Disclaimer: I claim no ownership of any of the characters, locations, and etcetera used in this fanfiction. All copyrights belong to their respective copyright owners. No infringement is intended by this work.

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Chapter Eleven- Working Through the Aftermath

When the final blow came down on his heart, it took all of Sora's restraint not to go charging after Vincent, Cecil, everyone who was responsible for what had happened to Kairi. He listened with gritted teeth to the paladin's account of what had happened. By the time his sad tale had reached its end, his nails were biting into his gloved hands, his whole body shaking with rage. One thought permeated his mind.

"I'm going to kill him..." Sora growled, his teeth bared. "I'm going to kill him, and I have half a mind to kill you too!"

"I understand your grief." Cecil stated consolingly. "But before that, could you please just listen to me for but a moment? I never intended for anything to happen to the Princess. Nor did Vincent."

"Intentions don't matter." Sora spat, remembering gentle Kairi's pure ideals. "Only actions and results. You 'never intended' this to happen, but nonetheless, it did. And someone has to take the fall for it. Someone is to blame. Someone has to pay."

"When didja get into that kinda thinking, Sora?" a high pitched voice asked.

Sora's good eye narrowed to a slit as the very last person he wanted to enter the room at this moment stepped inside, looking at him with an odd mix of concern and confusion.

Cecil inclined his head in a show of respect. "Your Majesty."

King Mickey leapt up on the cot where Sora was sitting, and stood next to the teen. Now that both got a good look at the other for the first time in a while, each could see the damage the other had sustained. Mickey's ever cheery disposition had shifted for a more melancholy look, though he still kept his basic happiness about him. His left ear was bandaged heavily, and looked like it was still bleeding from a recent wound. His eyes were more somber than usual, but he still had his old pep.

"Oh dear. Looks like Vincent really did a number on ya out there..." Mickey stated, shaking his head sadly. "Though he's in worse shape than you are right now."

"Wait... 'did a number on me'?" Sora asked, confused and angry. "What are you talking about?"

Mickey sighed. "So Master Yen Sid was right... I really hoped not, but it looks like, as usual, he's right... Sora, ya can't remember what happened at all?"

Sora shook his head. "No... I just thought I passed out after Kairi..."

"Well... Sora, you... Hmmm... How should I put this...?" Mickey hemmed and hawed to himself.

"Neither you nor Vincent has any memory of the injuries you sustained after Kairi's death." a new voice cut in. Sora looked away from King Mickey to find Firion entering the room. "But I do. I was the one who rendered the both of you unconscious."

Sora's jaw dropped before coming back in a savage growl. "Why were you shooting at people on your own side?"

"Neither of you were on anyone's side at that moment." Firion answered simply. "You'd both gone completely berserk!"

"...berserk?" the teen deadpanned. "I had a good excuse to be more than a little pissed off! I'd just seen Vincent shoot my-!"

He cut himself off. He still wasn't sure exactly what he should call Kairi. A friend? Yes, but her passing hurt him as much or more than Riku's. A lover? Too passionate, too mature. A girlfriend? Too juvenile. Soul mate? Gag. Too romantic.

In the self-inflicted silence, Mickey spoke up. "Sora, he doesn't mean berserk in the usual sense of the word. He means really, completely berserk. That wasn't Vincent who gave you those injuries."

The implications behind the mouse king's last statement ground Sora's own internal processes to a halt. "Wait. You mean... I was up against Chaos? No way! I'd remember something like that!"

"Well, there's the problem, Sora." Mickey replied, a hand on his hip. "You'd remember if it was really you going up against him. But if you weren't yourself at the time..."

"Whoawhoawhoa." Sora cut the king off, waving his hands in a 'let's not be hasty' gesture. "Not me? Who else would I be if not me?"

"Sora..." Mickey began hesitantly, "Have ya noticed anything? Anything odd about your heart? The balance of it? Has the darkness been messing with ya at all?"

Sora's defiant glare shifted to a darkly pensieve look as the king spoke. Fear was starting to cut into his rage, settling in the very marrow of his bones. "W-wait... You mean... I was in Anti-Form fighting Vincent? But I've never lost my memories in Anti-Form before! And these wounds shouldn't be here if that was the case! Anti-Form's made of darkness, bullets shouldn't be able to harm it, since it doesn't have a real body!"

"Therein lies the most disconcerting problem." the king answered sadly. "The only reason Anti-Form would have its own body was if it was beginning to gain full control of yours. But it's not strong enough to do this on its own. Someone- or something- is helping it out... And it's not someone you can fight, Sora. Ya see... you've got a lot more people hiding in your heart than you realize..."

"I don't care about that." Sora cut Mickey off, glaring fiercely at him. "We can talk about this later. I want to know what happened at Baron. Why can't they find Kairi?"

"Well, despite the general disaster the actions of your crack team caused, you were extremely beneficial to the rebellion's cause. For that, the Wild Rose thanks you." Firion said, smiling at Sora. "With your actions, we were able to free Baron from the clutches of the Empire."

"Okay, so the Empire's presence on the Blue Planet is severely weakened, and Cecil gets his kingdom back, big whoop." the teen replied snarkily. "What happened to everyone else?"

"Your Mime companion... Bartz, was it? He bears some nasty stab injuries from a lance. Judging by the depth of the wounds, I'd say his assailant approached him from more than twenty feet above his head." Firion stated.

Cecil's head turned downwards at that statement. "Kain... why do you always fight against me...?"

"The captain, Faris, is uninjured." Firion reported. "The bard, Edward, is recovering from his head injury, but nothing worse than that."

"And Kairi?" Sora demanded, nostrils flaring.

The rebel general backed down, a worried look on his face. "We couldn't find her body. And from the sound of things, even if we could, there's nothing much we can do. Even more pressing: Princess Hilda has gone missing as well. I've had to take over this faction of the resistance in her absence."

Sora turned his glare towards the bedsheets. So much as he longed to gain his vengeance for Kairi's death, he'd have to wait until his injuries were fully recovered. Until then, all he could do was sit there and stew until finally he was ready to burst.

.-.-.-.

"MERCYYYYYY!" a voice cried out, echoing from within the Palamecian royal chambers.

The lightning firing from Golbez's fingers came to an abrupt halt, and the soldier lay burnt to a crisp before him.

"Calm yourself, Golbez." the Emperor sneered, lounging in his throne.

"My lord, the rebels have managed to take Baron!" Golbez raged, electricity crackling between his fingers again. "How did this happen? The resistance was as good as dead."

"They received backup." Mateus stated simply. "They received backup, and our forces were too far stretched out to come to Baron's aid in time."

"What should we do, my lord?" the mage asked, kneeling before the sorcerous ruler.

"Nothing." Mateus replied, his tone nonchalant. "We let them think they have won this battle, for now. This victory will make them overconfident, and we will crush them soon afterward. Let them have this moment of hope. That will make it all the more sweet when we crush it beneath our boots. Isn't that right, Golbez?"

Golbez was struck into silence by his master's calm demeanor. He didn't seem even slightly concerned that their main base of operations on the Blue Planet was captured, and that the outliers were surrendering left and right.

The smirk on the emperor's face grew wider. "Kefka's forces march on the Feymarch on Gestahl's behalf. He has his orders. And soon enough, the rebellion's linchpins will come to us. Isn't that right, my pet?"

At this last question, he turned to face the chained princess sitting to his left, stroking her chin gently. She moved as if to bite his fingers off, only to end up biting her own tongue as Mateus drew his hand away from her. Though she was clearly in pain, she kept her sapphire eyes narrowed at him in a defiant glare. The princess chained to the right of his throne shook her chains as she struggled to break free, glowering at her captor.

"Your struggling is pointless. With your hands bound, there is nothing either of you can do. No weapons you can properly wield to escape. Whether or not you leave this place is dependant on the rebels themselves."

And Mateus laughed as the women at either side of him tried in vain to destroy the chains binding them to him.

.-.-.-.

"Firion! Your Majesties!" a rebel soldier called, running into the room, short of breath.

"What is it?" Firion, Cecil, and King Mickey asked in unison, varying degrees of alarm and concern on all or their faces.

"We've just received word that Gestahl's forces have devastated the Feymarch, sir. The summoners have been slaughtered wholesale, and the Eidolons captured." the soldier reported.

"What?" Cecil asked, shaking with righteous anger. "How dare they? How dare the Empire tread their heels in such a holy land? They have no right to such desecration!"

"They give themselves the right to desecrate the land." Sora muttered wryly, rolling his good eye. "As if they care."

"However-" the soldier cut in, "we did manage to capture the leader of their forces. General Kefka of the Gestahlian Empire. One of the newer recruits is interrogating him right now."

"Which one?" Firion asked, eyes flaring.

"Valentine." the soldier answered.

And Sora finally lost his grip on his temper. Ignoring the flaring pain in his ribs, he got up from the bed, and began rushing through the labyrinthine halls of Castle Altair to find the gunman and kill him himself.

.-.-.-.

Vincent had never cared much for dealing with clowns. And the garishly dressed jester calling himself a general before him was no exception. Even though he was deep in the depths of enemy territory, staring down someone more demon than man, Kefka just kept on smiling. Crimson eyes narrowed, and a gauntleted hand smacked the back of Kefka's head so hard it made his forehead hit the table in front of him.

"Owww!" Kefka whined, rubbing his head with chained hands. "Geez, didn't anyone ever tell you not to start with the head? I'll get all fuzzy and unhelpful!"

The head slammed the table again. Kefka looked up at Vincent, grinning cheekily. "See? I'm seeing two of you!"

"What does Gestahl want with the Eidolons?" Vincent growled, glaring at Kefka.

The permanent grin grew wider. "You really wanna know? In that case... I'M NOT TELLING!"

The gunman's claw arm shot out and grabbed the jester by the throat.

"Owowowowow! I'm sorry! I'm sorry! Please, lemme go!" Kefka begged, causing Vincent to throw him to the ground.

Kefka clambered to his feet, staggering around. "And I suggest you be a little nicer to me if you want any sort of chance to save them."

"...Them?" Vincent asked, utterly confused. "Who's-?"

"Well, in case you haven't noticed, your rebel princess is in another castle." the clown sneered. "And isn't it odd that you never found little precious pure heart's body in Baron?"

Kairi's alive? Captured with Hilda? Vincent thought, rage beginning to permeate his body.

"Where are they?" he asked, his voice just a whisper.

"Ehhhhh?" Kefka asked, holding a hand to his ear. "What's that? I can't translate mumble!"

Vincent shoved Kefka against the wall, and pinned him there by the throat, screaming in his face. "WHERE ARE THEY?"

The raven-haired man heard the door swing open behind him, and vaguely recognized Firion's voice calling out for him to stop.

"STAY OUT OF THIS!" he shouted over his shoulder, slamming Kefka's head against the wall. "WHERE! ARE! THEY?"

"C-calm down, calm down. They're both in the same place, as I'm sure your intelligence network can tell you." Kefka wheezed. "But that doesn't mean it'll be easy to find them. Or that I'll tell you where they are."

Vincent growled deep in his chest, a red aura beginning to form around him.

"Oooooh, yeeeesss. Now we see your real self. Yes, that's it, more! MORE!" Kefka responded, sounding creepily aroused.

A calming hand on his shoulder. Vincent's left arm snapped back unconsciously for the source, sending the rebellion's leader flying against the wall with a loud crack. That was the cue for about ten members of the rebellion, including Cecil, Sora, and Mickey, to charge into the room and try everything in their power to hold Vincent back. Working together, they managed to subdue him. And all the while, Kefka was laughing uproariously.

"You really wanna know where Kairi and Hilda are?" Kefka taunted as Vincent was dragged out of the room. "Here's a hint: You'll have to fight to win what you're looking for."

And the last maniacal laugh echoed down the corridors of the rebel base long after the door to the interrogation room was shut and locked.

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Next chapter, we begin a new arc of this story. I hope you all stay tuned.