A/N: Boy was that Kingdom Hearts Melody of Memories trailer something or what?

Anyway, at last we have the finale of the Radiant Garden arc. Let me remind you again that I did not expect this to take so many chapters. Here is my take on the downfall of the kingdom.

Withered Garden

KAI/KAIRI: It was the day that our lives were changed forever.

The left out guards had gathered in the tavern. Laguna was pacing around before addressing the soldiers. "Alright, listen up!" He was probably the most serious right now than he's ever been. "A few days ago, I had received intel from our hometown hero, Bruta. It involves both the castle lock down and the disappearing children. We finally know what happened to the kids. They had been abducted by the castle staff."

The guards then muttered their disbelieve to each other.

"I know. I couldn't believe it either. According to Bruta, they were being subjugated to inhuman experiments. She even admitted to be a test subject herself, as she has just identified herself as missing person Skadi Thurston. While Skadi was merely made taller and stronger, however, the others...became mutated and malformed, most of the ones she saw, she wasn't even sure were even alive. I am positive that these experiments were the reason behind Sephiroth's rampage, Kai's transformation, and Cloud's wing. Because her transformation didn't give her any monstrous features, the scientists had allowed her to roam the town and coaxed her into playing the part of a hero to keep the citizens from panicking, threatening to take away the strength and growth spurt they gave her if she ever told anyone about what they're doing. She had personally witnessed one of our missing recruits, Claire 'Lightning' Farron and her sister Sarah being grabbing by Braig himself. And I have no doubt they have taken Cloud and Kai as well, maybe even Lea and Isa."

One guard raised his hand. "Why are the castle staff doing this to children?"

"Your guess is as good as mine. Even Bruta is certain that she wasn't told everything. She was sweet-talked into volunteering for her experimentation, so she didn't suspect kidnapping until Lightning was taken."

Another guard said, "Is Lord Ansem involved?"

"Skadi only ever saw Xehanort, Even, and Braig, but never his Lordship. So we are uncertain at this time."

One more guard. "So what are we gonna do about it?"

Laguna stopped pacing and put his hands on the table. "We're putting a stop to this. Human experimentation is abhorrent enough, but on children no older then teens is just despicable. This is NOT the kingdom we signed up to protect! Whether Lord Ansem is involved or not, we cannot turn a blind eye to this. We cannot just stand around doing nothing while this kingdom eats itself from the inside out. Many families deserve to know what happened to their children and why! Which is why we need to break into that castle and get the answers ourselves. I know this goes against our usual codes and regulations, but desperate times call for desperate measures. Are you all with me?"

All the guard cheered.

Xehanort, Braig, Even, Ienzo, Dilan, Aeleus, Lea, and Isa all stood in the master computer room, observing the live footage on the monitor. They saw Laguna and the left out guards carrying a large beam and slamming it against the front gates.

"Looks like the people have become fed up with our secrets," said Braig.

"So it would seem," said Xehanort.

Lea chuckled. "Well, now that the jig is up, it looks like you're in no position to keep us held here anymore, doesn't it?"

Xehanort smirked, before suddenly summoning his Keyblade and jabbing it into the fire boy's chest. "No... just that your usefulness has ended." He removed his key as Lea fell limp on the ground.

"LEA! UGH!" Isa shouted as the madman did the same thing to him. Both boy's hearts popped out of their bodies as they started to fade away.

Xehanort then walked over to the brainwashed apprentices. "This world has nothing left to offer us. It is time we relinquish out mortal selves and strive to become greater beings.

"I couldn't agree more," Even said flatly.

"Likewise," said Ienzo.

"Of course," said Dilan.

"Yes sir," said Aeleus.

Then the madman jabbed his keyblade into each one of them, their bodies falling limp and fading as their hearts are released.

"Hey!" said Braig with confusion. "Is this how you wanted it?!" He then approached his partner in crime. "Xehanort! You wanna fill me in here?"

Xehanort raised his Keyblade. "I am..."

"Wait! Do you...remember now? Or wait...did you never lose your memory?"

The silverhead scientist then stabbed the one-eyed ruffian, who gasped in shock. "That's not my name...I'm not...Xehanort..." Braig then fell limp as his heart is released. "My name...is Ansem."

He then looks back at the commotion on the monitor and smirked. "There's just one more experiment I have to perform. But first, it's time to dispose of the garbage."

"Heave! Ho!"

The guards continued to bash the beam against the gate. Suddenly they heard clanging coming from inside.

"Wait! Hold it!" Laguna commanded.

There was a moment of silence before the large doors started opening outward. And what they saw shocked them. A wall of those yellow eyed monsters stood right at the entrance. And it wasn't long before the creature began to scatter all over the place.

"RUN!" Laguna shouted and nobody wasted any time to fall back. They all knew that there was no way they'd be able to take down so many of them. As they ran, Laguna pulled out a communicator. "Sound the alarm! Begin evacuating the citizens immediately!"

He put the communicator away as he fired his machine gun at several Heartless coming at him.

Skadi was just sitting in her room, thinking about what was about to go down. She knew that Laguna was planning to break into the castle. He had asked if she wanted to help them, but her mother had immediately rejected the idea, not wanting her daughter involved despite knowing she was probably more than capable to help. She supposed she couldn't blame her. Her daughter just came back home, and now she doesn't want her out of her sight. Besides, she wasn't sure the rest of the guard would want her help after hearing the truth. Still...was it really right for someone people saw as a hero to just sit here and do nothing? She already made that mistake with the two pinkettes that she allowed Braig and Cyclops to snag.

Her thoughts were interrupted as a loud siren suddenly blared across the city. Knowing this couldn't be good, she approached her window to see if she could find the cause. And she was startled to find those same monsters those scientists forced her to fight. But they were in much larger numbers then before. She was startled when a Wyvern Heartless suddenly flew in and broke into her window. It was struggling to fit into the narrow opening, before Skadi punched it out.

Her parents bursted into the door, having heard the crash. "Skadi!" her mother exclaimed. "What happened?"

"It's those monsters again! Look!" the growth-spurt girl replied as she pointed out the window.

The parents looked out and grasped in fright! "Oh my god!" her father exclaimed.

"Where did so many of them come from?" asked the mother.

"It doesn't matter! The evacuation alarm is sounding. We have to leave now! The guards said we're supposed to head for the west side the outer gardens. Hurry!"

With that, the Thurstons hurried out of their house and headed for the evacuation point.

It wasn't long before they ran into some Shadow and Soldier Heartless. The creatures leapt up to attack them, but Skadi was quick to punch and kick them out of their way. She was then approached by a Defender Heartless, which attempted to chomp on her with its the beast face on its shield, only for her to grab hold of it. She managed to yank the shield right out of its hand before throwing it back so hard, it sliced right through it.

This was the first time her parents saw her in action and they were stunned by how strong she was. They were snapped out of their stupor when their daughter shouted, "Don't just stand there staring! Get a move on!"

As they continued through the town, they came across other civilians trying to run from the monsters. Skadi gasped as she witnessed some of them getting snatch by Wyverns and taken into the air to parts unknown. One of them was even a guard that was directing the citizens to safety. Seeing several people falling to these monsters, hit the experimented girl real hard. But she knew she couldn't stop now. She looked around and spotted a fallen eight-foot lamppost, picked it up and ran toward the distressed citizens.

"Where are you going?!" asked her mother.

Skadi stopped and turned to her parents. "Go! I'll catch up!"

"Don't you dare, young lady! Get back over here, now!"

"Someone has to help them! I'll be fine! Just go!"

The mother was about to protest but then the father held his wife's shoulder. "Let her do this."

"B-But..."

"She may become a real hero yet."

Not waiting for an answer, Skadi continued forth and started swinging the lamppost at the Heartless. She still felt guilty for not helping that girl when she had the chance, and more than anything she wanted to make things right. She had the power to protect these people and now she was going to use it for the right reasons.

"Kairi, l-l-lunch is ready." Luck entered Kairi's room. She paused as she saw the little girl sitting on the bed and seemed to be trembling. "K-K-Kairi, wh-what's wrong?"

The redhead shuddered as she answer. "I-I don't know...I...have a bad feeling."

Their attention was then caught when the cat, Dawn, suddenly started hissing at the window. The girl walked over and looked out to see what was going and gasped as they see Heartless all over town.

"Monsters!" Kairi shouted.

Lucky looked up and saw what appeared to be some kind of black hole in the sky. "K-kairi, s-st-stay close. W-we ha-ha-have to g-g-go!"

"But they locked us in!"

They then heard the apartment door suddenly slam open. They exited the bedroom to find Xehanort. "Insetto," he said, "I'm gonna need the girl to come with me."

The fairy girl looked at his uneasily. "W-w-we'll c-c-come..."

But silver-haired scientist shook his head. "You misunderstand. I need her, not you. Your job of watching her is over."

Lucky did not like the sound of that. "Wh-wh-what's going on? What d-do you need her f-f-for? And wh-why are the m-m-monster all over t-town?"

"This kingdom has outlived its usefulness, and frankly so have you and the other Chaos subjects. Right now, I just need the girl for...one last experiment."

Kairi quickly grabbed Lucky's leg. "No!"

"Give her to me, or we can do this the hard way!"

Lucky just had a feeling that whatever he wanted the little girl for, it wasn't safe for her. "Y-you promised you wouldn't h-h-hurt her!"

"Lycan's cooperation no longer matters to me. Now enough stalling, Insetto!"

The pinkette quickly sprayed Xehanort with as large a dose of her sedative pheromone and she could muster. However, the madman only chuckled in response. Lucky was shocked to see that her dust seemed to have no effect on him. "Wh-what!?"

Xehanort wagged his finger. "Did you not think I would have developed an antidote for your pheromone in case you fought back? Now what will you do?"

"I-I..." The older girl began to panic as she looked around her. She saw a vase next to her grabbed it. "R-RUN!" she told the younger girl as she threw it at the madman. Only for him to summon his keyblade and deflect it effortlessly.

As Insetto kept grabbing random things and throw them at him. Kairi attempted to run around Xehanort and out of the apartment. However, a Neoshadow emerged from the floor and grabbed the little girl. Dawn tries to attack the heartless, only to also be grabbed.

"K-Kairi!" Lucky tried to run over to the captive girl, only to be zapped by dark electricity, courtesy of Xehanort. The Neoshadow then threw the cat into a wall so hard that she was knocked out.

"LUCKY! DAWN!" The girl shouted.

Lucky struggled to get up. "N-no... I-I w-w-w-will pr-pro-protect y-you..."

Xehanort shook his head pitifully. "And what could a frail experiment like you accomplish?"

"I-I pro-pro-promised... I pr-p-p-promised..."

"Unfortunately you lack the ability to keep such a promise." The scientist then fired an orb of darkness at his experiment. Lucky managed to roll away, but Xehanort quickly grabbed her by the collar and slammed her into the ground, knocking her unconscious.

"LUCKY! LUCKY!" Kairi cried at the sight of her beaten caretaker.

"Know your place, Insetto." Xehanort then approached his captive. "Now then, shall we get going...princess?"

"P-princess?"

"You have a very special light within you, child. Which is why I need you for this experiment." He then walked out the apartment, the Neoshadow holding Kairi followed him behind.

The little girl struggled to escape the Heartless's grip, but to no avail. "Let me go! I want Lucky! I WANT KAI!"

Kairi continued to struggle as she's carried through the halls. Soon they come to a strange chamber. Their was a large device she had never seen before with what looks like brown capsules with heart-like shaped window.(1)

Xehanort walked up to the console and pressed a few buttons as one of the capsules opened up. The Neoshadow tossed the girl in it.

Kairi shivered in fear. "Wh-what is place? What are you gonna do?"

The madman smirked. "You, my dear, are going to lead me to a valuable treasure."

"I want my brother! Please! Just let us go!

Xehanort pressed a few buttons on the console. "Princess...you will never see your brother again."

"NO!" The girl attempted to get out of the capsule, only to be stopped when Xehanort put his hand on her forehead. Before she knew it she was screaming in agony as he electrified her with darkness. Once the zapping stopped, she fell limp in the capsule, now in a semiconscious state.

Her vision blurred and she could barely hear the last thing Xehanort said to her as he pressed one more button and the capsule started to slowly close. "Until we meet again... Princess of Heart."

He then walked away as the capsule shut, and Kairi slipped out of consciousness completely.

Kai lied in his cell in an anxious mood. He just couldn't shake this feeling that something was happening, something bad. It was dreadful enough being confined here, unable to do anything lest he risk his sister's wellbeing. The only thing that ever gave him any comfort was using his newfound power to sense her strong light. Knowing that Kairi was safe always gave him some peace of mind.

That is, however, until her light suddenly vanished, prompting to sit up in shock. "N...No..."

Lightning noticed from her cell her fellow Recruit's sudden state of disbelief. "What's wrong, Kai?"

"I...I can't feel Kairi's light!" The boy stood up, and started panicking. "I can't feel her light! It's gone! She's gone!"

Lightning was confuse at what he meant. "Can't feel her light? What are you-"

She is startled when Kai immediately starts pounding on the bars. "XEHANORT! XEHANORT! WHAT HAVE YOU DONE TO MY SISTER!?"

Lightning began to panic as the redhead's enraged state. "Kai! C-calm down! I don't think you shou-"

But then Kai transformed his arms into claws before tearing the bars apart. He wasting no time charging straight out of the lab.

"Kai! Wait!" Lightning shouted, but her plea fell on deaf ears.

Ryu then laughed from his cell. "I have never scene such terror and desperation on Hikaru's face! This just made my day!"

Kai ran into his apartment, to find Lucky and Dawn lying unconscious on the floor. Just as he feared, Kairi was nowhere in sight.

"Lucky!" He ran up to her and started to shake her.

The fairy girl groaned and opens her eyes. "Uh... K-Kai?" She then gasped as she sat up in a panic. "K-K-K-Kairi!?" She looked around for her charge, but she was nowhere to be seen.

"What happened!" The boy asked desperately. "Where is Kairi!?"

Lucky trembled with fear and anxiety as tears leaked from her eyes. "H-h-he took h-h-h-her... h-he said he d-didn't c-c-care for your c-c-cooperation a-anymore... I-I tr-tried to k-keep her s-s-safe... I-I'm sorry..."

Kai's blue eyes then turned red with anger. "XEHANORT!

He stormed out and through the halls, until he came across Heartless. A Shadow attempted to attack him, only for him to summon his katana and strike it down. A few Soldiers leapt at him, only to be struck by a Windcutter attack. He then attack a Defender, which blocked with its shield. While he struggled to push it back, a Neoshadow came rushing at him, forcing him to transform his arm into a beast claw and tear it to piece. He then leapt over the Defender's shield and cut the monster down.

He then saw more Heartless up ahead. "WHERE IS HE!?" He charged into the fray and cut through the creatures, following their trail.

"Man there are just too many of them!" shouted Zidane as he sliced some Shadows with his daggers.

"No kidding!" Bartz exclaimed as he used a machine gun he copied off Laguna to shoot down a bunch of Darkballs.

Squall sliced through a few Wizards with his gunblade. "Any sign of more civilians?"

"Nada!" said Tifa as she punched a Soldier. "I think we've managed to clear this area. We should move to the evacuation sight now!"

"Hold on!" Rinoa came rushing in with four frightened children in tow. They were Kairi's friends: Palom, Porom, Rydia, and Yuffie. "I found a bunch of lost kids! Their parents...weren't so lucky."

Squall cut down a few more Heartless. "Rinoa, Tifa! Get those kids out of here, now! We'll cover you!"

"Right!"

With that the two female Recruits started leading the children into an alleyway hurriedly. However before they reached it, Yuffie wound up tripping and falling onto the ground. The others were in such a hurry that they didn't notice until after they entered the alleyway when Rydia looked and stopped.

"Yuffie!"

The black haired girl struggle to stand up when a Wyvern came diving at her. She shrieked in terror when she spotted it. Fortunately for her, Squall leapt over to her and dispatched the Heartless in time.

"Are you alright?" the boy asked.

"I-I think so..." Yuffie replied.

"Good," he helps her stand up. "Now you gotta-" he was cut of when a sudden explosion came from above the buildings, and debris fell onto the ground, blocking the alleyway the others had entered. "RINOA! TIFA! ARE YOU ALRIGHT!" he shouted worriedly.

There was a slight pause before Rinoa answered. "We're all okay!"

Squall sighed in relief. "Is the road to the other side still clear?"

After another pause before Tifa answered. "Looks like it!"

"Good! Keep moving to the evacuation point! We'll find another route!"

"Squall!" said Rinoa. "Be careful!"

"You too!"

With that, Rinoa, Tifa, Rydia, Porom, and Palom continued forward.

"Bartz, Zidane! We need to-" he was cut off once again when he saw that both guys were heavily surrounded by Heartless, getting overwhelmed. Soon the two found themselves getting piled on by the monsters.

"NO!" Squall attempted to charge in, but a Large Body block his path, and rammed him back. He look at the pile as could see heavy black mist coming from it. The soldier-in-training just knew that two of his comrades were no more. But he didn't have time to mourn as the Large Body attacked again. He dodge it before leaping up and beheading it.

The boy turned to the swarm that now set it sights on him and the little girl. He got ready to fight for their lives, but then a grenade flew into the swarm, and the resulting explosion destroyed most of the Heartless.

Laguna leapt in front of the boy, machine gun blazing at the remaining monster. "Squall! Take that girl and get to the evacuation site! I'll cover you!"

Wasting no time, Squall grabbed Yuffie's hand and made for the outer gardens, with Laguna following behind shooting down any Heartless that got near them.

They got close to the exit when a sudden explosion caused a nearby building to collapse. Squall and Yuffie were fine aside from their ears ringing, but when the dust settled, the boy looked to see Laguna half buried under the rubble.

"Laguna!" he shouted as he rushed to the guard's side and tried to pry the debris off of him, but to no avail.

"Squall!" Laguna exclaimed as he struggled fruitlessly to get out. "Just get the girl out of here!"

"No! I'm not leaving you!"

"The lives of the young are worth more than the old! Now go!"

"But...Dad(2)..."

Then Yuffie screamed in fright as a Neoshadow started charging at them. Squall got ready to strike, only for the Heartless to get whacked by a lamppost. They looked to find the one holding the lamppost was the hometown hero herself.

"B-B-Bruta!" exclaimed little Yuffie.

"Stand back! I got this!" Skadi said then put down the lamppost before she began moving the debris off the guard with little effort.

Xehanort stood in one of the top most chambers of the castle, the Grand Hall. It originally served as the throne room, but hasn't been used for many years due to how impractical its position is for holding peaceful audiences and negotiations, what with the long trek needed to get up there. It seems like the original builders of this castle were megalomaniacs who saw their subjects and outsiders as beneath them. Today however, this chamber would serve a new purpose.

The man examined his surroundings from the hall's upper platform before grinning in delight. "Yes, this looks like the perfect place to open the door. Here's hoping that witch proves useful."

His musings were interrupted when an all to familiar voice shouted at him. "XEHANORT!"

Xehanort turned toward the lower part of the chamber to find Kai himself standing there, his Muramasa katana in hand, glaring daggers at him. A smug grin developed on the man's face. "Well, well, good afternoon, Lycan. What are you doing out of your cage?"

"WHERE IS SHE!? WHAT DID YOU DO TO KAIRI!?"

"My apologies!" the scientist said with mock sympathy. "But I'm afraid your sister is long gone."

Kai stiffened at this. "W-WHAT!?"

"And you'll never see her again."

The boy was crushed at what he was implying. He didn't want to believe it, but with Kairi's light vanishing, what other conclusion could he come to? His sister was dead. He felt like his heart was smashed to pieces, as tears flooded his eyes.

"You..." the redhead choked out, "...you BASTARD!" He then became enveloped with intense darkness as he leapt up onto the upper platform and attacked the madman with his katana. Xehanort merely blocked with his Keyblade, which didn't surprise the boy after remembering the fight he witnessed between him and Aqua. "WHY!? WHY DID YOU DO THIS!? WHY BREAK YOUR PROMISED NOW!?"

"I don't have to explain myself to you, boy," The scientist said. "All you need to know is that you, the Chaos Program, and this kingdom itself have all worn out my interest, and its about time I moved on." He then shoved him to the side.

The red head growled. "FLAMETONGUE!" He enveloped his sword with fire with hints of dark mist and attacked.

Xehanort merely dodged as the sword slammed onto the floor with a fiery explosion. Kai then clashed with him again, only to be kick away. The madman then pointed his Keyblade. "Dark Firaga!" he fired a fusillade of dark fireballs.

"ICEBRAND!" he enveloped his sword with cold mist before swinging forward, unleashed a gust of frost, countering most of the fireball, but still got pelted by a few.

Kai relentlessly slashed his sword at the Xehanort, but the mad scientist was no slouch with a Keyblade. The boy kept switching up his spellblade arts, but could not seem to land a meaningful hit. Even when he started utilizing his beast claw he was getting nowhere. The more he fought, the more darkness he channeled through his sword. And the more darkness the sword channeled, the darker its red blade became.

Soon, Kai had enough and started gather as much dark power as he could, his Muramasa practically turning black. "DARK WAVE!" he unleashed a large wave of darkness at his enemy. However, Xehanort seemed to erect an invisible barrier to withstand the attack. The boy grew furious as he leapt up to attack again, only to be hit by a powerful surge of electricity, knocking him onto the ground and disarming him of his sword.

But the redhead wasn't done yet, as he slowly stood up, his fury growing and darkness erupting from the scar on his chest. "XEHANORT! YOU WILL PAY FOR THIS!" He shouted at he was enveloped my a dark pillar. When it cease, Kai was in his beast form.

However, Xehanort took notice that the beast was a little different from before. It was slightly taller than before. The red mane on the back of his neck grew a little longer and more prominent, a red spike sprouted from each of his shoulders, his red furred tail became more wild, and his forearms and shins were much broader and even had patches of red fur around the elbow and kneecaps. The beast let out a loud roar.

The madman couldn't help but chuckled. "Magnificent! As your anger and pain grows so too does the beast! Surely you are proving to be my most impressive experiment!"

The beast didn't seem to acknowledge what was said as his glowing red eyes glared at his target. "DIE!" He then swung his claws, unleashing a few shockwaves one after another, which Xehanort promptly dodged.

Lycan then charged at his target, claws at the ready, only for a demonic guardian to emerge from the man's shadow and intercept the attack, and followed up by punching him so hard he was sent crashing into the wall. But he recovered quickly and ignited his claws in flames before slamming them onto the ground, unleashing fiery pillars erupting toward them. Xehanort avoided the flames while his guardian just tanked them. The guardian then unleashed a fusillade of dark spirals at the werewolf and Xehanort unleashed another Dark Firaga. The wolf tanked the hits, but that didn't mean they didn't hurt.

Lycan soon spent much of the battle duking it out with the guardian, while still trying to land an attack on Xehanort. The mad scientist had to give Kai credit: His beast was pretty powerful, and incredibly resilient. The werewolf was actually keeping him on his toes. However, he was still lacking in his control. He wasted so much power for so little results, and his primal fury was impeding his ability to think straight. A weakness that would soon be exploited as he soon became predictable.

After a while Lycan began to slow down, but he refused to stop. "I'LL DESTROY YOU!" Soon, he started gather a heavy about of darkness into his mouth before unleash a powerful beam of dark energy at Xehanort. The guardian was quick to shield its master from attack. It seemed to feel some of the pressure of the attack, but it stood its ground impressively.

When the attack ended, the werewolf started breathing heavily, clearly exhausted from overexerting himself. But one look at his enemy walking in front of his demon bodyguard, and he still charged at him in spite of how tired he was. Unfortunately, he left himself wide open, as Xehanort then gathered power through his Keyblade before dashing passed the beast in the blink of an eye. Lycan stopped in his tracks and he clutched his chest in pain as a glowing slash wound ran across it. The beast then turned back toward his target, but the madman fired a beam from his Keyblade at said wound before he could charge again. There was a bright flash before Lycan fell limp on his back.

The scientist approached him as he admired his own handy work. Thanks to his power, the wound he just inflicted became a permanent mark. The red slash mark that was already on his chest from the beginning was now two slash marks...crossing each other...in the shape of an 'X'. Xehanort smirked. "As your flesh bears the sigil, so too shall your name be known as that...of a recusant." He then dismissed his Keyblade, and his guardian faded back into his shadow. "I will be looking forward to watching how you grow, Lycan."

With that, Xehanort opened a corridor of darkness and left.

Lycan then returned to his human form. And like the beast, the red scar on Kai's chest had changed to an 'X' shape.

...

Soon the unconscious boy was approached by a new figure, one shrouded in a black coat. (3)

The figure examined him closely before saying. "Well, well, well! You have proven to be quite the anomaly, kid. I just can't help but question... Were you ever meant to exist in the first place?"

They then started circling him. "It's funny. The most important things thus far have happened as they are meant to, yet not everything is as it should be. And you, Kai Hikaru, seem to be at the center of nearly everything that shouldn't be."

They crossed their arms. "What to do, what to do? Part of me thinks you should be disposed of along with all other anomalies connected to you, so that everything can proceed as destiny intended. And yet, another part of me thinks you should be left alone, just to see what your existence amounts to."

The figure then chuckled "And you know what? The latter is just too intriguing to pass up. Will you flow naturally in the river of time? Or will you be a boulder that changes its course? Will you amount to something that could inflict a major impact on the world? Or will your existence become meaningless in the end? Will destiny itself sort this out on its own? So many possibilities! I think I'd like to find out after all. I look forward to seeing what fate has in store for you."

And with that the black coated figure leaves before anyone could even know they were there.

...

Soon Kai finally came to. And when he did, tears immediately flooded his eye. "K...Kairi..." he choked out. His sister, his reason to live, was gone, and he could never see her again. She was such a special girl, not to mention sweet and innocent. She had so much going for her. It was supposed to be his duty to protect her and ensure a bright and happy future for her, and yet he failed her.

His sadness soon got mixed with anger. Xehanort... the man who took his sister away from him. And worse was, Kai couldn't destroy him for it, and he got away. He was denied his vengeance. He felt a sting of pain on his chest before noticing that his scar had changed, and his anger only grew knowing that that man had to be the responsible for it as if just to rub salt into the wound. Still tired from his fight all he could do was pound the floor beneath him.

"Damn you...Xehanort... DAMN YOU TO HELL!"

KAI: He took everything away from me. I nothing left to live for. I swore that one day, I would make him pay for his crimes, no matter what it took!

"Sir! The second transport is full!" exclaimed a guard.

"Tell them to take off!" Cid answered. "We've still got room for a few more straggler. We'll wait just a few more minutes."

With that, the second transport took off. Inside this transport were Tifa, Rinoa, Rydia, Palom, and Porom. The two older kids did their bests to comfort the three younger kids, but they both couldn't help but look out the window with a concerned look.

"Cloud..." said Tifa. Her blond friend's disappearance weeks ago still weighed heavily on her, and now this happens. "Wherever you are, you better be alright..."

"Squall..." said Rinoa, who still hasn't seen him since they were forced to split up. "Please be safe..."

Meanwhile, the third and final Gummiship transport was still on the ground gathering the rest of the survivors. Cid was helping people in, Aerith was healing the injured, and Merlin was using his magic to fend off any heartless that came into the outer gardens.

After a while, the last of the citizens were in the transport.

"Alright!" said Cid, "I think it's time to skedaddle out of here!"

"Wait!" said Mrs Thurston. "Our daughter hasn't come back yet!"

"We don't have time! It's only a matter of time before those things really start coming at us."

"HOLD THAT SHIP!" someone called from a distance. They looked to see Skadi, carrying Laguna on her shoulder, Squall and Yuffie rushed towards them.

"Skadi!" called her parents.

"Squall!" called Aerith.

"Get your rears in here!" called Cid. "WE! ARE! LEAVING!"

The group reached the ship before Aerith asked, "Where are Bartz and Zidane?"

Squall looked down. "They didn't make it."

"Let's get inside young ones," said Merlin. "We can't stay here another minute."

With that everyone hopped aboard.

Skadi set Laguna on a medical bed before receiving a hug from her parents. "You did great, Skadi." Mrs Thurston said.

Skadi looked somber. "I just...wish I could've done more."

"You can't save everyone, unfortunately," said Mr Thurston. "But you can't dwell on that. Focus on the ones you were able to save. You're a real hero now."

"...Thank you..." It didn't make her feel one hundred percent better, but she appreciated it nonetheless.

Squall sat by the now unconscious Laguna, with little Yuffie clinging to him desperately and Aerith doing her best to heal the wounded soldier.

"Did Rinoa and Tifa make it?" the boy asked.

The flower girl nodded. "They left in another transport."

"Good..." He then looked out the window. He lost Bartz and Zidane right in front of him, and the kingdom was being torn down brick by brick. He mentally cursed himself for not being able to save his comrades or his home.

Cyclops observed the transport Gummiships flying into the sky from his tower.

Soon Dhampir walked up to him. "What's the situation?"

"The left out guards tried to break into the castle only for Heartless to come pouring out of the gates," the optic experiment said. "And as you can see, they are completely laying waste to the whole town."

"And those aircrafts?"

"Survivors fleeing. And Gigas is with them."

"I see. I can't seem to find Xehanort, nor the other scientists anywhere."

Cyclops's mutant eye glowed as he looked around. After a while, he ceased. "Even my x-ray vision can't locate them. And if I can't find them... they must be gone. The only ones left in this castle are us chaos siblings."

"What about Lycan's sister?"

"She's gone too. Though speaking of Lycan, he's out of his cell, in the Grand Hall. Looks like he had just been put through the ringer. And he is NOT happy."

"Xehanort probably disposed of the girl." The vampire sighed. "It would appear that he has decided that he is finished with this kingdom. Why else would he allow the Heartless to ravage it?"

"But why not take us with him?"

"Perhaps he's lost interest in us." Dhampir started pacing around. "While Seraph went rogue long ago and Gigas escaped with the survivors, the rest of us have been left here to rot. Looks to me like our usefulness has ended."

The monster-eyed former thief looked down as he grunted in frustration. "So what now!? If those scientists really have abandoned us, what are we supposed to do? Just sit here and rust like discarded tools for the rest of our live?!"

Soon a new voice made itself known. "Discarded tools you say?" Cyclops was startled while Dhampir kept a calm demeanor as they both looked to see figure walk out of a dark corridor. It was a woman with green skin and black horns on her head, wore a dark cloak, and carried a green scepter. A raven was perched on her shoulder. She smiled as she said, "If that's what you don't want to be, then perhaps I could give you a new purpose."

She couldn't open her eyes, she couldn't move, and she couldn't even think...couldn't even remember. Her body was unconscious, yet her pure heart was semi-aware of her predicament. She could feel the darkness of the unknown surrounding her. She felt cold. She felt suffocated. She felt exposed. She felt...all alone. Despite being unconscious, she was scared to death.

Young Kairi's heart pled for some kind of help. She pled for warmth, for air, for protection,...for just somebody to be there for her. Anything to relieve her of this living nightmare. But there was only so much pleading alone could do.

However just when she started to give up hope, she felt something coming from the pendant around her neck. She suddenly felt warm, felt relieved, felt safe...felt as if someone was watch over her, and offering her their guiding light. For a moment...she was not alone. A faint voice could be heard.

"One day when you're in trouble, the light within you will lead you to the light of another... Someone to keep you safe."

KAIRI: Everything I once knew was gone, in more ways than one. All I had left was my own name. The unknown...is very scary.

A/N: Finally finished with this arc. And what a doozy this finale was. Hope you all liked it!

Next time we're gonna see the aftermath of the crisis, what the subjects of the Chaos Program are gonna do now, and how Kairi's arrival to 'you-know-where' plays out.

Footnotes:

(1) This is based on what was shown in the Kingdom Hearts Melody of Memory trailer.

(2) First time I acknowledge their father-son relationship, something that was never directly stated in FF8 but was pretty much implied.

(3) All I will say here is... Make of this what you will.