—The Reapers.

“Huh?!” 

He put his phone back in his pocket. Pain shot up his arm, and he winced and looked at his hand again. Engraved into his palm were black numbers with yellow outlines and a red background. 

59:49. 59:48. 59:47. They kept changing, kept… going down. Kept decreasing with each passing second. When he looked at the 104 building again, it said YOU HAVE 7 DAYS in big red letters against a black background. 

“Sora!”

But the dream was over, and her eyes flew open. Fingers shaking, she grabbed the Gummiphone on her bedside table. The phone rang and rang and rang as her heart raced because of her dream.

“C’mon, Riku, please, please pick up—”

A few moments later, and he did.

“Kairi?” came his familiar voice, if a little groggy. She glanced at the little time display at the top of the screen. A few minutes after six. The video kicked in, and he yawned as he wiped the sleep out of his eyes.

“Riku, I had another dream about him again,” she said, unable to hide the excitement in her voice.

Riku perked up immediately at that. “You did? What was it about this time?”

“He was in that city I saw before, only this time there was more.” She closed her eyes and pictured it now. The busy crosswalk, the building with 104 written on it, all the colorful lights and sounds. And the red and black numbers carved into his palm. “There was a countdown, on his hand,” she added, trying to include as many details as possible.

“A countdown?” Riku repeated, his voice rising.

Her eyes flew open. “Yes. I’m not sure why, but—”

“Kairi, I think I know where he is. I think I know where he is,” Riku said, and his voice had more energy and hope in it than it had since… well, since everything had happened.

She tugged at Sora’s hoodie and sat up straighter at that. “W-what? But how?”

“When we were taking our Mark of Mastery exam, he met this guy named Neku. He told me later on that Neku talked to him about a game.”

“And?”

“There was a countdown on Neku’s hand that was a part of that game.”

She thought about this for a moment. “So you think he might be playing the same game as Neku?”

Riku nodded. “Yeah. He said Neku was from this place called Shibuya. If we can find that, we can find him.”

This was it, this was their best lead ever since he’d disappeared. She said goodbye to Riku and threw on some clothes. They had to go see Master Yen Sid about this. Their friends all deserved to know.

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Kairi waited with bated breath as Master Yen Sid closed his eyes and stroked his beard. Stealing a quick glance at Riku, she wondered if he was feeling as wound up as she was right now. His face was a calm mask, but then again, he’d never really worn his heart on his sleeve the way she and Sora did.

“So, you are convinced Sora is somewhere called Shibuya, playing some sort of game,” Master Yen Sid said.

Kairi nodded. “Yes, Master. I know it may seem a little crazy—”

“On the contrary, where else would a heart go after fading from the Realm of Light? Sora did not die a normal death, and there are legends of the same thing happening to others.”

“Really?” Riku asked. “Like who?”

Kairi knew what he was thinking. If it had happened to someone else before, there might be clues as to how to save Sora. 

“There was a man who called himself the Master of Masters,” Master Yen Sid said. “He had six Keyblade-wielding apprentices, all named after the Seven Deadly Sins. Ava, Luxu, Invi, Gula, Ira, and Aced, with him as their leader: Superbia. Legend has it that instead of dying, he simply faded away, never to be seen or heard from again.”

Kairi and Riku both waited to hear more, but it soon became clear that was all.

“That’s it? That’s all?” Riku said, echoing her thoughts. “This… Master of Masters guy never returned to the Realm of Light?”

“Well, there is more to the story, but it relates to the events of the Keyblade War, and the two of you would be here for days if I were to recount it all to you. I do not think a history lesson is what you want right now. I shared this with you so you would know that the same fate that befell Sora has befallen someone else before, if the legends are to be believed. That was why Mickey tried to warn him against doing what he did, but as the philosophers say, the heart has its reasons of which reason knows nothing.”

Master Yen Sid smiled sadly, and Kairi’s heart sank. They had warned Sora not to save her and he still did? Why?

“I know it should be him here with Riku instead of me,” she said. “But if there’s anything I can do to—”

“Incorrect. You are exactly the person who should be here with Riku right now,” Master Yen Sid said. “For if Riku is to dive into realms unknown, who better to keep his heart tethered to the Realm of Light than a Princess of Heart?”

“I can do that?” Kairi said.

“You kept Sora tethered to the Realm of Light, did you not?”

“Well, yes, but… that was different, Master. My powers don’t work on other people the way they work on Sora, and I’m not really sure why, though I do have a few guesses.”

Riku raised an eyebrow but thankfully kept his mouth shut. 

“As I said earlier: the heart has its reasons of which reason knows nothing,” Master Yen Sid said. “But no matter; in keeping Riku tethered to the Realm of Light as he descends to the depths, you will be helping Sora. Surely you can see how your powers could still be used in this manner.”

“I suppose…”

“Have some faith in yourself, Kairi,” Riku said. “You kept Sora alive, and that let him save the rest of us. I know you’ll be able to pull this off.”

Kairi’s hand fluttered to her necklace. “But what if I can’t? What if I screw up again? I already lost Sora because I was too weak to stop myself from dying. I can’t… I can’t lose you too, Riku!” 

Riku put his hand on her shoulder. “You can do this, I know you can. You’re not alone. Together we’ll find Sora and bring him back.” His expression softened. “And you know how I know that?”

“How?”

“Sora believes in us. He believed he’d find you when you were lost. He never gave up on me after all the crap I pulled. So let’s believe in ourselves the way he does.” 

Riku was right. Even though Kairi had trouble believing in herself, she couldn’t deny that Sora believed in her. And she believed in him. She believed in Riku, too. And maybe that would be enough.

“Okay, I’m willing to try,” she said, and Master Yen Sid and Riku both nodded. 

“We must begin preparations at once,” Master Yen Sid said. “There is no time to waste. The sooner we can reach Sora and bring him back to the Realm of Light, the better.”

Finally. They finally had something to do besides sit around at home and grieve. Taking action felt so much better than doing nothing.

As she and Riku made preparations, she couldn’t help but reflect back on those words she’d told Sora and Riku before. This time, she wasn’t just going to protect Sora. This time, she wasn’t just going to fight. This time, she was going to act. She was going to be the one searching for Sora for once instead of the other way around. 

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The night before the mission, Kairi dreamed of Sora again. He was still in that same city, but he wasn’t at the big crosswalk anymore. He was on a side street, fighting some strange-looking creatures Kairi had never seen before. They weren’t Heartless or Nobodies, but they did look like large frogs with elaborate red and black tattoos where their legs should’ve been. And even through the dream, Kairi could sense how the atmosphere surrounding them felt. Her skin crawled and her mood dropped, and she could only imagine how Sora felt fighting them. 

When he had destroyed the last of them with his Keyblade, he stumbled against a nearby building, a store with bright red letters. His bangs were stuck to his forehead, and he was breathing hard. How long had he been fighting? How many of those things had he already fought?

But what really drew her attention was when he reached into his pocket and pulled out her lucky charm. Her heart soared at the sight of it. He still had it. He still—

“Why can’t I remember you?” he said, and his voice was anguished. 

Her heart sank. Sora didn’t… remember her? 

Why not? What had happened to him? Were all his memories gone?

“Sora?” she said. “Sora, I’m here!”

But he couldn’t hear her, and he tucked the charm back into his pocket. “Doesn’t matter. Whoever gave this to me has to be someone important to me.” He looked right at her and made a guts pose, even though he couldn’t see her. “Whoever you are, I’m gonna get home to you, some way, somehow.” He smiled, and it was so good to see his smile again. “I promise.”

She opened her mouth to reply, but the dream was over, and her eyes flew open. She rolled over onto her side, still wrapped in Sora’s hoodie, and huddled beneath her blanket as light poured through the window. 

Did Sora really not remember her? Her lower lip trembled at the thought. How could he have forgotten her after everything they’d been through? This was like when she’d forgotten him, and a lump built in her throat when she remembered how awful that had been. The memories slowly slipping away from her. The day she’d forgotten his name. The night she’d forgotten his face. The moment she realized she couldn’t hear his voice anymore. All of that came crashing back to her, and her eyes welled up with tears. 

But she and Sora had gotten through that, in the end. And his promise did make her feel a little better. Maybe the memories were all scrambled up, but they weren’t gone for good. They had to still be in his heart somehow. The bond they shared couldn’t be broken that easily.

The important thing was that he was fighting to get back to her. So she would fight to reach him, too. Whatever obstacles they might face, she and Riku would bring him home.

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“You ready?” Kairi asked as she held her hands out to Riku. They were back in Master Yen Sid’s study, and everyone else was here too – King Mickey and Donald and Goofy, Terra and Aqua and Ven, Naminé, of course, and Roxas and Xion and Axel. Even Isa was present. Admittedly, that made her feel a little uncomfortable, but at least he had the good sense not to try to talk to her. 

“Ready if you are,” Riku said with a half-grin. How he was so relaxed about this, she’d never know. Her hands were shaking a little, but when he grabbed a hold of them, a wave of calm washed over her. 

“For Sora?”

“For Sora.”

Her eyes fluttered shut, and she pictured Sora searching for her in Shibuya. Pictured Riku, pictured his heart. 

There. She could see his Station of Awakening now with its stained glass-like panels showing the people that were most important to him. Friends and family and memories spread throughout his heart. Taking a deep breath, she reached out with her light, tethering her heart to his. His memories started flowing through her mind, and she opened her eyes.

“Okay, I’m connected to you now. Whenever you’re ready.”

He looked around at their friends. “Hey, why the long faces? Don’t worry about me. I’ll be back here with Sora in no time, you’ll see.” He looked at Kairi one more time and smiled. “We won’t give up on him, because he never gave up on us. And he’s helped every person here in this room at one time or another. Now it’s time we return the favor.” 

There was a general chorus of agreement and well-wishing at that. Letting go of one of Kairi’s hands, Riku summoned his Keyblade and opened a large portal above them complete with swirling colors and elaborate designs of a bygone age. 

“Stay safe, Riku,” she said. “See you soon.”

And with that a great beam of light shot down and pulled him into the portal. Her hand was now empty, and she rested it over her heart. 

“Well?” King Mickey said. 

She smiled. “He’s okay. I can feel him.”

Everyone breathed a collective sigh of relief. 

“And… I can feel Sora’s heart, too. He may not remember me yet, but I know he will soon.”

“That’s the magic of the paopu fruit!” Goofy said, then slapped his hands over his mouth as Donald tapped his foot.

“Hey, you weren’t supposed to tell everyone that,” Donald scolded, and everyone laughed as Kairi blushed. Great, did all their friends know about the paopu fruit? Well, not surprising. Juicy gossip had a way of spreading like wildfire. 

“Hey, if the Wayfinders can bring me and Aqua and Terra back together again, imagine how powerful the real thing will be!” Ven pointed out. “Especially because you and Sora—”

“Less teasing, more practicing with your Keyblade,” Aqua chided, but she was smiling, and Terra grinned and ruffled his hair. Ven pretended to protest, but it was obvious he liked the hair ruffling and playful scolding. 

As the others started up conversations with each other, catching up on how everything had been going since everyone had last seen each other, one person in particular sought Kairi out. Naminé, still holding her sketchpad and pencil but wearing a cute new dress, blue and yellow and white. 

“Kairi?”

“Yes Naminé? What is it?”

“I know you’re feeling sad about Sora forgetting you, but I doubt those memories are gone for good. Look at Xion,” she said, gesturing at their friend, who smiled and waved at them. “We all thought no one would remember her, and yet here she is now. Sora’s memories of you will come back, I just know they will.”

“Thanks, Naminé. And when Sora finally comes back, he can thank you properly, too.”

Naminé smiled, and Kairi went over to talk to Axel and Roxas and Xion some more, then to King Mickey and Donald and Goofy, then lastly to Terra and Aqua and Ven. She had something very important to ask, something she wanted to do as Riku searched for Sora and she kept him tethered to the Realm of Light.

“Master Aqua, please take me on as your apprentice,” she pleaded as she bowed low. This was her best shot, her best hope at becoming a better Keyblade wielder after the disaster that had happened at the Keyblade Graveyard. 

When she straightened, her throat dry, Aqua was beaming down at her. “I thought you’d never ask.”

She clasped her hands and thanked Aqua profusely. Here was an opportunity to get better, to improve, to become a better fighter by the time Sora and Riku returned. She wasn’t the weak girl that had gotten kidnapped and killed anymore. She had the heart and will to be strong, and she was going to prove it.

However long it might take, however hard she would have to work, it didn’t matter. Someday, she would fight by Sora’s side again. Someday, she would be able to spar with Riku and give him a run for his munny. Someday, the three of them would be together again and all would feel right in the worlds.

And someday, she and Sora would finally be able to make good on the promise they’d made. They’d be together every day, and nothing would be able to keep them apart anymore. 

For that, she would train and fight for as long as it might take. Now was the time to step forward like she’d said she would. Now was the time to act. The fight was in her hands, and she was ready at long last.

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A/N: A big thank you again to @chibiranmaruchan! And thank you to everyone who read, reblogged, liked, and commented on the story! Hope you enjoyed :)

[blackasteriia]

Xion in Re:Mind

So, today I’m going to go through all scenes that are Xion relevant and do some basic analysis. I’ll also talk about her data fight.

Spoilers under cut, obviously.

Keyblade Graveyard-- Counting with Saïx

In this scene, Saïx, Xigbar, and Xehanort, gather together to learn how to count-- AKA they’re filling out the ranks of the Organization. They come-up two short. Xehanort reveals that Terra-Nort is still up his sleeve. I don’t understand, and don’t ask me. Alright, lets get onto Xion:

Vexen creates 20 original puppets. The first twelve were the original set of the Replica Program from CO. It is of these twelve that the Organization is pulling from to put people into. They get-up to Ansem, Xemnas, Vanitas, Repliku, and Young Xehanort, to make five, and then + Xion.

Repliku is referred to as the ‘prototype,’ and then Xion is of course, No. i. 

“The plan for the last replica is to give it a heart that is connected to Sora.”

Cool. Cool. Cool. Why not Roxas? Literally, why not Roxas?

Xion doesn’t have a heart. That is the entire point of Days, if Xion had a heart, then why did she die? How does she have a heart Nomura, you’re skipping right over the question I want answered. 

FURTHERMORE, the only memory that exists of Xion is of the No. i, notes. Xion as in the girl that is in Sora’s heart, is not No. i. They don’t know about Xion because they can’t remember her. So why would Saïx mention ‘someone connected to Sora?’ As far as Vexen is concerned, his creation never attained sentience. Vexen was dead before Sora’s memories were put into Xion. Sora had not lost his memories until the end of Chain of Memories, so it’s just-- very confusing. 

This throws such a gear in the machine because Saïx doesn’t remember Xion. Why would they bother to resurrect a dead replica that was obviously an abject failure, instead of Roxas, the nobody of Sora? How do they know about Xion?

“No. i, an imaginary number, how fitting.” Thank you for the exposition Xigbar.

Then Saïx goes and gets Vexen. 

No one should give a shit about No. i, because No. i was just an empty, insentient replica that followed orders. Xion was the person that formed from No. i. There’s an argument that Vexen would return for Repliku, but as far as he’s aware, No. i was a shell. 

AKA this entire thing threw a wrench in character motivations, raises more questions, failed to answer old questions, and tells me nothing new about Xion. All of the information in this scene is in supplemental material, now it’s just in the main game. 

Cool.

The return of my Salt. 

This is the Seasalt trio reunion with some extra pizz-zazz and playable Roxas. We get a little more exposition on No. i and Xion. Kairi is also here.

Reunion of the old Organization members with Axel, Xemnas, and Saïx + No. i. Axel asks who Xion is. 

“This ‘guest’ of ours has an old score to settle with you.”

Okay, Xemnas, you said you can’t remember Xion. First, of all, you don’t know that Axel and Xion ever fought. You don’t know that they were friends. You don’t know anything about Xion beyond the notes Vexen left of No. i. What are you talking about?

Literally five seconds later: “It is a being of whom we have no memory.”

Still misgendering Xion, nice.

“A true nobody, hailing from the edge of oblivion.”

This means nothing and is just a cool line, but you know I’m going to run with it.

So, if No. i, was recreated from the notes left by Vexen, then it is not Xion. That is not Xion. Xion is still inside Sora. No. i is a completely different thing than Xion. Xion developed a personality, memories, and ‘heart,’ supposedly over time. So Xemnas alluding to ‘it has no memories of what it truly is,’ is bogus and dumb. Never mind that Xemnas wouldn’t know that. 

He can’t even remember why Xion was destroyed in the first place and even why he has no memory of it. 

Saïx is acting like he knows something when it comes to Xion and even encourages her to remember Axel and Roxas-- for no apparent reason. 

Because he doesn’t remember the friendship between Axel, Roxas, and Xion, why would he even think to prompt her on this.

Xion remembers Axel and immediately goes for Lea’s throat-- this is canon and valid. 

Okay then we get the usual scene with Xion getting.... her memory back? More on this in a bit. 

This is also good and valid. 

E N R A G E D  S C R E A M I N G

The only assumption I have is that Xion begins to remember Axel and Roxas. Then that starts to return pieces of memory to Xemnas. This is not at all implied in the text but it’s the only rational explanation for his behavior in this scene. 

I wanna use a few more images for this because it’s all visual through this part. 

Sora’s Station of Awakening peels back to reveal Roxas’. Roxas’ station now has an image of Xion in it. 

Then, these leaflets type thing start to float away and Sora calls them, ‘the memories.’ So, my previous theory that Xemnas was beginning to remember is dashed out of the water because, according to this scenes the memories had not been released yet. After this, Axel remember Xion. 

(This would be a great time to reveal Xion’s station of awakening and cement her as a unique person, even have her interact with Sora-- but no that would be too much to ask from Nomura).

This scene is also really dumb because it basically just stops the original scene, has Sora make an obvious statement to explain what’s going on, and then continues the original scene. Roxas’ returns, with a brief break into the void for exposition, and lets get into the meat of this.

Roxas and Xion fight Xemnas. So on and so forth--

This crap.

What is this.

Where did it come from? Why is it important? Axel says, ‘get what’s ours,’ and they get this. Which is the recusant symbol that is in all of their names. That’s, easy to figure out. It is then implied that this is the... symbol of their connection. AKA, the symbol of their membership in the Organization is also the symbol of their connection. Okay. Except, Xemnas was the character who brainwashed and assaulted Xion; The character that lead to Roxas and Axel’s death. The Organization is why their friendship fell apart in the first place. I could get deep into like, the psychological implications of the symbol it’s just--

Why use it for this reading. In this way. 

Ugh. 

Whatever. Kairi gets kidnapped and the scene continues as usual. Xion has no new dialogue. We learn nothing about her character. She just has the blank, default female character. The sole personality that Nomura can write for women. 

Xion is shown fighting wth the keyblade wielders. Nothing, really, to see here. She’s just in the climax, she doesn’t do anything unique. Heck, Roxas even has to save her at one point. So, lets move onto her data fight. 

Xion’s Data Fight

When I heard Xion was going to get a data fight I was very excited for the potential of that fight. Perusing the internet netted potential fights pulling on her replica abilities or the final forms from 358/2 Days. Imagine fighting a boss that can pull at least one move from all other bosses previously fought. Which was my first hope. My second hope was for the form changes from her previous final battle, different movesets, different abilities and powers. A wide challenge.

My worst fear was that she would be a copy of Roxas’ fight from KH2. 

Well, never underestimate Nomua’s ability to disappoint because that is exactly what we got. I suppose, looking at the previous content of Re:Mind I could have seen this coming. Xion did not receive any new dialogue. We did not learn anything about her character. All we learned was a few chunks of lore information that... we basically already knew. Anything new was confusing, useless, and irrelevant. I knew that Xion’s power mimicked Roxas’, that’s obvious.

 The addition of her using Saïx claymore in the graveyard was interesting because it implied something new about her powers. She could copy someone other than Sora or Roxas. In Re:Mind however, Xion shows-up in the graveyard without ever encountering Sora or Roxas, with the kingdom key. There is no, from a story or lore standpoint, for her to have that. She has had no chance to copy it. The keyblade is not inherent to Xion. So, really, we fight Roxas in Re:Mind, dressed-up as Xion. 

Nomura isn’t creative enough, or cares enough, to take Xion’s character in any new direction. He brings her back in KH3 not because he has a character arc for her, or anything to do for her. But only for fanservice, for Roxas’ and Axel’ character arcs. He won’t give her a unique moveset because he doesn’t consider her a unique enough character to warrant one. Light is Roxas’ element, not Xion’s, she doesn’t have an element. She doesn’t have a keyblade. Her face is Kairi’s face. Her value is rooted in her connection to Sora. 

On the other hand, she has, what I’ve seen and been told, is one of the hardest fights in the game. She will wood chipper Sora if the player is not on their toes. Through her teleportation trick she’s fast and has extended invincibility frames. Unlike Saïx, she is pointed and aggressive, with seconds between assaults. I will gladly keep the headcanon that Xion is an aggressive, hard-hitting, and fast fighter.

[nadziejastar]

You know, I really wouldn't have cared if this girl had her own adjacent subplot dealing with her memories and the age of fairy tales. It doesn’t sound very interesting to me personally, but whatever. I wouldn’t have even cared if she was an acquaintance of Lea and Isa because they were ALL test subjects (not besties, though). So, yeah I guess I think it was possible that they both could have been “Subject X”. Of course, in KH “X” is not a random letter. It is associated with the Recusant’s Sigil and creating vessels. It means “death” and “endings”. Since this random chick has nothing to do with any of that, she shouldn’t be named “X”. She should be Subject Z or something.

I think all the these characters time-travelling to the present is kinda dumb, but that’s not even my main gripe. No, what really bugs me is that her subplot has totally replaced everything about the original story in the most heavy-handed manner possible. Axel never mentioned this girl before. I had a previous anon tell me that Nomura probably wasn’t that invested in the idea of Isa and Lea being test subjects, and that he left it open on purpose. It’s just my personal bias that they were test subjects. My response to that is: Bullshit. The story was not left open for Lea and Isa to be apprentices just because it was never outright stated. KH3 is just treating the fandom like we’re stupid.

KH3D was setting up one very specific story, then KH3 started following an entirely new one with no warning. It was an incredibly jarring and unconvincing shift. Yes, I find Lea and Isa being test subjects a million times more interesting than them being apprentices. Who wouldn’t? But it is not my personal bias that is fueling my criticism. Anyone with two brain cells to rub together, who took an honest look at the story, could see that it was drastically changed from how it was originally envisioned.

Ansem's Report 2

It is my duty to expose what this darkness really is. I shall conduct the following experiments:

Extract the darkness from a person's heart.

Cultivate darkness in a pure heart.

Both suppress and amplify the darkness within.

The experiments caused the test subject's heart to collapse, including those of the most stalwart. How fragile our hearts are! My treatment produced no signs of recovery. I confined those who had completely lost their hearts beneath the castle.

Some time later, I went below and was greeted by the strangest sight. Creatures that seemed born of darkness...What are they? Are they truly sentient beings? Could they be the shadows of those who lost their hearts in my experiments?

Originally, the focus of the unethical experiments was the darkness of the heart. Yes, Ansem was experimenting on Xehanort to get his memory back. 

Unbeknownst to me, my six apprentices then began collecting a large number of subjects on which to perform dangerous experiments into the "darkness of the heart." As soon as I found out, I called my apprentices together and ordered them not only to cease their studies, but to destroy the results of their research thus far.

But the apprentices then went on to do far worse things. There is no mention EVER that there were more than six apprentices. But there was mention of the apprentices kidnapping people and performing dangerous experiments on them. Now it seems like these experiments have been retconned to be about memory only. All the focus now is on this one single Union X girl and her super duper special important secret memories.  

Xemnas: Our experiments creating Heartless were attempts to control the mind, and convince it to renounce its sense of self.

But originally Xehanort was not concerned with the subjects’ memories. The purpose of the original experiments was to create vessels. Empty puppets who have no self-awareness. 

Xemnas: You feel nothing. Nothing is real. I can give you purpose.

Roxas: Roxas.

Xemnas: That is right--the new you.

The definition of a vessel is a hollow container. That’s what Xehanort needed so he could have 13 copies of himself—they’d all have the exact same heart and mind. Nomura said Seekers of Darkness were “raw material” for the X-blade. The point was he needed just their BODIES.

Xehanort: Roxas... Now, there was a worthy candidate. But, unfortunately, he became too aware of himself, and returned to Sora. Organization XIII's true goal is to divide Xehanort's heart among thirteen vessels.

The less self-aware the person is, the less able they are to reject Xehanort from taking over their mind, body, and heart completely. It’s heavily tied into the Recusant’s Sigil, which now seems to have vanished from Kingdom Hearts lore entirely. I guess they are hoping we just forgot about it, since it got so little attention anyway.

Day 7: Meaning

A name defines an object. Describes the span of it. Gives it purpose. We embarked upon the Replica Program to ensure our new power stays ours. Now, our shadow puppet, "No. i," lives. It needs a name. Something to define it. To give the hollow vessel purpose.

But Xehanort put the “X” into all the original members’ names because he planned to make vessels out of them once Kingdom Hearts was completed. Now suddenly we have a Subject X in the spotlight, but she has absolutely nothing to do with making vessels? 

The Ultimania said that Xemnas was using the Chamber of Repose to communicate with Aqua, and looking for Ventus because he was trying to complete the new Organization XIII. Now suddenly he was doing all of that because Ven was from the age of fairy tales? I’m sorry, but this is bullshit. I don’t think I’m being an unreasonable or petty fan by saying this is EXTREMELY bad storytelling. KH has had a lot of retcons, but this is far worse than anything I’ve seen in this series before. It’d be like if Sora, Donald, and Goofy just randomly stopped looking for Riku and the King in the middle of KH2 and started looking for a random Union X girl instead. That’s how Lea and Isa in KH3 felt to me.

Secret Report 4: Experiments of the Heart – Notes on Subject X, Excerpt 2

Secret Report 4 is obtained after clearing Battlegate 4 at Toy Box: Galaxy Toys / Kid Corral.

Subject's memories have not returned, and our conversations remain less than lucid. What fragments can be gleaned evoke a bygone world, like one out of fairy tales. As improbable as it seems, the question may not be where she has come from, but when. If she truly has crossed through time, the prospect of probing her heart is all the more compelling.

My pilot studies used a handful of subjects, but none possessed the fortitude to endure them. Ultimately, all suffered mental collapse. I knew it would be a heavy blow to lose a subject as unique as she. Upon discovering the tests I've been conducting, my master demanded that I cease my work immediately and destroy what research I have compiled. Worse still, he ordered the release of my remaining subjects. She is gone.

Where is Subject X now? Has "wise" Master Ansem hidden her away? Whatever the case, I will not be deterred. I will take her place as the first subject in the grand experiment to come.

You can see how similar the wording in this report is to the original Ansem reports. Even the part where Ansem ordered them to destroy their research. But now it’s that the subjects experienced mental collapse. Not that their hearts collapsed. The victims of these experiments were supposed to have lost their hearts and become Heartless. This was the precursor to everything that happened. They were supposed to be absolutely horrifying and dangerous experiments. Vexen wouldn't go down into the basement, and even Xigbar said he didn’t like going there. He even called it a “graveyard”. 

Braig’s dealings with Master Xehanort in Birth by Sleep make sense now, as he was to become a vessel.

Nomura: There is a certain reason for Braig to proudly exclaim, “I’m already half Xehanort.” Isa (Saïx) is included too. I think you’ll understand the details about their circumstances eventually.

We were clearly supposed to learn about these experiments in great detail. And it’s obviously why BBS teased us by showing Lea and Isa trying to sneak into the castle while these experiments just happened to be taking place. Isa just happens to be a vessel. He just happens to have the Recusant’s Sigil in the middle of his face. Axel just happens to say that his personality completely changed from how it used to be. Saïx just happens to be the most unfeeling and heartless Nobody of them all, and can't "see" Xion.

Secret Report 5: Memoirs, Excerpt 1

Secret Report 5 is obtained after clearing Battlegate 5 at Toy Box: Galaxy Toys / Main Floor: 1F.

The castle was a wonderland to us children. Within its walls, Ansem the Wise conducted his research, and the fruits it bore allowed everyone outside to live in peace and happiness. That alone was enough to stoke our interest, though not all of the rumors that escaped its walls were so benevolent. By night, the muffled sounds of human wails emerged. There was talk of dangerous human experimentation. Lea and I couldn't help but hatch a plot to steal inside and sate our curiosity.

The two who stood guard at the gates were researchers themselves, though you wouldn't think it to see them, massive and barrel-chested as they were. And slipping past that duo was only the first hurdle. It proved one not easily cleared; we were found and tossed out on our ears, time and again. On the day we finally secured our entry, we descended the long spiral stair at the heart of the castle to find a dark space below it, lined with cages. There wasn't light enough to see if they were inhabited, and we were in no position to call out to any occupants within. Yet we could feel it. A definite presence, there in the black. Terror washed over us, and we immediately regretted coming. But just as we turned to flee, we heard the faintest of voices. The urge to run was nigh overpowering, but someone or something beckoned us on. There, framed by a tenuous sliver of light, we found her.—Saïx 

This report about Lea and Isa sneaking into the castle just happens to be found at Galaxy Toys, where Xehanort discovered he could create vessels after experimenting on the toys. Galaxy Toys was a good fit. The castle looked like a fun place for kids to play on the outside, but on the inside horrible experiments were being conducted. It seems like these experiments aren't even going to get much (if any) attention going forward. It's all about this random girl’s memories now. 

What happens to the hearts of those who have had Master Xehanort’s heart planted within them?

Nomura: They’ll gradually be swallowed by it. As for Master Xehanort, he plans to control them completely. The planted parts of the heart are captured rather than disappear.

In KH3D, Saïx acted exactly like you would imagine a so-called vessel to act. Unlike Xigbar, he was completely still, completely mute, completely blank and expressionless, and didn’t act until Master Xehanort looked over at him (which he would have had no way of knowing unless they were telepathically linked). We know Master Xehanort had the power to transfer his consciousness into his vessels. That’s what makes them vessels, after all. Gee, I wonder if Saïx awakening to a new purpose over time had aaaanything to do with his heart being gradually swallowed by Xehanort? 

I’m sorry, but it doesn’t take a rocket scientist to see that Saïx was set up to have a backstory as a test subject. Nothing about his character was left open to be an apprentice. Nothing. Subject X could have had any other role in the experiments if they really needed to introduce her to this timeline that badly. But no, she stole Isa’s backstory. That’s how ill-conceived this sudden shift to Union X was. It appears to have happened on relatively short notice. If that’s the best way Nomura could think of to introduce “Subject X”, she has no business existing in the story.

[nonbinary-moth]

A small fic for @starlightkeybright‘s AU they came up with with Ventus and Roxas being knights sworn to protect Sora. This is all beginning stuff, but I’d love to continue, if thats okay with Star

“Hey, we’re gonna be late, come on!”

Roxas rolled his eyes as he ran after his brother. It was way too early for exercise in his opinion, but Ventus was the dictionary definition of a morning person. Awake at the crack of dawn, waking him up as well while he was at it, having breakfast made by half six and ready to leave the house at 7. He was usually still in bed by that time.

Still, he never would’ve been able to oversleep today. After three long years of training they were finally ready to graduate the academy and become real knights. Serving the kingdom had been a dream of his since childhood, and despite Ven’s slightly annoying, overly optimistic attitude, he couldn’t help smile as he followed.

He finally caught up to him, breathing heavily as he stared upwards at the palace. The Kingdom of Lux was one of the largest in the country, and certainly the richest, so it made sense the palance matched the grandeur. Golden gears and pipes decorated the walls, with glowing crystals for light all over the place. The main building split off into many towers, connected by beams of light, with dangerous-looking staircases spiralling upwards. From his position on the ground he could see people making their way across the walkways, perhaps getting things ready for their ceremony.

“Ven, over here!” A voice cut through the growing crowd, attracting both of their attention. It was Terra, one of the senior members of the Crownsguard. They were the best of the best, tasked with protecting the royal family whenever they left the palace. He was dressed in his armour, and despite being close friends with Ven he would never abandon his post whilst on duty. Which meant the King was going to be here soon.

“Terra! I haven’t seen you in forever!” Clearly not thinking as much as him, Ven ran past him, jumping up as he hugged the older man. He staggered backwards slightly, laughing and hugging back.

“Been busy, with Sora being officially named as the heir to the throne and all. New shifts had to be set out, since he’d be a priority target for any enemies right now. I’m on duty all day, but I’ll be around for the ceremony - and Aqua too.” He grinned, and Ventus grinned back, bouncing up and down his excitement. Terra’s eyes flitted over to Roxas, a surprised expression crossing his face, before being replaced with realisation. “Oh, you must be his twin brother, Ven told me about you.”

“Yep, Roxas! You can tell by the eye colour.” He wrapped his arm around his, smiling and pointing up at his eyes. Their natural eye colour was a bright blue, but Ventus wore filtered contact lenses to fix his eyesight, giving them a green hue. The sudden contact unsettled Roxas, and he felt the sudden urge to dart away, but managed to stop himself from doing so. Ven seemed to notice, however, and quickly let go of him. He silently thanked him.

“Nice to meet you. Suppose you can’t wait either, huh?” Roxas nodded, unsure to find the right words quick enough, but Ventus saved him yet again.

“We both are! Do you know where we’ll be? The ceremony starts at nine, and we need to be at the Hall by then.” He spoke quickly, more than likely to draw the attention to him. Once again, he silently thanked him. Terra laughed lightly, ruffling his hair.

“You’ll have to find out later, kiddo. I know you’ll be happy about it.” He glanced up at the castle, where a group of soldiers were opening the doors. “Looks like it's almost time. Good luck!” He smiled, and the twins smiled back. With a quick wave from Ventus, the two ran through the gates and into the castle.

+++

They had been in the castle before, but never the Royal Hall. That was where the most important meetings were held, where laws and fates were decided. If you were called there, it would become the best day or the worst day of your life. Walking through the gilded hallways, Roxas hoped it would be the former.

He glanced over at Ventus, still bouncing in excitement with a barely contained smile on his face. Of course there was, both of their dreams were about to come true, but the dregs of worry still lingered in his mind. What if it wasn’t what he had hoped? What if he was stuck patrolling some out-of-the-way border for the rest of his life? An important job, sure, but it was the excitement he craved, an adventure he couldn’t get just from staying in the city.

No, he had to think positive. This was going to change his life, in a good way. Serving his kingdom was his dream. No matter where he was going, he’d be making a difference. He only wished one thing - he stayed with Ven. He was strong, excelling in places no one could dare reach, but he felt a lot safer around his brother. He wondered what Ven was thinking. What was he hoping for?

They reached the door to the Hall, guarded by two helmet-clad guardsmen. As they approached they turned, opening the door. Light poured out, and Roxas quickly closed his eyes, a gasp from Ven telling him he hadn’t been so lucky. At least he had the filters in his eyes to help him adjust.

The room, unlike the golden-brown walls of the halls they had been wandering for a while now, was almost completely white, lit by chandeliers of glowing crystals high above them. Gold trim outlined the details on the walls and decorations, only adding to the grandeur of the room. The most eye-catching display, if you could see it through the blinding white, was the large stained glass window on the far wall.

Divided into three parts, each depicting the three kingdoms of Cor. Lux - his home. A kingdom of light and prosperity. They shone above the thrones, causing a yellowish glow upon the room. The patterns were intricate and detailed, showing the sun shining down on a crowd of people. A golden crown - the official symbol of Lux - divided the two.

Nox, the city’s twin, dominated the bottom left of the glass. The two had split apart many years ago, and it was hard to tell that they had ever shared a name on sight alone. Things were darker there, with the strongest warrior staying on top, and fights for the throne were frequent. They were not a bloodthirsty kingdom, however. If anything, they were usually the more serious and level-headed of the three. A strong throne lead to a strong king.

The third kingdom, Crepusculum was a lot smaller than the others, but just as powerful. Starting off as a small town outside of the great kingdom Lux and Nox once were, rebels fleeing the joint kingdom settled there, and as they split apart, those who decided to stay built up their defences and declared themselves a separate kingdom. It had once been free to all, but nowadays it was tough to even visit. He had no idea what happened behind the black and white walls, and he had a feeling he wouldn’t during his lifetime.

His eyes fell downwards, towards the thrones. Made of gold - much like everything else in the room - and casting a shadow from the elaborate stained glass window across the floor. There were three of them, the one in the middle being the largest with the two beside identical. In the center sat the king, Eraqus. He wore a patient expression with a kind smile as he stared at the two of them. There was no crown on his head, yet the aura of power and radiance from him was unmistakable.

To the right of the grand throne was the newly-named heir. A young boy, around his age Roxas guessed, with spiky brown hair, topped with a golden crown. Was that even allowed, wearing a symbol of royalty when the King himself didn't? This didn’t seem like the right place to ask. He was clearly having trouble staying calm himself, his eyes flitting around and bouncing on his seat slightly. A smile was barely hidden on his face. He and Ventus had a lot in common. Beside him stood a silver haired boy Roxas didn’t recognize, keeping an eye on the young prince with occasional glances up at the newcomers, a stern expression on his face. He guessed he was the prince’s bodyguard, but the black suit put him off the idea - it didn’t seem like the right attire.

The left throne remained empty, as it had for years. The Queen would have sat there, but it had been years since she was seen around the kingdom. He was never told what had happened, and he had the feeling that was on purpose.

“Roxas and Ventus, I assume?” Eraqus said, the sound echoing throughout the chamber. They nodded.

“The two newest graduates of the Academy. I have heard many good things about the two of you. Roxas, your ability to wield two keyblades with equal skill - or maybe more skill - than some of our finest soldiers is quite impressive.”

Roxas felt his face turn red as he nodded, accepting the praise wordlessly. What had started as a joke between him and Ventus had turned into his signature style of fighting. Years of honing the skill had turned it into something completely unique to him, and he was often asked to teach the skill to the younger students of the Academy. He always refused, however. This was his thing, and he wanted it to stay that way.

“And Ventus. Quick as the wind, holding your keyblade backhand unlike what had been taught to you, and excelling with it at that. Why you two deviated from your teachings is a mystery to me, but I cannot call it a bad thing, as it has done no harm on your skill or reputation.”

He couldn’t help feeling slightly offended at his words, but he watched Ventus accept the praise and decided to leave it. It was a dare that started all this - who could come up with the most elaborate way to fight with a keyblade. Ventus held his backwards, a joke to the rest of the class, but he quickly learned how to use it to catch his opponents off guard. Roxas went for a more powerful approach, using two keyblades at once. At first the weight was hard to handle, but he learned to use the momentum from one swings to power another. He had been called out for cheating in the past, but he had been allowed to continue after a spar with one of the visiting professors from another academy in Nox, who convinced them to let him develop his skill.

“I’m sure you two are eager to know your future. You two have been together since birth, training and learning together, and I can tell you that will continue throughout your service here for the kingdom.” Roxas breathed a sigh of relief. “I have an important task for the two of you, one that I know you can excel in. You are both capable keyblade wielders, creating and mastering your own style. Furthermore, you are young, and possess qualities that I can only describe as ideal to be a perfect role model to my heir.”

He blinked, suddenly looking upwards. He didn’t mean-?

Eraqus guestered towards the young prince, who was fighting so much it was a miracle he hadn’t left his seat already. He had broken into a smile, fingers drumming on the armrest of the throne as he looked between the king and the two of them. The young man next to him was clearly sick of it, rolling his eyes as obviously as he dared.

“Sora is kind and I know will make a wonderful king one day, but he is naive from being raised in such a sheltered manner. I ask the two of you to protect him, teach him the ways of this kingdom. He already possesses the knowledge needed to run the kingdom, he just needs a little help making it all click in.” He laughed.

“Of course, Your Majesty. We swear to serve you and the kingdom until our dying breath-” Roxas began a speech he had prepared a while ago, but was cut off by a wave of Eraqus’s hand.

“Please, none of the formalities. Think of this more as a favour.” He wasn’t quite sure how to react, but nodded and bowed, glancing across to watch Ventus copy him. He had stayed silent this whole time, the smile replaced by a serious expression. Wonder when that updated.

“Thank you. You are dismissed. Meet me in an hour in the gardens, I will introduce Sora to you properly.” Eraqus smiled, and guestered for them to leave. They bowed again, and left the hall.

[minijenn]

Keys to the Kingdom Chapter 9

AN - Hey a pretty short turnaround time for a pretty short chapter. Neat! Anyway I don’t got a ton to say about this one since its more or less a stepping stone chapter, but it still has some fun stuff in it all the same so enjoy!

Previous: https://minijenn.tumblr.com/post/185003790469/keys-to-the-kingdom-chapter-8

Chapter 9: At Dusk

You must be kidding me, Did you really think I could say no?

“I wanted to meet you… at least once.”

The myriad of bizarre happenings of the past several days had set out a path that had ultimately led him here. The old mansion was a place that Roxas was only vaguely familiar with from the countless rumors and myths spread around town about it that made it practically infamous. But those things couldn’t have been further from his mind as he stood before it now, awash in growing confusion, dread, perhaps even frustration as he desperately tried to reach out for answers he could never seem to grasp. It was like everything he thought he ever knew was steadily, rapidly crumbling apart at the seams all around him, the foundation he thought he should have been standing on shattering apart piece by piece.

And yet… the turbulent tide he was lost amidst slowly started to calm the moment he caught sight of her. Her simple white dress and slight frame practically blended into the spotless curtains she was standing in front of, a hand pressed against the glass window as she starred down at him silently, sadly from above. In many ways, she was almost like one of the ghosts rumored to be inhabiting the dusty halls of the otherwise abandoned mansion, but he knew better. He knew she was real, at least as real as he was anyway, he had seen her face, heard her voice, felt the connection between them that he couldn’t explain. A connection that couldn’t be broken, no matter what chains of memory came undone.

“Roxas…” she mouthed his name from beyond the glass, or at least she thought it was his. For all he knew, it could have been someone else’s name altogether. And by all accounts, it probably was.

“Naminé…?”

Naminé…

“Thank Naminé…” Sora whispered to himself as he found himself slowly slipping out of yet another one of Roxas’ memories. In a sense, it was like waking up from a distant, yet nostalgic dream, blurring the fine line between memory and reality just as much as his own image tended to blur between himself and his Nobody. Despite the fact that he had largely grown accustomed to this nearly constant flux in and out of a past that wasn’t even his, Sora couldn’t deny that it still felt rather disorienting, perhaps even a bit deceptive. For as he stole another glance up at the window of the stately, yet silent mansion before them, he found that, unlike what Roxas’ memories had shown him, Naminé was—unsurprisingly but still disappointingly—nowhere to be found.

“Did ya say somethin’, Sora?” Goofy asked, glancing back at the Keybearer.

“Hm?” Sora shook his head, finally fully grounding himself back into the present. ��Uh… no. I was just… um…” He trailed off, finding himself at an odd loss for words. Something that had been happening more often than usual, he realized.

“Did you see another one of Roxas’ memories?” Donald inferred curiously.

“Y-yeah!” Sora nodded. “Well… at least that’s what it was this time…” he muttered to himself, briefly recalling the ominous voice that had pulled against his heart mere moments ago.

“What do you mean this time?” the magician asked, aptly suspicious as he happened to overhear the Keybearer.

“Oh, uh, nothing!” Sora said, forcing a calm laugh to allay his confused companions before quickly changing the subject back to the mansion before them. “So… what do you think, guys? This place is even creepier than I remember.”

“Well, they do say this mansion is haunted…” Goofy noted as Donald cringed with clear fear at the very thought.

“Haunted, huh…?” Sora repeated, largely to himself as he looked up to the large window once more. He was hardly superstitious in light of everything he’d seen and experienced, but as he thought back to that sinister voice and the frightening affect it had on him, he couldn’t help but wonder if those ghostly rumors maybe held some merit after all.

The already on-edge trio was even more set off the moment something happened to lightly skim the Keybearer’s shoulder from behind. Sora nearly summoned his Keyblade, Donald and Goofy likewise loudly panicking alongside him as they all quickly spun around, only to find an equally startled Hayner, Pence, and Olette standing behind them.

“Yeesh…” Sora huffed, suppressing a sigh of relief at seeing the trio of familiar faces as opposed to the alternative. “Thanks for the heart attack!”

“Oh what?” Hayner smirked. “Did we scare you guys?”

“Not a chance!” Donald retorted back, shaking his first admantly.

“Our bad,” Olette chuckled, aptly amused.

“So, how’d it go?” Sora asked the trio collectively. “Did you get any leads?”

Their otherwise playful manner fell into disappointment at this as they shook their heads truthfully. “Nope, ‘fraid not,” Pence admitted fretfully. “The asking around town thing was a total bust.”

“Yep, looks like this old mansion is our only hope,” Hayner added, looking to the mansion. The others all turned to do the same, each of them carrying the same resolve that the answers they were looking for could be held somewhere inside.

“You guys ready?” Olette asked, eager to continue their search.

“Another Twilight Town awaits!” Pence chimed in boldly.

“Yeah,” Sora readily agreed, already taking the first step towards the mansion. A small burst of warmth filled his heart as he did, one that unmistakably came from Roxas himself. Almost as if he somehow knew just how far they were all willing to go to find a way to bring him back to them. And it was that warmth, that feeling of bright, expanding hope that they both seemed to share, that prompted Sora onward further still, determined to do exactly that.

Since the collective group knew exactly where they needed to go, they didn’t waste too much time checking most of the mansion’s otherwise empty, dust-settled rooms. Instead, they all made a beeline for the basement, its clean metallic walls a far cry from the rest of the old mansion’s dilapidated state. Now bereft of its original purpose, the computer room was also just as quiet as the rest of the abandoned building, save for the occasional idle beep and blip from the several-screened machine tucked securely inside it. A machine that, at least as far as any of them knew, was just about their last resort to finding their first and possibly only clues to helping Roxas.

“Here we go!” Pence exclaimed excitedly, rushing to the computer the moment he saw it. Since the others knew full well this was his area of expertise, they all congregated around him as he took charge in operating the rather complex machine. “The password was… uh… ‘sea-salt ice cream’, right?” He tapped the phrase in, which, just as it had before, granted them access to whatever data the computer had stored. “Ok, I’m in. Now let’s get that transporter working…”

Since Pence was already largely familiar with the process, opening up the transporter that would lead the way to the alternate Twilight Town should have been easy. However, what none of them were expecting was for the computer to flash red, emitting a blaring warning alarm almost as soon as the attempt was made. “Oh man…” Pence frowned as the computer’s main screen was overtaken by an error message. “The transporter’s been protected….”

“Protected from what?” Sora asked, aptly confused.

“I guess from us?” Pence ventured a guess. “We can’t use it to get to the other Twilight Town.”

“Why not?” Hayner cut in, clearly annoyed by this sudden roadblocked. “It worked before! We sent Sora there!”

“Well, that was then and this is now,” Pence shrugged.

“And… there’s no other way?” Olette asked, frowning.

“…None that I know of…” Pence admitted, tapping a few more keys on the computer, though to no avail. A general sigh of clear disappointment rose up from several members of the group upon hearing this, all of them quite dejected to know that they had come all this way only to be met with nothing. In fact, they were all just about ready to turn around and head back to town, or at least they would have had the Gummiphone not happened to ring at that exact moment.

Still not entirely familiar with the device, Sora fumbled somewhat as he pulled it out of his pocket and answered it, only for Ienzo to pop up on the other end of the line. “Hello, Sora,” the researcher greeted amicably. “You wouldn’t happen to be standing in front of a computer, would you?”

“Huh?” Sora raised a surprised eyebrow. “Well… yeah. But how’d you know that?”

“I was tinkering with Ansem’s computer,” Ienzo explained. “You know, to decrypt the code that was left in it? And I noticed that someone had logged in from another terminal. I figured it might be you.”

“Oh, yeah! The log terminal!” Sora exclaimed, putting on a front of understanding, which of course, Donald was quick to call him out on.

“You don’t know what he said,” the magician correctly inferred, cross his arms.

“Oh, and what, you do?” the Keybearer retorted in a dry whisper.

All the same, Ienzo happened to overhear this bout of bickering from the other end of the line and let out a small, amused chuckle before posing the group another question. “So if it wasn’t you, then… who did log in?”

“Oh, hi there!” Pence chimed in as Sore handed the phone over to him. “This is Pence. I’m the one who logged into the computer.”

“Good,” Ienzo nodded, allayed. “As long as we know it’s a user that we know we can trust.”

“Yep. But… we’re kind of stuck here,” Pence said, glancing back over at the secured computer. “One of the programs is protected so… I can’t run it.”

“Which program?”

“Ugh! The transporter to the other Twilight Town!” Hayner snapped, frustrated at how slowly the conversation seemed to be going. “It’s the only way to find Roxas. You gotta help us!”

Ienzo seemed quite surprised to hear this news, the implications sending his scientific mind practically reeling as he mulled over it. “Another Twilight Town…? And a ‘transporter’? Okay… a virtual town inside the computer, made of data… Fascinating! Maybe I can do something to help… Pence, let’s get a network set up; that way we can try to look into this on both ends of the spectrum.”

Pence agreed and the two got to work on doing just that, exchanging information in order to connect the two computers together despite the span of worlds standing between them. Despite how well versed both Pence and Ienzo were when it came to the tech they were working with, it still took quite a bit of time to get everything completely set up on both ends. At least an hour had passed with very few updates given, which was why it wasn’t too surprising that in that amount of idle time, Sora had nodded off more than a few times, much to Goofy’s amusement and Donald’s annoyance. Still, it was something of a relief when, after what felt like ages to just about everyone else, Ienzo finally announced that the lengthy process was at last complete.

“Ok, sharing is enabled,” the researcher confirmed, effectively snapping Sora out of his most recent bout of standing slumber.

“Oh! Were you able to fix it?” the Keybearer asked, eager to hear any new developments.

Ienzo didn’t provide a clear cut answer at first as he instead opted to explain exactly what him and Pence had just accomplished. “Now that our two computers have been successfully networked together, I can take control of the terminal there and change the privileges. So in a sense… yes, we did fix it. Or at least allowed some form of progress to continue.”

“And Roxas?” Sora pressed, largely not caring about the specifics so long as it all could help his Nobody in some way.

“Yes. For the virtual world to be completely realized, Ansem the Wise would have included Roxas’ full data in the construction. Meaning, somewhere on your machine, there’s a log of that data that-” Ienzo stopped short, noticing that Sora looked more or less completely lost in all the technicalities on the other end of the line. Which was why he decided to finish explaining in a much more simpler route to grasp. “Uh… basically, we can decipher Ansem’s code more quickly and we can analyze the virtual Twilight Town while we’re at it.”

“Ohhh, ok! Great!” Sora smiled, more or less understanding, though he was still admittedly confused by how it all worked. Still, the researcher’s upbeat tone alone was more than enough to convince him that there was a chance that this could work after all. “I can’t computer so… do that.”

“Glad to know you’re following along,” Ienzo smirked knowingly. “Don’t worry. We’ll handle it. Chip and Dale will be helping me out here on this end. I’ll call you back as soon as we know anything more.”

“Thanks,” Sora nodded, genuinely grateful for the help all around. In a way, he did feel somewhat inadequate when it came to looking for answers in this way, given his relative lack of experience with computers and data and research and the like. But it was still a relief to know that there were so many others who had decided to join him in his cause to help Roxas, from Donald and Goofy, to the Twilight Town trio, to even Ienzo and his crew afar off in Radiant Garden. Certainly, Sora hoped, with so many people working together towards the same goal, there was no doubt that they’d find a way to bring Roxas back in no time at all.

“Oh, before I forget—a bit of troubling news,” Ienzo continued, his tone turning grave. “It’s about one of the Organization’s former members. You knew him as Vexen—but to us, he was Ansem’s apprentice, Even. He was recompleted like the rest of us, but hadn’t regained consciousness yet. Then, sometime after Lea left, Even vanished. Aeleus and Dilan—the two you knew as Lexaeus and Xaldin—went out to look for him, but… he’s just gone. And I’m starting to worry.”

“You think he’s on their side?” Sora asked, remembering Yen Sid’s warning that the Organization would likely be seeking to fill out the rest of their ranks in any way possible.

“I think it’s a real possibility,” Ienzo said earnestly. “He’s a devious researcher. You should be careful.”

“Got it. Thanks again!” Sora bid the researcher farewell as the call came to an end, making sure to keep his warning in mind for future reference.

“Oh no!” Hayner suddenly gasped in apparent alarm as he turned to Pence and Olette frantically. “We got work! I totally forgot!”

“Really?” Pence asked as Hayner already got a head start in hurrying out of the room. “But what about all this?”

“Hey, both are important! We’re gonna need some cash to go to the beach. Also, don’t forget the pretzels. Gotta buy four now,” Hayner grinned, especially as Pence began counting out, confused.

“Ooh, I get it!” he exclaimed in realization, knowing that Hayner had the idea of bringing Roxas along with them. An idea that both Pence and Olette readily agreed with for whenever their long-awaited day at the beach finally did arrive.

“He’s thinking ahead,” Olette chimed in with a wry smile of her own.

“Later, Sora!” Hayner said as he took his leave, Olette going to join him.

“Bye, Donald! Goofy!” she waved to the trio fondly as they all returned the farewell.

“See you guys!” Sora called out after the pair as Donald and Goofy also offered their own goodbyes.

“Oh, and since I’m manning the computer here,” Pence began, remaining in his seat as he glanced back at the duo. “You guys are in charge of earning my share!”

“No pretzel for Pence!” Hayner teased, sticking his tongue out as him and Olette ran out of the room.

“Hey!” Pence shouted after them, ignoring Sora, Donald, and Goofy’s shared amused laughter. All the same, he made sure to assure the trio that he’d continue working on digging up what he could glean from the computer, collaborating in tandem with Ienzo all the while. And with that, the trio was quick to realize there wasn’t really anything else they could do at this stage but wait for any new information to be uncovered that could help further their cause. It was somewhat disappointing, for Sora in particular, to know that there wasn’t much help any of them could provide right now, but at the very least, the effort to help Roxas had been kickstarted. The mission to bring him back into the existence he deserved to have was well on its way. And for now, simply keeping the comforting idea that this could soon be more than just a distance hope in mind would certainly suffice.

By the time they left the mansion, Sora had noticed that the usually steady tide of Roxas’ memories flowing in and out of his heart had gradually started to slow to a crawl. Even as they emerged from the derelict building, he found that he was met with essentially none of his Nobody’s memories whatsoever, to the point that even the light pull that had been more or less guiding his heart since they arrived seemed to have completely faded out. And yet, alarmingly enough, what wasn’t gone was the same dull, persistent pain that had sparked in his heart when he had been trapped under the influence of that still-unknown voice. A pain that only seemed to amplify tenfold when the trio was stopped in their tracks by the arrival of a figure they were all too familiar with.

“So, you think you can bring Roxas back?”

Sora practically choked on a gasp, his heart suddenly seizing up with so much sudden agony that it nearly knocked him to his knees. Donald and Goofy noticed his wavering swaying as he clutched at his chest in a weak, yet desperate attempt to stop the swelling pain. Neither of them had the faintest idea as to what could have possibly been afflicting their young companion, but all the same, they were quick to support him on both sides as they all turned to see exactly who was standing right outside the mansion gates behind them.

“Ansem!” the captain and magician exclaimed, largely since Sora was still far too breathless from the pain to do so himself. Yet that pain only seemed to spark once more as a dark corridor opened up right beside the seeker of darkness, making way for yet another one of the Organization’s leading members to arrive.

“Xemnas!” the trio shouted in unison this time, collectively startled and set off upon being met with two of their most dangerous adversaries at the same exact time.

“Roxas should have never existed in the first place,” Xemnas began coldly, cutting right to the chase. “What you seek is impossible.”

Sora jolted at this, filled with a sense of righteous anger at such a dismissive claim overtaking the pain still pounding through his heart. “Y-you’re wrong!” he retorted boldly, forcing himself to stand upright without Donald and Goofy’s help, as much of a struggle as it was for him. “Roxas does exist! His heart’s inside my heart!”

“His is far from the only one,” Ansem said vaguely, ominously even.

“And in the unlikely event that you do manage to separate the two,” Xemnas continued just as evenly. “Where is it you think you can put his heart?”

“W-well… Roxas used to live in the other Twilight Town , right? So, m-maybe… we can…” Sora trailed off, instantly regretting his knee-jerk idea before he could even say it out loud.

“So, you understand the shortcomings of your ‘brilliant’ plan,” Ansem assumed, arms crossed. “The other Twilight Town is just data. Any existence Roxas might have there would ultimately be an empty one.”

As much as Sora didn’t want to say it, he couldn’t deny that this claim was absolutely correct. Ienzo had said that Roxas’ data was likely contained within the digital Twilight Town, which meant that it would have very well been possible to find a way to set Roxas himself up within that world. And yet, as stable of an idea as it was, it was far from satisfying. Sora didn’t want to see Roxas stuck in a disconnected version of the world that was only barely real to begin with; he wanted to see Roxas brought back into the real world, to reunite with the real people who likewise wanted to see him return. He wanted to truly meet his Nobody, not just in dreams or data or distant memories, but face-to-face for the first time. And, simply put, just throwing Roxas into the alternate version of Twilight Town would accomplish anything but that.

“Hm… Ansem and Xemnas used to be part of the same person, right?” Goofy spoke up, seemingly going off on an entirely different tangent altogether. “But look, now they exist separately just fine. If they can do it, then I don’t see any reason why you and Roxas can’t find a way.”

“Oh, yeah!” Sora exclaimed, instantly allayed by this vote of confidence. Sure enough, it had to be true; if their foes could accomplish such a seemingly impossible feat, then certainly him and Roxas could too, right?

“Yeah! You tell ‘em Captain Goofy!” Donald chimed in his support as well. Ansem and Xemnas, however, were unphased by the trio’s newfound excitement.

“In that case, by all means,” Ansem nodded, surprisingly calm.

“Nothing would please us more than Roxas’ return,” Xemnas said, keeping his sights trained on Sora in particular. “After all, freeing him from the depths of your heart would at last allow us to fully lay claim to our thirteenth member.”

“You wish,” Sora scoffed harshly, still trying his best to ignore the persistent sting ringing through his heart. “Roxas will never answer to you again!”

“Still so blind,” Xemnas shook his head with almost something of a knowing smile. “We are no longer interested in having Roxas as a member. In fact, he is one of the only obstacles standing between and our true final vessel: you, Sora.”

The ripple of shock that struck the trio upon hearing this was sharp and swift. In fact, it might as well have pierced Sora clean through the heart for the amount of intense anguish that rushed through it, so immense and powerful that he could hardly bear it. And yet, instead of crumbling under the crippling strain, he remained standing, as if frozen in place by all of the frightening thoughts and feelings running through his heart and mind all at once. However, he wasn’t really pressed to provide much of a reaction to this disturbing claim, as Donald and Goofy did more than a suitable job doing so in his stead.

“No way!” Donald shouted fiercely as both him and Goofy stepped in front of Sora protectively. “Sora would never be a part of the Organization!”

“That’s right!” the captain admantly agreed. “And we would know! We were there to help save Sora from becomin’ one of Xehanort’s vessels!”

“A valiant effort, that was ultimately for nothing,” Ansem countered before addressing Sora directly. “You can feel it, can’t you? Already the darkness is starting to take a hold upon your heart. And through that darkness, soon you find yourself helpless to resist the master’s call to join our ranks as the vessel you are destined to be.”

“Call…” Sora repeated softly, his eyes widening with the dawning, horrific realization. “That voice… I-it was…”

“It very well could have been,” Xemnas interjected knowingly. “Or… perhaps it was the shadows of your own heart, urging you towards the proper path. Either way, you would do well to heed it; resisting its command will only delay the inevitable.”

At that very moment, the pain coursing through Sora’s heart spiked yet again, and this time, it was fully enough to send him collapsing to his knees, even despite Donald and Goofy rushing to fret over him worriedly. “N-no…” he began weakly, glaring up at Xemnas and Ansem with as much defiance as he could muster. “I don’t care what you try to do to me, I’m not about to lose myself to the darkness!” At this, the Keybearer began to stand, struggling somewhat, until Donald and Goofy helped him rise to boldly, brazenly face their foes once again. “So you can just go and tell Xehanort to find himself another vessel because it’s never going to be me!”

The captain and the magician smiled proudly to their young companion upon hearing his resilient proclamation, both of them glad to know that he hadn’t lost his verve against enemies as dangerous as these. And yet, even despite Sora’s courageous show of determination, Ansem and Xemnas hardly seemed to care.

“If that is what you believe, then you are free to struggle and suffer until your heart can no longer bear the weight of the freedom you’re so desperately trying to cling onto,” Ansem concluded, his tone disapproving and icy.

“But keep in mind that if you truly do want to bring Roxas back, the only way is for you to give your heart up for his,” Xemnas added, presenting a disparaging truth that Sora knew all too well. “Which means that try as you might to resist the darkness, calling upon its power is your only hope for releasing his heart from your own.”

By this point, Sora’s hands were clenched so tightly into fists that they were practically shaking, his anger towards this pair and their callous claims, especially when they came to Roxas, rising by the second. “You really think I buy any of that?” he asked challengingly. “I don’t need the darkness to help Roxas or anyone else. I’ll find another way instead, you’ll see.”

“Go on then,” Ansem remarked with the slightest of mocking grins. “But remember: the shadows are never out of reach if you need them.” At this, the seeker of darkness nodded to the space behind the trio, where, as if on cue, a sizable group of Heartless was arising from the grass, ready to attack. Xemnas swiftly added onto the monstrous horde, calling upon a swath of Nobodies and creating an aptly dangerous force that was already deadest on besetting the trio before them.

Sora stole a brief glance away from the creatures to the duo that had summoned them, noticing that they were getting ready to take their leave instead of confronting the trio in battle themselves. “Enjoy whatever fleeting time you have left to bask in the warmth of the light,” Xemnas began, already calling upon a dark corridor for their retreat.

“For soon enough, you will stand in the depths of darkness alongside the rest of us,” Ansem finished with a dark, goading grin.

“Now… set your heart free,” both of them proclaimed just as they disappeared into the darkness from whence they came.

“Wait!” Sora shouted after them, summoning his Keyblade in the hopes of catching them before they could get away. They still managed to, however, as the Keybearer’s attention was quickly diverted back to the horde of Heartless and Nobodies his companions had already started to engage in combat.

“Sora!” Donald called warningly, narrowly dodging a wide swing from one of the several rampaging Dusks.

Seeing that his companions could clearly use the help, Sora hurried over to join them, though even as the battle properly began, he couldn’t really shake his own immense desire to prove the malicious duo wrong. “It’s not darkness,” he muttered to himself as he entered the fray, feeling the pain in his heart finally, thankfully dissipate altogether. “Not if it helps him!”

And with that, the Keybearer threw himself into the fight alongside his companions, taking the force of Heartless and Nobodies head on. Despite their numbers, the creatures were a small obstacle at best, and hardly any of their main focus with their thoughts still unanimously on their alarming encounter with Xemnas and Ansem mere moments ago. The implications of their cryptic statements were discouraging, downright frightening in some instances, but of course, the trio only found time to properly discuss them once the monsters they had left behind were fully cleared out. And, once they did manage to successfully oust the Nobodies and the Heartless alike, that’s exactly what they did.

Donald and Goofy were the first to reconvene after the fight was through, though they were quick to turn their already fretful attention over to Sora instead. He stood apace away from them, his back turned and his expression unknown as he stared off into the twilit forest ahead, lost in thought over everything they’d just heard. As worrying as what Ansem and Xemnas had said concerning him had been, the Keybearer was far more focused on what they had said about Roxas. He refused to believe that the only way to help his Nobody would be to play right into the Organization’s hands. There had to be some other way, and even if he had no idea what that way might be, he was willing to do whatever he could to find it.

“Herc said…  ‘with all our hearts’…” the Keybearer muttered to himself, finding more meaning in the hero’s inspiring words now than ever before. “Okay. Then all my heart it is. I’m getting Roxas out.”

“B-but aren’t ya worried about what they said?” Goofy asked, aptly apprehensive. “About… y-ya know?”

“A-about you being a-a… a vessel?” Donald finished, just as worried.

Sora paused at this, glancing back at his companions to find their expressions awash in dread and concern solely for him. Concern that he couldn’t help but appreciate, especially given the circumstances. “N-no,” he shook his head, his hand lightly skimming over his now-calm heart. “No, I’m not. They probably only said all that stuff to try to psych me out or scare me, but its not gonna work. And besides, its like you guys said; you and Axel and Riku and the king all saved me, so there’s no way that whole ‘vessel’ thing could be true, right?”

Donald and Goofy exchanged an initially uncertain glance at this, neither of them entirely sure when they considered all of the odd happenings that had been going on since this new journey began, to Sora in particular. And yet, when they met their young companion’s bright, reassuring smile, their worries were quickly put to rest. After all, if Sora had begun to fall victim to the sway of darkness as Ansem and Xemnas had claimed, certainly he wouldn’t be able to maintain his usual upbeat resolve. His confident, carefree smile was proof enough for them that he was still himself, and that was something that both the captain and the magician hoped would never change.

“Well… ok…” Donald relented somewhat halfheartedly. “But still, you need to be careful, Sora. Especially if the Organization really does wanna force you onto their side.”

“Which is why, if ya start noticing that anything’s wrong or off, ya gotta promise to tell us about it,” Goofy asserted with a rare stern sincerity in his tone. “That way, we can help keep ya safe from anything the Organization might try to do to ya!”

“Oh, come on, you guys, nothing’s gonna happen,” Sora assured lightly, though he was quick to recant his casual manner upon seeing the gravely serious expressions his companions shared. ��B-but… ok. I… I promise.” The Keybearer looked away as he said this, knowing that he had already largely broken this promise by not telling either of them about the voice or the pain that had both pressed so viciously upon his heart.

If their brief encounter with Xemnas and Ansem had confirmed anything for Sora, it was that the voice somehow taking complete control over him had been no random happenstance. The pair had hinted that it could have very well been Xehanort himself, but even then, the Keybearer wasn’t entirely convinced that was the case. As for what the voice had truly been, he still wasn’t sure, but he was resolved against the idea that the dark duo’s claims of him being the supposed thirteenth vessel were anywhere close to correct. True, he had nearly fallen victim to such an alarming fate during his and Riku’s exam, but in the end, Xehanort’s plans for him had ended in failure, or at least that’s what he’d heard since he had been largely lost to relentless slumber at the time. Still, Sora firmly believed that his friends’ courageous, selfless efforts to save him had been successful in the end. Any evidence or claims to the contrary were likely nothing worth worrying about whatsoever.

Or at least, he hoped they were nothing, because the alternative was absolutely unthinkable.

With Heartless and Nobodies and the like still out and about as they were, Sora, Donald, and Goofy had decided the best course of action would be to return to town to warn Hayner and Olette of the lurking danger. They did so, meeting up with the pair amidst their job of hanging posters up around town and urging them to stay on their toes against any lingering threats that may lie in wait around the area. And with that message relayed, the trio realized that their time in Twilight Town had just about come to an end. After all, they still had yet to begin their search for the Keys in earnest, and as far as any of them could tell, they weren’t going to find any of them here. Still, they all made sure to solidify their shared resolve one more time to continue working towards helping Roxas, even if all they could really do for now was wish and hope for his eventual return. And while it perhaps wasn’t the quickest or most direct way of bringing that return about, at the very least, it was something.

Still, as the group began exchanging their fond farewells and parting words, they were completely unaware of the fact that they were being closely watched from above. Ansem and Xemnas stood atop a nearby building, more or less unseen by any of the oblivious townsfolk below as they observed the Keybearer in particular with careful, confident scrutiny.

“He still believes that his heart is safe from the influence of darkness,” Ansem sneered, crossing his arms as he looked down at Sora condescendingly. “Pathetic.”

“His heart is strong, to be sure,” Xemnas mused more evenly. “But in the end, his naiveté is bound to be his downfall, if not his obvious weakness for those he cares for most.”

“Well, that should be an easy weakness to exploit, huh? Especially when you think about just how many ‘friends’ that kid seems to have.”

The pair turned at this, unsurprised to see a dark corridor open up on the same rooftop they were are as Xigbar stepped through it to join them. Neither Xemnas nor Ansem offered him much of a greeting as they instead turned their focus back to Sora, not noticing the freeshooter’s almost cocky smirk as he did the same. “Still, aren’t you making it a little too obvious?” he asked the pair, having witnessed their earlier encounter with the trio from afar.

“We were instructed to guide him,” Xemnas said simply. “To point him towards his proper place among our ranks, no matter how long his… ‘recruitment’ might take.”

“Oh, so it really is him, huh?” Xigbar asked, still smirking. “And I thought Xehanort was just pulling everyone’s leg by dropping all those hints. But I gotta say…” The freeshooter took on a faux thoughtful look as he kept his sights trained on the unwitting Keybearer. “He doesn’t really look the part…”

“He will,” Ansem assured. “In time.”

“Hmph, well, you two seem confident that he’ll just fall perfectly into place,” Xigbar mused dryly. “But let’s not forget how many times Sora still managed to rain on our parade. So what’s the plan for when he ends up slipping through the cracks and figures out some way to keep his heart out of Xehanort’s reach?”

“He won’t,” the seeker of darkness concluded. “And if he does find a way to waver from the path we lay, we destroy him.”

“But in that case… we’ll have to find ourselves another vessel,” Xigbar pointed out. “Oof, the old man would not like that. He seems pretty deadest on Sora in particular for some reason. Wonder why that is…?”

“The reason is not important,” Xemnas rebuffed succinctly. “What is important is that the process has begun. Try as he might to refuse or resist, there is nothing Sora can do to protect his heart from the tide of darkness already overtaking him.”

“And once that tide inevitably tears his heart apart,” Ansem added, as they all looked back down to Sora once more, their dark intentions for him clear. “Then we’ll be there, to pick up what’s left of the broken pieces…”

At this, the rooftop trio finally took their leave, allowing the still unaware group below to continue on their journey, wherever it might take them next. However, there was still yet another pair of eyes focused on them, this time from an even higher vantage point: the clock tower itself.

From this lofty height, one of the telltale black cloaks of Organization XIII had just been thrown, discarded by its most recent ex-member who was more than ready to cast off any sort of association to the group and to its leader in particular. Still, his newfound independence didn’t mean he didn’t have his own agenda in mind. For as he caught sight caught sight of the Keybearer leaving town far below him, he felt a spark of all too familiar warmth burn in his heart, a warmth that he hated and craved all at once. A warmth that would help him claim what was rightfully his, once and for all. “There you are…” he said darkly, not even having to question if he had picked out the right face in the crowd. After all, his was nearly exactly the same. “Looks like I’ve finally found you… Ventus…”

Next: 

[echoes-of-the-clockwork]

Gladiolus x Reader

A/n: Hi, guys! I’m new to Tumblr and wish to share one of my many one shots from my Final Fantasy XV One Shots book on Wattpad. The link to all my works is on my page. This is a Kingdom Hearts crossover. I hope you all enjoy!!!

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~(Y/n)'s POV~

"Welcome to Traverse Town!" I cheer as we exit the portal I had created. Luckily, my portal took us to the First District which is where I was hoping to land.

"You get to visit this place anytime you want,

(Y/n)?" Prompto asked. I nodded and dismissed my Keyblade. "It's just one of the many worlds I wanna show you all. When we first met, you all were so kind and even helped me hunt down a giant Heartless. Not all worlds I visit have friendly faces. Learned that the hard way..." 

"Well, you were passed out in the middle of the road when we found you," Gladio chuckles.

"That... uh, was because I miscalculated," I say while fiddling with my fingers. He chuckled harder and patted me on the head. "Glad you did. We probably wouldn't have met if you didn't."

"Aw, how sweet. You're making me feel better about my mistake," I said as I lightly shoved him.

"This place has a completely different atmosphere than Insomnia," Noctis comments.

"Yes, a more clean and light atmosphere," Ignis adds.

"I know you all will enjoy Traverse Town," I smile confidently. I began showing them around the First District and continued to the Second and Third. After that, we headed to the Fountain. "This is the most beautiful place in Traverse Town," I state as they spot the fountain.

"Incredible," Ignis compliments. As they awed at the fountain, I saw Gladio was the closest to it. A smirk crept onto my face as an idea popped into my head. Sneaking up behind him, I gave him a gentle push. Since he was off-balance, his body easily fell into the cold water.

Without holding back, all my laughter spilled out. Gladio sent me a small glare as he finds out I was the one who pushed him in. "Sorry, couldn't pass up such a golden opportunity," I say, my sides splitting from laughter. His frown then turned into a smirk. Before I could do anything, he latched onto my wrist and pulled me in. I yelp as soon as my body collides with the freezing water.

Now the roles were reversed. Gladio was the one laughing at me while I was glaring at him. He got out of the fountain while I just kept my sharp glare on his form. When I tried to exit the fountain, I ended up slipping and fell back into the water.

"Need some help?" Gladio asked, extending a hand towards me. I gladly take his hand and he hoisted me out of the cold water.

"Thank you," I smiled, wiping away my glare. While helping me, I could hear Noctis and Prompto whispering to each other. I heard my name and Gladio's for some strange reason. Ignoring the gossiping boys, I sit on the edge of the fountain. Gladio kneeled in front of me and moved strands of (h/c) hair that stuck to my face.

"Thought I heard a familiar voice."

I looked passed Gladio and saw a person I haven't seen in months.

"Leon!"

He smiled as I called his name. I ran over and gave him a hug. "Heard from Sora that you were visiting another world, (Y/n)."

"Yeah, but now I'm back and have brought some new friends," I said, gesturing to the group of men behind me. Leon looks up and examines each one of them. From his gaze, I could tell he was being very cautious. With a small huff, I pinch him on the cheek. "Leon, stop that. They helped me numerous of times when I was stuck in a rut."

His expression softens at my words. "Then I should be thanking them," he whispers to me. I smile and nudge him forward. While Leon thanked them, I turned around as soon as I saw white feathers in my peripheral vision.

"(Y/n)!"

Someone shouts my name and I see a small, white figure jump on me. Once I realized who it was, I immediately hugged them close. "Donald!" Smiling while holding the duck, I saw Sora and Goofy not far behind. Out of the three of them, I've known Donald the longest. He helped me around the worlds until Goofy came along. Then, that was when all three of us met Sora. We all instantly became friends after our first mission together.

"We didn't get to see you before you left," Sora said as he and Goofy joined the hug. "Gawrsh, you were gone for months! Did somethin' happen?" Goofy asked. I shook my head with a wider smile. "Nothing happened, but I did meet more friends. I'll introduce them to you."

One by one, I introduced the trio to Noctis, Prompto, Gladio, and Ignis. Even Leon introduced himself to them along with Sora, Donald, and Goofy. Once introductions were out of the way, I clapped my hands together. "So, how about we finish our tour?" They all nodded and we decided to split up into groups. Sora and Goofy went with Noctis, Prompto, and Ignis while Donald, myself, Gladio, and Leon grouped together.

As I continued to show Gladio around, I saw Leon's eyes were glued to me. Tilting my head in confusion, I made eye contact with him. "Um, Leon, are you okay?" His eyes widen at my question and he looks away, a hint of red on his cheeks. "Nothing's wrong, (Y/n)."

Picking up on his strange behavior, I jumped in front of him. Raising an eyebrow, I searched his blue eyes for an answer. He turned his head away from my gaze and crossed his arms.

Suddenly I heard Donald yell out. The frightened duck catches my attention as he hides behind me. Turning around completely, I saw one of Organization XIII's members. As the figure cackled, I immediately recognized who it was.

"Xigbar."

He laughs even louder and claps his gloved hands together. "Right on the nose, cupcake!" I glare at the man as he slowly begins walking towards me. Before I could summon my Keyblade, Gladio stepped in front of me protectively. Leon grabbed my arm and pulled me to his side.

"You wound me, (Y/n)! I was hoping to have a friendly chat with you," he said with a smirk.

"What do you want?" I ask, venom bursting from every word. Xigbar gestures to my hands. He must be after my Keyblade for his leader, Xemnas. "That blade of yours is why I'm here. Now, how about you just hand it over like the good girl you are?"

"Get lost," Gladio growls as he summons his broadsword. Xigbar just sighs while rolling his eyes. "You're no fun." Gladio swung his sword at the man, but he easily dodges the attack. When Xigbar was distracted by Gladio, I summoned my Keyblade and used a few spells against the nobody. Switching his attacks from Gladio to me, I nimbly dodge all of his attacks. Leon and Donald joined in and didn't hold back.

"Aero!" I cast one last spell and knock Xigbar away. His weapon disappears as he crashes to one knee. "You guys are no fun," Xigbar states with a faint huff. He gets to his feet while wearing a smirk. A portal opened behind him, making him take a few steps back. I pushed passed Gladio so I could prevent him from escaping, but I was suddenly grabbed from behind and yanked back. I watch the man disappear into the portal with a grin directed towards me.

"Get back here!" Donald squeals as he runs to where the portal once was. "Donald, it's fine. I'm sure we'll be seeing him again soon," I said to the duck. Looking to had grabbed me, I saw Gladio had a hold on my arm. "Um, Gladio... you can let go now." He immediately frees me and apologizes for grabbing me. I shook my head with a smile to reassure him.

When I turned to ask Donald a question, I saw he was mad. He began walking away in a tizzy and I sighed in annoyance. Taking chase, I called after him to stop his rage.

~3rd Person POV~

Gladio and Leon watch as (Y/n) chases after the raging duck. Both smiled as she attempted to straighten his ruffled feathers. While keeping his eyes on the girl, Leon spoke up. "It seems I don't have worry anymore."

Gladio tore his eyes away from (Y/n) to glance at Leon. "Don't think I didn't pick up on how you feel about her."

Leon grins and began messing with his hair. "And don't think I haven't either." Gladio was a little shocked at his reply. The bodyguard rubbed the back of his neck with a sigh. Leon crossed his arms with closed eyes. "... And I can tell how she feels about you."

"What're you talking about?"

"I've known her for years. She's an open book. You should tell her before something happens."

"And you're giving me permission?"

"She's only ever seen me as a brotherly figure. Nothing more, nothing less. Since she'll be with you, I don't need to worry about her safety. Take care of her for me, Gladio."

Leon went over to Donald and grabbed him. He took the duck to help find the others while (Y/n) and Gladio could have some time to talk. He approached the confused girl as she made eye contact with him. "Where are those two going?" She asked.

"To tell the others of what happened," he replied.

(Y/n) narrowed her eyes as she saw a mixture of emotions pass through Gladio's eyes. She stood in front of him and got on her tippy toes. Her hands cupped his face, making him stiffen at her warm, gentle touch. A small frown etched its way on her lips as she raised an eyebrow. "What's wrong? And don't tell me it's nothing! I know you too well for that lie."

Without warning, Gladio had yanked her body close to his and pushed his lips against hers. Shocked at the sudden kiss, (Y/n)'s eyes flew wide open. Her hands fell from his face and moved to his arms that held her body flush against his. During the kiss, they heard the sound of a camera. Both pulled away and saw a bubbly Prompto jumping around with a smug grin.

"Totally keeping that one!"

[turnupswritessometimes]

SoRiku - Hearts of Ice and Fire - CH1

Title : Hearts of Ice and Fire

Word Count: 2643

Summary :  Prince Sora of the Destine Isles has been kidnapped by Maleficent. Held in a cell, he comes into contact with the Prince Maleficent has been training his whole life, Riku. As Sora unpicks Riku’s attitudes, Riku finds himself reconsidering everything he has been taught.

Posted on my A03 and FF.net under the same name because tumblr doesn’t put posts with links on search results.

Chapter One:

Riku knew he was being creepy.

And he was trying to stop watching the boy sleep, but he couldn't tear himself away. He kept telling himself to get up and walk away - but he couldn't quite bring himself to stand up.

At first, he had thought about how cool it would be to have a witty line prepared for when the Prince woke up. Then he had gotten bored waiting, and went to get up. At the same time, Maleficent's black cat jumped into his lap and, by the laws of cat-ownership, he couldn't move.

Then he had started to notice how pretty the Prince was. How his eyelashes were long and thick and black. More like a girl's than a boy's. They were so long that they cast spidery shadows across his cheeks. His cheeks were so smooth - like porcelian. His hair had drooped across his face, looking like smeared paint in the half light of the candle. It was kind of sickening - how much he looked like a prince from a fairytale.

It was kind of sickening how jarring the cut on his head, still oozing thick, sticky blood, ruined the image. How it was clotting in his hair. It was too brutal too fit in with the fragility of his face.

It had to be done, Riku told himself. He had closed his eyes and taken a deep breath, trying to think of why he was doing what he was doing. What the prince had done. Why he was on Maleficent's side.

It was dark outside the small window of the cell now. Frost was creeping up like claws and he was shivering.

Finally, Maleficent's cat hopped off of Riku's lap and he could get up to re-light the candles.

He was just trying to blow the match out before it burned his fingers when he heard the voice.

"...What's going on...?"

Really? Now?!

Riku's witty comment completely left his brain. He spun and stared, his eyes wide. The boy was crouched on the floor, looking like he could barely support his own right. He was frowning in confusion, blinking his eyes quickly to try to come back to reality.

And Riku found himself wondering how anybody's eyes could be so blue. His own eyes were blue - but this was electric blue. The kind of blue that was only described in books. The kind of blue eyes that he didn't believe ever really existed.

He realised that he'd been staring for too long.

"Uh, you're -" Riku stopped. He cleared his throat and drew himself to his full height. "You're in Maleficent's castle."

For a moment, the Prince still looked confused. He raised a hand to his head, his fingers running over the half-congealed blood that was there.

He just stared at Riku. His frown deepened, his finger's running over the length of the cut.

"You kidnapped me." He said slowly. It wasn't accusatory - it sounded almost like a question. But it was true.

"Yes?" Riku replied. He hadn't meant for it to sound like a question. He had meant to sound a lot cooler and mysterious than he was coming off.

He watched the Prince sit up, and lean against the wall heavily. He seemed to be thinking hard.

"That makes sense," he said slowly. "But it probably would be more effective to kidnap Kairi."

"But you're the crown prince," Riku said. He knew of Kairi - he had been quizzed on the Royal Families for years. It was important to know, Maleficent had said, if you want to rule one day. Kairi was the King's ward. Her history was shrouded in mystery - even, apparently, to herself.

"Kairi's a much better politician than me - she's better at philosophy too."

"I don't think there will be much talk of politics," Riku said. "We're trying to start a war."

The Prince frowned. A genuine look of bewilderment came across his face.

"Why?" he asked with such a childish curiousity that Riku was left speechless.

He tried to start multiple sentences with multiple points but found he was too stunned to continue.

And this boy was just sat there, staring at him. How could he be so oblivious?!

There was a sudden loud growl in the cell and the two boys stared at eachother startled.

The Prince's belly grumpled again.

"I missed dinner," he said, with a sheepish grin.

"Well, you're not going to get any from me," Riku replied. Hatred had bubble up in his stomach and he turned away.

Maleficent's cat was scratching at the heavy stone door and he followed it out. He made sure to lock at it and called the closest of the gargoyles to guard it. Not that he really saw the Prince as a challenge.

The Prince. Riku turned the thought over in his mind. The crown Prince of the Destine Isle - a homely little place with low rise buildings and rosy complexions. Sora. He had expected the boy to be ignorant - most people from the Destine Isle were - but he hadn't expected to talk to a child. They were meant to be the same age...

Riku had lost that sparkle in his eyes a long time ago. Maybe that was why his eyes were the colour of ice and not the sea. He caught a glimpse of his face in one of the gilded mirrors - Maleficent had always been narcississitic - he was always narrowed eyes and drawn lips. He rarely showed expression, whereas Sora's face was alight with it. A rounder face against Riku's prominent cheekbones.

Would he have been more like that - if Maleficent hadn't saved him? Innocent and whimsical - caring more about dinner than immanent war?

He almost shuddered. But he was coming towards the banquet hall, and shivering would be a sign of weakness. He couldn't show weakness in front of witches and warlocks and tricksters and everything inbetween when he was merely the boy Maleficent decided to take in.

He had to show them all why. Show them that he was their Prince. That he could succeed where they were all failing.

He entered the hall. The high ceiling made every clink of silver seem like a cave, and the silver embelishment on everything made the room look like it was covered in ice. The candles barely lit the room - casting grotesque shadows of it's occupants on the wall.

Riku had long since grown used to the darkness, but he still treasured what little light there was. How it left spots in his vision. How it was warm.

Because he was still human - and he still chased after warmth.

"You're late," the words dripped from Maleficent's tongue like treacle. Like she wanted to make him squirm.

He squashed that squirming as he strode into the room - the heels of his boots clicking satisfyingly on the floor.

"I was entertaining our guest," he said smoothly.

She was sat at the end of the table, and had saved the seat to her right, her skin almost glowing luminescent in the candlelight. There was something beautiful about that green-yellow colour.

"He's awake." Maleficent replied. It was not a question. She could probably see through that damned cat's eyes.

"He's hungry," Riku sat down.

Maleficent laughed at that. The other's laughed too - though partly only because she had.

"I hope you won't get too attached to your new, little pet," a silky voice said. Riku turned a half-lidded gaze deliberately to the owner - a pruny sorceror called Jafar.

"Only as attached as you get to Agrabah's Princess," Riku replied. "Weren't you planning to kill her? How did that leap to marriage?"

For a moment, Jafar looked livid. Maleficent must have seen the outrage in his eyes, because she quickly spoke again.

"Rest assured that nothing will keep my Prince from my goal."

My goal. The words echoed around Riku's head. It was not her goal. It was his.

The conversation moved on - to news from the villains around the table. Some from their own kingdoms, some on their plans to overtake their kingdoms. This was an alliance Maleficent had formed to drench the world with her ideals. An alliance she was ideally at the head of.

Riku mostly stayed silent. His palms still had silvery scars to remind him to only speak when spoken to. He swallowed his opinions. He was just an acessory for Maelficent. He was there to look pretty.

Maleficent was gathering armies. The kidnapping of the Prince was only the first step in conquering the Destine Isles. She had her own imps, of course, but nw she was looking for monsters. She was looking to completely annihilate the enemy.

Jafar was, of course, all too happy to oblige. He was deserate to be in Maleficent's good books. To rule beside her as her second in command. And to overthrow her. That was crystal clear to Riku in the way his dark eyes gleamed.

The honour of Maleficent's second in command was, to others, Pete - but she only favoured the bumbling fool because he could never overpower her. 'There are two kinds of people,' Maleficent said to him. 'Those who rule, and those who are meant to be ruled over.' Pete was in the later categor, Riku was in the first. He had been preened for the role of Maleficent's second in commaned his whole life. He was the one she trusted. They had the same mind.

Others had offers for her. Pete could give Maleficent monsters and in return she'd ammuse him with dreams of greatness. The Queen of Hearts could offer hardy soldiers. But she wanted things in return. She was not desperate for power - she ruled her own country - but Maleficent could give her money - alliances and protection.

Not to mention, she had an heir to bargain with. A marriage with Riku was a life-long alliance. Riku knew Maleficent would use him well.

Some of them were forced to give troops. Madame Mim and Dr Facilier owed so much to Maleficent already they had no choice.

The war looked to be on Maleficent's side favourably. It made Riku smirk triumphantly.

When the meeting ended, Riku's fingers had gone completely numb. Maleficent gave him a smile as he retired that suggested she knew. She knnew she was making him suffer.

'Pain makes you stronger,' she had always told him. 'No one can fight ice.'

Riku's room was at the top of one of the spindly towers. He suspected it had originally been built for prisoners - there were bars on the window and a hook for a chain on the wall, that he hung his cloak on.

It was a small, round room made of the same dark bricks that composed the whole castle. There were no curtains, and Riku's bed sheets were thin.

He didn't have much. A wardrobe. A hand mirror he suspected Maleficent could see through. A shelf of books she had picked. He had poured over them as a child - desperate for any knowledge. Now he had better ways. Maleficent had taught him a few tricks - how to get people to say what he wanted - how to look through a hand mirror at someone else - to make a flame - to blend into the darkness and become invisible. He revelled in these few tricks, eventhough he knew she had many more she was holding back from him. It gave him power. Control.

Hope. That one day he could be like her. Her equal.

He could be ferocious and powerful too. He had been lying on his bed, clicking his fingers lazilly to ignite and extinguish a flame for about ten minutes when he heard it. Like a kitten mewling for it's mother's milk.

Prince Sora whining for his dinner.

His cell was under Riku's room. It was past midnight, though Riku never slept much through the night. It always made him feel more alive.

He rolled over. Tried to ignore it. Tried to trace constellations in the sky, but he knew none. He had never been taught.

The Prince continued to wail.

For an hour, Riku bore it, before he stormed out of the room. He clattered down the stone steps, striding along the hallway. He hoped he looked impressive, with his cape billowing out behind him. He hoped he looked intimidating.

The Prince was pressed against the bars of his cell, his hands clutching a bar either side of his face. He must have been stanidng on tiptoes to reach.

"Will you shut up!" Riku half-yelled. He felt almost ashamed that he had let so much emotion show.

"But I'm hungry!" the Prince pouted - actually pouted - like a child.

"So?" Riku replied. "Go without dinner."

There was a pause. The boy looked almost horrified. Riku's revelation seemed equally horrifying.

"Haven't you ever gone without dinner before?" he asked, fighting to keep his tone neutral.

"Well -" the boy paused. "I've been threatened with it - but someone always gave into me in the end."

Riku wanted to laugh. This boy had always got what he wanted when he wanted. He lived a fantasy. Riku was glad he never had that - it had taught him to be sly - manipulative - to sacrifice in order to get something better.

"You'll get fed tommorow," Riku said, he went to walk away when the boy called out again.

"Wait! What's your name?"

Riku turned back reluctantly. He fixed the Prince with his most piercing gaze, though it had little effect.

"Riku," he replied coldly. "Prince Riku."

"I'm Sora," the Prince smiled. Riku had never thought 'beaming' as a good word to descrie a smile until then.

"I know," he replied.

"Oh. Yeah," for an instant, the boy's face fell.

With a roll of his eyes, Riku went to turn away again.

"Um!" Sora called after him loudly. He stopped, but did not turn. "Do you have - a light?"

"What?" Riku asked. He could feel the snide dripping from his tongue.

"Well - I'm -" his voice wavered ever so slightly. "-Scared. Of the dark."

Riku almost did chuckle then. The thought was absurd - like being scared of breathing.

He walked away from the cell slowly.

But then a memory - a memory he hadn't thought of for years - something he was sure he'd quite forgotten - sprouted in his mind. Of being five years old and hearing a sound in the night. Of being scared of leaving his room. Of calling for someone - anyone - to come to him.

His cries faded into silence. The darkness was suddenly loud and penetrating and claustrophobic. He remembered falling asleep petrified on the stone floor.

He remembered that desperation.

So he crept downstairs instead of back upstairs. To the empty kitchens. There was the crusty end of the bread on the side - the imps were probably going to eat it. Riku slipped it into his pocket, along with a curling sliver of cheese.

Finally, he moved slowly back up the stairs. Sora's cell had gone quiet. The guard had nodded of because of it - the first moment of piece all night. That was good. It meant that Riku was able to creep right up to the bars, and push the crust of bread through.

He drew the shadows around him and hurried back down the hall.

He hadn't done the right thing. Maleficent wouldn't have done that.

But the Prince was silent. He consoled himself in that.

And comforting him seemed like a good thing. Or at least nuetral. To be that hand in the darkness. He shouldn't have been. But he was.

Because he remembered the feeling all too well.

[atomic-taco-muffin]

The Lost Princess Chapter 58

warnings: do i even need to say it

rating: SFW

“WHAT THE HELL?!” the twins shouted. 

“Eek!” Rumi yelped.

“How did she go missing?! You were the one with her!” Roxy said. 

“I don’t know. We passed out and the next thing I knew, she was gone,” Sora said. 

“Grr...She should’ve stayed with us. That way, she wouldn’t have been kidnapped!” Yui said. 

“Did you see who kidnapped her?” Xemnas said. 

“No. Both of us were knocked out cold,” Sora said. 

“Well, I know that you’ll find her. You always have. Now we must get back to the task at hand,” Yen Sid said. 

“But--” Roxy said. 

“Roxy,” Xemnas warned. Roxy scoffed and listened to what Yen Sid, Xemnas, and Ansem had to say.

“Long ago, in the age of fairy tales, the World was filled with light--a gift, many believed, from an unseen power known as "Kingdom Hearts." You see, Kingdom Hearts was protected by its counterpart, the "Chi-blade," so that none could ever lay hands on its mysteries. But in time, the World was overrun by legions who wanted the light all for themselves, and the first shadows were cast upon the land. These warriors crafted ‘Keyblades’ in the image of the original Chi-blade, and waged a great war over Kingdom Hearts. We call this the ‘Keyblade War.’ But though the war extinguished all light from the World, the darkness could not reach the brightness inside every child's heart. With that light, the World was remade as we know it today, with countless smaller worlds shining like stars in the sky. As for the real Chi-blade, it did not survive the battle. The two elements that created it, one of darkness and one of light, shattered into twenty pieces--seven of light; thirteen of darkness. And as for the source of all light--the one true Kingdom Hearts--it was swallowed by the darkness, never to be seen again. As long as it remains there, even the brightest world will have its dark corners. After all, light begets darkness, and darkness is drawn to light. For this reason, some decided to use the Keyblade-- a weapon designed to conquer the light--to defend the light instead. These were the first heroes of the Keyblade,” Yen Sid said. 

~~~~

Sora awoke in Traverse Town with a jolt.

“Where is he?” he asked. He looked over and saw that Rumi and Yui were with him.

“Rumi! Yui!” he said. 

“Wh-why am I back here?” Rumi asked, nervously.

“It’s okay, Rumi. Sora and I are gonna protect you. Right, Sora?” Yui said.

“R-right,” Sora said. 

“Hey Sora. Who were you talking about?” Rumi said.

“Before I fell asleep, Neku said that he and that creep in the coat had a ‘deal.’ But what was the deal? Are the two of them in league? That can't be right... We never even found Neku's partner. I guess we should just take a look around,” Sora said.

“Agreed,” Yui said. The three of them made their way to the First District and found a hidden entrance to the Post Office beneath the tall mailbox in the square. Through there, they traveled to the Fourth District.

“Wow! Never been this way before!” Sora said. 

“Neither have I!” Rumi said. The three of them spotted a large stadium with balloons.

“Ooh! What's that?” Rumi said. The three of them saw a young kid talking to a Moogle.

“Hey, um...any chance you're Neku's partner?” Yui asked. 

“Huh?” the kid asked. They turned to face him, the Moogle flapping his tiny wings. “Umm...I'm not really sure. All I know is that my name is Rhyme.”

“You mean...you've lost your memory?” Sora asked.

“Yep.”

“Oh. Sorry...” 

“Aw, it's no big deal. You know what they always say--’Sometimes memories just need a little help getting out.’”

“Yeah...that's true. Huh, ‘a little help’... I know! Maybe Neku can jog your memory! Come on, Rhyme. Let's go find him!” Rumi said. 

“Right!” They walked into the Fifth District, which housed a large multilevel garden. Rumi looked up and saw Neku standing on the roof. They soon reached his level.

“Neku!” Rumi said. 

“What? Rumi? You’re back? Sora...You actually still trust me?” Neku asked.

“Of course I do,” Sora said. 

“But you know that I tricked you, right? That guy in the black coat, he said he could send me home--me and my partner--but I had to bring you to him first. He was also with two women. They wanted (Y/N). I’m sorry.” Neku hung his head down.

“Wait, black coat? Oh no,” Yui said. 

“W-what is it?” Rumi asked.  

“The Organization. They want (Y/N) for something. And I don’t even want to say it,” Sora said. 

“Well, it’ll be no big deal. You’ve taken care of them before. I’m sure you can do it again. Now then, Neku--this here is Rhyme. Is she your Game partner?” Rumi said. 

“No. Sorry. I'm teamed up with somebody else,” Neku said. Suddenly, Rhyme vanished. “Huh?”

“What? Rhyme!” Yui said. The cloaked figure appeared in the center of the rooftop along with two cloaked women. Sora readied his Keyblade while Yui and Rumi summoned their guardians and Neku ran toward the cloaked people, who knocked him away with ease.

“Neku!” Rumi said. The man raised his arms as a large Hockomonkey Nightmare appears, floating in the air above them and the two women summoned a group of Negaverse’s. A corridor of darkness appeared behind them, and began to walk inside it.

“Huh? Hey, wait!” Sora said. Him and the girls ran forward, but the corridor closed and the Nightmare and Negaverse’s blocked their path.

“Out of our way!” Yui said. After a tough battle, Sora and the girls defeated the Hockomonkey and the Negaverse’s. Meanwhile, Riku woke up in the Second District, Roxy right next to him.

“What happened? Did I fall asleep?” he asked. 

“How should I know?” Roxy asked. Riku got up and walked around, Roxy following close behind. 

“Where are Joshua and Beat?” he asked. 

“Who?” Roxy asked. 

“Uh, nevermind.”

“Hey, do you mind?” someone asked. Riku and Roxy turned and saw a girl running away from some Dream Eaters and Negaverse’s. Him and Roxy chased them to the First District, finding them surrounding her at a closed-off door. He summoned his Keyblade while Roxy summoned her guardian.

“Stay back,” Riku said. Him and Roxy took out all the Dream Eaters and Negaverse’s and faced the girl with pink hair. She held a cute cat doll in her hands.

“Seriously, thanks. I'm Shiki, how 'bout you?” she said.

“Riku.” 

“The name’s Roxy.” 

“Thanks, Riku and Roxy.” 

“Sure,” Riku said. Him and Roxy started to leave.

“Hey! That's it? You chat up a girl and then just say, ‘Sure,’ and walk off?” Shiki said. 

“Look sweetcheeks. I’m here to find my sister and my best friend, okay? I don’t have time to talk to people like you,” Roxy said. Riku stopped and looked at Shiki.

“Sorry about her. She doesn’t know how to control her anger sometimes,” Riku said. 

“I HEARD THAT!” Roxy yelled. 

“Look, it's not safe here. You should go home.” 

“If it's dangerous, how can you just leave me here? Aren't you my knight in shining armor?” Shiki asked. She played with her doll while talking and winked at him. “Well?”

“Kn-knight? You've got the wrong idea,” Riku said. 

“Omigosh, I was so just kidding. You get out much?” 

“He doesn’t!” Roxy said. Riku crossed his arms, unable to form words.

“You remind me of this guy I know. Well, good thing we met,” Shiki said.

“Yeah, great,” Riku said. Him, Roxy, and Shiki walked to the Fifth District. At that moment, Sora, Rumi, and Yui and Neku reached ground level, seeing an image of Riku, Roxy, and Shiki, who held her cat doll.

“Riku!” Sora said. 

“Roxy!” Rumi and Yui said. 

“Over there!” Shiki said. Sora, Rumi, and Yui saw the girl's image ran off toward a staircase and they started to run over to Riku and Roxy.

“Hold on, guys,” someone said.

“Hey! We should stick together!” Riku said. Shiki cried out in alarm.

“Perfect,” Roxy said. A Portal appeared behind Sora, Rumi, and Yui, who watched the image of Riku and Roxy run after the girl. Joshua appeared before Sora, Rumi, Yui, and Neku.

“Joshua,” Neku said. 

“Hello, Neku. How long the days without you have felt,” Joshua said. Suddenly, Rhyme reappeared. 

“Rhyme! I'm glad you're okay,” Sora said. Rhyme smiled.

“Neku, do you know this guy?” Rumi asked.

“Yeah. Joshua. He's my...friend,” Neku said. 

“Okay... Are you the one who took Rhyme away? And...why do you know our names?” Yui asked. 

“If you'd like to settle down for a sec, I'll field your questions one at a time. Let's start with Rhyme. I'm hanging on to her dreams for her. They're my Portal,” Joshua said. Yui and Sora crossed their arms, looking confused. 

“Let's just say, her dreams are a gateway between worlds. Next question--how could I possibly know your name--right? This town has a little secret. It only appears when someone out there has need of shelter. I'll spare you the details, but right now it's made up of my dreams. So of course I know you--I dreamed you up. I know your best friend, Riku, too,” Joshua said. 

“Really? You know Riku?” Sora asked. 

“What about Roxy? And (Y/N)?” Rumi asked. 

“Hmm, nothing on them. But I can always find a way. I'm kind of omniscient.”

“Where’s Riku?” Sora asked. Riku and Roxy stopped running as they turned the corner at the staircase.

“You can't expect me to--” Riku said. They saw three cloaked figures, Shiki's doll at the man’s feet.

“Shiki! No way...” Roxy said. The man stepped on the doll and kicked it away.

“How did you get here?” he asked.

“Who are you?” Riku asked. The doll hit him in the chest. 

“By choice or chance? You cannot control what you're not aware of,” the first woman said. The figures began to walk down the stairs towards Riku and Roxy, who backed away slowly. Joshua turned toward the staircase, where Sora, Rumi, and Yui saw Roxy and Riku's image.

“Him and Roxy right inside this projection, in another imagining of this world. I don’t know where this (Y/N) person is though,” Joshua said.

“You mean...another Traverse Town? Can we get there with your Portal thing?” Sora asked.

“Sad to say, it won't work for you. My ‘Portal thing’ only opens for the one with Rhyme's dreams. In this projection, you're seeing another chain of events, in another world trapped by the Dream Eaters. As for how the world got split in two...I have a feeling you'll need to ask them.” Sora and the girls saw the cloaked figures walk down the stairs in pursuit of Riku and Roxy.

“Them again,” Rumi said. 

“This wakeless sleep will be your prison...to wander forever,” the second woman said. Riku and Roxy reached the edge of the fountain and stopped.

“What do you mean?” Riku asked. 

“Riku, don'chu listen to that punk!” Beat said. Neku and Rhyme sensed something behind them and saw an image of Shiki and Beat, who was yelling across the water.

“Shiki's gonna be fine! She told me whassup. Hoodies here set this whole thing up, yo. They promised to send Shiki back to our world, and you two was the cost of travel,” Beat said. He looks over to the cloaked figures. “Yo, this is seriously one half-baked excuse for a mission. Betchu ain't even a Reaper.” The figures takes off their hood, the revealing yellow eyes and long silver hair, the first woman revealing black hair and red eyes, and the second woman revealing blonde hair and having red eyes as well.

“No...” Roxy, Yui, and Rumi said. 

“All right. Who are you?” Riku asked. 

“Who's...that?” Sora asked. The image's form flickered and vanished. On Riku and Roxy's side, the young man and the two women raised their arms and summoned a Hockomonkey Dream Eater, which flies inside the garden building and summoned a group of Negaverse’s. They escaped through a corridor of darkness.

“Wait!” Riku and Roxy said. 

“I'm really sorry,” Shiki said. Riku tossed the doll back to her.

“It's all right. Beat, watch her,” he said. 

“I gots this, yo! Hey lady! I’m free if you want some fun!” Beat said. 

“First of all, my name’s Roxy and second of all, I’m not interested,” Roxy said. Riku and Roxy entered the building and defeated the Hockomonkey and the Negaverse’s. They joined the others outside, where they saw images of Sora, Rumi, Yui, Neku, Joshua, and Rhyme.

“Hey, what is this?” Shiki asked. Riku and Roxy walked up to Sora and the girls.

“What are we...seeing?” Riku asked.

“No idea,” Roxy said. She moved his hand into the image.

“This is so messed up, man!” Beat said as he knelt down to Rhyme’s height. “She's right here in front of me and...I can't reach her!” He tried to grab Rhyme, but his hand went right through the mirage.

“If your hearts are connected, you'll reach her,” Riku said. 

“Beat...” Rhyme said. 

“Rhyme...” Beat said. 

“Shiki...” Neku said.

“Neku...” Shiki said. 

“Girls...” Roxy said. 

“Roxy...” Rumi and Yui said. 

“Riku...” Sora said. 

“Sora...” Riku said. There was a flash and Sora, Rumi, the twins, and Riku stood alone with Joshua, each in their own version of Traverse Town.

“In their world, something happened that brought their existence to an end. To keep them from fading altogether, I gathered up the very last remnants of their dreams and looked for a place to give them refuge. It was then this world appeared to answer my call, and Rhyme's dreams allowed us to reach it. Here, I thought they might have a chance--that the pieces of their dreams could make them whole again. Imagine my surprise when I realized dreams take bodily form in this world. It struck me--by linking their dream pieces back together, maybe I could make them exist again. Maybe I could give them another chance,” Joshua said. 

“It can't be that simple,” Roxy said. 

“Well, why can't it? By ourselves, we're no one. It's when other people look at us and see someone--that's the moment we each start to exist. All they needed was for someone to see them, connect with them. And the two of you were a big part of making it happen.” 

“Joshua, just...who are you?” Sora, Rumi, the twins, and Riku asked. 

“Let's say...a friend.” Two large angel wings sprouted from his back and he flew up into the sky. A Keyhole appeared on the building in front of them. They nodded to each other and sealed it.

~~~~

You woke up and saw that you were in a dungeon. But not just any dungeon. The dungeon from when you were kidnapped by the Organization. You got up and ran to the door. 

“Hello?!” you asked but no one answered. “Yui?! Roxy?! Rumi?! Anybody?!” 

“That won’t work.” You turned around and spotted...

“Vani!” You ran up to him and engulfed him into a hug. He hugged you back and buried his face in your shoulder. 

“What are you doing here?” you asked as you pulled away.

“I can’t tell you,” he said.

“What do you mean you can’t tel--No.” 

“I’m sorry.” 

“You’re sorry?! Do you realize what he wants with me?!” 

“I do know that and that’s why I’m in here with you.” 

“The hell are you talking about?”

“I’m here to break you out. We all are.” Vani summoned some of his Unversed and you smiled. 

“What’s your plan of action then?” you asked. 

to be continued...

[aliceslantern]

Beyond this Existence: Atonement, chapter 5

Ansem always had a penchant for strays, so it's not at all surprising when he takes in the orphaned child Ienzo. The boy's presence changes everything, far more than Even is willing to admit. Ienzo's brilliance seems promising, but the arrival of a young Xehanort pushes the apprentices onto a dark, cruel, inhumane path which will affect the future of the World. And even once it's all over with--once Xehanort is dead--they still must pick up the pieces, forgive one another, find a way to atone for their atrocities, and struggle to accept the humanity which has been thrust upon them.

Or: Even's journey from BBS through post-KH3

Read it on FF.net/on AO3

---

“How is he? Has he yet stabilized?” He recognizes the deep voice almost instantly. Lexeaus. Ah. So I lived.

He can’t open his eyes, can’t, in fact, move at all. But the moment he’s conscious pain invades, his innards feeling vaguely liquified.

A second voice, hoarse, almost inaudible--”No. Not yet.”

“You needn’t speak, Ienzo. I know it’s still painful.”

Ienzo?

“I’m fine,” the second voice mumbles. He doesn’t sound fine; he sounds very ill, or worse. “You should--” A cough, one not full of phlegm but inflammation.

“You’ve been taking good care of me. I’m back on my feet. You, on the other hand, need to rest. And to avoid talking for a little while.”

“Okay.”

A warm hand grasps his wrist, taking his pulse. A pen scribbles numbers. He must've been given painkillers; he sleeps.

This time he's able to open his eyes.

He recognizes the space instantly; it's his old med bay, in Radiant Garden. Why on earth is he here, not in his sterile, pristine facilities at the castle?

Lexeaus had called Zexion Ienzo.

Oh dear.

Was it possible? Had they--regained hearts somehow? Had they found the answers in Kingdom Hearts? And how was he still so injured if it's been that long?

He hears the door creak and slits open his eyes.

He sees the boy--the young man--rummaging in his cabinets. He looks much the same as he ever did, though, he notes, the boy (Ienzo?) Is dressed in white, apprentice garb. The boy turns and Vexen quickly shuts his eyes again.

The boy clears his throat. "I'm not sure if you can hear me," he says, haltingly. His voice is much clearer, and certainly the same timbre as Zexion's, but it carries something soft and alive in it Vexen's never heard. "Even… it's me, Ienzo. I'm sure the old names are a shock to hear."

Old?

"We're human again. We found out… once a person’s Heartless and Nobody have been vanquished, they reform in the place they were split, whole. But with our Nobody's injuries. Which is why you're so hurt. I… I've no idea what truly happened to you, but you're rather unstable. You and Dilan both. But I'm tending to you."

Human?

"If you could speak… open your eyes… twitch your fingers… the EEG machines are broken and I've no magic. I'm not even sure you're in there."

Human and powerless.

"I--" He exhales thickly, and Even (the name fits again like a glove) realizes he's upset. Twelve years of emotion battering him, he presumes, child to adult in one instant. The concern wells up in him, consumes him; the pain sears him, and he's no idea whether or not it's physical.

---

Again, Even wakes. He can feel motion returning to him bit by bit, and he can close his fingers into weak fists. The physical pain is less potent now, but instead one thing floods him, sickly and constant.

Guilt. Rivers of shame, streams of remorse. Guilt for the way he stopped caring about Ienzo, guilt for all he did to the people of their experiments, agony about Ansem. Darkness can only excuse so much.

"Hi, Even."

Ienzo's back. Even can't bear to speak to him, though he's sure he can. He feigns unconsciousness, slitting his eyes open for glances of the young man.

Ienzo looks pale, thin, the boyishness gone from his face, but the change makes him look unhealthy. His hands, when they feel Even's pulse, are clammy, oddly warm without gloves. Even can't remember the last time he's actually seen them. He's aching to look the boy in the eyes. He chances it, once, while Ienzo fusses with the bandages on his chest; gone are Zexion's steely, empty blue eyes. The humanity is back, soft, opening.

He can tell from a glance that Ienzo is in agony.

More horrifying yet, he can just see below Ienzo's collar when he leans over--thick bruises surround his windpipe, along with an angry red scar.

He'd had difficulty speaking.

Who dared do this to him?

Unconsciously, the boy pulls his collar up. Even forces his eyes shut. "I'm afraid there's a lot to catch you up on," Ienzo says in that same frighteningly gentle tone. He explains about Xehanort, about the time travel, about the vessels, the hearts the Nobodies are regrowing, the Organization's real goal, the Keyblade War from the old times. "I… I could really use your help, Even. I know I was so dreadfully cold to you. I… I am sorry. You were always kind to me when I was small. You were there when Master Ansem was not--" His voice catches. "Excuse me, I am feeling unwell."

Even hears him sit and chances another look. Ienzo sits with his head in his hands, rocking slowly, trying not to cry.

No, boy, cry. It's alright.

"I… forgot how much this hurts," he says, with a dark laugh. "I am… so unsure of who I am… you'd doubtless find it fascinating. Can you imagine the psychological journals, Even? What happens when you try to give a twenty-year-old man an eight-year-old's heart?" A sob. "I'm so sorry. I… am trying to pull myself together. They need me. But I could never let them see me like this."

Cry it out, little one.

For a time, Ienzo does just that, a sound that makes Even's heart (heart) ache, triggering another vein of remorse.

I should have protected you.

"I'm sorry," he repeats. Even shuts his eyes again. He feels Ienzo take his hand. "This is most unbecoming, isn't it? I bet you'd say I'm making a disgrace of myself. I have to… check on some things. Get some rest."

For a long while Even lies reeling. His physical pain lessens  into a throb, while his heart seems to grow heavier and heavier with regret, the I should'ves and that's my faults. Ienzo and Ansem take center stage, his abuse and dishonesty towards them pounding in time with his heart.

Ienzo comes and goes every few hours. Even is too much of a coward to talk to him.

"It's… bizarre," the boy says. "Your body… is healed. Why aren't you awake?" Even hears a click, sees bright light; he wills himself to flinch as little as possible as the boy forces his eyes open. "Even, if you're pretending, it's alright. We can work through this."

Don't move. Don't move.

"If only we had a replica for you… or one in general…"

Why do they need one?

"I miss my old friend. Come back soon."

He's gone again, and Even aches for him. The loneliness is nearly as potent as the guilt.

He can't lie like this forever. He needs to make a decision, needs to talk to the boy, needs to begin to figure out where to go from here--

"You're so full of shit."

It's the voice that startles him. Braig. Of course the man is back too. He opens his eyes. Unlike Ienzo, he's in the Organization coat still.

The true vessels.

The fool.

Even stares at him. "Is there a reason you're here?" His voice is hoarse from disuse, but clearer than he thought. "Perhaps to put an old man out of his misery?"

Braig smirks. "You wish," he says. "I've been watching these tender scenes play out between the two of you. Who thought Ienzo would be such a softie? To think, he was wanted."

"By Xehanort, I presume?" He spits.

"Who else?" Xigbar shrugs. “He's good. So quickly. A heart and instantly everything changes. But there's no point getting rid of him. Xemnas is sentimental. Who would’ve thought?"

So callous. Even scowls.

"How's humanity feel?" he asks, with a smirk. "You look like death. Bet you feel like it too."

"Is there a reason you're here?" he repeats.

"Let's just say I have a proposition for you." He scowls a little. "We could use you. He could use you."

A spark, an idea. "Why should I? What do you have to offer me?"

"We're closer than ever to Kingdom Hearts. If that doesn't intrigue you, I don't know what will." Xigbar comes closer, his footsteps almost silent. "Would you rather stay here? Crappy place, overworked and underappreciated… reminders of the past everywhere. Doesn't it just hurt. "

He has to restrain himself from rolling his eyes.

"If you can barely look at Ienzo…" He clucks his tongue. "Why don't you think about it? I got the impression you never liked humanity anyway."

"Nor you," Even says softly. "This life just doesn't suit creatures like us."

Xigbar smirks and disappears into a dark corridor.

---

An idea comes to him slowly, fettered by guilt and headaches, and Ienzo's surprisingly loose tongue. Zexion was verbose but careful; Ienzo talks almost constantly, with little ability to stop himself.

"I'm… almost at my wit's end," the boy admits. "I'm inundated by what we did… I knew it, factually, but Zexion made my memories so cold. To feel it…" He rumples the curtain at the window. Even's glad he doesn't look at him; it means he can watch him. "How could we? I… I don't understand how we made the leap. Was it all the influence of Xehanort, or darkness? Why did they let me--do this?"

The weight of it might just choke him. They'd started this darkness, made it spread faster than it would've naturally; they upended a balance just to see what would happen, with little care who or what was lost.

I took an oath.

Even's a bloody hypocrite.

"I've been trying to help them," Ienzo says. "Sora, the restoration committee. They've been so terribly gracious about it. It truly is the least I can do. I've given them everything that I had, but you classified and encrypted so much. They have a right to know what really happened. Maybe if they know… their outside perspective can help us put a stop to it. I… wish you were here, Even. There's so much you never told me, things that could be of use. We… need a light. I don't understand a whit of your research, the small bits I've managed to decrypt. I wonder if this reformation process has given me some form of brain damage." A wry laugh. "These emotions do make me feel… much clumsier. Doesn't help I've been using you as a captive audience. But the others… truly cannot understand what it is I'm going through. I wish I were able to find it fascinating. Mostly it is hampering my ability to be of use."

He's silent a long time. When he speaks again, it's much more quietly, to himself. But Even's always had good hearing.

"If I can break the code… find Roxas… it could change everything. But the bodies… I need to know what Even knew."

He hears Ienzo leave. Slowly, Even sits up. He feels weak from being so still for so long, but otherwise functional.

It all makes sense. Everything.

Yes. This would be how he can atone.

---

Xigbar returns soon after. Even's already sitting waiting for him. "I'll go," he says tiredly. "Seems to be the only way to further my research. I've no need for such... paltry emotions."

Xigbar's grin is killer.

---

The transformative process is just as painful the second time. Again the emptiness. He feels his mind wander, tempted again by darkness, by the ability to set bonds aside, but he reigns himself in each time. Thinking of Ienzo, his devastation, of his betrayal of Ansem's trust. He doesn't feel quite hurt anymore, but it weighs heavily on his conscience. No matter.

He can fix this. He will fix this. No matter the cost.

He acquiesces to the New Organization’s demands, because they, too, need replicas. All the more excuse to perfect what he knows, to leave the most flawless in stock for Roxas and for Xion--though he can barely remember the latter. All he has of it-- her --are his own reports. But if she were with Roxas long enough, she’ll be important. More convenient yet, Xemnas wants her, her easy mimicry of power.

There are too many familiar faces in this New Organization--Organization Rehash, Larxene calls it, and Vexen can’t help but agree. Xigbar, Saïx, Xemnas, the four neophytes.

Saïx is initially welcoming to him, and visits him again.

“To what do I owe the pleasure,” Vexen says evenly.

“I wonder if you feel it too,” the man says.

“Feel what, nostalgia? That’s all this Organization is.”

“You gave up your new life. That says a lot about you. Was this truly about research?”

Vexen turns, sorting the lies he could tell.

Saïx knots his hands. “I gave mine up too.”

Vexen rolls his eyes, turning back to the new replicas, still forming in their chambers. “Yes. And?”

“I wish to… put an end to this nonsense. I sense you may feel the same.”

Vexen looks at him, his gold eyes (so like Vexen’s own, now--he tries not to think about it more than necessary) somewhat unreadable. Is this a trick? Are they trying to lure him out?

Saïx leans in a little, drops his voice. “Let me help you,” he says softly. “Together, we can put an end to this Organization.”

Vexen feels the gut punch; caught. Yet, he reads earnestness in Saïx’s tone.

“You were once my teacher,” he continues. “I know what you’re capable of, and vice versa. I think--if we’re careful and clever--we can give the other side what they need.”

“How am I to know you won’t merely turn me in to Xehanort?”

“It matters not to him whether you fill out the ranks so long as he gets his bodies. Not since you and Demyx have been… ah… retired. He’s spread himself too thin, shattering his heart so. He wouldn’t notice a thing.”

Vexen inhales.

“I don’t want to be this way. I don’t want this to be my legacy. I’m sure you feel the same. We must end this suffering.”

“And how do you propose we do that?”

Saïx smiles. “Simple,” he says. “We do what he asks--and have a third party ferry a replica over to Radiant Garden. One whose movements are hardly ever noticed--because that’s the way he likes it.”

Vexen has an idea where this is going. “...Do I even want to know who you have in mind?”

The smile becomes even larger.

---

Demyx agrees to meet him in Radiant Garden. To be so close to Ienzo but unable to contact him is a sensation that sits oddly in his breast. Vexen explains it as simply as possible, but Demyx’s reaction is relatively theatrical.

“What? ” He’s making much too much noise--Vexen clamps a hand over his mouth.

“Quiet, you dunce,” he hisses.

Demyx swats his hand away. “But dude, why would you pick me?”

“I cannot let the chosen catch wind of this, understand?”

Immediately he gets defensive. “Oh, I see, it’s because I got benched.”

This is more frustrating than he could have hoped. His tone is much shorter, and louder, than he intended. “I got “benched” too.”

“What! Hey, quiet.” Now it’s Demyx’s turn to try to silence him.

They both look around and see nothing, though admittedly this is meaningless. Vexen turns away, trying to think.

“Okay, man, look. Real talk? Backstabbing those guys would be stupid.”

Vexen rolls his eyes. As if this life is truly worth anything.

“If they find out, we’re yesterday’s toast. I mean, what’s in it for me?”

Vexen wonders if this angle is the right one. “Forgiveness.”

He seems genuinely surprised. “Huh? For what?”

“Men like us--in the pursuit of science, we sometimes make terrible mistakes. Lose sight of our mission to help people. But now I can help someone with my research. Now, I can atone.”

The boy’s been listening with interest, a calculating gleam in his eyes. But what he says next is only further disappointment. “I’m not a scientist.” He turns to leave, with a dismissive wave.

Something very like panic overtakes him--if the chosen heard of this--”Wait, wait, wait!” He grabs Demyx’s shoulder. The younger man shrugs him off with ease.

“C’mon, dude. I’m useless, I’m chicken, we’re not friends. I can count the amount of times we’ve hung out on one hand--less than one hand. I didn’t even know you in the old life!”

Enough of this. For a moment, Vexen wishes he had more patience with Demyx in the past, if only to make this encounter easier. “Fine, fine. But listen.” He pulls the boy close. “This is Saïx’s doing.”

Demyx’s eyes widen almost comically. “Huh? No way.”

Good. He has his interest. “It’s true. The whole thing was his idea.”

“Huh… no fucking way…”

“He wants to atone too. But, he is one of the chosen, so his hands are tied. Hence my actions on his behalf, hence my need for you to act on my behalf should all go awry.” He’s listening intently, Vexen notes. He could use Xehanort’s callousness towards Demyx to his advantage. “As you said, we are far from friends. No one would ever suspect you.”

“So I’m not doing any fighting?”

“Correct. And more importantly, no benchwarming.”

He smiles, and Vexen knows he’s won. “Yeah baby! Sign me up! Yes! Demyx time.”

Vexen sighs heavily. This certainly would be interesting.

---

He’s more than a little alarmed when he catches wind that the “chosen” are seeking Ansem. Apparently, the man’s been spotted in Twilight Town. Xehanort’s Heartless intends on intercepting him. The man is too dangerous.

Vexen doesn’t hesitate. He’s abandoned Ansem once; never again.

He’s been mostly ambivalent to his status as a Nobody, but it does grant him a certain strength he didn’t have before. He’s able to stop Xehanort’s Heartless, to let Ansem escape. It comes to him, in a flash--the chosen hardly ever watch him, now that they’ve gotten their bodies--perhaps he could let Ansem know, to get the word back to Ienzo and the others. Perhaps he and Demyx could rendezvous, with the replica. Ienzo would need his help. Doubtless the reunion would be… dramatic, but he knows the boy is capable of completing the task at hand.

It’s time to shore up. Time to stop being a coward. Time to apologize.

But he is glad that, as a Nobody, he cannot feel much.

Ansem looks as though he’s aged much, much more than twelve years, despite the fact that he could not age in the realm of darkness; it seems as though there are many more years between them than merely five. He’s with some teenagers, those friends of Roxas, those assisting, albeit in a very tertiary manner.

Even struggles to find the words, to assuage them all he means no ill will. “My dear Master,” he says slowly. “You are safe.” It’s a lame, tone-deaf beginning. Because they are anything but.

“Who’s there?” one of the teenagers yells.

In a shockingly even-keeled voice, Ansem asks, “Even, is that you?” A beat. His expression barely changes, all coldness and indifference--not that Vexen anticipated anything more. “So, those Nobodies were your doing.”

Vexen lets the Dusks appear. Then, very deliberately, he bows. “I have been waiting for this,” he admits. “Gave up a normal life in order to plant myself in the Organization. And when I heard Xehanort had gone looking for you, I realized it was my chance to find you as well.” And keep you safe. “For you see, I, too, wish to atone.”

Ansem’s expression is closely guarded, but he very nearly smiles. “Is that so?” he asks slowly.

“How could I not? To be human for those days again… made it all so real.”

The teenager who’d yelled gave him a once over. “You’re one of them, aren’t you,” he spits. “Sora told us about you.”

Vexen ignores him. “I wish to help. I… realize you have no reason to trust me.” He chances taking a few steps forward. “I also realize any apology I offer could never possibly be enough.”

Ansem is silent for several moments. “Am I not at fault, as well?” he asks.

“You…” He wants nothing more for these teenagers to disappear. “You still didn’t deserve the fate you received.”

His eyes are empty--so empty. He turns to the children. “Thank you for all your help, but this man will not harm me. Come, Even. Apparently we have much to discuss.”

Vexen wills the Dusks to disappear. They walk for a long time in silence, the two of them, in this perpetual sort of twilight.

“We cannot return to the mansion. It’s being watched for now,” Ansem says. “Keep your voice low.”

“We seek to take down the new Organization,” he says. It’s beyond odd to be this close to him.

“We?”

“Myself. The man you knew as Isa.”

Ansem smirks. “And how do you propose to do this?”

“In these intervening years… I did perfect the replica program. More or less.” He doesn’t feel pride any longer. “We have a… third party willing to deliver one directly to Radiant Garden, for Roxas’s heart. To Ienzo.”

Ansem’s calm exterior slips, for just a moment. “How… is my boy?”

“I did not see him for very long,” Vexen says. “He is… well. Whole again.”

“You hesitate.”

“Of course I do.” He takes a breath. “He’s received his humanity after years of numbness. The adjustment… I fear it’s not been easy. But I have faith. His brilliance has only grown with him.” He sighs. “With this replica, and our ally, I wish that you, Master, will go to him.” Ansem says nothing; his face is stony. “I realize the feelings you have are complicated. But he needs someone to help him, and I must keep my cover.”

“...Yes. Quite.” He nods. “However could I face that poor boy?”

“With the warmth and grace you’ve always had,” Vexen says softly. “Once this is all over… humbly, I would like to return as well.” If he survives the process. “That is, if you’ll have me. I wish to do nothing more than to ease the pain I’ve caused. I should like to regain your trust.”

Ansem nods once. “This is a good start.”

---

It pains him, to not be present for all this, but his own feelings and notions are irrelevant. He dresses the replica in a coat to protect it, wraps it up further in a blue blanket--almost like an infant.

Demyx arrives--on time, for the first instance that Vexen’s ever witnessed. “So, here we go, right?” He’s smiling.

“...Quite.” He touches Demyx’s shoulder. “I must… thank you for doing this.”

He shrugs. “I’ve been thinking about it. It’s not right for Xehanort to use us for his own stuff, you know? It kinda bites.”

Vexen chuckles. “Indeed. I’m afraid I must ask one more thing of you.”

He rolls his eyes, but his tone is affable when he says. “For pete’s sake, what now?”

“You and I must lie low, once this is through. We must wait and hope for Xehanort’s defeat.”

Demyx glances down at the replica, in its swaddling. “...And then what?”

“Whatever you like, I suppose.”

He bites his lip. “Yeah… that might be nice.” He hefts the replica over one shoulder. “This thing is hollow, huh?”

“Not for long. You know where to go?”

“Yeah, get the old man. I hear you.”

Vexen sighs. “Good luck, Demyx.”

For just a moment, before he disappears into darkness, Demyx smiles, and it’s the most genuine expression Vexen’s ever seen him wear. “You, too.”

---

He can’t be certain that Ienzo receives the replica, can’t chance checking. He goes to an anonymous world, hides in the wilderness. He waits, and to a degree he prays. Weeks pass. He wonders if he should chance contact, should see how things have gone--between Ienzo and Ansem, and along with Dilan and Aeleus, there shouldn’t be any issues with the procedure.

Then he feels an ache in his heart--the heart he doesn’t quite have. The piece of Xehanort. Without hesitating, he returns to Radiant Garden, knowing that he will not have the ability to travel for long.

Because it’s withering, and dying; he can feel the sickly pain, the feverishness, inexplicable agony in his whole body. It must’ve worked. They must’ve beat Xehanort.

It’s all over. At last.