~Five Years Ago~

A beautiful silence reigns over the private chambers of the Solar Princess. Who’s sleeping soundly on her bed, covers tucked up to her neck. Her serene smile is accompanied by a mumble of a single word, “Luna…”

Today’s events are still fresh in her mind; the enough to draw her into a dream she dare not wake up from.

Luna – her alicorn body weakened after the Elements were used on her – is wrapped securely in her sister’s hooves and then by her wings.

Both have their cheeks stained by tears and smiles adorn their faces. Luna snuggles Tia’s neck, then lays her head on her shoulder, “We’re grateful thou has allowed us a second chance.”

“No, Luna. For you, I’ve given my crown if it meant we could be sisters again.”

They stayed quiet once more. Enjoying each other’s company-

*KnockKnockKnockKnockKnockKnockKnock*

The alicorn’s earn twitches; the cacophony breaking the walls of her sweet dream and stirring something that nobody in their right mind would dare invoke.

*SmackSmackSmackSmackSmackSmackSmack*

The rhythm increased to full blown punches. Her eyes snapped open, and within them, an unadulterated fury no one has seen. That’s because no one has lived to tell the tale. It might be an exaggeration, but the point is clear: no one interrupts the Solar Princess’s sleep, much less a dream she prayed to her mother it turn real one day.

In a golden flash, she stood in front of the double set door; her regalia on and the best scorn her eyes could muster.

The doorknob is encased in her golden aura, and with a quick turn, the door is swung open so fast that the focus of her writhe kept ‘knocking’ into thin air.

Her lips were partly opened and ready to speak the word Yes? Laced with a cold anger and covered by a mock neutrality even her toughest guards would sweat under. But it never came.
Celestia’s smile quickly replaces all forms of anger, and her eyes show the love she has for the intruder.

“Lulu,” the cause of her happiness, “what brings you here?” Though, her smile falters at seeing the nervous-no, nervous can’t begin to describe it.

Luna’s eyes dart from side to side; her baby blue mane displaying locks out of place, and she’s biting her lower lip. It doesn’t take a keen eye to see something is weighing her mind. Celestia could only dread that it might ruin the happiness she sought for over a thousand years.

“Lulu, what’s wrong?”

“May we come in?” Not waiting for a reply, she walked past her older sister and stopped in the middle of the bedroom.

For Luna to act this way, only confirms Celestia’s suspicion, and that signifies the end of her pleasant dreams. So does the rest of the week for that matter.

She closes the door with a push of her magic, then turns to her sister. Who has yet to move with gaze focused on the marble floor. Her mind is distracted by her own thoughts.

“When was the last time thine has felt the stars at work, or the properties they induced on us?”

“Lulu, what-”

“We were a fool during our banishment.” She began pacing and her mind delved deeper into her thoughts, “We saw the signs but my rage made me an ignorant. Had we given it thought, Nightmare Moon would never have existed. We fear of what it may entail, and now it transpired once more.”

Celestia can recall the times she seen Luna stressed to the point she would discuss with herself, but this, this is Twilight’s level of anxiety. A problem she hasn’t found the right remedy to, and something she doesn’t wish to see her sister in.

After a golden flash and a pop, she reappears in front of her sister, startling her, “Tia! What madness driven thee to this?! Or has thou forgotten when we both first took our roles, Puddinghead’s prank caused the moon to succumb to Equus’ gravity!”

The elder sister places a comforting hoof on her shoulder, “Lulu, this should be your special night; a night of relaxation and the many more to come until you recover. What could be so grave that neither of us can have a much needed rest?”

What pops into existence, draws Celestia’s eyes wide, and a penetrating chill through her heart.

The handle is a lucid onyx. The cross-guard, surface of a glimmering sapphire, is thin in appearance, but strong as the alicorn’s will, and has the shape of a waning moon – starting from the cross-guard to end a few inches after the pummel. The blade, at a simple glance, is shaped as a long, thin cylinder – silver in color. But it is connected by four rings, dividing the blade into four sections. Starting from the cross-guard and ending before the luminous, midnight blue star, half encased by a pair of dark blue wings attached to the end of the blade.

But if the key-like aspect of the weapon wasn’t enough, the onyx string attached to the pummel ends with a star half encased by a pair of wings – matching colors as the first.

“Tia, the last we seen the keybl-”

A gold horseshoe cuts her off, much to Luna’s bewilderment. Celestia, on her part, has stricken eyes with the gaze focused to the wall. Much is running through her mind at this moment, but one thing is clear: It’s starting again.

Her golden aura covers the entire room momentarily, preventing all sound from getting out. Then pulls the curtains over the balcony doors, preventing anyone from the outside to see. True, one had to be crazy to be even staring through the balcony as is, but she had to make sure word wouldn’t get out.

When everything seems in order, Celestia lowers her hoof down. Her features relax before meeting her sister’s gaze, “When?”

“It occurred after we stargazed, but unlike before…” Luna could no longer look at her sister in the eye, shame crosses her features at remembering that tragic night. She’s been too absorbed in thought that a wing draped around her barrel snapped her out. When she looks up, Celestia is by her side with a gentle, sisterly smile. It helps Luna smile, but only for a moment, “Tia, stars were not just vanishing, but regaining their light as well.”

This is what she dreaded, causing her smile to drop, “How are you feeling?”

“We are alright, but that’s not the reason why we came.” Her eyes fall back to her keyblade, and her sister’s follow, “What will happen now?”

A long silence fills the air as the future looks uncertain, reminding Celestia of the first few decades after her sister’s banishment, “…I’m not sure.”

~Present~

The World That Never Was still maintains its eerie atmosphere; the streets and alleyways of the Dark City are lit by the soft glows emanating from parts of the buildings. The atmosphere is unnaturally placid, despite a violet thunder breaking the silence, nothing will occur again. Much, is the nature of the world.

Though the sound of footsteps through an alley threatens the stillness; it also wakes up some inhabitants of the world.

Dark pools emerged from the walls high up, and a humanoid head poked out of each one. Pairs of yellow orbs stare down at an individual running in a ragged brown cloak.

The Neoshadows swiftly jump out in direction to their target. Claws ready to stab as the distance closed to inches, but a small gust brushes past them, and their claws furrow the ground the next moment.

They yank themselves free and turn towards the sound of footsteps.

The cloaked figure is already out of the alley, and walked into one of the few open spaces of the city. When the person reached the center, in front of the largest skyscraper with a massive television screen - currently flashing images of a dense forest covered in an eternal storm, then of long, white hallways -, a different Neoshadow dashed the last twenty meters and became airborne.

It takes a swing, claws slicing through air where its target’s head was.

A moment later, a black, double-edge blade penetrates its chest all the way to the cross-guard – a simple rectangular form with a yellow orb in the center. The heartless now hangs limply, but manages to take a glance at the stranger crouched under him. Up close, the shadows covering his face could no longer hide those eyes, carrying the same shade as the darkness were it came from. But there’s something off about them; the pureblood had a difficult time understanding what is. Then it grasped the emotion, not felt it, but understood it: it’s pity.

The Neoshadow evaporated in a puff of black smoke. Allowing Sul to stand and take in his surroundings.

Dark pools emerged one after another all around him. Dozens of them already have a Neoshadow standing on top as he completed a turn.

There’s no path for him to run without a pureblood in the way, and more joined from the alleys. Their numbers reaching over a hundred before silence takes over. They shuffle in place, and all get at least a glance at the presence that stirred them awake.

He knows the small space he has is shrinking the further he waits, but he doesn’t lift his sword or does anything other than stare forward.

A thunder’s roar commences the rush attack on the wielder. Leap, dashes, most disorganized, and a few synchronized. One in particular got close to the boy’s back; a simple sidestep and the attack is avoided, but the swing of his blade came faster. Reducing the Neoshadow to smoke.

Sul makes a complete turn, snatching the pureblood’s wrist – halting its attempt of attack – and swinging it into collision to another one. He let go, and lets the momentum carry them to three others. Turning them into smoke with the impact.

The dance continued a few more seconds. Sul sidestepping the last moment then swings the first and final blow. Occasionally grabbing a Neoshadow’s long antenna or part of their arm, and throwing it to the ones that got nearest to him.

He also takes more notice of his surroundings. Almost every spot of the area is infested, and Neoshadows are now crawling from the walls of the alleyways, for running out has become a hassle as the influx of Pureblood increased into something similar to a black stream.

Puffs of smoke took the air as dozen more joined afterwards. Sul’s legs danced to a silent melody, and his hands acted on instinct, taking out those who tried to attack from behind and the sides. He even created a small clearing for himself; his eyes scanning left and right for a clearing.
He finds one. But Neoshadows jump from all angles, and the rest rush in from all sides. No longer containing themselves from the presence of his heart.

Arms arced back and about to strike the next second, but as they came closer, Sul jumped high and through the only gap available, leaving the heartless to furrow the ground and – the waves who came later - onto their brethren.

The center is covered by layers of smoke; it grows as claws swipe indiscriminately in search for Sul. But as no heart came out, the assault began to end. The heartless in the clear have their heads perked up. Gazes scanning hungrily until they find him.

One foot landing over a Neoshadow’s head before jumping to the next and the next. Some jumped and took a swipe, but always fell behind.

Then he puts more force in his next jump, getting airborne and out of their reach. He lands on the only place not infested with Neoshadows: the entrance of Memory’s Skyscraper - advantageous since its higher elevation. He turns and walks over to the edge of the ramp.

The cloud of smoke dispersed at last, so those who didn’t see where their prey escaped to, soon rushed behind the heartless that already gathered in front of the building.

They all shifted in place, but never stepped on the stairwell or the ramp. Their feet inches closer at times, but when it seems they’re about to touch either of those, they retreat back.

Sul looks wearily as he tries to meet everyone’s gazes, there’s so many of them. He closes his eyes for a moment, ignoring the thunder overhead and focusing on the heavy pressure his sword - Ersatz Shadow - puts him in.

It only weighs on him mentally. Physically, it drives him to the limit, never letting him at ease even when he sleeps, but it serves as a reminder of why it was given to him.

Suddenly, it doesn’t feel right to hide himself. Especially if he’s going to help them.

He tosses his ragged cloak to the side.

The silver trimmings on his black vest – halfway closed at the moment – gives a small shine under the light. On the back is the emblem of a heartless – missing the x in the center, and the thick lines are a dark blue. The shirt underneath is a softer blue, and his black pants are adorned with dark blue stripes on opposite sides along with silver trimmings. Yellow pouches are strapped in a similar fashion on his thighs. His shoes are a sky blue on the top and silver on the bottom.

His black hair – side fringes reaching over his ears and bangs just above his eyebrows – is combed down into thin strands, and his eyes and face appear younger than his actual age.

He speaks in a confident, honest manner.

“I’m sorry this won’t return you whole, but I can put your heartless side to rest.”

Sul gets into his battle stance he learned several years ago. Ready to fight all of them if necessary.

Author's Note

Fun Fact: (a close enough one according to wikis, official websites and forums) a person can become whole again after its emblem heartless and respective nobody have been destroyed. Pureblood Heartless apparently don't count since they been consumed entirely by darkness.

As for the Super Human abilities Sul displayed...does everyone remember how Roxas run up on that skyscraper like it was nothing. Or how Roxas kept beating up heartless with a stick (in a mission in 358/2 days). Need I remind the fight between Sephirot (the one-winged angel that can destroy buildings for fun) and Sora.

The characters in KH are either super human/magically enhanced by their weapons. On second thought, magically enhanced seems more logical in their universe.