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

[Sephiroth0812]

Well, what do you know! This is certainly interesting, indeed and now Kairi knows what she has to do next to order to save both hearts of Sora and Riku.

Like Goofy and Kairi, I also realized the same truth as them when Sora became his own Heartless in order to free Kairi's heart! That was a nice way of tying that event to what is actively going on here in the castle of the King and I'm hoping there will be more connections like that throughout this story of yours.

I think you're referring to Anti-Sora, right??

One step after the other though. She knows what to do now in order to gain a better understanding and hopefully control of her own nascent powers. Definitely saving Sora & Riku is still on a different piece of paper. ;D

Heh, things like these is what you get when you plan a story out in advance. To connect the Mysterious Figure from BBS and its state of existence with the state Sora was in after Kairi "purified" him and before joining with Roxas was an idea I originally entertained back in 2012. It serves to both incorporate the Figure without most of the whole timey-wimey baggage and to explain/explore another part of the KH universe's lore without introducing a completely new, detached concept.
To build such connections between existing parts of lore and different KH games (all pre-DDD of course) is one of the core things I incorporated into the story so there will be more like this down the line.

I like how you reference [I]it. [/I]I still remember our talks about the winged creature and what it has in store for your series. xD So I can't wait to see how upset the winged one becomes. Anyways, I wonder if by chance anything from chi will ever influence the direction your story goes or not, although if I remember right, a lot of this was written and planned already. Haha, I'm coming off track. I really enjoyed this chapter because it felt like a right of passage for Kairi to gain support and learn more of what her powers do. You portrayed it so well too. <3 And Goofy coming to that conclusion first was surprising and adorable. Either way, I had a lot of fun reading this chapter and seeing Kairi become more confident with herself.

Hey thanks, it will definitely a crowning moment for the KH girls and will allow Xion to keep "it" better at bay for a while in any case.
The Keyblade War does play a role obviously, yet it serves more as a background motivation for Xehanort and partly for some settings.
Since the bulk and core of the story was planned and imagined before even DDD came out, it certainly won't include any Foretellers or similar stuff that was introduced by x[chi].
The overall direction of my story itself was so far not altered or influenced by any developments that came with DDD or later entries, so any similarities to things happening there come just from my own interpretations which I made with the knowledge base we had after the end of Re: Coded coinciding with actual developments in canon.
One thing I did alter is switching some side/support characters around and introduce a group of characters that wasn't supposed to be in the story at all first (no, not my original chars), but that change affects only some character roles in the story instead of the story itself and results in one group of characters being bigger than originally envisioned.

I'm glad you enjoy this chapter and think I managed to capture somewhat of a decent portrayal of Kairi and her interactions with the central Disney cast. Letting Goofy coming primarily come to that conclusion was my take on the often implied "hidden perceptiveness" he apparently has in the KH series (like i.e. him immediately recognising Mulan's disguise in KH 2).
Queen Minnie, Daisy, Uncle Scrooge and to a certain degree the three ducklings are planned to eventually become the more close "Disney companions" for Kairi but for this particular situation I needed someone who actually witnessed the whole restoring Sora bit in KH 1 in order for the whole epiphany to make logical sense.
I'll be honest and say that I found it quite a challenge to write Kairi in a way that keeps true to her core personality (the little of which is shown in actual canon) and expand on it without making it look unrealistic or irrational.

 

[Sephiroth0812]

I know it has been ages since I managed to actually make a full update on here and I'm truly sorry it took so long.

Besides several Real Life instances the current chapters are also quite a challenge for me to write, mainly because of a certain cameo-character whose parts I end up rewriting multiple times in an effort to capture a certain "presence" for this character and because of the central main character being Kairi, someone I admit to being rather difficult to write (for me) but who I want to give some more focus nonetheless.

The following chapter is the first piece of a three parter to which I hope to bring forth the two following ones in a more timely manner:

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LXVIII. Proof of Resolve – Part I
​

As her hand touched the outer shell of the Cornerstone Kairi immediately felt a sort of pulling force, gentle but firm.

Alright then, let’s dive in.

Jumping forward, the shell let her through as if it wasn’t there, the Princess of Heart quickly diving through a vast darkness littered with some green glowing starlike lights littered across it.

The sensation was oddly familiar despite the initiation being different.

This is, yea, just like a dive to the heart.
Does this mean that the Cornerstone of Light has a heart of its own?

While thinking about the possible implications of this Kairi yet again performed some involuntary somersaults in her continued descent.

Yikes, just like when I dived into my own heart to meet Naminé.
Apparently I suck at heart-diving, but enough of that!
If this is a heart, there must be some of those “awakening stations” present where I can land and start to explore this realm.

Whatever is responding to my awakening powers needs to be found and I certainly hope it is capable of communication as I need to get a grasp on how my powers work and how to control them.

Her expression emanating a firm determination, the Princess tried several different manoeuvres to gain control of her dive, the fifth one being the deciding successful one.
Slowing down the pace a little she immediately started to look out for a platform she could use as a landing spot.

One of the green starlike lights was not that far away a little diagonally down to her left side, so it would be the best bet.
Just steering a little to the left it is then.

She increased the speed of her dive again, the glowing green light getting bigger and bigger until she could see that her guess had been entirely correct.
It was indeed an awakening platform, one shimmering in a mixture of green, blue and golden light.
Nevertheless it was unlike any of the awakening platforms she had seen in her own heart as this one was three if not even four times bigger in size.

Wow, how huge this one is. It has so many people and locations on it.

Kairi could spot at least Disney Castle, Disney Town and three other cities or towns she didn’t know the names of.
The circles adorning the platform depicted King Mickey, Queen Minnie, Scrooge, Gyro Gearloose, Daisy, Donald, Goofy, the Chipmunks, Scrooge’s Butler Duckworth and many other residents of Disney Castle, no, possibly this entire world.

An solemn atmosphere filled the air which Kairi could almost feel inside her as well, all her still lingering anxiety and worrying being pushed down to give her an even more clear mind.

The sound of her shoes hitting the stained glass was also dampened down to almost nothing more than a whisper.

“So you’ve arrived here even in person. What an honor, one of the seven pillars of the Realm of Light.”
The polite, well-modulated voice spoke up before Kairi had even as much of a chance to look around, startling her.
Whoa!
Urm, I guess at least the communication part won’t be a problem.

“Th-Thank you. Well, to be honest, I came here in person in the hope of some advice in regards how to control my powers. I know I’ve activated them and as well that you’re reacting to them, but it’s in fact unfocused and actually did until now more harm than good.”

“I know as much .”
The voice stated calmly with a soothing spin.
“It is the primary reason I reacted to your outburst of unfocused energy. I hoped to establish some sort of contact, yet didn’t expect for you to just jump in here personally all by yourself.”

She pushed one strand of her red hair back behind her hair while letting out a short awkward chuckle.
“Well, I am somewhat brash sometimes.”

“That you certainly are, which is why it is even more important for your to learn to focus and control your powers.”

“If you could help me with it, I’d be certainly grateful as it’ll also enable me to help out my two best friends who are right now in terrible pain due to some forces attacking their hearts.”

Kairi took two steps forward but then hesitated. Since this was a disembodied voice there was no conversation partner which she could “turn to”.
“You seem a little confused.”

“To be frank yes, it’s a little awkward not seeing anyone when holding a conversation, but that wouldn’t be much of an issue either if I would know with whom I have the honor.”

Straightening up tall, she raised her head up to the dark sky around littered with more green starlike lights around.

Better safe than sorry.
“Your name doesn’t happen to be Xehanort, does it?”
The question came out more sharply that she intended, but she did remember how she talked with Riku once in the short time between Sora’s and his return and the arrival of Mickey’s letter and how he explained to her what a master of manipulation and rhetorics this Xehanort-guy was.

There was a moment of silence before the voice let out a small chuckle, not malicious but clearly amused.

“Your cautiousness is certainly admirable. To be honest I don’t know the name Xehanort and who the being it belongs to might be.
I agree though that conversing with an invisible being is somewhat weird and I can take a form that is easier for beings like you to comprehend, just one moment…”

Suddenly a shower of small golden particles illuminated another part of the platform right across Kairi.
She blinked and as she opened her eyes again with the brightness from the sparkles subsiding there stood the figure of a friendly looking old man with short brown hair which had several silver streaks, light brown eyes and a well-trimmed mustache.
He wore a plain dark blue business suit with a necktie in a lighter shade of blue and on the left side over his heart a golden pin with the same symbol that King Mickey used as his seal.

“That better?” He asked in a calm, yet playful tone.

She gave him a small nod, still a little astounded about this man’s sudden appearance out of seemingly nowhere.

“As for who you have the honor with…” , he continued while moving to the center of the platform,
“…taking a look at this might be helpful giving you an insight into this matter. You see what this stained glass picture shows, cities, towns, animals, people, beings of all different kinds.
There is Disney Town and its associated Castle, there is Duckburg, there St. Canard and that over there is Cape Suzette. The locations depicted on this single platform are only a glimpse of the full picture and all of them are filled with millions of lives, all of which you could perhaps call my “children”.”

Kairi’s eyes widened as her jaw dropped in realization.
“Does that mean you are a manifestation of the heart of this world?”

“A manifestation, an avatar, a specter, a hologram, you can give it many names but yes, that is correct. I am the heart of this world, its very essence.
The Cornerstone of Light you used as an entry point has actually a direct connection to me but very few can actually pass the barrier and outright dive here.”

He made a thoughtful expression for a moment before going on.
“If I had to guess I’d say it were the factors of me trying to establish contact in the first place and you being a Princess of Heart coming together that allowed it in the first place.”

He have her a small grin which could be interpreted as somewhat of a “grandfatherly approval” in Kairi’s own interpretation.
“Of course, your self-admitted brashness may also have played some role in this.”

The Princess allowed herself to relax.
“It certainly might be like that.
If you’re the heart of a whole world you certainly must have quite some experience and wisdom, so let me ask right away then: How can it be that I can activate my powers but have absolutely no control over their power level nor their direction?”

She scratched the back of her head in frustration.
“I don’t even know what my power’s are for heaven’s sake!”

The man tilted his head once before answering.
“For the first issue, you have to realize that powers, anyone’s powers, can be inadvertently activiated in times of great stress and emotional turmoil and when you haven’t got a determined goal in mind to which the powers shall work towards they can go haywire and become an unfocused source of destruction.
For the second issue, your powers, while rooted deeply in the light element due to the nature of your heart, do not have a specfic form or are of a specific, limited nature in terms of use.”

“Which means…”, Kairi bit her lip, “…I need to consciously feel my powers and then shape them into a form that is the most effective for the given challenge.”

The man nodded.
“Indeed, you’re quick on the uptake Princess.
First, think. Second, believe. Third, dream. And finally, dare.
You need to think about what you want to achieve and in which way, then believe that you’ll always doing your best no matter what, dream about the desired outcome in your mind and then dare to act and make that dreamed outcome a reality! Your powers will take the appropriate form if you have the will to actually shape them.”

“That sounds pretty easy when one just says it, but I doubt it is really that easy. One slip-up and I might end up actually making things worse and just dreaming up a desired outcome won’t actually ensure any success or help ease worrying.”
She wasn’t convinced that this was all there was to it.
Remembering now, she had given her powers a form according to Mickey, as walls of light surrounding Sora’s and Riku’s hearts, but that hardly helped anything.

“Why worry? If you've done the very best you can, worrying won't make it any better.” The man interrupted her thoughts.
“If something bad happens or something doesn’t go as planned, worrying won’t help any in resolving the problem. Not every possible outcome is within one’s own power to change or influence, that is a sometimes sad but undeniable truth.
Thus, the difference between winning and losing is, most often, not quitting.
If something doesn’t work, instead of worrying search for alternatives which might work better.”

She gritted her teeth. “I think I get it, it is however the how which still escapes my understanding.”
“The “how” may be different for many situations, however, a first good step might be getting you a medium on which you can focus and which can serve as a conductor to channel your powers.”
“A medium? Such as? I’m afraid that I don’t understand yet, honored heart of this world.”

The man had now a warm smile.
“”Heart of this world” is quite a mouthful, so I think it might be easier if we use just a human name for reference. Just call me “Walt” from now on.”

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I just hope this is up to the usual quality standard. <__<

 

[Roxie1563]

Yay!!!

I was beginning to lose hope on this ever being updated, but I'm glad to be wrong on this! And I'm just smiling from the mention of a popular name that started the idea of Kingdom Hearts. :3

Aw, I think you did just fine after being gone so long.. Although, I can see some things to be corrected but it is not in my nature to tell you how to write it out.

But gosh! The Cornerstone of Light is essentially the heart of Disney Town/Castle World...! That's even more amazing!

 

[KingdomKey]

A conductor makes me automatically think of her keyblade. It could be used as a medium for her to use to channel her light. I'm sure there are other ways for Kairi to do it, but that's my initial thought about it. And it's nice to see Walt be present in the heart of all words, especially as a representation of Disney. <3 It was a good chapter overall and well worth the wait.