Part 4 - KHIII
Lea: (earth)
Back at Radiant Garden, the remaining apprentices were still cleaning their living space. It took the four of them a lot of work to clean up over a year's worth of dust, and they had long since run out of Lemon Pledge and other cleaning supplies. If they ventured into the town at large, however, they weren't sure what kind of reception they would get from their fellow citizens, whom they had royally screwed over with Xehanort's sham experiment. Dilan drew the short straw and had to go out shopping by himself.
Armed with only a broom, Even tried to swipe the cobwebs from the corner of the ceiling. Unfortunately he encountered some of Oogie's bugs that had been mutated by chemicals in the lab. Ditching the broom for his pointy impaling shield didn't do much to help him. It was at that point that Lea showed up to check on them with no intention of helping.
"Make any progress yet?" Lea barely asked before Even begged him to kill the giant bugs with fire. "Happy to oblige!"
Dilan came home to an explosion. "What did you all do while I was out?!"
"They called the exterminator, that's what," Lea replied. "You're welcome."
The room was covered in ash and giant bug remains. "I'm not cleaning this up," Dilan fumed, dropping the big bag of cleaning supplies in frustration. "Or going back to the store."
"I think I hear my training calling. See ya!" Lea opened a portal with his new keyblade and leaped out of there.
"By the way, I got us all some pocky from that one Moogle that keeps following us everywhere," Dilan added, calming down and producing a smaller bag.
"Yay," Ienzo cheered.
"I'll make tea," Aeleus said.
"Good idea," Even added, still a bit frazzled.
Randomly opening up a portal sent Lea to a world he had never been to before; that was starting to become a bad habit, but he didn't care. However, he did realize something new - he was a horse now. Challenge accepted, he thought, wondering how much harder it would be to get things done in this form. He held out a foreleg and tried to open up a corridor of darkness; that still worked, so even if something happened and he couldn't summon or wield his weapons he could still make it out of there.
Just then he heard what sounded like a parade of ponies headed in his direction - no one had seen him playing with the dark corridor, and he wanted to keep it that way, so he hid behind some bushes to see what was going on from a safe distance. "A true, true friend helps a friend in need...A friend will be there to help you see...A true, true friend helps a friend in need to see the light that shines from a true, true friend..."
Catchy, thought Lea. After the procession was over, the crowd dispersed; a group of six led by a purple unicorn wearing a tiara went back to a tree cottage that doubled as a library. For whatever reason, Lea decided to follow them. He watched from outside the window as the purple unicorn levitated a quill to write in a book. When she was finished, beams of light shot out of her friends' necklaces and made her disappear. They seemed just as alarmed and confused by it as he was, and he didn't have time to hide before they and a small purple dragon came running outside to search for her.
"Have you seen Twilight?" the pink one asked him in a panic.
"It is starting to get dark..." Lea stammered uncomfortably.
The pink pony glared at him angrily enough to kill. "Was that supposed to be a joke?!" she screamed.
"Easy, Pinkie, I don't think he's from around here," the orange pony said, putting her hoof out. She explained to Lea, "Twilight isn't a time of day. She's a unicorn. What's your name?"
"It's Lea." At least no one here will call me Axel.
"What were you doing lurking around here anyway?" the rainbow pegasus asked suspiciously.
"I'm looking for some friends of mine too."
"That sounds familiar," the yellow pegasus murmured.
"Yes. It does seem like strange ponies from out of town have been passing through here looking for their friends," the white unicorn whispered back.
Suddenly the purple one reappeared as suddenly and brightly as she had disappeared - and this time she had wings in addition to her horn. A taller white pony with wings and a horn was with her and was also wearing a tiara. With this latest development the group had all but forgotten Lea in their presence. He made sure to follow their lead and bow down before their ruler, though, and listened to what she had to say. From what he could understand, this Twilight had finished some kind of unfinished spell and had been awarded the status of alicorn princess. The coronation was scheduled for the following day in Canterlot.
While the group surrounded Twilight and talked about all the preparations that needed to be made for the trip, Lea slipped away to try to leave. Just as he was about to open up a dark corridor he saw something out of the corner of his eye and galloped toward it. At the edge of the woods he found a unicorn that could only be Isa still clad in the Organization cloak as Lea was but still working for Xehanort. "You were about to leave. Why didn't you?" Isa asked.
Lea answered his question with another. "What are you doing here?"
"I wouldn't be here tomorrow if I were you. Xehanort has plans for that coronation ceremony."
"You're involved, aren't you."
"Yes."
"Why?!" Lea exclaimed, infuriated. "Just because that guy keeps you around doesn't mean he likes you. He's using you to do his dirty work as always!"
"You wouldn't understand."
"I would if you'd just talk to me!"
Isa vanished through his own dark corridor, and when Lea turned around he saw the group of ponies staring at him. "Everything all right, sugarcube?" the orange one asked, though they all looked like they knew it wasn't.
"Well, I found one of my friends."
"And that's a good thing, right?" Twilight asked.
"Not really. He's planning on doing something stupid tomorrow. Is the ceremony open-invitation?"
"I guess anypony can go to Canterlot if they wanted to." Twilight hesitated. "Is your friend planning something involving the ceremony?"
"I think that's what he just said," the rainbow one answered for him. "Just how stupid is this friend of yours anyway?"
"Rainbow!" Twilight scolded.
"It's okay," Lea said, brushing it off. "Anyway, I'm thinking I should go there and prevent him from doing something he'll regret, and I'm pretty sure one or two of my other friends will show up there as well."
"That would be great. We're leaving on the train at first light."
***
Before the coronation procession began, the courtyard was filling up with onlookers. Lea had put the guards on high alert for anything that looked suspicious along with Isa's general description. Then he saw Sora in the crowd and waved him over. "Yo, hero! That you?"
"Axel?...Um, I mean Lea. What's going on?"
"I ran into Isa last night. He said Xehanort is going to have him attack the coronation today."
"You mean Saix? That's terrible!"
"We can stop him together, though, Roxas."
"You know my name is Sora, right?"
"And you know mine is Lea. What's your point?"
"I'll fight alongside you, but you need to stop looking for the Roxas in me. I know he was your best friend, but-"
"So was Isa at one time."
"Huh?"
"Yeah. Back in Radiant Garden we dreamed of one day becoming part of Ansem's elite guard."
"And did you?"
"Not exactly. Not until...well, Xehanort sort of took things over."
"I'm sorry."
"Tell me about it. After that, all Isa did was follow Xehanort's orders. It looks like he still is despite all that's happened."
Just then, the crowd was sent scampering by the appearance of a swarm of Heartless. Sora and Lea summoned their Keyblades to their mouths to fight them off. The guards had already surrounded Isa, who was controlling the swarm with darkness. Because he was a unicorn, he was also using a levitation spell to wield his weapon. At that moment, Lea knew what he had to do. Sora's got Riku as his best friend, and Isa is still mine, he thought. And a true friend helps a friend in need. "You've got this, Sora," he said through clenched teeth, breaking off from the swarm and going after his friend.
Isa's concentration seemed to become even more strained now that he was fighting against his friend. "You dare stand in my way again?"
"And every time after this until I get through to you!"
Isa had no choice but to use the darkness Xehanort had given him to absorb the Heartless and make himself stronger. Doing so also freed up Sora, who immediately ran to Lea's side to help. The other guards were regrouping as well, and Isa decided he did not like those odds. "Don't let him get away!" one of them shouted as he opened up a dark corridor and jumped through it. Lea managed to follow him before it closed. Sora was worried, but it was between the two of them now.
(Besides the fact Lea and Isa have already met Ven, they haven't made the connection yet.)
Kairi: (alicorn)
Part of Kairi's training involved getting advice from other princesses like herself. So far she had learned from the princesses of the Land of Dragons that she had a duty to the world that she came from, even though Mulan said that being true to her heart came first. Her fellow princess of heart, Alice, had also grown up and had returned to Wonderland to champion the lingering darkness there. The two of them went through sword training, and Alice said to believe in the impossible and to never lose her "muchness." Kairi didn't know what that meant exactly, but she knew they'd have to have courage and belief in themselves if they ever hoped to defeat the dark forces, whatever they may be (Xehanort, Maleficent, the Jabberwocky, etc.).
Her next portal took her to a place where she had to change forms for the first time. When she stepped out into this world, she was a pony in Canterlot Castle. She wasn't just any pony, however - she was an alicorn, and she was standing in a room with a bunch of other ponies (three of them alicorns) who were very surprised to see her suddenly appear before them. They were standing in front of another portal that looked much like a Keyblade portal but not a keyhole in the slightest. Instead, it looked more like Alice's looking glass.
"Who the hoof are you?" asked a rainbow pegasus.
"Did you come from the other side?" asked a white unicorn.
"I thought there was only one portal to the other dimension, the one Twilight and Spike went through," an orange pony said.
"Yes, I'm from another world, one where I don't look like this," Kairi admitted. "I don't know if it's the same one your friends went to, though. There are a lot of other worlds, or so I've heard."
"Sister, what is the meaning of this?" the midnight blue alicorn asked the white alicorn.
"I believe that there is a reason for everything," the white alicorn replied vaguely. "Perhaps she can tell us." She turned back to Kairi and asked, "What is your name, princess from another world?"
"How did you know that I'm a princess?" Kairi asked.
"You could not have taken on the form of an alicorn if you were not one."
"My name is Kairi. I am a princess of heart from Radiant Garden, the capital of light."
Nopony said anything for a beat, but the white alicorn continued by introducing herself and the others. "Why hast thou come to this world?" Princess Luna inquired.
"The worlds are in danger of falling into darkness again," Kairi explained. "I'm still new to being a princess and a warrior of light. I come seeking guidance so that I will be ready for the war ahead."
"Will Equestria be pulled into this war?" Princess Celestia asked, concerned.
"I don't know," Kairi admitted sadly.
The other ponies murmured amongst themselves. "I sure hope Twilight gets back with her element soon," Fluttershy whispered. "If the darkness reaches Equestria before she gets it, we won't be able to defend ourselves."
"You might be right," Applejack said, "but we've only had to use the elements against Nightmare Moon and Discord. Princess Cadance and Shining Armor were able to stand against Queen Chrysalis and King Sombra. All hope's not lost. I am worried about Twi, though."
"If one of my enemies does decide to show up while I'm here, I won't hesitate to defend you," Kairi spoke up.
"That's the kind of attitude a princess should have," Princess Cadance said encouragingly. "I will tell you anything you want to know."
"We'll wait here for Twilight to come back," Rarity said, and the other four ponies agreed. Celestia and Luna decided to put the guards on alert and keep watch for intruders from the tower.
Meanwhile, Cadance briefed Kairi on the Elements of Harmony before diving into her own backstory. "So if you were a seventh element of harmony, you would be compassion?" Kairi surmised.
"I guess you could say that. But I have the Crystal Empire to look after. The elements protect all of Equestria from threats. Twilight and her friends have an important job to do by maintaining their friendship and powering the elements. In the wrong hooves, the power is dangerous. When King Sombra hid away the Crystal Heart, negative feelings controlled the empire. When Discord made the girls doubt their friendship, the power was extinguished. You must never doubt yourself or your friends, Kairi, and you must have compassion for all those in your realm and beyond."
"Is that the most important thing?"
"That's for you to decide. You'll know it when you see it."
Suddenly two guards showed up with a colt who Kairi seemed to recognize. "He showed up in the middle of the courtyard. He says he knows you," one of them said.
"Sorry, Riku. I warned them that the darkness might be coming," Kairi apologized.
"Yen Sid sent me to find you. It's almost time," Riku said worriedly.
"What do you mean?"
"Xehanort has spread out the catastrophes, distracting each of us from doing our jobs. Since his forces outnumber us, divide-and-conquer seems to be his method until we're all captured."
"Captured?! Is everyone all right?"
"I don't know. Sora said Lea went after Isa and no one has seen him since. We still have a job to do, too, once we find Aqua and Ansem and wake Ven."
Kairi thought for a moment. "Riku, do you have the information that Ansem gave you?"
"Sure. What do you need it for?" he asked, handing it to her.
She looked over the pages and smiled a little. "I know how we can win, or at least turn the odds in our favor," she said.
Suddenly there was more of a ruckus outside, as Braig had shown up as a unicorn with another swarm of Heartless; he had taken the form of a pegasus. The guards recognized the creatures from the coronation and were ready this time. However, they were not prepared for Braig's weapons, which he used to pin them down until it was just Kairi and Riku left to stand against him. "So, we havin' fun yet?" Braig taunted.
Riku glared at him but dared not break his concentration by speaking. Kairi, however, could do both. "You're from Radiant Garden too, aren't you?" she asked, recognizing him.
"You remember, huh? It's been ages since anyone there last saw you."
"Are you here of your own free will or because Xehanort sent you?"
"Wow. You must be really out of the loop if you have to ask me that."
"Go home. This isn't you."
"Heh. As if."
"You were one of Ansem's guards. You patrolled the streets. I used to think you were scary, but you were nice in your own way."
"What are you getting at? You really think they'd take me back? It's too late."
"They need you. Everyone should be together again like you used to be."
"I can't go back." Guilted, Braig took the Heartless and left through a dark corridor.
"What was that about, Kairi?" Riku asked, perplexed. "You remembered all that?"
"Not all of it. He was there in Ansem's notes, though. He just wants their lives in Radiant Garden to go back to normal with everyone together again, smiling." Kairi answered. "We need to go there next and enlist their help. We need to bring the other Keyblade warriors back, and the people of Radiant Garden need Ansem the Wise back. Maybe if we work together with the remaining apprentices we can find a way to do it. Lea said there were still four of them left."
Riku looked skeptical but nodded. After saying goodbye to the ponies, they opened a portal and left for Radiant Garden.
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