Reprogrammed

Reprogrammed



Part one: A turn for the worse



It had been two months since the incident of the video game
characters. It was a difficult to get used to regular life, if one
calls it the regular life, considering I have a giant purple serpent
as a best friend. It took a long while to explain everything to my
parents. I'm pretty sure they were completely shell shocked when they
saw Arbok and my Keyblade. They promised not to tell anyone, because
people would think I am either insane or a celebrity. I didn't need
that kind of stress in my life. Me and Arbok were just like any other
friends, except we lived together and our obvious differences. We hung
out, played games, anything any other people would do. It felt so
surreal as well playing the video games that my favorite characters
came alive from. It was a very odd experience, knowing what that
computer image on the screen and I went though together. It felt even
stranger with the antagonists. But, things would change a lot faster
than expected.

Every night I would dream I was falling. Not like, you're falling
and then you wake up all of a sudden, but I was just gradually
descending. It was always dark, and I had my Keyblade in hand. I
didn't know what it was supposed to mean. I kept hearing a voice. It
sounded soothing, but my instincts told me to be alert. I would always
wake up feeling drowsy. I knew I had my allotted sleep, but my mind
felt like it needed rest. One Sunday morning, me and Arbok were in my
living room watching the news, which was an empty promise since not a
thing was going on. "Do we really have to watch this?" Arbok
complained. "Nothing interesting is happening today." "Yeah you're
right, I'll check the guide." I replied. Just as I was reaching for
the nearby remote however, a news alert broadcast flashed on the
screen. "Oh, well, lets just see what this is," I said. "This just in
from downtown: A city bus was destroyed by unknown means earlier this
afternoon. The death toll was only three, but several more have been
injured. The authorities are still unsure how this happened, the only
clue they could find was this symbol," the anchor lady said.

My heart skipped at least two beats when I saw the image on the
screen. It was a Heartless Emblem. I stared in disbelief at it as the
lady droned on about how it could be gang related. The black heart
outlined in red with its spikes and a blood like X running through it
gave me chills. Heartless? But, how is this possible? Why were they
there? I glanced over at Arbok. Her eyes were wide with fear and
wonder. "Well, that can't be good," she said sarcastically. The
comment didn't amuse me. "What does this mean?" I questioned to
myself, really. "Well, the Heartless are back, that's for sure," Arbok
answered. "Do you think we should check it out?" "Yeah, just to be
safe." I told my dad that we would be at the park and headed out the
door.

We walked over to downtown where the "accident" happened. The bus had
since been removed and the police and other spectators were gone. I
saw the Emblem. It was somehow forever etched into the wall of a
nearby building. I touched it. I quickly jerked my hand back because
it burned my skin like fire. Just as I was flailing my hand in pain,
a moderately sized group of Heartless appeared on the street. The
creatures looked like knights in armor, but with an otherworldly look
to them. A bright light shone in my hand and the Two Become One
Keyblade appeared in its place. I attacked the closest one in range.
It disappeared as I slashed through it. Arbok had also attacked some
nearby enemies. They took several hits from her scaly tail before
vanishing. I ran into the heart of the crowd and defeated more
Heartless. They then started to counterattack, swinging their gray
swords. I easily deflected their strikes, but more were approaching.
They jumped in the air simultaneously, preparing to tackle me. As they
converged upon me, I cast a magic spell. A bubble like shield formed
around me and the surrounding area. The Heartless were bouncing off it
like they were slingshots against a battleship. When they were on the
ground, sprawling, I released the shield and a powerful shockwave of
energy shot from it. Many enemies vanished. I looked over and saw
Arbok struggling to fend off a hoard of the dark monsters. I swooped
in to aid her and cut through a large amount of them with only 3
swipes. Arbok finished off the remaining enemies with her toxic
stingers. We were panting from exhaustion. But, apparently it wasn't
over. A large, black mass suddenly formed on the ground. I jumped
back, startled. Arbok quickly slithered away as well. A dark shape was
rising from the ground. Soon the shape took the form a humanoid
figure. But it was VERY far from human. Black tentacles covered its
face and its beady yellow eyes glowed faintly. The heart shaped hole
in its body was daunting. A Darkside. Immediately, a form of energy
engulfed its hand and its slammed its fist into the ground. The
impact of the dark shockwave on the ground forced us backwards. From
the depths of the darkness, Shadow Heartless formed. They were quick,
sinking into the ground and springing up to attack, but they were weak
and easily dealt with. The Darkside pulled its arm out of the
concrete and that opened up an attack opportunity. I remember from the
games you could only target the head and its arms. I slashed and
hacked at its arm, and Arbok shot her stingers at its face. It
remained unscathed, acting like we weren't doing anything. It crouched
on the ground and we backed off. It's heart hole in its chest glowed
with a white light and two homing energy balls shot from it. Arbok
managed to duck out of the way of one, but I wasn't quick enough and
it crashed against me. I fell to the asphalt, coughing and hacking. As
soon as I regained my composure and got to my feet, two more spheres
were approaching. As one came towards me, I raised my blade and it
deflected itself BACK to the Heartless. Arbok avoided the one headed
for her again as the reflected energy ball hit the Darkside's head. It
wobbled, and finally collapsed onto the road and faded. I noticed the
Heartless Emblem on the wall had disappeared as well. I dismissed the
Keyblade and crouched on my knees. That was very tiring. Arbok, no pun
intended, snaked her way over to me. "You okay?" She asked. "Yeah,
it's jus-" my reply was suddenly cut short by a very strange
sensation. Suddenly, a coursing pain filled my brain. I groaned in
agony as I held my head. Then I heard a familiar sounding voice. "Such
a pitiful child," came a deep voice within my head. "You understand so
little," it said. "But you will prove very useful." It chuckled. "Face
it, George. All you are is an empty puppet, enslaved to my will." The
pain stopped and I took a sharp intake of air, as though I was
surfacing from underwater. I soon recognized the mysterious voice in
my head. Sephiroth.



Part two: Like father, like son.



I couldn't even wrap my mind around what just happened. Sephiroth, in my head.

But, I killed him. I guess the same goes for the Heartless. Why were
they back? Was someone leading them? I kept thinking about this as we
headed back to my house. My Dad had texted me saying that he and Mom
would be out for a few hours. Arbok kept asking if I was alright and
what had happened, and I insisted that I was fine. But she was
suspicious. As we went up to my porch, I got out my spare key and
unlocked the door. As we walked inside, a familiar sight hit my face.
All of my favorite characters were in my living room, again. Squall
Leonhart, Cloud Strife, Tidus, Sora, several Clone troopers and
Spartans, and the rest of our friends from the games. But there were
some new faces as well. Auron, Cecil, Kain, the Warrior of Light, a
few American soldiers, from Call of Duty I presumed, Zindane, Firiron,
Emily the Gardivor death incarnate, Axel, and several others. At
first, I was shocked and surprised. But then I smiled. "Well, long
time no see guys?" They didn't exactly seem in a cheerful mood,
though. "Nice to see you too," said Squall. "But there is a reason why
we are here again." "I can't imagine why." said Arbok sarcastically.
"So, you have had a glimpse of our adversaries already?" Kain asked.
"So, they are back?" I said worryingly. "Yes. But new ones this time,"
replied Cloud. "We don't know who they are and what the status of our
fallen enemies are, but we must fight again." At his words I felt
disheartened. I thought we were past all of this, we defeated them
right? But, more? Who do they think they are? As I contemplated this,
this happened very quickly. A laughing voice rippled through the air.
Everyone was on the alert, drawing their Keyblades, swords, and
whatever weapons they held. "So these are the freedom fighters I've
heard so much about?" said the echoing voice. "Please." Then the
voice showed himself. A muscular shirtless man with long black hair
and a large sword-hammer weapon appeared in the room. Jecht. Tidus
shouted out, "Dad!" and ran out of the crowd towards his father.
"Hmph, so the kid is here?" Jecht said. "Then this should be
interesting." He picked up his huge weapon and Tidus drew his light
blue blade. "I always hated you!" Tidus shouted. "You were never there
for me, always said I couldn't do it! But now I'll prove that I'm
stronger than you!" I drew the Kingdom Key and started to quickly make
my way to them. But then Auron stopped me with an outstretched hand.
"Huh? What are you-" I started. But Auron interrupted. "This is his
fight," he answered gruffly. "They must settle what they started by
themselves." Then his face fell. "Jecht, my good friend, is now a
monster." I looked over at the father and son. "I'll show you that
I'm the king!" roared Jecht as he launched foreword at his son. Tidus
deflected the strike with a decent amount of effort. Tidus flipped
around his father and retaliated, only to be blocked. Then Jecht
slammed the flat of his sword against Tidus, sending him tumbling to
the carpeted floor. The onlookers cringed. Tidus got back up and
spiraled away at Jecht. The Blitz king barely blocked the slashes. He
caught his son off guard and threw melees into him. He wasn't injured
very badly, but he was in no condition to fight alone. I couldn't
stand it anymore. "Sorry, Auron!" I said. I ran in front of Tidus to
shield him from Jecht's wrath. "The chosen one?" He scowled. "Pesky
little runt." Tidus rose to his feet and we prepared for the fight. I
made the first move. I casted a flaming ball of magic. But it was weak
and easily deflected. Jecht moved with tremendous speed towards us and
beat me to the ground with his blade. But Tidus whipped his own
against Jecht and he was sent flying away. I slowly dragged my self to
my feet. But Jecht was already upon us. "This is my show!" He shouted
with a smile. He summoned a massive red rock from who knows where and,
picking it up effortlessly, threw it on me and Tidus. "Oh yeah!" He
ginned as we were flat on the ground from the impact of the now
shattered boulder. We struggled to stand, but it was useless. Jecht
stood in front of us, looking down with an almost pitiful look in his
eyes. "You see, this is what happens when I don't hold back," he
remarked. "You'll both be on your feet soon. We will save this for
later maybe? Heh heh..." He said. As he walked off, however, Tidus got
up. "Where do you think you're going?!" He yelled at his dad. Jecht
turned to face him. "What...?" He said, surprised. "How are you-"
"There is no later until we beat you now!" I got up with him, even
though I was aching all over. "Lets finish this!" I shouted. "If you
insist." He said. I charged towards him before he could react. I
managed to hit him and bring him to the floor. Tidus was quick to
swipe in and also slashed him about with his sword. He got back on
his bare feet and kicked me away to spar with his son alone. Tidus
was far more agile than Jecht, but his father was stronger. Tidus
flipped over and cut his father down again. I ran back over to the
fight and knocked him in the air. I cut away but Jecht regained his
composure and attacked me again. I flew into my couch face first.
Tidus and Jecht locked into a grapple, each of them fighting for the
upper hand. Tidus won against the odds and shoved him to the floor,
pointing his sword in his face. As I walked over though, Jecht quickly
struck his son down and hurtled for me. I instinctively held my
Keyblade to block, and it may have saved my life. Tidus came from
above while me and Jecht crossed blades, doing his signature "Jecht
Shot" with his Blitzball. The room shone with a bright blue light and
Jecht fell to his knees. "Urg...that stings...." He grunted. Tidus
walked over to his father's hunched form. "I really hated you," he
said, but his voice sounded as though he was about to burst into
tears. "But, deep down, all I really wanted, was...your approval," he
said sadly. "That I could be like you, that I could even be better
than you." "Looks like I'm clockin out early today, but, hey kid?"
Jecht replied. "I approve of you." Jecht then faded away and Tidus
broke down. I put my hand on his shoulder, trying to comfort him. I
wasn't really sure what I should say, or even if I should say anything
at all. But when he stopped, he seemed as upbeat and carefree as ever.
Then we all sat down to discuss things over.



Part three: The Keyblade Graveyard



"So, the world will have to be fought over like a game of tug of war
again." I said. "I'm afraid so," said Firion. "But this battle must
be fought somewhere else." "What do you mean?" I asked. "You'll find
out soon enough," said Zidane. "Huh? Arbok, do you have any idea what
they are talking about?" I questioned. Arbok shook her head with a
confused look on her face. "Not a clue." She said. "You should get
some rest. We will talk to you soon." said Squall. "Erm...ok...I
guess." I said with a suspicious sounding tone. Me and Arbok went up
to my room to take a nap, I really could use one anyway. Arbok curled
up on the carpet in the middle of my room and I flopped on my unmade
bed. While Arbok was fast asleep, I just laid there in thought.
Eventually though, I fell asleep.

The dreams were, strange this time around. I started off slowly
descending in a dark realm like always. The whispering voices were
there expect I could understand them. What I head sent chills running
all over my body. They kept saying "He's coming back, he's coming
back," over and over again. What does this mean? Who is coming back?
And what does that have to do with me? Then I heard something even
more shocking. A sharp pain filled my head and I was probably
screaming in reality. "I will destroy your hopes," said Sephiroth. "
and your life, shall be mine." Images of Sephiroth played in my mind.
When I first saw in at my gym, his feathered wing sprouting from his
back, his masamune impaling Ventus. The images brought back painful
memories, and I cringed in my sleep. I woke with the words "GAHH
WOOZZA?!?!?!" If my screaming didn't wake Arbok, this did. Because
when I came to my senses, Arbok just stared at me blankly. "I don't
even think I should ask because you won't tell me anything, right?"
She said. I just nodded. Maybe I should have told her. When I went
downstairs to check on everyone else, they were gone. I checked and
called all over, but nothing. Mom and Dad wouldn't be home for another
two hours or so, so as Arbok slithered down the stairs, I got out my
PSP and popped in Kingdom Hearts: Birth By Sleep. I knew the game
wouldn't work, since the characters were out of it as soon as you
started the game it would freeze up. But I wanted to try it anyway for
some reason. The title screen came up and I loaded my previously saved
game. Instead of getting some random jumble of pixels or a message
saying to turn off the PSP, the screen was simply white. I hit the
portable system to see if anything happened but nothing did. "What are
you doing?" Arbok asked. "Trying to see if this works," I replied.
"Come here, look at this." She came over and looked down at the white
screen. "That's never happened before, what does it mean?" She
wondered. "I don't know." I remarked. Then the PSP screen grew
brighter, and brighter, and brighter. We had to shield our eyes from
the ever shining screen. The light engulfed us. A very odd and
indescribable feeling washed over us like someone had dumped a bucket
of water on you. Then, we hit solid ground.

I opened my eyes. I was laying flat on my back. A tannish sky stared
back at me. Then I realized I was looking through some kind of glass.
I got to my feet with effort. It was difficult to move. Then I finally
noticed I was wearing a suit of armor. Not like your King Author
knight outfit, but a golden suit that was flexible and easily moved.
Although I couldn't see it, there were spikes on my helmet that looked
like Viking horns, and the spikes on my elbows and shoulders offered
more protection. The vizor I looked through was a one way crystal
clear material. A long tan cape was flapping in the wind. Then as I
was admiring my new gear, I noticed something else. I was standing in
the middle of a Keyblade forest, respectively known as the Keyblade
Graveyard where Terra, Aqua, and Ventus had fought against Master
Xehanort and Vanitas. The ground was a sandy red soil and the flat
landscape only yielded a few towering plateaus in the distance. And
the Keyblades. There was hundreds, maybe even thousands of the
mystical weapons scattered across the wasteland, stuck into the
ground. I realized that I had been sucked into the game somehow. But I
noticed the Death Star looming in the sky. This is new, I thought to
myself. I looked around for Arbok, and when I found her, she was also
wearing a protective armor that was similar to mine, only it had one
large, curved horn on her head and less spikes for more
maneuverability and no cape. I looked around some more, and saw our
friends gathered in the center of the flatland. We started to slowly
make our way towards them. We didn't say anything as we walked and
slithered. We already had the idea of what was going on. The only
sounds were our armor clanking together and the wind sweeping across
the plains. When we made our way to the protagonists, they didn't say
a word either. Terra, Aqua, and Ventus wore their Keyblade Armor also.
I scanned the crowd. Everyone had their weapons drawn. I knew we were
in for the fight for our lives. I drew the Ultima Keyblade. We didn't
need to speak to know what was going on. Then, we saw the first signs
of evil. Shadowy humanoid shapes were walking toward us in the
distance. Everyone went on their guard as the shapes moved closer.
Then I recognized them. Garland, Golbez, Emperor Mateus, Kuja, Sauron,
The Witch King, Mewtwo, Darth Maul, Marluxia, Saix, Gabranth, and
several others and weaker types of enemies. My mind flooded with
relief since Sephiroth was not among them. But I still feared of what
my dreams meant. Sonic rushed to the antagonists. Garland stepped
foreword, who was an enormous man, or thing, that was covered in
battle armor and horns on his helmet that reminded me of a bull. His
gigantic weapon beat the hedgehog aside with ease as he attacked. He
crashed into a mass of Keyblades. The protagonists charged foreword as
the sky turned an unearthly black color. The Warrior of Light with
his shield and sword clashed with Garland, Kuja attacked Zidane with
his magic orbs, Obi Wan fought with Darth Maul, Cecil used the power
of Light and Darkness to battle Golbez, Emily the Death incarnate
fought with Marluxia, scythes crossing and narrowly missing the
owners, Axel used flaming Charkams to attack Saix, Firion fired his
special bow and arrow at Emperor Mateus, and I went straight for
Gabranth. His duel swords could connect to form a single double sided
blade similar to Darth Maul's lightsaber. I dueled with my long
Keyblade against him. He was a very skilled swordsman, for a medieval
judge. I forced him back and I didn't bother at him any longer since I
was being attacked by Nobodies. Arbok was fighting off Stormtroopers
near the plateaus. Mewtwo had floated above the crowd of combatants
and, using his psychic powers, lifted Keyblades and boulders out of
the ground and threw them at our forces. Cloud and Aqua ran through
the battleground to avoid the projectiles. Golbez had forced Squall to
the ground and attempted to shoot a cosmic ray of electrical power at
him, but Squall counter attacked with a blast of his gunblade. I
sprinted about the battlefield, trying my best to dodge the oncoming
obstacles thrown by Mewtwo, who had perched himself atop a plateau. I
had to get up there and take him out. But how? I had other things to
worry about though, because when I rounded a corner, I stood face to
face with Mateus. I ducked under a magic energy blast he fired from
his staff. As I ran by I brought down the so called King of Earth and
Hell. As I was fighting off more Heartless, I couldn't feel the ground
anymore. Thats because I was being lifted of the ground telepathically
by Mewtwo. I was flailing my arms in a wild panic, but I could do
nothing to resist. I was thrown forcefully atop the plateau where
Mewtwo and Garland resided. Much of my armor was cracked, one of my
horns was missing but my vizor was still intact and my mouth piece had
broken off. My torn cape flapped in the wind as I got to my feet and I
ran straight for them. Garland blocked my path and we clashed our
blades against each other. Before I barely even knew what was going
on, Garland picked me up with his huge hand by my neck and slammed me
against a large rock. I struggled feebly, but to no avail. Then the
immense pressure on my neck went away, only to be in the vice grip of
Mewtwo again. He smiled with content as I was weakly moving in midair.
I saw around me, many Keyblades were rising with me. Then, all at
once, they converged into me, slashing and hacking through my armor.
The pain was incredible. After the onslaught, he released me to fall
to the dirt below. As I fell, I felt destroyed and beaten. I crashed
against something very hard. But it wasn't the ground.



Arbok had lost much of her armor as well. After she had defeated
several Stormtroopers and had taken out Ganon with the help of Link,
she went looking for George. But no matter how hard she looked she
couldn't find him. She presumed he was fighting someone else a ways
away, but she was still worried because of those strange visions or
whatever was happening to him. As she thought this, she looked up to
see a figure floating high at the top of the plateau. She could barely
see that high, squinting her red eyes, she looked very carefully at
the figure. Then she realized it was her best friend. Just then,
Keyblades sliced through him on all sides, and he fell to the ground.
"No!" She shouted, but she could do nothing. He plummeted closer and
closer, until Arbok noticed that she should probably move out of the
way. But it was too late. Her friend crashed against her with a
tremendous clanging noise. Arbok was woozy from the impact, but she
was more worried about George. She looked at his limp form with fear.
He barely moved his hand, trying to reach out to her, but it fell to
the dirt. A tear slipped from her eyes. They would pay for this. Her
best friend, nearly killed. But he slowly got to his feet.

The pain racked me. My body was screaming for rest and relief, but
there was a battle to be fought. My armor was more broken and crushed
than ever, and my cape was completely gone, shredded away by the
Keyblade onslaught. As I dragged myself to my feet, using my Keyblade
to prop myself up, I saw at the top of the plateau a blue energy blast
shot into the dark sky. Then, the clouds parted. There, in the gap,
lay Kingdom Hearts. The sacred moon shone with a pale yellow light. I
knew now that this was getting personal. I found strength to stand
tall, and summoned the Oathkeeper and Oblivion, and threw my broken
helmet to the ground.



Part four: Possession



I had noticed that a few of our friends, like Riku, Terra, Ventus,
and Harry had gone missing. We couldn't find any trace of them, no
armor, no bodies, nothing. This started to frighten me since I had no
idea what happened to them. Why did the villains want Kingdom Hearts?
What would they use it for? Me and Arbok were making our way to the
plateau now that we were a considerable distance away from it. We took
out the weak enemies as we rushed thought the fight. Once we made it
to the foot of the natural structure, Marluxia, number eleven of
Organization XIII, blocked our path. "Get to the top," I told Arbok,
"I'll handle him." She seemed reluctant, but she headed to the
opposite direction. Marluxia said, "As lightless oblivion claims you,
chosen one, sink into the ever blooming darkness!" Although he looked
quite ridiculous with his pink hair and power over flowers, Marluxia
was an extremely well rounded scythe wielder. I guarded against a
hack. I flipped behind him to counter act, but Marluixa chopped me out
of the air, I managed to block it. I landed hard on my feet, ready to
deflect another strike from his pink scythe. But instead, the Graceful
Assassin crashed his weapon into the dirt, creating a pink shockwave
with petals flying from it. I knocked it out of existence with the
Oathkeeper. But out of the petals Marluxia launched foreword. His
scythe again sliced away at me. I ducked under one strike and
deflected another. But he was relentless. Marluxia kept hacking and
slashing with the weapon of death, I could barley keep up with him. He
shot some sort of energy from his scythe and I missed it when I tried
to knock it away. I was forced to the ground by the energy, my body
stinging with pain. As he stepped foreword to finish me off, Emily
stepped in front of me. "You! I shall take your place as master of
death!" Marluxia shouted to the death incarnate. "I may be Death
itself, but that doesn't mean I won't fight to protect my friends!"
Emily yelled back. I got to my feet. Emily held out her three fingered
hand and held it over me. "Wait, wha...?" I said. A special scythe
that bore a skull and a bone-like blade appeared above me. I felt dark
powers surging through me. I dismissed the Oathkeeper, put the
Oblivion in my left hand, and grasped the scythe. My new weapon was
death's weapon. This was literally a duel between death, death, and
well, death. "Lose everything, to the world without light!" exclaimed
Marluxia. "We can fight without light!" I shouted back, brandishing my
scythe. "You will never defeat me!" Marluxia said. I ran for him,
ready to bring him down. But our scythes clashed together with a
powerful clang. Emily flipped over the Nobody and attacked from
behind, but Marluxia deflected her blade. This went on for a little
bit, me and Emily attacking from Marluxia's sides only to be blocked.
I ended the continuous form of combat by shouting, "Darkness!" A
black, spiraling energy wave shot from the Oblivion. The Assasin could
not lash out his blade to deflect it in time and was sent tumbling
into the wall of the mountain-like structure. Emily threw the Judgment
scythe that was sent spinning like a pinwheel at Marluxia. He dodged
out of the way just as the scythe stuck into the rock. I ran over to
Marluixa, but he was already attempting to cut the Pokemon to pieces.
Emily flipped away from and dodged his slashes, but she couldn't use
her dark powers without running the risk of being hurt. I dismissed
the Oblivion wretched her scythe from the rocky wall. I charged for
Marluixia. He saw me coming and blocked my slashes. I knocked him into
the air and threw Emily's blade at him. He took the force of a
spinning torrent of metal and darkness as the blade crashed into him.
Emily picked up her scythe and I regained the Oblivion in a cloud of
darkness. We went for him, but Marluixa had one last trick under his
black sleeve. Before we could reach him, he held up his hand and said,
"If you are so intent on accepting the darkness, then open your heart
and let the darkness consume you!" Petals formed around the
surrounding area, and before long, there was a vortex of petals and
dust that had us trapped. Above his hand, pink and black energies
whipped all across the flowery tornado. We were dropped to our knees
from pain. When the vortex subsided, Marluxia walked over to us. "Are
we having fun?" he sneered. I wasn't about to go down like this. "The
time of my life!" I shouted as I slashed with my weapons. Marluxia
stumbled back wards and I relentlessly attacked again and again. Emily
had also gotten up and summoned dark magic and bombarded the Nobody
with her powers. Soon, Marluxia was grounded, gazing at the Death Star
and Kingdom Hearts in the cloudy sky. "So this....this is the heart of
a hero...an ever shining light and a endless void of darkness." A
misty darkness floated from his disappearing form, and he was gone.
The scythe in my hand disappeared, which I later named Retribution, and the Oathkeeper was summoned once again. Emily stared
at me intently, but I hardly spared a passing glance as I ran for the
top.



Arbok couldn't believe what was happening before her eyes. The figure
that looked like Ventus attacked again. But it certainly wasn't
Ventus. His golden eyes, dark red clothing, and evil looking Keyblade
were dauntingly suspicious. He spoke at last, saying, "Finally,
Ventus' heart has become a part of mine now!" The voice contained
traces of Ventus, but something more sinister and familiar was
present. "Vanitas?!" Arbok said in shock. "Long time no see, Arbok?"
He smiled. "Oh, looks like the others are coming, lucky you getting to
witness our ultimate plan." He snickered. Arbok, flushed with fury,
charged at the possessed body of Ventus. But before she could make her
way to him, someone blocked her way. It was Terra, or was it? Silver
hair replaced the chocolate brown of Terra's "Fall into discord with
the others." He said. His voice was far too deep to be Terra's. A
Keyblade that was pure darkness appeared in his hand. It was
Xehanort's blade. Two other beings dropped from the top of the
plateau, effortlessly landing on their feet on the ledge below. Riku
and Harry, but they also didn't look right. Riku bore blue clothes
similar to Ventus/Vanitas and had the Heartless emblem magically
etched into his chest. Another dark Keyblade was in his hands. Harry
looked fairly normal, except for his eyes. They were inhuman, looking
glossy, pale, and staring. "Well, what now?" Said Riku. His voice, it
contained Ansem's. "You fools have lost." Said Harry. His voice was
also warped and distorted. Voldemort controlled his body. The
possessed heroes closed in to Arbok. There was no escape from here.
Just as the villains were about to strike, George came running up the
side of the plateau and onto the platform just below the top. "Hey,
why aren't you at- whoa!" He said as he skidded to a stop in front of
the antagonists. "Come chosen one! Sink into the void!" Proclaimed
Riku/Ansem. "You've gotta be kidding me." George said as they prepared
to force their way to the top.



This really was over my head. The possessed protagonists were all
really from games, like Terranort and Ventus/Vanitas were from the
game we had gotten sucked into just minutes before. I immediately
charged into the warriors, I pushed aside Riku/Ansem, deflected the
killing curse casted by Harry/Voldemort, and beat Terranort away with
the Keyblades of Light and Darkness. Arbok had also managed to make
her way through the villains and joined me. We ran along the spiraling
path the the peak of the rocky mountain, not daring to look back if
our foes were following us. At last, we had reached the top. Kingdom
Hearts loomed directly above us, sustained in the air by an unknown
force. The Death Star looked on from the right. But Mewtwo and Garland
weren't there. "Huh? Where did they go?" I wondered aloud. "Maybe the
went back down and we came up here for nothing." Arbok answered. I
felt disheartened at her words and sighed. "Well, I guess we'll just
have t-" I started to say. But I was cut short by the pain. The pain
in my head. The pain I had felt before. But it was nothing like
before, increased twofold. I clutched my head and started to scream.
Crying out in agony. I couldn't stop myself, it was almost
involuntary. I couldn't even hear Arbok's cries for help. The last
thing I saw was Cloud running up to Arbok's side. Then, everything
went black. Falling. That was all I knew. Falling into the deepest,
darkest abyss. I felt him. I already knew what he was doing, and I was
powerless to stop him.



Arbok saw the final expression on her friend's face, in his eyes, was
fear. True, utter despair. His bluish eyes suddenly were replaced by a
light green that seemed to pierce her soul. His blonde hair started to
turn a silvery white. He crumpled onto the ground, his armor clanking
on the rocky ground. But as soon as he fell, he slowly got back up.
His face was completely expressionless. "What happened? Are you
alright?" She asked. He didn't answer. He was intent on looking at
himself, or something. He was staring at his arms and hands and
breathing deeply. "Say something!" Cloud shouted.

He didn't verbally say a word, but he did respond. The masamune
appeared in his left hand, conquered from nowhere in green mist. "You
look good, Cloud." Grinned Sephiroth. The heroes gasped in shock. His
voice and George's were speaking in unison. "Sephiroth!" Cloud
shouted, raising his Buster sword to his rival. "You....y-you
BASTARD!" Arbok hissed to the fallen hero. "Ignorant traitor."
Sephiroth said calmly.

"Sephiroth! What do you want?" Cloud asked. "What I want, Cloud, is to
control all of the worlds in this universe, reality and coded, with
Kingdom Hearts as my ultimate beacon and stronghold." He answered.
Cloud gritted his teeth at his words. "The Keyblade," Sephiroth said,
conjuring the Kingdom Key. "What a useless toy." He tossed it in the
dirt, joining the countless others. "You're gonna pay for what you did
to him!" Shouted Arbok, lunging foreword. "Wait! No!" Cloud said, but
it was too late to stop her. "Fool." Sephiroth remarked. As soon as
Arbok was about to strike, Sephiroth side-stepped her bite. He slashed
down with the katana blade, nearly cutting completely through her
armor. He quickly shoved her away from himself and shouted, "Fly!" His
sword rays zoomed towards the serpent. They cut through her armor like
it was a tin can, and Arbok was sent tumbling even further away from
him. "Are you okay?" Cloud asked, concerned. "Yeah..." She grunted.
"I'll take care of him, you find cover, okay?" Said Cloud. "Sure." She
said, slithering down the path. The tension in the air could be felt
as Cloud faced his longtime enemy. The super soldiers were forces to
be reckoned with, but against each other, the outcome still remained,
no matter many times Cloud prevailed, unclear. As the legendary swords
hit each other with a tremendous sound, a shockwave of energy rippled
from the spot. Cloud pushed Sephiroth away, but he was quicker in the
stolen body and flipped over the spiky-haired hero. Cloud barely
managed to block Sephiroth's slash and was sent skidding across the
rocky surface. Sephiroth ran towards Cloud with great speed and
crashed his sword against his enemy's. Cloud managed to get a good
look at Georgiroth's face. His green eyes hypnotically stared him
down, and the silver hair was not natural. The forces pushing against
each other eventually broke free, and both warriors were sent
backwards. "You have no true purpose to fight here, Cloud." Sephiroth
taunted. He started to run around the top of the plateau. Cloud didn't
know what he was doing at first, but then Sephiroth conjured dark orbs
of energy around Cloud. Eventually, they formed a circle around him.
Sephiroth released them and they converged into Cloud. He fell to the
ground, blue electrical energy sparking from his body and sword. Cloud
dragged himself slowly to his feet as Sephiroth walked near his form.
"All of your hopes, your friends, your life itself, could be an
illusion." Sephiroth chuckled. "Shut up!" Cloud grunted. "I've had
enough of your tricks! You are not going to change our fates."
Sephiroth merely shrugged George's shoulders. "You cannot change, the
unchangeable," He said. "For I, am the ruler of the world, Kingdom
Hearts will be mine!" He lunged at Cloud, but Cloud was ready for him
this time. He parried Sephiroth's strike, and swung his sword with
great force. Sephiroth blocked the slow slash, but it was powerful
enough to send him soaring across the plateau top. He crashed into the
rocks and grunted in pain, armor shrapnel flying from the dusty spot.
Sephiroth dashed from the obscured area at Cloud and his sword clanged
against Cloud's, the sparks flew as they crashed and banged against
each other over and over. It ended with Cloud finally pushing
Sephiroth away. Sephiroth defied gravity and stopped himself in
midair, floating down to the ground slowly. "You fight bravely,
Cloud," he calmly uttered. "But you have no reason to do so." Cloud's
aqua blue eyes widened with anger and surprise as Sephiroth's single
wing burst from George's armor. Black feathers fell slowly around him
as the wing flapped in the wind. "Release him!" Cloud shouted. "Accept
it!" Sephiroth cried as he flew towards his nemesis, grabbing him by
the collar of his shirt and hoisting him high into the atmosphere.
Cloud couldn't raise his sword in this state to defend himself. "I am
the one who will alter your fate and decisions, forever." He grinned.
He then released his grip and Cloud plummeted all the way to the
bottom of the plateau.

Arbok was in total distraught as she waited for Cloud's arrival. She
was pacing back and forth at the foot of the mountain, Emily at her
side. Most of the antagonists had been defeated, but she didn't know
where the parasitic calamities had gotten to. She kept thinking of
George, she knew she should have questioned him further about what had
been happening to him. But, Sephiroth? That was something she never
expected. His intentions sounded terribly grim. The Death Star was
still looming over everything, watching like a hawk. No one on the
side of good knew why it was there, or if it even was real. Whatever
the case, a close eye was being kept on it. As Arbok was lost in her
wonderous thoughts, she heard the Death Incarnate say something.
"What's that?" Emily inquired, staring to the sky. Arbok raised her
head. She noticed something, or someone, falling to the earth from an
even greater height than the top of the plateau. As it got closer, she
realized it was Cloud, and something else was descending above him,
which she assumed to be Georgiroth. Cloud's sword stuck into the
ground, which helped break his fall as he bounded across the
landscape. As he hit the ground, Terranort attacked the Death
Incarnate. Terranort grasped her by the neck and threw her into the
distance, charging after her speedily. She didn't have time to worry
abut Death now, though, as Sephiroth set his plated feet on the rocky
soil. She bore her fangs at the fallen hero. "Too short-sighted to
even notice the sheer power before you?" He taunted. "I thought I
pounded that through your tiny mind." "I will make you suffer for your
actions, you heartless wretch!" Arbok hissed. "No!" Cloud stepped in
front of her before she could strike at Sephiroth. "This is my fight!"
"This is just as much of my battle as it is yours!" Arbok insisted.
"He'll kill you! I can't take that chance." Cloud said. "But I-" Arbok
stuttered. She glanced at her possessed friend. The large wing was
folded against his back and his masamune was still and calm for the
moment. She finally accepted the fact that she could no longer help
him any further through this situation. "Alright, go, I'll help
Emily." She said reluctantly. She went off in the direction Terranort
had ran. Cloud faced Sephiroth again. "That's too bad, I thought I
would have more fun with the traitor." He chuckled. "Shut up!" Cloud
shouted again as he slammed his sword into the ground, sending a wave
of blue energy from it. Sephiroth simply knocked it aside with one
swipe of his masamune. He rose slowly into the air, saying "Descend,
Heartless Angel!" A black halo formed over Cloud's head and before he
could react, pain stabbed his body everywhere. He crumpled to the
ground, the life drained almost completely from him. He groaned trying
to move, desperately trying to finish Sephiroth off. But he could
barely even stand. Sephiroth floated back to the ground and stood
directly in front of Cloud's fallen form. "Feeble warrior. Your
precious friend is mine, and so is our world, and all others." When
Sephiroth said this, something snapped inside Cloud. Pure rage was
building up inside of him. Something made him realize, that he had to
do something now. He let his anger blow up inside him like a balloon
to breaking point. Then, he let it out. Cloud quickly blasted up from
where he lay, illuminated with a bluish light and slashed at
Sephiroth, who wasn't expecting such a strong assault from his sworn
enemy and barely deflected the attack. Cloud knocked Sephiroth into
the air with an uppercut. As they were suspended in the air, the hero
attacked Sephiroth over and over. Finally, Cloud managed to slash his
stolen the armor with immense strength. A bright light shone from the
spot, and George was free. The Kingdom Key at the top of the plateau
vanished in a white light, returning to its master.





Part five: Turning the tables



A great white light like the one that brought me into this world
blinded my eyes as my conscious was suspended in the darkness. Then, I
hit some rough surface hard. My head was spinning as I lay on the
ground. What just happened? I realized that this was real life, and I
could move. I opened my eyes, and the side of the giant plateau
greeted me. I moved my now in control and wingless body a little. Pain
shot through it like some sort of sedative. I rolled over on my other
side, more agony ran through my body. I saw Sephiroth, lying in the
same crushed state as myself. How...? I thought to myself. I also saw
Cloud kneeling on the ground, recharging his strength. Before I knew
it, he got up and jogged to me. "Hey! Are you alright?" He asked. "I'm
just, peachy." I grunted. Cloud poured a potion on me, a healing
elixir. My strength increased the pain subsided. I rose to my feet
and summoned my trademark Oathkeeper and Oblivion. Sephiroth also got
up. "How did I, lose to you...?" He gasped. I could barely comprehend
how he was even standing there. His silver hair flowed in the wind,
his green eyes flashed like a cat, and his black wing folded to his
back. "All you care about is power and darkness!" Cloud snapped back.
"Very true," he chuckled. "Yet that power will not lead to my demise,"
he raised his masamune. "But yours!" He lunged toward us. I charged
foreword to him, and the blades clashed against each other in a shower
of sparks. We shoved each other away, but came flying back to attack
again. The Keyblades clanged against the masamune over and over, and
Cloud swung in, attacking Sephiroth from the side. But the one winged
angel was too fast, deflecting every slash with ease. He knocked Cloud
aside, and I was left alone for the moment. Sephiroth countered my
blade strikes with his own. The masamune's incredibly long reach and
its quick swing gave Sephiroth the advantage. But the powers and
skills the Keyblade had granted me allowed me to block the cuts.
Sephiroth stop his onslaught for a second, but only a second. Then the
slashes came again. I jumped backwards as his sword sliced through the
air several times. As we fought, Cloud recovered on the sidelines. His
sword glowed with an orange light and twisted around in his fingers,
he said, "Stars, rain down!" Cloud trusted the large weapon down.
Small meteors from above crashed into the area where me and Sephiroth
dueled. The impact of the rocks sent us flying away from each other.
As Sephiroth was regaining his composure, I casted lighting bolts at
him. He held up his hand in vain, trying to ward off the black magic.
Cloud took his chance and shot like a bullet at the smoking warrior,
But Sephiroth wasn't that easily beaten. His sword glowed white and a
single ray flew from it. Cloud was caught off guard and barely
managed to block the light ray, and was sent skidding on the ground.
He then came for me again. I raised the Keyblades to block the
masamune. Sephiroth chuckled at me. "What a pathetic effort," he
taunted. "My Kingdom Hearts is calling, I hope I can finally finish
the both of you off at once." My head was working hard, trying to
process what he said and find strength to shove him away, it was
almost too much to handle. Cloud rushed behind Sephiroth, and
Sephiroth raised his blade so that it pointed vertically, blocking
Cloud's slash and still keeping my blades locked with his. "It's too
late for laments." Sephiroth calmly stated. He pushed both of us back
at once and levitated into the air. I knew what he was about to do, he
was readying his ultimate attack, Supernova. I feared for our lives.
What would happen if we were killed? Cloud would go straight back to
Final Fantasy VII, but what about me? What would happen to all of the
worlds, and my friends? Everything, would fall to Sephiroth and his
darkness. Sephiroth suddenly disappeared. Right after, a stinging pain
shot through me. I turned to look behind me and there was Sephiroth,
crouched forward holding the masamune outwardly. He had cut completely
through me. As soon as I realized this slashes from all over came
bombarding me into the dust. As quick as it had started it was over,
and I slumped on the ground, in much agony. The side of the plateau
was plagued by an ever growing ball of fire, Sephiroth hovering in
front of it. Cloud and myself were raised into the air and brought
towards the illusion of an exploding sun. I closed my eyes as we were
both engulfed in flames. The last thing I remember hearing was
Sephiroth's chuckling laughter.



"Sir, should we do it yet?" Inside the main cannon room of the Death
Star sat a group of imperial officers and technicians, the red lights
and buttons blinking around them, and the small conference table was
filled to the brim. "No, we have no orders from any leaders yet."
Answered an officer. "But it has exceeded the time they said it should
be carried out." Said another. "I am personally against the entire
idea, the place seems like an excellent point for a base." Said a
higher ranked one. " The action shall be carried out as planned, the
scum are to be annihilated so that no resistances are formed, our
remaining allies will know when to leave." Said Governer Grand Moff
Tarkin, the highest authority in the Empire, just below Darth Vader
and The Emperor himself. "Fine," said the higher officer. "Get the
cannon fired up. We have got a world to destroy."



My sore eyelids fluttered open. I was staring at brown rock, alive. I
breathed a sigh of relief for this. I slowly got to my feet, limping a
little. I saw Cloud on the ground nearby. "Cloud!" I shouted. I half
ran-half limped over to him. He was slowly coming to his senses. His
body was a little bloody, and he didn't seem to quite remember what
had just happened for a second. As I helped Cloud to his feet,
Sephiroth teleported in front of us. "How?" Sephiroth puzzled. "What
is it going to take to make you stop breathing!?" He grunted out of
rage, which was very rare. "A whole lot more than what you've got." I
joked. It was then that my whole body glowed with light. My Keyblades
also were shining. They left my hands and floated in mid air. I
noticed that I was doing the same. I shot my arms to my sides,
stretching them out as far as they could go, and the Oathkeeper and
Oblivion followed them. They spun like a windmill, as I hovered. Both
Cloud and Sephiroth wore faces of shock and disbelief. Every Keyblade
I had ever wielded conjured in midair, and they all converged into
Sephiroth. As he was grunting and gasping in pain I delivered my final
blow. The light and my other Keyblades vanished, and I dropped to the
ground, grasping the light blade and the dark blade. Now it was
Cloud's turn. The same blue emission that engulfed Cloud before formed
around him and his sword now. He tossed Sephiroth high into the air,
and I knew he was going to perform his ultimate attack, Omnislash. I
quickly jumped in surprise as a Keyblade formed in my hands. It was
known as Fenrir, and it looked similar to the Buster sword. Cloud was
cutting through Sephiroth on all sides, never slowing down. "Cloud!" I
shouted as I threw the Fenrir up to the dying Sephiroth and the heroic
Cloud. As Cloud slashed through Sephiroth again, he effortlessly
caught it in midair. His final all out assault was a true spectacle.
The blue light, the duel wielding weapons, and many slices were an
awesome sight. Finally, Cloud slashed downward with all of his might
and Sephiroth was pummeled into the rock. As he was laying on the
ground and Cloud had landed, he said this to us, "You...haven't
won...not yet...I will fall...but you will come with me..." He said
his final words, and he faded forever into a rising black mist.



As Cloud's Keyblade vanished and we were both panting with exhaustion
and relief that Sephiroth had finally been finished, Arbok came over
to us. "Well hey look at that!" She happily said to me. "Yeah, still
here." I joked. Cloud surprisingly made a legitimate smile, saying,
"You really had to be here to see what happened." "Yeah, but I might
not even be here, mister 'he'll kill you!'" Arbok laughed. We all
cracked up at the reference. Even Cloud, it was very unlike him to
even seem happy. But I guess defeating your nemesis can change anyone.
Whether it was permanent or not, I don't know. But as we laughed
together as friends, we heard a strange noise from above. The Death
Star's laser cavity started to glow a light green color. My heart sank
like a rock. It was going to fire its Super Laser weapon, which had
enough firepower to destroy an entire planet, at the Keyblade
graveyard. It was a trap. If the antagonists assault had failed, which
it presumably did, then we would all be killed anyway. In the midst of
my sudden despair and hopelessness, an idea came to me. An idea, that
would determine the fate of this world and all who currently inhabited
it. "Arbok! Cloud! Stand back!" I said to my friends. "What are you
doing?! We need to get out of here!" Arbok said to me. "I have an
idea! Trust me!" I replied. Arbok looked at the still glowing Death
Star, then back at me. "I trust you know what you're doing, but it
doesn't seem very smart whatever it is!" She said. I figured that
meant yes. I stepped foreword and dismissed the Oathkeeper and
Oblivion. I called forth the Kingdom Key, which flashed in my hand. I
pointed it directly at the space station. As the planet destroying
green laser was fired, a bright circle of light formed around the tip
of the blade, converged into it, and a stream of white, radiant light
shot from the Keyblade. The stream traveled to the ray of the Death
Star, and both forces crashed into each other. I almost fell over as
they hit each other, but I held the blade steady. It vibrated a little
in my hand as it unleashed its power to the Super Laser.

It was now down to who would be stronger, magic or machine



"No! Impossible!" Shouted Tarkin as he slammed his fists into the
control pad on the conference table. The monitor's images couldn't be
right. There had to be a glitch. The chosen boy was actually
deflecting the laser. "Increase the power! We must defeat him!" He
ordered a technician.



Squall had finally taken down Garland, the last remaining villain. He
had helped free Ventus from Vanitas,he knew Emily had taken care of
Terra, Cecil had helped Riku, and Master Chief had defeated Voldemort
within Harry. But as he was panting heavily from his last fight, he
finally noticed something that everyone else had mere seconds ago.
Atop the tall plateau, two rays of light were pushing against each
other. He stared in awe as an unseen force on the mountain and the
Death Star's ray clashed. He quickly came to his senses, and said to
the others "Come on! Lets go!" He raced to the rocky structure.



The green beam was starting to push back the Keyblade's. I started to
worry that it may not be powerful enough to repel the other. As I
contemplated these chaotic thoughts, I heard footsteps hitting the
rock. I managed to turn my head to see Sqaull and several others, and
more on the way I presumed. Somehow, their presence seemed to give me
a spark of hope, that maybe, we weren't going to be doomed. The
Keyblade's beam started to gain the advantage, pushing back the Death
Star's laser yet again. I held the Keyblade steady as it traveled up
into the sky. But it still wasn't enough. My arm started to grow heavy
as I still held the Keyblade. My friends gathered around me, staying
close lest the end come upon us. I was suddenly taken aback to
everything that had happened to me, that fateful day when my Keyblade
was granted to me, my meeting with Sephiroth, when my friends gathered
around me had been standing in my living room, everything came
flooding back. I knew, that all of our struggles, all of our feats,
were not in vain. We had to win. When I thought this, everyone's
expression was turned, if it already wasn't, into complete
astonishment. The Oathkeeper and Oblivion had been called forth
involuntarily, and were levitating in circles around the Kingdom Key.
The blasted rays of their own, which merged with the main stream. My
beam was now being pushed higher than ever, traveling on the Death
Star's laser. It was truly awe inspiring my idea finally worked. The
Death Star exploded into three huge chunks, and the sparkling fires
were like a light show. I shouted victoriously as the dark clouds
parted at last, and everyone roared with screams and shouts of
defeating the antagonists once and for all. They patted me on the
back, congratulating me and saying how none of this could have ever
been possible without me, and they were right. After the celebrations
had died down they started to glow, excluding Arbok who chose to stay,
with a bluish light. "This isn't goodbye," said Squall. "Not really."
I stared to the sky as they vanished.

"Um...now what?" Arbok said to me. "I guess we will find out." I
answered. Our destination was clear when a bright, white light washed
upon us again. I hit something soft, and opened my eyes. I stared at
my own ceiling, and breathed a sigh of relief as I rolled over on my
couch. I got up, and noticed that me and Arbok's armor was gone, and
our wounds had been healed. the sound of my parents unlocking the door
startled me a little, I was almost prepared to draw my Keyblade. "Hi
guys!" My mom said. "Anything going on?" I looked at Arbok, and we
couldn't help but to laugh.