THE KEYBLADE MASTERS
A Kingdom Hearts Fan Fiction by Dean Birkett.
Chapter 1: Pursuit
King Mickey kept up pace down the forest path, completely aware of the fact that the vines were shooting straight for him from fifty feet behind. He ran as fast as his mouse legs could carry him, his black hood rapidly rippling behind his head. All that would appear to slow him down was a rather large Key on his back. This Key had a silver handle, and the rest of it was gold - his Keyblade. His most treasured possession. Mickey hazarded a backwards glance, and saw no change - the vines were still shooting for him. Though what was stranger was the fact that these vines appeared to have riders upon them. Riders that appeared to be wearing all black, and had large misty yellow eyes. Heartless. "Guess they don't call it Evil Forest fur nothin'," Mickey said to himself, as his pace actually quickened. He had one objective, and that was to reach the Mother Plant of Evil Forest before the Heartless do, for there was rumour of a Keyhole there. Mickey leapt forward, rolled, and dived under a large tree root that would have blocked his path. He turned, and saw something he most definitely did not expect - vines from elsewhere were closing up the gap that serves as an entrance to the cove which Mickey had just entered, blocking the pursuing vines from reaching Mickey - but also impeding his most apparent means of escaping Evil Forest. "Well. only one way to go from here -" Mickey trailed off as he turned, and saw some twenty feet away the entrance to a cave. Mickey wasn't sure he wanted to enter this place - there seemed to be a deep rumbling noise coming from within. But nevertheless, it was most definitely one step closer to the Keyhole. As Mickey entered the cave, the first thing he noticed was the smell. A dank, moist smell, form years gone by of rot and decay. No one had been here for a long time, and if they did, they probably wouldn't have stayed long. It was too dark to try and make anything out, and Mickey didn't feel like feeling his way around in case he bumped into anything that didn't like being bumped into. He grabbed his Keyblade by the handle, held it in front of him, and muttered, "Illuminate." A white light shot from the end of the Keyblade, illuminating Mickey's path, and the cave. It was small, with an entrance to a tunnel a few feet in front. Mickey noticed moss and decay upon the walls, and a bunch of iron oxide in places. Mickey looked, and saw that the hole in front of him was rather oddly shaped. It curved in two places at the top, became narrower towards the bottom, where it flicked up at the corners, like a crescent moon cut in half and put at either end. Also, across the entrance, two vines were crossed, complete with thorns. Mickey smiled grimly. He remembered this sort of shape quite vividly, and thought it not very subtle a way to guard a Keyhole. This shape was in fact an emblem, an emblem recognized as the Heartless sign, branded upon all Heartless created by the sinister Ansem, at Hollow Bastion. Mickey sliced at the vines with the Keyblade, and they lightly fell to the ground. With nothing else for it, he ducked, and crawled through the hole.
On the other side, it was an almost awe-inspiring sight, had it not been an accumulation of evil. Several large forest plants with multiple legs were gathered around a twenty-foot-high Rhododendron - the Mother Plant -, which seemed to be giving out a light from its pollen bed. They all seemed to notice his presence, because the forest plants, all fifteen of them, turned at Mickey immediately, clicking pincers and tapping legs about furiously. Mickey held his Keyblade in battle stance, and noticed that the forest plants were indeed being controlled by a Heartless each. Each Heartless was sat in the flower, their bodies embedded deep within the plant brain. The Mother Plant suddenly emitted a large guttural growl, and the fifteen forest plants lunged at Mickey. Mickey jumped high into the air, somersaulting as he went. Upon returning to the ground, Mickey lunged at three plants, and with one slash of the Keyblade, they were dead. Three more came after Mickey. The King slashed at one with the Keyblade, but missed. He slid forward on his feet, the Keyblade thrust in front of him, knocking down two of the plants in turn. And with one final spin of the Keyblade, they were gone. But the third one that came for him, Mickey couldn't see. But he was rested assure of its presence when it lunged for him from behind and latched onto the King's back. Mickey had to flail about to try and knock the plant off, but it was no good. So instead, he had no choice but to fling his cloak off of him, sending the plant into the wall along with the cloak. Without the cloak, Mickey was wearing a scarlet jacket with silver t-shirt underneath. His pants were baggy silver denim, which tucked into his large black boots. His trademark white gloves were gone, and instead he wore black gloves with the fingers cut off. His right hand was clenched tightly around the Keyblade, but a moment later he let go of it as he swung his arm behind him and flung it at the plant against the wall. It cut the air like a boomerang, spinning faster and faster, until finally, thwack! The plant and the Heartless within it dissolved into nothing. The Keyblade did not stop cutting the air. In fact, it kept rebounding off of every wall in the cavern, hitting all the Heartless plants that dare get in its way, until finally, there was one forest plant and the Mother Plant left. Mickey leapt into the air and grabbed the oncoming Keyblade by the handle. He ran at the remaining plant, which ran at him in turn. The plant managed to get one up on Mickey for a moment by disorientating him with quick turns to the left and right. This also let the plant slash at the King, knocking him over. But Mickey did a flip up onto his feet, and with an uppercut from the Keyblade, the plant went flying into the air and hit onto the ceiling, where it vanished. Now, it was down to the King, and the Mother Plant. Mickey stared at the plant. The plant seemed to stare back. until finally, it let out an almighty screech, and to Mickey's ultimate disappointment, several more forest plants fell from the plant's pollen bed. But Mickey wasn't in the mood now - he leapt nimbly into the air, somersaulting onto one of the large petals, and from that petal to the next, and to the next, until he was somersaulting directly above two large antennae that protruded from the plant. Mickey began freefalling, and when he reached the antennae, he swished the Keyblade with an almighty swing, and in an instant, both antennae fell to ground, a white ooze protruding from the stumps. Once again, an almighty screech came from the Mother Plant. It seemed to start to shrivel up, along with all the forest plants that had protruded from it. The petals were thinning and wrinkling, and its foliage was turning brown and dry, until finally, it looked like a microclimate of autumn had hit the whole cave. Nothing apart from King Mickey was alive in the whole room. Mickey fell nimbly to the ground, and looked at where the Mother Plant's pollen bed once was, on the floor. Something strange was happening. The pollen bed was still shrivelling up, and turning into a shape - the shape of a Keyhole. Mickey stood over the Keyhole, held out the Keyblade, and pointed it at directly at the hole. He waited for a light to protrude from the Keyblade. but nothing happened. Nothing, even after a minute or so of standing there. Mickey was completely nonplussed. Was his Keyblade broken or something? No, that couldn't be possible, the Keyblade is a universally legendary weapon. The King sat and pondered for a moment. and pondered. and pondered. until something happened. The Keyhole began giving off a strange green light, resonating an eerie beauty, illuminating the whole cave. Suddenly, writings appeared on the wall above the Keyhole. Mickey recognised it as the ancient scriptures of Karrek Bastius, the man renowned as the builder of the castle of Hollow Bastion, and Ansem's earliest recorded ancestor. Mickey was fluent in many languages, both international and intergalactic, and this one was nothing new. He began translation. "Note this Keyhole is not complete, and to lock it is no easy feat. For it requires the power of Four, whose Keyblades can lock the final door. The Key to the Kingdom, the power to Oblivion, the Keeper of Oaths, and the Heart of the Lion. Alexander hold the answers."
Chapter 1: Pursuit
King Mickey kept up pace down the forest path, completely aware of the fact that the vines were shooting straight for him from fifty feet behind. He ran as fast as his mouse legs could carry him, his black hood rapidly rippling behind his head. All that would appear to slow him down was a rather large Key on his back. This Key had a silver handle, and the rest of it was gold - his Keyblade. His most treasured possession. Mickey hazarded a backwards glance, and saw no change - the vines were still shooting for him. Though what was stranger was the fact that these vines appeared to have riders upon them. Riders that appeared to be wearing all black, and had large misty yellow eyes. Heartless. "Guess they don't call it Evil Forest fur nothin'," Mickey said to himself, as his pace actually quickened. He had one objective, and that was to reach the Mother Plant of Evil Forest before the Heartless do, for there was rumour of a Keyhole there. Mickey leapt forward, rolled, and dived under a large tree root that would have blocked his path. He turned, and saw something he most definitely did not expect - vines from elsewhere were closing up the gap that serves as an entrance to the cove which Mickey had just entered, blocking the pursuing vines from reaching Mickey - but also impeding his most apparent means of escaping Evil Forest. "Well. only one way to go from here -" Mickey trailed off as he turned, and saw some twenty feet away the entrance to a cave. Mickey wasn't sure he wanted to enter this place - there seemed to be a deep rumbling noise coming from within. But nevertheless, it was most definitely one step closer to the Keyhole. As Mickey entered the cave, the first thing he noticed was the smell. A dank, moist smell, form years gone by of rot and decay. No one had been here for a long time, and if they did, they probably wouldn't have stayed long. It was too dark to try and make anything out, and Mickey didn't feel like feeling his way around in case he bumped into anything that didn't like being bumped into. He grabbed his Keyblade by the handle, held it in front of him, and muttered, "Illuminate." A white light shot from the end of the Keyblade, illuminating Mickey's path, and the cave. It was small, with an entrance to a tunnel a few feet in front. Mickey noticed moss and decay upon the walls, and a bunch of iron oxide in places. Mickey looked, and saw that the hole in front of him was rather oddly shaped. It curved in two places at the top, became narrower towards the bottom, where it flicked up at the corners, like a crescent moon cut in half and put at either end. Also, across the entrance, two vines were crossed, complete with thorns. Mickey smiled grimly. He remembered this sort of shape quite vividly, and thought it not very subtle a way to guard a Keyhole. This shape was in fact an emblem, an emblem recognized as the Heartless sign, branded upon all Heartless created by the sinister Ansem, at Hollow Bastion. Mickey sliced at the vines with the Keyblade, and they lightly fell to the ground. With nothing else for it, he ducked, and crawled through the hole.
On the other side, it was an almost awe-inspiring sight, had it not been an accumulation of evil. Several large forest plants with multiple legs were gathered around a twenty-foot-high Rhododendron - the Mother Plant -, which seemed to be giving out a light from its pollen bed. They all seemed to notice his presence, because the forest plants, all fifteen of them, turned at Mickey immediately, clicking pincers and tapping legs about furiously. Mickey held his Keyblade in battle stance, and noticed that the forest plants were indeed being controlled by a Heartless each. Each Heartless was sat in the flower, their bodies embedded deep within the plant brain. The Mother Plant suddenly emitted a large guttural growl, and the fifteen forest plants lunged at Mickey. Mickey jumped high into the air, somersaulting as he went. Upon returning to the ground, Mickey lunged at three plants, and with one slash of the Keyblade, they were dead. Three more came after Mickey. The King slashed at one with the Keyblade, but missed. He slid forward on his feet, the Keyblade thrust in front of him, knocking down two of the plants in turn. And with one final spin of the Keyblade, they were gone. But the third one that came for him, Mickey couldn't see. But he was rested assure of its presence when it lunged for him from behind and latched onto the King's back. Mickey had to flail about to try and knock the plant off, but it was no good. So instead, he had no choice but to fling his cloak off of him, sending the plant into the wall along with the cloak. Without the cloak, Mickey was wearing a scarlet jacket with silver t-shirt underneath. His pants were baggy silver denim, which tucked into his large black boots. His trademark white gloves were gone, and instead he wore black gloves with the fingers cut off. His right hand was clenched tightly around the Keyblade, but a moment later he let go of it as he swung his arm behind him and flung it at the plant against the wall. It cut the air like a boomerang, spinning faster and faster, until finally, thwack! The plant and the Heartless within it dissolved into nothing. The Keyblade did not stop cutting the air. In fact, it kept rebounding off of every wall in the cavern, hitting all the Heartless plants that dare get in its way, until finally, there was one forest plant and the Mother Plant left. Mickey leapt into the air and grabbed the oncoming Keyblade by the handle. He ran at the remaining plant, which ran at him in turn. The plant managed to get one up on Mickey for a moment by disorientating him with quick turns to the left and right. This also let the plant slash at the King, knocking him over. But Mickey did a flip up onto his feet, and with an uppercut from the Keyblade, the plant went flying into the air and hit onto the ceiling, where it vanished. Now, it was down to the King, and the Mother Plant. Mickey stared at the plant. The plant seemed to stare back. until finally, it let out an almighty screech, and to Mickey's ultimate disappointment, several more forest plants fell from the plant's pollen bed. But Mickey wasn't in the mood now - he leapt nimbly into the air, somersaulting onto one of the large petals, and from that petal to the next, and to the next, until he was somersaulting directly above two large antennae that protruded from the plant. Mickey began freefalling, and when he reached the antennae, he swished the Keyblade with an almighty swing, and in an instant, both antennae fell to ground, a white ooze protruding from the stumps. Once again, an almighty screech came from the Mother Plant. It seemed to start to shrivel up, along with all the forest plants that had protruded from it. The petals were thinning and wrinkling, and its foliage was turning brown and dry, until finally, it looked like a microclimate of autumn had hit the whole cave. Nothing apart from King Mickey was alive in the whole room. Mickey fell nimbly to the ground, and looked at where the Mother Plant's pollen bed once was, on the floor. Something strange was happening. The pollen bed was still shrivelling up, and turning into a shape - the shape of a Keyhole. Mickey stood over the Keyhole, held out the Keyblade, and pointed it at directly at the hole. He waited for a light to protrude from the Keyblade. but nothing happened. Nothing, even after a minute or so of standing there. Mickey was completely nonplussed. Was his Keyblade broken or something? No, that couldn't be possible, the Keyblade is a universally legendary weapon. The King sat and pondered for a moment. and pondered. and pondered. until something happened. The Keyhole began giving off a strange green light, resonating an eerie beauty, illuminating the whole cave. Suddenly, writings appeared on the wall above the Keyhole. Mickey recognised it as the ancient scriptures of Karrek Bastius, the man renowned as the builder of the castle of Hollow Bastion, and Ansem's earliest recorded ancestor. Mickey was fluent in many languages, both international and intergalactic, and this one was nothing new. He began translation. "Note this Keyhole is not complete, and to lock it is no easy feat. For it requires the power of Four, whose Keyblades can lock the final door. The Key to the Kingdom, the power to Oblivion, the Keeper of Oaths, and the Heart of the Lion. Alexander hold the answers."