#wrong. except going wrong for roxas and xion means never coming back

[razorblade180]

Nothing to worry about

After many, many attempts to decode the data to find Sora, Riku was spent. A thought came to him that maybe if he messed with data with the difficulties all the way up, then something might change. It had to be his third day screwing up on the same attacks over and over again. He didn’t remember fighting the organization to be this hard! Riku was a prideful guy that managed to beat most of them but enough was enough! He had been stuck on one obstacle for far too long and his hands hurt from hitting the wall the one time he rage quit. It was time to bring in backup, and he knew just the people…

Xion:You want me to want?

Riku:Beat data Xion for me. You’re too strong.

Roxas:It’s a computer…

Axel:Dude, you don’t get to say that when you smash computers instead of pressing keys.

Saix:You What?

Riku:Focus!!! I called you specifically because you’ve fought Xion, fought Sora, and some of you have done both while technically being connected to Sora; so you know how to play him well.

Axel:I feel like you’re missing people.

Riku:People are busy. You are the only ones that are still around a lot.

Xion:Am I really that tough?

Riku:Painfully.

Xion:Hmmm. I’m not sure how I feel about fighting myself. Something about it feels...depressing.

Axel:I’ll do it. I’m great at games! Plus we’ve fought a bunch of times! I know your moves.

Xion:But you lost…

Axel:Still learned them! *sits down* Watch the master!

That was the statement he made. It’s been three hours since Axel had that confidence. Now he was face down on the bed in the committee room along with Riku. If he heard “why do you fight” one more time, he’d lose his mind.

Axel:Since when do you bounce around like a ball of light!?

Roxas:Why are you surprised? I do it all the time.

Axel:I don’t even understand how you do it!!!

Saix:I can’t believe you didn’t even get half health.

Axel:Think you can do better!?

Saix:Nope, but I won’t act like I can to look cool. Xion, I’ve never seen you do half of the things that program does. Is it an exaggeration or…?

Xion:No, it’s possible. Doing all of that just makes me tired.

Saix:...(I never stood a chance in that graveyard. Then again I try not to go full berserk for the same reason.)

Roxas:My turn! I’m not exactly thrilled about fighting any version of you but helping Sora is the goal here. I just hope Cid didn’t program all of your armors. Not a big fan of the second one or you being the size of the central station tower.

Xion:*red* Hehehe...yeah that was pretty wild.

RAS:You can do what…?”

The change of players was getting better results. Roxas was in his third attempt when he started getting a good rhythm. Watching Axel helped, but there was something else. A weird six sense. Riku was right about him controlling Sora, it felt natural. Battling data Xion was the same. The way he predicted her movements were scarily good.

Axel:Wow, look at you go.

Roxas:Sssshhh, I need focus. I wanna do this as fast as possible. It might be data but hurting Xion feels wrong.

Xion:*red* Roxas…

The man makes it to the desperation move. It’s the second time he’s made it here and he wished data Xion had the armors instead! He didn’t last long before another game over screen. Everyone groaned while Roxas rested his head on the wooden desk.

Roxas:Gah! I can’t even begin to understand those patterns. Your columns of light move way too wildly!

Riku:I hate the fact that if you recover from a strike raid then the next one is delayed to change your rhythm! Why are you so smart Xion?

Xion:Sora does that too. It’s how to survive relentless attacks sometimes. I’ve told you all the timing so-

Roxas:Xion, I really don’t want to make you feel uncomfortable, but you might as well grab the controller. The only person who knows you, is you.

Xion:And Ven, and Namine, you, Sora, Kai- fine I’ll give it a try!

Riku:Thank you.

Xion died immediately going into the fight. All eyes looked at her in disbelief as her face got red.

Xion:I wasn’t ready! Let me get a few warm up rounds in! I have never done anything like this. Roxas, can you go back to Twilight Town and get a small white bag in the usual spot?

Roxas:Okay.

A few warm up rounds turned into a dozen. Riku even saw her scroll through the settings once or twice. Then she wouldn’t do the fight right away. Instead she’d press bottoms to see how Sora reacted and fast. He didn’t want to be antsy but a piece of him wanted to try again. Riku went over to ask when Roxas came through the door to hand her the bag. Xion ran the program again. She reached in the bag as it loaded and pulled out something Riku didn’t know she still had. Her organization gloves.

Riku:You kept those?

Xion:Gripping a keyblade barehanded feels weird. So does messing with computers…

Data Xion:Why do you f-

Xion:Yeah we know the line…

Riku never considered himself good at things like video games or computers, but he didn’t think he was bad either. That was until he watched Xion start moving her fingers faster than he could keep track off. The whole room was silent except for the sound of clicking. Data Sora was moving at speeds and performing tricks Riku and the others didn’t even know about. He wasn’t getting hit at all!!! Axel could quietly hear Xion mumble numbers. A set amount when she attacked, and then a different set when the data version did. The sets kept resting and ending differently depending on what weapon she used or magic. He couldn’t make heads or tails of it.

Axel:H-How?

Xion:How what?

Roxas:How are you doing this!?

Xion:Like you and Riku said. I know me, as well as Sora. I’m only gonna get hit so many times before I find a chance to counter. Also, there’s only so many moves you can program. It’s still just code!

She made it sound so easy, yet Riku. Can only think about how many times late last night he couldn’t figure out a single time to appropriately heal or attack. Yet here Xion is, perfect blocking and interrupting the desperation move. She even found time to take a picture before delivering the final blow!

Xion:Boom! Easy!

Riku:FINALLY!

Saix:You really should’ve gone first.

Xion:But it was thanks to you guys that I was able to watch and learn without stressing out. It was a group effort. I guess we’re done here. Thanks Riku, that was kinda fun. *stands up*

Riku:Ummm haven’t beaten master Xehanort either. Do you think maybe….

Xion:*Sits down* You owe one for this.

Riku:I know a good spot to find the best seashells.

Xion:Deal!

The crew let her get to work on the baldy while they occupied their time. Half an hour passed before they sat around a table eating. Riku looked over to see Xion learning how to deal with every move possible. It looked impossible. Most of the organization did. Another game over screen appeared and Riku sighed.

Axel:You alright champ?

Riku:It might be data, but seeing Sora lose is depressing. I hope he’s alright.

Roxas:Why wouldn’t he be?

Riku:He’s not the luckiest guy. Danger might as well be a spell when it comes to Sora. All of these data fights made me realize just how dangerous the organization really was. The thought of him running into something or someone as dangerous as that alone doesn’t sit well with me.

Everyone:......

Roxas:You know Riku, you can be pretty dumb sometimes.

Riku:Huh!?

Xion:Roxas!

Roxas:What!? All I’m saying is you would think after seeing a program based off of him successfully beat crazy strong people like Xion that you’d have the most faith in his skills. I mean who else do you know has enough different moves to handle so many kinds of fighters?

Riku:....Heh, thanks Roxas.

Roxas:*red* Yeah whatever. Just stating the obvious.

Axel:Yeah! Sora’s alright. I mean he was able to beat me after all.

Saix: If that’s the bar then maybe we should worry.

Axel:Hey!

Xion:I mean we did tie when I was tired.

Roxas:I beat you with amnesia.

Riku:Sora did too.

Axel:Who’s side are you on! This is the thanks I get for trying to cheer you up? Cut me some slack.

The friends shared a good laugh teasing Axel. Even he couldn’t help but join in on it. Riku should know better than anybody just how capable Sora is.

(Wherever you are, I’m sure you’re just fine.)

xxxx

Fine was the appropriate word to describe it. If a Riku or the others used anything more positive then they surely would’ve bit their tongue. If only they could see their friend right now, dodging and struggling on a rooftop under a starry sky dome. A swarm of gigas closed in on our young hero to overwhelm him, but to avail. Sora whipped out a storm flag and slammed it on the ground to summon the watery beast of the seven seas. It’s tentacles whacked away and crushed the gigas flat. Now wasn’t a time to rest though. Yozora, his opponent, wasn’t done yet. Sora saw rapid flashes of red lock in on him and switched to the counter shield.

He hyped himself “Come on!” Spurs shouted. The first attack came from the left, then right. Four more were dead on before another six ferocious slashes came from the left. Collision after collision conjured sparks that lit up the impacts of each attack. Yozora finally thought he had an opening to stab from behind but was sorely mistaken when Sora had already pivoted already and unleashed a barrage of fists that knocked Yazora in the air. Sora leaped up to follow up with a change into the second form. “Get back here!” He pulled his opponent back in with a magnet burst then went right into an ars arcanum. Blades clashed faster than anyone could keep up with before Sora’s ferocity gave him an edge that turned into full blown hits that ended with him spiking Yozora to the ground. As he fell, Sora was shot in the back by a laser that sent him to the metal floor behind. He had no time to dodge the cross slash that connected against his chest. He watched Yozora vanish and switched right into ultimate form to do the same.

This disappearing and reappearing act made their sparks seem more like fireworks. Crackles and pops

Danced up and down the battlefield as each person kept attempting to warp for both offense and defense until Yozora got the better of Sora by trapping in an exploding prism that launched Sora sky high. Yozora finally had room to breath and could plant fis feet long enough to charge his blade. He watched his target recover mid air and unless a salvo of fireballs with double arrow guns. A good idea if it wasn’t so far away that is. “Sorry but-huh!?” A blue light washed over Sora and propelled him directly at Yozora with his attack. Yozora was quick enough to slash Sora away but decided to pull back by backflipping the fireballs; a big mistake. He had underestimated Sora’s speed. Before he could even reach the ground, Sora was already in front of him again. This time with a massive rocket propelled hammer that hit him in the direction of the fireballs. The magic projectiles curved midair to hope in on his location and blasted him right in the chin. This was bad, really bad. To think he’d have this much trouble with someone who looked so clueless moments ago. He had to switch things up and vanished again.

Sora switched to nano arms and stood perfectly still. “Three….four….” he pulled a barrier right as a glimmer of red formed into Yazora that blasted some strange wide shots from his crossbow before vanishing again. Sora turned the machines into yo-yos next and swung straight. “There!” Yozora appeared right as expected and hit dead on. Sora pulled himself to wards and shifted to his frozen blades for additional slashes.

“You’re Just full of surprises aren’t you!?” Yozora grimaced.

“Don’t Give me that look! I didn’t want to fight!” Sora went for a kick but was too slow. Yozora managed to warp behind Sora and summoned a massive red orb that started pulling everything into it.

“Let’s see how you dodge this one.” Yozora turned up the pressure and started warping as fast as possible at Sora again and again, cutting and slashing him cleanly to knock him off balance until Yozora delivered one more powerful slash across his body that sent Sora flying into the orb. He quickly up to it and glided his blade along it to trigger a massive explosion that made Sora scream. Smoke and fire filled the air for a moment. That was a move not even Yozora himself was too good at avoiding. Nobody was gonna get it right from the jump.

Finally, the battle was over. It was longer than expected but the end result was the same. “Sorry, but I don’t lose-” Another shockwave from the explosion accorded suddenly and dispersed the smoke. That’s never happened before. Yozora shielded his eyes and scanned the ground, no Sora. Just black puddles. He dared not walk closer to them when they started to increase in size until a bigger one formed near his feet and Sora hopped out with glowing eyes and drenched in darkness. “This guy…” Yozora mistakenly readied a block for the keyblade as was then punched by Sora’s free hand, throwing him off and into a world of rageful attacks he had no choice but to receive. Sora was fast, too fast. The patterns seemed random. It was impossible to know what to look out for with the addition of kicks thrown in as Sora instinctively warp in numerous spots to bat Yazora around. Any attempt to escape the loop was met with a primal roar that kept the loop going until one final monstrous attack came. Sora went right through Yozora and into the ground. Strange black orbs rose up from bigger pools of black from earlier and detonated repeatedly, leaving Yozora no room to escape.

What was once a dark night turned into blinding light as Sora once again appeared above Yozora’s falling body in a new form; and with two blades. It was hard for him to understand what happened next. All he could see was light and feel the pain it inflicted everywhere as pillars of them struck down around Sora, who remained airborne and glowing. A look of pure grit on his face as he shouted.

“I guess...my power isn’t needed after all.”

xxxx

Xion:I beat him! But...I don’t think there’s anything here that might help. Sorry Riku. I know you wanna find him as soon as possible.

Riku:Hmmm, that’s alright. *smiles* Wherever he is...I’m sure he’s doing just fine.

[snowflake-of-destruction]

A long one this time since I’m “cheating” again and posting a selection from a random old draft so I’m not empty handed.

The spray of hot water from the showerhead seemed like a blessing from a god who’d been listening to the appeals Hayner had made over hours of practice in the overcast and heavily damp--but not raining, naturally, since Roxas had promised to call struggle practice if it rained outright instead of misting on and off. Hayner adored his friend and could think no wrong of him usually, but he was beginning to develop the paranoid delusion the help of several hidden, trained water spirit monsters had been enlisted to soak up the water in the clouds and keep the rain at bay, since he knew from the pictures Olette had sent him that it had been storming heavily on the other side of town all afternoon. 

Roxas kept saying he couldn't control all the weird monsters that still periodically appeared in Twilight Town, but those white zipper mouthed haunted onesies sure seemed to answer to him, and that Vanitas guy who'd dropped by last tournament had conjured three demon bunnies that he ordered around like servants, so it sure seemed like monster training was part of the whole "keybearer" deal. Roxas had explained the different between Heartless, Nobodies, Unversed and the special situations in the latter groups--Vanitas's relationship with the Unversed and the lesser Nobodies attuned to different masters that had once been more powerful Nobodies-- but it all seemed like semantics, excuses, and gibberish. To be fair, Hayner had a hard time paying attention when it had been explained because Roxas had ripped off his shirt after practice, and was standing with his Twilight Town University Tanukis struggle jersey slung around his neck, hair matted in ways that shouldn't have been attractive but were, and arms crossed behind his head, making it difficult to focus on anything but the muscles in his arms, the progress of a bead of sweat rolling slowly down his chest, or the flex of his stomach as he spoke, especially when the warm sound of his voice was so much more interesting than words. 

If it had been strategies for their first match of the upcoming season which included a face-off for Hayner against Dawn State's champion struggler, Edward "Edge" Geraldine, he could have retained it. That was important. The ins and outs of what legions of mutants could be trained and by whom? Unless Roxas was going to tell Hayner how he could master his own mutant army, or at least cop to being chief mutant wrangler himself, it was not nearly as interesting as wondering how likely he was to be able to pass it off as testing Roxas's reflexes or just seeing what what the look on his face would be if he kissed him right then in the middle of the struggle lot. Not that he would actually do it. He respected boundaries.

Hayner knew it was pathetic to still be crushing on his best friend when Roxas had been dating the same guy for “longer than he’s been alive” as Kairi had put it (however that worked). Axel had been a constant right from the start, already wrapped around Roxas--literally, hugging him from behind, arms wrapped loosely around him and chin resting on the top of Roxas's head while he wore a rather superior look that already knew Hayner wanted what he had and that reveled in rubbing it in, or so Hayner read into it at the time--when Hayner first awkwardly, unnecessarily introduced himself to him, handed him the picture of them from the fake Twilight Town Sora had given him that he was reluctant to pass on as much as he thought Roxas should have it, and told him, "I feel like I've known you my entire life." 

Hayner tended to write Axel out of that memory though, except when he was feeling especially masochistic, and only remember Roxas smiling so wide it crinkled the corners of his eyes and his voice warbling with emotion he'd rarely show easily in such force in times after, at least not directed toward Hayner, as he replied, "Please, can we pretend you have? I don't think my heart could stand it if we ever had to be strangers."

The friendship had continued like it had started. Roxas and Hayner were connected by invisible ties, instantly in sync, inside jokes about things that never actually happened already understood and able to finish each other's sentences. They challenged each other both to be better and, in other ways, so much worse than they were separately (The incident where they switched out the scheduled movie for the outdoor theater by Tram Common with a home video of various Twilight Town denizens not aware they were being filmed sprang to mind, as did the incident with Seifer and the feathers). 

Even so, it was always Axel who had Roxas's greatest devotion, and he'd go spiraling back to the redhead like they were magnetized, even when they fought, even the year Axel took off with his ex-boyfriend ("His best friend! Isa's just his friend like you're mine!" Hayner remembered Roxas's protestations well, and the shadow of doubt and pain in his eyes that Hayner had cursed himself for not being quite selfish enough to encourage. "And they're not on vacation. They're on a mission. They're looking for someone. Axel invited me to go. I was the one who said I wanted to stay here") and they only kept in contact by gummi phone. Roxas loved Axel more than his own life; he said as much, often and with vehement determination like he expected arguments.

It wasn't that Hayner didn't want to argue, but the injustice of Roxas being skateboard in the sky, face scraping the pavement in love with Got It Memorized the Former Kidnapper instead of him was matched by the fact that Axel wasn't a jerk, a cheater, or any of the other things Hayner had tried to paint him as in his mind in the beginning. Axel was constantly mocking him, that Hayner had been right about, but, other than that, he was, as much as Hayner wished it weren't so, a pretty cool guy, funny as hell, always had your back in a fight, and loved Roxas to the point of stupidity--and Hayner was forced to respect it...mostly.

Hayner tried to tell himself that he and Roxas were too similar in all the ways that would make them get on each other's nerves (too much to prove always, too impulsive, too quick to lose their cool, too used and turning everything into competition and too committed to always being the winner) and too different in ones that would leave them working up hill when it came to trying to carve out any long-term plans as well as soon scrambling for things to talk about other than taste in bands, boards, struggle, or what a dick Seifer could be--and even those sometimes failing after Roxas had shifted to offworld music rather than local, solar boards over skateboards, and had seen a "entirely different Seifer" during his brief relationship with Xion. Even knowing each other well enough to predict each other's thoughts was a curse when you thought about how hard it would make necessary white lies or trying to end a fight when you weren't yet completely sorry, particularly considering that, when Hayner reflected on it, he found he didn't regret any mean comment he had made in his entire life. 

Hayner also tried the tactic of reasoning with himself that he loved Roxas, but wasn't even really in love with him, or even consistently in lust as Roxas could ruin any effect he had with a single flash of self awareness, the kind that tended to solidify to outright conceit and smugness (gods Roxas could preen when he remembered he was pretty) that left a bitter edge in Hayner long after it faded. Even with all these tactics though, and every bit of good advice he could tell himself, Hayner couldn't shake that feeling he'd had since he first laid eyes on Roxas in the alternate Twilight Town's group photo outside the Old Mansion. He knew in his bones he was born to love that face as surely as if soulmate imprints had stepped out of science fiction and become real alongside the magic and aliens that had come to populate Twilight Town.

Hot water made everything seem better and brighter, loosening tight muscles and sweating out every problem until it existed no more. The memory of the fall he'd taken during practice, particularly brutal to his pride if not physically devastating, when he'd spun at a bad angle that made his left knee buckle, the ankle underneath it scream, and threw off his center of gravity swirled down the drain with dirt and grit picked up from the struggle lot pavement. Soon after it went the mud Roxas had smushed through his hair when he'd ruffled it after practice, laughing and ducking away as Hayner swung at him with the bat still in his hands and managing somehow to carry on laughing harder even while wincing in pain when the bat connected with a crack. A large purple splotched bruise had already been forming by the time Roxas left the locker room after the post-scrimmage strategy talk,  still covered in a layer of half dried sweat and with his hair sticking up more than usual on one side (Roxas didn't shower on campus after practice. Hayner only made the mistake of asking about it once. Roxas showered at home. Hayner had been informed of this with a wink form Roxas and a cheerfully lewd remark about how Axel liked him dirty). Hayner was sure he'd feel guilty when he saw the bruise in full form next time he saw Roxas, but, in the moment, Hayner had thought Roxas deserved it--and even more once he started questioning where Roxas had gotten mud in the first place and what implications it had for the theory Roxas was controlling weather. 

Lathering shampoo through his now mud-free hair and scrubbing harder at his scalp than necessary to also banish continued thoughts of his blond best friend, Hayner found himself startling and nearly slipping on the slick tile of the shower floor when he heard none other than the voice he was trying to banish calling out tentatively, "Hey! Hey? Sorry for bursting in on you."

 Hayner recovered, head snapping from side to side comically as if he'd find Roxas lurking in the corner of the stall when he should have known from the distance of the voice that Roxas was likely  on the other side of the locker room with the actual lockers and benches. If that was the case though, why was Roxas apologizing for bursting in? 

Hayner was still puzzling through it when Roxas continued shouting to him, this time something with a lot higher stakes in possible meaning. "Axel's already left for Wonderland and I thought you might still be here." 

Hayner let out a strangled noise of confusion that would have been him playing it cool and asking what he could help Roxas out with if his voice hadn't betrayed him. Shampoo dripped into his eye and it took him a second to even register the burn.

"I'll just sit out here and wait for you I guess, if you don't mind?" 

Hayner was concerned he had actually slipped in the shower and hit his head and was now suffering from a dying dream or concussion. 

"You're awfully quiet." The trepidation was back in Roxas's voice, and it caused an answering sympathetic flutter of nerves to tingle down Hayner's body and rest low. "I'm not talking to a stranger, am I? Or a ghost who turned on a faucet? That would be embarrassing."

"I'm here," Hayner found his voice but it refused to cooperate beyond those two words. His body was slightly more tractable, agreeing with his brain that he needed to wash the shampoo out of his hair and attend to washing the rest of him as swiftly as possible and not keep Probably A Dream Roxas waiting. He turned the water temperature up even higher. Maybe if he boiled himself until his flesh melted he might find a backbone under his skin and actually be able to carry on a conversation (and be able to follow through with whatever Dream Roxas was proposing so he wouldn't be left with a regret that would follow him until he died). 

“Do you have a cold? Your voice sounds a little weird.” 

“Weird how?” He squeaked and then overcompensated like a sitcom character, rumbling, “Weird how?” in a gravelly tone as he turned off the water and reached for his towel.

“Less like listening to a recording of my own voice,” the wry and completely nonsensical in Hayner’s opinion, reply came, Roxas’s voice quieter but a lot closer.

“I never thought we sounded alike.” Hayner finger combed his hair and wrapped the towel securely around his waist before performing a mental countdown to pysch himself up before stepping out of the stall to meet what turned out to be a complete stranger. Hair too long and a shade too light to be Roxas’s falling over the collar of a pale blue and  sunflower print kimono jacket Roxas wouldn’t be caught dead in. The absence of a tan and the addition of freckles were further confirmation of an eerie but imperfect doppleganger, but the dumbfounded look with lack of recognition in the eyes was the real cincer.

“You’re not Roxas!” Two voices chorused in near unison.

[teganberry]

‘Only a heart of pure darkness can exist in perfect balance with your light. That’s why I did this, Kairi, so we can finally be together like we promised.’

Dark Sora has been on my mind all week! Hopefully when I get some time in the future I can come back and colour this properly. This if for @phoenix-downer, @chachacharlieco and everyone else who enjoyed that brilliant Dark Sora thread we had going the other day.

And guess what?! This time I’ve actually written a fic to go along with my drawing under the cut! Be warned this thing is kinda long, and its been a while since I’ve written anything other than scripts and story outlines, so please be kind. Hope you all enjoy my take on Dark Sora!

Reposting my artwork on any site is forbidden.

As the blinding power of her light begun to fade Kairi desperately did all she could to restore her vision. The stone floor of the chamber felt incredibly cold beneath her. Looking downward she focused on the ridiculously ornate dress she’d been forced to wear for the ceremony. The thought of ripping the damn thing off immediately came to mind, but she thought better of it for now. Before anything else she needed to ascertain just what had happened.

The task that brought her here should have been simple enough. A week ago it was discovered that the waters of Radiant Gardens had become inexplicably tainted with darkness once more. No one knew the cause; it had seemingly come out of nowhere. It was quickly determined that, despite the Restoration Committees’ best efforts, the only way to stop the spread of the darkness would be with the light of a pure heart. That was where Kairi came in, as Princess possessing a heart of pure light. She need only touch source of Radiant Gardens many rivers with her pure light and the darkness would be eradicated once more.

When Leon had first sent for Kairi’s aid she was initially reluctant, especially when told she would be required to perform a traditional Radiant Garden purification ceremony in order to complete the task. It was only when her companion begun to speculate that connecting with the source of her original home World’s power may help aid in their current quest that she finally agreed. At this point, after 6 months of fruitless searching, Kairi was willing to give anything a try in order to find some answers.

Returning her attention to the immediate surroundings, Kairi was initially relieved the light had now faded enough for her to see again. The horrific sight that met her eyes, however, immediately caused her blood to run cold. The unconscious bodies of her friends now lay inexplicably strewn about the underground chamber, when only moments earlier they had all been standing before her in support.

Fear grew in the pit of Kairi’s stomach when her eyes fell upon the seemingly lifeless forms of a silver haired young man and a brunette woman in a long pink dress, laying just off to her left. Her guardians, the ones who had sworn to protect her throughout the ceremony, had they failed in their duty? And was Kairi’s power the reason for their failure?

‘No, it can’t be…’ She whispered, barely able to form words. ‘This wasn’t supposed to happen.’

Kairi made to stand and make her way towards them. But subtle movements in her peripheral vision cause her to freeze. She didn’t want to look, but she knew she had to. Dreading what she what about to see Kairi remained on the ground, turning slowly to look to her right. She held her breath as she beheld the mass of pure swirling darkness that stood before her.

‘What are you? Why are you here?’ She managed to demand of it, despite her growing terror.

‘I’m here because you called.’ A distorted voice replied from within the darkness.

And with that the darkness began to condense and reform, quickly taking on what appeared to be the form of a human. Then in the blink of an eye the darkness broke away, revealing a young man with a head of spiky brown hair in its place. His eyes remained closed for a moment before he finally allowed himself to look at her and smile.

‘Kairi.’ He said warmly. ‘I’ve missed you.’

Her first instinct was to jump up and throw her arms around him, but something inside held Kairi back. The person she had been searching and longing for, for so long was finally standing before her, but she couldn’t move. This was wrong. The darkness that had apparently brought him here, the strange new black garments he now wore, and the yellow glow of his eyes. Everything was wrong.

Finding her voice at last Kairi dared to form his name, ‘So-’

‘Sora?’ Another strained voice suddenly cut her off.

The young man in question allowed himself to take his eyes off Kairi for a moment to glance in the direction of the voice, his smile begins to fade. Kairi took the opportunity to look to her left once more and was relieved to find Riku had regained consciousness. His eyes however were fixed on Sora.

‘Riku, I’m glad to see you again too.’ Sora told him with a smile. But Kairi could tell something in his voice was off. As if Sora didn’t completely mean what he was saying.

Riku groaned as he forced himself into a kneeling position. Clearly whatever had happened when Kairi touched the water with her light had caused a lot of damage.

‘What happened to you? We were told your heart had travelled to a realm beyond The Final World. How did you end up here?’ Riku asked firmly.

Sora placed his hands behind his head and chuckled as if Riku had asked the simplest question in the world. ‘That’s easy. I heard Kairi’s call and followed her voice back here. Not like I haven’t done it before.’

In an instant Kairi knew he was lying. All three of them knew he was lying. She knew Riku was going to demand the truth from him with his next breath. But with the way Sora was behaving she doubted he’d give anyone a real answer. Anyone that is, except the one person Sora had never lied to.

‘Sora,’ Kairi’s voice was firm. ‘Tell me the truth. What did you do?’

Sora sighed and allowed his shoulders to slump a little. ‘Let me guess, you want to know about this.’ He then pointed towards his now yellow eyes to which Kairi nodded in response.

‘You sure? It’s a pretty long story…’

He was stalling but Kairi wasn’t having any of it. She pushed herself up from the ground, managing to stand again despite her cumbersome dress. She looked him directly in the eye.

‘Guess it’s a good thing I’ve got nothing but time then.’

Sora was the first to look away. ‘Fine, if its what you really want.’

‘Yep.’ She replied curtly. Kairi took a moment before he started speaking to readjust her dress. But truth be told it was only a rues in order to check on her friends, whom were still scattered about the room. She wasn’t afraid of Sora, not just yet anyway. But Kairi did fear that this new, darker Sora might run or lash out if everyone in the room suddenly woke up at once. It was all so surreal.

Kairi spotted Xion and Naminé lying side by side not too far away, their hands appeared to be grasped together despite being knocked out cold. Axel and Roxas lay in front of the pair. They had evidently tried to shield the girls when Kairi’s light had suddenly exploded. Isa and Leon lay unconscious nearby, as did Donald, Goofy and the King. While on the opposite side of the room Kairi could see Terra, Aqua, Ventus and Chirthy were all huddled together, but still just as comatose as the rest.

Lastly Kairi dared to glance back ever so slightly to check on Riku. Sora had seemed so cold towards their best friend she feared he may lash out at both of them, should he see her look towards Riku so deliberately. For the most part Riku seemed to be recovering well from the blast, and was attempting to revive Aerith.

‘Do you remember what happens to you when you die?’ Sora asked.

Kairi returned her full, undivided attention to him. ‘Yes, how could I forget? You travel to The Final World until you are ready to pass into the beyond.’

‘Technically you’re correct.’ Sora replied, his face growing ashen. ‘That’s what’s supposed to happen anyway. But sometimes you don’t end up there. Sometimes you end up somewhere completely different. Like a huge city, big enough for millions of people to live…but its completely empty, and you become stuck there all alone. With nothing but your own thoughts and memories to keep you company.’

‘Is that… what happened to you?’ Kairi felt her heart ache at the thought of Sora being trapped in such a lonely, empty place. He only nodded to confirm her fear.

‘I suppose it wasn’t all that bad though. While the loneliness was excruciating, I did have a lot of time to think about everything. Figure out why things happened the way they did, and what I did wrong.’

‘What you did wrong? Sora, you didn’t do anything wrong. You saved everyone.’

Sora offered her a rueful smile in response. ‘I did. But in the end, despite all the good I’d done, I wasn’t allowed to have the one thing I wanted more than anything else. To keep my promise to you.’

The pain she felt in her heart as he spoke those words was immense. But after the first throb Kairi realized the pain suddenly felt drastically different, magnified, if that was even possible. She let out a gasp and clutched her chest as her eyes met Sora’s.

Sora tilted his head slightly to the side. ‘You felt that too, huh? Interesting.’

Kairi was unnerved by the smile that began to form on Sora’s lips. That was when she heard Riku finally stand up, his strength returned.

‘Sora, what are you doing to Kairi?’ He demanded.

‘Nothing!’ Sora retorted with a glare. ‘And even if I was doing “something” to her it wouldn’t be any of your business.’

Kairi raised an arm to silence the two bickering friends. ‘I’m ok, Riku. Really.’ She knew he didn’t believe that, but when Riku said nothing in reply she took it to mean he would let Sora continue telling his story… for now.

‘Did you figure out what it was you did that was so wrong?’ Kairi asked, despite her fear of what Sora’s answer would be.

‘Yeah I did.’ He genuinely began to smile now. ‘And what’s better, I figured out how to fix everything.’

‘So you figured out a way back home?’

‘Even better than that! I figured out a way to make sure we’ll be together forever, Kairi, no matter what!’ Sora’s smile was genuine but his eyes still looked cold. The combination of the two along with his bold statement was increasingly unnerving. ‘I just had to get rid of my light.’

Kairi’s mouth opened in utter shock, she imagined Riku’s face looked much the same. Somewhere in the back of her mind Kairi noted that some of the others in the underground chamber were now beginning to stir, but that hardly mattered anymore.

‘Get rid of your light? Sora, I don’t understand, why would you want to rid yourself of light?’

‘Balance.’ He replied. ‘Turns out Master Xehanort was on the right track. There must always be a balance between light and darkness. Where he went wrong though was deciding that balance could only be obtained through destruction. Unfortunately for him the light and the dark a far more complex than that.’

‘But what does a balance between light and dark have to do with you and me, Sora?’

He smiled a little more sadly now. ‘It has everything to do with us, right from the moment we first met on the islands.’ Sora moved towards her, close enough that Kairi had to tilt her head slightly upwards to meet his gaze. Sora had grown taller during his absence.

‘Its your heart, Kairi. I can’t believe it took me so long to realize.’ Her hand moved instinctively to her chest. ‘Your heart is made of pure light, no darkness can ever reside within you. Your heart possesses such an incredible amount of light, it only makes sense you have no true need for the light of others. You can walk through corridors darkness and it would never touch you.’

‘Sora, I don’t understand what your trying to say.’ She was pleading with him now, desperate to understand just how things had gone so wrong.

‘From the moment we met your heart has always called to mine, and mine to you.’ Beginning to feel confidant, Sora dared to raise his hand so he could lightly play with a loose strand of her hair. She decided to allow him to, for now. ‘I’ll never understand why a heart as pure as yours chose an idiot like me, but I’m happy you did. For the longest time I believed we’d always be together, until suddenly we weren’t. And no matter how hard I tried each time I found you, we’d always be ripped apart again. I realized then that all the worlds were doing whatever they could to keep us apart, because so long as my heart possessed light we could never truly be together. Only a heart of pure darkness can exist in perfect balance with your light. That’s why I did this, Kairi, so we can finally be together like we promised.’

‘That’s the stupidest thing I’ve ever heard come out of your mouth! And quite frankly that’s saying a lot!’

Kairi jumped and the sudden shout, and looked to see an utterly furious Riku glaring at Sora. ‘If any of that was even remotely true then how come all the other Princess’ of Heart are all allowed to live happily with their respective Princes? Last time I checked they all had both light and darkness in their hearts.’

Sora only smirked at his best friend’s retort. ‘That’s true I won’t deny it. But your forgetting there’s a big difference between them and Kairi and I. You know, that little thing we call a Keyblade?’ He then proceeded to summon his Kingdom Key as a final attempt to hammer his new ideology home to Riku.

‘Keyblades were created to serve the worlds, to maintain the balance between light and dark. As wielders it is up to us to maintain that balance. During my time alone I finally realized that our duty isn’t only limited to battle, it extends into every aspect of our lives. As a wielder it only makes sense that the light of Kairi’s heart must be balanced with a heart of equal darkness. Kairi has always been my light and now I am her darkness, just as we were always meant to be.’

Kairi could feel her heart breaking with each passing second. ‘So that’s how you found your way back. You gave into the darkness.’

Sora sighed at her words. ‘I didn’t give into anything. I simply accepted the reality before me. At the end of the day I will always make the same choice. I’ll always choose you. As for how I found my way back…I did use the darkness to begin with, but it only got me halfway. Your light opened the final path for me.’

For a moment Kairi was confused before her eyes widened in utter shock, she looked down at the water source she had touched with her light. ‘The water purification ceremony, the darkness in Radiant Gardens’ water supply…that was you?’

Sora grinned. ‘Remember in school when we were taught natural water is an excellent conductor for electricity? Turns out its also an excellent conductor of light and darkness too. Though I had no idea the reaction of your light and my darkness coming in contact through the water would be so…explosive. Your actually ridiculously powerful Kairi, you do realize that don’t you?’

Kairi was still in shock trying to comprehend what he was implying. ‘Sora I…that explosion of light…we hurt everyone here. We hurt our friends!’

For the first time Sora looked taken aback by her words. ‘No we didn’t…I mean we did, but I didn’t mean for that to happen! Look I didn’t know it would cause your light to explode like that. I just…I wanted to be by your side again so bad I didn’t care about the risks.’

Kairi wanted to scream at him for his recklessness, but the look of regret on his face made her pause. He almost looked like the Sora she remembered, finally showing genuine concern for their injured friends.

‘Everything is going to ok Kairi, I promise. But there’s something you and I need to do first.’

Sora’s face had suddenly turned darkly determined once more as he made to embrace her. He was stopped in his actions, however, as a blur of black and white made to attack him with a Keyblade from behind. But he was too quick, Sora had sensed her coming. He turned and successfully blocked her attack with ease. The initial frown on his face grew into a bemused smile as he learnt the identity of his attacker.

‘I can feel how upset you are with me, Xion, but now really isn’t a good time.’ Sora calmly told the dark haired wielder as she continued to stubbornly pressure her Kingdom Key against his own. ‘We can do this some other time. Right now Mum and Dad need to have a little talk, ok?’

Xion suddenly blanked at his overly casual and strangely accepting reference to her true origin. The pause was enough to give Sora the opening he needed, managing to push her off hard enough to send her stumbling backwards. Thankfully Naminé was able to catch Xion before she fell to the ground and held her tightly. A now conscious Roxas and Axel quickly joined the pair to comfort Xion.

‘Now then…’ Sora mused, returning his attention back to Kairi.

‘Sora, don’t you dare make another move!’ It was now Riku’s turn to somehow intervene. But while his Keyblade was summoned he still had yet to move from his position beside the still unconscious Aerith.

Kairi knew he wanted to protect her, but she could also tell that he feared what Sora might do in response. She understood then that there was only one thing she could do. And as scary as the possibilities may be, Kairi had to admit she wanted to know the true extent of Sora’s plan. She turned away from Sora so she could speak with her best friend.

‘It’ll be ok, Riku.’ She told him through a pained smile. ‘We both know Sora would never hurt me.’

She saw a look of defeat cross his face as Riku lowered his blade. Moments later she heard Sora move towards her. She closed her eyes as his arms held her tightly.

‘The true path for restoring balance to the worlds begins here, with you and me.’ He whispered so only she could hear. ‘I just need you to trust me.’

‘I trust you.’ Kairi replied. As the words left her lips her heart suddenly pounded out of control as her light became enveloped in darkness, Sora’s darkness. But it wasn’t overwhelming her; in fact it was quite the opposite. Kairi could feel her light resonating with his darkness. She kept her eyes firmly closed.

‘You feel it, don’t you?’ Came Sora’s voice, gentle and encouraging. She realized with a start that he hadn’t spoken out aloud, his voice was inside her head.

‘How are you doing that?’ Kairi asked in bewilderment.

‘Our hearts are resonating. The balance of light and dark means we can share a new bond, just the two of us. From now on we’ll be able to sense were the other is, no matter how far apart we may be. If we want to we can even share feelings and emotions.’

‘“No matter how far apart we may be.” You say that as if you’re going to leave again. Sora, if you were planning to disappear and leave me all over again then what was the point of turning to the darkness or coming back to the realm of light at all? Was this all some elaborate lie?’

‘No, it's not a lie.’ Sora defended.

‘But it is a lie. You’ve been lying this whole time. When you saved me from The Final World you promised that, even if you faded away, you would always be my light. Sora…’

Kairi opened her eyes and turned to look at him properly. She held his face so he couldn’t look away from her. ‘Why did you break your promise to me?’

Sora’s mouth opened and closed a number of times but nothing came out. Fear, hurt and regret flashed across his face before he finally found his words again. ‘Kairi, I did what I had to do.’

Kairi wanted to scream and cry all at once, but her heart ached too much for her to do either. And judging by the pained look on Sora’s face he was clearly feeling her pain as well. She guessed the whole sharing emotions thing really was true. Before anything else could be said a new voice spoke.

‘Sora? Is that you?’ came the voice of the King.

They both looked to see King Mickey, Donald, Goofy and the rest of their friends had finally awakened.

‘Sora?’ Donald and Goofy both spoke in a mixture of apprehension and disbelief.

Kairi felt fear but it wasn’t her own. She looked at Sora, his face pale and yellow eyes glowing.

‘I have to go.’ He told her, refusing to meet her eye. A dark portal opened up beside him and he made to walk through it.

He was only stopped by Kairi grabbing his hand and refusing to let go. ‘Please don’t go!’ She begged.

Sora looked back at her once more with a pained smile. ‘This isn’t the end, it’s a new beginning.’ He told her before freeing his hand from her grasp. And without another word he passed through the dark corridor and vanished.

As the last wisps of darkness faded away Kairi fell to the ground and burst into tears. Riku, Aerith and Aqua rushed forward and embraced the poor girl. It felt like forever before Kairi was finally calm enough to speak. Seeking Riku’s embrace, she told him Sora’s final lie.

‘His heart isn’t pure darkness. I felt it, his light is still there. It’s locked away, sleeping deep inside his heart. We just have to convince him to come back to us and let it free.’

[blackhakumen]

Mini Fanfic #395: After Coco (Kingdom Hearts)

9:22am in the Morning.......

Lea: (Got up From the Couch and Starts Yawning) Morning, my peeps....

Xion: (Giggles Softly) Good morning, sleepyhead.

Roxas: (Snickering) How was your sleep?

Isa: (Holding his Mug of Coffee in his hands) You know....after everything that happened last night.

Lea: Honestly, I slept like a new born- (Noticed Everyone in the room looking at him with a Smirk on their faces) Uh...why are you guys looking at me like that?

Isa: No reason.

Roxas: Just Cause.

Xion: Yeah. It's not like we saw you being emotionally precious last night~

Lea: "Emotionally-".....................('Sigh Heavily') You're talking about me crying last night, are you?

Roxas: Now you're catching on.

Isa: Had no idea you were so Emotional, Lea. (Sips on his Coffee)

Lea: ('Scoffs') So I cried over a Pixar movie, big deal! Everyone cries while watching these movies!

Xion: True. But you kind of took it to the extreme.

Lea: To the extreme? Xion, all I did was tell you guys how much I love all of you. It really wasn't nothing to it.

Roxas: (Smirk Grew Bigger) Okay. But are you sure that we're the ONLY ones you cried to last night?

Xion: Hmmmmmmmm?~

Lea: ..........What are kids talking about?

*Flashback*

*Cellphone Rang*

Kairi: (Picks up her Phone) Hello?-

Lea: (From the Other Line) KAIIIIIIRIIIIIIIIII!!!

Kairi: Axel?! H-Hey, what's wrong? W-Why are you crying?

Lea: Kairi, you're the best, adorable little sister I ever have in my life! And I'm so happy be the big brother who LOVES YOU VERY MUCH!!!

*Call End*

Kairi: (Place her Hand on her Chest while her Heart Begins to Melt from Lea's Sudden Call) Axel.........

..........................................................

Lea: You're amazing kid, Sora!! And you deserve the world for EVERYTHING you done for us!!! THE WORLD!!

*Call End*

Sora: (Smiles Brightly while Blushes Appears on his face Bashfully)

..................................................

Lea: You're a smart kid, Riku!! You're worthy of being the Keyblade Master! Hell, you're practically a better Master than Mickey and Yen Sid COMBINED!!

.................................................

Lea: You're an honest to good kid, Ven! I really wish me and Isa get to hangout with you more when we were both DUMB KIDS!!!!

................................................

Lea: Aqua, Terra, you guys are the best teachers any of us can EVER asked for!! You're even the best Blueberry Mom and Muffin Dad any of us ever known!! I'm so glad we became BEST ADULT FRIENDS!!!

................................................

Lea: You're the most precious, most sweetest Cinnamon Roll I ever have the pleasure of meeting, Namine!! THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR NEVER GIVING UP ON MEEEEEEEE!

*Call End*

Namine: (Place Both of her hands on her mouth in Shock while Tears Falling Down her Eyes)

..................................................

Lea: Vantias.......(Took A Deep Breath) I don't care what you.....or anyone else says........but to me, your family, and to all of your group of friends........... YOU'RE A VERY GOOD BOI!!!

*Call Ended*

Vantias: ........................The fuck?

*Flashback Ended*

Xion: And after that, you instantly went to sleep like a baby.

Lea: (Unconvinced) Okay. I know I cried to you guys about how I feel, but there's no way my emotions was that bad enough to call up the whole squad.

Roxas: You sure about that?

Lea: Yes. I am sure, Roxas. ('Scoffs') I mean.... That's sounds completely ridiculous on paper, am I right?

*Doorbell Rang*

Isa: You might wanna get that.

Lea: ('Sigh') Fiiiiine.....(Walks Towards the Door) I swear, I don't know what to do with you people most of the- (Eyes Widened once he Opens the Door) time......

Everyone of the Seasalt Family's friends stares at Lea with Sincerely, Smiles on their faces. Some with tears on their eyes (Sora, Kairi, Namine). (Except for Vantias, who turns away from Lea while Blushing)

Lea: Uhhhhhhh.....Good morning-

Kairi: Oh, Axel!! (Gives Lea a Big Hug) Thank you for being the Big Brother I never had. I love you so so much! (Gives Lea a Kiss on the Cheek)

Sora: (Hugs Lea next) Your a Sweetheart, Axel! I'm sooooooo glad we became friends!

Riku: (Happily Pat Lea on the Shoulder) You're a good person, Lea. Don't ever change, okay?

Ventus: (Patted Lea on the Back with a Smile on his Face) I'm always free to hangout anytime you want, Lea.

Aqua: (Gently Grab Both of Lea's Hands with a Sincere Smile on her face) Thank you for being our students, Lea. As well as our Cherished Friend.

Terra: (Smiles Softly) Yeah, man. We're really glad we met you.

Namine: (Hugs Lea with Tears in her Eyes) Y-You're too kind, Lea.....('Sniff') Thank you so much for being my friend! (Burst out Crying into Lea's Embrace)

Lea: (Surprisedly but Gently Hugs Namine Back) Kiddo.....

Vantias: Hey!

Lea: (Turns to Vantias) Yeah?

Vantias: .........................Thank you.

Lea: (Couldn't Believe What is Happening Right Now) Jesus.........I really did poured out all of my emotions to you guys, haven't I?

Xion: (Happily Nodded)

Roxas: (Smirks A bit more Sincerely) And you thought we were lying to your face this entire time.

Aqua: There's no need to be embarrassed, Lea. Your words, while completely out of nowhere, made us all really happy yesterday and even now.

Sora: And we just want you to know that each and everyone of us here loves you with all of our hearts too!

Lea: (Eyes Widened) ...........Damn you guys.......(Tears Coming Out of his eyes) You're about to making me cry all over again.......

Sora: (Immediately Hugs Lea Again) Oh Lea.

Kairi: (Joins in on the Hug) Don't cry. It's okay.

Roxas: (Joins in) We're all here for you, man.

Xion: (Joins as Well) And we're not going anywhere. I promise.

At this point, Lea was already Engulfed by the love and care his family and friends are giving him......When suddenly.....

*Ahem*

Everyone: (Turns to see Isa with a Small Smile on his Face)

Isa: While I would love to see this emotional presentation last longer, would you all like to join us for breakfast today since you're here?

Everyone: (All Agreed while Saying 'Yes' to Isa)

Namine: Yes, please!

Isa: ('Sigh') (Great......Now there's ten mouths to feed this morning.....Still, as long as they're all here.....I guess it wouldn't hurt to make everyone breakfast.....just this once.)

Inspired by @khtext

@26shann

@keyenuta

@albion-93

@cyber-wildcat

@chompycroc

@ma-lemons

[mastrechef]

More Kingdom Hearts stuff just because I feel like it.

“I feel like I should know, that there should still be a connection that I could trace. But there’s nothing there.” Roxas growled and ruffled his hair in frustration. “Dammit, there has to be more I can do besides sit here and feel fucking useless.”

Sitting next to him, Ventus hummed in agreement. “I understand how you feel. I was with him for more than a decade. Sometimes I feel like I know him better than I know myself. Yet when I reach out to find his light...I can’t sense anything.”

For a while after that, the two sat in silence, watching the sunset from the top of Twilight Town’s clock tower. Things had been awkward between them at first, what with being near identical at first glance. There were differences, but they were subtle: the shape of the jaw, the placement of the cheekbones, and Roxas’ eyes were a lighter sapphire to Ven’s royal blue. They probably said no more than three words to each other before returning to their own respective worlds. That changed after Kairi returned and Sora did not, and Ven began to seek out Roxas and Xion as the other two who had once resided in Sora’s heart. All three shared a unique pain at the loss of the boy who had gifted them with a second chance at life; the same boy whom none of them had truly had a chance to speak with.

“You two aren’t still brooding, are you?” The silence was broken by the arrival of Xion, three bars of ice cream in hand.

After a quiet thanks for the ice cream, Roxas smirked at Xion. “Nah, that’s strictly my job. Ven’s not the type to brood.”

“Well what type am I then?”

“You’re the sunshine and rainbows kinda guy. Nothing gets you down for long.”

“That’s not even remotely true,” protested Ven.

“No, I see what Roxas is getting at. If you’re upset about something, you seek out other people to talk to rather than hiding away and isolating yourself.” Xion turned to Ven with a sad smile. “That’s why you came to us in the first place, right?”

The playful atmosphere evaporated and turned pensive. Nothing about their situation was particularly normal, their bond even more so. Before all this, Xion and Roxas had at least been friends, with Ven as the outlier. Yet somehow, the trio fit together like long lost siblings. Now all that was needed was to return their missing brother.

“He’s out there somewhere, I know it. We’ll find him.” Her determination blazed as bright as the sun. Both boys could do nothing less than put all their faith in Xion’s words. So long as there was hope, they wouldn’t give up on the boy who saved them all.

...

There was something strange in the ease with which Yozora found him. Hiding from him was about as easy as trying to hide from a bloodhound. Despite hiding in the upper branches of a haphazardly chosen tree or losing himself amid the maze of clothing racks in some random department store, sure enough, Yozora was there. It was maddening. The only upside to this situation was that Sora felt no need to sleep, so at least he didn’t have to deal with being startled awake only to see Yozora looming over him. Getting knocked out by the guy on a regular basis was bad enough.

Of course there were also the nightmares that had plagued him since the botched Mark of Mastery exam. For a while he’d even been afraid to go to sleep, terrified that Xehanort would be there waiting and trap him again. He had pushed his concerns to the side in favor of more important things. There had been a lot to do to prepare for the final battle and no time to dwell on personal demons.

Being in this realm only allowed him to further ignore those particular demons.

Time passed strangely in this place. It could be hours or days between his meetings with Yozora, but it was impossible to tell for sure, and not just because it was perpetually nighttime. Anytime Sora lost focus or zoned out, he had this sense that time somehow sped up. Yet, whenever he returned to consciousness after a round with Yozora he felt as though no time at all had passed. Was this how Aqua felt stuck in the Realm of Darkness all those years?

There was nothing to do but think and wait for Yozora. He found himself pondering about the other boy’s words. What did he mean by ‘I was told to save Sora’ and what was he supposed to be saving Sora from? It couldn’t be from whatever this place was, since it seemed Yozora was the one ensuring he stayed stuck here. From death? Sora’s already saved himself from that fate once, even if the circumstances were different.

Sora was startled out of his musings by a familiar voice. “Aren’t you looking pathetic.”

He lurched in alarm, flailing his arms as he tried to keep himself from tipping over the edge of the roof he was perched on. He regained his balance and twisted around to see an unexpected figure. “Wha—Vanitas?”

“Did all your ‘friends’ ditch you?” Despite the harsh words, the usual arrogance and anger were absent and instead he just seemed...resigned. All the same, Sora would be on his guard; it was too soon to tell what Vanitas planned to do.

Sora shook his head vehemently. “My friends wouldn’t do that,” he insisted. None of them were the type to do that. (He carefully didn’t think about that brief time he had lost the keyblade in Hollow Bastion. And Riku leaving him behind when he gave in to the darkness didn’t count.) He eyed Vanitas in confusion. “What are you doing here?”

The question got him a bitter laugh. “Did you think I had gone for good? You can’t destroy darkness. It will always be there so long as there is darkness in people’s hearts.”

“I get that.” And he truly did. For all that he fought the darkness, he had come to understand that light could not exist without dark. They were counterpoints meant to balance each other. Just like there was no way to be happy all the time, to eliminate all negative emotions, but those happy moments were made all the more precious by the presence of the downs—so too must light and dark exist in equal measure. Besides, he was no stranger to the reality of the saying ‘bright lights cast deep shadows.’ (Distorted flashes of clawstearrendhungerRAGE came to mind.) “But what I meant was how are you here? This place...it’s...” He trailed off, not really sure what to say. This strange city was a complete unknown, seemingly unconnected to any other world that Sora had visited, except perhaps the Final World; but even so it wasn’t clear how he got from there to here.

“I told you before, didn’t I? I’m your shadow, so of course I’d be drawn to where you are.”

“That doesn’t make any sense. If you were able to find me, shouldn’t the others be able to as well?” There was certainly no shortage of people connected to Sora’s heart, although all his attempts to trace the connection back to them resulted in failure. But if Vanitas could reach him, then maybe it was only his end that was having trouble. Who knew how these things worked when you were technically supposed to be dead.

“If they can’t find you, that’s their problem. Hasn’t got shit to do with me,” he replied, face twisting in a sneer. Apparently fed up with their all too brief interaction, Vanitas started walking away.

“Wait! Vanitas!” A dark corridor appeared and he was gone. Sora slumped back. He wondered if Vanitas was able to leave this place, if he himself was the only one stuck here struggling to escape. He flopped onto his back with a groan. Back to waiting in boredom it was. Funnily enough, he actually wished heartless would show up here; that would at least give him something to do.

Some time later his question was answered in such a way that he almost had a heart attack. Evidently, his concerns about waking up to see Yozora looming over him were the least of his concerns, because waking up to see Vanitas looming over him was much more alarming. Eyes blown wide and heart fluttering like a caged bird, Sora scrambled back to put a little distance between them.

Vanitas only continued to frown at him, brows pinched together.

“You’re still here?” Sora asked after getting himself into some semblance of control.

“I should be asking you that.”

“I can’t leave yet.” Something instinctive told him that leaving wouldn’t be possible until he managed to beat Yozora. So soon after his latest loss, it wasn’t something he cared to think about. Might as well make the most of the other boy’s presence. “Can I ask you something?” A noncommittal grunt was his answer. “Why'd you want to join with Ventus so bad? You and he are two separate people now.”

The look Vanitas gave him openly conveyed his low opinion of Sora’s intelligence. Rude, thought Sora. “I’m nothing more than Ventus’ negative emotions that were pulled out of him. I was never meant to exist to begin with.”

“Yeah, well, neither were nobodies, but that doesn’t make Roxas any less real. He’s not just a part of me—he’s his own person with his own heart. And I don’t believe that you’re nothing but darkness and negativity. Even the deepest darkness has a light that never goes out.”

Vanitas scoffed. “You expect me to listen to your light-side bullshit?”

“I’m not just light, you know,” he snapped, suddenly irritated. “I’ve got my own darkness, same as everybody else. I fought on the light side, yes, but I was just doing what I thought was right. Light and dark...they’re not the same as good and evil—things aren’t so clear cut. Riku’s proof of that. Xehanort was wrong to do what he did, so I stopped him. Simple as that.”

An unreadable look overtook Vanitas’ face. Without a word, he disappeared again.

[nadziejastar]

Thoughts on Soranort?

“Hey, I got an idea. Ask your heart. See if it’s got a clue.”

“Well…my heart was aching. That’s why I kept going.”

It was almost too much to bear. The sorrow—the pain, and so many other feelings. A suffering so much greater than anything he’d ever known. Hatred, sadness, anger, jealousy, fear, resentment, anguish, envy, uncertainty, pain, despair. Who did these feelings come from? Roxas? That woman? Those two people called me Ven—maybe him? Or someone else?

“Oh… Thank you, Sora’s heart, for pushing him right into our clutches. Aren’t hearts great? Steer us wrong every time,” Xigbar remarked, mocking as ever.

Personally, I don’t think he would have made a good Nort. But that’s why he was the hero.

Sora was targeted as a vessel because he had pain inside of him. The pain wasn’t really his, though. It was the memories inside of him, which didn’t even belong to him. That’s why I think he’d make a pretty boring seeker of darkness, from a story standpoint. He’s better suited as the hero. I think almost all the Norts were handled VERY poorly, though. The Dark Seeker Saga just turned out to be a huge flop in the end. It was supposed to be all about healing pain. Not just for the missing guardians of light. But the seekers of darkness, too. There was a reason they all got Norted, which KH3 did a VERY poor job explaining. It was because they all had pain that led them to abandoning their heart.

Ansem’s mouth twisted into a smirk. “If he wavers from the path we lay, we destroy him.”

“But in that case…we’ll have to find ourselves another vessel.”

Xigbar barked a laugh. Another vessel…, he says, as if it’s nothing. Just one piece of their grand, far-reaching plan.

“That is why we never have just one iron in the fire,” Xemnas replied matter-of-factly.

KH3 was supposed to be all about Xehanort’s search for a replacement vessel after Sora failed in KH3D. Vessels are not easy to come by, so “reserve members” shouldn’t even be a thing. I think the person they were supposed to be talking about in this scene was Davy Jones. He was a perfect vessel because he didn’t have a heart, but he didn’t die. He cast away his heart because it caused him pain. He would have been like the Beast in KH2, where they were trying to get him to join he organization. 

This world could have felt like it was relevant to the main story. But Davy Jones’ heart got little focus and all anyone cared about was the stupid black box, which isn’t even relevant in this game. The whole idea of the seekers of darkness becoming vessels because of pain got very little attention. When you defeated them in the Keyblade Graveyard, there should have been a sense of healing for each character’s pain and a sense of resolution to their story. The sad remix of the organization music was SO GOOD. Instead, most of them ended on a cliffhanger, which is absurd.

And then there was the heart that nestled close to mine. There, it continued to quietly encourage me. If he hadn’t been there, I wouldn’t be here now, standing in front of his grave.

Master, did you forgive me? Or maybe I haven’t been forgiven yet and I’m only still here so I can atone? I know there are no answers to my questions and no one has to forgive me for my sins. Even entertaining the thought of being forgiven is so presumptuous of me. A weakness.

The only vessel handled even semi-decently was Terra. His personal pain was given a lot of focus in BBS, so his story didn’t feel particularly incomplete… except when it came to Eraqus. I don’t feel Terra got proper closure with him. Terra didn’t even know if Eraqus forgave him, which is just sad. Terra’s messed up relationship with Eraqus was the whole reason he fell to darkness. It was his doubt that Eraqus truly loved him like a son that made him so susceptible to manipulation. It broke my heart how Terra was reluctant to hug Eraqus at the end.

“Not your concern.” With those parting words, Xehanort strode away. Eraqus slammed a fist into the floor as he watched him go.

Why did I fail to stop him? Is it my fault? Where did I go wrong? Is the darkness itself what beguiled him so? Must this plague steal my dear friend from me?

Then you got Young and Master Xehanort. In BBS, people kinda saw Xehanort as Lord Voldemort. People couldn’t see how Terra could trust him, because he was so obviously evil. But he was human, too. He was Eraqus’s dear friend. I’d be willing to bet it was some personal pain with Eraqus that led to Xehanort falling to darkness completely. Xehanort had no backstory, though, so it was hard to understand why he gave up or why he and Eraqus seemed so happy together in the end.

Ansem talked about some kind of betrayal, but I had no idea what he was even referring to here. 

Xemnas also had pain. He had Terra’s memories, spent years looking for Ventus in the Chamber of Waking. He was lonely, though this is never explored in any way.

I think Luxord probably joined the organization voluntarily. But why? He isn’t loyal to Xemnas. I doubt his original backstory was being some amnesiac Keyblade wielder from the age of fairy tales. He hinted at some personal pain due to “compulsive behavior”. I’m sure he had a sad backstory that caused him to join for his own reasons.

Why am I in the Organization? Well, I mean, there’s lots of reasons, but—oh, right! I wanted friends, right? Oh, no. Wow, actually no, that sounded way uncool but… now I’m thinking back on it and I’m just like, yeah, I guess it kinda was like that, huh.

Aside from the whole old guys’ club going on, it kinda seems like there were a lotta tight-knit groups in the Organization. Y’know, like Axel and Saix, Marluxia and Larxene, Zexion and Vexen, and Xaldin and Lexaeus? And I guess in the end, I hung out with the old guy a lot.

Yeah, so it’s not like it’s a big deal, seriously that’s it. I hate fighting and jamming out is way more fun. Sad stuff, painful stuff, why would I wanna do anything like that?

Let’s assume that Demyx was supposed to be a real member of the true organization instead of Xion (which is what I believe). His Character File story hints that he had pain and also that he became very close to Luxord. Which makes sense because they were some of the only members left after Castle Oblivion. Axel spent all his time with Saix, Roxas, and Xion. So, Demyx and Luxord really had no one else, and probably hung out with each other a lot. So, Demyx might have joined because of Luxord. But this is never explored in any way and Demyx is just a plot device to deliver Replicas.

SYMBOLISM Strelitzia is seen as the flower of freedom, and also represents immortality and paradise.

In early trailers, Marluxia had green eyes in the Rapunzel world, meaning he was not even supposed to be fully Norted before the final battle. So, I think he did join the organization of his own free will. But he had personal pain that led up to it. The loss of his sister. She said she’d carry him on her back, then his final boss form in CoM has him riding atop this strange woman figure. All very interesting. This is something that should have been wrapped up in this saga, though.

Sigh, it was so much better when I had no heart. When I didn’t have to worry about things like liking someone. Becoming fond of something is painful. That’s why those feelings were taken advantage of.

I think Larxene loved Marluxia and wanted to be by his side. She didn’t even want to regain a heart because it caused her pain. There should have been resolution to that at the end of KH3 instead of leaving it dangling.

Xigbar had pain, too. He was constantly haunted by his memory of Ventus glaring at him. You could tell that he was jealous of the bonds the other characters had. He commits suicide at the end due to the guilt he has. I would have said that his story was handled well if it ended with his suicide. It was pretty sad. But they reversed it and made it out to be a ruse. Xigbar was just faking his entire personality the whole time and was really Luxu all along. WTF!? I just can’t…

I wanted to be like you. I was jealous of you. Who was I exactly? Did I even exist? I’m just a puppet with no heart whose fake memories were planted in my head.

I was made, I’m artificial, I’m a fake. What do I need to become a real person? Or rather, was I a real fake? I fell into the dark and wandered the world of darkness.

Riku Replica’s story wasn’t resolved well, either. He spends all of CoM being tormented about not being the real Riku and that no doubt leads him to joining the organization. But then after he’s defeated, he gets no closure to his identity crisis. Instead, another “good” Riku Replica comes and rips the “evil” Replica’s soul out (WTF?) and then that story is over. It becomes all about Namine at that point. He sacrifices his only chance at life for her, which is kinda weird and depressing. I would have preferred if Riku Replica gained some kind of peace with being a part of Riku and then going home into his heart, like Xion did at the end of Days.

Whereas Ven’s worries and suffering were proof of his growth, his proclivity toward the light, Vanitas’s own misery was merely a pitch-black morass that brought with it nothing but pain.

We’re so different, but I could feel you every step of the way. I bet you didn’t notice me at all. What does this battle between us mean to you? You probably don’t have a clue that it means our hearts are intertwining. The fight itself doesn’t matter. What’s important is that our struggle makes us feel the same things. You hate me for trying to hurt your friend now, right? And I hate you right back for having friends at all.

Never once is any attention given to Vanitas’s pain. He despised Ventus and was jealous of the fact that he had friends. All the Unversed came from his negative emotions. Ventus told him they were the same and that he needed to come home inside of his heart, but…he doesn’t? Instead of finding some kind of peace by going back to Ventus, he just… disappears. 

The person who probably suffered the most was Axel. Because he’s the one who forgot the most. Being forgotten and forgetting, they’re both painful.

Saix’s pain turned out to be a joke. He couldn’t find some random girl he spoke to a few times, boo hoo, such a sad tragic backstory. He had to be quickly turned into a good guy before the epilogue, so he only joined to “atone” not because of any pain. His real pain was supposed to be about his relationship with Lea.

Cancer is ruled by the Moon, the planet of receptivity. It’s the zodiac sign related to feeling and emotions in our hearts. Cancer is, in many ways, the most sensitive and vulnerable sign of the zodiac. They feel deeply, but they’re not sure what to do about their feelings.

Emotions tend to play a dominate role in the lives of people born under Cancer. Naturally defensive and sometimes afraid of being hurt, they tend to put their heart and soul into all their relationships, and are very faithful, loyal and loving partners. Cancer people are extremely sensitive to matters of the heart. It is easy to hurt their feelings and they become deeply emotionally wounded when wronged, and can take a long time getting over it.

Also, I just really like the idea of Saix as a Seeker of Darkness. Cancers have very delicate hearts and are very emotional people who are vulnerable to pain. 

[oveliagirlhaditright]

Cherish the Moment - A SoKai Wedding Fic

Rated T. Sora and Kairi get married... Though there's some subverting expectations in here, since it's the only way I could write this--A, because so many others already have and B, because I felt I'd mess it up if I did it any other way--like, there are some moments Kairi's a bit sad that the few feelings she had for Riku will remain a question mark now (and thinks Sora might feel the same way about his feelings for Naminé)... But that really only lasts for five seconds, and can be seen as Kairi wedding jitters, as I swear all of this is really the fluffiest SoKai piece you'll ever read. SoKai, RokuShi, Namiku, Terqua, Gulava, VentusStrelitzia (as well as past PlayerStrelitzia). Slight RiKai and SoNami, but not really, but definitely more of the former, if any. Kind of written by accident when I needed a break from my other stories... and then it snowballed.

Kairi's PoV

As lovely as Kairi’s marriage to Sora was—that she did want more than anything else in that World, and that was a dream come true in so many ways—there was a little part of Kairi, that was sad that the questions she’d once had about Riku and herself would remain exactly that. And she imagined that… even though Sora would never admit it, the side of his heart that still existed in Castle Oblivion felt that about his tangled feelings for Naminé. But it was what it was—since this was real life, and it wasn't perfect, and Kairi wouldn't trade this feeling for the nothingness she’d felt at Sora’s disappearance for the world. Kairi wore something evergreen as her wedding dress—since it was the color she looked best in, and she wanted to look as beautiful as she could for Sora. ….Also, because Kairi had lost her virginity to Sora a long time ago, and she wasn’t going to lie or feel ashamed about it—and in order to match her, her sun was wearing a yellow tuxedo: that reminded Kairi of the bog world she and Sora had recently visited, that made her happy. Of all places they could've gotten married, the couple had chosen Monstropolus' laugh factory, for Kairi had thought if they got married in front of all the running doors, it could make a lovely sight. And it had. The two had also gotten Barbossa to marry them (when King Mickey had said he would be too nervous to do so). That had been Sora's idea… and Kairi got the sense that it was largely because he had been inspired by Will and Elizabeth’s wedding, who he thought they were like. Which was beyond sweet... And seeing the man's humorous reaction to this new world—before Sora and Riku had nearly instantly shoved him back through a Corridor of Light—had been more than funny to Kairi. But he'd actually officiated for them perfectly, in asking Sora if Kairi was the Elizabet to his Will or Calypso to his Davy Jones… But when Barbossa had begun talking about Sora and Kairi’s upcoming wedding night, Sora and Riku had furiously made him vacate the premises… and despite everything, Kairi had laughed. Even while she’d tried to defend the pirate from her husband and big brother (because yes, that was what Riku really was to her) But after that drama—right after they’d been married—Sora and Kairi had rode atop one of the doors together for a while—with both of them kicking their legs to and fro as it moved beneath them, like they’d both rocked on the paopu tree all those years ago. And while both Kairi and Sora felt somewhat bad that they were keeping their joy from everyone else, by having this special and private moment… they contended themselves with the fact that every other married couple would have been getting pictures away from everyone else at this point, anyway. "But maybe we shouldn't be doing this," Sora eventually said with a chuckle. "I mean, your wedding dress is so impractical for writing doors on, Kai. You might fall right off! And the last thing I want, is for my wife to die on our wedding day." But at this point that Sora had said this, the door had already reached its destination—sort of making Sora's words moot—but Kairi couldn't help teasing her love about it, all the same. "It's okay, Sora. Wielding the Keyblade gives us mastery over gravity, remember? That's how I fought in a dress in The Castle That Never Was. So, I’ll be fine if we want to do this again." But right now, they had bigger fish to fry. So Kairi walked towards Boo's door. The spouses had planned to go visit Boo during their wedding—because they'd wanted everyone they loved to be able to attend. And Kairi adored her, now that she’d gotten to meet her a few times. But now that she and Sora were at her door, planning to go through, Kairi found herself second-guessing if this was a good idea at all. They didn’t want to risk spooking the girl’s parents, who still somehow didn’t know about other worlds… "Sora," Kairi started, as she with loving eyes pulled him away from the door he'd just opened. “We can maybe disturb Boo later… But don't you think we should go see the rest of our friends for a little bit before our honeymoon? Sora didn't have to be asked twice; Kairi had sensed that he was missing Riku, after all. When the two of them got back to the Laugh Floor—where their ceremony had taken place—the lovers could see that Riku was trying to see if Naminé would eat the lemon meringue pie, if he got rid of the gooey bits from it, that she didn't like. …Riku and Naminé were wonderful for each other, and Kairi was honestly glad that they had each other... And Naminé ending up accepting Riku's offer was just further proof of that, in her eyes. And what were Sora and Kairi’s other friends doing right now? Most of the ones with responsibilities in other parts of the galaxy had left already. But some were still here. Like right now, Kairi could see that Ariel was thrilled that she could be part human, part mermaid in a monster form here if she wished... Aladdin was trying to stop Abu from stealing things, it appeared (though this was unnecessary, as both Kairi and Sora had told their guests that they were welcome to any of the decorations the two of them had brought here), and Kairi was glad when Xion kept reminding him that it was fine... Hercules was trying to convince Mike and Sully that they might as well have statues of themselves put up here in their world, like he had a few of his own in Olympus. And the Restoration Committee was trying to see if they could use the door system themselves, as some part of the defense mechanism. And a Lightning was wondering why just because a "Tron" (who had thankfully been restored!) had added a data version of her to his system, the real her had been invited to this wedding… Kairi didn’t even know the answer to that herself, but the more the merrier! Right? As for everyone else... Roxas was by Xion’s side in the whole Abu and Aladdin scenario. The former Nobody did seem somewhat sad that Xion was paying all her attention to it, instead of him… But since it was for Xion, it was clear that he was happy to be doing whatever she was. Terra and Aqua were dancing, and it made Kairi ponder whether or not they'd now decided they saw each other as more than siblings, after all. Lauriam and Ven were… comforting Strelitzia over Player's death. And Kairi once again thought about telling the poor dear that she hadn't had to come here—and that she could leave whenever she wanted to—but that she and Sora were both thankful she had come at all... And Lea, and Isa were catching up with Skuld at the punch table... And it looked as though King Mickey, Donald, Goofy, and Master Yen Sid were working on some amazing fireworks for Sora and herself? "Where do we even begin?" Sora asked nervously, as he scratched his ear. Kairi imagined that Sora probably wanted to go help with the fireworks display, but given his tendency to sometimes make things blow up—like those blasters back at The World That Never Was—Kairi didn’t know if that was the best idea. "Say, Kairi… what do you say we go talk to Ava first? Is it me, or does she seem lonely?" And Ava did seem that way. And Kairi got the sense that while the woman was thrilled, that what she’d done had helped to lead everyone here... that she was beginning to think what the Master of Masters had been after similar things, after all, and that maybe she had been wrong to kill him. And as soon as they approached Ava, she was telling them just that. "It's a beautiful wedding you’re having, Sora, Kairi... but my father should have been here, since he created all of this. But he isn't... and that’s my fault." '…Except that, as great as your father was… I think he did go insane from it all and would have destroyed the world, if you hadn't stopped him,' Kairi wanted to say, but didn’t. And judging by how Sora kept opening his mouth and shutting it again, Kairi thought that her other heart felt much the same way. But instead, she enveloped the girl in her arms--that Sora watched with a proud twinkle in his eye before he’d turned away from them, Kairi had seen. Perhaps he was about to find Gula and tell him to make sure his girlfriend was happy –and told her what was in her heart. "I get where you're coming from, Ava. Really, I do. And joyful times can make you think of all those who you've lost, who you wish could be there for you, too. …But I think you're looking at this in the wrong way. You've got to think about all that you have! Like your dear friends Gula, Invi, Aced, and Ira... and all of the various Key Kids who found their way here; and how you're now friends with us: the new guard when it comes to the Light, and together we've created some beautifulthings." And there was also the answer to Kairi’s own problem, wasn't it? She had been somewhat focusing on the teeny, tiny bit that she and Sora were losing in getting married—since they had had other feelings for others in the past—that she’d missed that, despite everything, she was finally tied with the love of her life in every way she had wanted to... and that meant more than all of the munny in the world ever could. And her words must have had the intended result of getting through to Ava, too, Kairi saw, because the older woman wiped her tears away... smiled at Kairi and Sora, as he joined them with Gula being pulled behind him, and said, "You’re right, Kairi. And in my heart, I’m still a leader to the Dandelion children. So why am I becoming undone, when I should be comforting Strelitzia--who's already lost so much!—about her love? If you'll excuse me, I'm going to go do that right now. Thank you, my King and Queen." Kairi blushed at that title she and Sora had been given after everything they'd done (Riku and Naminé had even been given some, too), but didn't let it show. Instead, she admired how at that exact moment, Gula had chosen to kiss Ava on the cheek—to show her that she was cared for, but not distract her too much from her mission; or so Kairi guessed—while Ven had chosen to kiss Strelitzia full on the mouth, who was responding positively while Lauriam was not. So suddenly feeling very much in love for a few reasons, Kairi leapt into her precious Sora's arms—wrapping her legs around his waist, as he caught her at the last minute after her surprise attack. "Sora, you know what I just realized?” Kairi asked, as she leaned close to Sora and prayed to Kingdom Hearts to give her strength to say these next words, since she was a terrible dancer. “We've been lame! in not giving everyone our first dance yet!" Sora chuckled at this, as he leaned his forehead against Kairi’s own and looked deep into her eyes with loving ones of his own. “Then let’s go give them a show, Mrs.” And everyone around them must have realized what they were finally about to do, because Terra wolf-whistled, and Riku called out with a hand over his mouth, "Dance already, you two! You've already broken tradition by having the other couples do so before you!" Sora stuck his tongue out at Riku for that one. So in wanting to everything wedding the traditional way now, Kairi let Sora lead her onto the dance floor—and he winked at her in a way that made a shiver run down Kairi’s spine in the best way possible—and she prepared to do a nice, slow dance with Sora... only for the song to change to the Cupid Shuffle. And Kairi and Sora cracked up, as they once again leaned their foreheads against each other’s, but also held both of each other’s hands this time while doing so. After dancing to the song by themselves very shortly, Kairi and Sora motioned for everyone to come onto the dance floor with them... which Kairi was glad for—since it would hopefully distract everyone how she always messed up timing or did the wrong thing in this song. But Sora was a godsent when it came to making her look good at dancing, and somehow seemed charmed by her bad movements, so it was a win-win. Fortunately, the Cha-Cha slide came on right after the Cupid Shuffle—that Kairi knew better than any other dance—and she was able to redeem herself some. And seeming to realize she wanted to leave the dance floor on a high note, Sora asked with the kind of kindness he’d had in his eyes when he’d told Chirithy she’d made him remember how good it was to experience things with a friend, "Want to give everyone else the dance floor now?" And Kairi shouted "Yes!" faster than anything she'd ever said in her life, since—as it was—her feet were starting to kill her in these high heels, too. Sora, truly being a psychic, swept Kairi up off her feet before she could even voice the thought. And she leaned her head into his shoulder, like a soldier coming home for the first time in ages. It was at this time that everyone seemed figure out that they were ready to leave. So there were last minute goodbyes (Roxas pretended to cry that his brother was all grown up—and this had gotten a kick out of everyone—nevermind the fact that Sora was older than he was), thank yous, and promises to see each other again soon....As well as Kairi trying to give away some of the lantern decorations that she and Sora had bought for the event... But soon enough, everything was sorted out and Sora and Kairi were leaving in the gummi ship to go somewhere magical for their honeymoon, as all of their friends waved at them... and it was then that Kairi promptly passed out in Sora's arms... all the planning, stress, and exhausting—though perfect day—having finally gotten to her. … When Kairi later awoke, it wasn't to her and Sora's honeymoon location—as nice as that would have been; and Sora was still keeping it a secret where they were even going—but to their room in their gummi ship. And Kairi had to say... even if there was always a part of her that would slightly prefer being home, she could certainly get used to waking up in their bed in the gummi ship together. Sora’s scent was all over the blankets and it was lovely; Kairi had to resist the urge to roll herself back up into them and go to sleep again, even. But Sora must have sensed what she was about to do, because he stole her blankets away from her before she could get too comfortable and Kairi glared at him... before descending into a fit of giggles. "Hey, Kairi!" Sora was laughing himself. "You can't go back to sleep yet! I mean... here I am, somewhat carelessly leaving the ship in autopilot to make sure I was by your side when you first woke up after we were married. And you don't even care? C'mon! Where's the Kairi who jumped through Corridors of Darkness to see me?" Suddenly feeling more awake now, and giddy, and even somewhat like their younger selves, Kairi sat with her knees on the black mattress, and spared Sora a glance and a thought. "You're right... I'm not appreciating this moment enough at all. I should be calling you a 'lazy bum', and slapping you upside the head... Or actually, not doing that, because I'm a sensible girl who knows how to deal with her feelings now, outside of physically hurting the object of my affections. Especially since I need no excuse to touch you now. Eep!" And even before Kairi herself knew it—and she was the one who had done this!—she was flying through the air and then in Sora's arms, as she peppered kiss after kiss on every inch of his face, neck, and shoulders. And when he gently pushed her away from himself—while still smiling stupidly—Kairi could tell that he’d been getting distracted, too. But Sora somehow got himself back under control soon, to which Kairi could only frown. "Kairi… not now. The gummi ship will crash. And we're saving this for our special honeymoon, remember?" Kairi wanted to do anything but let Sora go. But as she recalled how Riku and Naminé's ship had been nearly destroyed by Heartless not so long ago, she thought that being cautious probably was for the best. "…Okay, Sora. Go pilot the gummi ship—and take me to wherever this glorious new world is—and I'll get us breakfast." Kairi, who had been moved by Sora's cooking at the bistro, almost hated that she was going to make stuff for them now... instead of letting the professional chef make food for her. But she also thought it was only fair, since he was apparently going all out for her in another way. And besides, she was quite the cook herself, wasn't she? Hadn't she found many neat ways to cook fruit on the island, that Sora and Riku had adored? Kairi got her answer to that question soon enough, when Sora told her "Yes, please do that, Kairi! And bring out the fruit flavor even more in the orange chicken, as you do!" And then Sora was diving for the control panel, as both he and Kairi saw an asteroid heading their way. And the Keyblade master got the ship to move in just the nick of time. Kairi laughed. As much as, in some ways, she didn't want it to be... this was kind of like old times: like when Sora had been driving the gummi ship after saving her from Hollow Bastion, and Kairi had been left asking Goofy what she could do to help him at all, while the brunet and Donald had fought about who was driving. And as much as Kairi had grown since then and was thrilled by it, because she never wanted to lose her friends again but to rather be their equal... She still liked being cherished by Sora like this—especially the day after their wedding—and if creating non-breakfast food was her part of the bargain to have that feeling, then she'd gladly do it. And she did. And the happy couple ate merrily. When they were done? Sora was pointing out to her the biggest amusement park she could have ever imagined! "Is this where we're going, Sora? It seems so fun! Oh! What's that ride that looks like a skyscraper, and-" Kairi got her answer to that question when she saw the "elevator" within the false building rocket back down to ground level from a horrifying height. "...You know, Kairi, weirdly enough... I must have somehow drawn on the imagery of this place when I developed my Attraction Flow. Or something. Like, I almost wanted to make an attack like that skyscraper—like a guillotine, almost—but I didn't." Huh. That was odd. Kairi really didn’t know what forces governed the multiverse—so maybe all things happened for a reason—but even so, there was at least one thing she didn’t want to talk about in that... "I'm all for us being entertained by roller coasters as part of our honeymoon, Sora... But can we stop talking about beheadings, please? I think I’m going to be sick." And not needing to say anymore to convince him, Sora gently took Kairi’s hand in his own and began leading her through the exit… and the moment Kairi’s feet touched the ground, she was already having so much fun! She ran on the cobblestone to where she could get funny little hats, and then motioned with her eyes that she and Sora should go to the castle towering above them next! Which they did. And as the two of them had always wanted to fly with one another, they went on a ride together of soaring elephants. And it reminded Kairi of that “Dumbo” Sora had summoned on his first journey. She had seen this while being in his heart. And Kairi made sure to point this out to Sora, as she leaned as close to him in the seat as she could—even getting out of her own seatbelt, so she could be within his. Once they exited that attraction, one of the workers seemed annoyed with what Kairi had done... but upon seeing the rings on her and Sora's fingers, shook his head and seemed to imagine it was only expected of newlyweds. Or so Kairi guessed, since he let them walk by without chewing them out in the slightest. Then, Sora was amazed by something called vanilla ice cream—since the two of them had only had seasalt and chocolate before—and in trying it herself, Kairi decided it was every bit as good as Sora said it was. And after that, Sora and Kairi discovered something called "race cars" in a place called “Autopia”, that neither could get enough of. But too soon after that—or perhaps not soon enough—they were back in their hotel room (that had aesthetics they both loved. Kairi partly loved them because there were pictures of Sora here somehow! Maybe the two of them really were somehow connected to this place and the multiverse was trying to show them it). And then Sora and Kairi were worshipping each other's bodies, lazily, as warm air spilled into the room. They'd both been slow and nervous with each other when they’d started, almost like it was their first time again, but then they’d found their way—as they always did with each other—and had just opted to make slow love. "And to think we can start every morning like this, Kairi," Sora said sweetly, as he kissed her lips and the morning sun spilled in. "Mmm. That’s the most perfect thing I can think of," Kairi answered back… “Well, aside from a few other things to make this even better”, Kairi said cheekily, as she sat up and her lips started going down, down, down Sora’s body. And in a world where anything could be torn away from them in any given moment—including each other, as they both knew well—knowing that they could wake up together for a while really was the best feeling in the world. And Kairi cherished it.

[fantasyresident]

Defending: Xion

I’m going to be doing a series of these to defend many characters that really need defending due to how much they are attacked for pointless reasons. Xion is no exception. Recently, the anniversary of KH 358/2 Days came back around and naturally, this makes me think of the 3 important characters that makes up the heart of the narrative: Roxas, Axel, and Xion. But Xion in particular is underrated, hated, and considered by many fans: useless. This has always appalled me, considering just how relatable she was to me and how emotional her story was. At first, I didn’t think much of Xion, I believed she was just a momentary interruption to the life of Roxas and Axel. But as her character developed (because YES, she had major character development) I began to see a complexity to her unfolding and the buildup really enhanced the emotion of it all. When I realized that she was just a girl desperately clinging on to a friendship that was never supposed to happen, my heart just broke for her. This may have been what made people hate her, how she came off as “selfish”, wanting to remain in existence despite the consequences it would cause Sora, and her conversation with Riku may have made her seem that way to people, but what would anyone else have done in that same situation?

 When your whisked into existence, thrown into a new environment, feel completely useless, and manage to make new precious friends within said environment, would you jump to the task of erasing your own existence for the sake of someone you technically don’t even know? It comes down to Xion just being HUMAN. She’s no hero, she’s not perfect, she’s a broken girl in a broken world. But the amazing thing about her is, she manages to go through so much suffering only to come out of it completely selfless. Touched by Riku’s pleas to her to bring Sora back, Xion decides that fading away is the best course of action for everyone, even if it means never seeing her friends again. So to encourage Roxas to follow through with erasing her, she taunts him to pretty much kill her, and this is where the multi-stage Xion fight comes in.

This fight is absolutely heart-wrenching. Anyone, whether if you particularly like Xion or not should feel something from this. Look, I’m not saying anyone is “wrong” for not liking Xion. But if you hate her, or call her “Mary Sue”, that;s just ridiculous. To hate a character who goes through everything Xion did, is there really any purpose for it? What kind of serious bias must you have binding your heart for you to not feel for this character’s suffering? Just think about it. And if you happen to be someone who loves this character like I do, well, great for you! I agree. Regardless, I’m always going to feel for her, and the fact that I cry every time I go through the ending sequence of this game is a testament to that. But even though her body faded away, her heart remains ever a part of the series, staying with her friends faithfully beyond her untimely end. 

Happy Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days Anniversary everyone! (Jeez that’s a mouthful XD)

[kumeko]

Title:  homeward bound

A/N: For AClockworkClown for the KH secret santa! I haven’t yet played KH3 but I hear there’s good things for the Seasalt Trio, so I set this kinda-post KH3. Hope you enjoy!

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…

…

…

“What the heck?” Roxas stared down at his torn, bloody clothes, at skin that was an ashy-grey. “Guys? Something’s wrong.”

  “That’s an understatement,” Axel muttered, frowning as he tugged on his own ragged clothing. There was a metal bolt attached to his neck, just visible in the dim light.

  Xion glanced around the world they’d arrived in. They were in some corner of a dreary city, the walls around her a faded yellow, and everything she could see was some shade of grey. The only exceptions were the bright orange torches that lined the walls, barely lighting a path deeper into the city. “Where are we?”

  “Halloweentown, I think.” Axel inspected his hands, tapping the stitches that crossed his fingers. “You don’t think these are real, do you?”

Xion hoped not, it looked like he was one cut away from falling apart. The stitches laced his entire body, even his face, and she shivered. Damn, was she cold. Hugging herself, she almost shouted in surprise. While she hadn’t changed as much as the others, there was something off about her skin. It glowed a pale white, similar to the moon, and now that she was paying attention, she was floating. Floating a whole foot off the ground. “What happened to us?”

  “It happens, sometimes,” Axel explained, tearing his eyes away from his hands. “We—”

  “Oohhhh,” Roxas moaned, his voice low and guttural. He walked forward stiffly, as though he couldn’t bend his knees, and held his arms straight up in front of him. The classic zombie walk. “Brains. BRAINS!”

  “Oh no! We’re in—ahahahah,” Xion broke into a peal of laughter, unable to maintain a serious expression. The scenario was too ridiculous and Roxas’s posture was as wooden as his acting. She doubled over, wiping her tears.

  “BRAAIINNNSS,” Roxas shouted one last time, hobbling toward her before breaking into laughter himself. “This is so stupid.”

  “Not as stupid as you,” Axel scoffed, hand on his hip. He gestured at Xion. “That ‘ooohh’ is what a ghost makes, you know? Not a zombie.”

  “Oh, that’s true.” A part of her had to admit there was something on point with her being a ghost. Xion took a deep breath before she tried to deepen her voice as much as possible. “Ooohhhhhh.”

  “You didn’t have to…” Axel trailed off, rubbing his neck. At least, he tried to. The large metal bolt in his neck made it awkward for his hand to touch anything. Tapping the metal, he growled, “This is really annoying.”

  “Does it hurt?” Xion asked, floating on her tippy toes to peek at it. It looked like the bolt was going through his neck. Which should be impossible.

  “Not really. It’s just…there,” Axel grumbled, lightly tugging at it. “And it’s heavy.”

  “Heavier than your hair?” Roxas teased with a mischievous smirk.

  “Heavier than your big head,” Axel snapped back, swiping at Roxas. Unfortunately, he nimbly dodged and Axel was left with glaring.

  Xion giggled, a thought coming to her. “Maybe that’s why you need ‘brains’? Cause you’re missing them?”

  Roxas shot her a wounded look. “Xion, not you too.”

  “Sorry, sorry, couldn’t help it.” Xion covered her mouth before she could laugh again. The idea was just so stupid and so funny. Her shoulders shaking, she turned back to Axel. “So why are we dressed like this?”

  “Yeah.” Roxas pulled at the edge of his frayed shirt. “You don’t think this is permanent, do you? I kinda liked that shirt.”

  “It’s not like you wear anything else, maybe it’s time you got a new wardrobe,” Axel suggested wryly. Lacing his hands behind his head, he shrugged. “I think it’ll go away when we leave—some worlds are funny like that. They mold you to fit in.”

  “We’re fitting in like this?” Xion grimaced, looking at all three of them again. “If we look this weird, what do the residents look like?”

  “Monsters,” Roxas stated bluntly. “There’s no other option.”

  “Maybe.” Axel reached up to rub his neck again before remembering himself and dropping his hand. He gestured at their surroundings. “I mean, this is where they live, so who knows.”

  “Yeah.” Bouncing on his feet, Roxas skipped forward. “Maybe we can find someone.”

  “I wonder if they’re friendly.” Xion clapped her hands eagerly. After a moment, she turned to Axel. “Though I don’t think I want to live here.”

  “Me neither.” Axel sighed wearily. “I guess we’ll have to pick another world after this.”

  “Yeah.” Xion felt as tired as he sounded. Just how many worlds had they visited by now? And not a single one had felt right. “Maybe we should have just stayed at Destiny Islands.”

  “Do you really think that?” Axel asked, his expression serious.

  “…no, not really,” Xion admitted reluctantly. “It’s a nice place, really, nothing at all like the organization, but…it’s Sora’s place. I don’t like remembering people, places I’d never been to.” She looked ahead at Roxas. “I don’t think he liked it either.” She glanced at Axel. “But you could have stayed, if you wanted to.”

  “Nah, it’s fine. There’s no point in staying without you two.” Axel shrugged nonchalantly, the way he always did when he was trying to hide his feelings. “I’d have no one to tease.”

  “Or to tease you,” Xion added, bumping her shoulder against his. Honestly, maybe there wasn’t a world she’d like, but she’d be fine with whatever Axel or Roxas chose. Home was wherever they were.

  “You can try.” Axel reached down to ruffle her hair, but his hand slid right through her. Pulling back with a shiver, he muttered, “Yeah, we’re definitely not living here.”

[jokahlu]

Kingdom Hearts 3 Ted Talk, Kairi’s Edition (More like rant) (Will contain spoilers)

*Warnings*

While reading the following post you should expect:

*Spoilers are ahead.

*Duality of emotions clashing between love and frustration.

*A certain mouse’s head will be expected in a platter, and he will be the source of the darkness coming out of me.

*Love for a character that deserved way more than what she got.

*Deep disappointment for a forgotten friendship that was non-existent.

*A sailing ship warmed my heart.

*And an ending that shattered it.

…So it’s basically me ranting at how SE treats Kairi.

Also, it’s a pretty long read. I tried to make it short. Oh well.

Enjoy.

*Read at your own discretion*

I’m so wrecked after this game. But don’t get me wrong, I loved it!

The graphics were superb, their expressions on point, the writing and humor, the landscapes and worlds. It was all so precious. Being able to play as the spiked hair little bundle of joy again after so long was truly like coming home.

But as much as I loved it, there are so many things that rubbed me the wrong way. So many things I hoped for, that seemed reasonable and not out of the realm of possibilities, but never happened.

I will not mention all of them here because I could write an entire essay about it. Reason why I’ll try not to get overly excited. Underline try.

This time I will mostly talk about Kairi. 

Let’s do this quick, shall we?

First of all, I need that mouse’s head on a platter.

I wish Aqua would’ve given Mickey a good beating in this game. Don’t get me wrong, I usually like Mickey and his character in the KH franchise is pretty cool. But I hated his disregard to Kairi in this game. It just made me want to scream. Yes, he’s not the only one who doesn’t give a damn about the redhead (more on that lovely subject later), but I felt like he valued other’s life above hers in a blatantly obvious way. There are two scenes where I noticed this and it made me want to crawl up the walls.

The first scene was when Kairi is about to be struck down by Terranort, after him discarding two experienced fighters with a little more than a flick of his wrist, mind you. So, of course she’s scared and paralyzed, like any normal keyblade wielder (with only basic training and no real experience) would be. As Sora is desperately running to shield her with nothing but his body, Mickey uselessly screams “Sora no!”, as Donald and Goofy use their brains (and weapons) and come to the rescue.

What gives Mickey? Is she that unimportant in your mind, that Sora shouldn’t even try to help her? Did you honestly expect Sora to just let her die? Because if Terranort struck her, she was toast.

But I guess the answer is yes, because the other scene that made me want to strangle him was when Sora wants to go and save her and Mickey is trying to convince him not to go. I bet if it was Minnie on the line he would be jumping into lava if it meant to save her. But Kairi? Nah.

I swear I would’ve wanted Minnie to be next to Kairi and both be destroyed by Master Xehanort, just to see if Mickey’s reaction would be any different and if he would also risk it all at the end to save her instead of being like “oh don’t go Sora, you may never come back. Just leave Kairi to die, we can lose her but not you” attitude. Geez.

Love for a character that deserved better.

Oh, I could go one and on, on this one. It’s divided in many categories because the whole rant can be resumed in: she deserved better.

I’ll point out the obvious: I’ve always loved Kairi.

Yeah, she’s underdeveloped, not well written and can’t seem to shake the damsel in distress coat off, but I’ve always liked her. I’ve always felt Sora and Riku’s love for her real and heartwarming, and that’s made me like her so much. She’s also super brave, witty and has a great personality (don’t fight me on this)

I do get why some people might not like her, but I do.

Kingdom Hearts games have always treated her like a plot device and nothing more, and kh3 was the worst of the bunch in my opinion.

No one seems to care about her except for Sora.

When everyone reunites after Kairi dies, the only one who says something to him to reassure and confort Sora, apart from Donald and Goofy, is Xion. The rest are like oh ok she died, what’s next? I was expecting for Axel to be pissed, sad, anything, or anyone commenting something about it, but they just disregarded it like nothing happened.

Even if I understand that Terra, Aqua, Ven, Roxas, even Xion, didn’t know her that well and I didn’t expect it to affect them, at least they should acknowledge their fallen comrade. But ok, they didn’t know her that well. But Axel and Riku virtually not giving a damn? It really made things worse for my already wrecked heart. Those two are her closest friends, aside from Sora..

Even when the final battle is over everyone is like “wohoo we won! it’s all over!” (I’m glaring at you mouse) and even Riku agrees, Sora is the only one who is sad and heartbroken for her dying. Speaking of Riku basically disregarding her death..

Deep disappointment for a forgotten friendship that was basically non-existent.

Saying that I was disappointed in Kairi and Rikus interactions is a mayor understatement. This broke my heart because my highest hope for kh3 was to see Riku and Kairi being friends. Like, real friends.

In kh1 he was all over protecting her, in kh2 he silently looked after her and kept her safe as much as he could, but kh3? Man, in this game they felt like borderline strangers to me. Even faced by her being murdered in front of his face, he just stood there kind of surprised and pissed. Nothing more.

Seriously?

I mean Master Xehanort had just cold-bloodedly killed her right then and there, and he didn’t react as if his childhood friend had just turned into dust. 

And even worse, when the final battle ended he didn’t even offer to go with Sora to save her. What the hell?

If it was Sora who had died, there is no doubt in my mind that he would’ve been fighting his way to save him, consequences be dammed. (And it’s what probably happens when Kairi comes home alone, smh) And that reaction would be right because they’re best friends and that how any of the other characters would react if one of their trio was killed and they had the chance to save them.

So why did it seem like he didn’t care at all? It hurts a lot.

Where is the Riku who’s last worlds for Sora were asking him to keep Kairi safe? The one who helped her escape Axel or shielded her from Saix?

Riku felt off to me in Kingdom Hearts 3, not only because of this, but I’ll leave that for my Riku rant.

Kairi’s performance in the final battle

Not everyone has to kick ass to be valid, and she tried her best to train and help, even when it was not something she was used to. 

I mean, come on! Her first real experiences in battle were in the final battle. Who the hell thought it was a good idea? She had only trained with Axel. So, of course she would freeze when she sees trained/experienced keyblade wielders being thrown all over the place. Even Sora didn’t take out his weapon, trying to save her in the rush of the moment. And even if she did take out her keyblade when Terranort attacked her, she would’ve been smashed against the wall like Axel.

I’ll admit that before kh3 was released, I wished she did become OP and beat some organization XIII butt, but as I advanced in the game I realized how ridiculous that is. If you put kh1 Riku and Sora in that scenario, even at the end of the game with all the experience they had gathered, I bet they wouldn’t have fared very differently.

What I truly want is for her to go on her own adventure and grow powerful at her own pace, so in the next big battle she’ll be fairly prepared. It would be better if that adventure was with Sora and Riku, exploring new worlds together just the three of them, like they dreamed about in kh1.

But I’ll say it again: Not everyone in the game must kick ass to be valid.

A sailing ship warmed my heart. Even if it was poorly written (Unsurprisingly. It involves Kairi so I expected as much)

The Sokai in the game honestly lifted my battered heart.

Sora grows to learn so much more of love in this game: how powerful true love can be, how if you truly believe, love can make miracles happen and that one day is enough if there is true love.. He even admits that he still doesn't know much about it, but as the story goes on we can see that he knows more than he believes.

I loved the paopu scene. I could totally imagine Kairi and Riku planning it beforehand, so that Kairi and Sora would be alone to do so. Key word being “imagine” because at this point, their friendship is only in my imagination.. but that will be saved for Riku’s rant..

I believe that it’s so in character that Kairi initiates the paopu scene, because Sora would never do so. But I loved it, and the way they looked at each other was so.. oh man this game.

The paopu moment did seem to make Sora bolder, touching her more than before and being blunter about how she makes him feel. And it’s so heartwarming and wholesome that the moment when Sora realizes Kairi’s light had been guiding him in the darkness, he remembers the two acts of true love he had witnessed before in the game: Rapunzel’s tear bringing Flynn back to life and Elsa and Ana’s scene as well. I believe that’s the moment when he realizes that she’s his True Love.. 

That moment when he finds her in the darkness, and he makes her shy when he tells her that he felt strong with her, smiling knowingly when she turns away embarrassed. Or holding her hand for longer than necessary when they go back with the others.

It’s amazing that after meeting so many new people, many gorgeous girls and guys, Sora’s heart hasn’t let go of the friend he fell for as kids. He loved her for her personality and heart, which is why their bond is so strong, even if they see each other less than before.. which is a massive understatement if I must say so myself.  

That heart wrenching scream when she was taken into the heartless tornado or his grief-stricken face as he screamed at Master Xehanort “Why”, are proof of just how deep his feelings for her are. How important and invaluable she is in his life.

Adding to this, his utter sacrifice to go save her as soon as possible, not enjoying his victory against Master Xehanort, and not making her wait one more second (his words, not mine) is a statement of his feelings for her, simple and clear (thought I would say clean did ya?)

I mean, come on! His first thought after killing that murderous bald sack of darkness was about her.

And at the end I love how they were holding hands and sitting so close to each other on the paopu tree (They’re definitely a couple now) before he vanished and shattered my heart in a million different pieces.

Speaking of which..

An ending that shattered my heart.

I feel like her dying was very unnecessary. I think that it was only for Sora to embark on a mission alone. Master Xehanort says that he lacks motivation, so he kills her (she’s being used as a plot device again dammit) but Sora clearly was going to fight him either way, motivation or not. 

So, killing Kairi was only for Sora to go alone at the end, leave the story inconclusive and the game, and players, in dire need of a sequel.

Before the secret ending had been added, I was super sad that the only person who truly cared for her had seemingly died, or vanished, but now we know he’s someplace else, looking for a way back to her. I would love for her to save him, but given how SE treats her, I think I’ll temper my expectations for her in the next installments of the games.

This game left me with a super bittersweet feeling, but it was definitely worth it! I won’t let SE and the character’s indifference towards Kairi affect my overall enjoyment of the game.

But let’s hope she gets to shake that damsel in distress title Nomura loves to give her.. I guess I can’t keep my expectations low for her, can I?

Oh well, Sora still need to give her her lucky charm back, which she gave back in Blank Points, so he needs to come back to her to return it.

Please SE let Kairi help save Sora this time, without being a burden. Thank you.

Thanks for coming to my TED talk.

[angelspigeon]

Fic: Lea and Isa have been making semi-frequent trips to Dumbo's homeworld for reasons and one day Mr Stork pays them a visit to deliver twins (a boy and a girl). It turns out they were with each other enough while there that they managed to trigger the world's reproductive mechanisms that rely on storks instead of pregnancy.

Hi!!!

Thank you for your ask!! I got carried away with idea for that so thank you very much!! I hope it will please you!!

And OMFG, The Stork’s song is different in french than english, listened it in english to write this and… it’s so creepy?! 

PS: that thing with “Fic:” at the beginning actually help me to know what you want, because sometimes I’m a bit hesitant!!

/ ! \ I let fall my angst flacon on this so beware!!

Words : 3 304

Door to AO3 => |  °|

He never warned them…

Lea was so mad.

If he could… Yes, he could. He even should do it! He should kill Even onceagain. Forever, this time. Hunt him down until he disappeared and no one wouldever get him memorized.

Even should have warned them…

The Replicas were awesome but they were ephemeras… Forsix beautiful months, Roxas and Xion were with them and it was awesome, theyplayed, chatted; he took care of them and they shone his path. It even wasbecause of Xion that he and Isa were together… She had organized everything,she had pushed them to declare to each other… Every day, they could be togetherbecause of them.

And the Replicas were ephemeras.

All remained were memories…

Just memories… and he hated that.

Yes, he wanted to live in everyone memories, he wantedto be immortal and he kept saying ‘got it memorized’ but in fact… he hated whenpeople were just memories for him. He wanted more…

But he couldn’t have more.

They were dead.

Vanished forever.

Sora wasn’t there. So where their Hearts went? And howmuch time they would have to do it? How much time the next Replicas will last.How often they could do that and how much this would hurt Roxas and Xion?

Hurt him?

And worst…

Hurt Isa.

He could deal with his pain but he couldn’t deal withIsa’s pain because he loved him so much… The worst was the fact that Isa alwaystried to hide everything. At first, he joined him often in the shower becausehe knew it was there he let himself cry and wanted to cheer him up and then… herealized he needed to let him that room. Let him be sad… Especially becausethis was, after, allowing him to be happier. Act happier, at least…

Isa was the first to propose they should change theirmind, try not to think about that. And, according to Isa it helped to work, notto think. For those exact reasons, Lea asked for work to Yen Sid. Now, he wasall in for travelling the Worlds, as long as he was with the love of his life.Before, he hesitated or often refused because there were his children… They hadto go school, to be correctly surrounded… Yes, sometimes he had to left formission or he would bring them with him but now…

All of this was shattered and it was weird for him toleave for another World…

Though he had asked to Yen Sid for the job, it wasMinnie who offered them the World to go.

Circus Paradise.

With a past like theirs, Lea and Isa knew a lot ofWorld but this one was one of those they never went in. It wasn’t exactly thekind of universe where you could find anything interesting. Not for their plansback the time, at least.

And yet… Now that they were stepping here, he couldfeel the Darkness around. This World was overwhelmed by it…

“Say… Isa?”

Isa looked up toward his lover who just pronouncedthose words.

“You think Minnie sent us her because there is so muchwork here?”

“I think so too,” Isa replied. “I can’t believe wenever come here before.”

“Yeah. I think Roxa… I… I mean, forget.”

Isa unfolded his arms and moved toward him, taking hishands tenderly.

“You don’t have to hide your emotions and to force toforget them or anything about them… They would be happy if you kept themmemorized forever.”

“I know, I know… But it’s hard. Had to realize we willnever see them again…”

Isa didn’t know what he could reply to it.

He knew the struggle. He knew the oppressing feeling.Wanting to talk all the days about the babies but also being afraid because thefeeling was the only thing they would have. They will never welcome themanymore with big smiles. They would never play again with them. All of thisswirled in Lea’s mind, again and again…

“Do you think you can tell me what you wanted to say?”Isa wondered in a soft tone.

“Roxas told me… when he appeared, he could remembersome distant things about Sora. About him being with someone from this World. Ithink I saw him in Castle Oblivion? It’s an Elephant! Who flies.”

If they weren’t used to so many things absolutelyweird, Isa could have looked at him as if he was mad.

But he had seen so worst things.

“Do you want to see the flying elephant?”

“Why not?”

If this could cheer Lea’s up. And they could find thesource of Darkness while looking for Dumbo, for a grasp of their memories…

 When they arrived in the Circus, it was obvious theWorld was corrupted. People awaited for the animals to be spectacular and whenthey aren’t, they were upset and showed it. Plus, the capitalism was a bigthing here. The first Human they had met was a Ringmaster who always wanted tohave more spectacles. Who asked so much more from his beasts. Too much.

Way too much.

They knew they needed to come back, again and again.Though, Isa didn’t think he could ease such a behavior.

Lea had some proposition to calm that but maybe it wasjust too much? It was pushing away a problem. The whole World seemed to livewith another range of priorities…

That was the reason why they had asked Minnie, and YenSid, if they could keep taking care of the World.

That would keep them busy.

Except Dumbo who could vaguely be attached to Roxas,all of this was new. They could think about other things, they could changetheir mind and, maybe, live through that. Until those bad memories becomenothing more than this and they could live another live. A new live, with newmemories. Brighter memories…

 Lea and Isa were very upset by the lose they had, butthey weren’t the only one. Pence, Hayner and Olette were their best friends. Notfor long but… it had been an important and overwhelming relationship.

So, it was normal they both took care of theteenagers. Often, they invited them over and organized movie night or big food.Sometimes both at once. They got ice cream or went on restaurant. Olette workedas a waitress there so sometimes, they come on the restaurant to give her bigtip.

Sometimes, it was hard for the couple to be supportiveover the teenagers because it reminded their children… Not only because theywere their friend but also because it was like caring for them. Thought theyhad all their parents and parents taking care of them. Mostly. Sometimes, itwas harder for Hayner’s parents but he was the oldest child of a very big family.And on this, Lea having grown up in such family, he could talk with him andhelped him through the feeling to not care and struggling with money.

This evening, they had prepared a movie night withfood ordered from a restaurant. It was a lot of little beignet, noodles andseafood but it missed vegetables so Isa was preparing a salad with Olette.

The lady always did her best and always smiled. Nomatter what.

“Olette?” Isa asked.

In the other room Lea was dressing the coffee tablewhile Pence prepared the movies. Hayner was calling at home but he willcertainly help soon enough. He had such a kind heart…

“Yes, Sir Sinclair?”

“You can call me by my name,” he said with a softtone.

She smiled, nodding.

“I wondered how you felt. You’re always smiling…”

She continued to smile.

“I know what you mean, Isa, I do… Because Hayner and Pence had so much to do… I need tostay strong for them!”

“I know the feeling. But if you need to talk…”

“Yeah… When it’s really hard, I’m talking to myboyfriend but… I feel like I’m annoying,” she laughed nervously, taking the bigspoons to put them in the salad plate.

“If ever you feel like it, you can talk to me. Youwill not annoy me. And I’m sure you’re not annoying to your boyfriend neither.”

“He would say the same but I will always doubt,” shesighed. “But it’s the same for you, Isa! If you need to talk… Seifer would behappy to listen!” she joked. “I meant me, of course. You can talk to me, Isa.”

“It’s sweet from you.”

“From you too!” she smiled.

Isa could understand it was hard for her to stop. It washard for him to stop pretend too. He pretended to protect Lea, to protect theteenagers. He pretended again and again and… well, Olette was sweet but hedoubted he could stop pretend since she was still so young. He couldn’t lay onher. It was so wrong to him…

So he kept pretend and just allow himself to say thetruth to Lea once in a while. As long as Olette felt better, it would be betterin his opinion…

 Weeks and weeks passed, becoming months and months…

Lea and Isa worked mostly with Circus Paradise, whichLea had secretly called Darkness Paradise because the amount of filthy peoplehere was astonishing, and so they came very often here. Sometimes for days.

Thought time had passed and their wounds were a bithealed, they were still deeply hurt. They still thought about Roxas and Xion butthe biggest difference was that they didn’t cry anymore. Sometimes, theyremembered and it was hard; often they talked about them and they still haven’tthrow away nothing belonging to them. The worst was when they found belongingsof them where they shouldn’t. There, the memories were unbearable…

Pence, Hayner and Olette started to feel better soon. Especiallybecause they had a lot to do. After ten months, being now seventeen for most ofthem, they had their future to prepare. But they still could count on Lea andIsa every time they needed it.

And as that Circus-slash-Darkness paradise… Isa and Leastarted to believe they will have to work here forever. And Isa still thoughtthe Organization XIII missed an opportunity with such a World. He wondered ifthey would have received their Hearts, or got even more fooled, if they hadstepped in this World earlier?

In fact… Lea and Isa had often thought about livinghere… It would be easier. In a lot of ways. No more suffer with that house theyused to share with Roxas and Xion. No more suffer with that World meaning somuch for them. Often, they had talked about coming back to Radiant Garden butthey were most of their time in this World so why not just staying here?

“Mr. Sinclair?! Mr. Sinclair?!”

The voice came from above.

From the sky.

Lea frowned. They had visited lot of Worlds. Some withmagic, others with talking animals and certain with technology beyond theirunderstanding but usually they could tell what World was what. They have beenenough in this World to never have to deal with anything having a voice comingfrom above. Well… there were a lot of Circus’ artists where they tried tochange things most of the time but none of them knew Lea’s last name?

“Mr. Sinclair!!”

Lea’s eyes widened when he saw a Stork appear. He washolding two bags. Two bags he put down on the floor in front of them. He waswearing a blue delivering outfit and a red cap. Immediately, he took a bluediary from his pocket and his wings started to look through the pages.

The bags just seemed to be bags full of dirty clothes.And Lea had no idea why anyone would want them to have them.

As for the Stork talking to them… Okay, it was a bitstrange in this World but they werefar away for worrying for such things happening in their live.

“Here are two babies with eyes of blue straight fromheaven to you. Straight from heaven up above here are two babies for you tolove.”

“Excuse me?” Lea said with a broken voice. “Is this ajoke?!” he groaned.

“For Lea?” Isa asked. “Are you sure not to have made amistake?”

“For Mr. Sinclair and second Mr. Sinclair!” the Storkreplied.

Isa frowned.

The Stork seemed annoyed and looked through the pagesof a pink diary.

“You aren’t second Mr. Sinclair.”

“Kind off, I am,” he replied.

Isa always used his best friend and lover’s last namebecause he hated his.

“Ah! Sign here please,” the Stork said, holding out thediary to him.

“For those babies?” Isa asked.

He took the diary and the pencil handed to him.

“Yes! They are your babies,” the Stork smiled.

“That’s ridicule,” Lea said. “Why would you hand usbabies?!”

“Because they are yours,” the bird insisted. “Please,sign.”

Isa was as doubtful as his lover but he signed thepaper.  What could they do anyway? What wouldhappen to the babies if they didn’t do it?

The Stork took a whistle in his cap and blew in. “HappyBirthday to you, Happy Birthday to you, Happy birthday dear Roxas and Xion.Happy Birthday tooooooooooo…”

The Stork never finished his sentence because suddenlya big weapon appeared in front of his nose.

Or two.

“What did you say?”

Isa cold voice made the bird shook. He tried to clearhis throat but, suddenly, it was very difficult.

“It’s the name I received.”

“Who gave you that?” Lea asked.

“It’s confidential. But they are your babies. And yousigned so…”

The Stork quickly moved away and in a matter ofseconds, he flew away. Lea threw his Keyblade on the bird that moved away in aglimpse and disappeared in the clouds.

Isa tried to calm his rage, making vanish his Claymore.

He crouched next to the bundle and, his fingers stillshaking with anger, he opened one of them. He saw a baby girl. With black hairand blue eyes like you didn’t see often. Powerful blue. He opened the secondbag as Lea let the flames disappear around him. When the Keyblade came back inhis hand, then vanished, he looked down to see that baby with those veryspecial blond-gingery hairs. And those same blue hairs.

“Do you think it’s possible…” Isa whispered.

He didn’t want to believe this. This looked so insane.Yes, those babies could have been Roxas and Xion but it appeared as a very badjoke to him.

This World was surrounded with Darkness after all…

“What do we do?” Isa wondered.

“What do you want to do?” Lea asked, still confuse.

Isa stared the two babies, still on the floor… What hewanted to do…

 “Storks deliver babies. That’s a common believe andwhat people said to their children…”

“Didn’t you believe that until your sixteen years old?”Lea smiled.

He had a little girl sleeping in his arms and maybethat was the only thing saving him from the anger of Ienzo. Certainly not justhis smile. Especially if he was giving him such a cold look despite the coldcoffee in the mug he was holding.

“But, I was saying, in this World, it’s not a believe.It’s a fact. Babies only come when they are delivered by Storks.” Ienzo turnedtoward Aeleus taking one of the books he was holding for him. “If I am right,in this World, the only thing you need is to wish it.” He put down the mug toturn the pages. “And sometimes, it’s not even needed.”

“A bit like in Radiant Garden, right?! Never mommawanted me!” Lea smiled.

“Who wouldn’t want you?” Isa asked, holding the otherbaby.

The little Roxas was waked up and he moved his handsin the blue thread. Isa rocked him slowly.

Lea approached Isa to steal him a soft kiss, pressinghis forehead against his. The hand not holding the baby caressing the cheekbefore he caressed Roxas’ tiny hairs. He really wanted that to be possible. Butwhy would it be?

How could they be Roxas and Xion?

“How could they be Roxas and Xion?” he asked to Ienzo.

“Roxas and Xion weren’t normal being. They were livingHearts. It’s highly possible that, when their bodies died, their Hearts wentsomewhere and waited a body to come back. You went to Circus Paradise so many timesthat the Stork delivery way was started and created babies for you. Or thatXion and Roxas managed to create it for both of you.”

“You think they are truly Roxas and Xion?” Lea asked.

“I think… it would be too strange if this was just acoincidence,” Ienzo replied.

Lea looked down to Xion in his arms. He wanted tobelieve it so hard but he didn’t want to hurt this baby if ever he awaited hisXion and she was different. He didn’t want to betray Xion memories if this babywasn’t the one he believed.

Same for Roxas, of course.

“I believe Ienzo, Lea,” Isa said. “Roxas and Xion’sHearts always echoed with you. They love you and you love them. They came backonce from somewhere they weren’t supposed to come back. They would be able tocome back a second time.”

He held the baby Roxas a bit tighter against hisHeart. The toddler let out a soft sound and his second tiny hand moved to hisHeart, as if he really attached importance to the beat he could hear there…

 Isa used his elbow to push the door of his house, hisHeart beating stupidly fast in his chest. He glanced at the baby in his lover’sarms.

“Xion, Roxas… you’re finally back home,” he muttered.

“I will never let them leave home!” Lea said, kissingXion’s little forehead.

She moved in her sleep and rolled against his chest.

Isa smiled tenderly but his dear soulmate wasn’t thatwrong. Lea had lost Roxas and Xion two times… The adage said never two withoutthree but he wouldn’t allow this third to happen!

He went in the living room with Lea and…

“SURPRISE!!!!”

Xion woke up immediately and cried. Roxas cried too.

“Hm… oops?” Hayner said.

“It was his idea!” Pence and Olette said, immediately,showing their dear friends.

“Ugh… thank you,” Hayner groaned. “Uh… SirBlue-Sinclair can you put down the weapon?”

Rocking Roxas with one arm, Isa was using the secondto brandish his Claymore. Hearing a sound he didn’t expect in his living roomwhere it shouldn’t have been one had called his defend mechanism…

But it was just the Twilight Gang.

“Who warned you?” Lea asked.

“Ienzo!” Pence replied.

“Of course Ienzo…” Lea smiled slightly. “I don’t evenknow why I didn’t think about it…”

Olette approached Isa to see Roxas in his arms. A quickglance let her be sure it was him. The eyes, the hairs… the little expressionon his round face as he saw her. Or maybe she just hoped he recognized her?

“Ah! Look at you Roxas. Now I’m your Auntie Olette!!As if you could escape our love!” she smiled.

“Auntie?” Lea asked, as he let Hayner have Xion.

His hands were ready to catch the baby if he had tobut Hayner could handle her easily. She was still slightly crying but as Leacaressed her hairs, she seemed to calm herself.

“Oh… uh, sorry…” she said.

“Yeah, you can be,” Lea replied. “It’s obvious you’retheir Godmother!! And Pence and Hayner are both their Godfather!”

Olette blinked but then smiled widely.

“I accept!!”

“Me too!!” Pence added.

“Yeah, wouldn’t pass it!!” Hayner finished with a bigsmile.

[twilighttwin]

The morning started pretty much normal for the Nobody, at least normal since his release from Sora’s Heart. Once again, he’s up early, woken by the growing pain on the right side of his head with tears still clinging to his lashes and obscuring his vision from the mix of the pounding in his head and the remnants of whatever dream he’d had before waking. There was a quick attempt to suppress the pain, to allow himself to be claimed by sleep’s embrace. An attempt that’s in vain, as it does nothing but continue to let him the way his temple seems to pound. 

 The usual routine.

Nothing changed as he hissed curse under his breath and a hand reaching up to ensure that he couldn’t see the ever present rays of light as he frees himself of the blanket nest he had made.There’s no telling which nightmare had woken him, only that it was one that had that fresh heart beating like thunder within his chest. Still though, he tried recalling it as bare feet slid along the floor towards cold tile.

    Water was cupped in his hands, splashed on his face in an attempt to soothe the heat burnin at his temple from the migraine. Coffee was a major consideration for a moment, as the caffeine would probably help. Or at the very least it was until eyes he wasn’t aware he closed opened, catching a glimpse of himself in the mirror. Except...whose visage was in the mirror wasn’t his own.

Instead, Sora’s face greeted him, bearing his own stunned expression. His heart sounded like it was going to beat out of his chest with the way the thrumming jumped and his throat went dry as if he had been to Agrabah. Immediately, Roxas was squeezing his eyes shut, taking in shallow breaks as his stomach began to roll about. He stayed braced against his sink, knuckles turning white as he tried to talk himself out of what he thought he saw. 

An eye cracked open, shutting immediately when it still seemed like Sora was looking back at him. Another pitch in his stomach followed, though he barely registered it. No, all he could feel was the panic racing through his veins, the despair he would never voice and the pain pounding at his head. If he didn’t know any better, he might have assumed he was looking through his Other’s eyes once more. 

    With his second attempt at peeking into the mirror came a sigh of relief, however short lived his relief was. “Just my brain playing tricks..I’m me. Not Sora.” Mumbled quietly, a soft reminder to himself. Instead of Sora, his appearance was as is should have been. Wide cerulean eyes, dark lashes, and flattened honey coloured spikes, with usually peachy skin dotted with freckles. A little paler than normal, but that was likely due to the pain camping behind his left eye as well as the anxiety which still coursed through him. He actually looked like himself again. 

    ‘You mean you look like Ventus. With Sora’s freckles of course.’ 

The voice slithered from the back of his mind, causing his veins to feel like ice. Swallowing carefully, he tried to blow out a breath to release his anxiety. Instead though, his stomach churned at the same time as he pushed himself from the rim of the sink. Every breath he took in seemed thinner, though he tried to ignore it. 

However, it was as if the little voice found glee in his discomfort. In the back of his head, he heard a small laugh, one that sounded like his own if more sinister. Another swallow left a lump in his throat, even as he tried to push himself back towards the sink to wash his face more, to finish his morning routine. If he could just do that...he could go back to bed. Could go try and drown out the growing knot in his stomach. Maybe washing his face would wash the voice away. 

That hope ended up being in vain. For a few minutes he had sat there, rubbing the soap on his face, scrubbing almost and still that little voice persisted. Slithering around his head and leaving him feeling nauseous. So it was with great frustration that he rinsed his face and stormed towards the kitchen. 

It felt almost like a Hammer Frame was using his temple as a playground given the way it throbbed. Blurring his vision on one side enough that he just closed both eyes and felt his way towards where he wished to go. Even the soft rays of eternal twilight shining through the living room worsened the pain. 

He felt like he was going to be sick between the pain and the ball of anxiety in his chest. Still, he reached for a glass, searching for something. Anything. To ground him. To make him know he was him, he wasn't in Sora. That he was real and that he was hone rather than buried, feeling from someone else's heart. 

‘Is there really anything about you that can be called you? That doesn’t belong to someone else?’ 

Another pitch of his stomach, causing his fingers to draw away from his cupboard. His headache began to pound worse, forcing his breath out in shaky gasps. At this point he knew that little voice was just taunting him. But...but that was such a tender spot for him to start. And hearing his own voice in his head say as much left ice in his veins. 

Roxas tried to draw in a breath, tried to find a rebuttal. There was plenty that was his wasn't there? His feelings were his own..His memories...though those he was unsure if they were reliable. His fighting style, his name? Suddenly it seemed like none of that was his, despite him trying not to let that anxiety bite into him once more. 

‘It’s why you see Sora when you look in the mirror after all. Think about it, you’ve never been anything more than a collection of other people’s traits.’ 

“That’s not true..” Even as he mumbled it, quiet enough that even he had trouble hearing it, his stomach lurched and tears began to burn at his eyes. That wasn't true. It couldn't be. He...he wasn't Ventus. Wasn't Sora. He was him. He was Roxas. 

‘Aw, it’s cute that you try and deny it. But you can’t lie to yourself Roxas.’ 

Maybe not, but he refused to give the slithering voice his acceptance. Since being drawn from Sora's heart and put back on his own two feet, he had found this little voice slithering through his head fairly often. And try as he might to ignore it...it always found a way to latch into him once more. 

‘Everything you are came from someone else blondie. Thought you told everyone that you were well aware of what you were?’ 

Every breath at this point was coming out thin. No. No it was wrong. He had accepted being nothing more than a cheap imitation of Sora. But.. but Sora didn't believe that, didn't  see that. So why did he feel like it was the truth? Sure he still considered himself a Nobody..but there was no way he was nothing but slapped together pieces of other people. No. 

He absolutely refused to believe that. Or at least he wanted to. Yet with the way his heart sank in defeat, he didn't know what to say. So instead he just squeezed his eyes shut, reaching for the little x shape pendant which rested between his collarbones. Just gripping it, feeling the points prick into his palm and fingers. 

In the same breath, he renewed his search to find evidence that the voice was wrong. His feelings for Xion...those weren't someone else's right? Or...or were they only a thing because of Sora's interest in Kairi? No no no. That couldn't be. Could it? 

If that wasn't his what was? His keyblades were Sora's at first so they weren't even his. But….Aubade? Surely that was his. After all, he didn't even share that with Xion. So..so that was something. Then again, he didn't even know whether or not that was real. 

'Oh poor boy. How do you even know your memories are yours?'

Another slither of that voice in his head, another lurch of his stomach and then the hand not gripping onto his pendant, clutching it for dear life rose to his mouth in a balled up fist. It had a point and he hated it. Once before already, someone else's memories had burned behind his eyelids, flickering when he tried to enter the throes of sleep. 

And once before, his entire life had been falsified. Memories that had never been, of a life never had had filled his head. Those same memories mixed with what..what he thought were his true memories and those of another that were..or should have been the memories of his true self. They plagued his dreams. 

But how could he trust any of that.. How could he trust his feelings, his memories, his senses when they had already been tricked once before? Other than those...was there any proof that he had any memories of his own? 

'Realize you're not real yet? Face it Roxas, you've always been an imitation made of false memories. Can you even trust that thing beating in your chest? How do you know it's there at all?'

His fingers gripped tighter onto the pendant, the metal biting into him. Not enough to puncture but enough that signals of pain tried to zing to his brain. Unfortunately..the pain in his head and the sickening roll of his stomach prevented him from getting the message. 

By now the tears had begun to slip, dripping down his cheeks as he started to hyperventilate. His heart beat so hard in his chest he thought it might burst. Or...would it? Was the voice right? Was it even real?.. what about him was real?!

A choked sob burst from his chest, though he had tried to bite it back. Whether the sob was frustration or despair he didn't know. What he did know was that when the first one slipped, more followed. Violent things that shook him, burned his throat and made more tears drip down his face, increasing the pounding in his head. 

"Shut up. Shut up. No no no. I'm real." Through his sobs, Roxas tried to choke that out like a mantra. It only succeeded in bringing him more tears though. The fist in front of his mouth reached up to grip at his hair, tangling in the honeyed locks. He was real! He had to be. The pain in his head, the way his throat burned and stomach churned...he was real and the emotions which squeezed his chest had to be. 

Right? 

[talinexa]

Don’t You Remember? - One Shot

I haven’t actually gotten far enough in the series to know Axel’s backstory apart from the fact that he was friends with Saïx but I only know that because my best friend told me so I kinda made this up for the drama. Most of this takes place sometime during Days.

“Axel?” I shouted, running around the castle in a panic. “Axel?!”

A pair of hands caught my shoulders, arresting my momentum. “What’s wrong, Talinexa?”

I shook my head. “I need to find Axel,” I said. Saïx stared at me as I pulled away from his grip and went rushing off. “AXEL!” My long coat flapped behind me as I ran around. Axel’s room was empty. As was his usual hang out spots in the castle. The commons. The kitchen. Sitting on the exposed pipes near the ceiling. “Where could he be?!” I hissed under my breath as I searched.

“Who are you looking for?” a voice asked from behind me. A familiar one.

“Roxas! I’m looking for Axel. Seen him anywhere? He’s not on a mission, is he?”

“No he got back from his mission earlier. Couple hours ago. Is he not getting some rest?”

“If he is, he’s crashed in a corridor somewhere because his room is empty,” I said.

“We’ll find him. Let’s keep looking. What’s wrong?”

“It’s...” I strangled the words None of your business before they could escape my throat. “It’s about my... abilities. Organization members are supposed to have... unique talents. And... I think something wrong happened. Because mine aren’t unique among the Organization.”

“Meaning?” Roxas asked, poking his head into the library as we passed it.

“I can’t really demonstrate inside,” I said.

“Wasn’t asking you to. You can just tell me, you know,” Roxas remarked. I glared at the window at the end of the hallway for a moment, reining in my temper.

“I’m like Axel,” I admitted.

“I hope not. One is enough,” Roxas joked.

“I just mean... I’ve... got... my special skill is fire,” I said. “Just like Axel.” I hung my head as I poked it into another room.

Roxas paused our search. “Seriously? That’s cool.”

“But... without me being unique... it means the Organization won’t have any use for me. They’ll just eliminate me without a second thought,” I said.

“That’s not necessarily true. As long as you’re useful, you should be fine,” Roxas reasoned.

“What do you mean?”

“Well, look at me and Xion. We can both use Keyblades, and that’s our only talent, but we’re both still here,” Roxas said. “Axel? You in here?”

“Heeey, Roxas! Oh. And Talinexa. What are you two doing here?”

“She’s been looking for you,” Roxas said.

Axel eyed me curiously, folding his arms over his ribs and raising one bright red brow. “That right?”

“Uh-huh.” I nodded.

“What’s the problem?” Axel looked... irritated.

“What do you mean?”

“You never come looking for me---or anybody---unless you have a problem. So what is it?”

I sighed. “Axel... I...”

“She’s got fire power too,” Roxas put in.

“Thank yooouuu, Roxas,” I snapped sarcastically.

He snapped a finger-gun at me. “No prob, Talinexa!”

Axel stared at me. “You’ve... got fire powers too?”

I nodded timidly.

With a few exceptions, Organization members tended to resemble their talents. Axel’s hair, for example. Marluxia’s too. I didn’t. I was a brunette. I looked like I’d end up having earth powers. Not fire.

A smile spread up Axel’s face. “This is the best news I’ve heard all week. C’mon, Talinexa. I’ll teach you what to do. How to use it and how to control it.” He beckoned for me to follow him. I did so. We made our way through the castle to a training room. “We’ll start slow, Tana---Talinexa.”

I raised an eyebrow. “I didn’t know you knew how to do that.”

That earned me a laugh. “You know me too well,” he mused.

His dangerous, disgustingly smug and wickedly attractive crooked smirk started to form on his face.

I remembered when I was whole---when I had a heart. My previous life, as it were. I remembered the concept of finding someone attractive. Maybe the passion and feeling was gone given my lack of a heart, but it would take a fool with poor eyesight to not realize Axel was good-looking. Because he was. And that bothered me.

“Let’s do this,” he said.

“You don’t remember, do you?” Axel asked as I panted on the floor of the training room, my daggers on the floor on either side of me. I looked up at him tiredly.

“Remember what?” I complained.

He chuckled and plopped down next to me, one leg flat on the ground and the other bent up toward his chest to rest his elbow on. “Your life as a Somebody.”

“I do.”

Axel snorted. “No you don’t,” he said. “If you did, you’d remember something you didn’t mention.”

“Stop the stupid ‘speaking in riddles’ thing and just tell me what you mean,” I snapped.

“You didn’t call me out when I slipped.”

“Huh?”

“I almost called you your... Somebody’s name.”

“Tanalie.” I brushed a hand over my hair, smoothing down the flyaways. I hadn’t heard that name in... I didn’t know how long. I couldn’t pinpoint exactly when I’d become Talinexa. Maybe I should have kept track.

“Yeah. You didn’t ask me how I know your Somebody’s name.”

I shrugged. “I didn’t notice you even said it,” I said. “Was more worried about you charring my eyebrows off.”

Axel snorted. “You can’t worry. We don’t feel.”

“Still. I didn’t want you to char my eyebrows off.” I took a deep breath, trying to ease out of panting. “I guess... now that you mention it I guess I... I guess my... memories of being whole are a bit fuzzy at best. I assume you and I knew each other as Somebodies.”

Axel just watched me for a moment. “Yeah. Yeah we did,” he admitted.

“How come your memories are clearer than mine?” I asked.

He shrugged. “Dunno. Just fought hard to remember them, I guess,” he said. “Didn’t want to lose them.”

I nodded and sat up, tucking my braid back down the collar of my trench coat. “I can understand that. Maybe when I first became a Nobody I didn’t want to---or care to---remember who I was as a human.”

Axel pursed his lips and pushed himself to his feet. Dang he was tall. “Maybe.” He brushed a hand over his hair. “Same time tomorrow, got it memorized? You’ll be a fully-fledged pyro in no time.” He shot me a playful wink and left the training room.

I got to my feet and also walked out to wash off the sweat and go to sleep.

Everyone else in the Organization slept in their coats since the coats were protective. I hated it though, so I always removed it. Choosing instead to sleep in my undershirt and trousers.

I was lying on top of my bed for a full two minutes before I realized I was too wound up to sleep.

Sighing, I slung my overcoat back on and left the castle to wander the town. It was exceptionally beautiful after nightfall. Darkness was healing and soothing. The calm of a sleeping town helped relax me.

“Had a feeling I’d find you out here.”

I jumped a foot in the air and whirled around. “Axel,” I greeted, attempting to save my dignity and failing miserably. Not that I felt any shame. Not that I felt anything at all.

He fell into step beside me. “Don’t you remember?” he asked casually as we walked down quiet streets. The trains and trams didn’t run this late, so we could hop the rails without fear of getting run over.

“Remember what?”

“That we knew each other when we were Somebodies.”

I sighed. “Sorry, Axel. I... I don’t. Were we friends?”

He nodded. “Good friends.”

*****

“Lea, what’s going on with you?” Tanalie asked quietly, trying not to cause a scene.

Lea shook his head. “It’s nothing, Tana. Promise. Got it memorized?” His little catchphrase was half-hearted and Tanalie knew better than to fall for it.

“Don’t give me that. I know you better than that. Something’s going on.” She reached out and set her hand on his upper arm. “Don’t you trust me?” The pleading in her dark eyes made him sigh.

“I do,” he said.

“Please? Please tell me? I can’t help if you don’t let me in.” Her smile was forlorn and heartachingly seeking to comfort him.

Lea sighed. “I’m considering Xemnas’ offer,” he said.

She immediately dropped her hand and took a step back. “What? Lea... why?”

*****

“Tanalie!”

She turned around from where she’d been walking the streets of their town, recognizing the voice. She froze. “What... happened to you?” she asked as her best friend jogged to catch up with her. He smirked that familiar smirk but... something was off about it. Wrong. Empty. Reaching up, Tanalie set her fingers on the marks below his eyes. “What are these? And what’s with the black coat?”

Lea’s smirk stayed on his face. “I did it! I accepted Xemnas’ offer!”

“What? Lea! You promised me you’d tell me beforehand---”

“It’s not Lea anymore! I go by Axel now. Cool, huh? Got it memorized?” He chuckled. “And yeah, I kinda forgot. But, Tanalie, it’s so much better this way! Nothing... nothing can hurt me anymore. Emotionally, I mean.”

Tanalie stared at him, eyes flicking between the marks under his eyes and the long coat. “Were you really hurting that bad? That you felt the need to give up your heart?” she asked quietly. “That you felt like you could... give up... us?! Our friendship? You can’t be friends with someone you don’t like and you can’t like without a heart.”

Lea---no, Axel---grabbed Tanalie gently by the shoulders. “That’s not true! We’re still friends!”

Tanalie shook her head and pulled her shoulders from his grip. “No. I don’t know you anymore. Lea is gone. All I see is Axel. And I don’t know Axel. I don’t love Axel. I just... I...” She shook her head again, turned on her heel, and ran away from him.

“Tanalie! Wait!” Axel shouted, running after her.

But she’d always known the town better than he did. All the secret pathways and hidden cubbies and hidey-holes. She disappeared before he could catch up.

*****

The pain Tanalie felt over losing Lea to Axel was acute and nearing the point of being unbearable. He was her best friend. Indeed, her only friend. She’d never been close to Isa even though they associated with each other through Lea. She cried for hours on the very top of the clock tower whenever it got to be too much. She was small and light enough that Lea---no, AXEL, she reminded herself---would never be able to find her up around the bells since he was too heavy, despite him being built like a beanpole.

He willingly gave up his heart. He threw his friendship with her aside like it didn’t even matter.

And... maybe... it didn’t matter. Maybe it never had. To him. Maybe he only hung out with her out of pity. Pity for the poor friendless girl in his school classes who never talked to anyone and kept to herself due to her anxiety.

Tanalie wondered what she could do to rid herself of the pain and the anxiety. To be numb and dispose of icky emotions---

No. Anything but that.

She was not giving up her heart.

“Tanalie! Come down from there!” Even just hearing his voice sent lances of pain through her heart. He was down below on the ledge just over the clock, lowering his hands after cupping them around his mouth. “I want to talk to you! Please!”

She glared at him, curled up in her position with tear tracks dried to her face from the winds this high up.

After a moment, she slid down the shingles. She was the fool who could rarely refuse her best friend anything. Still, her pain and anger were welling up inside her. When she reached Axel, she slugged him on the jaw.

“Okay. I deserved that,” he muttered. “For not telling you.”

“It’s been ages, Axel!” she spat, snarling his name like it was poison in her mouth. “Why come back now?”

“The Organization is down several members. I’m inviting you to join.”

Tanalie scoffed. “Like I would even consider---”

“You’re hurting, Tana. I can see it in your eyes. And the salt tracks.” He brushed a gloved thumb over her tear tracks. She slapped his hand away. “Just... come with me and all the pain will go away. You might not even remember it at all. It’s difficult to know for sure from person to person, but you can leave it all behind. Trust me.” He held his hand out to her.

It was a moment of weakness. Of sorrow and pain. A moment of her judgement lapsing, that she took his hand.

Darkness swallowed them, and the next thing she knew, she was somewhere else. Someone else, too.

Tanalie was gone---and Talinexa was born in her place.

*****

“Hey, Axel?” I asked.

“Hmm?”

“You’re staring at me.”

“Sorry. Just lost in thought,” he said, shaking his head to clear it. “You know, I’ll be honest with you: I always hoped you’d develop some sort of fire power. Just seemed... fitting, I guess. You’ve always had such... fervor, I guess. Drive, maybe. Kinda hard to call it passion since, y’know, we don’t have hearts or feelings anymore.”

I snorted. “Thanks.”

“We should get back. Get some sleep. C’mon.” He held his hand out and created a dark Corridor. His other hand was extended to me. I took it and let him pull me through. I wasn’t particularly gifted at Corridors myself so I relied on Axel’s whenever I could.

We reappeared just outside my room.

“Get some rest, Talinexa. See you tomorrow for training, got it memorized?”

“Sure thing. G’night, Axel.”

“Night.” He strolled off.

I went back into my room. Our little stroll had tuckered me out. Shucking off my overcoat, I collapsed in bed. 

Axel’s voice echoed in my mind. “Don’t you remember? We were good  friends...” I wondered if I wished I could remember when we were friends. I guessed we must have been close if we joined the Organization together.

I wondered how close and if there was ever anything... more involved.

Probably not. Axel seemed like the flirty, arrogant, attractive bad-boy type, but he wasn’t. He was dangerous, to be certain. But underneath the cold-blooded killer, hot-blooded assassin he was, I’d also seen the silly, playful, genuine dork that was his true character. Something about it resonated with me, whispering that was who he truly was under the layers. Underneath everything, he wasn’t bad.

Except for the fact I’d literally seen him make people explode.

And he was going to teach me how to do the same thing.

Without a heart I wasn’t sure if I had a moral sense of right and wrong, but I wondered if I’d be squeamish about his spontaneous combustion ability if I could feel. Seemed like something “normal” people would consider “bad.”

Still, Axel couldn’t have been that bad of a Somebody if we were friends. Unless I was... not a good person as a Somebody.

But that didn’t seem right.

Putting my hands behind my head, I closed my eyes and drifted off to sleep.

I landed hard on the ground with an, “Oof!” My daggers clattered across the floor.

“Get it memorized, Talinexa: fire is more powerful than you initially expect and if you don’t learn how to control it, you’ll never be able to be in control of the situation,” Axel said.

I groaned and rubbed the spot where I’d been burned. “Good to know. Thanks.”

Axel sat down next to me. “Tanalie... I mean, Talinexa... I need you to remember your life as a Somebody. I need you to remember our friendship. There’s something about it that I don’t know. But you did. And I need you to remember it.”

“I...”

“I know you can do it. You were always smart. Smarter than me and... your memory was always so accurate. You had such an amazingly retentive mind. Please, just, try. It might help you learn how to use your powers.”

I sighed and pushed my flyaway hairs out of my face. “Okay. How do I do this?”

“Memories are connected in a chain. Start remembering your life as a Somebody and the rest will start to follow. Just sit still and let the memories flow. Let your mind wander down the rabbit hole of your life.”

“That sounds like a bad time,” I said.

“Just do it,” Axel said.

I closed my eyes and took a deep breath. “What am I looking for?”

“Your drive. I joined the Organization before you did. Not by much. But enough. Somewhere in there, you found a powerful drive within you. I think it unlocked your fire power.”

*****

“Hi there! I’m Lea!” the teenage boy with the spiky red hair exclaimed. “This is Isa!”

“‘M Tana,” the girl mumbled, not meeting either of their eyes. “W’ll, Tanalie but no one calls me that. No one... calls me anything, actually.” She shrugged and went back to poking at her lunch.

“Mind if we sit with you?” Lea asked.

“Free town,” she muttered.

Lea sat down next to her, already chatting. It was prattle as far as Tana was concerned.

“What... what was your name again?” Tana asked.

“Lea. My name is Lea. Got it memorized now?”

“Yeah. Sorry. I just... never really talk to anyone.” She shuffled in her seat and took a bite of her lunch. “Hard to remember their names.”

Lea didn’t need to know she was lying. She knew his name. She knew his name, Isa’s name, and everyone else’s names in their class. She sat silent and observed her peers more than she interacted with them. Tana knew his personality and knew how he interacted with Isa. She knew most everyone and how they interacted with their friends.

“Nah don’t sweat it.” Lea waved a hand dismissively. “‘S long as you got it memorized now.” He smirked at her. “Hey. I kinda like that. ‘Got it memorized?’ Catchy!” He laughed. “So. Tana. Wanna tell us about yourself?”

“Not really.”

“Hey, that’s fine too! You don’t have to. Just whenever you feel like it. I’d like to get to know you better. I read one of your essays once in class to peer-review it. It was incredible. You’re so smart. I want to know more about you.”

Tana looked up from her lunch to meet his eyes. They were brilliant green. “Really?” she asked.

“Of course!”

Tana nodded. “Thanks. No one’s ever wanted to get to know me before.”

“Well I do!”

“Thank you, Lea.”

*****

“Tanalie?” Lea asked.

“Yes?” Tanlie replied. The alley was dark and silent apart from the two of them. The narrow gap between the two buildings meant they were standing very close, chests nearly touching.

“Tanalie we’ve become good friends, right?”

“Right.”

“Would it be pushing for me to say I love you?”

“I, uh... I suppose it depends. I love you as my best friend, Lea. I just...”

“I didn’t mean it in any other way!” Lea backpedalled. “I meant that I love you as a friend too! I just... I didn’t know... how you would take that...”

“Aw how touching,” a deep voice said darkly. The two teenagers jumped away from each other, hitting their backs on the walls of the buildings. “Two children looking for something that they can’t find with each other. Your hearts are steeped with darkness, both of you. Desire and longing for more and not knowing what it is. I have a solution. A new purpose for hearts like yours. Give them up. You’ll no longer feel anything. No anger. No hurt. No pain. No happiness either.”

“Thanks, but no,” Tanalie said. “We’re not interested.”

A man emerged from the darkness. He had silver hair and amber eyes. Lea pushed Tanalie behind him protectively.

“I am Xemnas, and you, young man, haven’t said anything yet. Are you interested?”

Lea stared at Xemnas. “I...”

“Lea?” Tanalie whispered.

“We’ll consider it,” Lea said. “No promises.”

“You’ll come to the right decision,” Xemnas said. He vanished into the darkness.

“Why did you say that?” Tanalie hissed.

“That’s how you walk people off. The answer is no but you say maybe to let them down gently,” Lea said.

“Oh. Okay.”

*****

“Tanalie...” Lea whispered quietly. “What if... what if this is the way?”

“It’s not,” Tana replied. “That guy---”

“Xemnas.”

“Whatever. Xemnas doesn’t have the answer. We can’t just give up our hearts!”

“Apparently we can!” Lea threw his hands in the air. At the beginning of their friendship, Tana would have winced away for fear of accidentally getting whacked in the face. Now, however, she didn’t even flinch.

She grabbed his shoulders when he dropped his hands. “No! Lea---our emotions help make us what we are. Even our pain. To live without a heart willingly... isn’t living.” She shook her head. “I’m not going to. But promise me you’ll let me know what you’re thinking, okay?”

Lea reached up and set his hands on her elbows. “Promise.”

“Got that memorized?” Tana teased.

“Hey! That’s my thing!”

She laughed.

*****

Tanalie shook her head, standing on the top of the clock tower and staring off at the sunset. Ever since Lea had become Axel she’d been on a constant mood swing between angry at him, devastated that she lost him, and determined to find a way to restore him to the way he was.

“Had a feeling I’d find you here.”

“Go away,” she spat, not turning away from the sunset.

“Well. At least that fire is better than the cold shoulder,” Axel remarked, coming to a stop beside her and looking out as well.

“Would you prefer the cold shoulder?”

“Nope.”

“Go away, Axel. I want nothing to do with you.”

“You were still my best friend, Tanalie.”

“Yeah. Keyword being ‘were.’ As in past tense. As in, you can’t feel anything, including friendship. So leave me alone or I’m going to shove you off the tower.” She knew she wouldn’t---not really---but the threat did make him pause long enough that she could shoulder past him and head for the stairs.

“Tana, wait!” Axel called, running after her. He caught her wrist. “Please.”

She whirled, ripping her arm from his grip. The setting sun caught her dark eyes and set them ablaze. “Enough! Let me be! If you were ever my true friend you would respect my wishes now and get out of my life!” With that, she whipped back around, her hair smacking him in the chest, and ran down the stairs. Axel didn’t follow her. He’d never seen her like that. She’d always been rather timid and soft-spoken.

He found he kinda liked the strength that came with that fire.

*****

I slumped. I’d been sitting with my eyes closed for ten minutes as the chain of my memories as a Somebody came back to me. “I hated you, Axel,” I said. “I hated you for being Axel instead of Lea. That fire came from being angry at you for abandoning me and our friendship. It came from heartbreak at the idea that you just threw me aside like our relationship meant nothing to you.”

“That wasn’t the case, Talinexa. Our relationship meant everything to me. I wasn’t perfect at being a good friend but I tried and I loved you.”

I stared at him for a moment, deciding what to say next. “I loved you too. Intensely. It broke me when you chose to become a Nobody.”

“It’s a decision I regret. Or... it’s a decision I would regret if I could feel,” Axel said. “Ever since I gave up my heart... I can’t stand this emptiness. Being without a heart---it’s more than I can handle. Even with you, Roxas, and Xion around... as friends... even Saïx... I can’t. The emptiness is driving me mad.”

“What are you saying, Lea? Axel?”

“I’m saying I’m done. I’m done being a Nobody. I’m done being part of the Organization. I’m done being unable to feel anything. I’m done not being able to love you.”

“Axel...” I reached out and set my hands on his. “There’s nothing we can do. We gave up our hearts to join the Organization and made a commitment to be loyal. We have no other choice. Organization Thirteen doesn’t take resignations. We either die as members, or they kill us for desertion.”

“Honestly, Talinexa, at this point, I’d chose the latter option.”

I got to my feet and summoned some fire. “Let’s talk about it later,” I said. “I do believe we have training to finish.”

Axel pushed himself to his feet. “Indeed we do.”

I woke with a gasp. A familiar face was leaning over me. But there was something different. After nine years.

“Tana! You’re alright!” Axel exclaimed.

No. Not Axel.

I sat up abruptly, smacking him in the forehead with my own. “Lea!” I exclaimed.

He pushed my stray hairs out of my face, brushing them back into my braid. “Tanalie... you’re alive!”

“So... so are you!” I shrieked, pushing my fingers into his hair. “You’re... you’re Lea again!” My thumbs brushed under his eyes. The marks that used to be there when he was Axel were gone. I gasped and pressed my forehead to his. “Lea...!”

“Tana... we’re whole again! We have hearts! We can feel!” Lea whispered. “We’re... Somebodies!”

The impulsivity of emotions swept over me. Almost a year of being a Nobody---a member of Organization XIII---with no emotions left me starved for feeling. I couldn’t imagine how much more intense that was for Lea given he’d joined the Organization nine years ago or so. I curled my fingers into Lea’s hair and pulled him toward me.

His lips crashed against mine, the same reckless abandon I felt was surging through him to me and back again.

“Lea?” I asked breathlessly when I pulled away.

“Yeah?”

“I love you.”

“Don’t you remember? I love you too,” he said.

I smiled and nodded. “I remember.”

[ryusoraiko]

Please wait and read this! (spoilers for 3D and kh3 (only what's given in the official trailer))

It's about Saix – yeah, old „I don't have feelings and feel perfectly fine about Xehanort's plan” Saix. But does he really think it? 

Please hear me out because I don't think that's the whole truth.

In my opinion he still appreciates his friendship with Axel. I even go so far to say that he wants to protect him. Yes, he doesn't show it like the “normal human” does but there are moments where it's quite obvious. Why? Well, let me show you!

The German BBS journal entry about Isa states that he is rather cold towards everyone except Lea. They have to have a real tight bond. He even laughed!

Then there is good old 358/2 days. Let's go through it in the chronological order.

Day 23: cutscene with Axel and Saix. Saix says he has a massage from Xemnas that there are traitors among the members who are going to castle oblivion and Axel needs to find and dispose of them.

Axel answers with a somewhat question: “I trust, that really came from Lord Xemnas himself.”

Why should he say this?

Maybe because both or at least Saix is working against Xemnas – or trying to. Why? Let's talk about that later – got it memorized?

Day 72: Saix visits Axel in his bedroom and they are talking about what happened in castle oblivion. At one point Axel says that Saix knew all along what's going on and after Saix left he just says “I moved things along just the way you wanted... at least for now.”

Annihilating the traitors was Saix's plan? Why would he do something like this without Xemnas' explicit permission? ← Talking about working against Xemnas.

Day 117: Again, Axel's bedroom. Saix is asking what Xion is doing and Axel replies – rather pissed – that he doesn't spy on her and that he don't have to report to him about his friends.

I dunno, it just seems like both of them have their own little agenda going on. It all seems so mysterious.

Well, it doesn't end there. Axel even says, “As far as the castle goes, you're the one who really wants to go there. By finding the room that Xemnas is searching for... You would find out everything about Xemnas's true agenda. Am I right?”

At this point, 3D jumps in because: Saix already know his true agenda. Making all of them vessels for Xehanort blah blah blah. But still, why does he take the chance that Axel might find out instead by finding the chamber? It's just not like him.

Saix answers with “The Chamber of Repose as well as the Chamber of Waking... Xemnas has an agenda he hasn't told to anybody. And we are bound to find some clues in the Chamber of Waking. And once we obtain those clues, we'll have the upper hand for our own objectives.”

Right, like I said: he knows about his true plan, Xiggy knows but... that's not the point here. The point is: It can't get any more obvious that Saix is planning something – something against Xemnas.

Sure, he might just wanna find those Chambers to help Xemnas but like Saix said: should they find it before him, they could just steal sleeping beauty Ventus and hide him somewhere else. (okay, that's really only my own opinion with no proof except that Saix wants to protect Axel).

Day 118: Saix and Axel meet again – but this time in a hallway. Saix remarks that Axel gets too attached to Roxas and Xion and that he has changed and just goes away. Jealousy calling there *wink*

Day 172: Both of them meet again in the hallway. Axel accuses Saix that he isn't honest with him and wants to know about Xion. Saix replies without a second thought “Do you mean just like you are always honest with me?” You know it. That's pure jealousy. It shouldn't bother him, right? Riiiiiiight?

Day 175 (I think? Not sure if that's right): Xion collapsed, Axel and Roxas bringing her back, meeting Saix. Saix asks if it's broken again and Axel answers “keep your mouth shut.” After those three are gone: “You have changed.[...] Does the past mean nothing to you?”

So basically: Their shared past still means something to Saix. He keeps those memories treasured, which means he stills sees Axel as a friend – or as his best friend.  

Day 299: My favorite scene which actually triggered my obsession with the belief that Saix still holds his friendship to Axel close. “If you could save one of them... why would you choose the puppet? Or put it this way. Which would you rather suffer the loss of: some make believe-friendship, or a real one? [...] There is simply too much on the line, Lea.”

First, I thought Saix was talking about choosing Xion or Roxas but why should he care? They don't have feelings, right?

Saix shouldn't be bothered – but over time (and thanks to 3D) I realized he was talking about Axel's friendship with Roxas and Xion or with Saix. Because, let's be honest: No matter how you put it: even Roxas is a “make believe-friendship because of those “Nobodies don’t have feelings” agenda and the fact that Sora is still out there. Now, he could have said it to make Axel feel remorse but let's be honest: he's jealous. Just pure jealousy and this cold guy just can't express it better.

Now the last thing for 358/2 days: We had to fight Saix in order to escape from the Organization XIII, right? Why was it so easy?

Don't get me wrong: I enjoyed the fight and I just loved fighting against Saix but... he never really used his Berserker-mode, did he? He could have stopped us easily but we still got away rather fast.

Maybe because he respected Axel's feelings? Perhaps because he knew the escape was fruitless, but to have one or none keyblade wielder? I'd choose to have one and just beat him unconscious to get him back instead of letting him run off. I'm sure he did it for Axel – somehow. Just don't take away my belief!

Finally moving on to the next game – Dream Drop Distance. Not really much Saix-quality-scene but some other things I want to mention!

First of all: Nobodies have hearts? They don't remember their feelings – they actually feel them. Point for my “Saix still clings to his 'old' friendship with Axel”-theory. It's much easier to be attached to something if you know that it isn't just a memory but actual feelings! And the best part: he knew it. He knew that he still has a heart and has feelings instead of memories – like the others thought.

Why? That's because of the second thing I want to mention: The real purpose of the Organization XIII: Make more Xehanorts. Or better: make more vessels for him.

Saix and Xigbar both knew about this because both have a part of Xehanort in them. That is why Saix had to know that he still has a heart and doesn’t remember his feelings but actually feel them. Which leads me back to my assumption that he's working against Xemnas – in a way – to protect Axel. Perhaps even sacrificed himself and took a part of Xehanort just to have Axel spared? That's really just speculation – and I don't have any proof but that's what I believe. Why else would you give up yourself and keep going?

Now to the trailers that send my mind spiraling down this line: Kingdom Hearts 3 Teaser. We're reaching the end here!

The extended big hero 6 trailer was the first time I doubted everything I thought/knew about Saix. Don't get me wrong – I love him since 358/2 days. At the end (3:15) multiple, short scenes are shown.

One of them is a scene where Axel – I mean Lea – is sitting on top of the train station in Twilight Town where he and Roxas used to eat their ice cream together, and Saix comes around the corner. Why? Why would he go there? Why even visit/search him? What does he want?

Well, we don't get an answer. At least not in this trailer. You can't even say that Ax-- Lea has invited him or something like that because he seemed too surprised/shocked.

At last there is the Final Battle Trailer. Again, there are two scenes I want to mention. The first one is the “continuation” of the Twilight Town scene. It's at 2:15. Saix and Lea sitting there, Lea has two ice cream in his hands and Saix sits peacefully beside him.

First of all: Why does Lea have 2 ice creams? I mean... I'm pretty sure he wasn't expecting Saix to show up. Did Saix bring it? Well, I don't know and I don't want to dwell on this little fact – just wanted to say that it's weird! What Saix says is more important: “In time I awaken to a new purpose.”

Why is he saying it? It sounds like some kind of goodbye. As in a final goodbye. He doesn't even have a reason to go to Lea and tell him this. They are on two different sides now, aren't they? Saix isn't acting like we got to know him in 358/2 days or KH2!

Second scene is at 2:53. Lea is standing in front of Xemnas and berserker-mode Saix. Well, to make it short and painless: Lea's getting finished off by Xemnas' “Finisher” and Saix is just standing there, watching. Just watching. …

Something seems wrong, doesn't it? Could be because berserker-Saix can't control himself and just attacks. Like everything – maybe not Xemnas but pretty much everything else. You can even see this when you fight him during KH2. He's just thrashing around the place and even throws his weapon through the room (more or less). My point here: He can't control his anger and I doubt he got anti-aggression therapy. There can me so many reasons why he's standing there like a statue. For example, Xemnas or some real training to have more control when in berseker mode but I doubt it. Given all those moments I listed, I think he cares about Lea and doesn't want to be the cause of his death. I’ll go so far to say that he wanted or still wants to protect him but he can't just attack Xemnas, can he? So he just controls him really hard to just. Stay. Still.

To summon everything up: Saix feels more than he shows and still cherishes his (old) friendship with Axel/Lea – maybe even misses it. I wouldn't be surprised if it comes out that he did everything to protect Lea and there is something fishy. I just don't know what. Need to play KH3, I suppose.

If you made it so far: congrats and thank you! Never thought someone would read my rambling.

[butterfly--empress]

Fix it Headcanons...

After sitting here writing a really tldr post to get things off my chest, I felt like it just wasn’t worth the post because a lot of you are already saying things that I totally agree with and yeah...it’s not worth it so I’m just going to move on and conjure up headcanons because I need to cope with that ending. 

So instead, I will in tumblr traditon make a reaction gif post on my feelings with some commentary about the characters. 

The New Organization XIII

I wish a bit more was done with you guys??? I’m half and half on their role in this game, *shrugs* Also I am assuming Nomura pretty much confirms that Demyx is also from the past and now I’m wondering if we will get a story update for him in KHUX. 

Actually, I wouldn’t be surprised if all the story content we need before KH4 is going to be handled through the mobile game...eh...great..........just...fucking swell.

Can we petition for the Kingdom Hearts manga to continue? I think I rather have a physical boxset collection of the Kingdom Hearts manga, because at LEAST in the manga, characters actually get some goddamn growth......I’m not going to rant about Kairi just yet...

Disney Worlds and Characters

Nothing like Nostalgia and good old fashion pandering with a dash of Disney films having a consistent foreshadowing theme of love, hope, loss, pain and SACRIFICE TO GET THE BLOOD PUMPING!

What do you mean I’m bitter, I told you, I’m not! 

Wayfinder Trio

I have nothing awful to say about these three to be perfectly honest. I saw nothing wrong with Aqua and Ven getting bodied like some were because as much as I love Aqua and know she’s OP my girl was doing nothing but fighting in the realm of darkness and really had no time to recover, and then girlfriend fights my delightful little shit of a son,  and then girlfriend is STILL FIGHTING! I’ll let her being one-shotted by Terranort slide...

I will also let her running in front of Ven to shield Vanitas’ blast from hurting him go, because, honestly one could argue she probably was still exhausted and didn’t have time to react to put up another shield??? 

Ehh, this argument can go either way, really but I didn’t have a problem with any of it. 

I just really loved everything about these three, they acted like friends/family who missed each other for YEARS...they hugged and cried together and then despite the fuckery of their Master/Father figure, I think they forgave him for his apology and I just started bawling my eyes out....AGAIN. 

I really am not exaggerating and I wish I was but from the Aqua/Ventus reunion to the secret ending, I cried so hard. 

I didn’t cry for him or his bald boyfriend...*twitches eye* I cried because those three children didn’t deserve any of this! None of these children deserved any of this! TT_TT That reunion was all I wanted.

Vanitas

My poor fledging child, I knew your ultimate demise was nigh so I tried not to be too sad about it. Not gonna lie, Sully dragging your ass through that door and then multiple doors and then shredding that door was hella funny! 

It can be confirmed tomorrow that you dead and I would resurrect you and all your glorious edginess and tsundere tendencies in my fanfics because if you don’t come back to be your own person, a sass master and the anti-hero that likes to stir trouble cause he can, to help get Sora back, while gloating about it in the same breath, than I don’t know what even is the fucking point of another game. 

I do wish a bit more something meaningful was done with your supposed ‘redemption arc’??? I guess I’m suppose to assume that was a redemption arc...but it was handled so choppy I don’t know what to really make of it tbh...

Eraqus and Xehanort

People think ya’ll going to heaven...nahh bruh you two fucked up! And I refuse to believe anything else. Yeah you two was real cute in the past before I’m assuming things went to complete shit but you two FUCKED UP! 

I don’t know what the fuck Xehanort did to make Eraqus so jaded but because Eraqus felt jaded he indirectly dismisses Terra because ‘darkness’....BOI! 

We already know Xehanort’s rep sheet we don’t even have to review it. 

I don’t have any sadness for you two. Eraqus gives me mixed feelings I don’t like how he was the cause of Terra being norted, Aqua being lost in the realm of darkness and Ventus falling into a ten year magic coma but at least he didn’t rip a child’s soul in half to create some damn keyblade and control Kingdom Hearts so i guess he gets kudos???

I don’t care about Xehanort, NOT ONE CARE! 

I’m glad that motherfucker is gone! Buh bye!

The Sea Salt Trio

Axel/Xion/Roxas...you three did NOTHING WRONG! 

That’s it, I sobbed and they reunited and they hugged and then they hugged Saix and then Saix is good again, they cried and shared Ice Cream with the Twilight Town Trio and it was great. It was all I asked for.

Namine

You’re a precious delight, i wished we had more screen time of you in the game but c’est la vie. At least your character wasn’t ruined like someone’s I know. 

The obvious Riku/Namine ship still surprises me but I totally dig it...still side-eyeing my green-eyed white haired son for some of his fuckery...but we about to get into that in a bit...

The Destiny Trio...BOI I am about to lose my fucking shit because really WTF WAS THAT?! You did everyone else right...except for these three?! the same three you started this glorious shitshow with?!

THESE THREE!?

Sora: I have no issues with my baby here, if Nomura got one thing right, it was Sora. I still don’t like what you did to him and Kairi but as for as the writing for his character, that shit was on point so you get kudos Nomura...you get the fucking kudos!

Riku: ....What the fuck happened to the very close friendship between he and Kairi??? Like WTF?! I’m confused how we went from KH1 Riku giving into the darkness because he thought it would save Kairi to KH2 Riku looking out for Kairi and encouraging her to fight by giving her destiny’s embrace and crying when she recognized it was him, despite he looked like Ansem, to KH2.8 Riku having playful banter with her before he left off on his mission with Mickey to KH3 Riku who, outside of anyone not Sora, Mickey, Namine (because suddenly Nomura wants that to be canon obviously...) and to an extent, Aqua being this distant stoic character...

EXCUSE ME...but where was Riku’s usual anger and sadness when Kairi was taken by Xemnas and just outright killed?! IN FRONT OF HIM?!!

Say what you want about SoKai becoming canon, a close friend is still a close friend! 

There was no reason to make Riku distant at all, like I don’t mind the SoKai sharing the paopu fruit scene but I still feel like that scene should have included all three of them. That should have been a call back to them having a bit of reprieve together like the ending of KH2. It would not have taken any time to have Riku have a moment with Repliku and have Kairi call him over after Sora asked ‘why he’s over there?’

I mean, damn! Even Sora was like, our group dynamic is off by -1???

Kairi: First of all, I am going to put it out there that, Kairi did not need to be overly super strong. Not for a girl that just started training to fight in the final battle and for what we did get, it was more than I had expected at all. I mean for a novice, girl did pretty damn decent with keeping up with berserker!Xion.

No, my annoyance is not at the lack of Kairi fighting, it’s being used as an unfortunate plot device and feeling like nobody except Sora cared enough about her. At times it did feel like my girl was treated as a burden that nobody wanted there because she was such an easy target to distract Sora....

And boi! When she got taken and then obliterated in front of Sora and the others I was both angry and sad, at this point I was already sobbing because Sora was sobbing and I felt that and my hate for Xemnas went from 100 to 1000 real fucking quick. 

But like I already said, I started to get frustrated because Riku continued to seem like he was suddenly emotionally stunted when it came to Kairi, like my dude! YOUR FRIEND JUST DIED?! WHY AM I MORE ANGRIER THAN YOU?!? DO SOMETHING!! GO WITH SORA TO BRING HER BACK THAT’S YOUR FRIEND..YOU’RE NOT THE RIKU I REMEMBER WTF!?

Just jadlkfjflkajdjakdjk! *inhales than slowly exhales* Nomura, Nomura my dude, my pal, my senpai! There were a lot of ways you could have made SoKai canon that did not include sacrificing the deep, close 12yr bond that was Kairi’s and Riku’s friendship. The wasted potential...

You mean to tell me i waited for a DECADE, a freaking DECADE hoping that to have some real friendship bonding between Riku and Kairi and see nothing done with it!?

And speaking of SoKai...I know some people find it lackluster because unfortunately, Nomura never gave Kairi satisfying character growth that didn’t make it seem like she satellites around Sora and nothing else. But I more or less was never really bothered by how it developed, yea it could have used more work but I’m on very neutral ground. My only complaint is that I don’t like how at times it can seem a bit forced or rushed in 3 and I don’t like that Nomura thought it was a cool idea to make it seem like Kairi and Riku were never friends or that Riku never cared about Kairi. 

I...I guess Nomura wants to fuel the ridiculous SoKai vs Soriku shipwars??? Because that is what your doing and those dumbass wars don’t need unfortunate implications from the actual game for people who didn’t get their ship canon to further hate Kairi because you decided that Riku needed to be ‘distant’...with HER, poor girl can’t catch a break because you promised character growth but you take one step forward, two steps back and she can’t break the damsel in distress trope. My poor baby. 

I knew once I went to the Tangled world I knew KH was dealing with the consistent theme of Love, Pain, Hope, Loss and Sacrifice. This became more apparent when you get to PotC and I knew deep down that Kairi and Sora were bound to end up doing something to sacrifice their own lives for one another and yet, they have done this before and it turned out alright. 

I hoped it would have been akin to KH1 but fuck me, how goddamn naive was I, amirite?! Nomura goes and does EXACTLY what I was wishing he wouldn’t do and he did it anyway, and I was no more good after that.

And then, AND THEN TO HAVE THE BALLS to make it look like Sora was there after all at the very end only to have him fade away. A part of my heart still aches from that and I’m surprised I didn’t wake up my household at 8am because I was sobbing that loud!

Yes I know Sora is alive but again, my heart and mind are in conflict. My mind wants to let go and update and reboot the phone but my heart is still stuck on a refresh/poor battery loop...

...............................................If Kairi is not out there with Riku to go find and save Sora in KH4 someone is going to feel my motherfucking wrath!

No, I’m serious! No more of this shafting Kairi bullshit! This is the perfect setup for a full on Kairi character growth arc. If I have to play that shit on a handheld or mobile well fucker bring it on! 

Nomura, you have the story, Kairi could start out feeling loss and regret and guilt, blaming herself and thinking the other’s blame her for Sora not being there with them. And then she goes on a journey, hell she and Riku go on a journey together to reconnect and Riku, being a Keyblade Master could mentor Kairi in her training and she has some self discovery as she’s getting stronger and confident again in herself and it would be great because she’s finally getting to save Sora like she’s always wanted too!

You know what? YOU KNOW WHAT??!

FUCK IT! 

Because Nomura will never give me this and I will not hope for anything concerning Kairi’s character growth. 

So I guess I have to fanfiction that shit my damn self...I think I will...

At least the gameplay for fucking fantastic and Yoko-san delievered with the music, when is that KH3 OST dropping again? 

I need to eargasm to Anti-Aqua battle theme and the other promise/vector to the heavens one million times. 

Also I’m legit done ranting, I got this off my chest so I can move on. 

[zdbztumble]

So What to do About it? (KH III Spoilers)

Complain about something enough, and you may end up hearing from somebody: “well, what would you have done differently?” No one’s asked me that about Kingdom Hearts III, but I’m bored at work and eager to dodge emotional problems, so that’s what we’re getting into tonight, kids!

Note: I’m going to limit myself to changes I would make to KH III only. A number of its problems are the culmination of trends begun much earlier in the series, particularly DDD, but I don’t want to get into hypothetical changes to five different games, none of which were as flawed in degree, or as painful an experience as the story of KH III was.

To start out with, the first change I would make to KH III would be to make cuts. A lot of cuts. Because there’s a lot in the story of this game that didn’t need to be there. On the chopping block would be:

- Maleficent. She’s my favorite Disney villain, and I love her role within the KH series, but Maleficent (and Pete) had no role in this story. A tease at a potential future game and a promotion of KH UX are no reason to include a character. And, if a character - even a favorite one - has no good reason to be in a story, they shouldn’t be.

- Roxas, Xion, and Namine. Again, they have no real role to play in this story. Namine doesn’t do anything except summon the Lingering Will (and we’ll get to that), Roxas isn’t needed to complete the roster of Seven Lights, and the whole point of Xion’s tragic death was that she was gone for good. She comes back into the story from nowhere, while Roxas and Namine are only present to give Sora and Kairi some semblance of a quest in the front half of the story; they both want to find a way to let their Nobodies live as real people outside of their hearts. But Sora and Kairi didn’t need any additional motivation to do things in this story, because they’re already motivated by the far more consequential goal of stopping Xehanort on a macro level, and by the desire to keep each other safe on the micro level (as poorly reintroduced as that idea was.) They also have very little (and in Kairi’s case, no) role in restoring their Nobodies in the game as-is.

The idea that these characters could, or at least deserved to, exist as their own persons was first introduced in DDD, but it was presented as more of a desire on Sora’s part than something that could practically be done. There wasn’t a wealth of build-up to this idea in previous games that needed to be paid off. And as I’ve said before, Roxas and Namine choosing to return to Sora and Kairi, no longer existing as themselves but as a part of their true selves, was a wonderfully bittersweet aspect of KH II and a noble sacrifice on their part. Even with the stupid retcons concerning Nobodies and hearts pulled by DDD, that sacrifice is still valid, and Roxas, Namine, and Xion all remain distinct enough from other Nobodies and replicas that their choices and losses remain valid. Without any good reason to undermine that sacrifice, it shouldn’t be.

That said, while I would cut their revivals and presence in the larger plot, I would make use of them in the game...but we’ll get to that later.

- Ienzo and the other ex-Organizers. If Roxas and Namine go, then these guys might as well too. Ienzo is the only one who actually functions in the plot, and other than researching means to restore former Nobodies, he has no role to play. Any residual exposition that he gave out could be given to other characters. I would cut Ansem the Wise as well, but secret endings of previous games and my self-imposed rule mean he has to stay.

- Demyx. Again, without Roxas, he has no role to play. Vexen’s role would also change significantly, but...well, we’ll come back to that.

- Riku and Mickey updating their Keyblades. What was wrong with their old ones? And what value does the idea of re-charging Keyblades, or arbitrarily getting a hold of new ones, bring to the table?

- The mystery girl. Both of them. When it comes to Nameless Star - I do not care about Marluxia’s long-lost sister. There is no bottom to the well of how little I care about the pasts of any of the Organizers, especially any that tie into KH UX. If you do, then more power to you, but a game that’s meant to be the culmination of so many stories does not have the time or space to tease something like this. Leave it in the mobile game.

Subject X is a trickier issue. When that idea first came up via Ansem and “Ansem,” I thought they might be talking about Kairi, and that the story might finally be at least hinting at something of her past. It took me until last night to realize it, but Kairi’s past is the one plot point directly tied into Xehanort’s schemes that isn’t resolved in KH II. When Xion finally appeared, my first thought was that all the talk about a girl with no memory was actually about her all along, which I could’ve figured out wasn’t the case even before getting the Secret Reports if I’d thought about it for more than a minute. But that the mystery girl is actually a character who has never before been mentioned or had any role in the plot, and is probably yet another reference to KH UX, is absolutely ridiculous. If it wasn’t bad enough that Kairi’s past is going to be left unexplored, a key detail of it - that she was in some way a victim of Xehanort’s experiments before turning up on Destiny Islands - is re-purposed for another character who does not matter to this story.

I would be sorely tempted to modify this material so that the mystery girl who the Ansems discuss actually is Kairi. If this game really is the end to the Xehanort saga, and Kairi’s past is directly tied to Xehanort, it’s the last chance to get into it. But even if the story saw all the cuts I suggest here through, it would still be a very crowded story tasked with paying off a very complicated plot. So unfortunately, if we’re assuming that every other game in the series stays the same as it is, Kairi’s past is still a casualty of poor decisions in those earlier games. The mystery girl material gets cut - completely.

- Chirithy. He’s cute. He’s also not necessary. Cut him.

- Replica Riku. Repliku living inside of Riku, and Riku becoming aware of that, is the closest thing to an arc that Riku has in this game. His character arc, at least as far as the Xehanort saga is concerned, really reached its conclusion in DDD. In KH III, he remains throughout the stoic chief supporting figure to Sora and King Mickey, not counting Donald and Goofy. But I can’t say that I found that a bad role for him, or that I find him being set and constant in who he is to be a bad thing. And Repliku suddenly re-entering the story, in its finale of all times, through truly convoluted and confusing means, was just not worth it to give Riku some small measure of an arc.

- The chess frame. This put a metaphor on to the entire conflict that I didn’t like, and made the whole thing feel much smaller than it should. And, if you cut this, then you also cut...

- Eraqus. Again, the chess frame lessens the story, and Eraqus turning up to talk down Xehanort takes a lot away from the actual protagonists of the story.

Alright, so that’s everything for the chopping block, which already clears out a lot of narrative real estate. So besides what I would’ve left out, what would I have changed? Well...

- Show Kairi’s training. Axel’s too, but Kairi’s the one who’s been a main character from the beginning and started getting built up since the end of II as a Keyblade wielder. And I would have used her training as the tutorial. In the spirit of the prolonged Roxas segment of KH II, a mix of cutscenes, tutorials-as-in-time-gameplay, and tutorials-as-Dives-to-the-Heart would illustrate Kairi’s training, give some context for her thoughts and feelings (which I imagine would be an outgrowth of her expressions of wanting to be part of the adventure from the end of II), and introduce the idea of the Final World. In KH III as it is, it just sort of appears; here, Kairi could find her way there from the Dive to the Heart stained glass, and be confused and a little disturbed by what she finds. At the end of the tutorial, a cutscene could show her summarizing everything for Sora in a letter and actually sending it to him, and we’d cut over to Sora reading the letter (and conveniently, the letter carries over the choices you, the player, made as Kairi about which powers you wanted.)

- Improve Sora’s recovery. Motivating Sora’s reset to Level One by the events of DDD is one of the game’s better notions, but it’s not executed very well. Sora regains most of his abilities, in their basic form at least, within the first level, and the Power of Waking becomes an exercise in repetitive cutscenes until it suddenly needs to start working. I would spread out when Sora regains certain abilities and when he acquires new ones (though he’d get everything within the first World Map), and I would wait to bring the Power of Waking up until much later in the game, so that it isn’t hanging around the plot like an albatross. And he would get Glide some time before the Badlands.

- Multiple parties. The only Final Fantasy game that I’ve played is XIII. I don’t remember much of it, but I do remember that, at various points in the story, you control different characters. That was an ensemble cast; Kingdom Hearts is meant to be centered on Sora, and I wouldn’t make an even division of time spent with other parties. But I would give Riku and Kairi one Disney world each, and Aqua her own level. And the way I would do that is...

- Motivate the Disney worlds. III as-is is easily the worst game in the series for integrating the Disney worlds into the larger plot. This was frustrating as a failure to execute the founding concept of the series, but also because there were plenty of openings for how to integrate the worlds they chose, either through story or through character and thematic ideas. To wit:

Olympus: Admittedly, this one is motivated, by Yen Sid sending Sora off to it to try and regain strength. And, had they preserved the training/tournament angle on this world from previous games, that would have made even more sense. But I like that they went in another direction with Olympus this time, as that was rather played out. So I suppose I wouldn’t change all that much here, other than improving the dialogue, reducing the number of abilities Sora regains, and have Herc’s talk about Meg trigger some recollection of Kairi in Sora. I’d also emphasize a line from the movie: “A life without Meg would be empty.”

Twilight Town: If you cut Roxas from the game, then this world doesn’t really have much point other than the Bistro and the shops. Given that, I’d just as soon replace it with Radiant Garden as the hub world, relocating the Bistro mini-game and the 100 Acre Wood to there. Any exposition that can’t be delivered by Yen Sid, Mickey, or Chip and Dale, can be delivered from Radiant Garden by...Leon, Yuffie, Cid, and Aerith. Nomura may have been right when he said that original characters from Kingdom Hearts could take the place of these three as sources of exposition, but the fact is that Sora has more of a relationship with them than he has with the ex-Organizers that displaced them, and their presence would mean that the Final Fantasy elements of this series get some real representation. They wouldn’t have much to do; they would in essence be making cameo appearances, which I’m sure some would find unsatisfying; but those cameos would at least be justified by the story and the setting.

The Toy Box: Here is where Vexen would come into play. Have him back as a non-Norted member of Organization XIII, unrepentant, building replicas for the Xehanorts. He’s the one who put the toys in a split world, as study subjects for building his replicas. He would be the member of Organization XIII appearing in cutscenes to taunt Sora and attempt to pit the toys against each other. And he’s the boss battle in this world. That’s right; you’d actually get to fight a member of the Organization before the Keyblade Graveyard. A cutscene following his defeat could reveal that he’d obtained sufficient data from his research for the replica bodies of the various Xehanorts who need them to be perfected.

Kingdom of Corona: Here’s where the multiple parties come into play. I’d let Kairi be the one to explore this world. Let her have a Gummi ship, and be on her way back to Master Yen Sid’s from training. She can sense that there’s something wrong in the nearby world of Corona, and she and Axel can check it out. Kairi can be the one to relate to Rapunzel’s feelings about setting out into the wide world, she can recognize in Rapunzel the light of a Princess of Heart, and she can realize on her own that the Organization (via Marluxia in this case) is seeking out new princesses, as incentive for the heroes: “fight us like we want, or we go after these innocent people.” (A cutscene from another game where Yen Sid and Mickey discuss why they have to play into Xehanort’s plan wasn’t enough to clarify this point IMO, nor was the idea of “seven new lights” given enough motivation. Kill two birds with one stone here.) Kairi would also take note of Eugene’s sacrifice, and Rapunzel’s revival of him. As for what Axel would be doing here...I suppose he could hang in the background, existential about his second chance at life.

(I would hold off on Riku and Mickey’s sojourn into the Realm of Darkness until here. By mentioning one of the factions peopled with a member of the Destiny Trio but not showing it until the first World Map is complete, you can build a certain amount of suspense, and avoid the problem of Riku and Mickey’s story dragging throughout the first two acts. This would also eliminate their check-in with Yen Sid from the first World Map, and thus eliminate Sora’s check-in at the same time as well, cutting down on repetition.)

Monstropolis: Play up the fact that Vanitas is after negative energy, in particular the screams of children, more. This is one of the few things about KH III that I think could’ve done with a bit more exposition, or more specifically, exposition spaced throughout the level.

Arendelle: I would make Riku and Mickey’s retreat from the darkness a more rushed and hurried affair, so much so that they have no time to make it to Yen Sid’s and end up diving for the first world they can. That world would be Arendelle, and you’d play as Riku. That connection Sora made between Elsa’s treatment of Anna and Riku’s of him and Kairi? Riku’s the one to make that connection, and he actually talks to Elsa about it. And Elsa is your battle partner, at least for the final boss; I would probably structure it so that, after Anna’s sacrifice, the darkness overwhelms Hans, and Elsa joins you in fighting him as Skoll. In the aftermath of that, she can break down crying, revive Anna, happy ending, etc. And Riku and Mickey can deduce the same conclusion that Kairi did about the princesses - Larxene wouldn’t blurt it out. Seeing the sisters and their plight could also re-energize and re-motivate the two of them to head back to the darkness in search of Aqua.

(The cutscene after Arendelle is where I’d probably introduce the Power of Waking. Sora and Kairi would be the ones checking in with Yen Sid, Mickey and Riku heading straight back to the darkness. On the basis of what Sora saw in the Toy Box, he could also ask if it’s possible for Roxas to get a replica body of his own, and Kairi could ask the same about Namine. And Yen Sid could tell them...no. That Roxas and Namine aren’t the same as regular Nobodies, and that they chose to become a part of Sora and Kairi again. And this could have a real impact on Sora and Kairi, as it hits them that not everything can work out the way it should be, that not everyone can get a happy ending in this story at this point. And it could affect Axel by further deepening his ambivalence about his second chance, when his one friend [that he can remember] is lost forever while he lingers on, recompleted but alone.)

The Caribbean: I would re-work the adaptation of At World’s End to include more material concerning Will and Elizabeth, for thematic purposes; I want Sora to make a connection between Will’s death, and his possible future with Kairi. But I would adapt that material, and everything taken from the film, more freely than the game did as-is. I’d also cut the Kraken as a boss, and instead have Davy Jones be the opener to a Heartless-possessed Endeavor as the final boss. And instead of teasing the Black Box concept, I’d have Luxord trying to recruit Davy Jones as a Xehanort host. Jones is already a being without a heart who can walk and talk and function the way the Organizers can; why not make that connection? Jones would refuse, of course, and Luxord’s desire for the chest is to gain leverage on Jones to comply. When that whole plan fails, he sends the Endeavor against Sora and the others. And, by the end of the level, you could have a cutscene where Luxord makes his apologies to a hooded, shrouded Master Xehanort (tease him before the final level without seeing him outright), who assures him that they’ve been able to find another thirteenth.

San Fransokyo: This one is tough for me, because the further away I get from the game, the more this world baffles me with the sudden appearance of Dark Riku and all the blather about hearts and data. I suppose I’d just try to simplify things down to simple taunting; instead of talking about data, Dark Riku (revealed as the thirteenth just set up in the previous world) just wants to prove something to Sora about pain and loss, which would let that reviewer’s perceived theme about what makes a heart whole come into play.

- Overhaul on the Anti-Aqua fight. I would not have had Aqua or Ansem appear before this point in the game. Riku and Mickey’s encounter with Anti-Aqua can be her first appearance, and it can be preceded by an encounter with Ansem the Wise, warning them to turn back. When Aqua fell to the darkness is thus left as something that happened at an indeterminate time between the KH 0.2 and now, not something that arbitrarily happens right after we see her just as she normally is. Sora can still rush in to save the day, but I would change that fight so that it’s Sora and Riku together who combat Aqua, and Riku who first greets her when she awakens. Ansem would be saved from the darkness too, and take his place back at Radiant Garden, mingling with the FF characters, Merlin, and Uncle Scrooge and Little Chef.

- Yensid warns Sora. After the rescue of Ventus and the big group conference, have Yen Sid hold Sora back and explain the consequences of misusing the Power of Waking, a bit more clearly than Xehanort did in the game as-is.

- No Saix talk. In the whole “respite” sequence, I would do without Saix and Axel meeting up. If Roxas and Xion, and Subject X, aren’t here, most of that material would be rendered meaningless anyway. Instead, I would have Riku and Axel talk about being lost to darkness and about second chances. Riku would be at peace with where he’s ended up; Axel would be more ambivalent.

I would also have Riku talk to Sora and Kairi, briefly, before leaving them alone to have their moment with the paopu fruit.

- Revisiting Worlds options. From this point on, when you revisit worlds, you can choose which party you visit them as: Sora, Donald and Goofy; Riku and Mickey; Kairi and Axel; or Aqua and Ven (and later Terra.) If you visit a world as a party that didn’t visit that world, the characters there will drop some line of dialogue like “friend of Sora’s, huh? You’re welcome here.”

- Toggling against the swarm. Instead of having the group all split up, everyone takes part in fighting the massive swarm that meets them when they first land in the Badlands, and you would toggle between parties. You’d start out fighting as Sora with Donald and Goofy; at a certain point in the fight, you’d throw over to Riku and Mickey. At another point, you’d toss to Aqua and Ven, then to Kairi and Axel, finishing back with Sora to use that awesome train attack.

- Maze first, then death. A wholesale rewrite of the events surrounding the battles in this section of the game, basically. The swarm that you just finished battling as all the different parties is replaced by another swarm, of multiple Demon Towers; they just won’t stop coming. Here is where Yen Sid appears to hold them at bay, and where Donald and Goofy stay behind to help as the Keybalde wielders press on.

Our heroes are greeted by Organization XIII, who immediately raise the maze and separate the seven into smaller groups. You, the player, would jump around to each one. I would do this to give individual heroes a bit more agency in resolving their personal stories before moving on to the final resolution. Riku would defeat Dark Riku on his own; you could fight as Ven against Vanitas, and as Aqua as she (and Ven) succeed in awakening Terra (a moment in the fight triggers the Lingering Will to suddenly appear, instead of having Terra inside the Heartless); Sora could join up with Mickey to take out Luxord; and Kairi and Axel could handle Marluxia, Larxene, and Saix. (Yes, I changed the arrangements of bosses. It doesn’t matter all that much. And outside maybe Luxord and Saix, no faux-pathos at their deaths.) 

The casualties would begin in the maze. I might have Ven and Vanitas both fall, after Terra is restored, so Ven can point out that he kept his promise before fading. Axel and Saix could go down together (and I admit that’s recycling Axel dying a noble death; I don’t know what else to do with the guy.) Just to play up Xigbar’s sliminess, he could snipe Mickey as the survivors make their way through the maze, and Aqua and Terra could stay behind to fight him, giving you a turn to play as Terra; the cutscene at the end could show Terra and Aqua wounded, unable to go on. And the very next cutscene could cut back to the Disney characters holding back the swarm. Here is where Donald can use his Zetta Flare, with a much clearer need for that drastic spell on-hand to motivate it. Sora can sense Donald’s fall, and the others, as he presses on, so that he’s already angry and distressed when he, Riku, and Kairi face the three Xehanorts together. And unlike with the other Organizers, you need to beat all three before the cutscene triggers.

Said cutscene would have all the combatants exhausted as Master Xehanort declares that he has his twelve keys and just needs the one more. The heroes can declare that they won’t give him his thirteenth clash; I might give the lines for this to Riku, the one of the group who had fallen into Xehanort’s schemes in the biggest way before. But Master Xehanort jumps in to land a blow against Riku, making for the thirteenth clash with darkness. That creates the X-Blade, and Master Xehanort uses it to summon the Demon Tornado and sweep everyone left away before he turns to Kingdom Hearts. But in this case, it’s Kairi who tells Sora not to give up and is the second-to-last to get swallowed. 

- Play as Kairi in the Final World. If Kairi’s supposed to escape falling into darkness, and if she’s meant to be the one holding Sora to life, go ahead and run with that. This would pay off her discovering the Final World during the tutorial earlier. She (via inference and text boxes explaining things instead of a random cat creature) collects the various pieces of Sora, depositing them in his translucent body. Two of those pieces can be Roxas and Xion (I told you I’d work her in somewhere). Kairi and Sora, and even Roxas, wouldn’t know who Xion is, but she could trigger something within Kairi that allows a telepathic conversation with Namine that gets into questions about hard choices and the greater good - something Kairi hasn’t yet had to deal with, but Namine, a part of her, and Xion, built out of memories of her, have.

Once Sora is fully restored, he becomes the player character again, but it’s Kairi who comes with him to rescue the others, not Jiminy Cricket. She’s your battle partner as you make your way through the worlds saving everyone. Master Xehanort (not the Young version) can still turn up to give Sora another warning about the Power of Waking - and Kairi takes that to heart, more than Sora does. The sacrifices and deaths from the Disney worlds come back to mind, just as they did in the game; only this time, Sora and Kairi have both made the connection prior to this point, and this is just brings it back to mind.

- One battle, two trios. When time resets, it’s after the X-Blade has been formed. Sora turns the time power against Xehanort, and he, Riku, and Kairi follow him while the others hold shut Kingdom Hearts. In the course of this battle, there can be a moment that triggers a cutscene where Riku is severely injured and blasted through the portal back to the outside world. Caught off-guard, Sora is about to be struck down, but Kairi takes the hit. (As I said, I don’t object to the death itself; it’s the execution. This would let Kairi have a chance to shine as a character, throughout the game and in the boss battles, and would tie in more directly to the thematic threads in the chosen Disney worlds and pay off the conversation just held with Namine.) Sora hits a point of despair here, but Donald and Goofy join him for the final stretch (an injured Riku could have enough strength to return to Scala ad Caelum and bring the two of them with him.) And there is no bullshit last-minute redemption for Master Xehanort; he gets wiped out.

- SHOW. SORA’S. FATE. The single biggest flaw in the game as-is, and the one that would most need to get fixed. Have Sora go back to the final world, find Kairi, and have a scene between them. I would have Kairi not want Sora to use the Power of Waking to save her; she would point out its risks to him, and that she made a choice to keep him safe (see that callback there?) In response, Sora would bring up Herc’s line about an empty life. Kairi would be in the same boat, so they’d both be at a standstill. In the end, Sora persuades her by quoting her; that he trusts her to believe that he won’t fade away, and that she’ll keep him safe, even in this. So, as he readies the Power of Waking, the final cutscene is triggered, and you can have that final shot of Sora and Kairi holding hands as he fades away - only now, it’s motivated. And you have not just a bittersweet ending, but a hook into a future game that would be nearly impossible to write Kairi out of.

- Xigbar =/= Luxu. You want an epilogue and a secret movie? Fine. But don’t pull this shit.

And there you have it. Would this be a big improvement on the game we got? Yes, if I do say so myself. Would it be good? I don’t know. Since it assumes everything else in the series stays put, we’re still left with a lot of the problems that III was saddled with, not the least of them being too many characters even with the cuts I made. There’s no clear way that I can see to give everyone a meaningful payoff. But it’s what I’ve got, and it at least keeps the original threesome all prominent and sends Sora off with more grace.