Kingdom Hearts: The World's Reluctant Heroes

by Blackdrag-rose

Heartless: Return to Hollow Bastion

Following the end of their visit to the Coliseum, leaving a stunned Phil and even Hades behind, Sombra and the others, which included Leon's group again, returned to the Gummi Ship before departing from the world as Sora navigated them to the other warp point that would bring them to Hollow Bastion. Such a thing allowed Leon and his friends to resume looking at all of the components of the ship that Sombra had added since she started work on it, while at the same time being caught off guard by the fact that an entirely separate world was located in another area. Because of how important the area was, for both Radiant and Fluttershy since their skills seemed to grow when they worked inside it, Sombra made sure to alter the room that held the portal, even though for now Radiant was the only one using it as the shy one's Heartless rested in her room. Even Cid was simply amazed by everything she had added to the ship so far, even though Sombra had ideas to add all sorts of other items to the ship when she had the time, as this could be a fortress that no one could penetrate, with the right additions and everything else that needed to be added.

When they found the path that Cid's last addition had added the ship started to travel to a new portion of the space that was near Hollow Bastion, where he told them that the passage, despite being a ways away from the world in question, should get them to their destination in a few days. Leon discovered that the delay in getting back to Hollow Bastion meant that they could experience more of Sombra's cooking, something everyone seemed to be enjoying, while at the same time Cid did his best to help Sora get through the potential dangers that were on the other side of the warp zone. There was, of course, a new sense of respect in the ship, as they had seen Sombra face Sephiroth and knew that she had the best chance to bring down Ansem, even though Sora would likely be the one to deliver the finishing blow, as Leon seemed to think that such a thing might be why he was granted a Keyblade. Sora, on the other hand, wanted to save the worlds and his friend, which he was sure they would be able to do save Riku from the mad individual that had taken over his body, they just had to be patient and not rush headlong into danger.

In addition to all of that Sombra made sure to train for a time during the journey, because she had absorbed a whole new collection of hearts to match Sephiroth's power and had gained a new skill in the process, as during one of her sessions she ended up making a golden light in front of her from her new 'light magic' skill.

"Fascinating... that last Cup was really worth taking part in." Sombra commented, as the Angel Star Heartless had been an unexpected discovery and she was glad that she had fought alongside the others for a time, since it allowed her to capture several hearts that possessed this power, and by absorbing them she was able to wield light magic, the bane of her entire existence, without being in pain.

With that discovery made she was able to practice with her new magic for a time, finding that she could form light versions of her dark spells, though right now she lacked some of the power her dark spells packed, since this was all new to new, but Sombra was sure that, with enough time, she could make it work. Other than that she made sure the others trained a little as well, since there was no telling what might be waiting for them in the future, though it wasn't long before they burst out of the warp space and Cid informed them that they were getting closer to their destination. Such a thing meant that Sora had to deal with more Heartless gummi ships, which was what they were expecting when everyone considered what happened when they traveled along the main route that had been revealed to them, and Sombra found that Cid's device worked like a charm. Every time Sora destroyed an enemy ship there was a chance that a capsule or package of gummi material would be left behind, either due to that being how the vessels worked or the World rewarding them for their efforts, while the device Cid had installed would suck up the items and integrate more gummi material into the ship, giving Sombra more material to work with.

Cid, however, was pleased with the state of the ship, as it was clearing the way for Sora to get them to Hollow Bastion with ease, meaning everyone else could rest up and relax before they worried about whatever might be waiting for them on the world that held the Final Keyhole.

When they reached Hollow Bastion, and impressing their friends with Sora's flying skills, they made sure that the ship was hidden like usual before discovering that Beast was busy tearing his way through the Heartless that were outside the main entrance of the castle. With that in mind Sora warped all of them to the entrance, including Leon's group, before joining Beast in the assault on the Heartless, which were more Defenders, Wizards, Wyverns, Shadows, and Darkballs, though as they clashed with their enemies Beast didn't seem to mind, rather he welcomed the timely aid. As they did that Sombra held her hand out and cast Cura on their ally, healing the wounds he had suffered since the last time her group had been on the world, allowing him to fight wiht more vigor and energy than before as he crashed into some of the Heartless and just tore through them. Such a thing also allowed her to start collecting new hearts to replace the ones she had absorbed earlier, though she found that none of the new enemies they had seen in the Hades Cup were here, on this world, which allowed them to focus on where Belle and the other Princesses of Heart were resting, causing Beast to tell them that Belle was in the library and the others were deeper in.

Leon, upon hearing that information, beckoned for everyone to head into the castle and they did so without delay, quickly returning to the library and found that Belle was definitely awake, so while Beast rushed to her side Sombra sealed the door they had walked through and made sure the Heartless couldn't get in here, at least for a time. Aerith revealed that she had a gift for them, as it seemed like they were getting closer to the final battle, which came in the form of Curaga, the third tier of Cure, which Sombra was happy to have since it only left one spell that wasn't at the third tier, that being Fire as she went over the list. Belle took that moment to explain that she and the other princesses had stayed behind because their power could hold the raging darkness, which they had been able to do well since Ansem had just disappeared, as in everyone assumed that he had stepped into the Final Keyhole. Sombra suspected that they were right, as she couldn't feel Ansem's dark energy on the world anymore, meaning he must have gone somewhere else after opening the Final Keyhole, meaning they had a chance to seal it before worrying about their foe.

Once they were sure that Belle and Leon's group would be safe, since their friends from Traverse Town were staying here for the time being, Sombra and the others continued to retrace their steps as they headed back to the summit, since it was time to deal a blow of sorts to Ansem's plans. Sora found that many of their enemies were the same as the ones they had encountered when they returned to this world, which was just weird since they were expecting Ansem to use some sort of powerful Heartless, or even a new type of Heartless, to stall or even destroy anyone who dared to stand in his way, only to find that no such foe existed. Since they were familiar with the enemies that were in front of them the group was able to reach the area that Maleficent had been waiting in and found that the remaining five princesses were fine, despite all of the darkness they could feel seeping out of the Final Keyhole. Jasmine also had a gift for them, knowing that they had returned to deal with the problem that they were trying to hold back with their powers, in the form of Firaga, the third tier Fire spell and the last one in their arsenal, for the time being, causing them to thank her for the spell.

With the final spell in hand the group returned to the Final Keyhole, smashing through the Large Bodies and Defenders that had been placed there to guard it, before Beast stopped in front of the mass and turned around to face the area that they had just walked through.

"Go. You do not need me for this fight... I shall stay here and clear the Heartless that will try to stop you." Beast stated, as he held his hands out and glanced at the shadows that were around this final chamber, like he was daring more enemies to attack him, though with his renewed body he was more than ready for whatever might be waiting for him.

"Right. Come on guys, let's seal the Keyhole." Sora said, where he found that Sombra shook her head, as if to indicate that there was a force inside their target that had to be dealt with first before they could do anything else to the Final Keyhole, to which he nodded his head as the five of them stepped into the dark portal.

What they discovered was that it brought them to a dark realm of sorts, made out of dark red, dark blue, and dark green sections, that seemed to house the heart of the Final Keyhole, and as they stepped deeper into the area they found that the guardian was none other than another Behemoth. Such a thing meant that it was great that they had stopped to fight in the Coliseum, because fighting such a foe there allowed them to be prepared for this sort of enemy, which was why the group separated from each other as the massive Heartless roared at them. Sombra lashed out first by combining two of her spells together, Stopga and Graviga, though this time she applied her attack in four positions, latching onto the large creature's legs as gravity crushed them into the ground, while time slowed around them to stop the Behemoth from even trying to move it's legs. With that done Sora, Radiant, Donald, and Goofy struck both it's horn and the rest of it's head, just to make sure their attacks hit the mark and didn't miss the horn, causing the Behemoth to roar in annoyance as it tried to unleash it's thunder attacks on them, which only prompted Sombra to hit it's horn from afar to stun it.

In the end Radiant dealt the finishing blow and Sombra captured the freed heart, though once the body had dissolved Sora walked up to the shadowy Keyhole for a moment and held the Kingdom Key out as he sealed it, just like he had done to all of the other Keyholes, allowing Sombra to sense something new in the World as they left the dark area.

"Our battle isn't over yet... plus I know where to find Ansem." Sombra commented, causing the others to turn towards her as they emerged from the dark area, allowing Leon's group, who had caught up with them, to raise their eyebrows, but Sora, despite everything he had seen so far, nodded his head, showing that he trusted her fully and completely.

Sombra knew that it was time to bring an end to their adventure, by defeating Ansem and stopping his dark plans, but even if they did that her sights were set elsewhere, as there was someone else who needed to be brought down for their crimes against her and she wouldn't rest until she succeeded in doing that, and bringing Fluttershy back, causing her to look forward to what the future held for her and her group.

---

Xemnas had waited patiently for a few days, allowing word of two new members of their organization to spread to the rest of the members, while at the same time giving him time to ensure that his body was mended from his battle with Sombra, a being whose very existence needed to be eradicated. Originally it had been a stroke of bad luck to discover that she held an impossible power, that of stealing freed hearts and doing something with them, what they still had no idea since Vexen couldn't figure it out at all, but that would change with the arrival of Roxas and Seras. While it was hard to tell if the latter had a Keyblade, since she hadn't summoned her weapon since her arrival, the former was Sora's Nobody and that meant that he likely had his own Keyblade, though he had been able to pull Vexen away from his current mission to scan both of the newcomers. The reason was because each member of the Organization had a power of their own, like how his was the absolute power of Nothingness and Xigbar's was Space, and Vexen was able to confirm that Roxas' yet to be manifested power was 'Light', once more confirming that he was Sora's Nobody.

Seras' however, was 'Blood', what that meant neither Xigbar or Vexen had any idea, while Xemnas had to assume that it was due to the fact that the other Nobody's form resembled that of a vampire, but he didn't question it at all as both of the new Nobodies were outfitted with their own Organization outfit.

There was also one other reason for the delay, as Roxas was still a zombie and only seemed to respond, in a sense, to the one assigned to watch over him until he was ready to start tackling missions, which was Axel's main job for the time being, and Vexen had discovered a shocking truth about the thirteenth member. That truth was the fact that Roxas didn't have any memories of his time before Sora was sundered into a Heartless and Nobody, meaning he was taking longer to come around than everyone else, while Seras was utterly perfect, there was no signs that she had been a zombie. Vexen assured him that it was due to the fact that she had been formed before Roxas, as Fluttershy had been sundered by Xigbar's hand probably half an hour before Sora did the same to himself to free Kairi's heart, which reminded him of Namine, a Nobody who had been born in Castle Oblivion, of all places. She, too, wasn't like the rest of the Organization and he had quickly made sure she was well taken care of inside the castle, as her power seemed to be over 'Memories', though it was hard to tell if that meant all memories, of everyone around her, or those of a specific person, even though Vexen was positive that it was the former.

Namine wasn't a fighter, however, and that meant she couldn't fully join the Organization as a numbered agent, but she could help them in other ways and she had agreed to do so, hence why Xemnas made sure to assign some members to the castle, plus he had become aware of traitors in their ranks and this was the best way to eliminate them.

Vexen also had good news for him, as while it seemed like replicating Sombra might be more impossible, he needed time to figure things out before confirming his thoughts, the Replica known as 'Xion' was coming along well, meaning that they should be able to introduce it to the rest of the Organization in due time. Xemnas remembered when he introduced the others to the existing members, everyone else had been unimpressed by the official thirteenth member, given how Roxas had remained a zombie throughout the entire event, while Seras was welcomed with open arms. In fact Larxene instantly took a liking to her, due to the fact that it meant she wasn't the only female in the Organization, but he wasn't about to step in and stop them from hanging out, rather the more unified they were the better things would be in the future. Of course a few of the others were unsure of what to make of the newcomers, either not caring or didn't want to get too attached, but once Seras awakened her Keyblade he was sure they would take to her without delay, as it would be a sign of good things to come for the Organization.

"Lord Xemnas, I have more good news." Vexen said, though he was surprised by the fact that their boss wasn't standing at the peak of their castle, communing with the gathered hearts of their Kingdom Hearts, rather he was down here with the rest of the Organization, even if he rarely spoke to anyone, causing their leader to turn towards him, "Xion is nearly done... tomorrow we should be able to introduce it as the fifteenth member of the Organization and give us three Keyblades to use in collecting more hearts."

"That is wonderful news." Xemnas stated, because with Roxas' current zombie state Xion might be able to snap him back to reality in some manner and get him back in working order, though in that moment he felt something and glanced down at the training area the others had set up to test Seras and see if they could get her Keyblade to awaken, causing him to smile as he noticed what had happened.

Seras' Keyblade had awakened, where he found that it had a curved head at the top that had three curved parts heading back towards the wielder, sort of similar to the curved scythe head of Sombra's Keyblade, while hers was red colored, likely a connection to her vampire nature, and the guard looked like a pair of bat wings.

"We now have an active Keyblade wielder in our ranks, which means it is only a matter of time until Roxas awakens and does the same... I will start sending her out on missions later." Xemnas commented, as this was very good for them, since it meant they could start undoing the damage that Sombra had done by stealing all of the hearts she had freed, but since Seras had no such power they didn't have to worry about that at all, before he turned towards Vexen, "Still, complete your work on Xion and bring it to the meeting chamber when it's ready... if Roxas doesn't truly awaken, at least we can have two wielders to fulfill our deepest desires."

As Vexen bowed his head, however, Xemnas knew that things were looking up for them now, regardless of what Sombra did, and he had a feeling that things were only going to improve from this point forward, which made him eager to see what the future held for him and the rest of his glorious Organization.

Comments

[Xalok]

Ansem is in for one hell of a fight.

[badninja]

Yea there are plenty of traitors in that organization, exactly as intended. Then again many were just disposable pawns for the real plan.

[Yogiboy]

Indeed

[Hexan Tronic]

How much do you all wanna bet that even when Seras, Roxas or Xion releases a heart, Sombra will 'sense' it and snatch it.

Also, who has the odds of Seras turning Larxene to the light side?

[Ze1a7in]

11799100
That would require Larxene surviving Castle Oblivion....and since she's canonically the first Organization member Sora actually beats, I'm not entirely confident Seras would have time. I do find it amusing though that KH3 has her, Marluxia, and Luxord all together during the Keyblade GY Boss Gauntlet. Two traitors, whose Somebodies existed BEFORE Xehanort did, and one loyal member, whose Somebody potentially comes from Quadratum.

[Xalok]

11799149
Well the reason for them to come back in KH3 even though they went against the plan, is do to how they were at one point Keyblade wielders, Marluxia old name is Lauriam, who we will probably see a lot more to in the next game, for the girl in the kh4 trailer is his sister, Larxene use to be Elrena a keyblade wielder as well and by these two having been keyblade wielders they are worth the try for Xehanort, though it might also be do to how Xehanort past life he was friends with them, to understand their full story I recommend seeing this.

Now Luxord I got no idea about, for his background story is still not known. But I hope this helps with Marluxia and Larxene at least.

[Black--Soul]

Great chapter, their fights will be probably a lot more remember worth than some of the world boss enemies have been.

[Hexan Tronic]

11799149
That is true. But Seras just being around would influence things.

[Ze1a7in]

11799158
I'm well aware that Marluxia and Larxene were previously Keyblade wielders. I'm one of the fans who upon hearing Xehanort explain how he time traveled, WASN'T confused, and who doesn't think the KH lore is complicated at all. I don't need a lore dump.

As far as Luxord, go listen to the dialogue for Yozora's driver after the boss battle against him. I'm pretty sure there's a fan theory that his driver is Luxord's Somebody, and I am fully in that camp until proven otherwise.

[Xalok]

11799261
Ah fair enough, there is just many who do not know that, for they have ignore the story from Union Cross.

And I do know about the theory about Luxord, and I do agree it sounds like there is something to it, but there is probably more then that, which I'm looking forward to see.

[Ze1a7in]

11799269
I'm just hoping that if it IS Luxord, he ends up having a modified version of his boss fight early in KH4, similar to how Lea was in BBS.

[Xalok]

11799308
That does sound good, but what I really want to see is a fight against The Master of Masters, for who knows what he might be able to do.

[Moonlight_Mist]

11799149
I mean, if Demyx hadn't been benched he'd probably have been there too.