Kingdom Hearts: The World's Reluctant Heroes

by Blackdrag-rose

Nobody: Peace in Atlantica

Sombra and the others found that there was no other path after taking care of business in the Pride Lands, rather it now seemed like Sora could bring them to any of the worlds they had been to before this point, though his target was one they had flown by previously, the world of Atlantica.

"Before we return to Hollow Bastion, and check on the others, I figured we'd check out Ariel's world for a time, unwind just a little." Sora explained, because he highly doubted that there were Heartless in the world in question, since the World made it a side path and not part of the main path, though he also knew that there was a chance he could be wrong in his thoughts and that the world could be in danger.

"Sounds like a fine idea to me... we could use a bit of a break." Sombra replied, as she agreed with Sora, that they ought to just go to a world that they could just relax in, since she assumed that being in the ship all the time was wearing on them all in some manner, and right now Ariel's world seemed like a decent place to visit for a time.

Since Sora had already opened the Space Door, since he had flown by it previously, there wasn't anything for him to fight this time around and that allowed him to dock the ship close to Atlantica, though once he made sure the ship's systems were ready to go he warped them down to the world's surface. Sure enough Sombra and the others found that they appeared in an underwater area, while finding that Seras's mermaid tail was red, nothing that would offend or cause anyone to panic once they noticed her, before noting how some of them were having difficulties moving. Sombra knew it was reasonable since it had been a long time since their last visit and showed her friends the ins and outs once more, as she had studied all of Ariel's movements and committed them to memory, in the off chance that they would have to return to this world. That, of course, meant that she was the best teacher for them since it didn't look like Ariel was in the area, though it did look like they had been warped down into the area in front of King Triton's domain, an area they had passed through before reaching where his throne was located.

Fortunately for them she was able to jog the memories that were in Sora, Radiant, and Fluttershy's bodies, while Seras just learned from watching and trying things herself, and just in time as well as Sombra could see Ariel coming their way, along with both of her companions, Sebastian and Flounder.

"Sora! Everyone! It's so good to see you again." Ariel said, where she swam around them and found that everyone was able to move just fine, something she was slightly disappointed by since it would have been funny to see them follow Flounder for a time, relearning all of the movements she had taught them previously, "So, what brings you back to Atlantica? We aren't in danger again, are we?"

"Well... kind of. Some of the worlds are in danger, but so far your world seems peaceful." Sora, replied, because Ariel and her friends were a few individuals who actually knew of the other worlds, because King Triton had known about that fact during their last visit and had confronted them inside Ariel, meaning she knew what her father knew.

"It would seem that we have visitors." another voice said, where they found King Triton approaching them, no doubt due to the fact that he was making sure his daughter was alright since he had a rocky relationship with her, before he glanced at Sora for a moment and clearly decided to be much friendlier to them than he was the last time, "It is good to see you again. I do hope there won't be any need for you to use your Keyblades."

"I doubt we'll even need them... I don't sense even a single Heartless." Sombra stated, which was something she knew King Triton would approve of, because it meant that his rule was secure and that he wouldn't have to worry about anything for the foreseeable future, and even if trouble came it would be the normal kind, "Honestly, our stay might be brief... with how peaceful your world is right now, even with Ursula hanging out in her grotto, we'll likely be on our way in no time."

"Well, while you're here, maybe you'd like to take part in our upcoming concert?" Sebastian inquired, which caused the rest of the group to turn towards him for a moment, even though his reasons for such a thing were somewhat different from what he had said, that much Sombra could tell rather easily, especially since Ariel wasn't happy with him.

While most of the group was interested in the idea, and Sombra wasn't, King Triton reluctantly agreed with the idea, since it might help his daughter out, causing him to pull back for a moment as Sebastian showed everyone but Sombra what to do, which was 'moving to a beat' like they were listening to music or something.

"I'm not surprised that Ursula has returned, but it is surprising that she has been silent since her return." King Triton said, keeping his voice low so only Sombra could hear him speak, because this was for the two of them and no one else, even if he seemed annoyed by the fact that he was going to ask them for some assistance, especially after how he acted towards the group during their last visit, "You can sense her... can I ask you to deal with her, if she makes a move?"

"Considering that we've arrived, it would be foolish of her to make a move against you... but I've seen some moronic villains lately, so anything is possible." Sombra replied, which was the truth, she could easily deal with Ursula on her own, in fact it would be child's play for her to just seal Ursula's grotto and prevent her from leaving the area until King Triton's concert was complete, before she turned her head a little, "But the answer is yes. If Ursula makes a move, I'll will deal with her."

King Triton nodded his head as the group moved into the concert hall for Sebastian's 'Shake a Fin' routine, where Sombra just remained in the shadows, allowing everyone else to have some fun while she kept her eyes and senses open for any odd feelings that might be connected to Ursula, all while wondering what the future would throw at them next.

---

Xemnas had remained in his room for a few days after waking up from his meeting with his brother, something he had since come to terms with, though the interesting thing was that the only one who came to check on him was Axel, as Xigbar and the rest of the Organization seemed to be busy, and he had asked Axel to keep it quiet for a time, at least until he felt it was time to reveal himself, which was why he was leaving now. What he found was that the Dusks came by as soon as he walked out into the hallway and bowed their heads, though while one might assume it was due to his position he could tell that the majority of them had been worried about his health, since this was the first time something like this had happened to a member of his group. It made him realize something he had missed beforehand, all Nobodies were capable of emotions, a fact that took losing so many of their number and his near death to learn, and he smiled at the Dusks in return, causing a few of them to tilt their heads in surprise before they rushed off. He knew that they would be weirded out now since he was a changed Nobody, he assumed his resonance with his twin's heart was the cause of this, but he didn't let that get in his way as he continued through the hallways and headed to the relaxation area that many of the members used.

Sure enough he found that Demyx was sitting on a sofa with his sitar, using the book of his to learn new types of music for his unique ability, Saix didn't seem interested in anyone else, Xaldin was going over his notes on the world he had spent a lot of time in, Axel was cleaning his weapon, Luxord was playing cards, not even a surprise, and Xigbar looked like he hadn't gotten any sleep recently, like something was bothering him.

"Friends, I have returned." Xemnas stated, where the remaining members of the Organization stopped for a moment before he found Demyx, of all people, getting up first and hugging him, where he smiled a little and returned the gesture, causing a wave of surprise to wash over the others, even though Demyx was smiling, almost like he knew more than he was letting on, or maybe he was overthinking things.

"So, what happened back there? Why did you suddenly faint like that?" Xigbar asked, because while he knew the reason, it was something only he and Xemnas knew, he needed to maintain his ignorance on the matter and act like his usual self that everyone was used to dealing with.

"Sombra has restored one of the missing Keyblade wielders, and my connection to said wielder caused some backlash that I wasn't remotely ready for." Xemnas replied, as he knew there were no plans for Terra to return to the World, Xehanort had made sure to make things so that his heart and will would be unable to rejoin his body, in the unlikely event that both he and his twin were destroyed, and Sombra just blew those plans out of the water, "While I was knocked out I discovered that my heart had resonated with my twin's, and it would appear that my talk with Sairaine allowed me to stabilize myself... or at least it seems that way. I won't pretend to be an expert on hearts, as this was quite the surprise."

"Sairaine?! Sounds like the Seeker picked a name for himself." Demyx said, which was good news in his eyes, especially as he pulled back for a moment and collected his materials, all while noticing that Xigbar seemed to be losing his mind right now, especially since this was new information that none of them had known previously.

"But that doesn't make any sense... Sombra destroyed him and did away with his heart. Or whatever it was that she did once he was taken out." Xigbar remarked, as it didn't make sense to him, there was no way for someone in the Seeker's position to suddenly grow their heart to the point that they were able to resonant like this, especially a Heartless resonating with their Nobody, which made him wonder what in the World was going on right now as he tried to keep himself from blowing his cover out of pure rage for Sombra's various deeds, "Why did all of this happen now?"

"I do not know... and right now I intend to get back to work. I might have a heart, but all of you are still in the dark." Xemnas stated, because now that he had confirmed that he had changed, and his conversation with Sairaine had revealed that he had a heart, the big goal of their plans since the very beginning when he ignored Xehanort's private goal, he knew it was time for him to truly focus on helping the rest of his friends, "Saix, you said that Maleficent was building an army... is that still true, or did she give up on it?"

"Her army is a thousand Heartless strong, and there are some strong members in their ranks... Hollow Bastion is doomed, if no one comes to fight the army." Saix replied, which was why they were banking on Sora's group coming to their aid, due to just how many Heartless there were and the amount of emblem bearers they had counted, enough to make sure that their main threat would be unable to touch them all, especially with the important fact Demyx had noticed, "And that's not all: the army is growing... we might be seeing twice that number in a few days."

"I see... All members, get ready to travel to Hollow Bastion!" Xemnas said, where he found that the rest of the Organization spread out and did as he commanded, though this time it was different from the original plan, because he was thinking of stalling the Heartless until a wielder showed up to dispatch them, as their weapons would only displace them for a time, a sad aspect of being a Nobody.

As he said that Xigbar frowned, noticing that something was definitely different about Xemnas, while Demyx just smiled as he got ready, because he was pleased with the changes and could only wonder what the immediate future held in store for him and the rest of the Organization.

Comments

[Xalok]

Ah yes Atlantica... The world there makes me run away, unless I'm doing a 100% run I will not touch this world.

[Ze1a7in]

11907946
You and everyone who knows about KH2 Atlantica being a rhythm game.

[Xalok]

11907974
pbs.twimg.com/media/EqRpDVJW8AAKu8l.jpg

[Xarmar13]

Is Xigbar even aware that Demyx is his master?

[Hexan Tronic]

I'm curious how Xemnas is going to handle helping the rest with their own hearts, I'm sure he has some kind of plan.

[Ze1a7in]

11907997
Nope! The one time Xigbar could have been suspicious was played off by Demyx as getting a new music/song book, and so everyone just thinks Xigbar is incredibly stressed by the Sombra situation and not handling it well.