Kingdom Hearts Fan Fiction ❯ Dearly Beloved ❯ The 13th Struggle ( Chapter 6 )
[ X - Adult: No readers under 18. Contains Graphic Adult Themes/Extreme violence. ]
By: Spark of Life 
The fight between Juusan Kikan and Sora and crew. A new warrior 'reveals' himself.
Non Anime: Kingdom Hearts Fan Fiction | Genre(s): Adventure / Action / Romance / Suspense / Hentai | Type: Continuation | Uploaded On: 07.23.2007 | Pages: 3 | Words: 4.8K | Visits: 401 | Status: Work In Progress
The fight between Juusan Kikan and Sora and crew. A new warrior 'reveals' himself.
Non Anime: Kingdom Hearts Fan Fiction | Genre(s): Adventure / Action / Romance / Suspense / Hentai | Type: Continuation | Uploaded On: 07.23.2007 | Pages: 3 | Words: 4.8K | Visits: 401 | Status: Work In Progress
Chapter 6: The 13th Struggle
Author’s Note: An awesome boss song. I really love it. By the way, for those Bleach fans among you, you will recognize one, maybe two elements from this chapter. I will explain at the end of the chapter.
A pulse ran through the earth. Aerith could feel it. There was a fight going on somewhere on this world. “Guys, I think Sora is in trouble.” She whispered. The throbbing pain was starting to get to her. She couldn’t concentrate on her direction. However, the gang was in no better shape. Cid, Leon, Cloud and Yuffie were holding their heads as if under the thrall of a powerful migraine.
“What in tarnation is going on?” Cid groaned in pain. His question fell on deaf ears because the people with him were in pain as well.
Donald and Goofy were in the most pain. Because out of all the people in the group, they shared the most memories of Sora and, when the memories started to flood, they experience a pain unlike any battle wound. However, they were not letting pain stop them from reaching Sora. Gritting their teeth, or teeth analogue, the group continued to row.
Sora raised his Keyblade at Larxene and swung down. However, she was too quick for the teen and she dodged the attack. The female Nobody laughed at Sora’s attempt to attack. “Is that all the Keyblade Master has to offer?” she taunted.
Sora, although he tried his best to make an attack on Larxene, was unsuccessful. She was just too fast for him. As he was about to make another strike, the brunet saw a glint of metal coming from her hands. Knives?
Larxene threw three kunai knives expertly: one embedding into Sora’s right arm, one in his stomach and one at his left leg. Sora dropped his Keyblade in pain and fell to his knees, howling and removing the knives in a desperate attempt to stop the pain.
Riku and Mickey were not faring any better.
Riku took on Luxord but was having trouble getting past his card defense. Every time Riku lunged in for an attack, the gambling Nobody shuffled his deck of cards and spread them out to guard against attack. The dark hero’s attack left him open for a boot to the stomach, courtesy of the gambler.
The silver-haired boy gasped precious lungful of air. Then he heard a scream, a scream he would give his entire existence never to hear again. One of his loves, Sora, was stabbed by the woman’s knives and he was frantically trying to put them out. He didn’t remember hearing himself call out Sora’s name, nor did he hear Luxord command his cards to attack him. The flurry of the cards hit him with a force that he didn’t expect from something light and insubstantial. The last thing that he remembered was hitting the cavern wall with such force that he cracked the wall where Sora and Kairi drew pictures of themselves eating the papou fruit, effectively destroying the crude drawings..
Mickey was doing the best out of all of them, but that wasn’t saying much. Xaldin was having a difficult time landing an attack on a small, agile foe. Mickey, although he didn’t possess a large dominating frame, was an experienced fighter, being trained by the one that gave him his Keyblade. As the lancer launched one of his six weapons, Mickey would jump into the air and strike the Nobody. It would have been a clear victory for the King of Disney Castle except Xaldin used his six lances to its fullest potential, creating a makeshift cage to trap the regal mouse and starting a tornado with its locus in the cage. Mickey was torn apart by the wind; it left him exhausted.
With the three distractions out of the way, Larxene, with the mysterious box in left hand, sauntered triumphantly towards the mysterious door. She realized that Kairi, one of the Princesses of Heart, was in her way. Her lips turned upward into a cruel smirk. “Well, isn’t this my lucky day?” The sadist smirked sinisterly. “Not only did I get to harm your little friend, it also seems as if I get to capture one of the Princesses of Heart.”
Kairi looked around only to see Riku bleeding from hitting the wall, Sora clutching his stab wounds in pain, and Mickey on the floor exhausted. She backed up against the door that Riku had just come out of. Although it was open, there was some force preventing her from going through it, like an invisible wall. The female Nobody stalked towards her. “Please get away from the door.” She ordered in a calm, but threatening voice. It wasn’t so much a request as it was a command. “I don’t want to have to hurt you” she whispered, procuring a blade from the cuff of her long black leather jacket “but I will if I need to.”
Loud, labored breathing alerted the female Nobody to turn her attention to Sora who was standing up despite the wounds he received earlier. The sadist turned around to see the teen defiantly The Keyblade Master had his weapon drawn and ready to attack. Larxene just smirked and held out a hand towards the brunet. “Just give up already.” She shot a blast of electricity at Sora which made him fly past the other two Nobodies and near the entrance to the cave.
Leon and the group were trying their best to row to the island with their headaches. Goofy and Donald were not about to leave their best friend alone and so, they forced themselves to row. Who knows? Sora might be going through the same pain as they were.
They were almost to the Children’s Island. A few meters more and they could swim to the shore. The pain was almost unbearable but the thought of Sora in danger kept them rowing.
From the port side of the raft, they saw an unusual site that made stop to look at it. It was a person running on water faster than most humans can run. This person had on a long black trench coat that covered up the face in darkness. From the body structure, one could tell that the trench coat figure had fought in some combat, shoulders broadened and arms filling out the sleeves of the jackets.
Leon and the gang saw the opening of the hood face them. It was then that they noticed gloved hands reaching ahead of the person. In front of the gloved hands, a Keyblade materialized. Before any one of them could register shock, the raft was caught in a whirlpool. All of the passengers tried their best to hold on.
“That person caused this.” Donald realized. Being attuned to magical force, he was the first to realize that his weapon was just like Sora’s Keyblade as it functioned in the same manner when manipulating magic.But that wasn’t the main concern. The main concern was to survive the whirlpool. Oddly enough, none of them had fallen overboard yet. Was it part of the hooded person’s plan to distract them from something? Donald took out his staff and began to chant spells to stop the whirlpool as the others hung on for their lives.
“Princess, I won’t say it again.” Larxene grounded out. “If you don’t move, I will hurt you. I may have orders not to kill you but I will not hesitate in incapacitating you.”
Kairi was scared for her life. If they trench coated people were able to take out Riku and Sora, the two strongest people she knew, what chance did she stand? However, there was a reason that the blonde woman did not attack her. She was important to them as a Princess of Heart. If that is true, then she might have a bargaining chip. She also could not allow such a villain to use Kingdom Hearts to her own ends. “I am not moving.” She emphasized every syllable.
Meanwhile, Xaldin and Luxord were patiently waiting for Larxene to plant the box so they could be finished with their mission.
The savage nymph sighed and drew a knife. “Sadly, we are going to have to do this the hard way, aren’t we?” She lunged at Kairi who shut her eyes.
There was a light clink, the sound of metal hitting metal. Kairi peeked from one of her eyes.
In front of her was someone with a black trench coat just like the other three. However, the difference was that this person’s hood was still over the head. This person was also holding what looked like a long silver object that looked suspiciously familiar.
“A Keyblade?” Larxene said in surprise. Xaldin and Luxord were equally surprised because this person seemed to have come out of nowhere. The only hint to how that person escaped attention was the fluttering of wind that gently pulled at their jackets. That person was extremely fast.
Kairi opened her eyes completely. The blonde woman was right. It was a Keyblade like Sora’s, Riku’s and the mouse’s. What made this person’s Keyblade stand out was, while Sora’s was platinum, Riku’s was orange-red like a sunset, and the mouse’s was gold, this person’s Keyblade was silver.
“Roxas, is that you?” She asked angrily. Larxene was not in the mood to play games after the Princess slighted her by not complying.
“Not Roxas” the voice, a smooth bass and obviously male, told her. With that, he brought his Keyblade down on the box and smashed it. It broke apart in a flash of light.
Larxene broke into a string of curses. How dare this guy wear the robes of Juusan Kikan and defy her. On top of that, he destroyed whatever was in the box that the Superior wanted her to bring to the entrance of Kingdom Hearts. But what really pissed off the Savage Nymph was the fact that she didn’t see or sense this person coming.
Grabbing his Keyblade with both hands, the man in the hooded trench coat hit her with such force that she went flying out of the cave, but not before knocking Luxord with her.
Xaldin had little time to react when he felt a boot to his chest that sent him flying out of the cave as well, leaving the defeated Keyblade Masters and one Princess of Heart still inside recovering from the surprise attack of the people in the black trench coats.
Kairi sank to her knees. The nerves that she had built to stand up to the blonde woman had left her and now she was shivering in fear and adrenaline. She could have died. The redhead reflexively started to cry. She wasn’t a warrior. Her place wasn’t on the battle field. She turned to Sora and Riku’s defeated form. Even if they were beaten by the people in the trench coat, they have some way of defending themselves.
She was only in the way, Kairi realized. She needed to be protected. How could she understand what both of them go through if she did not experience everything that they endure? How could she love either boy without experiencing their pains as warriors? The redhead realized that today is the last day that she will allow herself to be weak.
Outside the cave, there was a fierce battle going on.
Xaldin launched one of his lances at the enemy but the hooded man dodged with such ease and grace. Larxene threw six daggers at the person but all she hit was air. Luxord shuffled his cards and pinched the ends of the deck, pointing it at the offender.
52 CARD PICK UP
The deck was launched and guided by magic. The Keyblade wielder held out his gloved hand in an open palm.
“Dominator, Mask of blood and flesh, all living beings fluttering, that which bears the name Human, Inferno and pandemonium. The sea barrier surges, March on to the south!”
A red ball of energy formed around gloved hands, aiming at the cards that were moving towards him.
HADO NO 31, SHAKKAHOU
The red fireball exploded at the cards and shot through them to hit Luxord square in the stomach. The force of the attack sent the gambler barreling across the sand.
All attacks stopped. Larxene and Xaldin started to analyze their enemy. The hood prevented his identity from being compromised. And because they didn’t know who he was, this meant that they couldn’t gauge his potential. He also has a Keyblade. It is a powerful weapon to those who know how to use it. This individual was also extremely fast, so fast that they couldn’t eyes couldn’t catch his movements. Plus, whatever he did to Luxord was probably just the nadir of his power.
“Oh,” the man in the trench coat spoke. “Allow me to return that which belongs to you.” His Keyblade was now pointed towards the ground, leaving a space between it and the sand. He turned the weapon like one turns a key. Dark energies swirled under the space. From out of those energies, Number VI, the one known as Zexion, appeared, his body lying limp on the sandy beach.
Luxord got himself out of the sand just to see the body of one of his comrades next to the enemy. From far away, he couldn’t tell who was defeated. Surveying the situation, the gambler noticed that both Xaldin and Larxene were standing against the man in Organization apparel. So if it isn’t one of them, then the only possibility was…
“I didn’t kill him for a reason.” The man told the told the members of Juusan Kikan. He grabbed the cloaked schemer under his arm and lifted him effortlessly. “Tell your master that the Knight Errant has declared war on him.”
With that, he threw Zexion at Xaldin’s feet. “Who are you?” The whirlwind lancer demanded, grabbing the unconscious dark-silver haired member.
The Knight Errant placed his index finger to his lips in the universal sign of silence. “We’ll just keep that under wraps for a while, okay?” He then made his way towards the sea, keeping his back to it while facing the enemies. “Here is a lovely parting gift.”
His Keyblade was pointed towards the sea as it turned like a key would to a lock.
Unseal, the terror of the deep, Leviathan.
A giant monster erupted out of the water. It was a crossbreed between a whale, a snake, and a crocodile. It was about 5 meters off the shore. This creature bared its fangs to the members of Juusan Kikan and let loose an ear-piercing roar.
Xaldin, the oldest member of the four, realized the power of this beast and the futility of trying to fight someone who they just met while trying to protect their comrades. Even if they could win against this man, it would make no difference as he destroyed whatever was in that box that Larxene was holding before. It was time to cut their losses and leave.
“Leviathan, Tsunami.” The Knight Errant commanded.
There was silence for a space and then, the creature known as Leviathan spewed out a giant tidal wave that was hurtling at them at speeds faster than a normal tide. It was time to retreat before they were washed away with the tide. “Larxene, Luxord, we are leaving.”
The savage nymph growled but made no complaint. Manipulating dark energies rather quickly, they hastily created a portal to escape being caught in the pull of the wave.
As quickly as it came, the waters receded back to the creature. A growl indicating submissiveness emitted from Leviathan as the beast returned to the sea, disappearing.
The Knight Errant made his way back to the cave where the other Keyblade Masters and the Princess of Heart were just getting over their defeat.
Riku, coming back from unconsciousness, blinked rapidly his eyes to adjust to the scant light of the cave. Kairi, seeing that her friend was coming back, ran over to the silver haired teen. “Riku, are you alright?” She asked, concerned tears were starting to make their way from her eyes.
Riku, in very great pain after hitting the wall with such tremendous force, turned his head with great difficulty to face tearful, red eyes from the girl that he loved very much. Ignoring the pain, he caught an errant tear that was starting to make its way down her lovely cheek, a little satisfied when he saw a faint blush on her cheek. “Go check on Sora.” He whispered hoarsely; even his voice was in pain.
Riku needed to know that the boy that he loved very much was okay. Out of all of them, the brunet took the most damage and the knife wounds could become serious if they are not taken care of immediately.
Kairi nodded and ran to Sora with the intent of checking on him. However, a wayward thought entered her mind. When Riku touched her cheek, it was all she could do from hugging him on the spot. Her heart jumped and started beating rapidly. She almost forgot to breathe. What was this feeling?
The redhead knelt to where Sora was laying. The blood from the knife wounds was slowly seeping through his clothes, leaving a dark stain on them. The pain from the wounds and the lightning blast left him in a near comatose state. His chest was not moving meaning that either he wasn’t breathing or he was but not by much. Kairi caught her gasp of sadness at the pitiful state that Sora was in. But the wellsprings of her eyes decided that the dam of tears was pointless to stop. She cried for Sora. She cried for Riku.
One of her tears dropped between Sora’s eyes and he groaned. As he opened his eyes and his world came into focus. He saw Kairi desperately trying to wipe the flowing tears in her eyes. His blue eyes showed sadness and empathy. His hand descended on her knee gently and her attention immediately fell on him.
“Kairi, don’t cry.” He asked. “When you cry, it makes me want to cry. So please don’t cry.”
The soft words that entered her ears made its way to her heart. There was that feeling again. It was the same feeling that she felt when Riku wiped away her tears. What is this feeling and why were these two boys able to invoke it?
All of a sudden, Kairi could hear music coming from outside the cave. It was as if someone was playing a violin. Not only that, but there was also a sweet aroma coming from outside. This was no ordinary song and aroma. There was power coming from this song. A green aura started to surround Sora, Riku and Mickey. Within a minute, the three warriors started to get up, their pain forgotten.
“Do you hear music?” Mickey asked no one in particular. The others nodded.
“We should go to the source of the music.” Riku put in. Making their way out of the cave, they saw one of those people in the black trench coat holding a flash of light that became a Keyblade. The three warriors held out their weapons to challenge the person when they held laughter.
“Are you serious?” The man in the trench coat asked, laughing at their ridiculous united front. “The three members of Juusan Kikan wiped the floor with you. In turn, I beat them. Are you saying that you can defeat me?”
“Who are you?” Sora demanded.
“For now, you can call me the Knight Errant.” The man in the hooded trench coat told them.
“What is your goal?” Riku asked him, teeth bared to show some defiance to the Knight Errant.
“What does it matter?” he responded. “Even if I told you, you wouldn’t be able to understand. So, for right now, I’ll keep my goals to myself.”
There was silence. No one knew how to fill it. “Do you know about Juusan Kikan?” The Knight Errant asked. Seeing no one respond, he took it as a sign to continue. “Juusan Kikan: they are an Organization that is trying to get into Kingdom Hearts.”
There was a collective gasp from the four as the Knight Errant continued. “They have no hearts and, as such, cannot feel emotions. They can exaggerate anger, fear, and love but they cannot truly feel it. Because of this, they hate those who are not like them. They hate those with hearts and so, they plan to make their way into Kingdom Hearts to retrieve the hearts they once lost.”
The Knight Errant sighed. “It may be cruel but they cannot be allowed to have their hearts back.” He saw Kairi’s lips about to form a question. “Each of the members of Juusan Kikan has control over an element and a Nobody archetype.”
“What is a Nobody?” Sora asked in a quiet voice, unsure of how to take this.
“Nobodies are like Heartless in a way. When a person’s heart succumbs to darkness, it becomes a Heartless. It operates out of instinct to fill a void that its dark heart has caused. It is instinctual and needs to be controlled by someone with great powers in order to be useful. On the flipside, Nobodies are what is left of the soul when one’s heart succumbs to darkness. The body returns as a grotesque creature that attacks others in a need to become whole. These creatures are like Heartless as they are commanded by those of strong will and subjugation. They are all controlled by Juusan Kikan. They are the most powerful Nobodies in the universe.”
The Knight Errant already anticipated their question. “I am telling you this because they will come after you. Right now, you are weak and they could have killed you right now. But they need you.”
“Why do they need us?” Kairi asked.
“As of right now, I don’t know. But beware. They will stop at nothing to get what they want from you.” The Knight Errant sighed and put his gloved hands into his hood, as if to pinch his brow. “They’ve already struck the first blow on this island.”
“What do you mean?” Riku asked, somewhat afraid of the answer.
“Under their thrall is a powerful Nobody called Namine.” The man in the hooded trench coat answered. “She has the power to manipulate memories. Kairi, this is why no one was able to remember Sora and Riku.”
Sora and Riku looked in shock at Kairi who nodded in agreement.
“However, to prevent you from stopping their goals to get into Kingdom Hearts, they had Namine return the memories at a dangerous rate. Because of this, everyone on this star was overrun by the return of memories. This caused them to enter a state of comatose irresponsiveness. They will never wake up again. They are as good as dead.”
Kairi gasped as she collapsed crying. Sora and Riku held her up to comfort her and lend their strong shoulders for the redhead to cry on.
“Before coming here, I tried to stop it but to no avail. The process had already started and only could be increased from there. But do not succumb to despair, for there were some survivors. There are some children who have strong hearts that wouldn’t surrender to death’s sweet embrace. They will have a strong hand in what happens from here.”
The Knight Errant held his Keyblade to the sky and turned it. Dark energies domes started to form on the beach. When they dissipated, familiar bodies revealed themselves: Tidus, Vincent, Zidane, Locke, Bartz, Rikku, Paine, Lulu, Wakka and Yuna. “These children will have a roll to play when they recover. Now I am asking you. Will you fight against Juusan Kikan?”
All of this information was overwhelm to the teens. “What are you getting out of this, Knight Errant?” Mickey asked before the others could formulate thoughts.
“I fight Juusan Kikan to correct a mistake that I made in the past.” He answered. “For now, that’s all you need to know.”
A sharp cry came from the sea. All turned to face the sound. It was Donald and Goofy, running out of the raft to greet their king. “Your Majesty, you are alright.” They called in unison. Mickey waved continually until they came before him and knelt in respect.
“Aw guys, you don’t have to do this now.” He said bashfully. In that moment, Leon, Cid, Aerith, Yuffie and Cloud walked to the King and bowed in respect.
“You should take these children to the hospital.” The Knight Errant commanded, causing all attention to be on him. “They will die if they don’t receive medical attention.”
Donald quacked in anger. “That’s the guy who created the whirlpool.” He shrilled, pointed to the man in the hooded trench coat.
“It was to prevent you from getting overwhelmed by the flood of memories.” He explained. “Do you remember getting headaches when you were fighting the whirlpool?”
Donald and the group had to nod their heads in the affirmative. There was no headache once the whirlpool hit. “Plus, there was no way that you could have stood up to Juusan Kikan. You would have died trying.”
“Sora, Riku and Kairi, you three should stay here on this island.” The Knight Errant commanded. “I feel that something will happen in the next two weeks which will greatly empower you. Before I go though ….”
He then pointed his Keyblade at Sora and Riku and turned it. In an instant, their clothes changed. Riku’s clothes were changed into two sleeveless vests, the inside one black and the outside very light yellow, and jeans. Sora’s clothes were just like his old ones except it was black and longer to so that they did not look small on him.
“Why did you give us some new clothes?” Sora asked, completely confused.
“Two reasons. And the second one is these clothes will allow you to break the limits that your body couldn’t normally handle. With training, you will unlock abilities that you didn’t realize that you had. Soon, you will be able to fight Juusan Kikan on equal grounds.”
“What’s the first reason?” Riku asked, his voice carrying a dangerous edge.
There was a laugh from the Knight Errant. “The first reason? Your old clothes stink to high heaven.”
The man in the hooded trench coat created a portal of darkness and stepped through it, disappearing into nothingness.
The crew just stood there looking at the space where the Knight Errant disappeared from. There was one collective thought. What the hell is going to happen now?
So, we’ve reached the end of the chapter. So far, this is now 45 pages. YAY, I think! There are going to be a lot of crossover elements from different animes, especially Bleach and Sailor Moon. I hope that you like them. And I hope you like the next chapter. In it, we will look into Jiminy Cricket’s Journey and view some omake. See you guys next chapter.
Author’s Note: An awesome boss song. I really love it. By the way, for those Bleach fans among you, you will recognize one, maybe two elements from this chapter. I will explain at the end of the chapter.
A pulse ran through the earth. Aerith could feel it. There was a fight going on somewhere on this world. “Guys, I think Sora is in trouble.” She whispered. The throbbing pain was starting to get to her. She couldn’t concentrate on her direction. However, the gang was in no better shape. Cid, Leon, Cloud and Yuffie were holding their heads as if under the thrall of a powerful migraine.
“What in tarnation is going on?” Cid groaned in pain. His question fell on deaf ears because the people with him were in pain as well.
Donald and Goofy were in the most pain. Because out of all the people in the group, they shared the most memories of Sora and, when the memories started to flood, they experience a pain unlike any battle wound. However, they were not letting pain stop them from reaching Sora. Gritting their teeth, or teeth analogue, the group continued to row.
Sora raised his Keyblade at Larxene and swung down. However, she was too quick for the teen and she dodged the attack. The female Nobody laughed at Sora’s attempt to attack. “Is that all the Keyblade Master has to offer?” she taunted.
Sora, although he tried his best to make an attack on Larxene, was unsuccessful. She was just too fast for him. As he was about to make another strike, the brunet saw a glint of metal coming from her hands. Knives?
Larxene threw three kunai knives expertly: one embedding into Sora’s right arm, one in his stomach and one at his left leg. Sora dropped his Keyblade in pain and fell to his knees, howling and removing the knives in a desperate attempt to stop the pain.
Riku and Mickey were not faring any better.
Riku took on Luxord but was having trouble getting past his card defense. Every time Riku lunged in for an attack, the gambling Nobody shuffled his deck of cards and spread them out to guard against attack. The dark hero’s attack left him open for a boot to the stomach, courtesy of the gambler.
The silver-haired boy gasped precious lungful of air. Then he heard a scream, a scream he would give his entire existence never to hear again. One of his loves, Sora, was stabbed by the woman’s knives and he was frantically trying to put them out. He didn’t remember hearing himself call out Sora’s name, nor did he hear Luxord command his cards to attack him. The flurry of the cards hit him with a force that he didn’t expect from something light and insubstantial. The last thing that he remembered was hitting the cavern wall with such force that he cracked the wall where Sora and Kairi drew pictures of themselves eating the papou fruit, effectively destroying the crude drawings..
Mickey was doing the best out of all of them, but that wasn’t saying much. Xaldin was having a difficult time landing an attack on a small, agile foe. Mickey, although he didn’t possess a large dominating frame, was an experienced fighter, being trained by the one that gave him his Keyblade. As the lancer launched one of his six weapons, Mickey would jump into the air and strike the Nobody. It would have been a clear victory for the King of Disney Castle except Xaldin used his six lances to its fullest potential, creating a makeshift cage to trap the regal mouse and starting a tornado with its locus in the cage. Mickey was torn apart by the wind; it left him exhausted.
With the three distractions out of the way, Larxene, with the mysterious box in left hand, sauntered triumphantly towards the mysterious door. She realized that Kairi, one of the Princesses of Heart, was in her way. Her lips turned upward into a cruel smirk. “Well, isn’t this my lucky day?” The sadist smirked sinisterly. “Not only did I get to harm your little friend, it also seems as if I get to capture one of the Princesses of Heart.”
Kairi looked around only to see Riku bleeding from hitting the wall, Sora clutching his stab wounds in pain, and Mickey on the floor exhausted. She backed up against the door that Riku had just come out of. Although it was open, there was some force preventing her from going through it, like an invisible wall. The female Nobody stalked towards her. “Please get away from the door.” She ordered in a calm, but threatening voice. It wasn’t so much a request as it was a command. “I don’t want to have to hurt you” she whispered, procuring a blade from the cuff of her long black leather jacket “but I will if I need to.”
Loud, labored breathing alerted the female Nobody to turn her attention to Sora who was standing up despite the wounds he received earlier. The sadist turned around to see the teen defiantly The Keyblade Master had his weapon drawn and ready to attack. Larxene just smirked and held out a hand towards the brunet. “Just give up already.” She shot a blast of electricity at Sora which made him fly past the other two Nobodies and near the entrance to the cave.
Leon and the group were trying their best to row to the island with their headaches. Goofy and Donald were not about to leave their best friend alone and so, they forced themselves to row. Who knows? Sora might be going through the same pain as they were.
They were almost to the Children’s Island. A few meters more and they could swim to the shore. The pain was almost unbearable but the thought of Sora in danger kept them rowing.
From the port side of the raft, they saw an unusual site that made stop to look at it. It was a person running on water faster than most humans can run. This person had on a long black trench coat that covered up the face in darkness. From the body structure, one could tell that the trench coat figure had fought in some combat, shoulders broadened and arms filling out the sleeves of the jackets.
Leon and the gang saw the opening of the hood face them. It was then that they noticed gloved hands reaching ahead of the person. In front of the gloved hands, a Keyblade materialized. Before any one of them could register shock, the raft was caught in a whirlpool. All of the passengers tried their best to hold on.
“That person caused this.” Donald realized. Being attuned to magical force, he was the first to realize that his weapon was just like Sora’s Keyblade as it functioned in the same manner when manipulating magic.But that wasn’t the main concern. The main concern was to survive the whirlpool. Oddly enough, none of them had fallen overboard yet. Was it part of the hooded person’s plan to distract them from something? Donald took out his staff and began to chant spells to stop the whirlpool as the others hung on for their lives.
“Princess, I won’t say it again.” Larxene grounded out. “If you don’t move, I will hurt you. I may have orders not to kill you but I will not hesitate in incapacitating you.”
Kairi was scared for her life. If they trench coated people were able to take out Riku and Sora, the two strongest people she knew, what chance did she stand? However, there was a reason that the blonde woman did not attack her. She was important to them as a Princess of Heart. If that is true, then she might have a bargaining chip. She also could not allow such a villain to use Kingdom Hearts to her own ends. “I am not moving.” She emphasized every syllable.
Meanwhile, Xaldin and Luxord were patiently waiting for Larxene to plant the box so they could be finished with their mission.
The savage nymph sighed and drew a knife. “Sadly, we are going to have to do this the hard way, aren’t we?” She lunged at Kairi who shut her eyes.
There was a light clink, the sound of metal hitting metal. Kairi peeked from one of her eyes.
In front of her was someone with a black trench coat just like the other three. However, the difference was that this person’s hood was still over the head. This person was also holding what looked like a long silver object that looked suspiciously familiar.
“A Keyblade?” Larxene said in surprise. Xaldin and Luxord were equally surprised because this person seemed to have come out of nowhere. The only hint to how that person escaped attention was the fluttering of wind that gently pulled at their jackets. That person was extremely fast.
Kairi opened her eyes completely. The blonde woman was right. It was a Keyblade like Sora’s, Riku’s and the mouse’s. What made this person’s Keyblade stand out was, while Sora’s was platinum, Riku’s was orange-red like a sunset, and the mouse’s was gold, this person’s Keyblade was silver.
“Roxas, is that you?” She asked angrily. Larxene was not in the mood to play games after the Princess slighted her by not complying.
“Not Roxas” the voice, a smooth bass and obviously male, told her. With that, he brought his Keyblade down on the box and smashed it. It broke apart in a flash of light.
Larxene broke into a string of curses. How dare this guy wear the robes of Juusan Kikan and defy her. On top of that, he destroyed whatever was in the box that the Superior wanted her to bring to the entrance of Kingdom Hearts. But what really pissed off the Savage Nymph was the fact that she didn’t see or sense this person coming.
Grabbing his Keyblade with both hands, the man in the hooded trench coat hit her with such force that she went flying out of the cave, but not before knocking Luxord with her.
Xaldin had little time to react when he felt a boot to his chest that sent him flying out of the cave as well, leaving the defeated Keyblade Masters and one Princess of Heart still inside recovering from the surprise attack of the people in the black trench coats.
Kairi sank to her knees. The nerves that she had built to stand up to the blonde woman had left her and now she was shivering in fear and adrenaline. She could have died. The redhead reflexively started to cry. She wasn’t a warrior. Her place wasn’t on the battle field. She turned to Sora and Riku’s defeated form. Even if they were beaten by the people in the trench coat, they have some way of defending themselves.
She was only in the way, Kairi realized. She needed to be protected. How could she understand what both of them go through if she did not experience everything that they endure? How could she love either boy without experiencing their pains as warriors? The redhead realized that today is the last day that she will allow herself to be weak.
Outside the cave, there was a fierce battle going on.
Xaldin launched one of his lances at the enemy but the hooded man dodged with such ease and grace. Larxene threw six daggers at the person but all she hit was air. Luxord shuffled his cards and pinched the ends of the deck, pointing it at the offender.
52 CARD PICK UP
The deck was launched and guided by magic. The Keyblade wielder held out his gloved hand in an open palm.
“Dominator, Mask of blood and flesh, all living beings fluttering, that which bears the name Human, Inferno and pandemonium. The sea barrier surges, March on to the south!”
A red ball of energy formed around gloved hands, aiming at the cards that were moving towards him.
HADO NO 31, SHAKKAHOU
The red fireball exploded at the cards and shot through them to hit Luxord square in the stomach. The force of the attack sent the gambler barreling across the sand.
All attacks stopped. Larxene and Xaldin started to analyze their enemy. The hood prevented his identity from being compromised. And because they didn’t know who he was, this meant that they couldn’t gauge his potential. He also has a Keyblade. It is a powerful weapon to those who know how to use it. This individual was also extremely fast, so fast that they couldn’t eyes couldn’t catch his movements. Plus, whatever he did to Luxord was probably just the nadir of his power.
“Oh,” the man in the trench coat spoke. “Allow me to return that which belongs to you.” His Keyblade was now pointed towards the ground, leaving a space between it and the sand. He turned the weapon like one turns a key. Dark energies swirled under the space. From out of those energies, Number VI, the one known as Zexion, appeared, his body lying limp on the sandy beach.
Luxord got himself out of the sand just to see the body of one of his comrades next to the enemy. From far away, he couldn’t tell who was defeated. Surveying the situation, the gambler noticed that both Xaldin and Larxene were standing against the man in Organization apparel. So if it isn’t one of them, then the only possibility was…
“I didn’t kill him for a reason.” The man told the told the members of Juusan Kikan. He grabbed the cloaked schemer under his arm and lifted him effortlessly. “Tell your master that the Knight Errant has declared war on him.”
With that, he threw Zexion at Xaldin’s feet. “Who are you?” The whirlwind lancer demanded, grabbing the unconscious dark-silver haired member.
The Knight Errant placed his index finger to his lips in the universal sign of silence. “We’ll just keep that under wraps for a while, okay?” He then made his way towards the sea, keeping his back to it while facing the enemies. “Here is a lovely parting gift.”
His Keyblade was pointed towards the sea as it turned like a key would to a lock.
Unseal, the terror of the deep, Leviathan.
A giant monster erupted out of the water. It was a crossbreed between a whale, a snake, and a crocodile. It was about 5 meters off the shore. This creature bared its fangs to the members of Juusan Kikan and let loose an ear-piercing roar.
Xaldin, the oldest member of the four, realized the power of this beast and the futility of trying to fight someone who they just met while trying to protect their comrades. Even if they could win against this man, it would make no difference as he destroyed whatever was in that box that Larxene was holding before. It was time to cut their losses and leave.
“Leviathan, Tsunami.” The Knight Errant commanded.
There was silence for a space and then, the creature known as Leviathan spewed out a giant tidal wave that was hurtling at them at speeds faster than a normal tide. It was time to retreat before they were washed away with the tide. “Larxene, Luxord, we are leaving.”
The savage nymph growled but made no complaint. Manipulating dark energies rather quickly, they hastily created a portal to escape being caught in the pull of the wave.
As quickly as it came, the waters receded back to the creature. A growl indicating submissiveness emitted from Leviathan as the beast returned to the sea, disappearing.
The Knight Errant made his way back to the cave where the other Keyblade Masters and the Princess of Heart were just getting over their defeat.
Riku, coming back from unconsciousness, blinked rapidly his eyes to adjust to the scant light of the cave. Kairi, seeing that her friend was coming back, ran over to the silver haired teen. “Riku, are you alright?” She asked, concerned tears were starting to make their way from her eyes.
Riku, in very great pain after hitting the wall with such tremendous force, turned his head with great difficulty to face tearful, red eyes from the girl that he loved very much. Ignoring the pain, he caught an errant tear that was starting to make its way down her lovely cheek, a little satisfied when he saw a faint blush on her cheek. “Go check on Sora.” He whispered hoarsely; even his voice was in pain.
Riku needed to know that the boy that he loved very much was okay. Out of all of them, the brunet took the most damage and the knife wounds could become serious if they are not taken care of immediately.
Kairi nodded and ran to Sora with the intent of checking on him. However, a wayward thought entered her mind. When Riku touched her cheek, it was all she could do from hugging him on the spot. Her heart jumped and started beating rapidly. She almost forgot to breathe. What was this feeling?
The redhead knelt to where Sora was laying. The blood from the knife wounds was slowly seeping through his clothes, leaving a dark stain on them. The pain from the wounds and the lightning blast left him in a near comatose state. His chest was not moving meaning that either he wasn’t breathing or he was but not by much. Kairi caught her gasp of sadness at the pitiful state that Sora was in. But the wellsprings of her eyes decided that the dam of tears was pointless to stop. She cried for Sora. She cried for Riku.
One of her tears dropped between Sora’s eyes and he groaned. As he opened his eyes and his world came into focus. He saw Kairi desperately trying to wipe the flowing tears in her eyes. His blue eyes showed sadness and empathy. His hand descended on her knee gently and her attention immediately fell on him.
“Kairi, don’t cry.” He asked. “When you cry, it makes me want to cry. So please don’t cry.”
The soft words that entered her ears made its way to her heart. There was that feeling again. It was the same feeling that she felt when Riku wiped away her tears. What is this feeling and why were these two boys able to invoke it?
All of a sudden, Kairi could hear music coming from outside the cave. It was as if someone was playing a violin. Not only that, but there was also a sweet aroma coming from outside. This was no ordinary song and aroma. There was power coming from this song. A green aura started to surround Sora, Riku and Mickey. Within a minute, the three warriors started to get up, their pain forgotten.
“Do you hear music?” Mickey asked no one in particular. The others nodded.
“We should go to the source of the music.” Riku put in. Making their way out of the cave, they saw one of those people in the black trench coat holding a flash of light that became a Keyblade. The three warriors held out their weapons to challenge the person when they held laughter.
“Are you serious?” The man in the trench coat asked, laughing at their ridiculous united front. “The three members of Juusan Kikan wiped the floor with you. In turn, I beat them. Are you saying that you can defeat me?”
“Who are you?” Sora demanded.
“For now, you can call me the Knight Errant.” The man in the hooded trench coat told them.
“What is your goal?” Riku asked him, teeth bared to show some defiance to the Knight Errant.
“What does it matter?” he responded. “Even if I told you, you wouldn’t be able to understand. So, for right now, I’ll keep my goals to myself.”
There was silence. No one knew how to fill it. “Do you know about Juusan Kikan?” The Knight Errant asked. Seeing no one respond, he took it as a sign to continue. “Juusan Kikan: they are an Organization that is trying to get into Kingdom Hearts.”
There was a collective gasp from the four as the Knight Errant continued. “They have no hearts and, as such, cannot feel emotions. They can exaggerate anger, fear, and love but they cannot truly feel it. Because of this, they hate those who are not like them. They hate those with hearts and so, they plan to make their way into Kingdom Hearts to retrieve the hearts they once lost.”
The Knight Errant sighed. “It may be cruel but they cannot be allowed to have their hearts back.” He saw Kairi’s lips about to form a question. “Each of the members of Juusan Kikan has control over an element and a Nobody archetype.”
“What is a Nobody?” Sora asked in a quiet voice, unsure of how to take this.
“Nobodies are like Heartless in a way. When a person’s heart succumbs to darkness, it becomes a Heartless. It operates out of instinct to fill a void that its dark heart has caused. It is instinctual and needs to be controlled by someone with great powers in order to be useful. On the flipside, Nobodies are what is left of the soul when one’s heart succumbs to darkness. The body returns as a grotesque creature that attacks others in a need to become whole. These creatures are like Heartless as they are commanded by those of strong will and subjugation. They are all controlled by Juusan Kikan. They are the most powerful Nobodies in the universe.”
The Knight Errant already anticipated their question. “I am telling you this because they will come after you. Right now, you are weak and they could have killed you right now. But they need you.”
“Why do they need us?” Kairi asked.
“As of right now, I don’t know. But beware. They will stop at nothing to get what they want from you.” The Knight Errant sighed and put his gloved hands into his hood, as if to pinch his brow. “They’ve already struck the first blow on this island.”
“What do you mean?” Riku asked, somewhat afraid of the answer.
“Under their thrall is a powerful Nobody called Namine.” The man in the hooded trench coat answered. “She has the power to manipulate memories. Kairi, this is why no one was able to remember Sora and Riku.”
Sora and Riku looked in shock at Kairi who nodded in agreement.
“However, to prevent you from stopping their goals to get into Kingdom Hearts, they had Namine return the memories at a dangerous rate. Because of this, everyone on this star was overrun by the return of memories. This caused them to enter a state of comatose irresponsiveness. They will never wake up again. They are as good as dead.”
Kairi gasped as she collapsed crying. Sora and Riku held her up to comfort her and lend their strong shoulders for the redhead to cry on.
“Before coming here, I tried to stop it but to no avail. The process had already started and only could be increased from there. But do not succumb to despair, for there were some survivors. There are some children who have strong hearts that wouldn’t surrender to death’s sweet embrace. They will have a strong hand in what happens from here.”
The Knight Errant held his Keyblade to the sky and turned it. Dark energies domes started to form on the beach. When they dissipated, familiar bodies revealed themselves: Tidus, Vincent, Zidane, Locke, Bartz, Rikku, Paine, Lulu, Wakka and Yuna. “These children will have a roll to play when they recover. Now I am asking you. Will you fight against Juusan Kikan?”
All of this information was overwhelm to the teens. “What are you getting out of this, Knight Errant?” Mickey asked before the others could formulate thoughts.
“I fight Juusan Kikan to correct a mistake that I made in the past.” He answered. “For now, that’s all you need to know.”
A sharp cry came from the sea. All turned to face the sound. It was Donald and Goofy, running out of the raft to greet their king. “Your Majesty, you are alright.” They called in unison. Mickey waved continually until they came before him and knelt in respect.
“Aw guys, you don’t have to do this now.” He said bashfully. In that moment, Leon, Cid, Aerith, Yuffie and Cloud walked to the King and bowed in respect.
“You should take these children to the hospital.” The Knight Errant commanded, causing all attention to be on him. “They will die if they don’t receive medical attention.”
Donald quacked in anger. “That’s the guy who created the whirlpool.” He shrilled, pointed to the man in the hooded trench coat.
“It was to prevent you from getting overwhelmed by the flood of memories.” He explained. “Do you remember getting headaches when you were fighting the whirlpool?”
Donald and the group had to nod their heads in the affirmative. There was no headache once the whirlpool hit. “Plus, there was no way that you could have stood up to Juusan Kikan. You would have died trying.”
“Sora, Riku and Kairi, you three should stay here on this island.” The Knight Errant commanded. “I feel that something will happen in the next two weeks which will greatly empower you. Before I go though ….”
He then pointed his Keyblade at Sora and Riku and turned it. In an instant, their clothes changed. Riku’s clothes were changed into two sleeveless vests, the inside one black and the outside very light yellow, and jeans. Sora’s clothes were just like his old ones except it was black and longer to so that they did not look small on him.
“Why did you give us some new clothes?” Sora asked, completely confused.
“Two reasons. And the second one is these clothes will allow you to break the limits that your body couldn’t normally handle. With training, you will unlock abilities that you didn’t realize that you had. Soon, you will be able to fight Juusan Kikan on equal grounds.”
“What’s the first reason?” Riku asked, his voice carrying a dangerous edge.
There was a laugh from the Knight Errant. “The first reason? Your old clothes stink to high heaven.”
The man in the hooded trench coat created a portal of darkness and stepped through it, disappearing into nothingness.
The crew just stood there looking at the space where the Knight Errant disappeared from. There was one collective thought. What the hell is going to happen now?
So, we’ve reached the end of the chapter. So far, this is now 45 pages. YAY, I think! There are going to be a lot of crossover elements from different animes, especially Bleach and Sailor Moon. I hope that you like them. And I hope you like the next chapter. In it, we will look into Jiminy Cricket’s Journey and view some omake. See you guys next chapter.