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Kingdom Hearts: Dark Dawn	By : RotSeele Category: Kingdom Hearts > AU - Alternate Universe Views: 3168 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0
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Sixty-Two - Esthar

Time froze.
Rinally could see Volstag struggling against her spell, sweat beading on his forehead even as his arm struggled to finish its thrust into Kaoru’s heart. Kaoru was staring up at Volstag with wide eyes, as if he couldn’t comprehend that the man had just stopped in an instant and though he was still seconds away from death, he wasn’t about to die. But he also couldn’t comprehend how Rinally had been able to stop Volstag in mid-motion, but he wasn’t about to argue. Neither was Kai, who used the opportunity to attack Volstag, slamming his own body into the berserker’s to get him off Kaoru. Guardian shimmered and burst into motes, as if fleeing Volstag’s grip, and then reappeared in Kaoru’s hand as the blonde struggled to sit up. Volstag hit the ground like a toppled statue, perfectly frozen in time, though an insane snarl escaped his clenched teeth, growing louder as if he could break Rin’s spell by sheer will. Perhaps he could, but Kai was already pulling Kaoru to his feet and pulling him away from Volstag and toward Rinally, both their eyes flicking from her face to her arm.
Rin looked at her right hand. Stretching about three feet out from a hilt that swirled about her hand like a starburst was an ebony and cobalt blue pipe-shaped blade that ended in three prongs on one side. Two of the prongs curled out before moving inward like a ‘C’ turned clockwise onto its ‘arms’ while the third prong had a diamond shape in the center of that ‘C’. The Keyblade shifted in color from ebony and cobalt-blue to silver and sea-green as Rinally focused on her friends, and a Curaja spell took effect the moment she even thought of the spell, enveloping Kaoru and Kai in a powerful swirl of green that swept away all their hurts. When the spell was over, the Keyblade’s color turned into a mix of silver and ebony, shifting between the two depending on which way Rinally turned her arm.
Born of the power of your heart and the desire to protect what is most important to you, this Keyblade grants the powers of Light and Dark to its wielder. Its name is Sorceress, and is a representation of the strength you have inside you.
Rinally shivered at the voice that echoed through her mind and wondered if Kaoru and Kai had heard the same voice. Her heart was hammering in her chest. She was a Keyblade wielder, just like her friends. But more than that, she was a Keyblade wielder that straddled both Light and Dark, and depending on which one she chose to embody, Sorceress took on that affinity.
Rinally let out a soft breath and tightened her grip on Sorceress, pulling the Keyblade into a ready position. Beside her, Kaoru and Kai readied themselves as well, and just in time, as Volstag let out a bestial roar and Rin could feel a twinge of pain in the back of her mind as he broke her spell with sheer physical force. Volstag was on his feet in a flash and he was turning to face the three of them before he had even gained his balance. As soon as he laid his black eyes on them, his lips split into a huge feral grin, revealing teeth that had sharpened to severe points. His shoulders bulged then, along with the biceps of his arms, and the material of his coat began to rip and tear as his body strained against it. Black lines appeared on his face like cracks in dry earth. He let out a deep laugh and pointed a thick finger at the three Keyblade wielders as if condemning them.
Then, despite his new massive size, Volstag flickered out of existence.
“Move!” Kai shouted, leaping away even as he uttered the word.
Kaoru and Rinally did the same, jumping away from the spot where they stood and trying to gain enough distance from the place. The ground where they had just been standing exploded, sending up a fountain of earth and rock. In the center of it was Volstag in his berserk form, his fist pulverizing the ground. Rinally could only imagine what damage he could do if he managed to hit one of them with that fist. She pushed the thought to the back of her mind, and readied herself for the fight ahead. A black bullet hit Volstag and flung him about ten feet away from the impact point, but the berserker managed to turn his flight into a roll and land on his feet, pushing off immediately to retaliate against Kai. Kai’s Black Knight armor glittered as he brought Sanctuary to bear against Volstag’s rapid attacks, trading blows with the berserker before he was able to disengage and try to attack again with his boosted speed.
At the same time, Kaoru in his White Knight mode attacked Volstag from the opposite direction, a lucky heavy-handed blow scoring a grunt of pain when Guardian impacted on Volstag’s back. Rin could see that Volstag simply shook off the blow; his back was thickly muscled and was able to absorb most of the impact and therefore saved his spine from being broken. Kaoru retreated, then came back for another round of attacks as Kai attacked from the opposite direction. Volstag seemed to be able to keep up with them enough to block their attacks, but he was no longer fast enough to retaliate and hurt them anymore. With their Modes activated, Kaoru and Kai matched Volstag blow for blow and neither could find an advantage unless one of them let his guard down.
Rinally took a deep breath and closed her eyes for a brief second, bringing Sorceress up as if it was a casting staff rather than a Keyblade. The air shimmered around her, and across her chest, hips, wrists, and legs there formed a brilliant black armor that echoed Kai’s. Black Witch Mode. With another breath, Rinally took a few steps forward until she was running toward her friends and Volstag, Sorceress down by her side for the powerful swing she was about to take. At the tip of the Keyblade, a glimmer of fire appeared, growing larger and larger until the Flare spell sparked and popped, and then Rin launched the spell with the swing, crying out the spell’s name as she did so. Kaoru and Kai leaped out of the way of the spell and the Flare hit Volstag head on, consuming him in the powerful flames. He let out a beastial roar and leaped out of the center of the Flare, hitting the ground and rolling to put out the mystical flames that greedily consumed his coat and skin alike.
Rin didn’t stop. She brought Sorceress around with a flourish and cried out, “Blindga!”
A black orb appeared at the end of her Keyblade and shot out at Volstag. It hit him square in the face and expanded, consuming his entire head. He clawed at his face as he tried to remove the orb, but to no avail. He roared and blindly charged at where Rinally was standing, but she jumped out of the way, skidding to a stop only a few feet away. Volstag thrashed around the area, growing more angry the longer he couldn’t hit anything.
Kai took advantage of Volstag’s blindness. He came in fast and low and took Volstag’s legs out from under him. Sanctuary impacted bone with a sickening crunch, and Volstag crumpled to the ground. He was down only for a minute, regaining his feet despite the broken bone in his left leg, and swung at Kai as the redhead passed by. He barely missed Kai, and was surprised by Kaoru’s attack from behind, Guardian scoring three successive hits on Volstag’s back, neck, and head. The blows flung the man into the ground, but he rolled back to his feet and remained still. When Kai came in to attack again, Volstag lashed out and caught Kai by the throat. He laughed as he squeezed his hand, trying to crush Kai, but then Kaoru was there, forcing Volstag to drop Kai and beating him back away from his friend.
Rinally was already moving toward Kai as he was starting to gain his feet. Her black armor shimmered and became white - White Witch Mode - and her Curaja spell washed over Kai before she even reached him.
“What else can you do?” Kai asked her when she reached him.
“I don’t know. I guess we’ll have to find out.”
“We have to take him out. We can’t do anything else until we do.”
Both of them studied each other before Kai raced toward Volstag and Kaoru, engaging the blinded berserker to prevent him from breaking Kaoru’s ribs with a devastating blow from his fist. Rinally watched them for a second, wracking her brain as to what she could possibly do.
Her Black Witch Mode allowed her to cast status effect magic and offensive magic, like Flare, Graviga, and all her other offensive spells that she knew. She could cast Stop, like she had done before, along with Blind, Poison, and those status effects, but she didn’t think those would help here now. But her White Witch Mode... that might work. With that Mode, she could cast her healing spells, along with support and defensive spells like Haste, Shell, Protect. The only offensive spell she could cast while in White Witch Mode was Holy. Most of the spells she knew now she hadn’t learned in her class before the Sky Islands were destroyed, nor had she even read about them in her books. And yet, because of her Keyblade, because of her armor, she knew she could cast these spells and exactly how to do so.
A plan formed in her mind.
She brought Sorceress up and signaled Kaoru and Kai with her free hand. Whether they knew what she planned or not, they both gave her nods, signaling their trust for her. Just as her Blind spell’s duration ran out, Rinally cast two Haste spells upon Kaoru and Kai, then threw a Protect spell around herself as Volstag burst away from her friends and charged her. His fist screamed in toward her head, but thanks to her Protect spell, it was stopped inches away, allowing Rinally to retaliate. Sorceress might also be a tool for her to use to cast her spells, but it was also a Keyblade, and Rinally knew how to use it. Her Keyblade struck Volstag’s inner wrist, knocking his arm wide. Then she delivered a series of blows to his middle and chest to drive him even further backwards and into Kaoru and Kai’s range.
With his speed enhanced even more by Rinally’s Haste spell, Kai launched into an attack that had similarities to his Nightmare Raid. Rather than his Keyblade striking through Volstag’s flesh like it had done before, the Keyblade tore dark lines into his enemy’s skin. Those lines burst forth with darkness, each tendril attaching to his Keyblade and following his movements as he darted around Volstag. The berserker couldn’t touch him, and even if he tried, Kaoru and Rinally were right there to prevent Volstag from touching him, their Keyblades flashing as they kept him focused elsewhere when one or the other attacked. Kai kept striking where he could, feeling power building up within him as the darkness grew more and more intense.
When he thought he couldn’t hold back anymore, out of the corner of his eye he saw Rinally grab for Kaoru and pull him back, leaving an open space for Kai to maneuver. He saw Rinally’s armor flicker from white to black and he saw Volstag freeze in place again, affected once more by her Stop spell. Volstag roared inhumanely and actually managed to move slightly despite the Stop spell holding him fast, his fingers hooking like claws as he tried to break free. Kai knew he would break free and soon, so Kai drew more on the power of Darkness and felt as though the world around him slowed even as he picked up speed.
Sanctuary flashed in a blur as it built the cocoon of darkness around Volstag. Kaoru could barely see Kai now, and when he did, it was all a black flash. This didn’t have the feel of Kai’s Nightmare Raid, for that attack was broken up by sudden stops and swift changes in direction. This one was in constant motion, with whiplike cords of darkness building an even bigger cocoon around Volstag. Kaoru saw flickers of something beginning to appear around the cocoon, as if reality was beginning to tear itself apart. He could only stand by and watch alongside Rin, who had cast her final spell and had reverted back to her standard mode, her Keyblade Sorceress again in its black and white form.
Then, suddenly, Kai stopped, suspended in the air above the cocoon of darkness. Sanctuary was raised high over his head, and the motes of darkness that followed him around like a cloak were now spread wide as if they were wings. He cut Sanctuary down on a diagonal, then across his body, and up on a diagonal, as if he were cutting through the very fabric of reality itself. The flickers that Kaoru had seen earlier began to widen then, and the cocoon of darkness began to stretch and warp as if it was being drawn into those rips.
Volstag’s head was revealed again and he roared in agitation. His eyes focused on Kaoru and he snarled, “You won’t win! You can’t win! Ennio will destroy you all! You Keyblade brats won’t survive this-“
Whatever he would have said next dissolved into a terrifying howl as he was, quite literally, ripped apart and sucked through the rips in reality. With a snap of his Keyblade, Kai pulled on the attached tendrils of darkness and sealed those rips in reality. As soon as they were completely gone, Kai dropped to the ground and his Black Knight armor dissipated, leaving him panting and clutching Sanctuary.
“What was that?” Rin asked, stunned.
Kai grinned at her. “Death Dimension. It wasn’t until you threw that Haste spell on me that I figured out how to do it.”
“Is he really dead?” Kaoru wondered.
Kai shrugged. “I don’t know. All that attack does is pull the victim into another realm of existence. For all I know, he’s still around, but he can’t interact with anything where he is.”
“So it’s kind of like a purgatory.” Rin reasoned. Kai shrugged again but nodded as if he agreed with her.
It was then that they became aware of how silent the area was. There was no sound of gunfire, no sound of cries, no sound at all. Slowly, the three pivoted toward Ultimecia’s Coffin. Lying on the ground was Laguna, blood trickling from his forehead. Nearby were Kiros and Ward in much the same state, along with the Estharian soldiers that had accompanied Rinoa and Laguna and those that must have come with Kiros and Ward. The Coffin was open entirely, clouded by the frigid air that had once been contained within. And standing over it all was Rinoa, her head lolling on her chest even as she stood upright, along with another woman, who held onto Rinoa’s shoulder as if using the young woman to support herself.
The woman was tall and beautiful, wearing a red skin-tight dress that revealed everything save for a small area on the lower part of her abdomen, covered up her arms entirely, and flared out behind her. She was barefoot and tattooed, and had long silver hair with some of it bound up in fantastic tails that resembled horns. A feathered collar stretched out behind her head and turned into wings. Her hands were covered in clawed purple gloves. A terrible darkness radiated from her, and her golden eyes turned a cold, cruel gaze upon the three Keyblade wielders. Her rouged lips split in an evil smile, and her beauty became marred with the obvious rage and hate that appeared on her face.
Rinoa’s head lifted and her golden eyes turned on Kaoru, Kai, and Rinally, her lips parting to smile much the same as the woman behind her. Rinoa’s arms lifted and Rinally quickly stepped in front of her friends, swinging Sorceress up to create a Barrier between them and the ice spell that rocketed toward them two seconds later. The icicles impacted the Barrier and shattered into a thousand pieces, shimmering in the air with the incredible power that had created them.
“So, you are a sorceress as well. How konvenient.”
It wasn’t Rinoa who spoke but the woman behind her. Kaoru and Kai glanced at each other, then looked at Rinally. Rinally brought her Keyblade down and broke the Barrier, her shoulders tight and tense. “You must be Ultimecia.” Rinally said lowly.
Ultimecia grinned wider. Imitating her, Rinoa did the same.
Rinally tightened her hand on Sorceress. “Let Rinoa go. Now.”
Ultimecia’s grin twisted into something evil and ugly. “How dare you order me around! I am Ultimecia!”
“I don’t care who you are!” Rinally snapped. “That’s my friend you have, and those are my friends that you hurt, and I won’t forgive you for that!”
Rinoa’s hand lifted again and this time Rinally, Kaoru, and Kai were forced to dodge the torrent of water that rushed toward them. They retreated behind a mound of earth as another flurry of icicles came in, thudding against the earth rather than them.
“Kome out little sorceress! Kome out and face me! I will show you my true power!”
Rather than shouting out in retaliation, Rinally gestured to Kaoru and Kai to bring them closer to her. “She’s controlling Rinoa.” Rinally said. “So whatever we do to her will be done to Rinoa. And anything we do to Rinoa will just hurt Rinoa.”
“So, basically, Kaoru and I can’t do shit.” Kai said.
Kaoru shook his head. “We can draw the fire away from Rinally. This is a battle between witches. If anyone can succeed here, it’s Rinally.”
Rinally nodded. “As long as Ultimecia is using Rinoa, we can’t touch her. But Rinoa can. Ultimecia is suppressing Rinoa by invading her mind. Rinoa’s the only one who can force her out. If I can reach Rinoa, then we can force Ultimecia away from Rinoa.”
“And then what? If we can’t defeat Ultimecia, then we’re all in danger.” Kaoru said.
“Do you think the Coffin still works?” Kai wondered. “Because if it does, we can seal her up again.”
“We won’t know that until we reach it.” Kaoru replied.
Rinally winced as a blast of wind hit their earthen barrier, sending a shower of sand crashing over them. “That’s going to be harder because Ultimecia’s right there in front of it. If she doesn’t make Rinoa move, then she won’t move.”
“Do you have any spells that can do that?”
“Maybe if I could use my Black Witch Mode, but I’m too tired for that now.”
“So we’ll have to do it the old-fashioned way.” Kai rose and started around their protection. Glancing at each other, Kaoru and Rinally followed him.
Ultimecia grinned as she saw them, her gold eyes narrowing. Before she could speak or do anything to them, Kai charged forward. Rinoa turned toward him at Ultimecia’s silent behest and raised her hand, a spell of electricity forming. The bolts shot toward Kai and nearly scored successive hits, but his speed, still enhanced by Rinally’s Haste spell, allowed him to avoid the worst of the shocks. He got in close, but an earth spell hit the ground before his feet and disrupted his balance. He nearly fell flat on his face, but Kaoru’s Holy Shield saved him from that, and from the sudden fireball that screamed toward him. He took the impact of the fireball on crossed arms, but was spared the actual fire because of Kaoru’s shield, and hit the ground on his back, rolling to a stop.
Kaoru leaped over him and rushed Ultimecia, moving quickly as he dared. He threw Guardian toward the sorceress, but Ultimecia made Rinoa block it with a spell. Her laughter was like a taunt to the three of them, mocking their efforts to save their friend. It only spurred the three of them to keep fighting even though it seemed hopeless. But Rinally and Kaoru could see what Kai was intending. As long as Ultimecia was focused on them, she wasn’t paying attention to those lying on the ground around her. When Ultimecia turned to focus on Kaoru or Kai when they engaged her, Rinally was able to send healing spells toward Laguna, Kiros, and Ward, along with the Estharian soldiers. There was no time to explain to them what the plan was, but Laguna hadn’t become president of Esthar by being stupid. So when Laguna was able to crawl out of range of Ultimecia’s attacks, he began directing the soldiers away from the area while he, Kiros, and Ward started for the Coffin.
It was up to Kaoru, Kai, and Rinally to keep Ultimecia from seeing with the three men were doing. So while Kaoru and Kai attacked her, Rinally started calling out to Rinoa.
“I know you can hear me, Rinoa!” Rinally yelled, dodging another spell that rushed her way. Kaoru and Kai both continued to try and keep Ultimecia’s attention on them, even going so far as to try to attack her directly to keep her from turning her ire on Laguna. “I don’t know what world she has you trapped in, but you have to fight it, Rinoa! There are people here who need you! Aren’t you the good sorceress? Aren’t you Esthar’s sorceress? Aren’t you friends with Laguna and Ellone and everyone? You protected my sister! You protect so many people! Fight, Rinoa, fight!”
Whether Rinoa heard her or not, the black-haired sorceress didn’t indicate it. She continued to act as Ultimecia’s puppet, throwing spells at Kaoru and Kai, who had lost both their Knight modes, and at Rinally, who could withstand her assault a little better than her friends because of her Barrier spell. Rinally was afraid that Ultimecia’s Coffin would soon become Ultimecia and Rinoa’s Coffin, and that both sorceresses would be sealed away within the chamber.
Then Ultimecia turned to see Laguna, Kiros, and Ward by her Coffin and her face twisted into a mask of such rage and hate it was a miracle that the three men didn’t die from simply meeting her eyes. This time, both Ultimecia’s and Rinoa’s hands raised, and Rinally could see that the spell that was forming would be a devastating one and not only destroy the Coffin, but kill Laguna and the others. Kaoru, Kai, and Rinally charged forward, even though they knew that they would be too late. Rinally kept crying out to Rinoa, trying to get her to fight, to get her to regain control, and stop Ultimecia from destroying everything. The Ultima spell flickered into existence, gaining power rapidly. Rinally tried to summon her Black Witch armor, so that she could cast a Stop spell or even something else that would give Laguna and the others a chance to escape, but to no avail. She didn’t have enough energy to even try a low-class Fire spell.
Then Laguna stepped forward and said, “Rinoa. Rinoa, I know you’re in there. Listen to me. You are the bravest person I know. You’re one of the strongest people I know. I know you and I have had our disagreements, but it never destroyed our friendship. When I offered you my protection, it wasn’t to make you beholden to us or to keep you from hurting anyone. It was to give you a home. To give you a family. I know losing Edea hurt you. I know losing everyone you cared about broke your heart. And I know how hard it is for you to live in Esthar and see the stares and hear the whispers and pretend they don’t hurt you. I know they do, and it’s okay to feel hurt by it. But you’re strong, Rinoa. And you’re not alone.”
He stood there, with his arms slightly spread, staring at Rinoa’s face. From where Kaoru was standing beside Rinally, he could see tears making tracks down Rinoa’s face, but it seemed as though she couldn’t do anything to stop the spell. But then Rinoa half turned toward Ultimecia, her part of the Ultima spell tearing away from the main body and into a spell of its own. A bright prismatic light burst forth from Rinoa’s hands as she pressed them against Ultimecia’s stomach and a thunderclap deafened the entire area as the spell exploded. Kaoru was thrown off his feet by the concussion wave, and when he lifted his head, he could see Ultimecia crumpled on the ground with her mouth open in a silent scream, her golden eyes wide and staring accusingly at Rinoa, who lay on the ground opposite her, coughing and crying.
Laguna quickly signaled Kiros and Ward and the two men hurried to Rinoa to pull her away from Ultimecia. Laguna himself went to Ultimecia and picked her up, cradling her gently as if she were a child. But he said nothing to her, and placed her inside her Coffin again. Then, he shut the Coffin’s open door and sealed Ultimecia away once again.
Rinoa pushed herself to her feet as Laguna approached her and hugged him tightly. She cried into his shoulder for a while, then quieted and pulled back from him. She looked toward Rinally and smiled.
“Thank you,” Rinoa said softly, “all of you. I didn’t think I had the strength to beat her. She had locked me away in a strange world where I was so helpless and weak and I needed protecting all the time. She was the only one who could...” She stopped and shook her head. “I heard you. But it took me recognizing the strength of my own heart to overcome her.”
Rinally grinned. “Us good sorceresses have to stick together, you know?”
Rinoa nodded. “Speaking of...” She turned toward the Coffin. “Rinally, will you help me? I think between the two of us, we can make sure her Coffin can never be opened again and her darkness can’t spread throughout this world.”
“Just tell me what to do.” Rinally moved up beside Rinoa, her Sorceress Keyblade in hand. Following Rinoa’s instructions, the two of them began to weave together a Barrier spell layered cocoon-like around the Coffin. As they finished, the oppressive darkness of Ultimecia dissipated, as if a fresh wind had come through and cleaned the air.
Laguna looked up at the crystal-incased Coffin with a look of awe. Then he turned to Rinoa and Rinally and smiled. “You two are the most amazing sorceresses I’ve ever had the pleasure of meeting.”
Rinoa laughed. “Laguna, next time someone complains about me, I’ll remind you of that.”
“What’s going to happen to the Coffin?” Kaoru asked as he and Kai approached the group.
Laguna’s smile faltered and he looked at the Coffin. “I’m going to ensure that it’s hidden somewhere no one can find it. Ultimecia will never be free again to reign Darkness upon this world.”
The group then looked up at the roar of an engine as one of the transport vehicles appeared at the lip of the dunes, slowly trundling its way down toward them.
“I guess that’s our signal that we can go.” Kai said, folding his arms over his chest.
Rinally smiled, delighted at the thought of seeing her sister again and traveling with her to wherever their new destination would be. She helped load the crystallized Coffin into one of the transports and joined her friends in another, and when they returned to Esthar, Rin immediately went to find Yukari. They stayed the night there in Esthar, recovering their strength and energy, and in the morning, Laguna personally drove them out to the desert where the three of them had first arrived in Esthar. There, Laguna, Kiros, Ward, Ellone, and Rinoa said their farewells to Kaoru, Kai, Rinally, and Yukari. Then, Kai summoned Sanctuary and used his Keyblade to open a door to the Paths of Darkness. One by one, they stepped inside, and then the portal closed behind them, immersing them in the illuminated darkness.
Yukari clung to Rinally’s hand. “Where are we going now?”
Rinally grinned at her sister. “Wherever the road takes us.”
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Kingdom Hearts: Dark Dawn