Kingdom Hearts: Quiet's End

It's a safe bet that she is Kairi. Xero thought as he followed behind Beucefilous.

 

Kairi started as someone called her name. She turned and saw a group of people walking towards her. She couldn't see where they came from, but it was a safe bet that they weren't from the islands. They all were dressed in dark colors, and two of them were very strong looking men. I can't jump to conclusions, she thought. But still, it pays to be cautious. She kept her distance and called back "Who wants to know?" Boy, she wished she hadn't left the house, she wish she hadn't left the protection of Sora and Riku.

Kira betrayed a hint of a smile as the group walked up to Kairi. The woman obviously was on edge, she could probably tell that they were up to no good. That's right, she thought. Feel afraid. Let your heart tremble with fear, you are connected to Sora, he will feel it and come running to the rescue. Predictable. Now, with Riku, predictablity is null. All we can do is hope that he follows Sora.

 

Beucefilous said the first thing that came to mind "Don't worry. We're here to help." He said outstretching his hand to her "I've got an honest face don't I?" He asked the girl who was slowly backing away.

Meanwhile, R was infiltrating the house. He climbed up onto the roof and watched for Sora and Riku to leave, then he would do his work.

 

Kairi frowned, this was all very familiar. Just like when that guy with the flame red hair showed up, claiming to be able to take her to Sora. Sora, come on, there's something wrong going on here. "Well," she said. "You don't seem very friendly." Might as well go with what she remembered saying to that guy. She had her keyblade, but she didn't want to summon it just yet. She still wasn't sure what these people wanted.

Kira tilted her head at Beucefilous's choice of words and Kairi's response to them. And to think, it all happened right here, on this island. When will the fool of Light show up to defend his precious princess? As for Riku, well, she realized suddenly that the bait wasn't big enough. So with a flick of her hand, she summoned a whole slew of Heartless. They waited in the shadows, unseen, but definitely there. Hopefully, he would be able to smell them from faraway.

Sora sat up, something was wrong. He could feel it in his heart, Kairi needed him. He jumped out of bed and ran downstairs. "Riku," he said. "There's something wrong, I gotta go find Kairi." With that, he left. Riku stood silently for a moment. Something was wrong, all right. He could feel a dark presence, close, and it was... very familiar. But he also could feel a concentration of pure dark energy down by the beach. Heartless... on the island? He stepped outside, breathing in the air. Other than the darkness by the beach, everything seemed right. So their world was not being consumed, at least, not yet. He wanted to find the strange creature of Darkness, and find out why it was so familiar, but the problem on the beach was more serious, and needed taking care of. Then again, Sora's on his way... He should be able to handle himself. Then again, Sora had a tendancy to get into sticky situations. Riku had better go down as well, better be safe than sorry. So he ran down to the beach, leaving the house unprotected.

 

As soon as Riku had left, A wide Grin came over R's face. He jumped down from the rooftop and entered the house. Walking up and down the halls, he searched for the children's room. After a few minutes, he found it. Approaching the twins, he grabbed the rim of his hood and pulled it back. "C'mon we gotta go! mommy and daddy told me to take you somewhere safe." He said kneeling by them.

Beucefilous lowered his hand. "No huh? Well it was worth a shot." He then morphed the silver ring into a six shot revolver and pointed it at her.

 

The twins woke from their dreams with a start, and saw him standing over them. Their eyes grew wide, but Mitsuko shook her small head. "No," she said. "No, this is wrong! It's all wrong!" She shrank away from the man, but Hitomu sat up quietly, staring at the man. "Hitomu, what are you doing," whispered his sister. "We have to go," he said simply. She shook her head again. "No, we don't. We should stay here, where we're safe." Hitomu looked at her. "But here's not safe. Can't you feel it? It's too dark here. We need to leave, and if we can't trust him, who can we trust?" He climbed out of his bed and walked up to the man, then turned back to his sister. "Come on," he said. "I'm not going to leave you here alone." The small girl looked at her brother for a moment. "I still say it's all wrong," she said finally. "But I'm not going to let you leave with him all alone either." So she climbed out of bed and stood next to Hitomu, keeping as far away from the man as possible.

As the gun materialized in the man's hand, Kairi realized just how bad the situation was. If the three strangers had just been ordinary thugs, she could have handled herself, but now... Oh well, she couldn't let them see how scared she felt. She drew her keyblade, frowning at them. "I have a few tricks up my sleeve as well," she said. Like Sora. Where are you?

Kira smiled, drawing her own keyblade as well. Sora and Riku came running down the beach towards them. Good, they both showed up. Now we just have to hold them off long enough to give R a chance to get the twins back to the World that Never Was. She saw Kairi's eyes get wide at the sight of the dark Keyblade and smiled even bigger. Might as well advertise their product while they were here. "Yes," she said. "But I'm afraid we have some tricks of our own, Princess of Hearts. We are the Shadow's Order, and we intend to unlock the Darkness once again!" Of course, nothing she said was an out and out lie, but she made it sound like they were after Kairi's heart to open Kingdom Hearts again. That should get their attention. In all reality, she had no intention of opening Kingdom Hearts. Kingdom Hearts, as so quaintly put by the fool running towards them, was Light. Releasing it would be detrimental to her plans. She intended to have Kingdom Hearts remain safely locked away.

 

At first he was afraid the girl had completely seen through his deceit and was going to tell her brother, but even if reluctant, she was still willing to follow him, which was enough. "Let's go." R said opening a dark corridor to the world that never was. We'll be safe here. all you gotta do is walk through." He said kneeling next to the twins, hoping they'd do as he said.

Beucefilous looked over at the other two heroes running towards them. He then glanced back to Kairi and pulled the hammer, readying the gun to fire. He was hoping they'd stop to avoid him shooting her, so as to kill as much time as possible. If R could get the twins, then it was mission accomplished.

 

Mitsuko still seemed reluctant, but Hitomu reached out and grabbed her hand, squeezing it as if to say trust me. So together they stepped through the portal and left their world for the first time.

Sora and Riku reached Kairi and stopped, eyeing the strange man's gun. Sora glanced at the woman's Keyblade and glared at her, he had heard the jist of what she had said as they came up. It really was a good thing they had waited before leaving the islands, they might have been gone when this new Order came, and Kairi and the children would have been defenseless. Wait... the kids! A sudden fear sprang up in him, fear that not everything was what it seemed. "Kairi," he said quietly, just loud enough for her and Riku to hear, "As soon as you can, go back to the house, You have to protect the kids." Louder, he said to the rest of the group "Why did you come here for your hearts? How many people have to screw with us before they realize our hearts are too strong to be stolen?" Beside him, Riku half-smiled. A little on the sappy side, there, Sora. He thought to himself. It really felt like no time at all since he had last been in this very situation, with Sora next to him and Kairi beside Sora, keyblades drawn, an enemy in front of them while Sora gave a sappy but very true speech. I guess some things never change, he thought. But he was still angry with himself for leaving the kids unguarded. There were just too many problems to face, but he never should have left them alone.

Kira gave a slight nod to her followers to fight before calling out "I'm a slow learner," and rushed towards them, ready to fight. She also called the Heartless to attack, and before long, a swarm of neo-shadows had surrounded the trio, and Kairi slashed at them, trying to head back towards the village. Kira summoned more Heartless as she swung her keyblade at Sora, hoping to keep them all busy and away from the house.

 

Beucefilous ran at sora with full speed. his small revolver grew a large piece of metal on the barrel. When it was finished, it had turned into squall leonheart's gunblade. He then leaped high into the air, pulled it back over his head, and swung downward at the spiky haired hero.

R glanced at the beach out the window before following through the portal. The battle had started, but no matter. He wouldn't be long. After that he could go down to the beach and wipe the floor with...no..the others were there...when they fought again, he wanted to do it alone. He stepped through the portal and came out in the castle. Looking over at the children, he called to them. "There's a room down the hall, go in there and go to sleep. I'll be right back!" He then made a dark corridor down to the beach and pulled up his hood as he walked through.

 

Drawing his Xero got ready for the fight that was about to happend. I have to be careful around these two, especially Sora. He thought before sending a dark ball of fire right at Riku.


By the time Shane had reach the house on the island, the battle had already started. "So much for finding a peaceful island." He said under his breath as he hid behind the house watching the fight. In any other situation he would've fought, but the idea seem like suicide right know.

 

"Alright," Hitomu said. He and Mitsuko went down the hall and into the room. Mitsuko turned to see the man open a portal and leave. "Hitomu," she said. "I don't trust him. There's something wrong about him!" Hitomu shook his head. "Oh," he said quietly. "I can feel it, too. But I don't think it's as wrong as you do. Being dark doesn't mean he's evil. Besides, if mommy and daddy trust him, we can too."

Sora blocked the woman's attack and then immediately had to block another from the man who had been holding the gun. It had morphed into a blade similar to Leon's, and after blocking, Sora moved in to strike.

Riku almost smiled as the ball of dark energy came rushing at him. This was easy for him. Without even using his Keyblade, he made the energy turn and take out one of the heartless. More were showing up, and Kairi couldn't get through to go to the house. He had to take out the source. He looked at the three members of the Order and decided they were coming from the girl. She didn't look like much, she looked too small to be a master, but one could not judge by appearences, and he could sense she was strong. So he moved in to attack her.

Kira stood back so Beucefilous could fight Sora, still summoning the heartless. If she estimated correctly, R had been gone long enough to get the twins to the castle, so now they just had to make the fight go on a little longer for good measure, and then they could leave the fools to discover their loss on their own. So as Riku attacked, she swung her keyblade easily, blocking the strike. She smiled up at him playfully, before using her keyblade to push him away. "So you're Riku, the hero who turned his back on the darkness. To this day, I can't figure out why you would do such a thing. Darkness is so exhilerating!" She jumped into the air and sent a flurry of attacks down on him. While he blocked most of them, she got a few good hits in during the combo.

"I turned my back on the Darkness because it was messing with my head." Riku said after the attack was over. She had got him pretty good, but he wasn't about to show it. So he slashed his Keyblade at her, slipping into his familiar style.

 

Beucefilous readied himself to counter his blow. He held the blade horizontally across his chest, expecting Sora to do his signature jab a spin combo.

R stepped out of the portal a little ways away from the fight. "I suppose i can help out" He held out his a hand and in it, a fiery ball of concentrated darkness appeared. Which then hurdled towards Sora's back while he fought Beucefilous.

 

"NOOO!" Kairi jumped in front of Sora and held her Keyblade up, blocking the brunt of the attack. Sora turned and glanced at her before moving in to attack the man with Leon's blade. Kairi looked at the newcomer for a second. Something was very familiar about the way he stood, but also very different. No matter. She had to fight him. It had been a long time since she had seen a coat like that. "Are you an old member of Organization XIII?" she asked. "Did we miss one when we cleaned you all out?"

Kira heard R return, so that meant that the children were "safely" tucked away in the castle. They could leave whenever now, but she wanted to drive a little sting into Riku, plant a bit of doubt with his choice to forsake the darkness. "You didn't give up Darkness simply because it screwed your head up, Riku. You gave up Darkness because you wanted to stay with your friends in the realm of Light. If they had accepted you for who you were, you could have come back here right away, but they didn't understand the Dark power you hold, and were afraid of it, so you had to give it up for them to take you back."

Riku scoffed at the girl's words. "You don't know anything," he said. "Darkness is a trap, and it destroys people. Me staying away was my choice, but Sora and Kairi accepted me anyway." He thought of the time when he had changed, morphed into the monster he had chosen to be, and Sora and Kairi hadn't even seemed to care. Sora especially hadn't cared what he looked like, as long as it was still the same old Riku underneath. Nothing this dark woman could say would be able to take that away from him.

Kira laughed before slashing her keyblade at Riku, dodging any attacks he made in the proccess. Of course, everything he had just said was absolutely true, and he knew it. That was why he needed to be eliminated, if not now, then soon. Dealing with a hero of Light was one thing, they still imagined Darkness to be very powerful. But to have a hero of Darkness who had succesfully escaped the trap was infuriating and detrimental to even the most carefully laid out plans. Because he knew, from experience, just how weak Darkness really made you, and could tell others this same thing. But still, there would always be that seed of doubt. "It's too bad you forsook the Darkness, Riku. If you had still been in control of the Darkness, perhaps you would have been able to sense how much of a threat you let loose in the village while you rushed down here to protect your friends. If you still knew to trust your feelings instead of to let the Light cloud your better judgement, you might have been able to save those who are now lost." She glanced over at the other members of the Shadows Order, they would have to finish fighting soon and take off so the pathetic heroes could have a chance to find their kids were missing.

 

R stood and summon the dark sword soul eater and readied himself to fight Kairi. He ran at her ready to slash, but at the last second he opened a dark corridor to behind her and attacked from behind.

Beucefilous blocked his keyblade and kicked straight upwards toward his chin.

 

Kairi and Sora both got hit at the same time, Kairi falling forwards and Sora stumbling back. Kairi stood up slowly, using her keyblade for balance. How had he got behind her so fast? Sora meanwhile regained his balance and looked at the man thoughtfully before deciding what to do next. Obviously, the guy knew his fighting style. "Who are you guys?" he said.

Riku didn't have to think long to realize what the strange girl was talking about. He swung his Keyblade once more at the girl and then turned to Sora and Kairi. "Sora!" he said hurriedly. "We have to go, now! There was somebody else here earlier, and they might be after the kids!" With that, they all turned and ran towards the house, defeating the last of the heartless on the way.

Kira stood and smiled triumphantly as the three heroes ran off. "Yes," she murmured. "Go and see what the Order has done." She had stopped summoning the Heartless to give them a chance to escape, and now turned to the rest of her followers, smiling. She was in a very good mood. "The first victory for the Order," she said to them all. "Do what you will. Ravage as much of the world as you can, but be careful not to stay too long. The three heroes will likely be out for revenge. When you have finished, meet me back at the castle." With that, she opened a dark portal and left. She had to figure out a way to make the castle locked to the Heroes of light, or they would come here first in search of the children.

 

"Go destroying? cool!' Beucefilous said almost gleefully as his gunblade shifted into the form of a rocket launcher. He aimed it at the town and fired, destroying the closest building.

R stood there, collecting his thoughts. "Hm..where was it? He said in his head with an aggravated look on his face. he looked at the palm trees on the island, there was a plateau at the edge of the sand with a waterall next to it. "There!" He said walking over to it. At the base f the tree was a small opening that he crawled through. It let out in a small cave with a door like structure at the back. He gathered up another dark firaga and shot it at the door. He needed to flood it with darkness, so he summoned heartless who joined attacking the door. Once he felt it had been damaged enough, he opened a portal and let the darkness do it's work on the islands.

Beucefilous saw the storm brewing and knew exactly what he had done. "Smart...nice going R" He too opened a dark corridor leading to the castle and stepped through.

 

As soon as Shane saw the storm, he knew exacty what was happening. "Aw crap." Using his keyblade, he quickly made a doorway to another world and went to wherever it led to

Impressive Xero said as he made his own portal and stepped through it.

 

An explosion went off somewhere nearby as the three heroes ran to the house. When they reached it, they ran straight into the twin's bedroom. It was empty. "N-no..." Kairi whispered. Sora just stood there, shocked. Riku looked around the room, something wasn't right. He felt a lingering smell of Darkness here. A portal. Also, there were no signs of a struggle. It looked like the kids had got up and left on their own, they didn't try to fight. Yes, they were small, but being the children born of two pure hearts had its advantages. The kids could handle themselves. They weren't strong enough to overpower an enemy, but they definitely would have tried to fight, but... they hadn't. The darkness was identical to the one he had felt earlier, the presence he had ignored to go help Sora. Why had he done such a thing? He knew the kids were here, unprotected, why had h left them here? Because the Order had been after Kairi, hadn't they? They wanted her heart to open the door. No, that was just what that girl had wanted them to think. She was stronger than he had given her credit for. They had been targeting the kids all along, they only went down to the beach for a distraction. Suddenly, the air changed, became more wild. Riku looked out the open window. A storm was brewing over the island, spreading towards the rest of the town. Oh no... Not again. "Sora," he said quietly. "It's started. The door was opened. We have to get down there, we have to lock it before the Islands are consumed." Sora looked up at him, his face changed. No longer was he the ever-young hero, he looked older now, so much older, and in his eyes was a new light, a new resolve. It had Riku almost afraid for him, and sorry for the poor fools who had done this. Sora was angry now, and there would be no stopping him. Without a word, Sora drew his keyblade and took off towards the island, Kairi close behind him. Riku looked at the empty beds again before turning and following, he would never forgive himself for leaving them alone. Just one more thing to add to the list, he thought wearily. Another thing to never forgive myself for.

 

Before the heroes stood not one, but three darksides. one for each hero. In addition, each one had a legion of shadows to aid them. The were guarding the keyhole. Just as the center one prepared to deliver a punch to the the ground, a large glowing orb of darkness appeared in the skies, and a savage wind started drawing in everything that wasn't nailed down. They would have to act fast if the islands were going to survive.

 

Without saying a word, Sora rushed at the one in the middle. He needed something to destroy right now, and he took out the shadows easily on his way to the Darkside. When he reached it, he launched himself into the air and came down on the heartless with a flurry of powerful combos and attacks that fell so fast the heartless wasn't able to get a hit in edgewise.

Kairi ran to the Darkside on the left, ignoring the shadows completely and focusing all her attention to the Darkside. She jumped up and started to swing her keyblade at the heartless's hands, utilizing firaga magic to drain away its life, dodging the energy balls that came out of the heartless and came down at her from above.

Riku watched for a second as Kairi and Sora began their attacks, then he ran quickly towards the last one, the one on the right, taking out some of the shadows as he went. While Sora usually used aerial attacks, he preferred to keep to the ground and attacked from below, using a mixture of sleights and combos, blocking the orbs of energy and sending them raining back upon the Darkside.

Soon, the three Darksides were defeated and the three heroes ran towards the Keyhole, taking out shadows the whole way there. But they were too late. Sora reached the Secret Spot first and crawled through the hole, Kairi behind him, but Riku turned and saw the Darkness coming on too fast. They weren't going to make it. He turned and yelled into the hole "Sora! We're too late! Meet me at-" but his words were drowned out by the wind, and then he was gone.

Behind Sora, Kairi turned and saw Riku dissappear into the storm. They would find him again, but she didn't want to be seperated from Sora too. She turned back to the door and ran as fast as she could to Sora. "Sora!" she called out as the storm ripped the face off the cave and rushed in on her. Sora turned and began to run back, holding out his hand for hers. She almost reached him, she held out her hand to grab him- and was gone.

Sora yelled as the storm took Kairi away... again. He turned towards the Keyhole and held his keyblade up to lock it. He was not going to let the Darkness ravage this island again, never again! But he was too late, and the storm overtook him as he stood with his Keyblade outstretched.

~<>~0~{O}~0~<>~​

Yen Sid looked into the sky as the star blinked out of existence, then turned away. So Darkness had been awakened. He walked slowly to his desk and pulled out a bit of parchement and a feather pen. He had to warn the King, Sora and his friends would need all the help they could get.