Part 13: The Dark’s Light

The fate of Gaia and the Universe is in your hands now

Part 13: The Dark’s Light

(“Open”- Rhye) The fire begins to slowly die away as the sun starts to rise. The dead begin to fade away, the living head home and the immortal agree to meet here once a year. To go along with their tradition, they decide each take a log from the fire and take it to their favorite place on the planet, a place that is significant to them. Nanaki takes his to the petrified remains of his father, Shelke to W.R.O. headquarters, Aeris to her church, Zack to his unmarked grave, Angeal to his home, Genesis to his Banora White tree, Sephiroth to Jenova’s cell, Vincent to Shinra Manor, Lucrecia to her cave and Sephira to the home Rufus gave her family. They sit there until the fire burns out. They sit in silence and are at peace with themselves. The sun fully rises, the people wake and they disappear. (End)

 

("Nothing's Burning"- Telepopmusik) A week later, Vincent takes Weiss, Nero, Genesis and Shelke to the Shinra Manor in Nibelheim. He has been searching for any information on his brother’s actions since Riku and his friends mentioned him. He has found reports that his brother wrote many years ago and even some more recent ones. They head down to the basement to the laboratory-library. On the top shelf of a bookcase in the study area is a journal and on its cover is a single word, “χ-Blade”.  Inside are seven reports.

                         The first report was written during his trip to Banora. He wrote about how his wife, Sariya who was pregnant and they decided to give their child to Hollander. The Jenova Project was just beginning and Xehanort knew that Hollander wanted to outshine his brother, Hojo. He hoped his child would be a boy so he can receive the name, Genesis.

                         The second report was about Sephiroth. Hojo had Xehanort do some genetic testing on Sephiroth when he was about four years old. Putting the data he found into his database, he found out that Sephiroth was in fact his nephew. He wrote; “So, my brother is the true father to this monster. How interesting indeed.”

                         The third report told of his time in other worlds, specifically at The Land of Departure. There, he learned how to wield the Keyblade and use magic which reminded him of the Materia of his planet. He talks of how he befriended another wielder named, Eraqus and how he hopes that he will help him carry out his plans.

 

The fourth report was about his sons, Weiss and Nero. He was saddened to see that his sons had to be constantly monitored and detained. He was glad to see that Weiss was very powerful even without the aid of Stagnant Mako and that Nero was just as strong. Xehanort hopes to reunite with them one day and hopes to show their mother, Vanessa, the success of her research.

                         The fifth report was a record of Sariya’s new family. She had two daughters, Shalua and Shelke. The youngest one, Shelke has a special gift. He knew that Shinra would become interested in this child and Xehanort was determined to bring her to Deepground. Shortly after Sariya’s passing, he makes plans to have Shelke be relocated.

                         The sixth report is a family tree he recorded. On it, it says; “Gast married Ifalna and has Aeris. Iflana’s brother, Ivan has Serenity whose cousin is Dilan and she has Sephiroth’s children. Sephiroth’s mother is Lucrecia and his father is my brother, Vincent. Genesis is my first son with Sariya who remarries and has Shalua and Shelke. My second wife, Vanessa has Weiss and Nero whose uncles are Hojo and Hollander. Hollander has a son named Angeal with his partner, Gillian. As far as I know, Hojo doesn’t have any children, and my second oldest son, Terra I've left in Eraqus' care." Xehanort concludes.

                         The seventh and final report is on the thirteen vessels he needs to have his thirteen Seekers of Darkness. He plans to use the many reincarnations of himself that he has scattered throughout time to accomplish this; his heartless, his nobody, his younger self, his older self, himself in Terra’s body, Isa, Braig, other reincarnations of himself and his other sons if he needs to. 

Just as they finish reading the reports, a dark portal appears at the doorway. From its depths steps a young Master Xehanort. Shelke remembers seeing this man at her mother’s grave once, she never knew why he was there until now. He asks his sons to join in his battle and become Seekers of Darkness. Genesis refuses right away and has no words for his pitiful father. Weiss and Nero wanted to be used by no one and also refused. He turns to his brother hoping to convince him so they others would follow.

“We may be brothers, but I am nothing like you. I do not claim my family only when they seem useful.”

“My sons are my sons and they will embrace the darkness. They have been since they were born. Why would helping me be any different? They need to make use of their gifts.”

“We will, but not how you want us to.” Genesis states.

“There are enough problems on our own planet, why would we cause more?” Nero reasons.

"This planet is only a small part of a bigger universe. A universe is out of balance and this unbalance is the source of all your problems, here, on this planet."

“You kept us together for a reason, you want a balance between the light and the dark and that is what you shall get. The universe can find its own way.” Weiss concludes. Genesis uses his Firaga Materia and burns his reports. He walks back towads his dark portal.

“Once you see my Keyblade War, you will understand. Come find me when you’re ready to accept your fate.” He vanishes. Outside the manor, Genesis sets it ablaze. They hope that everything will be settled with his defeat and that no one else will try to pick up where their ancestors left off. (End)

(“Canoe Canoa”- Populous)  The next day, Riku, Sora and Kairi get ready for departure and say good bye to their families. Yen Sid allowed them to return home just for a little while, but he needs them to come back to his tower. Kairi has much training to do and Riku and Sora have much to teach her. Kairi says goodbye to her foster parents. They are reluctant to let her go, but they let her. They know that Sora and Riku will protect her. She thanks them for taking her in and being great parents. Kairi hopes to learn more about her past; who her real parents were and maybe meet other relatives. 

Sora is happy to see his father home and catches up with him as much as he can. He is amazed by his adventures and tells him that the work the Turks do, doesn’t compare. He’s glad he and his son are still very close despite both of them being away from home for long periods of time. Maur has decided to retire and will be home when Sora returns. His mother is glad that he is home so she won’t be alone when Sora leaves. She hopes that they will all be together soon and that neither one of them has anymore duties to attend to. 

Kairi and Sora meet up with Riku at his house. Sakuya is hugging her brother and won’t let go until Serenity wants to hug her son and give him motherly advice. Vincent, Weiss, Nero, Genesis and Shelke are present to speak with Riku.

“I’m proud of you, Riku. Go do what you need to do. We’ll be right here when you get back.” Serenity tells him.

“Yeah, we are all cheering for you!” His sister adds.

“You and your friends need to defeat our father.” Weiss demands them.

“Sorry for placing this burden on you and your friends, but it seems that this is your destiny.” Genesis reiterates.

“If you do need help, you know you can call on us.” Nero reminds them.

“Even though he is family, don’t hesitate to take him down. There are those who are just pure evil, Hojo is a testament to that.” Vincent adds.

“This man has made many suffer, including myself. Please, end the suffering.” Shelke pleads.

"And please, bring us back our brother." Genesis pleads.

“Tell my cousin, Dilan that I will see him soon. He's been waiting for me to respond to his letter he sent me over a decade ago. Tell him I'm sorry it took me so long and that we have a lot of catching up to do. The fate of Gaia and the Universe is in your's and your friends' hands now. Please, let us all be together again.” Serenity smiles and kisses Riku on the forehead.

“Thank you for everything. I will take everyone’s advice to heart. We have a long battle ahead, but as long as we keep an open mind and a pure heart,”

“And a strong bond to the ones we love.” Sora adds.

“Yes a very strong bond to all that we love, I know that we will succeed.” Riku proclaims.

“We all share the same sky, one sky, one destiny.” Kairi finishes.

 A loud noise it heard from the sky and in the distance a fly object is approaching. The three Keyblade wielders are on their way to their fight of a lifetime. (End)

(“Rain”- Music that will make you Cry) Nanaki looks around the circle to see how their numbers have dwindled since the first meeting 500 years ago. He still has hope for this planet and its people. He hopes that when his time comes he will die peacefully knowing that the planet is in good hands. Nanaki speaks to his friends, “We were all meant for something bigger than anything we could have imagined but we were born this and we will die knowing that this was much bigger than you or I or any other existence.” The last words of a dying elder.

 The guardians all play a role in the planet’s protection; Nanaki insures the survival of his race, Vincent keeps Omega at bay, Genesis watches every move militaries take, Sephira carries on the knowledge of the Cetra, Shelke monitors the advancement of societies. As for the Weapons, they travel the Lifestream making sure it continues to ebb and flow naturally. Each hold a crystal with immense power; power to bring about ruin or reconstruction. But, how much can they really take?

                         The future generations of Gaia kept trying to make their lives easier, kept settling into places not meant to support human life, fought each other over resources and the crystals while depleting the planet of its natural resources. Lands were overcrowded and food became scarce. Pollution and dramatic climate changes caused the extinction of many species. The oceans became polluted with oil and human waste, the sky was stained with a grey muck, sunlight couldn’t pass through these dense clouds. No one could leave the planet because all rockets experienced engine failure. The air became poisonous to all that breathed it and all that breathed it died.

                         There aren’t any happy endings because nothing really ends. When a life is over another begins and this life must balance those good days with those times of strife.  Many millenniums into the future, the planet was drained of its life force and what little was left was forced to travel through the cosmos once again until it found a new planet for a host, but even this new planet would have it shares of up and downs and history inevitably repeated itself in which its inhabitants destroyed the very thing that created them. Somewhere there may be a land that is free from this seemingly endless cycle, but none have been found. (End)