bilbosama

Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3

That's all folks.

13.

The King was silent on the way back to Evermore. His ministers explained that Doloran was a sorcerer seeking to release the Horned One from its seal and he had been doing that by interfering with the bonds between world rulers and their Kingmakers. Evan and presumably Mausinger are the only ones whose Kingsbonds haven't been broken by the mad man. No one is sure why Doloran would capture Roland's heart until Sora explained Organization XIII's current goal to gather all hearts until they can recreate a way into Kingdom Hearts.

"Then perhaps," decided Leander, "it's much safer to have his heart in Doloran's hands."

"Aye," agreed Batu reluctantly, "we know where it is this time."

It was agreed that Sora, Donald, and Goofy should return to Ding Dong Dell to pass on the message to King Mausinger that Evermore genuinely wishes to parlay and that King Evan never retrieved the Mark of Kings.

"I'll be fine," Evan said when the trio expressed their concerns.

"But Your Majesty," protested Sora, "we failed to save your Chief Consul."

"Roland was more than a Chief Consul," corrected Evan, "he was a dear friend. But...at least we know that, in a way, he's alright."

"We'll bring him back to you," Sora promised, "and help you get his heart back from Doloran."

Evan smiled despite his grief, "Thank you."

There was a flash of light and a floating scroll appeared from a bracelet on Evan's wrist. Sora instinctively summoned the Keyblade...

To his confusion, the scroll didn't lead him to the Keyhole to the world's heart. Instead, it showed him a gate that looked similar to the gates he passed through during long gummi ship rides. Was this why Xadlorn resorted to flinging people into haphazard portals? He couldn't directly get through? And why can't Sora find the world's Keyhole?

Curious, Sora raised the Keyblade and it immediately unlocked the gate.

He then returned to the throne room.

"What was that?" asked Tani.

"A pathway has been opened," said Sora, "Well...let's just say the next time we come back, it'll be a lot easier."

14.

"That was quite a gamble," said Luxord as he helped Xadlorn return to his chambers, "risking discovery of your foolishness without an actual goal or a counterplan in mind. No wonder it all flopped like a sculpture made of cards."

Xadlorn groaned as his injured leg tried to misstep and tumble him to the floor but the other Nobody kept him up. The only bright side to this recent chain of events is that Luxord had the sense to keep all of his gambling metaphors to a minimum this time.

"You're lucky you weren't reduced to a Dusk or faded away from more severe injuries," he added.

"Yeah," Xadlorn agreed tiredly. The results of his punishment as given from Xemnas made him unable to focus very well.

"Xadlorn? Are you still here?" asked Luxord, "We're outside of your suite now."

"Oh...thanks." Xadlorn watched as Luxord opened the door for him and carried him inside.

Worlds away, Doloran grumbled as the Horned One soothed away phantom pains.

The next part of his punishment was to be confined to his rooms for several weeks with meetings being the only times he can be out. Xadlorn didn't mind, it meant he could heal in peace. It was fortunate he had found a couple of spare potions to heal the worst of his injuries. It meant he didn't have to deplete his already dwindling supply of soreaway leaves.

He may not be able to feel emotions, but unfortunately, pain is not an emotion so he still had to experience it. Saix hadn't gone berserk while carrying out judgement. He didn't need to but the implications that he could have were there.

In the second week of his punishment, the remaining members of Organization 13 received news of Sora defeating a powerful Heartless in Port Royale. Luxord found it fascinating that the boy managed to avoid getting cursed by it. Perhaps it was because he wasn't a native to that world?

At the end of the third week, Xadlorn's punishment was lifted. By then he had reread several books at least twice, drilled himself on his technique with swords, attempted magic that wasn't gravity related, and drafted laws that might be useful to Evermore someday.

On his first day out of confinement, Xadlorn was given a guard duty shift down in the dungeons where Kairi was held. The girl sullenly chewed on a loaf of bread in her cell.

"Who are you?" she asked.

"I am none of your concern, miss," Xadlorn replied. He received a glare in response.

"Of course you aren't," she said, "you're here to tell me that Sora is slowly falling into your trap and I'm just the bait."

"Well -"

"Leave me alone," Kairi demanded as she curled up against the wall. She sat there what seemed like hours. Time between shift changes and meal times meant nothing down here.

Mostly, it was so boring.

At last, she heard the Nobody mutter, "Tani would've found her way out by now," before leaving the dungeon.

"Well, good for her," grumbled Kairi to the silence around her.

15.

He ended up being sent to observe Atlantica where he found himself resembling the natives of the underwater world. He waited until new instincts told him what to do before exploring but it was a while before he got the hang of using a fish tail instead of legs. Through overhearing conversations, he learned that the kingdom was in an uproar because the youngest daughter of King Triton has been missing for two days and Sora was avoiding the palace.

Xadlorn followed a red crab and a yellow and blue fish arguing if they should alert the king of her whereabouts or not.

"She can't speak Sebastian! She doesn't have her voice anymore! She wouldn't be able to explain why she did it!"

"King Triton fully knows well why she did it," groaned the crab, "All because of a human who might turn out to be not her actual true love!"

Well, this was convenient. He continued following them until they breached the ocean surface. He hid behind a rock and watched as they approached Sora, Donald, and Goofy as the trio observed the shore line.

"How is she today?" asked the fish nervously.

"I think they're going on a date tonight?" said Sora, unsure, "At least, I think that's what she was saying through charades."

Sebastian gasped in horror.

"You think? What if she meant differently?!"

"I guess we'll find out later," grumbled a disapproving Donald who never wanted a part in this mess in the first place.

Xadlorn was about to lean forward to hear better when a large seagull landed on the rock he was hiding behind. Despite how physically impossible it was due to its anatomy, the gull grinned when he saw him and took a deep breath. Xadlorn quickly dove back into the water and swam quickly as he could before summoning a portal.

"What was that?" Sora asked he heard the splash and a bird squawk.

"Scuttle!" called Flounder, "What happened?"

"There was a spy!" answered the seagull, "he wore a black coat which must be slowing him down as he swims."

"The Organization!" gasped Goofy.

"Was his hood down?" asked Donald.

"Oh yeah, it was," nodded Scuttle, "do you know anyone with graying hair?"

"Did he have an eye patch?" Sora really hoped it wasn't Xigbar.

"Nope," said Scuttle, "and he swam away once I spotted him."

"Oh." Sora felt elated that Roland's Nobody was okay but disappointed that he was avoiding them. He wondered if he'll come back again.

After rescuing Ariel's voice from Ursula, defeating the sea witch for good, and participating in the musical, Sora realized that he never did actually spot Xadlorn again. But he could've sworn he heard a few gun shots while fighting Ursula who didn't seem affected by it. Perhaps he just imagined it.

16.

"Quick! Return to Disney Castle!" yelped Chip through the gummi ship's radio.

"It's Queen Minnie! She's...she's in danger!" added Dale fearfully.

"But how?" asked Sora, "The Cornerstone should be keeping all darkness out."

"Tell that to the Nobodies! They're everywhere!"

All three in the gummi ship gasped. Why would the Nobodies invade a world fully protected from the darkness? It doesn't make any sense!

Unless they're trying to lure Sora into doing their dirty work...

"Gah," groaned Sora, "alright, we're on our way!"

Despite the gummi ship operating at maximum power, it was a tense few hours before they could get there.

When they at last landed and the ship was safely docked, Chip and Dale hopped down the stairs.

"Queen Minnie is in the throne room guarding the Cornerstone!" cried out Chip.

"Hurry!" Dale gasped before squeaking in fright as a Dusk swam down the steps. Sora quickly slayed it.

"Right," he growled, "let's go."

The three of them decided to split up once the hedge garden's path to the castle was clear. Donald was to go into town and rally people into fighting back while Goofy sought to lead the King's Knights as they defended the Kingdom. Sora headed to the throne room, quickly vanquishing small fry along the way.

To his dismay, the throne room had several Dancers that immediately sought to attack him.

He frantically attacked one before quickly backing away before it or its fellows retaliated. He only managed to slow it down and delay the inevitable when another Dancer grabbed him, swung him around, and flung him towards the ceiling.

"Take this!" He fired a Blizzaga and watched as it collided with the Nobodies. One of them immediately faded away and a second one staggered.

Unfortunately, the third didn't like that so it caught him before he landed on the ground. Sora switched hands with the Keyblade and raised his free arm to wham on the Dancer's head. He managed one blow before it kicked him in the stomach. The force sent him flying across the room.

...Right into the arms of the other still living Dancer.

"Oh no," he grimaced.

The Dancer decided to drop him onto the floor. He laid there, dazed, as the two Dancers closed in on him.

"Light!" A massive spell hit both of them and they dissipated.

"Are you alright?" asked Queen Minnie as she hurried over to the relieved teenager as he slowly got up.

"Yeah," he said before wincing after he put weight on his arm. The Queen frowned and with a shout of "Heal!" his wounds recovered.

"Thank you, Your Majesty," Sora tensed as he waited for more Nobodies to appear.

"You did alright," praised Xadlorn as he emerged from a portal that suddenly opened up. "You will never stop us if you can't handle a small group of mid-level Nobodies. There was too much flailing and not enough magic."

"I was handling it!" complained Sora, "and you! Why are you doing this?"

"Because we were planning to attack this world, obviously," Xadlorn rolled his eyes, "Someone had to lead the charge."

"But why you, Roland?"

"Would you rather have someone like Saix here?" Xadlorn raised an eyebrow, "Good to know, I'll go and bring him." He raised a hand and a portal began to form. It closed when he dodged a fire ball.

"So you wish to fight," he summoned his sword, "very well."

Sora immediately blocked a swing, "I don't want to fight you! Please! Return to Evermore! Evan misses you!"

"I can't," said Xadlorn as he pressed forward, "I can't risk my King's life."

Sora retracted his blade and took a step back, "What?"

"When I was turned, I had challenged Xigbar to a duel to protect Evan. He wanted to see if a pure heart can be consumed by Darkness and I couldn't let that happen to any of my..." Xadlorn paused and seemed to be trying to find the right word, "colleagues."

"They're more than that," Queen Minnie said sadly from the sidelines, "aren't they?"

"It doesn't matter anymore," argued Xadlorn, "I lost the duel and my heart. I am no longer bound to Evan. He is not my concern anymore."

Xadlord focused before he unleashed a wave of magic from his sword. Sora stumbled as it collided with him.

"Then why send Nobodies to all the Kingdoms?" argued Sora as he steadied himself.

"To recruit more to the Organization's cause of course," replied Xadlorn before he recalled his sword and summoned his gun. A ball of dark magic formed at the exit point before he released it. Sora dove out of the way before quickly getting up and running towards him. He swung the Keyblade only to have the sword return to parry the swing.

"Yeah?" Sora spotted an opening and quickly swung the Keyblade into the Nobody's side, earning him a grunt of pain, "Xigbar didn't seem pleased by it. Something about spying without permission?"

"A mistake I wont be doing again," said Xadlorn before he countered with a swing intended to chop into the boy's wrists but was blocked. "I shouldn't have clung to my past like that."

"You just wanted to make sure everyone was okay!" Sora then used the Keyblade's guard to smack Xadlorn's hand to make him drop his sword. "It means you do care...sort of."

To Sora's dismay, Xadlorn didn't drop the sword, "I do not care. I can not care. The punishment I received showed me that my memories of Evermore was tainted with a need to replace what I had lost even if it caused me pain doing so. I'm free now."

"What did you lose?" asked Sora as he parried an attempt to stab him in his right side.

"That's none of your business," Xadlorn replied before he mimicked a frustrated expression. Sora noted how he wasn't frowning hard enough.

To Sora's surprise, Xadlorn suddenly gripped the sword's blade and whacked Sora on the head with the sword's guard. Noting that his opponent was dazed on the floor, he made his move.

"Stay back!" cried out Queen Minnie and to Sora's horror, Xadlorn was rushing towards the queen with his sword positioned low to compensate for her height. Sora was able to stand up but it was too late to intervene.

"Run!" shouted Sora before he remembered he had magic. "Take this!"

Thundaga hit the target and the Nobody collapsed to his knees. The Queen released a small ball of light that hit Xadlorn in the chest and he landed on his back as a result.

"So close," he muttered as he sat up. Minnie's ears twitched as she registered the words and frowned, "but its not enough..."

He quickly summoned his gun and pulled the trigger. Sora let out a cry of pain as a bullet grazed his shin. He let out a whimper as he grabbed on the wound.

"Sora!" cried out Goofy as he, Donald, and a few guards scrambled into the throne room.

"You're too late," said Xadlorn coldly, "Your Queen's life is forfeit." He turned to Queen Minnie and retrieved his sword once more to summon another shock wave...

A young guard who resembled Goofy looked at his shield and got an idea. Everyone watched as the guard flung the shield like a frisbee and Xadlorn did nothing to dodge a blow to his lower back. The man hissed in pain as his kidney protested but he held himself up from the ground with his sword.

"No!" Sora protested as Queen Minnie, with calm sadness once she realized what Xadlorn was planning, released a light spell that hit Xadlorn in the back.

(Somewhere, Doloran hissed in pain and felt the link twist again. Ah, it's almost time.)

"It's alright, Sora," she said as she healed the boy. "It's what he wanted."

To Sora's dismay, Xadlorn's body was warping as he calmly dismissed his sword.

"Why?" Sora asked.

"Because, I wanted to be whole again," Xadlorn watched with interest as his left arm seemed to dissolve before his eyes. "This is supposedly the way to do it."

"But what if it isn't, Roland?"

"It's a risk I'm willing to take," Xadlorn shrugged, "it's not my first rodeo with near death experiences. Nor is Evan's world my original world."

(Doloran readied his staff and a Heart emerged from it. The Horned One immediately encapsulated the heart to protect it from interference.

The Horned One's original self, Alisandra, was there to see the founding of Allegoria. She had been given knowledge from the gods about a war that split the world into many. Not all of the knowledge can be easily retrieved these days. Her corrupted form can be incredibly unhelpful sometimes but today the Horned One was in a cooperative mood.)

"What happened?" inquired Donald.

"War happened," said Xadlorn simply, "One moment I was dying and the next I wake up in Ding Dong Dell - twenty nine years younger - to a startled King Evan who demanded to know why I appeared in his room."

He concentrated and a cat's paw shaped amulet with a green jewel in its center materialized into his hand in a glimmer of light. He set the amulet on the ground.

"Please return the Mark of Kings to Evermore for me," Xadlorn requested, "It belongs to my king."

"Tell His Majesty I'm sorry for me," was Xadlorn's last words as he ceased to be.

17.

Roland then woke up. He found himself in a unfamiliar round room. He turned his head and saw statues of snakes lining the wall. Their mouths were open as if they were about to bite. Something about snakes...sounds familiar.

He felt incredibly tired. His chest felt heavy. He allowed himself to think of Evermore and the people waiting for him there.

He smiled.

He then laughed tiredly and hysterically as he realized that he's alive. He's complete.

He attempted to concentrate on the nearest Trip Door to Evermore but found that he couldn't. He was about to fall asleep.

Oh well. He can try again later.

He closed his eyes and knew no more.

Doloran stepped closer to the center of the room where his soul mate continued to stabilize. Redirecting Roland to reform into this dimensional bubble where Doloran resided instead of allowing him to return to the shrine where it all began was child's play. It was much safer this way. The abominations that started this distraction could have found Roland and take him back under their control. Or the local wildlife would see Roland as easy prey while he was unable to defend himself. Redirecting Roland to Evermore would've been kinder but it was doubtful the little kingdom had people who are trained in the matters of the metaphysical.

Doloran shall wait until Roland completely recovered to offer him an alliance. Trying it too soon would be detrimental to his health, as much as Doloran was loathed to admit it.

18.

Roland's recovery was going smoothly. Mostly he slept through the day, allowing his heart and body to remember each other and reintegrate the memories that he had made in the several months he spent stubbornly defying nature by continuing to exist when he shouldn't have. The first few times when he was awake, he was at first unaware his caretaker was his king's enemy and seemed to seemed to see Doloran as someone else. After Roland recognized him and was quickly subdued back to slumber, Doloran chose to disguise himself as a dogfolk healer before checking on him.

A daily check on Evermore through his scrying cauldron showed that the Sora boy hadn't returned yet. Either the Organization was keeping him busy by avenging their fallen comrade or the distance between this world and whichever he was coming from was more vast than expected.

The Horned One was pleased on the eighth day to find that Roland was staying awake longer. He is strong enough for magic to not undo his progress now. His proximity to Doloran and the Horned One meant that they can easily convince him to join their cause.

Doloran paused. Indeed, Roland is stable enough for a gifted healer to take care of the rest. But is the Horned One implying they should brainwash him?

Ơ͢͝F͡҉̡ ̸̢C̸̵͝O̴͠UR̕͢͞SE҉҉ ̛͞N̢͡O̷̢͟T̷͡,́̕ refuted the Horned One when Doloran asked. ̷͟͝B̢U̡T̀ ҉̀͟A͜͞ ҉҉S͢͞U̴G͜G̵͜E̸S̵T͟͠I҉O͏̸̛N̕͢ ͟OR͞ ̡̀͞T̸͡W͏҉̶O̵ ̵̕B͞E͠҉F̨O̕R͞Ę͢ ̨͢H̸҉I͢͡͞S ̀͝HE̷͜Ą̷R̢T ͢I̶̧S̶̸ ͡͞F̴ƯL͝L̶̨Ý̷ ̷R͘Ȩ̡I͘N̸̵TE̷RGR̕AT͏E̢D̸͝ ̴̀W̧͝Ǫ̵ULDŅ̧'͝͝͝T̢̕͜ ̵̀H́͠U͝R̵̴T̀͝.

But he has a Kingsbond with you, Doloran pointed out, because of his status as my soul mate.

̨I͘T̡͢͟'̡̀S̸̷ T̴O̕͟O͘ W͡҉̴E̛̛͟A̷̧͢Ḱ̨͠ ̷T̛Ơ͘͠ ̧͞G̶R͞A͟Ń̸͢T͡ ̸̛H҉̢IM͜ ̨͠P҉͜R̵̀I̴͟VILEG̸͢E͠͏S͟͠͡ ͠Y͘͠OU̵ ͘͞E͡NJ͏̡O͘͜Y̵̕.̕ ̵͟B҉UT̕ ̶̢͠I̸F̸͞ ͘HE ́A͘͢CK͜N̢͞O̕W̵͠L̶̶E̷D̛Ǵ̛͠E̵S ̧I̶͟T͏́̕ ̶͡A̵̸N̕D A̸C͟͠C͠E̴͜P̕҉͟T̀Ś̕ ҉͢I̕Ţ̸,͡͡ ̶̴T̡͞H̛͡E̴̢ ͟͏͝B̸͢O̧Ǹ͟D́͞'͝LL̡ B҉Ę͝C͡O͘M͏̸̶E̴ ̶͢͢Ś͜T͝R̕ƠN͟͡G͡E̢̕͠R.̡ ̨I͞ ̢̡C͘͠A̶N̛͢ ̷͜͝Ḑ̕O̵̷͝ ͠S͟O M̷̕͝Ư͝C͘͡͏H͏ WI͡͏T̕͠H̷ ̶͠Ą VE̛͜ŚT̛̕͜Í̛Ǵ͞IA҉L҉͢ ͡K̶I̶ŃĢ̢B̢Ó͏N͘͢D̨ ́͜͡S̷UCH͘͡ ̧À̸Ś̴͜ ͢H̵I̸S̵.҉

Doloran found nothing to dispute that. Healing his wounds and being transported away from danger was all the Horned One could do for Roland unless he pledges himself to Allegoria's cursed Kingmaker. It was through luck that Roland ended up in this world after being rescued from the aftermath of the missile strike. He could've landed somewhere else and lived the rest of his life unaware of this one.

(Doloran wondered how well the halfling boy would do as a king without Roland's guidance. Perhaps Evermore would not have flourished as well as it has done so quickly. Or perhaps King Mausinger succeeds in wiping out the Tildrum bloodline. Perhaps Doloran would've gotten all the Kingsbonds sooner in those realities...)

H̴E̵ ̛́҉W̢҉I͘L̸̢̨L̛͘ ͏̧͞J͏̕Ǫ̕̕IŃ͘͠ ̡͏Ų̴Ś͡,͠ ̵said the Horned One,WH̵͏Y͞ ̀͡Ń̷̵O҉̡T̸̢͘ LET̢ ́I̸T̸͠ ̷̷͢H͏͝APP̸EǸ͠ ̶̕S̢O͞͏͘O͘͜N͞Ę̸R̶̢?̡͟͝

he shall join us with his own free will, said a passing thought. Doloran threw up his hands.

"Let's wait on it!" he shouted, feeling frustrated.

A̢̢̛S̸͟͝ ̛͝YǪU ͞W̵̧I҉̧S͟H͠, ̶͘M̸̧Y̸͟ ͢͏L̴̢O̵V̀́E͞.́ The Horned One's presence receded from his mind and Doloran found that he felt lighter.

The Horned One was becoming more desperate now that they were so close to their goal. Unfortunately, it had become more demanding and most unlike its original self.

Was Alisandra's real self still in there? Or has he lost her forever?

Doloran looked back the door leading to the room Roland rested in.

With the Horned One as it is, as much as Doloran was reluctant to admit it, it may be best to release him. The worst of the danger has passed.

Perhaps, he should let Roland return to his home while it still stands.

19.

Roland felt something smooth and coarse touching his skin. He can hear the waves crashing into the water and splash against his legs. He can smell the salt in the air.

He registered the sound of heavy boots crunching against sand.

"Oi, whose there?" called a rough male voice. His accent sounded familiar...

Where is he now? Wasn't he last in an infirmary somewhere? Or was it just a dream?

"Pilo," shouted another voice, "look!"

"By the skies!" yelped Pilo, "Is that...?"

"I-inform the King!"

"Right, mate. I'm on it. Call a healer, Chingis!"

Roland lifted up his head and opened his eyes.

He was on a beach. A couple of men dressed as Sky Pirates were joined by a few patrolling soldiers investigating their shouting. They scrambled over to Roland's side when Chingis pointed to him.

"By the gods," gasped a dogfolk warrior as he helped Roland stand up, "you have returned to us, Sir Roland!"

"I sure did," agreed Roland. He looked towards the stone walls of Evermore, which seemed to gleam in the sunlight. He smiled at the sight.

He's finally home.

Somewhere deep in the world's heart, the Horned One sensed the layer of protection granted by Evermore's Kingmaker envelope Roland the moment he stepped inside the fledgling kingdom.

It decided to not punish Doloran on his decision to entrust a rival Kingmaker to take care of his soul mate instead. This...Lofty is young and inexperienced compared to the Horned One. Dealing with him would be like smashing a bug: too easy.

No matter, once the Horned One is unleashed, Allegoria will rise once again and the forces of Evermore would not be able to stop it. Roland will see sense by then and join the cause.

It is inevitable.

At last it is done. I know this kinda sucked but, um, I tried?

The scene with Kairi was thrown in as a last minute edition because oh, yeah, she should be in there somewhere.

Xadlorn's final battle and dramatic death scene was moved from the World That Never Was gauntlet of boss fights because mostly I wanted Sora to get the Mark of Kings before he dealt with that and he'd be more reluctant to return the Mark while Xemnas is initiating the final boss sequence. I ended up scraping the scenes after Sora returns it because again, I have another KH x NNK2 story I've been procrastinating on and don't want to write the same boss fights again.

Another change to the final battle was that the shield toss of doom was originally done by Goofy but it didn't seem right to have him contribute to Roland's possible permadeath. So...Max got the honors. In a way, it kinda reflects the 'son mimicks the father' theme Ni No Kuni 2 seems to have. That or we can't have blood on Goofy's hands.

Also scrapped was everyone attempting to rescue Roland from the Horned One but having to fight him first. Similarly, Xadlorn becoming a minion of the Horned One because since he doesn't have a heart, he's not considered pure-hearted and thus has no protection against the Horned One's influence.

So yeah, the ending was brought to you by laziness and writer's block, hooray! :D

Thank you for reading this nonsense.