Fanfic / Warrior Princess Series

The Warrior Princess series is an ongoing Kingdom Hearts AU fanfiction series written by vessynessy and published on Archive of Our Own, beginning, naturally, with Warrior Princess It is also available on Fanfiction Dot Net, at Warrior Princess

Kairi obtains her keyblade on the night of Destiny Island's fall to darkness, and with that, everything that follows changes. The ripples will be felt through time itself - and those who seek to USE time to their own advantage will find their plans irrevocably altered, as these ripples turn to crashing waves that sweep them away.

Warrior Princess provides examples of:

• Adaptational Angst Upgrade: The conflict between Sora and Kairi vs Riku is quite a bit more heated than in canon, between Riku's jealousy of Kairi getting her Keyblade and Kairi being unable to forgive Riku's role in the destruction of the islands. For his part, Sora is still at least hoping for a chance to bring Riku back to the light, but he also goes so far as to tell Riku that at least Pinocchio still has a conscience.
• Adaptational Early Appearance: Several characters who weren't introduced until some time after Kingdom Hearts:
  • Xehanort's time-travelling teenage form appears in Chapter 4.
  • Chapter 12 has an unexpected appearance by Xion, long before she would have been created in canon.
  • Chapter 13 cuts away from Kairi befriending Xion after their fight to Xemnas and Vexen discussing it.
  • Chapter 15 has the party travel to Twilight Town in search of its Keyhole.
  • Chapter 17 has Vanitas show up in Neverland, in place of the Dark Sora boss battle, with Ventus taking control of Sora's body and summoning Wayward Wind to defend them.
  • Chapter 18, when Ventus mentions the Power of Waking - in relation to having no flipping idea how his Heart is awake again when no one (not Kairi, not Xion; no keyblade wielder) has used said ability on his until-recently-slumbering-Heart.
  • Chapter 23 introduces Tifa Lockhart.
  • Chapter 26 has Sora and Kairi encountering Aqua at the Door to Light.
  • The epilogue features Riku meeting the Lingering Will and recognising him as Terra, while Kairi and Sora encounter Kairi's Nobody.
• Adaptational Jerkass: As dark as Riku got in the original game, he was still at least partially motivated by saving Kairi and restoring her Heart. Here, with Kairi awake and active, Riku's actions are largely motivated by jealousy of her. Crosses into Adaptational Villainy in Chapter 12 when he murders Geppetto in front of his son.
• Adaptational Name Change: The epilogue chapter introduces Kairi's Nobody, here called Xikira instead of Namine.
• Adaptational Wimp: Downplayed with Sora, insofar as he has not earned a Keyblade yet, but he does nevertheless have more sword experience than Kairi at this point, thanks to sparring with Riku.
• Alternate Universe Fic: Diverges from Kingdom Hearts when Kairi obtains Destiny's Embrace the night the Destiny Islands fall, and escapes with Sora to Traverse Town.
• Anger Born of Worry: Aerith gets furious with Sora when he exhausts himself to the point of unconsciousness by attempting Megaflare on a Heartless tornado.
• Beware the Nice Ones: Aerith gets particularly scary when she gets a chance to confront Ansem, or when she stands up to Phil's sexist treatment of Kairi.
• Captured on Purpose: When Kairi, Sora and Xion are confronted by Captain Hook, Kairi decides to surrender, assuming that either they'll be taken to Maleficent (which, since Alice is still safe, won't be as much of a victory for the villains) or they'll be able to rescue whoever's on board. While she's right about other prisoners, after Peter Pan leaves to rescue Wendy, Sora points out that they've already broken out of their restraints and their cell, so they won't be able to pretend to be prisoner anymore. Kairi agrees, and decides to take the ship instead.
• Catapult Nightmare: Noctis in Chapter 9, after waking up from a nightmare.
• Chekhov's Gunman: Nysa, who Kairi meets and befriends in Olympus, returns in the climax as the body possessed by Ansem.
• Curse Cut Short: In the epilogue, Kairi's reaction when Xikira explains her situation to them. "What the fu-".
• Darker and Edgier: Not to Dark Fic levels thankfully but Kairi gets put through the wringer during her adventure and the psychological effects of it being examined more. Dealing with her grief over Destiny Islands falling by Riku’s hand, guilt for killing Heartless, despair over being too weak to stop Riku and Maleficent, fear of Ansem, and a brief lapse into goading Riku into trying to kill her.
  • On a lighter note, there is far more crude language in Kairi’s adventure with the crowning achievement going to Xion, of all people, telling Maleficent they are gonna “Fuck her”
• Do Wrong, Right: When Xion shocks everybody by saying, “Shut up! We are going to fuck you!” Kairi gently tells her that means something very different and that she actually means, fuck her up.
• Deus ex Machina: In chapter 23 Rinoa Heartilly appears out of nowhere to save the party from a seemingly undefeatable, giant Heartless.
• Disguised in Drag: In Chapter 19, Sora gets magically transformed into a girl in order to infiltrate a girls-only magic academy with Kairi and Xion to search for the world's Keyhole.
• Drives Like Crazy: Aerith when at the controls of the Gummi Ship, most apparent when she plays chicken with Captain Hook's ship.
• Entertainingly Wrong: Kairi's initial assumption about Xion is that she's her long-lost sister, captured by Ansem during the fall of Radiant Garden, but any attempt to ask her about this has Xion too confused to explain otherwise. Even when she starts to notice that Xion barely eats and doesn't sleep at all, Kairi's first assumption is that she's been cursed to be that way.
  • On a more serious note, Kairi ends up very apprehensive to and guilty about killing Heartless due to thinking she's also killing the people they used to be. She couldn't be more wrong.
• Even Evil Has Standards: Despite deep in his Face–Heel Turn and straight up killing a man by this point Riku is actually disgusted when Kairi insinuates he might have molested and or raped her while she was unconscious. Deconstructed Trope however when Kairi points out that he would’ve also been disgusted by murder not that long ago but that ship sailed a long time ago and thus doesn't trust his claims.
  • Even in the scene preceding this, Riku is actively having second thoughts over trying to kill Kairi, even when she's actively putting herself on a silver platter.
• Final Boss Preview: In Chapter 4, Ansem, Seeker of Darkness makes an appearance in Traverse Town. Subverted|Trope however, when Xemnas mentions that it was Young Xehanort Kairi fought.
• For Want Of A Nail:
  • Kairi and Sora leave Traverse Town along with Aerith before they can meet up with Donald and Goofy.
  • The trio's journey takes them to Eos after it has fallen to the Heartless, where they pick up Noctis Lucis Caelum, who joins their party.
  • The party reunite with Riku in Agrabah (instead of in Traverse Town), in the middle of kidnapping Jasmine.
  • When the party visit Wonderland, Kairi recognises Alice as a Princess of Heart and suggests they take her with them, averting her kidnapping.
  • Thanks to Kairi learning that she can sense where Princesses of Heart may be, a few worlds are skipped over, though Neverland isn't.
  • Riku's Darkness actually saves him from being possessed by Ansem, giving him the chance to switch sides in the climax, even if he still hasn't regained Kairi's trust.
  • Following the events in Hollow Bastion, Ventus disappears from Sora's body. He's later scene waking up in Castle Oblivion.
  • In contrast to the original game and ''A Fragmentary Passage, Aqua isn't separated from Mickey and is able to escape the Realm of Darkness.
• Gender Bender: In Chapter 19, Sora gets magically transformed into a girl in order to infiltrate a girls-only magic academy with Kairi and Xion to search for the world's Keyhole. It's later noted that the transformation was unnecessary, as the school would have accepted Sora as a transgender girl regardless.
• Gilligan Cut:
  Aerith How about we wake Sora up and get back to the search, then? I have a feeling today will be our lucky day.
  Kairi: LUCKY DAY MY A-!
  Kairi screamed as the mass of Heartless Shadows blew past her, sending her flying across the train station plaza, rolling across unforgiving stone.
• Going Commando: Kairi is shocked to find out that Xion isn't wearing anything under her Organization cloak.
• Green-Eyed Monster: As soon as Riku sees Kairi with her Keyblade, he recalls his meeting with Terra in Kingdom Hearts: Birth by Sleep and reacts with jealousy that Kairi was chosen before him.
• Groin Attack: Kairi's reaction to Riku's verbal abuse of her in Agrabah.

  Sora: Eugh... K-Kairi, I know he's not acting like himself at all, but you didn't have to- go that far!
  Kairi: He just kidnapped someone, Sora - now's not the time!

• Instant Expert: Downplayed, in that Kairi's initial skill with a Keyblade is enough to impress Sora, but the fact that she doesn't have as much experience with a sword as him isn't forgotten.
• Internal Reveal: A lot of information from later in the game, or even later games, is brought up quite early here:
  • Aerith first brings up the Seven Princesses of Heart in Chapter 3 and guesses that Kairi may be one of them.
  • In the same scene, Cid guesses that Kairi may have originally come from Radiant Garden like the Restoration Committee, which begins to trigger flashbacks to her experience of the fall.
  • In the first visit to Olympus Coliseum, Phil and Hercules bring up their meeting with Aqua, Terra and Ventus. Again, the mention of Aqua triggers a flashback to when she saved Kairi from the Unversed.
• Kick the Dog: Riku proves that he's much farther gone than he was in canon when he murders Geppetto in front of Pinocchio, telling him, "You really want to be human? Start here: with learning about grief."
• Missed Him by That Much: Donald and Goofy meet up with Cid in Traverse Town just half an hour after Kairi, Sora and Aerith left.
• Named by the Adaptation: Kairi's adoptive father, Mayor Takami.
• "Not So Different" Remark: Invoked in chapter 18, when Ventus is talking to Kairi, and he points out the similarities in their amnesia-riddled backstories.
• Oblivious Guilt Slinging: When Riku meets Aqua, she comments on how Terra would be proud that the boy he passed the Keyblade became such a brave hero, causing him to realize just how far he's fallen and how badly he's lived up to Terra's hopes.
• Politically Incorrect Villain: Unsurprisingly Vanitas who calls Xion a retard for her lack of knowledge for…everything.
• Survivor Guilt: Noctis, the apparent Sole Survivor of his world's fall to the Heartless.
• Took a Level in Badass: Kairi gradually gets better with a Keyblade, to the point that by the time she reaches Neverland she's created the Warp Raid move.

Warrior Princess 2: Shadows of Light provides examples of:

• Adaptational Early Appearance: Again, several characters who weren't introduced in Kingdom Hearts: Chain of Memories:
  • Saix appears in Chapter 5 and attacks Riku and Terra.
  • Xemnas, Demyx and Xigbar appear in Chapter 6, listening to Saix's report on the above encounter.
  • In Chapter 10, Riku and Erin encounter Hayner, Olette and Pence in Twilight Town.7
• Adaptational Personality Change: Marluxia and Larxene are much less abusive of Xikira then they were with Namine in canon. Turns into Adaptational Heroism when they join Kairi's party in fighting Xemnas in the climax. Conversely, Xikira is considerably more expressive and ruthless, made apparent by her murder of Zexion.
• Ambiguous Situation: When Xikira approaches Kairi outside the castle, she warns her not to kill two of the people inside, her descriptions matching those of Marluxia and Larxene, making it unclear what her actual allegiances are. Kairi herself starts to question this when Larxene appears and attacks her, but for whatever reason doesn't finish her off when she gets the upper hand. She later figures out the attack was an act for Xemnas's benefit.
• Big Damn Heroes: In the climax, when Xemnas has overpowered everyone else, Aqua's arrival turns things around and forces him to flee like a coward.
• Dies Differently in Adaptation: In Chain of Memories, Zexion was strangled by the Riku Replica on Axel's orders. Here, he's stabbed by Xikira with her Keyblade.
• Dungeon Bypass: Once Lexaeus joins the party, his ability to create Dark Corridors allows them to take shortcuts through the castle.
• For Want Of A Nail:
  • The first chapter has Ventus returning to his body and waking up in Castle Oblivion.
  • Kairi's encounter with Lexaeus ends with him switching sides rather than fight her.
• Groin Attack: Larxene to Kairi in their battle, leading Kairi to almost regret doing the same to Riku and Vanitas earlier.
• Heel–Face Turn:
  • In Chapter 8, Lexaeus switches sides as a result of Kairi recognising Aeleus from her childhood and reminding him of what he used to be.
  • In Chapter 9, the Riku Replica is turned before really becoming a heel in the first place, thanks to speeches from Kairi and Xion.
  • It's eventually revealed that Marluxia and Larxene have already gone through this as a result of regaining their memories.
• Immediate Sequel: Kairi's first scene picks up on the same line that her last scene in the first story ended on.
• Internal Reveal: Again, the story gives the characters certain information much earlier than in the games.
  • Xikira tells Sora, Kairi and Xion about Organization XIII and Xemnas before they even enter Castle Oblivion, including Xemnas being Ansem's Nobody.
  • The Lingering Will explains his backstory to Riku, including Xehanort stealing his body and his heart. Chapter 11 has Kairi learning the same information from an illusion of Terra in Castle Oblivion.
  • In Chapter 9, Kairi and Sora finally learn the truth about Xion, from Vexen himself.
• "It" Is Dehumanizing: Kairi calls out Lexaeus for describing the replicas this way.
• "The Reason You Suck" Speech: Kairi to Xemnas, in response to his speech about Xion's creation.
  Kairi: All this means...is that you're a thousand times more disgusting and evil than even I thought you could be! Because instead of kidnapping and experimenting on and brainwashing a girl, you actually made a whole entire person from scratch, on a WHIM, just to be used! And to be destroyed, after you'd finished using her up! And you didn't even have the decency to give her REAL CLOTHES! You just slapped her into a cloak and some pants and called it a day! And you did it TWICE! (pointing at Mio)
• Spared by the Adaptation: Marluxia and Larxene both survive as a result of their Heel–Face Turn, while Vexen escapes his murder at Axel's hands.
• Stealth Mentor: It's implied in Chapter 15 that Sephiroth of all people is one for Cloud, hoping to help Cloud avoid Sephiroth's own fate of falling to darkness due to Cloud's past regrets.
• Stop Saying That!: Xikira repeatedly describes herself as having been "born" from Kairi and Sora, until Kairi tells her to stop it. It's not until the climax that she starts to accept seeing herself as a teen mother.
• Wham Line: When the party confront Vexen in his lab:
  Vexen: Well now, this is truly a surprise. I never expected you to return to me in your present state, No. i.
• Your Days Are Numbered: Riku befriends a young woman named Erin from a world that operates similar to In Time, with the amount of time they have to live written on their arms, counting down. Riku and Terra have no way of saving her, but they do rescue her from her exile and take her to Twilight Town to spend her last week any way she wants.
• What Could Possibly Go Wrong?: Said by Marluxia when he sends Lexaeus to fight Kairi.
• What Measure Is a Non-Human?: When Vexen reveals the truth about Xion and describes her as inferior to the replicas he's developed since, Kairi passionately rejects this:
  Kairi: "Xion is your best! She went from- from that- to a person! She's grown and learned, she's gone to school, she thinks and she feels and she has a Heart! Fine, maybe you did make her here - but that doesn't mean a goddamn thing otherwise! That's just- where she started. But her life since coming into existence? She's made it her own, just like the rest of us! How she was born doesn't matter; how she's lived does. And she's lived wonderfully - as my sister!"

Warrior Princess: The Hearts of Children provides examples of:

• Adaptational Early Appearance: The first chapter opens on a series of flashbacks to Luxu's early years.
• Compressed Adaptation: From 358 days to a couple of months according to the author's notes.
• Flashback-Montage Realization: Luxu experiences the heroic version of this in Chapter 29 in the story's climax.
• Instantly Proven Wrong: When Xikira gets back from making her skirt request to Xemnas.
  Xikira: Xemnas said he'd have a Moogle do it for us 'immediately."
  Demyx: (droppping his sitar) Whaaaa?!
  Axel: (laughing) Bullshit.
  Xigbar: Nice joke, princess. Can't believe you've got jokes at this age, but you do...man, you are something...
  Larxene: Okay, don't screw with me please. Because there is no way in hell that you actually got Xemnas to agree to-
  A loud pop filled the room, and Xikira turned to see a cloaked Moogle floating in the air.
  The Moogle held out two folded pieces of black clothing.
• Late-Arrival Spoiler: The first chapter quickly reveals that Xigbar is actually Luxu.
• Pensieve Flashback: Xikira takes Luxu through one of these in Chapter 29.
• Pet the Dog: Somewhat shockingly, when Xikira approaches Xemnas about changing the Organization dress code to let herself and Larxene wear a skirt instead of pants, he agrees to it.
• Took a Level in Kindness: The story offers some context for Marluxia and Larxene's Adaptational Personality Change in the previous story, in particular that Xikira helped restore Marluxia's memories of being Lauriam, including Strelitzia.

Warrior Princess 3: Warriors United provides examples of:

• Blood Knight: Vexen's latest Replica, Kana (a Replica of Aqua), fits this trope to a T.
• Heel Realization: Vexen experiences this in Chapter 11.
• The Atoner: Vexen, who decides to become this in Chapter 11 onward, after his aforementioned Heel Realization.
• Full-Frontal Assault: The Replica Kana, who, as an aforementioned Replica, has zero concept of nudity whatsoever, and thinks that wearing clothes is restricting and annoying, and so she always strips naked whenever she gets into a fight (much to the mortification of her opponents).
• Innocent Fanservice Girl: Kana, again, who has zero sense of modesty or shame about nudity - or even an understanding of the concept of clothing in general.
• Scars Are Forever: In chapter 22, Kairi gets mauled (and poisoned) by a powerful Heartless, ending up with some nasty, permanent scars on her body.