Fanfic / Oathkeeper's Awakening

Spoilers for Kingdom Hearts III will be left unmarked. You Have Been Warned!

Art by KeywielderAnima

People tell me to move on. People tell me that everyone comes and goes, it's a natural part of life. People tell me that what you did was not in vain and that you are a true hero to be remembered by many. Does ice on a cut ever heal though? Or does it only temporarily reduce the pain? People tell me it wasn't my fault. Then why am I still here? Why am I not in a world of everlasting light and peace? Why are you there? Why are you not here? It's because of me.

— Kairi

Oathkeeper's Awakening is a Kingdom Hearts Fan Fiction written by KeywielderAnima. It is a direct follow-up to the events of Kingdom Hearts III that depicts Kairi's first full-fledged adventure throughout the worlds in her quest to reunite with Sora.

It can be read here.

One year after Xehanort's defeat, Kairi awakens from her slumber without answers and guilt-ridden over Sora's sacrifice for her. Finding a piece of her shattered lucky charm, Kairi believes she's discovered a way to bring Sora home. Together with Xion and Naminé, the three embark on a journey to find the missing pieces while Kairi faces her worst enemy; herself.

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This fanfic contains examples of:

• Action Girl: Kairi, Naminé and Xion all fight with Keyblades and magic throughout the story.
• Adaptational Backstory Change: Ansem the Wise created the WALL•E`s to assist with the restoration of Radiant Garden. EVE also makes a cameo.
• Adaptational Badass:
  • Governor Ratcliffe fights the heroes whilst riding on the back of a Winged Serpent Heartless.
  • Bolt is a dog with actual superpowers as opposed to merely playing one on TV.
• Adaptational Expansion: Sora and Kairi's final moments together in the ending of Kingdom Hearts III are shown in a flashback, dialogue and all.
  • It is revealed what happened after Kairi was captured by Xemnas. Xehanort informed her of his intentions to use Sora as his final vessel and Kairi offered herself instead.
• Adaptational Explanation: The reason why Kairi (and by extension, Lea) fell so easily in the Second Keyblade War despite extensive training under Merlin's tutelage is because although Merlin is a powerful magic user, he does not wield a Keyblade. Thus, Kairi was trained incredibly well in magic, yet lagged behind in her physical combat skills.
  • In addition, Merlin knew Kairi's grandmother, who specifically requested that he train Kairi should she pursue the path of a Keywielder.
• Adaptational Heroism: Due to the nature of the adaptation, Varian evidently never underwent a Face–Heel Turn in this continuity, instead remaining a consistent ally and friend to Rapunzel.
• Adaptational Personality Change: Rather than being a harmless Nice Girl, Celia Facilier is a devious Con Artist not unlike Dr. Facilier (now her brother). Overlaps with Adaptational Villainy.
• Animal Motif: Befitting their status as Foretellers, Aros wears the mask of a badger while Kaguya has the mask of a panther.
• Arc Villain: Though some of them get assistance from Aros & Kaguya, each Disney Villain has their own agenda and poses a separate threat to the heroes on their journey.
  • Agrabah: Sa'luk
  • The New World: Governor Ratcliffe
  • Paradise Falls: Charles Muntz
  • Zootopia: Doug and Jack Savage
  • Arendelle: The Nattmara
  • Kingdom of Corona/Dark Kingdom: Zhan Tiri and Cassandra
  • Bewitched Bayou: Celia Facilier and Dr. Facilier
• Big Bad: Xigbar/Luxu takes center stage after Xehanort's defeat.
• The Blacksmith: Stiltskin the Moogle is a blacksmith who builds and repairs Keyblades.
• Call-Back:
  • After Luxu destroys Kairi's body (not that he wanted to; he wanted to kill Sora, but Kairi ended up Taking the Bullet instead) Sora absorbs Kairi's heart, just like in Kingdom Hearts.
  • Aros giving up on his existence and leaving his Replica body so Kairi could live is akin to how the Riku Replica gives up on his existence and leaves his evil past self's Replica body for Naminé.
• The Cameo:
  • Zidane, Cecil and Rosa appear when Kairi first returns to Radiant Garden. Angelo and Jessica make appearances later in the same chapter, with the former of whom flirting with Kairi.
  • Ignis owns a bakery in Radiant Garden.
• Chekhov's Gun: Luxord's Wild Card allowed Sora to return home... not before Luxu destroys Kairi's body first.
• Compressed Adaptation: The Tangled: The Series world loosely adapts Season 2 and 3 of the show into five chapters. Thus, multiple plot elements (ie: The House of Yesterday's Tomorrow, Varian's fall from grace and subsequent redemption) are Adapted Out.
• Damsel in Distress: During the attack on Twilight Town, Luxu kidnaps Penny in order to lure Kairi into a trap.
• Earn Your Happy Ending: Sora and Kairi both manage to return to Destiny Islands and be toghether.
• Face–Heel Turn: Like in the animated series, Cassandra betrays Rapunzel out of jealousy from being stuck in her shadow, taking the Moonstone for herself and releasing Zhan Tiri.
• Five Stages of Grief: Discussed as the Seven Stages of Grief.
  There are seven stages of grief. If these stages created a staircase, it is the longest I've ever climbed. The longer, the more exhausted I've become. The more exhausted I am, the less I can focus on life. The less I am able to focus, the harder I am on myself over the little things. Every time I feel like I've started to move on, I take a step back, and then I'm back to crying, like right now. I'm only crying because I never dreamed it'd take this long...
• Forgotten First Meeting: As a child, Kairi was Childhood Friends with Winnie the Pooh and co. prior to the downfall of Radiant Garden. Though she forgot them as she grew older, her memories of them return after she reunited with them during the events of the story.
• Fourth-Wall Observer: The Genie kicks the fourth wall down in his first scene by having a direct conversation with the author of the fic. He also has a tendency to make references to the Kingdom Hearts franchise as a whole.
  Girl, this is a Fan Fiction! Anybody who's reading this has already seen at least the first movie and played through Kingdom Hearts, II, and (hopefully) III! Seriously audience, if you haven't played Kingdom Hearts III yet, then you just got seriously spoiled in that first chapter there.
• Heroes Love Dogs: Kairi loves dogs and is hesitant to attack Charles Muntz's dogs despite them being Heartless.
  • Inverted with Charles Muntz; a villainous elderly man who values his dogs as companions and laments for the ones he lost. Though he experiments on them by turning them into sentient Heartless, he does so with the intention of making them immortal, allowing them to stay by his side forever.
• Heroic Sacrifice:
  • Kairi takes a bullet from Luxu meant for Sora, which would have killed her if Sora didn't absorb her heart like in Kingdom Hearts, which leads to...
  • Kaguya and Aros give up on their existence in order to provide a Replica body to save Kairi.
• Hot Springs Episode: Kairi and Pocahontas bathe in a lake, revealing a large scar on the former's back from when she was slain by Xehanort.
• The Incorruptible: As a Princess of Heart, Kairi's heart is devoid of darkness. Anna, Elsa, Rapunzel and Pocahontas are revealed to be the new Princesses of Heart.
• Like Brother and Sister: Kairi and Riku are said to be as close as siblings.
• MacGuffin: The shattered pieces of Kairi's Thalassa Shell charm, scattered throughout the worlds.
• Metronomic Man Mashing: Aros is subjected to this by both Grandmother Willow and Kevin.
• Named by the Adaptation:
  • Kairi's last name is revealed to be Uchida.
  • The name of Kairi's grandmother is revealed to be Youko. Her true name is Vor.
• No Celebrities Were Harmed:
  • The Scottish head chef of Le Grande Bistro is a homage to Gordon Ramsay.
    Madam! All you're doing is flapping your yap while your crab is coming out so cold that it's still singing 'Under the Sea'! Get on your station!
  • Rootada; a Zootopian pop star, is collaborating with Quillex on a new song called Face Your Fears; which is set to be the theme song for the upcoming video game Realm of Hearts 3.
• Original Character:
  • Aros and Kaguya; the sixth and seventh Foretellers respectively, are a pair of Original Generation villains who serve as Co-Dragons to Luxu. The former is revealed to be a Replica of Sora while the latter is revealed to be the embodiment of Kairi's darkness.
  • Jack Savage; a rabbit special agent and Judy Hopps' boyfriend from high school.
• Parting-Words Regret: In the second chapter, Kairi gets into an argument with Riku when she voiced her intention of leaving to find Sora, which he believed was reckless. They reconcile later in the story.
  Riku: Look, it's obvious we threw you out onto the battlefield before you were ready, and I'm not making that mistake again! You think you can be reckless and just run head first into danger, but you're NOT STRONG ENOUGH!
  Kairi: [gasps] You're the worst...
• Related Differently in the Adaptation: Celia Facilier is the younger sister of Dr. Facilier as opposed to his daughter.
• The Reveal:
  • The third visit to Radiant Garden has several:
    • Buried within Kairi's heart is the heart of her grandmother; herself an incarnation of Vor.
    • Aros is a Replica of Sora created by Luxu to manipulate Kairi.
    • Sora is participating in the Reapers' Game, with his memories of his friends as his entry fee.
  • Kaguya is the physical manifestation of Kairi's darkness.
• Spared by the Adaptation:
  • Kocoum is spared due to Kairi Taking the Bullet for him.
  • Ansem, Seeker of Darkness is revealed to have survived within Riku's heart, separate from the Replica created by Real Organization XIII. This is later revealed to be a form of Darkness.
• Take That!: The Genie is not fond of his Live-Action counterpart.
  Yeah, we don't speak of THAT Genie here…
• Took a Level in Badass: Kairi and Naminé, both novice Keybearers, grow stronger and more experienced as the story progresses. The latter notably has no combat experience prior to the events of the story.
• What Is This Thing You Call "Love"?:
  • Xion, being little over a year old, is still grasping the concept of love.
    It's a long story, but technically, I've only been alive for a little more than a year now. So, there's a lot of complicated and adult stuff that I'm still trying to learn and process, and love is just...a really hard one. Like, how do you know if you love someone? And if you do, what kind of love is it? How do you know if it's romantic love? Or how do you know if it's family love? How can you tell? It just seems like a lot.
  • Being a Replica with minimal experience outside of his memories borrowed from Sora , Aros is unfamiliar with the concept of love.
    I...guess. I guess love is a strong connection shared between people, but it's so powerful that it's impossible to describe. Like, I guess in Sora and Kairi's case, it's when you have someone that gives you the strength to keep going when times get tough. Something like that.