Fanfiction ► Kingdom Hearts: Hearts in Unison (Chapter 68 posted)

[Sephiroth0812]

Re: Kingdom Hearts: Hearts in Unison (Chapter 38 posted)

The fight had just begun... And the good guys are actually in disadvantage.

Ienzo's trapping Hope on the scene, as Xemnas deals quite easily with Lightning.

Right now the stakes are rather balanced though, as Ienzo took also quite a beating while Xemnas and Lightning are trading blows between each other.
The new chapter concludes the fight and I guess it's an outcome that' not so obvious, although Xehanort certainly won't be pleased.
---

Oi, such a long review certainly deserves a detailed answer. ^__^

Great job on the story, this is a very interesting story, I’m really interested in seeing how this will unfold. I’m impressed that you managed to write over 38 chapters, introducing so much and yet it still feels like we’re just getting started. I don’t know why but reading your story kind of makes me really excited and kind of want to try and write my own.

Thank you!
Yeah, the amount of chapters is quickly growing, which also pertains to the fact that my chapters are shorter than most normal FanFic-chapters.
Having so much stuff to juggle is exactly what contributes to its big scope, and yep, we're getting started on the real stuff just about now since the first chapters were mostly to introduce characters.

Haha, nice to see that my writing has such an inspiring effect.

I’m looking forward to learning how Roxas’ year of live caused pain to Ven, seems like quite an interesting idea. I really dig they’re interactions. I’m also quite found of the interaction between Kairi and Naminé, I’m also curious to see what you’re planning on doing with them. Seems like Kairi’s status as a Princess of Heart might play a larger role in her character arc.
Braig and Isa make an interesting Straight Man and Wise Guy duo. I love how Braig keeps calling Isa blueberry.

That is of course a very important point, also in regards to Roxas' own status and I can already say that it will cause quite a bit more emotional trouble.
As for Kairi and Naminé, their roles will seem to be only supporting at first, but especially Kairi will have to do some very important stuff that will aid in defeating the first main antagonist even if she isn't actively fighting. Yep, her Princess-status will play a bigger role, also concerning some innate power she isn't even aware of yet.

Writing those two is often one of the most funny things. I love the dynamics between them, as despite Isa not really liking Braig they function as an effective duo of working colleagues who are roughly on the same level in the hierarchy.

I’m surprised you included Demyx, I thought you’d leave him out seeing you dislike him just as much as I do. Also I hope you go into more details into why Luxord is working for Xehanort, he wouldn’t strike me as a guy that would stick around, he might like the thrill, but I don’t see much else that he’d feel appealing. But I do like how you tend to address these kind of questions in a very organic matter and expect you’ll answer or at least address this one in such a way.

Emyd has not that big of a role anyways, in terms of importance he's certainly not on the same level as Lea, Braig or Isa. When writing I try to not let my personal feelings for characters get in the way of the storyline, that's also why I won't concentrate only on my favorite characters all the time but give them screentime when it's necessary.
It's true that Rudol/Luxord wouldn't strike one as the primary candidate to work for MX, especially since he wasn't one of the members who was let into the inner workings during Days and KH2 and Ansem SoD quite blatantly explains that he's basically just a pawn.
It has been shown that Rudol is interested in learning more about Xehanort's secrets and he explains it as being like a drug, yep, but of course there's at least one more reason for that which will be addressed later.

Also how old are you planning to make Serah and Sazh, seeing Serah was described to be a young woman 9 years ago and Lighting was estimated to be 20ish, which is odd considering Serah’s the younger one and you don't usually call a nine year old a young woman. I kind of think there might be time travel involved by those facts alone also seeing that’s a big part of Serah’s story in FF13-2.

First off one must keep in mind that KH-FF characters do not necessarily correspond to their original FF incarnations in age and backstory, so all their backstories are in fact different than in FF itself. Serah is at current time 25 years old, Sazh 36 while Lightning is 27, so Ienzo is a bit off with his estimations for Lightnings age while his estimations for Hope are within range as he's sixteen right now.
I can ensure you however that there's no time-travel involved at all in this story as it would make things way too complicated. In fact, characters like Noel or Caius don't even exist in the HiU-KH Universe.

My only real complaint is all the cursing and the blood, I’m not a fan of the KH characters swearing or the fights getting bloody it just doesn’t suit the KH feel, at least not in my opinion.

All other problem I have are rather small nitpicks. Like why is Ven still in such a bad condition after 11years? He sure his heart was in a worse condition then the last time he bonded with Sora to heal but even so it shouldn’t be in such a bad shape after 11 years. My only guess here is becaue he was isolated unlike last time.
Sora not accepting his friends help even with his reasoning seems tad bit out of character for him. Also you might want to spend more time on describing the FF characters, because for people who don’t know them it can get a little confusing and I know I felt lose whenever it wasn't a FF13 character or a character not already introduced in the games. Especially seeing you seem to be including a lot of them into your story.

I see where these complaints come from, and on the first issue I can say that I really try to limit the cursing to extraordinary instances for the most characters and only some characters who it would fit like Braig or Vanitas are cussing on somewhat a regular base.
As for the blood and actual injuries being shown that's just me treating the KH Universe more seriously and more akin to a real world instead of a G-rated game. It also serves to show the intense severity of some injuries that are inflicted. This will actually become important later on.
Although I do of course know that's not everyone's taste.

As for Ventus being still in such a bad shape, well, that has three reasons, one of them being actually what you are interested in: Roxas' indpendent life for one year plays a role in it. The other two reasons are still mysteries yet, but crucial to the main point of the story.
Yep, that is out of character for Sora, even Riku in-universe acknowledges that and it only shows how messed up Sora is at the moment.
Sora's reasoning is also only one half of the actual reason this happens, for the other half the first main antagonist is responsible.
I guess you're pointing at Balthier and Fran here, and ok, I admit this might be neccessary, although I do think I introduced Beatrix properly. Even more info can be found in the small intermezzo I made specifically targeted to her.
The main problem I see with this is that it would bloat up the already enourmous tale even more, and in the end the FF-characters are mainly support characters. Important ones, yes, but support nonetheless.
I'll see if I can find a compromise here in the future...

 

[Sephiroth0812]

Re: Kingdom Hearts: Hearts in Unison (Chapter 39 posted)

As to not clutter up the answers to long reviews and make it more organized I decided to put the new chapter into an extra post:

#####

XXXIX. Only half of a victory​

I'm slowly losing my patience with you, brat.

Another flash from the book summoned another dark indigo meteor which the boy in the grey suit managed to narrowly avoid again, almost falling on his behind a third time.
Regaining balance, he fired a fast projectile of water energy at Ienzo, who sidestepped to avoid it.
"How about I show you why you can't win?" The teen calmly stated, a blue glowing copy of Agent H's boomerang appearing in his free hand.

His adversary gasped in surprise and Ienzo could imagine the disbelieving expression he would surely have under that purple hood.
The smirk returning Ienzo threw the boomerang copy, at the same time creating again two mirage copies, but this time not armed with Soul Eaters but two more boomerang copies.

Agent H wasn't stupid enough to let the copies throw their boomerangs as well. Having overcome his first surprise, he obliterated the copies with another flash of a crashing Thundaga before they could take any action.
Dodging Ienzo's own boomerang copy he swung his own around like a sword, destroying the copy.
"This is getting old..." He shot at the blue haired teen, firing a whole salvo of Aero-spells while at the same time retreating towards the portal.

"Old maybe...but certainly effective when used at the next level."
Ienzo ripped another energy page out of his book, enlarging it to a shield which blocked the Aero-spells.
In the same move, he materialized thirteen mirage copies in a circle around the boy, each of them shooting an energy blast from their Soul Eater copies.

Left with no choice due to the surprise factor the boy bent down hastily, the energy blasts meeting each other above him.
They united into a sphere of blue-white energy which exploded in a loud bang, the blast wave crashing Agent H down on the ground harshly with his whole backside.
Ienzo heard an unsettling cracking noise as the boy screamed in agony, the thirteen copies now surrounding his outstretched form on the floor, the Soul Eater copies pointed at his throat and chest.

Reducing the copies to four, two pointing their swords at the boy's throat, the other two at his chest Ienzo marched forward, another copy of the Soul Eater in his own free hand.
On a silent mental spoken order two of the copies lifted the fallen young mage up again, holding him by the arms a bit higher so his feet won't touch the ground, their Soul Eater copies pointing at his throat from left and right.
The two other copies now moved behind him, the tips of their weapons pointed at his neck.

Ienzo raised his own glowing Soul Eater directly towards the boy's throat from the front.
"It's over now!"
Turning his head towards the still ongoing fight between Agent L and Xemnas he raised his voice.
"Cease the fighting! Back down Agent L or your colleague loses his head!"

Both combattants turned towards the scenery, the woman let out a shocked scream at seeing five blades pointed at her partner.
Xemnas on the other hand gave away an unreadable expression, difficult to decipher but it hinted at a form of satisfaction.
"Splendid work Ienzo...now secure our target." He said in a calm, but demanding tone.

Agent L made a step forward with a hissing sound but Xemnas flashed a ethereal blade before her at throat height.
"Don't do anymore reckless things."
She was trembling with suppressed anger, but nonetheless obeyed.

Ienzo now dismissed his glowing blade and let the lexicon float in the air, getting nearer to the other boy.
Their heads now only several centimeter apart he took the opportunity to peek into the depth of the purple hood that had hid his opponents' features during their battle.
His own aqua-blue eyes now met a pair of light blue-green ones and a boyish face framed by silver hair.
So my age-assumptions weren't that off...judging by his face he's clearly somewhere between 14 and 16.

Agent H's expression was a wide mix of still lingering pain from when he had crashed hardly on his back, a tint of fear that was growing with every passing second and also a still somewhat defiant glance.
Still, the battle had impressed Ienzo and he certainly didn't intend to kill the boy.
On another note he was totally at a loss what would be so important with this shard and why that hooded figure there was, out of all persons, Xemnas, who should be gone after Sora and Riku had destroyed him.
Allowing his expression to get a bit warmer Ienzo leaned forward one bit more, reaching out with his left hand on hip height.
"Relax boy, I won't kill you...I will just have to relieve you of the shard you carry."

His hand now unintentionally brushed shortly over the other boy's hip, feeling the actual substance of the tight-fitting suit he wore.
"After all, you fought valiantly and didn't back down. I respect that." He continued while letting his hand now slide very shortly into the boy's back pocket fetching out the shard he had kept in there before.

Despite the overall short period of all this happening in mere seconds, Agent H stiffened as he felt Ienzo's hand, his light blue-green eyes flickering uneasy.

The blue-haired teen didn't feel the need to inflict more pain than absolutely necessary and therefore stepped away immediately after having the shard firmly secured in his hand when he realized how uncomfortable the other boy felt.

A short snapping of the fingers of his free hand was enough and the mirage copies dismissed their glowing Soul Eaters.
"Put him down!" Ienzo ordered and the two copies released Agent H from their grips on his arms.

He landed on his feet, slightly shaking and a moment it looked like as if he would fall forwards but he caught himself the last second.
"You can go now, and if we ever cross paths again you would be wise to remember that I spared your life." Ienzo addressed him calmly, fetching his floating lexicon out of the air.

"Do you have the target?" Xemnas's voice was heard from the side again while Agent L now moved fastly towards her seemingly giddy partner.

Ienzo raised as answer his other hand with the metal shard in it, earning a small smirk from Xemnas.

"H! How do you feel? Severe injuries?" Agent L asked in a worried tone, gently placing her hands on the boy's shoulders.
Agent H looked up to her and they both shared an intense glance.
"I'm ok, no serious damage." His voice was very low so only L could hear it, but his face was slightly distorted and he pressed his right hand slightly against his back.

"Don't play too tough with me...go back to base and seek out medical attention." She hissed back.
"I...I am sorry I failed to disengage fast enough as you said." His voice turned meek, almost with a guilty undertone.

"Enough of this. You fought very well, don't fret about it."
She tightened her grip on the boy's shoulders a bit.
"I'm proud of you. And..." Agent L hesitated.
"And?" Agent H's glance was fixed on her face, questioning.
"...and I may be able to turn the tides if you could bring me into triple status before you go."
With a sly smile she blinked at him with one eye, which no other could see due to them still having their hoods up.

He returned the smile together with a small nod. "Got it. Don't dawdle too long."
A small flick of the boy's hand followed as he casted the Triple spell on her, Ienzo and Xemnas not noticing it because they were occupied with each other.
The latter had only eyes for the metal shard right now which pulsated with mixed dark and light energy while the former still couldn't comprehend why the Superior could even be around, it didn't make sense.

Agent H now limped into the portal to the Lanes between, a protective energy bubble casted around him while Agent L shielded his departure.

"What's wrong Ienzo? You look like you have seen a ghost." Xemnas stated in a monotone voice, expression again unreadable.
He backed away instinctively. "Yes, that's what it looks like. How can you be still here in the physical world???"

The Superior now had a small, barely noticeable smirk. "That is not really important now. Give me the shard and then concentrate fully on your illusions for Isa and Braig again."
He extended his right hand towards Ienzo in anticipation.
Realizing that withholding the piece of metal for the gambit of gaining more information was foolish and dangerous at the same time the blue-haired teen raised his own hand towards Xemnas's.

That was the moment Agent L had waited for. With another "Ruinga"-yell she casted three Ruingas at once, two against Xemnas and one against Ienzo.
Two white-silvery explosions threw Xemnas backwards in total surprise while the third let the shard fly out of Ienzo's hand high into the air.

"What the...no!" He cried out.
"Cursed unknown warrior!" Xemnas yelled, unable to shield himself from the explosions.

Agent L now switched her futuristic sword into gun mode again, aiming at the shard and shooting.
She was an excellent markswoman and the shard was split into two uneven separate pieces, one roughly a third of the other.
Some light and dark energy sparks flew away as Ienzo shouted out his surprise.

The hooded woman now rushed in between the two with amazing speed, her purple cape flying out behind her.
Jumping up she grabbed the smaller of the two pieces of the shard, shooting a salvo of energy projectiles at Ienzo, forcing him to dodge.

Gaining an immense speed she landed, blasting Xemnas with a quick Thundaga that was really similar to that of the boy and, as Ienzo tried to block her way to the portal, she first rammed her right knee into his stomach and then placed a well aimed kick at his lower jaw, sending the master of illusions flying.
"Guuuh..." Ienzo felt some blood dripping from the corner of his mouth, the sheer force of the womans kick nearly letting him lose consciousness.

With a fluid motion Xemnas grabbed the bigger piece of the shard in midair, sending another swarm of ethereal blades after her.
She avoided them with several zig-zagging jumps and as she let herself fall backwards into the portal fired three more Ruingas at the Superior.

Flipping backwards to avoid the unblockable explosions Xemnas let out an angered hiss, which surprised even himself.
Does it...develop? Can I start to...feel? What an intriguing development...

As he landed on the ground again his thoughts immediately wandered back to the prize.
Examining it closely the Superior grunted with a small ounce of disappointment.
The shard was still filled with both light and dark energy to the brim, but Agent L's speedy gambit had broken off a third of the piece which she now had managed to secure.

Ienzo groaned in a pained tone as he slowly got up again, holding his jaw.
That was close...I nearly lost concentration on my illusion for Braig and Isa. Damn that Valkyrie, my whole lower skull hurts.

"You still operational?" Xemnas asked from afar, no real indication of concern in his voice.

"Uh, yeah. I am ok, no real severe impairments." He answered, wiping the blood from his chin.


#####

Well, I guess that is a resolution quite a bit out of the norm, right?
And there's quite something at odds with Xemnas, huh?

 

[Roxie1563]

Re: Kingdom Hearts: Hearts in Unison (Chapter 39 posted)

Damn, what an epic conclusion! xD

So, it seems that Xemnas is starting to feel little different inside, eh? And Lightning sure delivered some piece of win for their team. :3

Now, another wait for more chapters!

 

[Zero Dozer]

Re: Kingdom Hearts: Hearts in Unison (Chapter 39 posted)

So much for a turning table.

Lightning got only one third of the piece, and Hope is injured.

But Xemnas' situation... Now THAT got me intrigued. Is he starting to FEEL?

Either you've used something from DDD or that lession did exist ever since Axel...

 

[AdrianXXII]

Re: Kingdom Hearts: Hearts in Unison (Chapter 38 posted)

Now these are some interesting developments. Seems like the new Org will need to find Lighting and Hopes headquarters to complete the X-Blade now. Also the fact that they have it means they might be able to learn more about it and through it part of Xehanort's plan.
I'm guessing this Xemnas is developing a heart of his own and not just a faction of Xehanorts like in the series, this will be interesting to follow.

I really hope we get to see more of the "Order Preservers" in future chapters.

Oi, such a long review certainly deserves a detailed answer. ^__^


Thank you!
Yeah, the amount of chapters is quickly growing, which also pertains to the fact that my chapters are shorter than most normal FanFic-chapters.
Having so much stuff to juggle is exactly what contributes to its big scope, and yep, we're getting started on the real stuff just about now since the first chapters were mostly to introduce characters.

Haha, nice to see that my writing has such an inspiring effect.

Hehe, I guess my review did end up a tad bit long. I actually think the chapter size is good, this way you can release them more frequently. BTW how often do you release new chapters?
Also sorry I took so long to review your story I originally was going to do it around the time we wrote last, but got busy.

That is of course a very important point, also in regards to Roxas' own status and I can already say that it will cause quite a bit more emotional trouble.
As for Kairi and Naminé, their roles will seem to be only supporting at first, but especially Kairi will have to do some very important stuff that will aid in defeating the first main antagonist even if she isn't actively fighting. Yep, her Princess-status will play a bigger role, also concerning some innate power she isn't even aware of yet.

Writing those two is often one of the most funny things. I love the dynamics between them, as despite Isa not really liking Braig they function as an effective duo of working colleagues who are roughly on the same level in the hierarchy.

Emyd has not that big of a role anyways, in terms of importance he's certainly not on the same level as Lea, Braig or Isa. When writing I try to not let my personal feelings for characters get in the way of the storyline, that's also why I won't concentrate only on my favorite characters all the time but give them screentime when it's necessary.
It's true that Rudol/Luxord wouldn't strike one as the primary candidate to work for MX, especially since he wasn't one of the members who was let into the inner workings during Days and KH2 and Ansem SoD quite blatantly explains that he's basically just a pawn.
It has been shown that Rudol is interested in learning more about Xehanort's secrets and he explains it as being like a drug, yep, but of course there's at least one more reason for that which will be addressed later.

That sounds really interesting.

I could imagine writing these characters in this manor would be fun, it's a relationship we haven't really got to explore in the games but it does seem this would be how they'd act around each other.

Hm, so his presence is required by the storyline? I guess if it's suppose to be a new Org 13 it does make sense to recycle some of the old members, saves you the trouble of introducing new characters and devoting storytime to define who they are.

First off one must keep in mind that KH-FF characters do not necessarily correspond to their original FF incarnations in age and backstory, so all their backstories are in fact different than in FF itself. Serah is at current time 25 years old, Sazh 36 while Lightning is 27, so Ienzo is a bit off with his estimations for Lightnings age while his estimations for Hope are within range as he's sixteen right now.
I can ensure you however that there's no time-travel involved at all in this story as it would make things way too complicated. In fact, characters like Noel or Caius don't even exist in the HiU-KH Universe.

This is true, but it's always possible that certain aspects remain.
Oh so they're actually ages have changed quite a bit. I'm suprrised you omitted Noel and Caius completely instead of just saying their from another world instead of time.

I see where these complaints come from, and on the first issue I can say that I really try to limit the cursing to extraordinary instances for the most characters and only some characters who it would fit like Braig or Vanitas are cussing on somewhat a regular base.
As for the blood and actual injuries being shown that's just me treating the KH Universe more seriously and more akin to a real world instead of a G-rated game. It also serves to show the intense severity of some injuries that are inflicted. This will actually become important later on.
Although I do of course know that's not everyone's taste.

As for Ventus being still in such a bad shape, well, that has three reasons, one of them being actually what you are interested in: Roxas' indpendent life for one year plays a role in it. The other two reasons are still mysteries yet, but crucial to the main point of the story.
Yep, that is out of character for Sora, even Riku in-universe acknowledges that and it only shows how messed up Sora is at the moment.
Sora's reasoning is also only one half of the actual reason this happens, for the other half the first main antagonist is responsible.
I guess you're pointing at Balthier and Fran here, and ok, I admit this might be neccessary, although I do think I introduced Beatrix properly. Even more info can be found in the small intermezzo I made specifically targeted to her.
The main problem I see with this is that it would bloat up the already enourmous tale even more, and in the end the FF-characters are mainly support characters. Important ones, yes, but support nonetheless.
I'll see if I can find a compromise here in the future...

I can see where you come from, I guess I just try and treat this as any other story and not as a KH story, seeing otherwise these things don't really bother me to much.

Now that really sounds fascinating can't wait to see it unfold in the story.
I wouldn't have guessed there was another out side reason for Sora's behavior.
It's understandable that you might not want to bloat your story more, but maybe it would be a good idea to do so or just add a post devoted to explaining a little more about them that could be looked at as a glossary or "Jiminy's Journal" of sorts. Especially considering the Order Preservers will mainly consist of FF characters.

 

[Sephiroth0812]

Re: Kingdom Hearts: Hearts in Unison (Chapter 38 posted)

Damn, what an epic conclusion! xD

So, it seems that Xemnas is starting to feel little different inside, eh? And Lightning sure delivered some piece of win for their team. :3

Now, another wait for more chapters!

Hehe, yeah, in the end Lightning got what they wanted.
Xemnas isn't too pleased obviously.

Yep, he's feeling genuine anger. Lightning in fact turned their tactical defeat in the battle in a strategic victory in the overall picture.

That may be the only disadvantage of the shorter chapters for some people, lol, they are rather fast to read.

So much for a turning table.

Lightning got only one third of the piece, and Hope is injured.

But Xemnas' situation... Now THAT got me intrigued. Is he starting to FEEL?

Either you've used something from DDD or that lession did exist ever since Axel...

I don't know what you expected under "turning the table", but the end result is favorable to the Order Preservers.
Lightning and Hope never intended to kill/destroy Ienzo and Xemnas.

Their main goal was something entirely different:

“We need to take that thing and examine why it attracts creatures of the dark, so I am afraid surrendering it is out of the question.” The woman, Agent L, answered in a serious tone.

With securing a third of the shard, they effectively met that goal. That Hope is injured is unfortunate, but it's not a life-threatening wound.

Yes, Xemnas is starting to feel genuine emotions, and that surprises even himself. Without revealing too much, I can say already that Xehanort won't be surprised about that.

Um, nope, I can only recite it again: This story was planned in 2011, before we knew anything specific regarding the plot of DDD.

That hearts can be created/born however has been hinted at since Chain of Memories and Coded as well as BBS only furthered the hints. The concept was already there throughout the series, DDD only confirmed it, as Nomura stated:

— It was declared from Ansem the Wise’s own mouth that everything can grow a heart.
Nomura: Yes it was, I thought I’d leave it clear in this title.

The way how it works is similar, but in a key area different from the method in DDD though.

Now these are some interesting developments. Seems like the new Org will need to find Lighting and Hopes headquarters to complete the X-Blade now. Also the fact that they have it means they might be able to learn more about it and through it part of Xehanort's plan.
I'm guessing this Xemnas is developing a heart of his own and not just a faction of Xehanorts like in the series, this will be interesting to follow.

I really hope we get to see more of the "Order Preservers" in future chapters.

I see you grasped the actual severity of what just happened. While it isn't confirmed yet in-story I guess it is more than obvious right now that these shards are splinters of the X-blade, further driven home by the way Xehanort reacted to Rudol giving him one of the pieces.
I can already say that Xemnas feeling angry goes into the same direction, although Xehanort himself certainly won't be pleased at all.
The Order Preservers don't know anything about the nature of that shard though, neither that Xehanort and his cronies are collecting them.
They know only that these "artifacts" attract Heartless and are therefore a danger for any world such a shard exists in. In fact, what these shards really are is known just by Xehanort, Ansem SoD and Xemnas. Not even Braig knows.

It has been hinted that fractions of a heart can also grow into full hearts in BBS, but of course Xemnas was not created like Vanitas, so his developing heart surely isn't just a single piece of Xehanort's, although Xehanort's heart does play an important role.

They will play a role on the sidelines in the future of course, there might even be some chapters dedicated to them down the line. Although next is certainly to get to the climax with the problems in Sora's and Riku's hearts.

Hehe, I guess my review did end up a tad bit long. I actually think the chapter size is good, this way you can release them more frequently. BTW how often do you release new chapters?
Also sorry I took so long to review your story I originally was going to do it around the time we wrote last, but got busy.



That sounds really interesting.

I could imagine writing these characters in this manor would be fun, it's a relationship we haven't really got to explore in the games but it does seem this would be how they'd act around each other.

Hm, so his presence is required by the storyline? I guess if it's suppose to be a new Org 13 it does make sense to recycle some of the old members, saves you the trouble of introducing new characters and devoting storytime to define who they are.


This is true, but it's always possible that certain aspects remain.
Oh so they're actually ages have changed quite a bit. I'm suprrised you omitted Noel and Caius completely instead of just saying their from another world instead of time.

Yeah, but I like longer reviews, so no worries about that.
That's the main reason I choose this format, for release schedule issues. I normally tend to post one chapter every second week. Mostly on weekends.
That's ok, RL is throwing a fit for many of us these days.

Exactly, Braig is a troll who likes to play around and make a big fuss while Isa is more the calm, focused no-nonsense worker who gets stuff done with cold efficiency (his Berserker status is more for battle) and doesn't like unneeded fooling around.

His presence in the story is required in terms of how Xehanort knows so much about what's going on. Emyd/Demyx is their main spy and head of the reconnaissance department. There isn't really a new Organisation, as Rudol pointed out to Riku the Organisation is defunct. Xehanort's faction has a different name right now and they don't really look for a set number of members.

Of course, some things like design, name etc. have to remain similar since they're cameos. Squall for example however is way different in his KH incarnation than in his FF incarnation. His KH incarnation has longer hair, is 24 instead of 17 like FF Squall and also changed his name.
Not to mention that all FF-characters tend to be way weaker in their KH incarnation than in their original FF one.
Yeah, I made them older so that Lightning could already be part of the City Defense Force at the time Maleficent invaded Radiant Garden and Hope to be already old enough to remember everything fully.
I omitted them because I already have so many characters to juggle and because they won't fit too good into the story. Saying they don't exist may have been a bit exaggerated, but they certainly won't play a role in HiU.

I can see where you come from, I guess I just try and treat this as any other story and not as a KH story, seeing otherwise these things don't really bother me to much.

Now that really sounds fascinating can't wait to see it unfold in the story.
I wouldn't have guessed there was another out side reason for Sora's behavior.
It's understandable that you might not want to bloat your story more, but maybe it would be a good idea to do so or just add a post devoted to explaining a little more about them that could be looked at as a glossary or "Jiminy's Journal" of sorts. Especially considering the Order Preservers will mainly consist of FF characters.

Well, yeah, it is a story set in the KH-Universe and uses much of the KH-canon and KH characters, but of course I won't write it exactly the same as the actual games. I also think that when injuries are actually visible it gives them more of an impact.

This will certainly become a wham-episode so to say, so the excitement is entirely within reason. ^__^
On the issue with Sora's behaviour, there was this from chapter 30:

I only noticed an alarming increase of darkness in both of Sora's and Riku's hearts which is not due to them doing anything...there is someone or something interfering, and that may also hold dire consequences for the wounded beings Sora is housing inside himself.

Oh, so you mean something along the line of this: Beatrix?
In that post I give an overview over the character of Beatrix.

 

[Zero Dozer]

Re: Kingdom Hearts: Hearts in Unison (Chapter 39 posted)

Hey, you spoilered something from eight chapters further! XD

And I'm not surprise on you omitting the XIII-2 characters. Specially when XIII-2 spins around time travel. Well, about the FF characters, it would be good seeing Cloud and Squall fighting with abilities on par with Sora's and Riku's (well, KHII gives the hint on Cloud's abilities as he fights Sephiroth right after Sora).

 

[KingdomKey]

Re: Kingdom Hearts: Hearts in Unison (Chapter 39 posted)

Another fantastic chapter, Sephy. Detailing the fight made it a very intriguing thing to read and had me in its grip. I suppose the shard won't be entirely useable with Lightning possessing a third of it? Also, could Xemnas be developing a heart in order to feel things? Otherwise, I enjoyed reading it and can't wait for your next update.

 

[AdrianXXII]

Re: Kingdom Hearts: Hearts in Unison (Chapter 38 posted)

I see you grasped the actual severity of what just happened. While it isn't confirmed yet in-story I guess it is more than obvious right now that these shards are splinters of the X-blade, further driven home by the way Xehanort reacted to Rudol giving him one of the pieces.
I can already say that Xemnas feeling angry goes into the same direction, although Xehanort himself certainly won't be pleased at all.
The Order Preservers don't know anything about the nature of that shard though, neither that Xehanort and his cronies are collecting them.
They know only that these "artifacts" attract Heartless and are therefore a danger for any world such a shard exists in. In fact, what these shards really are is known just by Xehanort, Ansem SoD and Xemnas. Not even Braig knows.

It has been hinted that fractions of a heart can also grow into full hearts in BBS, but of course Xemnas was not created like Vanitas, so his developing heart surely isn't just a single piece of Xehanort's, although Xehanort's heart does play an important role.

They will play a role on the sidelines in the future of course, there might even be some chapters dedicated to them down the line. Although next is certainly to get to the climax with the problems in Sora's and Riku's hearts.

Yes, but even the description of the shards and the timing of their appearance kind of hinted at them being shards of the X-Blade.
Well they might not know anything but they have a shard that they can examine and this might lead them to learn more about it, though I guess they'd probably have no idea what a X-Blade is and that it even existed.
I see Xehanort is keeping it to a need to know bases like always. The fact that Braig doesn't know kind of surprises me, seeing he was his right hand guy for so long, though with both Ansem and Xemnas in the picture he's now probably 4th in the hierarchy and no longer 2nd.

So his heart did originate as a fraction of Xehanort's, that's interesting. Though judging from what you said it wasn't intended to develop like it is.

So their role in the first story arc is going to be a small one?

Yeah, but I like longer reviews, so no worries about that.
That's the main reason I choose this format, for release schedule issues. I normally tend to post one chapter every second week. Mostly on weekends.
That's ok, RL is throwing a fit for many of us these days.

Exactly, Braig is a troll who likes to play around and make a big fuss while Isa is more the calm, focused no-nonsense worker who gets stuff done with cold efficiency (his Berserker status is more for battle) and doesn't like unneeded fooling around.

His presence in the story is required in terms of how Xehanort knows so much about what's going on. Emyd/Demyx is their main spy and head of the reconnaissance department. There isn't really a new Organisation, as Rudol pointed out to Riku the Organisation is defunct. Xehanort's faction has a different name right now and they don't really look for a set number of members.

Of course, some things like design, name etc. have to remain similar since they're cameos. Squall for example however is way different in his KH incarnation than in his FF incarnation. His KH incarnation has longer hair, is 24 instead of 17 like FF Squall and also changed his name.
Not to mention that all FF-characters tend to be way weaker in their KH incarnation than in their original FF one.
Yeah, I made them older so that Lightning could already be part of the City Defense Force at the time Maleficent invaded Radiant Garden and Hope to be already old enough to remember everything fully.
I omitted them because I already have so many characters to juggle and because they won't fit too good into the story. Saying they don't exist may have been a bit exaggerated, but they certainly won't play a role in HiU.

That's good, seeing what I write tends to become rather long.
That's cool so the next chapter will be out in a week?
Yeah, especially seeing that exam season is just around the corner.

Those characteristics are what make them balance each other out so well, that's probably why it's a commonly used trope in story telling. So are you planing to keep this duo together beyond this part of the story, because I can't imagine Isa would want that, also I don't have the feeling he's not used to working on the field, seeing he used to be mission control and stay at the castle telling others what to do.

I guess, that makes sense though I don't see why Xehanort wouldn't get some one that's a little more competent.
Okay, so that means they're ranks aren't limited and could eventually have a lot more members than the old org did or just stay with the few members it has.

Well I guess you would have to change the FF characters a little to make them fit in better. KH treats most of them to a certain degree like original characters anyways, so changes like that don't really seem that odd.
Is Hope really old enough to remember everything clearly? He's around Kairi's age so I'd think he'd forget like she did, after all he would have been 5 years old at the time.
I get why you wouldn't want to use Noel and Caius seeing you already have so many characters to deal with, but your statement off them not existing kind of surprised me.

Well, yeah, it is a story set in the KH-Universe and uses much of the KH-canon and KH characters, but of course I won't write it exactly the same as the actual games. I also think that when injuries are actually visible it gives them more of an impact.

This will certainly become a wham-episode so to say, so the excitement is entirely within reason. ^__^
On the issue with Sora's behaviour, there was this from chapter 30:


Oh, so you mean something along the line of this: Beatrix?
In that post I give an overview over the character of Beatrix.

Yeah I can see what you mean but there's something about KH characters bleeding in battle that just doesn't sit all that well with me... don't really know why.

There were certainly a lot of developments in that chapter.
I didn't even think about the possibility of him being manipulated by the darkness blocking him from getting into his heart. I'm looking forward to seeing what's the cause of the darkness, though I do have some ideas of who's it could be.

Yeah something like that, though maybe it should put more focus on their KH:HIU history.

 

[Sephiroth0812]

Re: Kingdom Hearts: Hearts in Unison (Chapter 38 posted)

Hey, you spoilered something from eight chapters further! XD

And I'm not surprise on you omitting the XIII-2 characters. Specially when XIII-2 spins around time travel. Well, about the FF characters, it would be good seeing Cloud and Squall fighting with abilities on par with Sora's and Riku's (well, KHII gives the hint on Cloud's abilities as he fights Sephiroth right after Sora).

Heh, that's how things go sometimes, lol.
I could not have properly answered to Adrians statements without confirming it, or I would be lying.
Knowing that these shards belong to the X-blade also only tells you so much, as we certainly do not know more about them yet. Why are they in existence? Why are they scattered around various different worlds? (RememberRudol found a piece in the stone quarry on Destiny Islands) What does Xehanort want to do with them? etc.
There are many still open questions.

Yep, I don't want to create more confusion with time travel. Generally spoken FF characters tend to be on par if not even stronger than the Keyblade wielders/kiddies. Remember Sephiroth in KH2? He was just dusting off his coat after fighting Sora, implying that he didn't even take the fight seriously.
In the current fight Lightning also goes toe-to-toe with Xemnas without breaking much of a sweat. Hope also fought pretty well against Ienzo, his most glaring handicap of course his inexperience and Ienzo's power to copy other people's attacks.

Another fantastic chapter, Sephy. Detailing the fight made it a very intriguing thing to read and had me in its grip. I suppose the shard won't be entirely useable with Lightning possessing a third of it? Also, could Xemnas be developing a heart in order to feel things? Otherwise, I enjoyed reading it and can't wait for your next update.

Thank you. My fight scenes surely got waay better than at the beginning of the story.
Correct, when you have a puzzle and you rip one puzzle piece apart and take one part of that piece away it's obvious you cannot finish the puzzle itself.
This is also the main reason why Xehanort tells Ansem SoD in chapter 36 that they "still can't allow our steps to be revealed to our enemies yet."
Xehanort simply doesn't want interferences like the one that just happened in the last two chapters. And if anything it does buy time for Sora and co., who have to face a different menace first anyways.
All the shards themselves also do not have much of a use besides two things, one is that they can be used as an energy source for light- and dark-elemental powers (i.e. if Riku would cast a Dark Firaga while accessing one of the shards it would be much more powerful) and the second is that using the right procedure you can turn one shard into a facsimile of the weapon it is a part of using it like a normal blade, which however is of course much more brittle and weak than the full thing.

Yes, Xemnas certainly has something growing, although how far it is and its origins are still a mystery.

Yes, but even the description of the shards and the timing of their appearance kind of hinted at them being shards of the X-Blade.
Well they might not know anything but they have a shard that they can examine and this might lead them to learn more about it, though I guess they'd probably have no idea what a X-Blade is and that it even existed.
I see Xehanort is keeping it to a need to know bases like always. The fact that Braig doesn't know kind of surprises me, seeing he was his right hand guy for so long, though with both Ansem and Xemnas in the picture he's now probably 4th in the hierarchy and no longer 2nd.

So his heart did originate as a fraction of Xehanort's, that's interesting. Though judging from what you said it wasn't intended to develop like it is.

So their role in the first story arc is going to be a small one?

I made it more obvious than Nomura, huh? Well, anyways, I guess the dead giveaway might truly have been Xehanort's reaction, wasn't it?

Precisely, as shown in BBS not even all of the Keyblade wielders know what the X-blade is, and in the Order Preservers there are not even Keyblade Wielders in the first place.
Them having a piece of one shard certainly throws a wrench in Xehanort's plans for now, at least in his time schedule. Them appearing was certainly something Xehanort did not (and could not) anticipate as he is certainly not omniscient.

Yeah, Xehanort does not see any benefit in filling in Braig on what these shards are. If you look closely, you'll notice that both Braig and Isa are not ordered by Xehanort to search for shards but have totally different tasks to tackle. In chapter 8 they are seen with (a still unknown and hooded) Xemnas who is relaying Xehanort's orders for them.
This is because for tasks that are non-crucial for the very end goal, but crucial for working towards it and tackling potential dangers Braig is Xehanort's most trusted servant.
Another tiny hint for seeing how Xehanort's new faction possibly works:
Remember how shocked Ienzo is that beyond the black coat is Xemnas? Ienzo assumed that "the boss" would logically be Xehanort and he didn't expect Xemnas to be there.
This brings up the issue of who knows that Ansem SoD and Xemnas exist independently from Xehanort and are running around as well. Ienzo certainly doesn't, and I can already say that no one knows this fact except Braig, Even and Isa.
Xehanort, Ansem SoD and Xemnas are the only ones that know the true purpose of the shards, but Braig and Isa are the only ones beside Xehanort and Even who know that Ansem and Xemnas are around again.
That should probably tell something about where they stand on Xehanort's "useful list", and they are higher than Even simply because Even only knows because he helped Xehanort in some way making it possible in the first place.

Um, no, as I said, Xemnas didn't originate like Vanitas. So far, Vanitas' heart is the only one that originated as a fragment of another heart. Xemnas' heart is different, what I intended to convey was that nonetheless Xehanort's heart plays a huge part in the creation of Xemnas' heart.
I envisioned this story back in 2011 so the concept on how hearts are born predate what we actually learned in DDD, but I do have to say that I was surprised on how similar the method Nomura explained in DDD is to the one I thought up by myself by using just material from KH 1 to Coded.
The way how it works and the explanations are clearly different in HiU, but the overal theme that a heart can be born where there was no one before is the same as connections again play a very important role.

That said though, I won't neccessarily rule out that Xehanort once did break off a fraction of his own heart, but that surely hasn't anything to do with Xemnas.

Yes, their introduction right now only laid out the base to derail Xehanort's main plan for now and provide an opening for a later story arc.
The first main story arc deals with the problems that plague Sora's and Riku's hearts as well as endangering the tormented ones more.
The first main antagonist isn't affiliated/allied with Xehanort.

That's good, seeing what I write tends to become rather long.
That's cool so the next chapter will be out in a week?
Yeah, especially seeing that exam season is just around the corner.

Those characteristics are what make them balance each other out so well, that's probably why it's a commonly used trope in story telling. So are you planing to keep this duo together beyond this part of the story, because I can't imagine Isa would want that, also I don't have the feeling he's not used to working on the field, seeing he used to be mission control and stay at the castle telling others what to do.

I like going into meta-level on the story anyways, and that's often even easier with reviews that say a bit more than "I like it".
Yes, probably Sunday the 19th will be the next one.
Out of school also isn't really easier when you have so many other things to attend to. *ggg*

Yup.
They will certainly have more scenes together and probably even some more work alongside each other, but they certainly won't be beside each other all the time, because as you say, Isa isn't really too keen on that although he really enjoys snarking at Braig at every opportunity like when Leon threw the door in Braig's face.
Right now, Braig is going into Space Paranoids to get that blackbox they are ordered to secure and then make sure no one gets ever again into the secret laboratory while Isa goes down there to possibly eliminate the lifeform that appeared there.
As we know though, this lifeform is Lea...with currently messed up memories from Axel mixing with his own, it remains to be seen how that plays out.
Yeah, but as I said above already, Xehanort only uses Braig and Isa for important critical tasks, so you can probably assume that Isa going into the field, while more frequent than at Organisation times, is still more rare than i.e. Rudol's, Aeleus', Ienzo's or Dilan's cases.

I guess, that makes sense though I don't see why Xehanort wouldn't get some one that's a little more competent.
Okay, so that means they're ranks aren't limited and could eventually have a lot more members than the old org did or just stay with the few members it has.

Well I guess you would have to change the FF characters a little to make them fit in better. KH treats most of them to a certain degree like original characters anyways, so changes like that don't really seem that odd.
Is Hope really old enough to remember everything clearly? He's around Kairi's age so I'd think he'd forget like she did, after all he would have been 5 years old at the time.
I get why you wouldn't want to use Noel and Caius seeing you already have so many characters to deal with, but your statement off them not existing kind of surprised me.

That's calculation on Xehanort's part. In the chapter he talks about him while both Ansem and Xemnas dismiss him as useless, Xehanort points out the one field he's a prodigy in, and that's clearly all he sees in him. As long as Emyd delivers the information Xehanort cares about (and I can tell you he does understand how to motvate if necessary) he doesn't care if he is hanging lazily around the rest of the time.
I won't reveal it yet since that's for the story, but Emyd's way to do recon is clearly innovative and effective.

Changes like these were also done by Nomura on purpose because he wanted to use these characters in environments and situations other than before which partly wouldn't even be possible with FF.
That's also one of the reasons why fans can cry all they want, there will not be an FF-world ever in KH because the FF characters do not hail from the FF Universe at all in KH.
Don't forget Kairi was cast out into the ocean of the worlds and had probably induced memory loss. It's one thing forgetting something like meeting Aqua for five minutes as a child (and Kairi was probably sent off-world by Ansem SoD/Apprentice Xehanort early on before Maleficent's full invasion) while Hope experienced the whole ordeal from start to end. Of course he won't remember every detail that happened, but he can recall the whole event which turned his life upside down and faintly also the friends he might have had back then.
I won't go much further into this since I would then forestall things, but I'd say that making Hope a bit older has also to do with which relationships he had as a kid at Radiant Garden.

I admit that was probably a bit of a too drastic statement, lol. I retract that statement and replace it with a "they may exist, but they won't play a role".

Yeah I can see what you mean but there's something about KH characters bleeding in battle that just doesn't sit all that well with me... don't really know why.

There were certainly a lot of developments in that chapter.
I didn't even think about the possibility of him being manipulated by the darkness blocking him from getting into his heart. I'm looking forward to seeing what's the cause of the darkness, though I do have some ideas of who's it could be.

Yeah something like that, though maybe it should put more focus on their KH:HIU history.

It's really a matter of tastes and I won't expect everyone to uniformly like it. One has also to remember that with fights taking place inside the reality layer of the heart (awakening platforms etc.) do not equate physical blood but, as Ven explained, "heart energy" which can be equated to lifeforce/blood of the spirit.

Yeah, they were more subtle due to Naminé and Kairi just talking and a bunch of pictures, but they do hold important clues for later developments.
Sora's lingering feelings about wanting to help those in torment mixed with not knowing how is certainly used against him.
He feeling indebted for the sacrifices others have made for him (even if he doesn't consciously know of them) and wanting to find out more (specifically about Roxas as he already voiced his wish to meet him in KH2) is a fact that hasn't to do with any darkness though.
The main issue is that these lingering feelings and doubts Sora has are amplified and enlarged by another force trying to take advantage of that.
The dark wall blocking him from entry is actually serving two purposes, one to further throw him off balance and make his mood/outlook darker and darker, like scaring someone with the thoughts of the unknown as well as to serve the needs of the first main antagonist.

A theory I see perhaps? *ggg*

I'll see what I can do in that regard, as for Beatrix, there is already some background info on her HiU-Universe history given by Braig when he explains who she is to Isa, but we will eventually see more scraps of that when things are calmer at RG again. Balthier and Fran appeared amidst a battle, so too much background chatter would probably have been too unrealistic.

 

[Sephiroth0812]

Re: Kingdom Hearts: Hearts in Unison (Chapter 39 posted)

Ok, looks like I have to make a double-post again, but it is time for the new chapter.

Time to wrap up the story arc of Xemnas and Ienzo, and then lets take a look at how Terra's and Vanitas' battle continues:

#####

XL. Another connection
​

"Good. Keep up your other task and wait for Braig's report. I have to bring this to the base and...” , he paused shortly, “…think about something for the now missing part thanks to the interference of this unknown fourth party."

"Fourth party?" Ienzo blinked, a tad confused.

"Yes, I don't think that they're affiliated to Sora or to Maleficent. These annoying nuisances are a new faction in the mix." The last sentence was spat out by the Superior in a disdained tone and Ienzo noticed that Xemnas acted very contradictory at times.
Most times he would have his usual monotone, emotionless phases but in some, like just now when he talked about nuisances, it seemed like he had a genuine rush of real emotion.

Before he could ponder more on all this Xemnas already left through a dark corridor without anymore words.

I am confused, like totally confused. What do we gain from collecting these weird shards? Why is Xemnas still existing around here? If our boss is Xehanort, Xemnas should, if anything of him remains at all, be inside Xehanort and not run around like this.

Ienzo put his right hand on his chin, slowly walking around the dark depths thinking intensely.

My own nobody, Zexion, is surely gone as I have received all his memories and can also access them all but…Xehanort was always a special case, so it is possible that Xemnas has a mind and consciousness independent from Xehanort.
Yet, that should not mean anything as a mind and consciousness cannot exist alone in the physical world. That’s impossible even when considering to bend the rules of the universe.
This is all a riddle worth exploring though, it’s too bad I have to remain here until Braig and Isa are finally done with their task.
The secrets and mystery how life is created and maintained, special Nobodies who retain a sense of self independent from their original selves, how a heart is actually created…all this is so immensely fascinating.

He trembled now with a certain amount of excitement, his curiosity growing with every passing second, proving that Ienzo really had the heart of a researcher.

Turning his thoughts back to the two agents they had fought he frowned.

Where did these guys suddenly came from? Why could they locate that shard without problems?
And then that boy I fought…this face, the light blue-green eyes and the silver hair; I can’t recall it right now but the appearance of that kid feels familiar, like I…met him a long time ago.

Ienzo shortly shook his head, slightly frustrated.

That doesn’t gain me anything right now…better concentrate more on the illusion, or it really breaks apart.

---

With a roar that had a certain animalistic vibe to it Terra charged at the heart of darkness again, determined to not let him play another trick at him.

Still somewhat dazed from the strong punch to his sternum, Vanitas coughed hard again as he lifted his own Keyblade up to meet Terra’s next strong blow.

The blades met with enormous force, sparks flying another time and the boy of darkness let out a pained yelp, his right arm shaking.

“Giiargh…so the old fart really did rub off on you.” Vanitas shouted in a frustrated mix of pain and anger, his visible golden eye narrowed and the black spikes of hair that were visible drenched in sweat from his struggle to keep Terra’s blade away from him.

“Wrong Abomination! I just do what is necessary to protect my friends!” The brunette countered, his expression cold again.
“And if reaching that goal means I have to totally destroy the heart of a crazed lunatic so be it. For Riku, for Aqua…and for Ven!”

Pulling his blade back shortly Terra let another blow follow with all the strength he could muster.
Vanitas felt that he wouldn't be able to block this one as he slowly started to panic.

Without Riku's darkness to draw strength from his wounded heart was vulnerable and he would need to use his own energy to fight, impairing its ability to heal and even worse, giving away danger for his heart to be injured even more.
His thoughts went darker and darker, a frantic mix of fear, hate and anger.
Hate...I hate it, weakness. I can't stand being weak...why? Why can he diverge so much energy here? He should be occupied shielding his heart from Xehanort...

Tumbling backwards hastily he tried to avoid Terra's blow to no avail. As he swung Void Gear around again to at least try to block, the sheer force of the strike flung the blade out of his hand, pain surging through his whole right arm sending him down to the ground again.
Clenching his teeth, Vanitas fought hard to suppress a pained outcry, his thoughts running wild searching for a solution in desperation.

I will not...lose again. No! I can't...nnngh. Curse you Ventus! Curse you for destroying both our hearts in your damned defiance!!! But what to do, what to do? Ah, stop!
Terra pressed on the offensive, letting his blade sweep down at the fallen manifestation of the pure heart of darkness, the boy barely rolling aside as Terra's blade smote a another big crack into the already damaged Awakening platform.

My friends are my power...and I'm theirs...
That was what he said...could there really be some truth in this? Is this why that failure over there can as well...???
No, that's nonsense, a lie...I don't need any help, they only need that because they are weak alone! I am not weak!

Forcing himself up Vanitas met Terra's next attack with a huge volley of dark lightning bolts shot from both of his hands, causing the older man to yell in pain and tumble backwards.
"You won't defeat me, failure!" He snarled with contempt.

"I will! The power of our connection is stronger than your warped evil." Terra retorted, sounding strained but still coldly determined.
"Take this!" Transforming his Keyblade into a giant weapon similar to a Rocket Launcher Terra fired a huge blast of energy at Vanitas.

With a loud bang Vanitas was catapulted away crashing hard on the stained glass floor another time close to the edge of the platform.
This time he couldn't suppress the scream anymore, despite his "body" being only a projection of his heart the pain felt as if dozens of bones inside him had just been cracked.
Slowly, despair was getting a hold on him, he remembering another incident while he had controlled Ven's body.

Terra, Ven, lend me strength.
That's what the blue-haired bitch said...uuuh. Nooo...it can't be that they are stronger than me because of their petty friendship!
I...I hate, hate, hate you all...

His anger manifested into a javelin of dark energy, which he hurled at Terra with a growl that seeped of hatred while shakingly standing up just again, preventing him from shooting the second shot of his Ultima Cannon.
"I won't be defeated!" I am not weak...

Terra had to step aside to dodge the javelin, which Vanitas used to summon Void Gear back to his hand.
Shaking, he barely managed one step forward before he had to drop the Keyblade again, his hand shooting up to nearly claw into his own chest, ripping his bodysuit apart more in the process.
Ghhh, uuh, no, no…noo. I need power, I need more power.
The dark boy let out a very unsettling shriek, the realization that he couldn’t overcome Terra and his pain constantly weakening him increasing his anger even more.

As Terra moved in again he hissed, throwing Void Gear telekinetically at his opponent.
Raising Earthshaker the young man blocked the flying blade.
“Now you finally get to feel the same agony you put Ven through. It’s over!” He snarled.

Vanitas only threw another spiteful stare back at him. “Shut up!”
Forcing himself to pick up his weapon another time he let his pain fuel his anger, rushing forward and attacking Terra with a ferocious, frenzied combo.

Terra blocked, and then slashed Earthshaker with a hard counterattack across Vanitas’s chest, sending him howling back to the floor.
This damned little…he doesn’t go down no matter what. But his reserves must be at the limit, not much longer and I will be able to finish him off.

As the boy now struggled to his feet yet again, Terra was stunned to apparently hear him speak with himself.
“Uhhh...shut up! How dare you to speak with me like that! It was me who awoke you! Don’t call me weak, you bastard!”
He was clutching his head with both hands, throwing it around in both directions several times.
What the heck? Has he totally gone mad? Schizophrenic?

Another cry of pain followed, Vanitas nearly falling to the ground again.
“Gaah, stop being so loud. Don't play me for a fool, you sucker. I was the one to formulate this plan...“

“Plan?” Terra hissed alarmed.
“It's so infuriating. I hate it...weakness, cursed damn weakness! Pain…disgusting crippled heart!”
Terra stood there a bit dumbfounded, momentarily ceasing his attack.
Is his heart now totally breaking apart? Looks like he's really in horrible pain...
...no, I can't allow me false pity now and here...letting him live means untold amounts of more suffering for Riku and Ven...and eventually Aqua.

The gaze of him met the one of the boy again, the golden eye unsettling and full of malice as before, but now with a certain glimmer of fear and disappointment visible.

Quickly raising a hand Vanitas fired another blast of darkness at him which came so fast Terra couldn’t dodge it. He was forced back two or three steps, grunting.
“Okay, okay, do it...do it then but you won't hear me beg...never!” The boy shouted, his eye emanating resignation and pure frustration.

"It's over, Vanitas. You won't endanger any of my friends again." Terra stated, moving towards his opponent, his blade aimed at the boy's chest.

The dark boy in the ripped body suit let out a sigh, his eyes shortly closing.
As the visible eye re-opened Terra was surprised to see a sort of new confidence in it, Vanitas’s figure stiffening again as he shakingly raised Void Gear into his battle stance.

“You know what? Maybe all that babbling about the power of connections isn’t that wrong after all.” The boy stated in an odd tone.

“Not the form of connections you prefer, like enslaving others or feed on their energy.” Terra retorted angrily, thinking about Ven and Riku.

He was totally surprised as the answer was not another fit of rage, but low, mean chuckling.

“Ehehehe, that’s indeed not it. Just to let that slide in: You bunch of idiots stick together with your super-power of friendship to balance out weaknesses and become strong…yet, what would be the result of two strong forces forming a connection for dominating others?”

“What?” Terra snarled, wary of the sudden mood change of his enemy.

Putting his left arm around his waist as a new pain seizure forced him nearly down on his knees Vanitas shortly coughed before laughing in a low tone again.

“Yeah, failure. It took me quite some self-convincing to give in to it now, but I have a powerful connection at hand as well!”

“No…can it be, Xehanort…” Terra stuttered.
“Xehanort?” Vanitas spat out the name in disdain. “That connection is a curse.”

#####

 

[Roxie1563]

Re: Kingdom Hearts: Hearts in Unison (Chapter 40 posted)

Connections?! O_O Who's the connection, if not Xehanort?

I can't help but feel for Vantias.. :/ I know he's evil, but I just can't help feel for him.

I'm sure Ienzo is very curious about how and why Xemnas is still alive as am I. I assume the next chapter will tell us that, correct?

 

[Zero Dozer]

Re: Kingdom Hearts: Hearts in Unison (Chapter 40 posted)

Wow, that one sure came out late. And it came out as a real missile.

And Ienzo's almost masturbating at the possibilities involving Xemnas' existence.

Meanwhile, Terra seemed to be winning the battle, that is, until Vanitas decided to make profit off Xehanort's presence inside Riku.

As for Vanitas, could I take it that you have read the BbS manga, as it gets a deeper explanation on Vanitas' origins? I mean, Vanitas kept all the time babbling to himself about how much he hates to be weak, a thing that is way better explained through the manga.

Nonetheless, this chapter is astounding.

 

[Sephiroth0812]

Re: Kingdom Hearts: Hearts in Unison (Chapter 40 posted)

Connections?! O_O Who's the connection, if not Xehanort?

I can't help but feel for Vantias.. :/ I know he's evil, but I just can't help feel for him.

I'm sure Ienzo is very curious about how and why Xemnas is still alive as am I. I assume the next chapter will tell us that, correct?

That's still a secret, but you're right, it's not Xehanort. ^__^

Well, it's not like you need to justify your opinion or the impression the plot makes on you, right?
I think I've said this before in the thread but I expect readers to somewhat come to their own interpretations and similar things, so when I point out something in regard to such things it's not with the intention to get a change of opinion but to give a hint about possible future developments or things that might have been overlooked.
Vanitas' situation may be surely a bit pitiable I agree, nonwithstanding his despicable goals and wants. It after all serves also to contrast how Ventus and Vanitas each deal with their respective shattered heart after the finale of Birth by Sleep.

Yep, that's true, Ienzo is on fire to return to researching the heart, as it is also what he likes better since he doesn't particulary like doing field missions or fight.
Uh, nope, the next chapter will give us some more on Terra vs. Vanitas before finally returning to Roxas and Ventus, but this turn around for the first time from Ven's POV for a change.

Wow, that one sure came out late. And it came out as a real missile.

And Ienzo's almost masturbating at the possibilities involving Xemnas' existence.

Meanwhile, Terra seemed to be winning the battle, that is, until Vanitas decided to make profit off Xehanort's presence inside Riku.

As for Vanitas, could I take it that you have read the BbS manga, as it gets a deeper explanation on Vanitas' origins? I mean, Vanitas kept all the time babbling to himself about how much he hates to be weak, a thing that is way better explained through the manga.

Nonetheless, this chapter is astounding.

I wasn't around home this weekend, so no chapter posting was possible. ;P

Lol, I wouldn't decribe it as that extreme but Ienzo surely is excited at the prospect of scrutinizing this after his initial shock was over.

Yeah, Terra got the upper hand because Vanitas completely lost access to Riku's darkness. Without the ability to leech off Riku's darkness Vanitas' heart is just as brittle and weak as Ventus' is, with one main difference being that Vanitas is able to hide it better due to his overblown pride and inability to admit weakness.

Uh, there exists no BBS manga, lol, Shiro Amano has just restarted working on KH2 after finishing Days. I guess you mean the novels, as there exists an extra chapter regarding Vanitas' origins, but nope, I haven't yet read a real translation of it, only a summary that circulated around the net which was also written by an intense Vanitas-fangirl, so I take that with a dose of scepticism.
I won't say that it didn't influence the situation a bit, yet that Vanitas "babbles" all the time about how much he hates to be weak (or more precise, tries to convince himself that he isn't weak) can also be deduced from his general attitude and behaviour, as the character arche type of people who often look down and bully people they consider as "weak" (as Vanitas constantly does with Ven during BBS itself) also often have a paranoid fear of being considered weak themselves.

Beside that, just like I said to Roxas1563 above, all this also serves to further show off how different Ventus and Vanitas deal with the situation. You'll notice that when Terra once shouts that he is now experiencing the same ordeal Ven had to go through because of him he quickly dismisses it with a furious "Shut up", while a bit earlier, Vanitas in his thoughts actually blames Ventus for his current state despite that it was him who forced their fusion against Ven's will and he was just defending himself.
That says a lot about his attitude, as well as how he acts when "talking with himself" as Terra puts it, how long it takes him to accept the "help" and how he insists on that he didn't ask for it. It's the diametrical opposite to how Ventus and Sora (and Roxas to an extent) act and behave.

Great it came over that way, lol, the Terra vs. Vanitas battle is certainly the most intense so far in the story, even if Aqua vs. Sephiroth and Lightning/Hope vs. Xemnas/Ienzo was flashier. ^__^

 

[Zettaflare]

Re: Kingdom Hearts: Hearts in Unison (Chapter 40 posted)

Hey sephiroth, I just finished chapter 10. really impressed by the story so far. BTW have you considered or have you already put marvel or star wars characters in your fanfiction?

 

[KingdomKey]

Re: Kingdom Hearts: Hearts in Unison (Chapter 40 posted)

Sephy, could it be the connection that I'm thinking of?! *jumps up and down in excitement* I haven't forgotten what you said awhile back! If my guess is right, I can not wait for that appearance from the fourth party! 8D

I really like this fight. You have Vanitas down perfectly. His rambling towards the end was very fascinating. At the same time, Izeno thinks he met Hope before? Or is he thinking of Riku?

Either way, I can't wait to see where this goes.

 

[Zero Dozer]

Re: Kingdom Hearts: Hearts in Unison (Chapter 40 posted)

Well, seems like this weekend will be the time for the next HiU chapter, no?

 

[Sephiroth0812]

Re: Kingdom Hearts: Hearts in Unison (Chapter 40 posted)

Hey sephiroth, I just finished chapter 10. really impressed by the story so far. BTW have you considered or have you already put marvel or star wars characters in your fanfiction?

Thanks, glad you like it. ^__^

Like I repeatedly stated, this story was planned out in 2011, so the cast and main plot is already set in stone, I'm just writing out the story I made my milestones for.
At that time, Star Wars wasn't really owned by Disney and about Marvel I do not know enough so I would not to be able to properly include it even if I wanted to.

Sephy, could it be the connection that I'm thinking of?! *jumps up and down in excitement* I haven't forgotten what you said awhile back! If my guess is right, I can not wait for that appearance from the fourth party! 8D

I really like this fight. You have Vanitas down perfectly. His rambling towards the end was very fascinating. At the same time, Izeno thinks he met Hope before? Or is he thinking of Riku?

Either way, I can't wait to see where this goes.

If you're talking about a certain picture I showed you some time ago, then yes, that is the connection. ;D
It won't be long now until this menace is revealed.

The way I write Vanitas is just how interpret his character based on what we saw of him in BBS and how he acted. Dismissing and uncaring about such things as friendships he simply cannot comprehend that this can indeed be more powerful than the rage, hatred and singleminded brutality he is favoring.
He is so focused on refusing that there could be something true in all that because then he would have to admit that he's wrong, and that, right now, he's weak, two things his pride simply doesn't allow him to see.

On Ienzo, yes, he has some faint deja-vu regarding meeting Hope in the past, since Hope and Lightning were citizens of Radiant Garden as well before the fall of the world. If Kairi has a connection to Serah, it might be not so farfetched to assume that Ienzo and Hope have one as well.

Heh, next we have some more fluff between Ventus and Roxas in store before the first main antagonist comes crashing down and several things are cleared up.

Well, seems like this weekend will be the time for the next HiU chapter, no?

Yes, this weekend will be it. I have the chapter already prepared but it's too late now (bed-time here) to post it, so I will do that once I'm back from work tomorrow.

 

[Sephiroth0812]

Re: Kingdom Hearts: Hearts in Unison (Chapter 41 posted)

As announced, here comes the next chapter. The fight between Terra and Vanitas comes to a rather unexpected end before we get some insight from Ventus' viewpoint for the first time:

#####

XLI. Sweet Memories

​

"That may be about the only topic we can agree upon. " Terra answered grudgingly.

It wasn't visible due to the mask, but the grunt that followed and Vanitas's dismissing movement indicated that he had a forced, bitter smile.
"Like I would give a damn shit if you agree with me on something."

Using Void Gear as a support like a walking stick Vanitas slumped back to the leather armchair, settling down.
His gaze changed to a hard, hateful one again.
"Listen closely, the storm of your doom is already approaching. Hehe, in the end, you won't be able to protect your precious friends after all. You already failed once...and you will fail again!
My other connection beside Riku's will get me very easy access to Ventus when the time is right; and there's nothing you can do about it. Then we'll see who has the last laugh when you cringe in despair at witnessing the suffering of your friends, succumbing finally to the old fart and after that I'll eradicate Xehanort as well!"

He won't throw me off-balance again.
"Enough with the threats, prepare to meet your end!" Terra retorted, raising his blade for a final lunge at the boy which would hopefully be the final blow.

Vanitas's posture and spiteful stare didn't change, he made not even an attempt to dodge.
Earthshaker's tip was stopped by a wall of black bricks that suddenly formed between the two Keyblade wielders.

What? What the heck is this?
Terra slashed at the black wall, but only a few dark sparks flew, the bricks themselves unscathed.
"Interesting. I'd like to know how you did that." Vanitas's voice sounded even a tad amused.
"What are you talking for nonsense?" Terra barked, but then realized that the boy was apparently talking with himself again.

As he tried to walk around the wall, two bricks came flying out and hit him in the side, throwing him off-balance.
Ghhh...what by Kingdom Hearts...this isn't Vanitas's power.
"Very savvy indeed, so you used the direct connection between our hearts instead of the one with Riku for the defense part. What? No, don't! If you use that one to attack you'll alert them!"
Vanitas leaned back in the armchair, supporting his battered, projected body with the relative softness of the leather.

"Ghh, I have to break that wall!"
Pointing his blade upwards Terra summoned a flaming meteor that crashed into the black wall.
Parts of it broke away, but the wall itself still stood, the damaged bricks regenerating in a fast pace.
From where comes this power? Is this another form of Riku's darkness that damn abomination connected with?
---

After a so long time resting inside Sora's heart, Ventus was by now highly attuned to it, reacting to impacting changes within it.
Of course Ventus was not able to apperceive it, so the actual reason why he was now pushed awake escaped the boy's understanding.

Slowly he opened his sapphire blue eyes, confused why he suddenly awoke.
Huh? What's this? Why do I? agh!
He squinnied shortly as a short burst of pain rushed through him.

Still there huh? Annoying pain yet it's better, much better since Roxas is here. I can endure it.
Thinking about the other boy he opened his eyes again quickly; spotting the other blonde laying beside and facing him.
Roxas, who are you? I know it were some of your memories, your mind that squeezed and tortured my heart for a time, and yet you are totally clueless about it and treated me very nicely after our misunderstanding was solved.

Ven sighed shortly and very low, so as not to wake the other one.

I can also sense no malevolence from him at all, only loneliness and a certain, deep-rooted pain which is again very stunningly similar to my own situation.
And then there are our looks, oh dear, twins, that cannot be a coincidence. He is not me, and yet still I feel a strong connection to him, similar to the heart of my host.

Ventus let out a low chuckle as he imagined a comfortable, nice scenery that was hilariously funny at the same time.
Oh gosh, if I imagine introducing him to Terra and Aqua. "I wanna introduce you to the twin brother I never knew I had: This is Roxas!" The faces they make would be priceless for sure!

He felt how the pain level got another bit lower, his positive emotions helping his heart calming down, easing the pressure on its still numerous wounds.
It was really comfortable under the improvised blanket Roxas had lent him in form of his black coat and Ventus felt secure.
As he contemplated to shortly brush over his naked chest under the coat with his right hand due to a small itchy feeling, he stopped, stunned about the situation he only now realized.

My, my right hand and his left one, what? When did we do that? Why?
Ven blushed in confusion, as the fingertips of their hands touched each other halfway between them, both boys having apparently reached out in their sleep without noticing it.

Connection. It must have to do with our connection, but how?
The faint redness on his cheeks deepened a tad as he now tucked up his legs slightly, not moving his hand away one inch.

With a feeling of meek embarrassment he had to admit to himself that contemplating about their connection for explaining the subconscious reaching out for contact was at least in part an excuse.
I can't help it. I really enjoy others being affectionate towards me...especially after such a long time of loneliness and pain.

Looking at the green wayfinder that was still tied to his right wrist, clearly visible on his outstretched arm, Ventus remembered a particular event that took place about a month after he was brought to Master Eraqus, when he was finally in a reasonably stable state again.

[Flashback]
Land of Departure, Mountain Path, about four years before Aqua and Terra took their Mark of Mastery exam.

The little blonde boy eyed the big metal ring that was suspended from a chain with stern concentration, his wooden sword gripped in a backhanded manner.

"You can do it, Ventus. Hit it with the spell we practiced the last three days, then perform the combination!" The blue-haired girl standing a bit behind him shouted in an encouraging tone, spurring on the child.

"Yeah. I can bring it." The 10year-old shouted back, stiffening as he brought up his free left hand, gathering magic energy.
"Aero!"
At the bright yell of the boy a short white-green gust of wind shot out of his hand, hitting the ring spot on throwing it backwards.
As the chain let the ring swing forwards, Ventus quickly ran up to it, peforming three quick backhanded slashes against it with his wooden blade.
This combo attack stopped the swing of the ring, to which the child's face brightened up in joy.
"I...I did it." He squeaked.

"Yes, you managed the whole performance in the first try. Congratulations, Ventus." The girl answered, coming up to him with a warm smile.
He turned to her, widely smiling.
"It wasn't as difficult as I thought. I thought the wind spell would give the ring such a momentum I wouldn't be able to stop it when it swings back, but I really did it. Thanks Aqua!" The boy shortly jumped in excitement.

"Hey there, well done little one." The voice of Terra sounded from the stone chairs a tad aside, his face displaying an approving grin.
Turning aside little Ventus blushed, he hadn't noticed that the third apprentice had also watched.

"It was your own confidence that let you succeed. See, you can manage things that seem out of your reach if you overcome your inner insecurity." Aqua stated with emphasis as she bent down to be on eye level with the child.

"Uh-huh." Ventus answered, his blue gems flickering a tad uneasy as he turned his attention back to her.
Noticing it her smile deepened.
"Looks like you're ready now to start real sparring together with us tomorrow."
"Really? You think I'm good enough for that?" The uneasy flicker was replaced with shining excitement.
"Of course, I don't think Master Eraqus will have anything against it after your progress today!"
Aqua reassured the boy as she gently placed her right hand on the child's cheek, caressing it a bit.

On this the boy let out a real happy hum, closing his eyes as he enjoyed the touch of the warm hand, pressing his cheek a bit more against the palm, causing Aqua to chuckle fondly.
"You're such a clingy puppy. These small displays of affection are what you really enjoy, hmm?"

"I like puppies. They're cute." Terra announced as he had by now stepped behind the child, gently ruffling the golden hair with his right hand.

Now Ventus really gave away a whine that sounded indeed similar to a small dog which feels very comfortable. He dropped the wooden sword to place his own small hands over Terra's and Aqua's to keep them where they were, causing both of the older teens to first look at each other in a knowing manner before bursting into friendly laughter.

"Spot on observation, Aqua." Terra snorted playfully, using his other, free hand to shortly poke the blonde affectionally in the hip three times.
The boy squealed in a bright tone. "Eww, stop it! No tickling!"
"Nope, I like your laughing voice too much for that." Terra answered, grinning as he continued.
"Hahaha, no...please..." Giggling, Ventus tried now to get away from Terra, letting the hands of his friends go and moving invariably closer to the crouching Aqua.

She used it to lean in a bit more with a sly smile. "Shall I reveal to you Terra's ticklish spots so you can retaliate?" The bluenette whispered, but it was still loud enough so that Terra could hear it as well.
"A-Aqua, you would betray me?" He said with pretended shock, still grinning.
"Oh yeah, pretty please?" Ventus begged, displaying puppy eyes and a smile.

Seeing this, the older teen backed away. "Ok, ok, I will stop. Promised."
"You'll only stop for this time..." , the 10year-old cried back, "...tell me nonetheless Aqua, so next time I can defend myself!"
"Hehehe, you're really a fast learner, good kid." Terra continued, placing his hand softly on the younger boy's head again,
"Just you wait, next time you're the one to get tickled!" Ven answered, snorting a bit annoyed at Terra messing up his hair again.
"We'll see about that, little one." The older apprentice teased again.
"Indeed we'll see that later, but now, how about having some picnic after all that work?" Aqua interrupted, suddenly presenting a wooden basket filled with food from no-one-knows-where-it-came.

"Ye-hay! I bet there is some self-made candy in that one." Ven chirped gleefully as Aqua and Terra laughed again. They almost were like a small family and for the child it was undoubtly the first time he felt truly happy and secure.
[Flashback End]

Reveling in these wonderful memories, finally blending out all the bad ones, Ven couldn't suppress another low chuckle.
Clingy puppy, oh Aqua, when I got older that nickname started to annoy me somewhat. But now, I realize it is still true. Heh, some things just don't change I guess.

#####

 

[Roxie1563]

Re: Kingdom Hearts: Hearts in Unison (Chapter 41 posted)

I'm smiling alongside with Ven.. Haha, he's clingy puppy, that's for sure.

As for Vantias, where did the block come from?! :O I know he's cut off from Riku, but is there more to it? Maybe deeper connection to Riku than we think?

Keep it going, Sephly!