Kingdom Hearts: The World's Reluctant Heroes

by Blackdrag-rose

Interlude: Truths

After greeting her long lost family, since her sealed memories had been returned, Sombra had a short while to consider all of it as she brought her father, her sister, and the rest of her friends to the main eating area, which was now far grander than what it was when the Nobodies were in control of the whole castle.

"Sister, I noticed that there are a significant number of twins in this world. Why is that?" Umbra asked, as she was curious about everything they were discovering right now, especially since it looked like the transformed pegasus near Sombra had a twin of her own, even if the twin looked slightly different than the pink haired one.

"That's because some of them are 'Somebodies' and some are 'Nobodies', and to understand that you'll need to know a few things." Sombra replied, though as she sat down she sent out some of her clones into the kitchen, where her family found that they were preparing drinks and snacks, while at the same time she formed an image in the middle of the table to help them understand what they would be talking about, "First of all, this world is one of many that exist in the universe, which is called 'the World' by everyone... and the latter is with a capital, by the way... but most people are unaware of the other worlds that made up the World. The people of the worlds are generally called 'Somebodies', and for a long time that was the only thing of importance, but then things changed when Xehanort, the main villain of our story, just... oh by the World, how can I even explain him and his countless sins?"

"I take it he's a horrible person? One that even 'King' Sombra finds annoying and vexing?" Nebula inquired, because he and the rest of the Umbrum had heard of what his son, now daughter, had done while she was in control of the Crystal Empire, a dreaded figure whose name cast fear on those he ruled over, even though they know they had bested him, a level of fear that many in his empire were unable to replicate.

"Well, he tore Ventus's heart in half, manipulated him and his friends into an adventure to get Terra's body while crafting the X-Blade, and sundered Terra's heart, left Aqua in the Realm of Darkness, and left Ventus in a coma," Sombra remarked, to which she beckoned to the trio in question for a moment as the image changed to what she had seen when she learned how to wield time magic, and wanted to learn more about things before being told everything from those who experienced it, a fact that made her sigh for a moment, "And on top of that, that's the shortened version of what those three were forced to deal with... even Vanitas, Ventus' other half, was subjected to Xehanort's cruelty, as the old man literally tore Vanitas' heart to pieces and scattered the light fragments, and Vanitas' emotionally shattered existence means the Unversed were made in the first place. Xehanort also released his own heart from his own body to take over Terra's body, causing him to use his own Keyblade on him to shatter Terra's hold, creating a number of fragments of Terra in the process... which I found and used to bring him back... and Xehanort used his new body, despite being a blank slate, to become a student of Ansem the Wise, who he eventually betrayed and sent to the Realm of Darkness."

"Yes, and it was shortly after that incident that things got worse: namely the weakening of the barriers that allowed kept the Heartless out of the World, and sundering his form into a Heartless and a Nobody." Xemnas continued, where the image in front of them changed to show the form of Terra that was known as 'Terra-nort' before he was separated into himself and his twin brother, causing Sombra's family to glance between the image and them for a few moments, "I was the Nobody that was formed when Xehanort's heart was forcefully removed from Terra's body, as the darkness had claimed his heart, but I was born from his body... my brother, Sairaine, was the Heartless that was formed by his heart falling into darkness. Both of us went our own ways, following Xehanort's plan of crafting and taking possession of Kingdom Hearts: Sairaine, then known as 'Ansem the Wise' since we stole our master's name before separating, used the other Heartless, and a council of villains, to conquer worlds so the Heartless could devour their hearts and bring them to the 'End of the World' to form the 'Kingdom Hearts of Worlds', while I gathered hearts freed by the Keyblades and formed the 'Kingdom Hearts of Hearts'."

"And... and what is 'Kingdom Hearts'?" Umbra inquired, because it sounded important, though she wondered what the two beings were named like that, as hearts were 'Heartless' and bodies were 'Nobodies', due to the fact that she believed they should be reversed, but her focus was on the main aspect they were talking about right now.

"It... well, simply put it is a fragment of creation, at best guess, and it's power could be limitless. I will admit, I honestly don't know much about the subject." Sombra admitted, though in that instant a heart shaped moon appeared in front of them, shrunken down to fit in the image magic she was using right now, something she stared at for a few seconds, because it was the only part of the puzzle that Xemnas and Sairaine were unable to tell her about, which was why Xehanort wanted it so badly that he was willing to do so much damage to the World, "But what I do know is that it is pure unfiltered power, unlike anything else that exists in the World, and while Xehanort's reasons for wanting it are unknown, for not even Xemnas or Sairaine know what his plans are, I will not allow him to have it... not after what he's done so far."

After that comment Sombra returned to the topic of the Heartless and Nobodies, telling her sister and father about the ins and outs of the beings that were born when the Heartless stole their hearts, the creation of them, the High Ranks that had served the Organization, and the members of the Organization who were now freed from Xehanort's influence. There was a lot of information to share with them, and she did so without delay, as they were interested in everything that the World had to offer, even though she knew that her sister was curious like Twilight Sparkle, meaning she would no doubt go out to see the rest of the worlds at some point. Sombra also explained her form to everyone that was around her, because they knew that she used to be the Third Prince before arriving in Traverse Town, even though she only just now remembered this once she saw her old family, where they learned of how her old body was destroyed and her soul, her heart, lingered, eventually coming to Ponyville and possessing Fluttershy's body. Because she was attached to Fluttershy when they were warped to this portion of the World, her heart covering the mare's, causing the conscious of the World to make her a female body, despite the fact that she had been male.

She also mentioned that the World had offered her a reward once upon a time for helping Sora and his friends, but she had honestly forgotten about it until this very moment, and was sure that she had used it to help the people of this world before her family had shown up.

"So, when were you planning on telling us about this?" Riku asked, as he was still conflicted on this matter, because part of him still cared for her, but at the same time there was the sting of being lied to for so long, so he was asking something that was bugging them, even if Sora was fine since Sombra had remained true to their group.

"Honestly, I've been so focused on dealing with Xehanort that I completely forgot to plan on telling anyone about this... just goes to show you how important beating him really was." Sombra replied, which was the truth, she had been so focused on their main target, and the pieces he had created, that she had neglected to consider the possibility of her friends learning the truth about her, and yet a part of her was relieved that they appreciated this version of her and not the tyrant king that her father had talked about a little earlier.

"So I can see that you two are going to be having a lover's quarrel later... and it's cute by the way, sister... but can we take some time to talk about these 'Keyblades' you mentioned earlier?" Umbra asked, as she had seen several of them since she and her father had come to talk to the group, and she was fascinated by her sister's cooking ability, but she was more eager to learn about the key shaped weapons that some of them were using, "Do you think I can use one too?"

While Sombra chuckled at the idea, because if she could use a Keyblade, and even gain a second, she was sure anyone could learn to use one, she also knew that she and Riku would need to talk, though all of this made her mentally sigh as she took a moment to wonder where her brother was and hoped he wasn't doing anything stupid.

---

"And that is everything that has happened since the day you lost your memories." Xigbar finished, as he had told Xehanort every detail about what had gone down after their failure to create the X-Blade, every failure that was due to Sombra and her friends fighting against those that got in her way, and he had moved them to an area that provided some cover while letting his partner have some tea.

Xehanort said nothing for a time as he looked down at his tea cup for a few seconds, as that was a lot of information that his partner had imparted to him and he required time to think about what it meant for them, because it was insane to think that a dark being like Sombra could wield the Light and a Keyblade of Light.

"This is... troubling news, to be honest." Xehanort said, where he sipped his tea for a few more seconds before setting down the cup, allowing him to look around a smaller chamber that was like the thirteen throne chamber that Xemnas had taken over, an area he had intended to use once he and his Seekers were good and ready to reveal themselves, only the thrones in this area were on the same level and weren't as grand as the ones that Xemnas had access to, "We need allies... my younger self should be able to connect with us at some point, but that's only three and we need thirteen total."

"Perhaps I can help with that?" a voice inquired, where Xigbar turned for a moment and found that someone had found out where they were hiding, a figure that stood as tall as Sombra while being leaner, more like a prince he realized, who wore a dark gray shirt and a black pair of pants, though he wore a lush red cape with white fluff around the top, something that a prince would wear.

That wasn't what Xigbar was focused on, however, rather it was the fact that the stranger had markings on the backs of his hands, where his eyes widened as he realized the right was the symbol for time magic and the left was gravity, before both he and Xehanort noticed the figure's eyes. They were slit, much like Sombra's where when she was angry, yet the right was the teal blue of time magic and the right was the vibrant purple of gravity magic, while the area around his eyes contained the same eerie green color that Sombra's had possessed when she went full power. In fact Xigbar could see the dark mist coming from the stranger's eyes, meaning he likely had the same dark magic that Sombra possessed, while he had short black hair that was much like Sombra's, only there were small white pointed stars in a ring around his hair, as in they were part of his hair, and the stars had four points. In addition to all of that the stranger definitely looked like Sombra and the rest of the pony girls, with the ears, tail, and hooves in place of feet, and yet he seemed totally different from anything Xigbar had encountered, like there was more of him lingering in the darkness that was around them, waiting to be unleashed.

Every inch of Xigbar's body was screaming at him right now, to just run and not look back, because this figure seemed far too dangerous for him to get involved with, and yet the fact that Xehanort was still sitting meant he might be thinking of letting the figure join them, meaning he should trust his partner.

"Who are you? You don't seem like this 'Sombra' character I was told about." Xehanort inquired, though this was a good turn of events for them, because the figure seemed like someone they could use to bring about his plan to forge the X-Blade and claim Kingdom Hearts, and let him bring balance to the World at long last.

"I would think not, for I am far more than that loser of a brother could ever hope to achieve. I am Tenebris, First Prince of the Umbrum Empire." the stranger replied, where a chill ran down Xigbar's spine as the figure spoke, because it sounded like he viewed his sibling as being lesser than him, to the point that Tenebris was superior in every way, though he did note that he called Sombra his 'brother' and not his 'sister', "Here, let me show you what I mean."

Tenebris walked up to Xehanort for a moment and placed a finger on his head, where Xigbar felt like he was using magic to look into the old man's mind for something specific, before a wicked grin appeared on his face as the glow of time magic appeared on his right hand. Such a thing was followed by him holding his hand to the empty space that was in the chamber, where the pair found a circle of time runes appearing on the air before breaking into what looked like a time portal, where he pulled out a figure that Xehanort recognized instantly, for it was his younger self. In addition to that he noticed a smaller figure that looked like Riku when he was possessed by the Heartless that was formed when Terra-nort made his Heartless and his Nobody, the 'Riku Replica' as Xigbar called him since he was sure Vexen had created him before Castle Oblivion was taken by Sombra. Xigbar had to resist the urge to drop his jaw, because this was a blatant disregard for the time rules that existed in the World, that much he knew after everything he had been through, as he knew they needed a Replica to house the hearts of those that were going to be Xehanort's vessels, but if the stranger had this power it might be easier for them to find the remaining vessels.

"Now, let us talk about why you need these vessels and what sort of a partnership we can form... something tells me that both of us can benefit from aiding the other." Tenebris said, though the smile on his face told Xigbar that he might have seen more than just the past version of Xehanort when he delved into the old man's mind, meaning this could very well be a trap, but it might be one they had to deal with to fulfill their plans, "And you can tell me all about my idiot brother while your at it, just so I know how to hurt him the next time we cross paths."

Xigbar really didn't like Tenebris, he seemed like the type of person that would backstab them when the time was right, and decided to keep an eye on him for the time being, though he could only hope that Xehanort knew what he was doing as he wondered what the future might hold for them in the coming days.

Comments

[Xarmar13]

It seems like Xigbar was starting to have second thoughts about the whole thing. I am predicting that he will nope to Xehanort's plan and bail at some point.

[Moonlight_Mist]

11931610
Eh, seems more like he doesn't care for this thing that just showed up to hijack their scheming.