Souls Of Time : A Kingdom Hearts Story

Chapter 36 Pleading Fate

"You got some good sense." Axel admitted.

"There has to be a better way, where we would at least have a chance." I said quietly.

"Yeah, we could all die just like that." Axel snapped his fingers. 

"No, there actually is nothing else we can do." Ven said with sorrow. 

"He played the whole thing out the way he wanted, he planed everything, every possible outcome. He knows what we will do already. There's no way out of this." Terra admitted.

"I don't feel prepared for this. But, I don't think we will ever be... To be honest, I'm scared. I'm afraid of everything that could happen. I wish I could just turn back right now and forget that this ever happened. But, if we leave now, we never will return. And, Xehanort will never stop." Sora said. 

"It would be the worst thing possible, losing all of you, after getting this far." Riku added. 

"I know what it's like, to lose the ones you care for, it hurts. We all know that pain." Axel replied.

We all looked at each other. 

"So, that is what we will fight for. We will fight for our future, our friends, and our freedom." Sora spoke.

"There's no going back now, no matter what. I'm willing to make any sacrifice." Aqua answered. 

Sora stood to his feet and summoned his blade. "Ready?" He questioned.

We all stood with him and summoned our Keyblades.

Riku stepped up to him and placed his hand on his shoulder. "I'm with you till the end, Sora..." 

Axel put his arm around Roxas, giving him a half hug. Aqua placed her hand on top of Ven's head. Terra held onto Aqua's arm. Kairi stepped up and held onto Riku's arm. Hoshi and Hato both placed their hands on my shoulder. 

"...We all are." Riku answered.

We gave him a nod. 

"Then it's time." He replied. 

Riku let go and Sora stepped forward, then quickly leaped of the edge. We all jumped and followed behind him. I tried to keep myself stable as we all fell down to the ground below. Quite a ways down from the ledge above. The ground was approaching, ever closer to Xehanort, ever closer to his trap, to danger. Sora landed first on the ground, the rest of us landed not short after. He got into his fighting stance, expecting Xehanort to leap up from his throne and attack us. We all stood ready. But, he didn't even flinch when we landed, he just stayed in his throne, like he was just resting his eyes for a moment. 

If we rush ahead and attack he will most likely fight back, but if we stay back here he doesn't even notice us. If we alert him of our presence he will fight back. But, if we move closer, that is exactly what he wants... Do we have no choice but to do exactly what he laid out for us?

Sora looked just as confused. This must not be what he expected from his final confrontation to be with the master of darkness. He stood up right and slowly walked ahead into the center of the room. Designs of Heartless, Nobody, and Unversed symbols were imprinted on the floor. Xehanort sat with one leg crossed, his head resting in his hand. Behind his white throne were massive tall windows, outside was dark. 

Sora stopped in the center, still on high alert for any of his tricks. We stopped and stood behind him, holding our Keyblades tight. 

"Xehanort." Sora spoke up.

That finally caught the man's attention. Though he knew we were there all along, he was just waiting for us to approach. A smirk formed on his face. His eyes opened, showing their golden color.