Chapter 207

John stood in front of Chief Powhatan, his arms trembling as he held Pocahontas close. Her body remained limp, her breathing soft but steady, her heart still missing.

"Please," John said, voice hoarse. "Let him try."

The chieftain said nothing at first. His weathered gaze lingered on John—on the foreigner who had once stood as an enemy. On the young man who had risked everything to protect the one he loved.

And then… Powhatan looked down at his daughter. His silence deepened.

This is my fault.

His grip tightened on the carved staff in his hand. I let fear speak louder than reason. I ignored her wisdom. Her heart.

"I should have listened to her," he murmured.

He looked to John, then slowly gave a solemn nod.

"Do what must be done."

John let out a breath he hadn't realized he was holding. With care, he carried Pocahontas to a patch of soft grass at the edge of the grove, laying her down beside the river. Her hair flowed like dark ink across the grass, and the sound of the water lapping nearby made the moment feel like a dream.

Helios stepped forward, his expression unreadable, but his eyes focused.

John looked up at him, desperate. "She's not waking up. Her wound's gone—she should be fine, right? Why doesn't she open her eyes?"

Helios knelt beside Pocahontas and placed a hand gently above her heart.

"Because her heart isn't in her body. Remember I removed something and placed it inside your chest that was her heart. She's incomplete so she sleeps until it's returned to her," he said calmly.

John's eyes widened. "What?"

"She would have died," Helios continued. "Ratcliffe's bullet was tainted with darkness. Had her heart remained inside her body when the wound struck, it would have been destroyed. So I... extracted it. Safeguarded it. Kept it within you while I healed her."

John looked down at Pocahontas, as if seeing her in a new light. "And now… you're going to give it back?"

"Yes," Helios said, rising. "But doing so will almost certainly release your own heart. The bond between you two strong as it is will complicate things. Hearts strongly tied to another's will resonate with each other and follow. This makes this transfer unstable."

He turned fully toward John, his expression serious now. "If your heart is pulled free in the process, it could fall to darkness. You could become a Heartless. Do you accept such risks?"

John didn't hesitate. "Then do it."

Helios raised a brow. "You're sure?"

"I already lost her once," John said. "If this is the only way to bring her back—I'll take the risk."

There was no bravado in his voice. Just quiet, unwavering conviction.

Helios nodded slowly and summoned Equilibrium, its pale blade pulsing with faint golden light.

John looked down at Pocahontas, lying still. "Even if this is the end... at least I get to see her alive again."

That's when Aqua stepped into view from the trees behind them, tension radiating from her frame. "What do you think you're doing?"

Helios didn't answer.

He stepped forward—and drove the blade into John's chest.

"Helios!" Aqua shouted, but she was a breath too late.

The blade pulsed.

John gasped, but there was no blood—only light. Warm, blinding light. Helios twisted the keyblade gently, and as he pulled it free, two radiant forms rose from John's chest.

Glowing hearts.

One large and pink—John's.

One was slightly smaller and luminescent, like the petals of a celestial flower—Pocahontas'.

A wave of darkness surged upward from John's body, swallowing his form in one violent pulse. The shadow hissed and churned—crackling like a fire that had just tasted oil.

The darkness recoiled for a moment—as if confused—before it lunged, swallowing John's heart in a burst of shadow. The darkness then formed a sphere and looked like an egg about to hatch.

The smaller heart floated toward Pocahontas, gently entering her chest like a falling star. Her body shimmered with light—her fingers twitched—her lips parted.

"...John?" she whispered.

Aqua turned, eyes wide. "She—she's awake…"

But the darkness around John shattered.

A Shadow heartless emerged—dark, trembling, and twisted with remnants of human shape. It let out a hissing cry and recoiled, but Helios pointed his keyblade at the shadow.

Chains of light burst from the air around him, locking around the Shadow and pinning it in place. The creature thrashed, but couldn't move.

Aqua lunged forward, grabbing Helios by the collar. "Are you insane?! What have you doing to him?!"

Helios didn't flinch. "I woke Pocahontas up—like I said."

"By ripping his heart out?! Turning him into a Heartless?!"

"It's temporary," Helios said, meeting her gaze. "The bond between them is strong enough to anchor his heart. I have the light needed to hold the heartless. When her heart returned, his followed and was swallowed up by darkness. I expected that. Now I'm going to use the light to bring him back."

Aqua didn't let go. "You could have warned him. Me. The others. That was reckless."

Helios' voice dropped a notch. "And yet… it worked."

Aqua stared at him, furious and afraid all at once.

Behind them, Pocahontas slowly sat up. She looked around in confusion—at Aqua, at the chains of light, and finally… at the Shadow heartless struggling inside them.

Her hand flew to her chest.

"...John?"

The creature stopped thrashing.

It looked at her.

Just looked.

And at that moment—she understood.

Tears welled in her eyes. "Please… bring him back."

Helios nodded. "I can't, but you can."

He turned toward the restrained Heartless, raising his keyblade again, the chains releasing as the heartless stood on its feet and slowly walked toward Pocahontas without a single sign of aggression.

When it reached her, it simply stood and looked up at Pocahontas as she kneeled down with tears in her eyes. She knew she was the reason John had become like this. Helios said she could save him, but she didn't know how, so all she could do was hug the creature, which was John Smith.

"Even like this... you're still you."

As she did a brilliant light emerged from her chest surround her and the heartless John and when it died down Pocahontas was hugging a fully reconstituted John who smiled and said, "I was lost but I heard your voice and it led me back to you."